Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-01-10

at o'clock belgian tmc) and o'clock Central
time), furnished with their identity papers and in
it may be wanted, with their card from the
'Meldeamt'
"They must bring with them only small hand
bag.
"Any one who refuses to present himself will
be forcibly deported to Germany and will also be
liable to heavy fine and long term Of imprison-
ment.
"Ecclesastics doctors, lawyers and schoolmas-
ters exempted.
THE burgomasters will be held responsible for
the due execution Of this order which must at
be made known to the inhabitants.
can interval of twenty-four hours will be al
lowed between the posting of the notice and the
deportation itself"
On the plea of carrying out public works in Bel
gium the authority in occupation had endeavored to
obtain from the communes list of unemployed work
With this order the great majority of the com
munes boldly refused to comply.
Three DEGREES of the government gradually pre-
pared us for the blow that has fallen on us today.
On August Is, 1915, the first decree out
imposing, under penalty of fine and Imprisonment,
compulsory labor unemployed workmen, declaring,
however that the work contemplated was to be done
in Belgium only and that breaches of the order
would be brought before Belgian law courts.
second decree of May 2, 1916, reserves to the
German authorities the right to provide work for the
unemployed and threatened with penalty of three
years Imprisonment and fine of 10000 marks any
that carries out work not sanctioned by the Gov
~
ICES the governors and military commandants and the
chiefs of ACCOMPLISHMENTS to order idle workmen to be
forciby taken to the place where they have to work.
Compulsory work had already begun, but in Belgium
only.
Today it is no longer question of compulsory
work to be carried out in Belgium, but in Germany
also, for the benefit OF the Germans.
To impart an air of sweet reasonableness to these
violent measures the occupying power alleges in the
German press, both of Germany and Belgium,
DrcteNt these measures, chiefly Idle
workrnen constitute danger to public order and
they charge on the treasury.
The letter addressed October 16 to the
Governor General and to the chief of his political
cabinet has the following: "You know full we'll that
public order is not menaced and that it in dan
ger every influence, moral and civil would spontan-
eously be offered for its maintenance Again the
employed not burden on the bounty of the
state; the assistance they receive comes from
funds of yours"
In this reply the Governor General no longer in
sists the two previous allegations, but maintains
that the sums given TO the unemployed from what
source they come must eventually burden our
finances and that it is the task of good admnistra-
tor to lessen such charges, adding that the pro.
longaton Of unemployment would impair work
mems technical skill and the return of peace they
would be Of no use for any industry whatever. He
does not mention other means of protecting
finances, for instance, to spare the forced
trbutions which at the present moment reach the
sum of e4o,ooo000 and is continually augmented by
monthly increase OF 4OOOU,OOO francs We might be
spared the acquisitions in kind which total several
miards and are eXhaustng the country.
There were other means, too, for maintaining
unimpaired artisans technical skill. To leave US
for instance, our machines and equipment we'll
our raw materials and manufactured goods which
have left Belgium for Germany, and perhaps quar-
ries and limekins where the Germans themselves
declare that they intend to send the unemployed Are
not, after all, these the best schools for completing
the technical education of our skilled artisans?
The unvarnished truth is that every deported
workman is an additional soldier for the German
army. He will take the place of German workman
who will sraightway join the army.
Thus the situation which denounce to the civ
ili%ed world comes to this: Four hundred thousand
workmen find themselves against their will unem-
poyed, chiefly because of the regime put into force
by the occupying power Sons, husbands, fathers Of
families, always mindful of public order, bear their
unhappy lot uncomplainngly. The whole nation
united provides for their most pressing needs By dnt
Of economy and wholesale privations they manage
to escape extreme misery and await with self-re-
spect, sprung from intimacy which the national
mourning has forged among them, the termination of
our common trials.
Bands of soldiers force their way into their peace
ful homes, drag young from their parents
the husband from his sife the father from his chill