A close espionage surrounds those who undertake the carrying of letters or the introduction of newspapers. In this case the spies work principally by means of "traps"—agents-provocateurs. A spy introduces himself to the person suspected of dealing with correspondence; he pretends he has a letter to send or receive. If the suspect listens to him, a picket of soldiers and policemen arrives on the following day to make a search. Other spies will speak in the street to a seller of newspapers; they will ask for a French or English journal, and scarcely has the vendor taken the forbidden journal from his pocket than a hand falls upon his collar.
It is also by means of "traps" that the Germans catch those who enable our militia to escape from the country. A young man, of the proper age, goes in search of the suspected person, and by means of false papers passes himself off for a patriot who wants to take his place at the front. Arrangements being made, the spy departs; but a skilfully set trap enables him to catch a whole group of young fellows. It matters little to our cause, however, since for every one arrested hundreds cross into Holland every week. Many Belgians devote themselves to this patriotic task, though they well know that in case of failure they will be sent into Germany or shot. It should be said that their most active helpers are the soldiers of the Landsturm, the guardians of the frontiers, who, according to an established tariff, for the sake of alcohol or money, close their eyes as our militia-men cross the frontier.
One step further along the path of the informer, the spy, and the "trap," and we come to means whose ignominy is such that even the Germans themselves are forced to admit their dishonesty.
Thus, at Liége most of the letter-boxes on the house-doors are closed by means of nails. Why? At the end of 1914 many citizens of Liége used to receive Le Courrier de la Meuse, a newspaper edited and printed at Maestricht by Belgian refugees. There was no great mystery about its distribution; the paper was simply slipped into the letter-box. But the German agents spied on the vendors, and having done so, searched the houses at which the newspaper was delivered. The subscriber, of course, was condemned to pay a fine. Did part of this go to the spy? It is probable; in any case it was not long before the spies were importing Le Courrier de la Meuse in order themselves to place it in the letter-boxes of well-to-do houses. A search conducted immediately revealed the prohibited article, and, in spite of the indignant denials of the victim, the fine was inflicted.
At Ferrières, near Jemelle, worse than this was done. A German priest pretended that the curé of Ferrières had repeated, before a witness, a private conversation held some hours earlier. Moreover, he wanted to garble the conversation. The abbé's action was repugnant in such a degree that even Baron von Bissing himself was a little uneasy about the matter, and revoked the punishment awarded to the Belgian.
While the mission of the spies and agents-provocateurs—including the abbés-provocateurs or ecclesiastical "traps"—was to procure the condemnation to various penalties of as many Belgians as possible, other "agents" in the pay of Germany commenced a vast inquiry, in order to prove, in the face of the evidence itself, the crimes of the "francs-tireurs." Well!—in spite of all the manœuvres of spies and provocateurs and the inquirers themselves, in spite of the personal rancour which impelled a few rare Belgians to become the accomplices of the Germans, and to denounce, in a spirit of vengeance, certain of their fellow-citizens, never did the Germans succeed in mentioning a single name, not one single name, of a Belgian civilian accused of having fired upon the German troops. We say expressly "accused," and not "convicted," to show that nowhere, in village or provincial town, although petty rivalry is so acute, and although informers, even though anonymous, would have been welcomed with joy by the Germans, nowhere was any one found to assert that a Belgian civilian had fired on the German troops. No, it was so improbable, so manifestly false, that not even the most miserable of wretches would have dreamed of formulating such a calumny.
The Germans wanted to make us believe that anonymous letters were pouring in upon them, but that they, as upright administrators, refused to follow up these accusations (Declaration, 4th May, 1915). Obviously a lie. We know them capable of themselves fabricating these anonymous accusations, simply to cause the Belgians mental uneasiness, and to give rise to mutual suspicion. This is yet another attempt to cause dissension.
For the rest, they have since then admitted that they have invited denunciation. Worse than this: denunciation is enough to procure condemnation; it is not necessary for the offence to be proved.
Notice.
Cases are increasingly frequent in which letters are sent to Belgian soldiers at the front by means of intermediaries.
I remind the public that this is strictly prohibited. Any person denounced to the German authorities for such action will be subjected to a severe penalty.
The Governor of the Fortified Position
and the Province of Namur.(L'Ami de l'Ordre, 13th June, 1915.)