Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-01-09


Government General of Belgium, Brussels
October 90, 1916.
To His E,ninencc Cardinal Mercier, Archbishop of
Molines.
In your esteemed letter of The 18th inst your
En,inence makes the urgent request that the unen-
ployed Belgian 7Uormen should longer be deported
to Germany While approaching your Eminence's
point of vieaO feel at the same time compelled to
reply that you haze examined in all its aspects
the difficult problem of Belgian unemployment First
of all, your Ennence docs 1lot consider IN all their
bearings the extraordinary circumstances arising
from the qUnr Whicb has lasted than tUo
years. The steps IN progress 7ohick your Emil
Could Wisb TO sec suspended, are nothinq but
the necessary consequences Of the avar hope no,v
to prove.
Your Eminence recalls first the declarations made
IN October, 1914 by y predecessor and by the Gou-
Of the fortress of AntaOcrp. These declarations
referred to directly bearing on the opera
tons of 1rdr, ond they regarded chiefly of mill
td1y age, 2Uho, according to the ordinary usage of
War could hare been deported 'ciUL prisoners of
Wdr. England and France haze seized, on neutral
ships all Germans bet1Oeen the ages of seuenteen and
fty and haze 1ter1aed them IN concentration camps
Germany has taken such steps in Belgium, and the
assurances giren to your Eminence NTH q uie,U TO
calming The cUd population, bare been uniformly re-
$pected At any rate that proof Of the beneuo-
lent disposition, ,Uith which The German Governor
General had taken in hand the administration of the
of young men to join the Belgian army mould haze
fully justified measures similar to those taken by
England and France And get nothing DONE The
removaI of Belgian laborers to the German factories
0hich is only beginning after tho gears of vur has
connection IN principle aUuh the deportation and
ner7eent Of men Of military age. This step does not
depend upon the conduct Of the such but it is
based on economic and social grounds
As result Of the economical blockade which
England has established against GERMANY, Belgium
tions which country has to sufcr Belgiun,'s
economic life tohtch rests chiefly the importation
of materials and the export of manufactured
goods has been crushed by the blockade deprived as
she is of the rery basis Of her commercial existence
The ineuubIe result of this situation has been u,-
employment Uhich has ertended to various classes of
the population. The system of relief adopted could be
reasonably applied to those ont of 1COrk long it
thought that the Woutd end quickly, but the
long duration of the hostilities has brought about an,
abuse Of this relief and has created uncomfortable So
cinL conditions. Fdr-Seeing BeLgans came to me in
the spring of 1915 and dre1C nty attention to this
point. They pointed out that this relief, no matter
Ohdt might be the of the funds placed at the
disposal of the committees tCoId fno{lg haze to be
borne by the Belgian budgets, 1Oith(lt taking into
account that these contributions 10 kld ineUitabIy
create in the 1Corkingmun habit Of idleness. The
result is that the Workmcn see their physical and
moral capacity lessened and artisans of ability
haze lost their technical skill and 7CW be useless for
Belgian irdustry 'Uhen peace has been restored. On
this account, and IN order to do aWay arith this
preralent apathy for acork published ,cih the ap-
probation of the competent Belgian ministry my de-
creea of August, 1915, Which mere completed by mn
order of May Is, 1916 These DEGREES do proride
for forced labor sape IN the where an unem-
pIoyed uVorkman becomes burden to the public relief
funds By refusing unreGsonably to do work at his
trade tUhen reasonable wage is offered, We haUe
recognised orpressly as iawful reason for eftsa
ony rnotipe based on international ln1c Thus no
,oorkman be compelled TO take part in acork
These orders rest, your Emnemce tOW actnoWl-
edge, on reasons fully justified in law which sub
ordinate The freedom of the idviduul to the interest
of the public Now that the disadvantages resulting
from the situation of 1915 hare developed to the point
of becoming veritabe public calamitSi is impera-
the to put these orders into execution.
(CoNTIrJUED TOMORROW
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