Antwerp, from Hainant to Brabant, as the fatal list of deportees
increases from 20,000 to 50,000, from 50,000 to 100,000, from 100,000 to
200,000, whilst the cries of women and children are heard in the
streets, whilst the modern slaves tramp along the roads carrying a light
bundle of clothes on their shoulders, from everywhere in Belgium the
strongest protests are sent to the Governor General, by the communes
which will not consent to give the names of the unemployed, by the
magistrates who will not see the last guarantees of individual right
trampled upon, by the Socialist syndicates which are defending the right
of the workmen not to work against their own country, by the chiefs of
industry who show clearly that the whole responsibility of the labour
crisis rests on Germany alone, by the bishops of the Church, who refuse
to admit that, after two thousand years of Christian teaching, a
so-called Christian nation should fall so low as to revive, for her own
benefit, the worst custom of Paganism.
The energy of these protests is wonderful if one considers the
conditions in which they have been made. The town councillors of Tournai
were asked to draw up a list of unemployed. They refused; as the Germans
insisted, they passed the following resolution: "The municipal council
decide to persevere in their negative attitude.... The city of Tournai
is prepared to submit without resistance to all the exigencies
authorized by the laws and customs of the war. Its sincerity cannot be
doubted, as it has shown perfect composure and has avoided any act of
hostility during a period of over two years ... But, at the same time,
the municipal council could not furnish weapons against their own
children, fully conscious that natural law and international law, which
is derived from it, forbids them to do so." (October 20th, 1916). We
possess also the German answer, signed by Major-General Hopfer. It is a
necessary supplement to von Bissing's unctuous literature. Major-General
Hopfer calls the resolution "an act of arrogance without precedent."
According to him, "the state of affairs, clearly and simply, is this:
the military authority commands, the municipality has to obey. If it
fails to do so it will have to support the heavy consequences." A fine
of 200,000 marks is exacted from the town for its refusal, besides
20,000 marks for every day of delay until the lists are completed.
The case of Tournai, like that of Antoing and a good many small towns,
is typical. The officers commanding in these districts either disregard
the "mot d'ordre" given in Brussels or do not think it worth their while
to keep up the sinister comedy played in the large towns. Here "Kultur"
throws off her mask and the brute appears. We know at least where we
stand. The conflict is cleared of all false pretence and paltry excuses.
The councillors of Tournai appeal to some law, divine or human, which
forbids a brother to betray his brother. It is not without relief that
we hear the genuine voice of Major Hopfer declaring that there is no
other law than his good pleasure. That settles everything and puts the
case of Belgium in a nut-shell. Men like him and the commander of the
Antoing district--another Major, by the way--are invaluable. But they
will never become Generals unless they mend their manners.
From the perusal of the Belgian protests and of all particulars
received, two things appear clearly: First, in spite of all the official
declarations, whether the raiders are able or not to get hold of the
lists, there is no real discrimination between employed or unemployed.
And, secondly, in many districts, unemployment has been deliberately
created by the authorities in order to justify the deportations.
We cannot discover any method in the raids. In some places, all the
able-bodied men from 17 to 50 are taken away; in others the priests, the
town-clerks, the members of the "Comité de Secours," and the teachers
are left at home; in others still a certain selection is made. _But
everywhere some men who were actually working at the time or even men
who had never been out of work since the beginning of the German
occupation have been obliged to go with the others_. The proportions
vary. In the small town of Gembloux, of a total of 750 inhabitants
deported, _there were only two unemployed_. At Kersbeek-Miscom out of 94
deportees only two had been thrown out of work. At Rillaer, the Germans
have taken 25 boys under 18 years of age.[6] In the district of Mons,
from the numbers taken down in fourteen communes, we gather that the
proportion of the unemployed varies between 10 and 15 per cent. of the
total number of deportees.[7] Among the 400 men taken from Arlon
(Luxembourg) were 43 members of the "Comité de Secours" who were working
in connection with the Commission for Relief, so that not only the
people supporting their families are being deported, but even those who
employed themselves in alleviating the sufferings of the whole
population. This practice has been repeated in several other towns, for
instance, in Gembloux and Libramont.
Whether the people are ordered to present themselves at the town-hall or
seized in their own homes, whether they are taken forthwith or allowed a
few hours to prepare themselves, whether they are forced to sign an
agreement or not, the same fact is evident: the criterion of employment
is never considered as a sufficient cause for exemption.
In certain districts where, in spite of the requisitions, no
unemployment existed, the authorities have manufactured it. Some of the
new coal mines of the Limbourg province have been closed on the eve of
the raids. The case of the Luxembourg province is still more typical.
"We have not to enquire here," declare the senators and deputies of this
province, "if unemployment has been caused in other regions by the
disorganisation of transports, the seizure of raw stuffs and machines,
the constant requisitions, and other measures which were bound to
penalize the national industry. One fact remains incontestable; it is
that, so far as the Luxembourg province is concerned, unemployment has
been non-existent. During the worst periods, we have only had a small
number of unemployed, and thanks to the initiative taken by the 'Comité
de Secours' all, without any exception, have been at work without
interruption." After enumerating a great number of works of public
utility which had been approved by the German authorities, construction
of light railways, drainage of extensive moors, creation of new
plantations, water supplies, etc., ... the report goes on: "And to-day
most of these works, which had been approved and subsidized by the
province and by the State, have been suddenly condemned and
interrupted.... _Such official obstacles to the legitimate and useful
activity of our workmen renders still more painful for them, if
possible, the measures taken against them by those who reproach them for
their idleness and who prosecute them to-day under the pretext of an
inaction which they have deliberately created_."
In the face of such testimony all the German argument crumbles to
pieces. As Monseigneur Mercier puts it decisively: "It is not true that
our workmen have caused any disturbance or even threatened anywhere to
do so. Five million Belgians, hundreds of Americans, never cease to
admire the perfect dignity and patience of our working classes. It is
not true that the workmen, deprived of their work, become a charge on
the occupying power or on public charity under its control. The 'Comité
National,' in whose activity the Germans take no part, is the only
organisation concerned in the matter." But even supposing, for the sake
of argument, that the 43rd article of the Hague Convention should
justify some form of coercion in the matter, the new measures should
only be applied to some works of _public utility in Belgium_. Far from
encouraging such works, the Germans have stopped them, seized _employed
and unemployed_, and sent them either to _Germany_ or to some _war-work_
on the Western front. To put it simply, they wish to avoid public
disturbance where there is no disturbance, to save money which is not
their money, to deport unemployed who are not unemployed, to oblige them
to work against their country instead of for their country, and in
Germany instead of in Belgium. They are doing everything but what they
want to do, they go anywhere but where they are going, and they say
anything but what they are thinking.
[Footnote 6: Letter of Cardinal Mercier to Governor von Bissing, Nov.
29th, 1916.]
[Footnote 7: Reply of the Deputies of Mons to Governor von Bissing, Nov.
27th, 1916.]
* * * * *
The other day I heard two people--two wizened city clerks--discussing
the war in the train. "When and how will the Germans be beaten?" asked
the first. The other shrugged his shoulders and declared solemnly,
while pulling at his pipe: "The Germans? They have been beaten a long
time ago! They were beaten when they set foot for the first time in
Belgium."
The remark is not new, and I daresay it was a reminiscence of some
sentence picked up in a newspaper or at a popular meeting. But whoever
uttered it for the first time was right. The case of Belgium has
uplifted the whole moral atmosphere of the struggle. Since the first
guns boomed around Liège and the first civilians were shot at Visé, a
war which might have been represented, to a certain extent, as a
conflict of interests, has become a conflict of principles. In a way,
the Germans were beaten because, from that moment, they had to struggle
against unseen and inflexible forces. Whatever you choose to call
them--democratic instinct, Christian aspiration, or the conscience of
the civilised world--they will do their work relentlessly, every day of
the year, every hour of the day. It is their doing that, in spite of the
immense financial influence and the most active propaganda, Germany has
become unpopular all over the world. Other facts, like the _Lusitania_,
the trial of Miss Cavell, the work accomplished by Zeppelins, have
contributed to provoke this feeling. But whether we consider the origin
or the last exploits of German policy, whether we think of two years ago
or of to-day, the image of Belgium, of her invasion, of her martyrdom,
of her oppression, of her deportations, dominates the spiritual aspect
of the whole war.
When they crossed the Belgian frontier, the Germans walked straight into
a bog, and since then they have been sucked deeper and deeper into the
mud of their own misdeeds and calumnies. They were ankle-deep at Liège,
waist-deep at Louvain, the bog rises even to their lips to-day. In the
desperate efforts which they make to free themselves they inflict fresh
and worse tortures on their victims. It is as if victory could only be
reached through the country's willing sacrifice. But every cry which the
Germans provoke in the Belgian prison is heard throughout the world,
every tear shed there fills their bitter cup, every drop of blood they
shed falls back on their own heads. The world looks on, and its burning
pity, its ardent sympathy, brings warmth and comfort to the Belgian
slave. There is still some light shining through the narrow window of
the cell. And there is not a man worthy of the name who does not feel
more resolute and more confident in final victory when he meets the
haggard look of the martyred country and watches her pale, patient, and
still smiling face pressed against the iron bars.
VI.
THE OLIVE BRANCH.
We may ask ourselves if it was by chance only or through some subtle
calculation that the first slave-raids in Belgium were timed to take
place on the eve of the Christmas season, when the angels proclaimed
"good-will towards men," and when the German diplomats offered us the
olive branch and the dove--peace at their own price. We may perhaps
admit, now that the crisis is over, that for us Belgians at least the
temptation was great, and if our repeated experience of the enemy had
not shown us that he is most dangerous when he dons the humanitarian
garb, we might have been duped by this remarkable piece of
stage-management. There is every reason to believe that the deportations
were part and parcel of the German peace manoeuvre. By increasing a
hundredfold the "horrors of war" Germany provided a powerful argument to
the pacifists all the world over: "Look at these miserable Belgians.
Have they not suffered enough? Is it not time that an end should be put
to their misery? Germany has declared that she is ready to evacuate the
country. She might even give an indemnity. What other satisfaction can
the Allies ask, considering the present situation on both the Eastern
and Western fronts? If England really went to war to deliver Belgium,
let her prove it now by stopping the struggle to spare her innocent
citizens. It is all very well for those who are living comfortably at
home to urge the continuance of the struggle. But can they take the
responsibility of speaking on behalf of the population which has to
submit to the enemy's rule and whose sufferings increase every day? ..."
We have all listened to that voice. The Belgians in exile more intensely
perhaps than the other Allies. Belgium had nothing whatever to do with
the origin of the quarrel. She had nothing to gain from its conclusion.
She had been drawn unwillingly into the conflict. She has taken arms
merely to defend her rights and territory. What should her answer be if
Germany offered to restore them?
* * * * *
At the beginning of August last, a certain number of Socialist leaders,
in occupied Belgium, succeeded in arranging a meeting, in spite of
German regulations, and passed the following resolution, which they sent
to the Minister Vandervelde, in London: "The Belgian working classes are
decided to endure all sufferings rather than to accept a German peace,
which could neither be lasting nor final. The Allies must not think that
they must hasten the conclusion of the struggle for us. We are not
asking for peace, and we take no responsibility for the Socialist
manifestations made in neutral countries on our behalf. _We ask those
who want to help us not to let the idea that we long for peace influence
their decisions_. We pass this resolution in order to prevent the
disastrous effect, which such an argument might produce."
The Belgium people has never departed from this attitude, and it is the
plain duty of all those who are defending them, to conform, in the
spirit and in the letter, to their heroic message. In the "Appeal" of
the Belgian workers to the civilised world, sent during the worst period
of the slave-raids, the idea of a truce is not even entertained. On the
contrary, the workers declare that, "whatever their tortures may be,
they will not have peace without the independence of their country and
the triumph of justice." An eye-witness of the raids was telling me, a
few days ago, that, on some occasions, the men in the slave trains are
able to communicate with the people outside: "They shout, of course,
'Long live Belgium' and 'Long live King Albert,' but the most frequent
cry, in which they seem to put their last ounce of strength, is: 'Do
not sign,' which means: 'Do not sign an engagement to work in Germany,
do not sign a compromise.'" And I have not the slightest doubt that, if
they had heard of the German peace offers, they would still shout, "Do
not sign, do not sign a German peace!"
We know what this attitude costs them. We know, from the report of those
few men who have been sent back to Belgium from the Western front and
from the German camps, the tortures to which the modern slaves are being
subjected. These men were so ill, so worn out, that their family
scarcely recognised them, and greeted them with tears, not with
laughter. It was like a procession of ghosts coming back from hell. At
Soltau, the prisoners are given only two pints of acorn soup and a
mouldy piece of bread, every day. They are so famished that they creep
at night to steal the potato parings which their German guards throw on
to--the rubbish heap. They divide them amongst themselves and eat them
raw to appease their hunger. After the first week of this régime,
several men went mad. Others were isolated for a few days and given
excellent food. "Will you sign now? If you do, you shall be kept on the
same diet; if not... you go back to camp?" The great majority refused
... and were sent back. This is not an isolated report. All the accounts
agree, even on the smallest details, and the deportees who have been
able to write to their families tell the same story as those who, being
henceforth useless, have been sent home to die.
* * * * *
It has always been the German policy to bully and to cajole almost at
the same time. But the image of Germania offering, with her sweetest
humanitarian smile, an olive-branch to the Allies whilst her
executioners are starving thousands of Belgian slaves and clubbing them
with their rifles, will stand in the memory of mankind as the climax of
combined brutality and hypocrisy.
Should we wonder if the present has been refused? There is only one
peace which matters, it is the peace of man with his own conscience, the
peace of the soul with its God. We have it already, and even the roar of
the German guns will not disturb it. It hovers over our trenches, over
the sea, even over these terrible German camps where the best blood of a
great people is being sucked by the vampires of War. And those who have
fallen stricken on the battlefields, those who have succumbed to the
slow tortures to which they were subjected, are resting now under its
great wings. Should we dare to disturb their sleep? Should we dare to
stain their glory?
It is not for Germany to offer peace. She has lost, it with her honour.
It lies in some pool, at the corner of a wood, where the hooligan waits
in ambush, or on the rubbish heap of the Soltau camp in which men--noble
men--are made to seek their food like pigs. Germany cannot offer what is
not hers to offer. The Allies cannot take what they have already. For
there is only one peace, "the peace that passeth all understanding."
As for the German olive branch, how could we accept it? It is no longer
green. There is a drop of blood on every leaf.
* * * * *
It is perfectly useless to try, as has been done in certain quarters, to
distinguish between Belgium's attitude in the conflict and that of the
Powers who are fighting for the restoration of her integrity. From the
day when England, France and Russia answered King Albert's appeal, the
unflinching policy of Belgium has been to act in perfect harmony with
the Allies. How could it be otherwise? Their cause is her cause. Their
victory will be her victory, and--if we should ever consider the
possibility of defeat--their defeat would be her defeat. The Belgians
who like myself, were in England during these fateful days of August,
1914, when the destiny of Europe hung in the balance, know perfectly
well the decisive influence which the invasion of Belgium had on English
public opinion at that time. Nothing can ever blur the clear outlines of
the events as they passed before us under the implacable rays of that
glorious summer sun.
The whole policy of Germany is determined by her first stroke in the
war. That stroke was delivered against a small nation. The whole policy
of England and of the Allies is determined by their first efforts in the
struggle, and these efforts were made to protect a small nation against
Germany's aggression. Never has the choice between right and wrong been
made plainer in the whole history of the world.