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Paper Money and Coins That Are Being Used in Place of Legal Money in the German and Austrian Camps of War Captives.

their own land. These authorities made of them the direct auxiliaries of the fighting army, whether by placing them in front of German troops as shields or by forcing them to do work connected with war operations.

The working material-for it is no longer a question of men, but of veritable machines which are displaced as suits the needs-the material lacking in certain regions of the occupied territory, the German authorities draw without counting either in the internment camps, where against all right those subject to military duty removed from that territory have been confined, or in the other invaded regions. They are not sent to the place of their previous residence. These civilians are enlisted, and, although the Germans themselves recognize that they may not be compelled to do labor, they are taken to any point of the territories occupied by the German Army and compelled to do the hardest labor.

And when France, in the name of anguished families, demands information concerning the fate of the transplanted unfortunates the German Government replies that the military authorities do not deem themselves obliged to account for the reasons which have caused these transfers. It has not been possible to know during whole seasons what has become of such unfortunates.

It results clearly from the whole of the depositions hereinafter set forth that no immediate necessity whatever, nor the excitement incident to fighting, can extenuate the violations of the law of nations committed by the German authorities. The latter, in accordance with a deliberate will and a method settled in advance, have reduced the unhappy population of the invaded territories to a condition which may be compared only to slavery.

In 1885, at the time of the African conference in Berlin, of which she had taken the initiative, Germany had bound herself, in what concerned the territories of Africa where she exercised her sovereignty or influence, to conserve the native populations and to better materially and morally their existence.

After having gathered the informa

tion, necessarily very limited, which has come to it from the invaded portion of France, and which it submits to the neutral powers, the Government of the Republic is entitled to doubt that the German authorities observe in what concerns the populations which are temporarily in their charge the obligations which the Imperial Government has undertaken regarding the black populations of the centre of Africa.

(Signed) A. BRIAND, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

German Proclamation

The German Military Commander of Lille posted up the following proclamation during Holy Week:

The attitude of England renders it increasingly difficult to feed the population.

To lessen misery, the German authority has recently asked volunteers to work in the country. This offer has not had the success which was expected. Consequently the inhabitants will be removed by compulsion and transported to the country. Those removed will be sent in the interior of French occupied territory far behind the front, where they will be employed in agriculture and in no way in military work.

By this measure the opportunity will be given them to better provide for their support.

In case of necessity the revictualing may be effected by the German dêpots.

Each person removed may carry thirty kilograms of baggage, (house utensils, clothes, &c..) which it will be well to prepare immediately. Hence I order:

No one may until further notice change residence. Nor may any one be absent from his declared local domicile from 9 o'clock at night until 6 o'clock in the morning (German time) unless he holds a regular permit.

As this concerns an irrevocable measure, it is in the interest of the population itself to remain calm and obedient. Lille, April, 1916.

(Signed) THE COMMANDER. The foregoing was followed by this more peremptory notice:

All the inhabitants of the houses except children under 14 years and their mothers, as also except elderly persons, must prepare to be transported in an hour and a half.

An officer will finally decide what persons are to be conducted to concentration points. To that end all inhabitants of the house must gather before their habitation; in case of bad weather it is permissible to remain in the hall. The door of the house must remain open. Any objection will be useless. No

inhabitant of the house, even those who will not be removed, may leave the house before 8 o'clock in the morning, (German time.)

Each person will be entitled to thirty kilograms of baggage. Should there be an excess of weight, all the baggage of that person will be refused without consideration. The bundles must be made separately for each person and bear a legible address written and solidly affixed. The address must bear the name, given name, and the number of the card of identity.

It is wholly necessary in one's own interest to bring drinking and eating utensils, as also a woolen blanket, good shoes, and linen. Each person will have to carry a card of identity. Whoever attempts to evade removal will be pitilessly punished.

(Signed) ETAPPAN KOMMANDANT,

Summary of Evidence

The remainder of the White Book consists of more than 240 corroborative exhibits in the form of sworn statements in regard to sufferings and abuses endured by victims of the deportation edict. Women and men alike testify to having been compelled to work from 6 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon at various kinds of hard labor, upon pain of imprisonment, starvation, or beating. Some of the men state that they were compelled to bury the dead, to dig trenches, construct bridges or roads, and do other work of military value to the enemy. To employ prisoners or civilians of occupied country in military work constitutes a violation of international law, as voiced in Article 52 of the Fourth Hague Convention.

A German Explanation

The following explanation by a German officer who had been an Aide-deCamp in the Lille district during the evictions was sent from Berlin by a semi-official news agency on Aug. 17:

The main reason for sending a part of the civilian population from Lille was that the town was being furiously shelled by the British, who do not show the regard for French cities that the French artillerymen do, their reckless destruction of French houses and monuments being resented by the French civilians in Lille. In addition to this there had been much difficulty in the distribution of food in the congested districts of the city. Therefore, civilians from the densely populated workingmen's quarters were sent away. By no means all civilians were sent; only those from the quarters mentioned.

View of an Eyewitness

Cyril Brown, the Berlin correspondent of THE NEW YORK TIMES, visited these evicted civilians in August, and made the following report:

Twenty-two thousand French civilians, men, women, youths, and young girls, have been evicted to date from Lille, Roubaix and Tourcoing. I am told. The greater part have been distributed over the rich agricultural sections of France in German hands. The balance have been distributed among industrial centres.

Returning from the Somme front I availed myself of the opportunity of spending a day visiting the evicted civilians in Sedan and thirteen surrounding hamlets and villages. My impression gained after seeing and talking with the male evicted civilians in Sedan was unfavorable if their statements were true. The impression made upon us by the men, women, girls, and youths in the country district around Sedan was very favorable.

To understand the situation the reader must bear in mind that a clear distinction is made between "conscripts" of military age and the other evicted persons, women and males of non-military age. Most of the civilians appear to have been taken from Lille, Roubaix, and Tourcoing in April or May. An officer of the General Staff, who spoke with authority, told me that of the 22,000 civilians 2,000 had been sent back to their homes either because they had been sent away by mistake, as in the case of those of higher social status, because they were physically incapable of working, because they were single women without near relatives, or for other valid reasons. The officer added that quite a number of those who returned to Lille had asked to be brought back to Sedan because living conditions were better for them here. He further stated that the difficulties of feeding the masses in Lille, Roubaix, and Turcoing, particularly the unemployed, had forced the German military authorities to resort to the policy of evicting the inhabitants.

I am inclined to believe that while the military necessity of relieving the non-military pressure from important strategic railroads and even a certain degree of altruism influenced the military authorities to take this measure, the permanent evicting of 20,000 natives could not seem sufficient to relieve the economic pressure in these cities-would not be enough alone to justify the step. It seems probable that the primary motive of the military authorities was the necessity of obtaining agricultural workers to get in the bountiful harvest in Northern France, and. in the second place, for the purpose of rooting out the evils resulting from unemployment in the big cities, and the resultant difficulties of food distribution in the third place.

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SECOND GERMAN OFFICER: Oh, she's the daughter of that Lille Professor!"

[This letter is authenticated by the Allied Official Bureau. The Germans reply that the deportation was an act of charity to the overcrowded population in the cities.]

The Agonized Mothers of Lille

M

Y DEAR M.: We have just been through three weeks full of the most hideous agony and moral torture which a mother's heart can be called upon to endure the last week has been the worst.

On the pretext of the difficulty caused by England in maintaining the food supply and the refusal of inhabitants to volunteer to work in the fields, steps have been taken for an evacuation by force, which has been put into effect with every imaginable refinement of cruelty. They did not, as on the first occasion, take families as a whole. No! they thought it too humane a method to let members of families suffer together, so they took one, two, three, four, or five members from each family, men, women, boys, children of 15, girls, anyhow-at the arbitrary will of an officer!

To prolong the agony all round, they worked by districts-never saying on which night each district would be taken. For it was at break of day that these gallant soldiers with fixed bayonets, armed with machine guns, and the band

playing at their head, sallied forth to abduct women and children. God knows where to and wherefore. They say: Far from the front for work in no way connected with the war. However, we hear already that in some districts these poor creatures have been received with volleys of stones, because it was said that they had volunteered to do work which the inhabitants of the districts refused to perform. It is a devilish lie, as is the whole plan-it was for this that the census card, which gave age, sex, ability, and skill in particular work; the identity card which we all have to carry, and the prohibition on sleeping away from home were preparing.

About three weeks ago raids were made in the two neighboring towns; people were seized anyhow in the streets and tramways, and people thus seized were never seen again. We were terrified. As several girls and chidren were seized, the civil and religious authorities made admirable protests. "I cannot believe," said one, "in this violation of all justice and right; this abom

inable action, which violates every canon of morality or justice, will bring universal condemnation on its perpetrators." "I hear," said another, “that measures of an extreme nature threaten our families; I believe in the human conscience-a punishment by by which young girls and children would be torn from their mothers to be sent to an unknown destination in a state of terrible promiscuity, would be as cruel as it would be undeserved-it would be contrary to the most elementary notions of morality. Your Excellency, you are a father, and you will understand what such an extreme measure would be to our families whose members are SO united."

In reply, the authors of these protests were called together on Holy Thursday at 4 o'clock. During the meeting terrorizing posters were put up and they were given to understand that this was the reply to their protests, and that on leaving they could read them in the streets in the same way as the rest of the population. As the abominable measure was decided on, they were told that they could hold their tongues. Well, the poster warned every one-excepting old and infirm persons, children under 14 and their mothers-to be ready for evacuation, every person being allowed to have 30 kilograms (60 pounds) of luggage. To make the necessary arrangements domiciliary visits would be made. All the inhabitants of the house must be at the open door of the house, with their identity cards in their hands, to report to the officer, who would deIcide which of them were to be carried off-no appeal would be allowed. Coming out of church, we read this threat which was to be carried out at once in the case of some and would hang over the heads of others like the sword of Damocles for ten long days and ten interminable nights, as they were to proceed by districts. And, to crown all, it was at the sweet will of some officer that the victims were to be selected! We never knew each night when our turn would come, and we awoke as though from some horrible nightmare, sweat on our brow and anguish in our

heart. No words can describe to you the horror of these days. We are all quite broken by it.

From the night of Good Friday to Holy Saturday the troops passed our house to raid the first district, Fives. It was awful; the officer passed along and designated the men and women he wished to take, giving them ten minutes to an hour in which to be ready to start.

Anthony D. and his sister of 22 years of age were carried off. After much trouble they left the little girl, who is not yet 14. The grandmother, ill from misery and terror, required immediate attention. So they at last let the little girl return. But in one place an old man and in another two infirm old people were not allowed to keep the little girls who were the only persons they had to look after them. Everywhere they baited their victims, adding petty vexations to brutality. Thus at the doctor's, B.'s uncle's place, Mme. B. was told to choose between her two servants. She chose to keep the elder. "All right," said they, "then we will take her." Mlle. L., the younger one, who had just recovered from typhoid and bronchitis, saw the N. C. O. who was abducting her servant approach her. "This is a sorrowful duty we have to perform," said he. "More than sorrowful," she replied; "it might be called barbarous." "That is a hard word," he said. "Are you not frightened that I shall give you away?" and as a matter of fact the sneak did so. She was allowed seven minutes to prepare, and they led her away in slippers, without a hat, to be judged by the Colonel who commanded the heroic force. He, in spite of the verdict of the doctor, condemned her to be carried off. It was only by her untiring energy and through the pity of one less brutal than the rest that she was able to obtain exemption at 5 P. M. after a day of the tortures of Calvary.

A sentry is placed at the door for each person marked down, and then the poor creatures are taken off to some place of assembly-a church or a school-and then in a body all classes and conditions herded together; innocent young girls and public prostitutes cheek by jowl they

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