I. The wholesale atrocities by French Negro colonial troops alleged in
the German press, such as the alleged abductions, followed by rape,
mutilation, murder, and concealment of the bodies of the victims are
false and intended for political propaganda.
II. A number of cases of rape, attempted rape, sodomy, attempted
sodomy, and obscene mishandling of women and girls have occurred on
the part of French Negro colonial troops in the Rhinelands. These
cases have been occasional and in restricted numbers, not general
or widespread. The French military authorities have repressed them
severely in most cases and have made a very serious effort to stamp the
evil out. The amount of evidence necessary to convict in such cases is
a very delicate matter to express opinion upon. However, the number
of acquittals is not large and there is nothing surprising about these
acquittals, except in one case where a girl of 14 years was known
carnally. In this case the acquittal followed upon the claim that the
girl had consented.
III. As a rule the number of convictions and the thoroughness of the
reports of the investigations and trials indicate the very earnest
effort of the French trial authorities to do justice and to stamp out
the evil by stern repressive measures. That their sentences are often
milder than ours would be is largely due to extenuating circumstances
found in the evidence according to their rules of evidence which are
very different from ours, and to the fact that in general French courts
do not punish these crimes as severely as American and English courts
do.
IV. The discipline of the Senegalese Tirailleurs was not always good as
evidenced by the refusal of some of them to get aboard transports at
Marseille when ordered to Syria.
HENRY T. ALLEN.
The SECRETARY OF STATE,
_Washington, D. C._