[Sidenote: 37]
"The Committee have come to a definite conclusion upon each of the
heads under which the evidence has been classified.
"=It is proved=:--
"(=i=) =That there were in many parts of Belgium deliberate
and systematically organised massacres of the civil population,
accompanied by many isolated murders and other outrages.=
"(=ii=) =That in the conduct of the war generally innocent
civilians, both men and women, were murdered in large numbers,
women violated, and children murdered.=
"(=iii=) =That looting, house burning, and the wanton
destruction of property were ordered and countenanced by the
officers of the German Army, that elaborate provision had been made
for systematic incendiarism at the very outbreak of the war, and
that the burnings and destruction were frequent where no military
necessity could be alleged, being indeed part of a system of
general terrorization.=
"(=iv=) =That the rules and usages of war were frequently
broken, particularly by the using of civilians, including women
and children, as a shield for advancing forces exposed to fire,
to a less degree by killing the wounded and prisoners, and in the
frequent abuse of the Red Cross and the White Flag.=
"Sensible as they are of the gravity of these conclusions, the
Committee conceive that they would be doing less than their duty if
they failed to record them as fully established by the evidence.
=Murder, lust, and pillage prevailed over many parts of Belgium
on a scale unparalleled in any war between civilised nations during
the last three centuries.=
"Our function is ended when we have stated what the evidence
establishes, but we may be permitted to express our belief that
these disclosures will not have been made in vain if they touch
and rouse the conscience of mankind, and we venture to hope that,
as soon as the present war is over, the nations of the world in
council will consider what means can be provided and sanctions
devised to prevent the recurrence of such horrors as our generation
is now witnessing."
Is YOUR conscience roused? Won't YOU take the most effective way of
showing it--if you are a man under 40 and fit? The only way to put a
stop to these and other crimes is to crush the German Army.
YOU can help either by joining the Army or by making munitions. Place
YOUR services at the disposal of the military authorities.
If YOU are a woman, cannot you help a man to decide?
[Illustration: Map of Belgium]