Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-05-20
BELGIUM SECRET PRESS
Newspaper that Gave So Much Con.
Germ to Germany.
PRINTED In UNDERGROUND CELLAR

PRlNlED In UNDERGRUUND CELLAR
Patriotic Old Citizen at Great Risk to
Himself Saw to II That His People
Were Kept Advised That the Forces
of Right Were Still Working for
Their Redemption.
Christian Science Monitor.
Seven million and half Belgians
with all the hopes, energies, sensa-
tions Of modern civilized people,
sensitive like ourselves to the lights and
shadows Of life-lived almost without a
murmur for over four years under the
domination Of the Germans, whose US
urpation Of the rule Of their dear coun-
try they had not in the remotest degree
provoked or merited-a usurpation un-
der which nearly all their hopes, ener-
gies, sensations, at least their pleasant
ones, were beaten down and trodden
under foot. The business man lost his
business, professional men could no
longer practice their profession, the
working man had no work. Spindles
ceased to weave, lathes ceased to turn,
presses ceased to print, shops had
nothing to sell. The telephone was
taken from your house, and only under
extraordinary circumstances might
you telegraph or travel by rail.
The younger men were off to the
ha nf
them, were digging trenches and build
ing roads for their enemy, exposed to
death dealing hardships and exposure.
Even If your family had not been
broken up and you were living where
you had always lived, you could not
call that home your own, for enemy
lagents might at any time visit it and
rob it of kitchen utensils. brass, beds
clothing and mattresses. Even II you
were well-to-do you scarcely ever
had square meal, and you wore the
clothes year in and year out, that you
wore before the war, and If you were
poor, you had a very bad time Of 1t
indeed.
Yet 100000 people endured these
things for four years. They did not
die, Or revolt, or greatly murmur.
What, then, was the secret Of their
endurance? Though much Is taken,
much abides. They had strength and
long suffering, courage to face their
enemies, and a sense of fellowship In
their many trials. They suffered, they
were strong. Dayton Is not to be
pitied, Dayton is glorifled."
The BeIgians' Consultations.
| These imprisoned Belgiaas had four
consultations: the relief work in which
all tried to forget themselves and in
which, side by side with the Ameri-
cans, they preserved a shadow Of in
dependence; the letters which at great
risk, they wrote to and received from
the world outside, chiefly their fight
ling sons-a lady Of Brussels secretly
delivered $4,000 a week; the Paris
papers which airmen occasionally
dropped in the neighborhood, and
the one copy, was secertly read aloud
Fin the evening to trusted circle Of
friends; and last but not least, La
Libre Belgique, their own paper,
which was written by those who were
suffering like themselves, calling the
German by his very proper names,
exposing ruthlessly his meanness and
deceit, affirming even the justice of
Belgium's and the Allies cause, ap-
pearing every week or So as 1t did,
for these reasons as well as by Its
very title, was a rallying point, a
clarion call, star of hope to all that
| in that wide, deep wandering were.
1t reminded them that high faith was
left, and love, and patience, which
at last shall overcome"
On the crest Of the hill at Brussels
is q large park. At one end Is the
ROYAL Palace, which the Germans
turned into a Red Cross hospital. At
the other end are the government
buildings, where the Germans estab-
lished their "Kommandantur." Within
gun-sho of the Kommandantur, down
the hill, are the office and press Of the
newspaper, La Patriotic, adjoining the
home of the editor, Mr.. Victor Jour-
dain. Here was conceived the idea Of
La Libre Belgique and here the editing
was carried on through ia issues.
A Voice is Raised.
No sooner had the enemy established
himself in Brussels, than he publish
ed a paper called LIE Bruxellois, which,
while pretending to be patriotic aimed
slowly to poison the minds of the peo-
pie. MI. Jourdain turned to his SON.
n-law and said: I'VE cannot tolerate
this. The puDlic must be warned. VIII
YOU help me?" The son-in-law, Mr.
Eugene van Doren agreed. The man
uscript was soon ready and, being re-
produced by means Of a primitive ap-
paratus, a small number were distri-
buted by boy scouts. A few days lat
er a formal decree forbade the repro
lduction of written matter by print,
typewriting, manifold or other duph-
catory process.
The authors were pleased and bided
their next chance. This came on New
Years Day, 1915. In all the churches
was read Cardinal Mercier's pastoral
letter Patriotism and Endurance
in which he said, 1--WE are bound 10
obey our enemy; we are not bound 20
respect him." 1t was at once decided
TO edit the letter and print and sell
at cost price $4,000 copies. A printer
by the name of Becquart was found
Able Demoor, vicar Of st. Alberts'
and van Doren were to distribute each
q half. But they had only distributed
800 copies when the Germans broke
into the printing shop, seized the re-
naming copies, and the printer barely
had time to make off. Another printer
was found, and another $4,000 copies
were printed; but again only portion
of these found their way over the
country.
Nevertheless, this clandestine propa-