The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1919-10-15
King Albert Of Belgium
On His Visit In Unit
ed States.
TALL, STRAIGHT
AS AN ARROW
Jacques Looks Like The
Fighting Man He Has
Always Been.
Associated Press

NEW YORK., Oct. l6-Lieutenant
General Baron Jacques, who. accord
ing to his own assertion, occupied the
front seat in the front row" when
the Germans opened the great inter
national "show" in 1914, is the most
striking member of the suite which is
crack military organizations of Bel
gium on his visit in the United States.
Tall, straight as an arrow, General
Jacques looks like the fighting man
he is and has been from boyhood, for
he is one of the professional soldiers
upon whom Belgium relied when it
made the great decision which held
up the German army until French and
British soldiers could get into action.
General Jacques was IN command
of the Twelfth Regiment, one of the
crack military organization of Bel
gium and was stationed at Liege
where General Leman was in com
mand.
II had never been impressed by the
bombast of the German soldiery and
l had full confidence in my own men,"
said the General as he sat in his
plainly furnished cabin on board the
George Washington on the voyage to
New York and talked Of the early
days of the war. =
1--WE first came in contact with the
Germans on the bridge at Wise, and
after sharp fight drove them back,
capturing the flag of the 9th Bran
denburg regiment.
"That fight aroused the people, and
immediately we had mora than
thousand civilian volunteers, digging
trenches and helping in every way
possible. General Leman issued a
proclamation in which he said: Big
Germany invaded our country impos-
ing an ultimatum which constitutes
an outrage. Little Belgium proudly
accepts the challenge. The Belgium
army will do its duty. The people of
Liege only ask to be allowed to do
theirs
During the discouraging days which
followed, when the Belgian army was
compelled to retire from place to place
until it at last had to give up Ant
werp and begin its slow retreat along
the coast, General Jacques never dou-
bted the final outcome, and engaged
his men by pointing out that when
they reached User river the backward
movement would end. And so 1t did
MY regiment had orders to hold
DiXmude till death and we did. Not
until high command decided to eva
cuate the town did we leave our pla-
ces," said the General.
"The war is over. But the Germans
still have arms and men. It is up to
the Allies to see they do not use them
again. look upon the Greman as a
barbarian who still has in his heart
the desire to conquer, because he Is
trained to it from the cradle. This
war was not war entirely Of the
Kaiser's making. 1t was a war of the
whole people, war for loot. They
believed they would be able to get to
Paris in six weeks, and the booty they
took would amply compensate for the
expense of military operations.
General Jacques has had an adven-
turous career. AS a young officer ne
went out to the Congo, and in the
early nineties began his memorable
fight against the Arab slave traders
On one occasion, when he and his ma
tives were hard pressed by large body
of Arab slave traders, he killed eigh
teen of them with his own rifle. Hi:
administrative work in the Congo alst
was of high order. He has beer
decorated II times, and wears thu
highest honors his country can give
while other countries have been only
little less generous in recognizing
his abilities and valor.