A summary of the whole situation, down to January, 1917, can be obtained by reading continuously the report of Minister Whitlock, taken from the files of the State Department, which is given in italics on pages 48-49, 53, 54-55, 67-68, 74-75, 78. The insertion of his report at appropriate points has made it possible to avoid all but a minimum of repetition.
"Legation of the United States of America,
"Brussels, January 16th, 1917.
"The Honorable the Secretary of State,
"Washington.Horrifying behavior of the Germans in Belgium.
"Sir: I have had it in mind, and I might say, on my conscience, since the Germans began to deport Belgian workmen early in November, to prepare for the Department a detailed report on this latest instance of brutality, but there have been so many obstacles in the way of obtaining evidence on which a calm and judicious opinion could be based, and one is so overwhelmed with the horror of the thing itself, that it has been, and even now is, difficult to write calmly and justly about it. I have had to content myself with the fragmentary despatches I have from time to time sent to the Department and with doing what I could, little as that can be, to alleviate the distress that this gratuitous cruelty has caused the population of this unhappy land.
Belgian Government wished to support unemployed Belgians.
"In order to understand fully the situation it is necessary to go back to the autumn of 1914. At the time we were organizing the relief work, the Comité National—the Belgian relief organization that collaborates with the Commission for Relief in Belgium—proposed an arrangement by which the Belgian Government should pay to its own employees left in Belgium, and other unemployed men besides, the wages they had been accustomed to receive. The Belgians wished to do this both for humanitarian and patriotic purposes; they wished to provide the unemployed with the means of livelihood, and, at the same time, to prevent their working for the Germans. I refused to be connected in any way with this plan, and told the Belgian committee that it had many possibilities of danger; that not only would it place a premium on idleness, but that it would ultimately exasperate the Germans. However, the policy was adopted, and has been continued in practice, and on the rolls of the Comité National have been borne the names of hundreds of thousands—some 700,000, I believe—of idle men receiving this dole, distributed through the communes.
German cupidity excited.
"The presence of these unemployed, however, was a constant temptation to German cupidity. Many times they sought to obtain the lists of the chômeurs, but were always foiled by the claim that under the guarantees covering the relief work, the records of the Comité National and its various suborganizations were immune. Rather than risk any interruption of the ravitaillement, for which, while loath to own any obligation to America, the Germans have always been grateful, since it has had the effect of keeping the population calm, the authorities never pressed the point, other than with the burgomasters of the communes. Finally, however, the military party, always brutal, and with an astounding ignorance of public opinion and of moral sentiment, determined to put these idle men to work.
"General von Bissing and the civil portion of his entourage had always been and even now are opposed to this policy and I think have sincerely done what they could, first, to prevent its adoption, and secondly, to lighten the rigors of its application."
(Continued on page 53.)
In the early days of the German advance into Belgium, the people had learned to fear the worst. This was particularly true in Antwerp. In order to alleviate their fears and to obtain guarantees which might hasten the restoration of settled conditions, Cardinal Mercier secured from the German governor of Antwerp promises, and in a circular letter dated October 16th, 1914, asked the clergy of the Province of Antwerp to communicate them to the people:
Solemn promises of Germans not to exploit Belgians.
"The governor of Antwerp, Baron von Hoiningen, General von Huene, has authorized me to inform you in his name and to communicate by your obliging intermediary to our populations the three following declarations:
"(1) The young men need not fear being taken to Germany, either to be enrolled into the army or to be employed at forced labors.
"(2) If individual infractions of police regulations are committed, the authorities will institute a search for the responsible authors and will punish them, without placing the responsibility on the entire population.
"(3) The German and Belgian authorities will neglect nothing to see that food is assured to the population."
These promises were not kept, as Cardinal Mercier and his colleagues show by abundant evidence in the Appeal to Truth.
"On March 23rd, at the arsenal at Luttre the German authority posted a notice demanding return to work. On April 21st, 200 workmen were called for. On April 27th soldiers went to fetch the workmen from their homes and take them to the arsenal. In the absence of a workman, a member of the family was arrested.
Violation of German promises.
"However, the men maintained their refusal to work, 'because they were unwilling to co-operate in acts of war against their country.'
"On April 30th, the requisitioned workmen were not released, but shut up in the railway carriages.
"On May 4th, 24 workmen detained in prison at Nivelles were tried at Mons by a court-martial, 'on the charge of being members of a secret society, having for its aim to thwart the carrying out of German military measures.' They were condemned to imprisonment.
Early deportations.
"On May 8th, 1915, 48 workmen were shut up in a freight car and taken to Germany.
"On May 14th, 45 men were deported to Germany.
"On May 18th a fresh proclamation announced that the prisoners would receive only dry bread and water, and hot food only every four days. On May 22nd three cars with 104 workmen were sent towards Charleroi."
"A similar course was adopted at Malines, where, by various methods of intimidation, the German authorities attempted to force the workers at the arsenal to work on material for the railways, as if it were not plain that this material would become war material sooner or later.
"On May 30th, 1915, the Governor General announced that he 'would be obliged to punish the town of Malines and its suburbs by stopping all commercial traffic if by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 2nd, 500 workmen had not presented themselves for work at the arsenal.'
"On Wednesday, June 2nd, not a single man appeared. Accordingly, a complete stoppage took place of every vehicle within a radius of several kilometres of the town."
"Several workmen were taken by force and kept two or three days at the arsenal."
Belgians asked to make barbed wire.
"The commune of Sweveghem (Western Flanders) was punished in June, 1915, because the 350 workmen at the private factory of M. Bekaert refused to make barbed wire for the German Army.
"The following notice was placarded at Menin in July-August, 1915: 'By order: From to-day the town will no longer afford aid of any description—including assistance to their families, wives, and children—to any operatives except those who work regularly at military work, and other tasks assigned to them. All other operatives and their families can henceforward not be helped in any fashion.'
Punished for refusal to work for German Army.
"Similar measures were taken in October, 1915, at Harlebekelez-Courtrai, Bisseghem, Lokeren and Mons. From Harlebeke 29 inhabitants were transported to Germany. At Mons, in M. Lenoir's factory, the directors, foremen, and 81 workmen were imprisoned for having refused to work in the service of the German Army. M. Lenoir was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, the five directors to a year each, 6 foremen to 6 months, and the 81 workmen to eight weeks.
Interference with Red Cross.