"In order to insure sufficiently the safety of our troops and the
tranquility of the population of Rheims, the persons mentioned have
been seized as hostages by the Commander of the German Army. These
hostages will be shot if there is the least disorder. On the other
hand, if the town remains perfectly calm and quiet these hostages and
inhabitants will be placed under the protection of the German Army.
"THE GENERAL COMMANDING.
"RHEIMS, _12th September, 1914_."
[Sidenote: Over 80 hostages in Rheims.]
Beneath this proclamation there were posted the names of 81 hostages
and a statement that others had also been seized as hostages. The lives
of all these men depended in reality upon the interpretation which the
German military authorities might give to the elastic phrase, "the
least disorder," in the proclamation.
Hugh Gibson, in _A Journal from our Legation in Belgium_, page 184,
explains what was likely to happen:
"Another thing is, that on entering a town, they hold the burgomaster,
the procureur du roi, and other authorities as hostages to insure good
behavior by the population. Of course, the hoodlum class would like
nothing better than to see their natural enemies, the defenders of law
and order, ignominiously shot, and they do not restrain themselves a
bit on account of the hostages."