6. The Rheinische Zeitung and the Kolnische Volkszeitung, recently suspended for publishing attacks on the French colored colonial troops, admit under date of June 15, that they employed certain terms and expressions which they might better have omitted, due to the imperfection of the news coming for the most part from outside sources, says the Volkszeitung, and from Berlin says the Rheinische Zeitung. This tends to bear out the opinion noted above, which is further strengthened by dissentant voices in the South German press which protests against exaggerated accusations by other German papers against colored French troops.
7. These exaggerated attacks in the German press outside of the Rhinelands have, in several cases, been refuted by responsible officials (German) and citizens of the Rhinelands.
Herr Kohler, mayor of Worms; Herr Bischoff, police commissioner of Worms, referring to the Senegalese troops, reports to the Interallied Rhineland High Commission, that with the exception of one incident, the Senegalese troops in Worms have not committed any misdemeanor and have been under perfect discipline during their entire stay in Worms.
Herr Levy, from Kreuznach, and several Germans, have written open letters protesting against what they term unfair exaggerations in the German press against the troops.
8. Among gross exaggerations in the German press may be cited the following:
(a) Claim that there are 40,000 colored French troops in the Palatinate.
(b) Claim that Frankfort was occupied by 20,000 men entirely formed of Negro (Senegalese) troops. French official report shows that no Senegalese occupied Frankfort, but first Moroccan and Algerian tirailleurs and later French troops (white).
(c) Numerous atrocities in the Saar, where young women are said to have been forcibly abducted, raped, mutilated, killed, and their bodies thrown into manure piles. The burgermeister of Saarbrucken, the inspector of the Caserne Petain, Herr Welsch, proprietor of the manure pile; Wilhelm Roth, caretaker; Herr Geppert, employee, have all given written and oral testimony wholly refuting the accusations.
(d) Claim of the German press that large numbers of young Austrian girls who had come to the vicinity of Mainz to get away from the famine in Austria were raped. The Austrian Government is reported to have made an investigation through its consular service and to have found that not a single such case had occurred.
(e) Investigation by Col. Bonvialle, commanding the Twelfth Tirailleurs, May 21, 1920, concerning charges of sodomy near Euskirchen, with medical report, indicates that the charges could not be sustained.