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diff --git a/old/55503-0.txt b/old/55503-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7428aae..0000000 --- a/old/55503-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9404 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Horrors and Atrocities of the Great War, by -Logan Marshall and Gilbert Parker and Vance Thompson and Philip Gibbs - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Horrors and Atrocities of the Great War - Including the Tragic Destruction of the Lusitania - -Author: Logan Marshall - Gilbert Parker - Vance Thompson - Philip Gibbs - -Release Date: September 7, 2017 [EBook #55503] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HORRORS AND ATROCITIES *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Coe, Harry Lamé, Hathi Trust (for some -illustrations) and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - The following transcription has been used: _text_ represents italics - text in the source document, ~text~ underlined text, ^text^ - blackletter, and =text= bold face text. Small capitals have been - replaced by ALL CAPITALS. - - More Transcriber’s Notes may be found at the end of this text. - - - - -[Illustration: MERCILESS MONSTER OF THE DEEP. - -The murderous German submarine sighting its prey. Sinking under water it -launched the fatal torpedo and its helpless victim, crowded with -innocent men, women and children, was doomed.] - - - - - =~HORRORS AND ATROCITIES - OF THE GREAT WAR~= - - =Including the Tragic Destruction of the Lusitania= - - =A NEW KIND OF WARFARE= - ----COMPRISING---- - The Desolation of Belgium, the Sacking of Louvain, the Shelling of - Defenseless Cities, the Wanton Destruction of Cathedrals and Works of - Art, the Horrors of Bomb Dropping - ----VIVIDLY PORTRAYING---- - The Grim Awfulness of this Greatest of All Wars Fought on Land and - Sea, in the Air and Under the Waves, Leaving in Its Wake a Dreadful - Trail of Famine and Pestilence - - =By LOGAN MARSHALL= - Author of “The Sinking of the Titanic,” “Myths and - Legends of All Nations,” etc. - - With Special Chapters by - - =SIR GILBERT PARKER= - Author of “The Right of Way” - - =VANCE THOMPSON= - Author of “Spinners of Life” - - =PHILIP GIBBS= - Author of “The Street of Adventure,” Special - Correspondent on _The London Daily Chronicle_. - - ^=Illustrated=^ - - - COPYRIGHT 1915 - By L. T. MYERS - - - - -INTRODUCTION - -“_Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my -brethren, ye have done it unto me._”--JESUS OF NAZARETH - - -The sight of all Europe engaged in the most terrific conflict in the -history of mankind is a heartrending spectacle. On the east, on the -south and on the west the blood-lust leaders have flung their deluded -millions upon unbending lines of steel, martyrs to the glorification of -Mars. - -We see millions of men taken from their homes, their shops and their -factories; we see them equipped and organized and mobilized for the -express purpose of devastating the homes of other men; we see them -making wreckage of property; we see them wasting, with fire and sword, -the accumulated efforts of generations in the field of things material; -we see the commerce of the world brought to a standstill, all its -transportation systems interrupted, and, still worse, the amenities of -life so placed in jeopardy for long generations to come that the -progress of the world is halted, its material and physical progress -turned to retrogression. - - “_Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my - brethren, ye have done it unto me!_” - -But this is not the worst. We see myriads of men banded together to -practice open violation of the very fundamental tenets of humanity; we -see the worst passions of mankind, murder, theft, lust, arson, -pillage--all the baser possibilities of human nature--coming to the -surface. Outside of the natural killing of war, hundreds of men have -been murdered, often with incidents of the most revolting brutality; -children have been slaughtered; women have been outraged, killed and -shamefully mutilated. And this we see among peoples who have no possible -cause for personal quarrel. - - “_Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my - brethren, ye have done it unto me!_” - -To all human beings of normal mentality it must have seemed that the -destruction of the Lusitania marked the apex of horror. There is, -indeed, nothing in modern history--nothing, at least, since the Black -Hole of Calcutta and some of the indescribable atrocities of Kurdish -fanatics--to supply the mind with a vantage ground from which to measure -the causeless and profitless savagery of this black deed of murder. - -To talk of “warning” having been given on the day the Lusitania sailed -is puerile. So does the Black Hand send its warnings. So does Jack the -Ripper write his defiant letters to the police. Nothing of this prevents -us from regarding such miscreants as wild beasts, against whom society -has to defend itself at all hazards. - -There are many reasons but not a single excuse for the war. When a man, -or a nation, wants what a rival holds and makes a violent effort to -enter into possession thereof, right and conscience and duty before God -and to one’s neighbor are forgotten in the struggle. Man reverts to the -brute. Loose rein is given to passion, and the worst appears. The fair -edifice of sobriety and amity and just dealing between man and man, -upreared by civilization in centuries of travail, is rent asunder, stone -from stone. The inner shrine of the inalienable sense of human -brotherhood is profaned. One cannot reconcile with any program for the -lasting accomplishment of good and the victory of the truth, this fever -of murder on a grand scale, this insensate madness of pillage and -slaughter that goes from alarum and counter-alarum to overt acts of -fiendish and sickening brutality, palliated because they are done by -anonymous thousands instead of by one man who can be named. - - “_Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my - brethren, ye have done it unto me!_” - -It is civilization that is being shot down by machine guns in Europe. -That great German host is not made up of mercenaries, nor of the type of -men that at one time composed armies. There are Ehrlichs serving as -privates in the ranks and in the French corps are Rostands. A bullet -does not kill a man; it destroys a generation of learning, annihilates -the mentality which was about to be humanity’s instrument in unearthing -another of nature’s secrets. The very vehicles of progress are the -victims. It will take years to train their equals, decades perhaps to -reproduce the intelligence that was ripe to do its work. The chances of -the acquisition of knowledge are being sacrificed. Far more than half of -the learning on which the world depends for progress is turned from -laboratories and workshops into the destructive arenas of battle. - -It is indeed a war against civilization. The personnel of the armies -makes it so. Every battle is the sacrifice of human assets that cannot -be replaced. That is the real tragedy of this stupendous conflict. - -Perhaps it is better that the inevitable has come so soon. The burden of -preparation was beginning to stagger Europe. There may emerge from the -whirlpool new dynasties, new methods, new purposes. This may be the -furnace necessary to purge humanity of its brutal perspective. The -French Revolution gave an impulse to democracy which it has never lost. -This conflict may teach men the folly of dying for trade or avarice. But -whatever it does, it is not too much to hope that the capital and energy -of humanity will become again manifest in justice and moral achievement, -until the place of a nation on the map becomes absolutely subordinate to -the place it occupies in the uplift of humanity. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - INTRODUCTION 3 - I. THE SUPREME CRIME AGAINST CIVILIZATION: THE TRAGIC - DESTRUCTION OF THE LUSITANIA 9 - II. THE HEROES OF THE LUSITANIA AND THEIR HEROISM 22 - III. SOUL-STIRRING STORIES OF SURVIVORS OF THE LUSITANIA 34 - IV. A CANADIAN’S ACCOUNT OF THE LUSITANIA HORROR 50 - V. THE PLOT AGAINST THE RESCUE SHIPS 55 - VI. BRITISH JURY FINDS KAISER A MURDERER 61 - VII. THE WORLD-WIDE INDICTMENT OF GERMANY FOR THE LUSITANIA - ATROCITY 69 - VIII. AMERICA’S PROTEST AGAINST UNCIVILIZED WARFARE 81 - IX. THE GERMAN DEFENSE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE LUSITANIA 91 - X. SWIFT REVERSAL TO BARBARISM 101 - By Vance Thompson, American Author and Journalist. - XI. BELGIUM’S BITTER NEED 112 - By Sir Gilbert Parker, M.P., British Novelist. - XII. JAMES BRYCE’S REPORT ON SYSTEMATIC MASSACRE IN BELGIUM 121 - XIII. A BELGIAN BOY’S STORY OF THE RUIN OF AERSCHOT 137 - XIV. THE UNSPEAKABLE ATROCITIES OF “CIVILIZED WARFARE” 144 - XV. DESTROYING THE PRICELESS MONUMENTS OF CIVILIZATION 159 - XVI. WANTON DESTRUCTION OF THE BEAUTIFUL CATHEDRAL OF RHEIMS 169 - XVII. CANADIANS’ GLORIOUS FEAT AT LANGEMARCK 177 - XVIII. PITIFUL FLIGHT OF A MILLION WOMEN 195 - By Philip Gibbs, English Author and Journalist. - XIX. FACING DEATH IN THE TRENCHES 207 - XX. A VIVID PICTURE OF WAR 221 - XXI. HARROWING SCENES ALONG THE BATTLE LINES 228 - XXII. WHAT THE MEN IN THE TRENCHES WRITE HOME 234 - XXIII. BOMBARDING UNDEFENDED CITIES 240 - XXIV. GERMANY’S FATAL WAR ZONE 246 - XXV. MULTITUDINOUS TRAGEDIES AT SEA 251 - XXVI. HOW “NEUTRAL” WATERS ARE VIOLATED 255 - XXVII. THE TERRIBLE DISTRESS OF POLAND 259 - XXVIII. THE GHASTLY HAVOC WROUGHT BY THE AIR-DEMONS 267 - XXIX. THE DEADLY SUBMARINE AND ITS STEALTHY DESTRUCTION 273 - XXX. THE TERRIBLE WORK OF ARTILLERY IN WAR 280 - XXXI. WHOLESALE SLAUGHTER BY POISONOUS GASES 286 - XXXII. “USAGES OF WAR ON LAND”: THE OFFICIAL GERMAN MANUAL 294 - XXXIII. THE SACRIFICE OF THE HORSE IN WARFARE 299 - XXXIV. SCOURGES THAT FOLLOW IN THE WAKE OF BATTLE 303 - XXXV. WAR’S REPAIR SHOP: CARING FOR THE WOUNDED 308 - XXXVI. WHAT WILL THE HORRORS AND ATROCITIES OF THE GREAT WAR - LEAD TO? 314 - -[Illustration: THE GIANT STEAMSHIP “LUSITANIA” TORPEDOED BY THE GERMANS -OFF THE COAST OF IRELAND. - -The English Cunarder, “Lusitania,” one of the largest and fastest -passenger vessels in the world, was torpedoed and sunk by a German -submarine in a few minutes with the loss of two-thirds of her passengers -and crew, among whom were more than one hundred American citizens. The -vessel was entirely unarmed and a noncombatant. (_Copyright by Underwood -and Underwood._)] - -[Illustration: THE GERMAN SUBMARINE AND HOW IT WORKS. - -Upper left picture shows a section at center of the vessel. Upper right -view shows the submarine at the surface with two torpedo tubes visible -at the stern. The large picture illustrates how this monster attacks a -vessel like the Lusitania by launching a torpedo beneath the water while -securing its observation through the periscope, just above the waves.] - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE SUPREME CRIME AGAINST CIVILIZATION: THE TRAGIC DESTRUCTION OF THE -LUSITANIA - - AN UNPRECEDENTED CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY -- THE LUSITANIA: BUILT FOR - SAFETY -- GERMANY’S ANNOUNCED INTENTION TO SINK THE VESSEL -- LINER’S - SPEED INCREASED AS DANGER NEARED -- SUBMARINE’S PERISCOPE DIPS UNDER - SURFACE -- PASSENGERS OVERCOME BY POISONOUS FUMES -- BOAT CAPSIZES - WITH WOMEN AND CHILDREN -- HUNDREDS JUMP INTO THE SEA -- THE LUSITANIA - GOES TO HER DOOM -- INTERVIEW WITH CAPTAIN TURNER. - - -No thinking man--whether he believes or disbelieves in war--expects to -have war without the horrors and atrocities which accompany it. That -“war is hell” is as true now as when General Sherman so pronounced it. -It seems, indeed, to be truer today. And yet we have always -thought--perhaps because we hoped--that there was a limit at which even -war, with all its lust of blood, with all its passion of hatred, with -all its devilish zest for efficiency in the destruction of human life, -would stop. - -Now we know that there is no limit at which the makers of war, in their -frenzy to pile horror on horror, and atrocity on atrocity, will stop. We -have seen a nation despoiled and raped because it resisted an invader, -and we said that was war. But now out of the sun-lit waves has come a -venomous instrument of destruction, and without warning, without respite -for escape, has sent headlong to the bottom of the everlasting sea more -than a thousand unarmed, unresisting, peace-bent men, women and -children--even babes in arms. So the Lusitania was sunk. It may be war, -but it is something incalculably more sobering than merely that. It is -the difference between assassination and massacre. It is war’s supreme -crime against civilization. - - -AN UNPRECEDENTED CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY - -The horror of the deadly assault on the Lusitania does not lessen as the -first shock of the disaster recedes into the past. The world is aghast. -It had not taken the German threat at full value; it did not believe -that any civilized nation would be so wanton in its lust and passion of -war as to count a thousand non-combatant lives a mere unfortunate -incidental of the carnage. - -Nothing that can be said in mitigation of the destruction of the -Lusitania can alter the fact that an outrage unknown heretofore in the -warfare of civilized nations has been committed. Regardless of the -technicalities which may be offered as a defense in international law, -there are rights which must be asserted, must be defended and -maintained. If international law can be torn to shreds and converted -into scrap paper to serve the necessities of war, its obstructive letter -can be disregarded when it is necessary to serve the rights of -humanity. - -[Illustration: THE TRIUMPH OF HATE.] - - -THE LUSITANIA: BUILT FOR “SAFETY” - -The irony of the situation lies in the fact that from the ghastly -experience of great marine disasters the Lusitania was evolved as a -vessel that was “safe.” No such calamity as the attack of a torpedo was -foreseen by the builders of the giant ship, and yet, even after the -outbreak of the European war, and when upon the eve of her last voyage -the warning came that an attempt would be made to torpedo the Lusitania, -her owners confidently assured the world that the ship was safe because -her great speed would enable her to outstrip any submarine ever built. - -Limitation of language makes adequate word description of this mammoth -Cunarder impossible. The following figures show its immense dimensions: -Length, 790 feet; breadth, 88 feet; depth, to boat deck, 80 feet; -draught, fully loaded, 37 feet, 6 inches; displacement on load line, -45,000 tons; height to top of funnels, 155 feet; height to mastheads, -216 feet. The hull below draught line was divided into 175 water-tight -compartments, which made it--so the owners claimed--“unsinkable.” With -complete safety device equipment, including wireless telegraph, -Mundy-Gray improved method of submarine signaling, and with officers and -crew all trained and reliable men, the Lusitania was acclaimed as being -unexcelled from a standpoint of safety, as in all other respects. - -Size, however, was its least remarkable feature. The ship was propelled -by four screws rotated by turbine engines of 68,000 horse-power, capable -of developing a sea speed of more than twenty-five knots per hour -regardless of weather conditions, and of maintaining without driving a -schedule with the regularity of a railroad train, and thus establishing -its right to the title of “the fastest ocean greyhound.” - - -GERMANY’S ANNOUNCED INTENTION TO SINK THE VESSEL - -On Saturday May 1, 1915, the day on which the Cunard liner Lusitania, -carrying 2,000 passengers and crew, sailed from New York for Liverpool, -the following advertisement, over the name of the Imperial German -Embassy, was published in the leading newspapers of the United States: - - NOTICE! - - TRAVELERS intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that - a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain - and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to - the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the - Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, - or of any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and - that travelers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain or - her allies do so at their own risk. - - IMPERIAL GERMAN EMBASSY. - WASHINGTON, D. C., April 22, 1915. - -The advertisement was commented upon by the passengers of the Lusitania, -but it did not cause any of them to cancel their bookings. No one took -the matter seriously. It was not conceivable that even the German -military lords could seriously plot so dastardly an attack on -non-combatants. - -When the attention of Captain W. T. Turner, commander of the Lusitania, -was called to the warning, he laughed and said: “It doesn’t seem as if -they had scared many people from going on the ship by the looks of the -passenger list.” - -Agents of the Cunard Line said there was no truth in reports that -several prominent passengers had received anonymous telegrams warning -them not to sail on the Lusitania. Charles T. Bowring, president of the -St. George’s Society, who was a passenger, said that it was a silly -performance for the German Embassy to do. - -Charles Klein, the American playwright, said he was going to devote his -time on the voyage to thinking of his new play, “Potash and Perlmutter -in Society,” and would not have time to worry about trifles. - -Alfred G. Vanderbilt was one of the last to go on board. - -Elbert Hubbard, publisher of the Philistine, who sailed with his wife, -said he believed the German Emperor had ordered the advertisement to be -placed in the newspapers, and added jokingly that if he was on board the -liner when she was torpedoed, he would be able to do the Kaiser justice -in the Philistine. - -The early days of the voyage were unmarked by incidents other than those -which have interested ocean passengers on countless previous trips, and -little apprehension was felt by those on the Lusitania of the fate which -lay ahead of the vessel. - -The ship was proceeding at a moderate speed, on Friday, May 7, when she -passed Fastnet Light, off Cape Clear, the extreme southwesterly point of -Ireland that is first sighted by east-bound liners. Captain Turner was -on the bridge, with his staff captain and other officers, maintaining a -close lookout. Fastnet left behind, the Lusitania’s course was brought -closer to shore, probably within twelve miles of the rock-bound coast. - - -LINER’S SPEED INCREASED AS DANGER NEARED - -Her speed was also increased to twenty knots or more, according to the -more observant passengers, and some declare that she worked a sort of -zigzag course, plainly ready to shift her helm whenever danger should -appear. Captain Turner, it is known, was watching closely for any -evidence of submarines. - -One of the passengers, Dr. Daniel Moore, of Yankton, S. D., declared -that before he went downstairs to luncheon shortly after one o’clock he -and others with him noticed, through a pair of marine glasses, a curious -object in the sea, possibly two miles or more away. What it was he could -not determine, but he jokingly referred to it later at luncheon as a -submarine. - -While the first cabin passengers were chatting over their coffee cups -they felt the ship give a great leap forward. Full speed ahead had -suddenly been signaled from the bridge. This was a few minutes after two -o’clock, and just about the time that Ellison Myers, of Stratford, -Ontario, a boy on his way to join the British Navy, noticed the -periscope of a submarine about a mile away to starboard. Myers and his -companions saw Captain Turner hurriedly give orders to the helmsman and -ring for full speed to the engine room. - -The Lusitania began to swerve to starboard, heading for the submarine, -but before she could really answer her helm a torpedo was flashing -through the water toward her at express speed. Myers and his companions, -like many others of the passengers, saw the white wake of the torpedo -and its metal casing gleaming in the bright sunlight. The weather was -ideal, light winds and a clear sky making the surface of the ocean as -calm and smooth as could be wished by any traveler. - - -SUBMARINE’S PERISCOPE DIPS UNDER SURFACE - -The torpedo came on, aimed apparently at the bow of the ship, but nicely -calculated to hit her amidships. Before its wake was seen the periscope -of the submarine had vanished beneath the surface. - -In far less time than it takes to tell, the torpedo had crashed into the -Lusitania’s starboard side, just abaft the first funnel, and exploded -with a dull boom in the forward stoke-hole. - -Captain Turner at once ordered the helm put over and the prow of the -ship headed for land, in the hope that she might strike shallow water -while still under way. The boats were ordered out, and the signals -calling the boat crews to their stations were flashed everywhere through -the vessel. - -Several of the life-boats were already swung out, according to some -survivors, there having been a life-saving drill earlier in the day -before the ship spoke Fastnet Light. - -Down in the dining saloon the passengers felt the ship reel from the -shock of the explosion and many were hurled from their chairs. Before -they could recover themselves, another explosion occurred. There is a -difference of opinion as to the number of torpedoes fired. Some say -there were two; others say only one torpedo struck the vessel, and that -the second explosion was internal. - - -PASSENGERS OVERCOME BY POISONOUS FUMES - -In any event, the passengers now realized their danger. The ship, torn -almost apart, was filled with fumes and smoke, the decks were covered -with débris that fell from the sky, and the great Lusitania began to -list quickly to starboard. Before the passengers below decks could make -their way above, the decks were beginning to slant ominously, and the -air was filled with the cries of terrified men and women, some of them -already injured by being hurled against the sides of the saloons. Many -passengers were stricken unconscious by the smoke and fumes from the -exploding torpedoes. - -The stewards and stewardesses, recognizing the too evident signs of a -sinking ship, rushed about urging and helping the passengers to put on -life-belts, of which more than 3,000 were aboard. - -On the boat deck attempts were being made to lower the life-boats, but -several causes combined to impede the efforts of the crew in this -direction. The port side of the vessel was already so far up that the -boats on that side were quite useless, and as the starboard boats were -lowered the plunging vessel--she was still under headway, for all -efforts to reverse the engines proved useless--swung back and forth, and -when they struck the water were dragged along through the sea, making it -almost impossible to get them away. - - -BOAT CAPSIZES WITH WOMEN AND CHILDREN - -The first life-boat that struck the water capsized with some sixty women -and children aboard her, and all of these must have been drowned almost -instantly. Ten more boats were lowered, the desperate expedient of -cutting away the ropes being resorted to to prevent them from being -dragged along by the now halting steamer. - -The great ship was sinking by the bow, foot by foot, and in ten minutes -after the first explosion she was already preparing to founder. Her -stern rose high in the air, so that those in the boats that got away -could see the whirring propellers, and even the boat deck was awash. - -Captain Turner urged the men to be calm, to take care of the women and -children, and megaphoned the passengers to seize life-belts, -chairs--anything they could lay hands on to save themselves from -drowning. There was never any question in the captain’s mind that the -ship was about to sink, and if, as reported, some of the stewards ran -about advising the passengers not to take to the boats, that there was -no danger of the vessel going down till she reached shore, it was done -without his orders. But many of the survivors have denied this, and -declared that all the crew, officers, stewards and sailors, even the -stokers, who dashed up from their flaming quarters below, showed the -utmost bravery and calmness in the face of the disaster, and sought in -every way to aid the panic-stricken passengers to get off the ship. - - -HUNDREDS JUMP INTO THE SEA - -When it was seen that most of the boats would be useless, hundreds of -passengers donned life-belts and jumped into the sea. Others seized deck -chairs, tubs, kegs, anything available, and hurled themselves into the -water, clinging to these articles. - -The first-cabin passengers fared worst, for the second- and third-cabin -travelers had long before finished their midday meal and were on deck -when the torpedo struck. But the first-cabin people on the D deck and in -the balcony, at luncheon, were at a terrible disadvantage, and those who -had already finished were in their staterooms resting or cleaning up -preparatory to the after luncheon day. - -The confusion on the stairways became terrible, and the great number of -little children, more than 150 of them under two years, a great many of -them infants in arms, made the plight of the women still more desperate. - - -LUSITANIA GOES TO HER DOOM - -After the life-boats had cut adrift it was plain that a few seconds -would see the end of the great ship. With a great shiver she bent her -bow down below the surface, and then her stern uprose, and with a -horrible sough the liner that had been the pride of the Cunard Line, -plunged down in sixty fathoms of water. In the last few seconds the -hundreds of women and men, a great many of them carrying children in -their arms, leaped overboard, but hundreds of others, delaying the jump -too long, were carried down in the suction that left a huge whirlpool -swirling about the spot where the last of the vessel was seen. - -Among these were Elbert Hubbard and his wife, Charles Frohman, who was -crippled with rheumatism and unable to move quickly; Justus Miles -Forman, Charles Klein, Alfred G. Vanderbilt and many others of the -best-known Americans and Englishmen aboard. - -Captain Turner stayed on the bridge as the ship went down, but before -the last plunge he bade his staff officer and the helmsman, who were -still with him, to save themselves. The helmsman leaped into the sea and -was saved, but the staff officer would not desert his superior, and went -down with the ship. He did not come to the surface again. - -Captain Turner, however, a strong swimmer, rose after the eddying -whirlpool had calmed down, and, seizing a couple of deck chairs, kept -himself afloat for three hours. The master-at-arms of the Lusitania, -named Williams, who was looking for survivors in a boat after he had -been picked up, saw the flash of the captain’s gold-braided uniform, and -rescued him, more dead than alive. - - -INTERVIEW WITH CAPTAIN TURNER - -Despite the doubt as to whether two torpedoes exploded, or whether the -first detonation caused the big liner’s boilers to let go, Captain -Turner stated that there was no doubt that at least two torpedoes -reached the ship. - -“I am not certain whether the two explosions--and there were -two--resulted from torpedoes, or whether one was a boiler explosion. I -am sure, however, that I saw the first torpedo strike the vessel on her -starboard side. I also saw a second torpedo apparently headed straight -for the steamship’s hull, directly below the suite occupied by Alfred G. -Vanderbilt.” - -When asked if the second explosion had been caused by the blowing up of -ammunition stored in the liner’s hull, Captain Turner said: - -“No; if ammunition had exploded that would probably have torn the ship -apart and the loss of life would have been much heavier than it was.” - -Captain Turner declared that, from the bridge, he saw the torpedo -streaking toward the Lusitania and tried to change the ship’s course to -avoid the missile, but was unable to do so in time. The only thing left -for him to do was to rush the liner ashore and beach her, and she was -headed for the Irish coast when she foundered. - -According to Captain Turner, the German submarine did not flee at once -after torpedoing the liner. - -“While I was swimming about after the ship had disappeared I saw the -periscope of the submarine rise amidst the débris,” said he. “Instead of -offering any help the submarine immediately submerged herself and I saw -nothing more of her. I did everything possible for my passengers. That -was all I could do.” - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE HEROES OF THE LUSITANIA AND THEIR HEROISM - - ALFRED G. VANDERBILT GAVE LIFE FOR A WOMAN -- CHARLES FROHMAN DIED - WITHOUT FEAR -- SAVING THE BABIES -- TORONTO GIRL OF FOURTEEN PROVES - HEROINE -- HEROISM OF CAPTAIN TURNER AND HIS CREW -- WOMAN RESCUED - WITH DEAD BABY AT HER BREAST -- HEROIC WIRELESS OPERATORS -- SAVED HIS - WIFE AND HELPED IN RESCUE WORK--“SAVED ALL THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN WE - COULD.” - - -Every great calamity produces its great heroes. Particularly is this -true of marine disasters, where the opportunities of escape are limited, -and where the heroism of the strong often impels them to stand back and -give place to the weak. One cannot think of the Titanic disaster without -remembering Major Archibald Butt, Colonel John Jacob Astor, Henry B. -Harris, William T. Stead and others, nor of the sinking of the Empress -of Ireland without calling to mind Dr. James F. Grant, the ship’s -surgeon; Sir Henry Seton-Karr, Lawrence Irving, H. R. O’Hara of Toronto, -and the rest of the noble company of heroes. So the destruction of the -Lusitania brought uppermost in the breasts of many those qualities of -fortitude and self-sacrifice which will forever mark them in the -calendar of the world’s martyrs. - - -ALFRED G. VANDERBILT GAVE LIFE FOR A WOMAN - -Among the Lusitania’s heroes, one of the foremost was Alfred Gwynne -Vanderbilt, one of America’s wealthiest men. With everything to live -for, Mr. Vanderbilt sacrificed his one chance for escape from the doomed -Lusitania, in order that a woman might live. Details of the chivalry he -displayed in those last moments when he tore off a life-belt as he was -about to leap into the sea, and strapped it around a young woman, were -told by three of the survivors. - -Mr. Vanderbilt could not swim, and when he gave up his life-belt it was -with the virtual certainty that he was surrendering his only chance for -life. - -Thomas Slidell, of New York, said he saw Mr. Vanderbilt on the deck as -the Lusitania was sinking. He was equipped with a life-belt and was -climbing over the rail, when a young woman rushed onto the deck. Mr. -Vanderbilt saw her as he stood poised to leap into the sea. Without -hesitating a moment he jumped back to the deck, tore off the life-belt, -strapped it around the young woman and dropped her overboard. - -The Lusitania plunged under the waves a few minutes later and Mr. -Vanderbilt was seen to be drawn into the vortex. - -Norman Ratcliffe, of Gillingham, Kent, and Wallace B. Phillips, a -newspaper man, also saw Mr. Vanderbilt sink with the Lusitania. The -coolness and heroism he showed were marvelous, they said. - -Oliver P. Bernard, scenic artist at Covent Garden, saw Mr. Vanderbilt -standing near the entrance to the grand saloon soon after the vessel was -torpedoed. - -“He was the personification of sportsmanlike coolness,” Mr. Bernard -said. “In his right hand was grasped what looked to me like a large -purple leather jewel case. It may have belonged to Lady Mackworth, as -Mr. Vanderbilt had been much in the company of the Thomas party during -the trip and evidently had volunteered to do Lady Mackworth the service -of saving her gems for her.” - -Another touching incident was told of Mr. Vanderbilt by Mrs. Stanley L. -B. Lines, a Canadian, who said: “Mr. Vanderbilt will in the future be -remembered as the ‘children’s hero.’ I saw him standing outside the palm -saloon on the starboard side, with Ronald Denit. He looked upon the -scene before him, and then, turning to his valet, said: - -“‘Find all the kiddies you can and bring them here.’ The servant rushed -off and soon reappeared, herding a flock of little ones. Mr. Vanderbilt, -catching a child under each arm, ran with them to a life-boat and dumped -them in. He then threw in two more, and continued at his task until all -the young ones were in the boat. Then he turned his attention to aiding -the women into boats.” - - -CHARLES FROHMAN DIED WITHOUT FEAR - -“Why fear death? It is the most beautiful adventure in life,” were the -last words of Charles Frohman before he went down with the Lusitania, -according to Miss Rita Jolivet, an American actress, with whom he talked -calmly just before the end came. - -Miss Jolivet, who was among the survivors taken to Queenstown, said she -and Mr. Frohman were standing on deck as the Lusitania heeled over. They -decided not to trust themselves to life-boats, although Mr. Frohman -believed the ship was doomed. It was after reaching this decision that -he declared he had no fear of death. - -[Illustration: ESCAPING A TORPEDO BY RAPID MANEUVERING. - -This British destroyer escaped a torpedo from a hunted submarine by -quick turning. This incident took place at the naval fight off the -island of Heligoland, in October. (_Copyright, The Sun News Service._)] - -[Illustration: A NEW WEAPON IN WARFARE. - -One of the Belgian armored motor cars surprising a party of Uhlans. -Several of the enemy were killed by the rapid fire from swivel machine -gun and rifle, but the car driven at a furious pace was wrecked on a -fallen horse.] - -[Illustration: GERMANY’S OFFICIAL PAID ADVERTISEMENT FOREWARNING -AMERICANS AGAINST DISASTER; MAP SHOWING WHERE IT TOOK PLACE. - -This advertisement was wired to forty American newspapers by Count von -Bernstorff, German Ambassador at Washington. It was ordered inserted on -the morning of the day the Lusitania sailed.] - -Dr. F. Warren Pearl, of New York, who was saved, with his wife and two -of their four children, corroborated Miss Jolivet’s statement, saying: - -“After the first shock, as I made my way to the deck, I saw Charles -Frohman distributing life-belts. Mr. Frohman evidently did not expect to -escape, as he said to a woman passenger, ‘Why should we fear death? It -is the greatest adventure man can have.’” - -Sir James M. Barrie, in a tribute to Charles Frohman, published in the -London Daily Mail, describes him as “the man who never broke his word. - -“His companies were as children to him. He chided them as children, -soothed them as children and forgave them and certainly loved them as -children. He exulted in those who became great in that world, and gave -them beautiful toys to play with; but great as was their devotion to -him, it is not they who will miss him most, but rather the far greater -number who never made a hit, but set off like all the rest, and fell by -the way. He was of so sympathetic a nature; he understood so well the -dismalness to them of being failures, that he saw them as children, with -their knuckles to their eyes, and then he sat back cross-legged on his -chair, with his knuckles, as it were, to his eyes, and life had lost its -flavor for him until he invented a scheme for giving them another -chance. - -“Perhaps it is fitting that all those who only made for honest mirth and -happiness should now go out of the world; because it is too wicked for -them. It is strange to think that in America, Dernburg and Bernstorff, -who we must believe were once good men, too, have an extra smile with -their breakfast roll because they and theirs have drowned Charles -Frohman.” - - -SAVING THE BABIES - -The presence of so many babies on board the Lusitania was due to the -influx from Canada of the English-born wives of Canadians at the battle -front, who were coming to England to live with their own or their -husband’s parents during the war. - -No more pathetic loss has been recorded than that of F. G. Webster, a -Toronto contractor, who was traveling second class with his wife, their -six-year-old son Frederick and year-old twin sons William and Henry. -They reached the deck with others who were in the dining saloon when the -torpedo struck. Webster took his son by the hand and darted away to -bring life-belts. When he returned his wife and babies were not to be -seen, nor have they been since. - -W. Harkless, an assistant purser, busied himself helping others until -the Lusitania was about to founder. Then, seeing a life-boat striking -the water that was not overcrowded, he made a rush for it. The only -person he encountered was little Barbara Anderson, of Bridgeport, Conn., -who was standing alone, clinging to the rail. Gathering her up in his -arms he leaped over the rail and into the boat, doing this without -injuring the child. - -Francis J. Luker, a British subject, who had worked six years in the -United States as a postal clerk, and was going home to enlist, saved two -babies. He found the little passengers, bereft of their mother, in the -shelter of a deck-house. The Lusitania was nearing her last plunge. A -life-boat was swaying to the water below. Grabbing the babies he ran to -the rail and made a flying leap into the craft, and those babies did not -leave his arms until they were set safely ashore hours later. - -One woman, a passenger on the Lusitania, lost all three of her children -in the disaster, and gave the bodies of two of them to the sea herself. -When the ship went down she held up the three children in the water, -shrieking for help. When rescued two were dead. Their room was required -and the mother was brave enough to realize it. - -“Give them to me!” she shrieked. “Give them to me, my bonnie wee things. -I will bury them. They are mine to bury as they were mine to keep.” - -With her form shaking with sorrow she took hold of each little one from -the rescuers and reverently placed it in the water again, and the people -in the boat wept with her as she murmured a little sobbing prayer. - -Just as the rescuers were landing her third and only remaining child -died. - - -TORONTO GIRL OF FOURTEEN PROVES HEROINE - -Even the young girls and women on the Lusitania proved themselves -heroines during the last few moments and met their fate calmly or rose -to emergencies which called for great bravery and presence of mind. - -Fourteen-year-old Kathleen Kaye was returning from Toronto, where she -had been visiting relatives. With a merry smile on her lips and with a -steady patter of reassurance, she aided the stewards who were filling -one of the life-boats. - -Soon after the girl took her own place in the boat one of the sailors -fainted under the strain of the efforts to get the boat clear of the -maelstrom that marked where the liner went down. Miss Kaye took the -abandoned oar and rowed until the boat was out of danger. None among the -survivors bore fewer signs of their terrible experiences than Miss -Kaye, who spent most of her time comforting and assisting her sisters in -misfortune. - - -HEROISM OF CAPTAIN TURNER AND HIS CREW - -Ernest Cowper, a Toronto newspaper man, praised the work of the -Lusitania’s crew in their efforts to get the passengers into the boats. -Mr. Cowper told of having observed the ship watches keeping a strict -lookout for submarines as soon as the ship began to near the coast. - -“The crew proceeded to get the passengers into boats in an orderly, -prompt and efficient manner. Helen Smith, a child, begged me to save -her. I placed her in a boat and saw her safely away. I got into one of -the last boats to leave. - -“Some of the boats could not be launched, as the vessel was sinking. -There was a large number of women and children in the second cabin. -Forty of the children were less than a year old.” - - -WOMAN RESCUED WITH DEAD BABY AT HER BREAST - -R. J. Timmis, of Gainesville, Tex., a cotton buyer, who was saved after -he had given his life-belt to a woman steerage passenger who carried a -baby, told of the loss of his friend, R. T. Moodie, also of Gainesville. -Moodie could not swim, but he took off his life-belt also and put it on -a woman who had a six-months-old child in her arms. Timmis tried to help -Moodie, and they both clung to some wreckage for a while, but presently -Moodie could hold out no longer and sank. When Timmis was dragged into a -boat which he helped to right--it had been overturned in the suction of -the sinking vessel--one of the first persons he assisted into the boat -was the steerage woman to whom he had given his belt. She still carried -her baby at her breast, but it was dead from exposure. - - -HEROIC WIRELESS OPERATORS - -Oliver P. Brainard told of the bravery of the wireless operators who -stuck to their work of summoning help even after it was evident that -only a few minutes could elapse before the vessel must go down. He said: - -“The wireless operators were working the emergency outfit, the main -installation having been put out of gear instantaneously after the -torpedo exploded. They were still awaiting a reply and were sending out -the S. O. S. call. - -“I looked out to sea and saw a man, undressed, floating quietly on his -back in the water, evidently waiting to be picked up rather than to take -the chance of getting away in a boat. He gave me an idea and I took off -my jacket and waistcoat, put my money in my trousers pocket, unlaced my -boots and then returned to the Marconi men. - -“The assistant operator said, ‘Hush! we are still hoping for an answer. -We don’t know yet whether the S. O. S. calls have been picked up or -not.’ - -“At that moment the chief operator turned around, saying, ‘They’ve got -it!’ - -“At that very second the emergency apparatus also broke down. The -operator had left the room, but he dashed back and brought out a kodak. -He knelt on the deck, now listing at an angle of thirty-five degrees, -and took a photograph looking forward. - -“The assistant, a big, cheerful chap, lugged out the operator’s swivel -chair and offered it to me with a laugh, saying: ‘Take a seat and make -yourself comfortable.’ He let go the chair and it careened down the deck -and over into the sea.” - -F. J. Gauntlet, of New York and Washington, traveling in company with A. -L. Hopkins, president of the Newport News Shipbuilding Company, and S. -M. Knox, president of the New York Shipbuilding Company, of -Philadelphia, unconsciously told the story of his own heroism. He said: - -“I was lingering in the dining saloon chatting with friends when the -first explosion occurred. Some of us went to our staterooms and put on -life-belts. Going on deck we were informed that there was no danger, but -the bow of the vessel was gradually sinking. The work of launching the -boats was done in a few minutes. Fifty or sixty people entered the first -boat. As it swung from the davits it fell suddenly and I think most of -the occupants perished. The other boats were launched with the greatest -difficulty. - -“Swinging free from one of these as it descended, I grabbed what I -supposed was a piece of wreckage. I found it to be a collapsible boat, -however. I had great difficulty in getting it open, finally having to -rip the canvas with my knife. Soon another passenger came alongside and -entered the collapsible with me. We paddled around and between us we -rescued thirty people from the water.” - - -SAVED HIS WIFE AND HELPED IN RESCUE WORK - -George A. Kessler, of New York, said: - -“A list to starboard had set in as we were climbing the stairs and it -had so rapidly increased by the time we reached the deck, that we were -falling against the taffrail. I managed to get my wife onto the -first-class deck and there three boats were being got out. - -“I placed her in the third, kissed her good-by and saw the boat lowered -safely. Then I turned to look for a life-belt for myself. The ship now -started to go down. I fell into the water, some kind soul throwing me a -life-belt at the same time. Ten minutes later I found myself beside a -raft on which were some survivors, who pulled me onto it. We cruised -around looking for others and managed to pick up a few, making in all -perhaps sixteen or seventeen persons who were on the raft. In all -directions were scattered persons struggling for their lives and the -boats gave what help they could.” - - -“SAVED ALL THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN WE COULD” - -W. G. E. Meyers, of Stratford, Ont., a lad of sixteen years, who was on -his way to join the British navy as a cadet, told this story: - -“I went below to get a life-belt and met a woman who was frenzied with -fear. I tried to calm her and helped her into a boat. Then I saw a boat -which was nearly swamped. I got into it with other men and baled it out. -Then a crowd of men clambered into it and nearly swamped it. - -“We had got only two hundred yards away when the Lusitania sank, bow -first. Many persons sank with her, drawn down by the suction. Their -shrieks were appalling. We had to pull hard to get away, and, as it was, -we were almost dragged down. We saved all the women and children we -could, but a great many of them went down.” - -H. Smethhurst, a steerage passenger, put his wife into a life-boat, and -in spite of her urging refused to accompany her, saying the women and -children must go first. After the boat with his wife in it had pulled -away Smethhurst put on a life-belt, slipped down a rope into the water -and floated until he was picked up. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -SOUL-STIRRING STORIES OF SURVIVORS OF THE LUSITANIA - - COULD NOT LAUNCH BOATS -- SAYS SHIP SANK IN FIFTEEN MINUTES -- SCREAMS - INTENSIFY HORROR -- ON HUNT FOR THE LIFE-BELTS -- INJURED BOY SHOWS - PLUCK -- MANY CHILDREN DROWNED -- WOMEN RUSHED FOR THE BOATS -- - PATERSON, N. J., GIRLS AMONG RESCUED -- THREATENED SEAMEN WITH - REVOLVER -- RESCUED UNCONSCIOUS FROM THE WATER -- LIFE-BOAT SMASHED -- - REASSURED BY SHIP’S OFFICER. - - -Among the stories of the Lusitania horror told by the survivors were a -few that stand out from the rest for their clearness and vividness. One -of the most interesting of these, notable for the prominence of the man -who relates it as well as for its conciseness, was the description given -by Samuel M. Knox, president of the New York Shipbuilding Company. Mr. -Knox said: - -“Shortly after two, while we were finishing luncheon in a calm sea, a -heavy concussion was felt on the starboard side, throwing the vessel to -port. She immediately swung back and proceeded to take on a list to -starboard, which rapidly increased. - -“The passengers rapidly, but in good form, left the dining room, -proceeding mostly to the A or boat deck. There were preparations being -made to launch the boats. Order among the passengers was well -maintained, there being nothing approaching a panic. Many of the -passengers had gone to their staterooms and provided themselves with -life-belts. - -“The vessel reached an angle of about twenty-four degrees and at this -point there seemed to be a cessation in the listing, the vessel -maintaining this position for four or five minutes, when something -apparently gave way, and the list started anew and increased rapidly -until the end. - -“The greater number of passengers were congregated on the high side of -the ship, and when it became apparent that she was going to sink I made -my way to the lower side, where there appeared to be several boats only -partly filled and no passengers on that deck. At this juncture I found -the outside of the boat deck practically even with the water and the -ship was even farther down by the head. - - -COULD NOT LAUNCH BOATS - -“I stepped into a boat and a sailor in charge then attempted to cast her -off, but it was found that the boat-falls had fouled the boat and she -could not be released in the limited time available. I went overboard at -once and attempted to get clear of the ship, which was coming over -slowly. I was caught by one of the smokestacks and carried down a -considerable distance before being released. - -“On coming to the surface I floated about for a considerable time, when -I was picked up by a life-raft. This raft, with others, had floated free -when the vessel sank, and had been picked up and taken charge of by Mr. -Gauntlet, of Washington, and Mr. Lauriat, of Boston, who picked up -thirty-two persons in all. - -“It was equipped with oars, and we made our way to a fishing smack, -about five miles distant, which took us on board, although it was -already overloaded. We were finally taken off this boat by the Cunard -tender Flying Fish and brought to Queenstown at 9.30.” - -Some of the passengers, notably David A. Thomas, told of panicky -conditions on board the vessel before she sank, and one of the rescued -declared that the loss of life was due to some extent to the assurances -spread by the stewards among the passengers that there was no danger of -the Lusitania sinking. But all united in praising the courage and -steadiness of the officers and crew of the ship. - - -SAYS SHIP SANK IN FIFTEEN MINUTES - -Mr. Thomas, a Cardiff, Wales, coal magnate, who was rescued with his -daughter, Lady Mackworth, said that not more than fifteen minutes -elapsed between the first explosion and the sinking of the ship. Lady -Mackworth had put on a life-preserver and went down with the Lusitania. -When she arose to the surface, Mr. Thomas said, she was unconscious, and -floated around in the tumbling sea for three and a half hours before she -was picked up. - -“As soon as the explosions occurred,” said Mr. Thomas, “and the officers -learned what had happened, the ship’s course was directed toward the -shore, with the idea of beaching her. Captain Turner remained upon the -bridge until the ship went down, and he was swallowed up in the -maelstrom that followed. He wore a life-belt, which kept him afloat -when he arose to the surface, and remained in the water for three hours -before he was picked up by a life-boat. - -“During the last few minutes’ life of the Lusitania she was a ship of -panic and tumult. Excited men and terrified women ran shouting and -screaming about the decks. Lost children cried shrilly. Officers and -seamen rushed among the panic-stricken passengers, shouting orders and -helping the women and children into life-boats. Women clung desperately -to their husbands or knelt on the deck and prayed. Life-preservers were -distributed among the passengers, who hastily donned them and flung -themselves into the water. - -[Illustration: AS OTHERS SEE US.] - - -SCREAMS INTENSIFY HORROR - -“In their haste and excitement the seamen overloaded one life-boat and -the davit ropes broke while it was being lowered, the occupants being -thrown into the water. The screams of these terrified women and men -intensified the fright of those still on the ship. Altogether I counted -ten life-boats launched.” - -A German submarine was seen for an hour before the liner was sunk, -according to Dr. Daniel Moore, of Yankton, S. D., who said: - -“About 1 P. M. we noticed that the Lusitania was steering a zigzag -course. Land had been in sight for three hours, distinctly visible -twelve miles away. Looking through my glasses, I could see on the port -side of the Lusitania, between us and land, what appeared to be a black, -oblong object, with four dome-like projections. It was moving along -parallel to us, more than two miles away. At times it slowed down and -disappeared. But always it reappeared. All this time the Lusitania was -zigzagging along. Later the Lusitania kept a more even course, and we -generally agreed then that it was a friendly submarine we were watching. -We had seen no other vessels except one or two fishing boats. - -“At 1.40 we sat down to luncheon in the second saloon. We talked of the -curious object we had seen, but nobody seemed anxious or concerned. -About two o’clock a muffled, drum-like noise sounded from the forward -part of the Lusitania and she shivered and trembled. Almost immediately -she began to list to starboard. She had been struck on the starboard -side. Unless the first submarine seen had been speedy enough to make -rings around the Lusitania, this torpedo must have come from a second -submarine which had been lying hidden to starboard. - -“We heard no sound of explosion. There was general excitement among the -passengers at luncheon, but the women were soon quieted by assurances -that there was no danger and that the Lusitania had merely struck a -small mine. The passengers left the saloon in good order. - - -ON HUNT FOR THE LIFE-BELTS - -“As I reached the deck above I had difficulty in walking owing to the -tilt of the vessel. With most of the passengers I ran on to the -promenade deck. There was no crushing. Although the deck was crowded, I -looked over the side; but I could see no evidence of damage. I started -to return to my cabin, but the list of the liner was so marked that I -abandoned the idea and regained the deck. Looking over the starboard -rail, I saw that the water was now only about twelve feet from the rail -at one point. While searching for a life-belt I came upon a stewardess -struggling with a pile of life-belts in a rack below deck and helped her -put one on, afterward securing one for myself. I had tremendous -difficulty in reaching the promenade deck again. - -“The Lusitania now was on her side and sinking by the bow. I saw a woman -clinging to the rail near where a boat was being lowered. I pushed her -over the rail into the boat, afterward jumping down myself. - -“The boat fell bodily into the sea, but kept afloat, although so heavily -loaded that water was lapping in. We bailed with our hats, but could not -keep pace with the water, and I realized we must soon sink. - -“Seeing a keg, I threw it overboard and sprang after it. A young steward -named Freeman also used the keg as a support. Looking back, I saw the -boat I had left swamped. We clung to the keg for about an hour and a -half and then were picked up by a raft on which were twenty persons, -including two women. - -“We had oars and rowed toward land. At about four o’clock we were picked -up by the patrol boat Brook. She took us aboard and then cruised out to -where the Lusitania had gone down, picking up many survivors there, also -taking aboard many from boats and rafts. - - -INJURED BOY SHOWS PLUCK - -“A number of those picked up were injured, including a little boy, whose -left thigh was broken. I improvised splints for him and set his leg. He -was a plucky little chap, and was soon asking, ‘Is there a funny paper -aboard?’ - -“At the scene of the catastrophe the surface of the water had seemed -dotted with bodies. Only a few life-boats seemed to be doing good. Cries -of ‘Save us! Help!’ gradually grew weaker from all sides. Finally low -wailings made the heart sick. I saw many men die. - -“There was no suction when the ship settled. It went down steadily. The -life-boats were not in order and they were not manned. Weighing all the -facts soberly convinces me that it was only through the mercy of God -that any one was saved. Are there any bounds to this modern vandalism?” - -L. Tonner, a County Dublin man, and a stoker on the Lusitania, who was -one of the survivors landed at Kinsale, said: - -“There must have been two submarines attacking the Lusitania. The liner -was first torpedoed on the starboard side, and right through the engine -room a few minutes afterward the Lusitania received a second torpedo on -the port side. The Lusitania listed so heavily to starboard that it was -impossible to lower the boats on the port side.” - -[Illustration: PROMINENT AMERICAN VICTIMS OF THE LUSITANIA HORROR. - -Alfred G. Vanderbilt, New York Millionaire. (_C. Underwood & -Underwood._) - -Charles Frohman, Theatrical Magnate. (_C. Underwood & Underwood._) - -Elbert Hubbard, Editor and Lecturer. (_C. Int. News Service._) - -Charles Klein, well-known Playwright. (_C. Int. News Service._)] - -[Illustration: SORROWFUL BURIAL OF SOME OF THE LUSITANIA VICTIMS. - -Sixty-six coffins were placed in one grave at the Queenstown graveyard. -In the presence of a large crowd they were buried with full military -honors. The view shows a few of the caskets in the grave. (_C. Int. News -Service._)] - - -MANY CHILDREN DROWNED - -G. D. Lane, a youthful but cool-headed second-cabin passenger, who was -returning to Wales from New York, was in a life-boat which was capsized -by the davits as the Lusitania heeled over. - -“I was on the B deck,” he said, “when I saw the wake of a torpedo. I -hardly realized what it meant when the big ship seemed to stagger and -almost immediately listed to starboard. I rushed to get a life-belt, but -stopped to help get children on the boat deck. The second cabin was a -veritable nursery. - -“Many youngsters must have drowned, but I had the satisfaction of seeing -one boat get away filled with women and children. When the water reached -the deck I saw another life-boat with a vacant seat, which I took, as no -one else was in sight, but we were too late. The Lusitania reeled so -suddenly our boat was swamped, but we righted it again. - -“We now witnessed the most horrible scene of human futility it is -possible to imagine. When the Lusitania had turned almost over she -suddenly plunged bow foremost into the water, leaving her stern high in -the air. People on the aft deck were fighting with wild desperation to -retain a footing on the almost perpendicular deck while they fell over -the slippery stern like crippled flies. - -“Their cries and shrieks could be heard above the hiss of escaping steam -and the crash of bursting boilers. Then the water mercifully closed over -them and the big liner disappeared, leaving scarcely a ripple behind -her. - -“Twelve life-boats were all that were left of our floating home. In time -which could be measured by seconds swimmers, bodies and wreckage -appeared in the space where she went down. I was almost exhausted by the -work of rescue when taken aboard the trawler. It seems like a horrible -dream now.” - - -WOMEN RUSHED FOR THE BOATS - -According to another American survivor, W. H. Brooks, “there was a scene -of great confusion as women and children rushed for the boats which were -launched with the greatest difficulty and danger, owing to the tilting -of the ship. - -“I heard the captain order that no more boats be launched, so I leaped -into the sea. After I reached the water there was another explosion -which sent up a shower of wreckage.” - -Dr. J. T. Houghton, of Troy, N. Y., said: “It was believed there was no -reason to fear any danger after the first explosion, as it was said the -vessel would be headed for Queenstown and beached if necessary. -Meanwhile boats were being got ready for any emergency. - -“Just then the liner was again struck, evidently in a more vital spot, -for it began to settle rapidly. Orders then came from the bridge to -lower all boats. A near panic took possession of the women. People were -rushed into the boats, some of which were launched successfully, others -not so successfully.” - -Oscar F. Grab, of New York, said: “I was able to get hold of a -life-preserver and I remained on the starboard side until the water was -almost at my feet. Then I slid into the sea so easily that I did not -even wet my hair. I was soon picked up by a boat in which were twenty -women and some children. - -“We had to keep the women lying in the bottom so as to get room to pull -at the oars. The ship went down, as seen by me from the water, in this -fashion: - -“She had settled down well forward. She then listed to starboard, and -rose to a perpendicular until the stern with the propellers was sticking -straight out of the water. - -“An explosion then occurred as the water reached the boilers; one of the -funnels was blown clean out, and in half a minute there was nothing -visible of the Lusitania but a lot of wreckage mingled with a number of -dead bodies.” - - -PATERSON, N. J., GIRLS AMONG RESCUED - -The Misses Agnes and Evelyn Wilde, sisters, of Paterson, N. J., were at -lunch when the torpedo struck the vessel. They rushed on deck. Miss -Agnes Wilde said: - -“We clung to each other, determined not to be separated, even if we went -to the bottom. We were thrown into a boat, together with thirty-six -others, and after several hours were picked up by a fishing boat, which -towed us for several hours, intending to take us to Kinsale. Before we -arrived, however, a Government boat came along and took us to -Queenstown. - -“We were drenched to the skin, cold and penniless. We went into a shop, -where they fitted us out from head to foot without charge. We are only -beginning to realize what we have passed through.” - -Mrs. Martha Anna Wyatt, sixty years old, of New Bedford, Mass., said: “I -went down with the ship and spent four hours in a collapsible boat -before being picked up. I was going to England to live. - -“While the ship was sinking I found it impossible to get into any of the -life-boats. There seemed no help about. I simply stood still, clinging -to the rail, and went down. I seemed to go to the bottom. When I came to -the surface again I was pulled into the collapsible boat which brought -me to safety.” - -Mrs. C. Stewart, who was traveling from Toronto to Glasgow, said: - -“I was in my cabin with my eight-months-old baby, who was sleeping in -the berth, when I heard the crash. I snatched my baby up and went on -deck. A man yelled, ‘Come on with the baby.’ I handed him the infant and -he said, ‘Now for yourself.’ - -“We were two and a half hours in the boat before we were picked up by a -Greek steamer.” - -Robert C. Wright, of Cleveland, O., gave what may be the last word of -Elbert Hubbard. Mr. Wright said: - -“I don’t know who was saved, but I know that Elbert Hubbard must have -been drowned. He was a conspicuous person on account of his long hair. -I saw him and his wife start below, apparently for life-belts, but I -never saw either again. I am certain they were drowned.” - - -THREATENED SEAMEN WITH REVOLVER - -Isaac Lehmann, of New York, a first-cabin passenger, who described -himself as being engaged in the Department of Government Supplies, said -that after having witnessed an accident to one of the boats through the -snapping of the ropes while it was being lowered, he ran into his cabin -and seizing a revolver and a life-belt, returned to the deck and mounted -a collapsible boat and called to some of the crew to assist in launching -it. One sailor, he said, replied that the captain’s orders were that no -boats were to be put out. - -“I drew my revolver, which was loaded with ball cartridges,” said Mr. -Lehmann, “and shouted ‘I’ll shoot the first man who refuses to assist in -launching.’ The boat was then lowered. At least sixty persons were in -it. Unfortunately, the Lusitania lurched so badly that the boat -repeatedly struck the side of the sinking ship, and I think at least -twenty of its occupants were killed or injured. - -“At that instant we heard an explosion on the right up forward, and -within two minutes the liner disappeared. I was thrown clear of the -wreckage, and went down twice, but the life-belt that I had on brought -me up. I was in the water fully four hours and a half.” - -Asked as to the probable speed of the Lusitania when she was struck by -the torpedo, Mr. Lehmann said the boat was probably going at about -sixteen or seventeen knots. - -Julian de Ayala, Consul General for Cuba at Liverpool, said that he was -ill in his berth when the Lusitania was torpedoed. He was thrown against -the partition of his berth by the explosion and suffered an injury to -his head and had flesh torn off one of his legs. - -The boat Mr. de Ayala got into capsized and he was thrown into the -water, but later he was picked up. - -“Captain Turner,” said Mr. de Ayala, “thought he could bring the -crippled vessel into Queenstown, but she rapidly began to sink by the -head. - -“Her stern went up so high,” Mr. de Ayala added, “that we could see all -of her propellers, and she went down with a headlong plunge, volumes of -steam hissing from her funnels.” - - -RESCUED UNCONSCIOUS FROM THE WATER - -The experience of two New York girls, Miss Mary Barrett and Miss Kate -MacDonald, rescued at the last minute, may be taken as typical of the -experience of many others. Miss Barrett gives the following account of -her experiences: - -“We had gone into the second saloon and were just finishing lunch. I -heard a sound something like the smashing of big dishes and then there -came a second and louder crash. Miss MacDonald and I started to go -upstairs, but we were thrown back by the crowd when the ship stopped. -But we managed to get to the second deck, where we found sailors trying -to lower boats. - -“There was no panic and the ship’s officers and crew went about their -work quietly and steadily. I went to get two life-belts, but a man -standing by told us to remain where we were and he would fetch them for -us. He brought us two belts and we put them on. By this time the ship -was leaning right over to starboard and we were both thrown down. We -managed to scramble to the side of the liner. - -“Near us I saw a rope attached to one of the life-boats. I thought I -could catch it, so we murmured a few words of prayer and then jumped -into the water. I missed the rope, but floated about in the water for -some time. I did not lose consciousness at first, but the water got into -my eyes and mouth and I began to lose hope of ever seeing my friends -again. I could not see anybody near me. Then I must have lost -consciousness, for I remember nothing more until one of the Lusitania’s -life-boats came along. The crew was pulling on board another woman, who -was unconscious, and they shouted to me, ‘You hold on a little longer!’ - -“After a time they lifted me out of the water. Then I remembered nothing -more for a time. In the meantime our boat had picked up twenty others. -It was getting late in the evening when we were transferred to a trawler -and taken to Queenstown. - -“Miss MacDonald floated about nearly four hours in a dazed state. She -had little remembrance of what had passed until a boat saved her. She -remembered somebody saying, ‘Oh, the poor girl is dead!’ She had just -strength to raise her hand and they returned and pulled her on board.” - -Miss Conner, a cousin of Henry L. Stimson, formerly Secretary of War of -the United States, was standing beside Lady Mackworth when they were -flung into the water as the ship keeled over. Both women were provided -with life-belts and were picked up when at the point of exhaustion. - - -LIFE-BOAT SMASHED - -Doctor Howard Fisher of New York, who is a brother of Walter L. Fisher, -formerly Secretary of the Interior of the United States, was on his way -to Belgium for Red Cross duty. His story follows: - -“It is not true that those on board were unconcerned over the -possibility of being torpedoed. I took the big liner to save time and -also because in case of a floating mine I felt she would have more -chance of staying up. But like everybody else aboard, I felt sure in -case of being torpedoed that we would have ample time to take to the -boats. - -“When I heard the crash I rushed to the port side. No officer was in -sight. An effort was being made to lower the boat swinging just opposite -the grand entrance. Women, children and men made a mad scramble about -this boat, which was smashed against the side, throwing all the -occupants into the sea. - -“Then two big men, one a sailor and the other a passenger, succeeded in -launching a second boat. Much to my surprise this amateur effort was -successful. This boat got away and carried chiefly women and children. -This boat was successfully launched on the port side. - - -REASSURED BY SHIP’S OFFICER - -“We then saw our first glimpse of an officer, who came along the deck -and spoke to Lady Mackworth, Miss Conner and myself, who were standing -in a group. He said: - -“‘Don’t worry, the ship will right itself.’ He had hardly moved on -before the ship turned sideways and then seemed to plunge head foremost -into the sea. - -“I came up after what seemed to be an interminable time under water and -found myself surrounded by swimmers, dead bodies and wreckage. I got on -an upturned yawl, where I found thirty other people, among them Lady -Allan, whose collar-bone was broken while she was in the water. - -“Another passenger on the yawl, a man whose name I did not learn, had -his arm hanging by the skin. His injury probably was due to the -explosion which followed. His arm was amputated successfully with a -butcher knife by a little Italian surgeon aboard the tramp steamer which -picked me up.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -A CANADIAN’S ACCOUNT OF THE LUSITANIA HORROR - - PERCY ROGERS, OF CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION, TELLS GRAPHIC STORY -- - PASSENGERS WERE AGHAST -- OCCUPANTS OF LIFE-BOATS THROWN INTO SEA -- A - HEART-BREAKING SCENE. - - -Percy Rogers, assistant manager and secretary of the Canadian National -Exhibition, who went to England in connection with the Toronto Fair, -told a graphic story of his experiences after the Lusitania was struck. -He undoubtedly owed his life to the fact that he was a good swimmer. - -“It had been a splendid crossing,” he said, “with a calm sea and fine -weather contributing to a delightful trip. The Lusitania made nothing -like her maximum pace. Her speed probably was about five hundred miles -daily, which, as travelers know, is below her average. - -“Early Friday morning we sighted the Irish coast. Then we entered a -slight fog, and speed was reduced, but we soon came into a clear -atmosphere again, and the pace of the boat increased. The morning passed -and we went as usual down to lunch, although some were a little later -than others in taking the meal. I should think it would be about ten -minutes past two when I came from lunch. I immediately proceeded to my -stateroom, close to the dining-room, to get a letter which I had -written. While in there I heard a tremendous thud, and I came out -immediately. - - -PASSENGERS WERE AGHAST - -“There was no panic where I was, but the people were aghast. It was -realized that the boat had been struck, apparently on the side nearest -the land. The passengers hastened to the boat deck above. The life-boats -were hanging out, having been put into that position on the previous -day. The Lusitania soon began to list badly with the result that the -side on which I and several others were standing went up as the other -side dropped. This seemed to cause difficulty in launching the boats, -which seemed to get bound against the side of the liner. - -“It was impossible, of course, for me to see what was happening in other -places, but among the group where I was stationed there was no panic. -The order was given, ‘Women and children first,’ and was followed -implicitly. The first life-boat lowered with people at the spot where I -stood smacked upon the water, and as it did so the stern of this -life-boat seemed to part and the people were thrown into the sea. The -other boats were lowered more successfully. - -“We heard somebody say, ‘Get out of the boats; there is no danger,’ and -some people actually did get out, but the direction was not generally -acted upon. I entered a boat in which there were men, women and -children, I should say between twenty and twenty-five. There were no -other women or children standing on the liner where we were, our -position, I should think, being about the last boat but one from the -stern of the ship. - - -OCCUPANTS OF LIFE-BOATS THROWN INTO SEA - -“Our boat dropped into the water, and for a few minutes we were all -right. Then the liner went over. We were not far from her. Whatever the -cause may have been--perhaps the effect of suction--I don’t know, but we -were thrown into the sea. Some of the occupants were wearing life-belts, -but I was not. The only life-belts I knew about were in the cabins, and -it had not appeared to me that there was time to risk going there. It -must have been about 2.30 when I was thrown into the water. The watch I -was wearing stopped at that time. - -“What a terrible scene there was around me! It is harrowing to think -about the men, women and children struggling in the water. I had the -presence of mind to swim away from the boat and made towards a -collapsible boat, upon which was the captain and a number of others. For -this purpose I had to swim quite a distance. - -“I noticed three children among the group. Our collapsible boat began -rocking. Every moment it seemed we should be thrown again into the sea. -The captain appealed to the people in it to be careful, but the boat -continued to rock, and I came to the conclusion that it would be -dangerous to remain in it if all were to have a chance. I said, -‘Good-by, Captain; I’m going to swim,’ and jumped into the water. I -believe the captain did the same thing after me, although I did not see -him, but I understand he was picked up. - -[Illustration: “GOD IS WITH US”] - - -A HEART-BREAKING SCENE - -“The scene was now terrible. Particularly do I remember a young child -with a life-belt around her calling, ‘Mamma!’ She was not saved. I had -seen her on the liner, and her sister was on the collapsible boat, but I -could not reach her. I saw a cold-storage box or cupboard. I swam -towards it and clung to it. This supported me for a long time. At last I -saw a boat coming towards me and shouted. I was heard and taken in. From -this I was transferred to what I think was a trawler, which also picked -up three or four others. Eventually I was placed upon a ferry boat known -as the Flying Fish, in which, with others, I was taken to Queenstown. - -“It was quite possible that some people went down while in their cabins, -because after lunch it was the custom with some to go for a rest. A -friend of mine on the liner has told me he saw Alfred G. Vanderbilt on -deck with a life-belt and observed him give it to a lady. It seemed to -me the seriousness of the situation scarcely was realized when the boat -was torpedoed. It was all so sudden and so unexpected, and the -recollection of it all is terrible.” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE PLOT AGAINST THE RESCUE SHIPS - - GERMAN SUBMARINES PREVENTED RESCUE OF LUSITANIA PASSENGERS -- STORY OF - ETONIAN’S CAPTAIN -- DODGED TWO SUBMARINES -- NARRAGANSETT DRIVEN OFF - -- TORPEDO FIRED AT NARRAGANSETT. - - -From the lips of Captain Turner, of the Lusitania, and from several of -the survivors the world has heard the story of the sudden appearance -among the débris and the dead of the sunken liner, of the German -submarine that had fired the torpedo which sent almost 1,200 -non-combatants, hundreds of them helpless women and children, and among -them more than a hundred American citizens, to their deaths. But it -remained for the captain of the steamship Etonian, arriving at Boston on -May 18, to add the crowning touch to the tragedy. - -Captain William F. Wood, of the Etonian, specifically charged that two -German submarines deliberately prevented him from going to the rescue of -the Lusitania’s passengers after he had received the liner’s wireless S. -O. S. call, and when he was but forty miles or so away, and might have -rendered great assistance to the hundreds of victims. - -Captain Wood charged further that two other ships, both within the same -distance of the Lusitania when she sank, were warned off by submarines, -and that when the nearest one, the Narragansett, bound for New York, -persisted in the attempt to proceed to the rescue of the Lusitania’s -passengers, a submarine fired a torpedo at her, which missed the -Narragansett by only a few feet. - - -STORY OF ETONIAN’S CAPTAIN - -The Etonian is a freight-carrying steamship, owned by the -Wilson-Furness-Leyland lines, and under charter to the Cunard Line. She -sailed from Liverpool on May 6. Captain Wood’s story, as he told it -without embellishment and in the most positive terms, was as follows: - -“We had left Liverpool without unusual incident, and it was two o’clock -on the afternoon of Friday, May 7, that we received the S. O. S. call -from the Lusitania. Her wireless operator sent this message: ‘We are ten -miles south of Kinsale. Come at once.’ - -“I was then about forty-two miles from the position he gave me. Two -other steamships were ahead of me, going in the same direction. They -were the Narragansett and the City of Exeter. The Narragansett was -closer to the Lusitania, and she answered the S. O. S. call. - -“At 5 P. M. I observed the City of Exeter across our bow and she -signaled, ‘Have you heard anything of the disaster?’ - -“At that very moment I saw the periscope of a submarine between the -Etonian and the City of Exeter. The submarine was about a quarter of a -mile directly ahead of us. She immediately dived as soon as she saw us -coming for her. I distinctly saw the splash in the water caused by her -submerging. - -[Illustration: CHARGING THROUGH BARBED-WIRE ENTANGLEMENTS. - -The King’s Regiment of the British Army suffered heavily while trying to -penetrate the enemy’s wire entanglement at Givenchy. Three lines of a -perfect thicket of barbed-wire lay between them and the enemy. Only one -brave officer even managed to penetrate the wire. (_Il. L. News -copr._)] - -[Illustration: A LAND MINE EXPLODED UNDERNEATH A SECTION OF THE ENEMY’S -TRENCHES. - -A method which has been known to blow forty men to pieces at once. By -sapping and mining the gallery was dug almost to the enemy’s trenches -underground and explosives placed, which were then fired by electric -wire. The explosion hurled a piece of railroad iron weighing twenty-five -pounds a distance of over a mile. (_Il. L. News copr._)] - - -DODGED TWO SUBMARINES - -“I signaled to the engine room for every available inch of speed, and -there was a prompt response. Then we saw the submarine come up astern of -us with the periscope in line afterward. I now ordered full speed ahead, -and we left the submarine slowly behind. The periscope remained in sight -about twenty minutes. Our speed was perhaps two miles an hour better -than the submarine could do. - -“No sooner had we lost sight of the submarine astern than I made out -another on the starboard bow. This one was directly ahead and on the -surface, not submerged. I starboarded hard away from him, he swinging as -we did. About eight minutes later he submerged. I continued at top speed -for four hours, and saw no more of the submarines. It was the ship’s -speed that saved her. That’s all. - -“Both these submarines were long craft, and the second one had wireless -masts. There is no question in my mind that these two submarines were -acting in concert and were so placed as to torpedo any ship that might -attempt to go to the rescue of the passengers of the Lusitania. - -“As a matter of fact, the Narragansett, as soon as she heard the S. O. -S. call, went to the assistance of the Lusitania. One of the submarines -discharged a torpedo at her and missed her by a few feet. The -Narragansett then warned us not to attempt to go to the rescue of the -Lusitania, and I got her wireless call while I was dodging the two -submarines. You can see that three ships would have gone to the -assistance of the Lusitania had it not been for the two submarines. - -“These German craft were, it seems to me, deliberately stationed off Old -Head of Kinsale, at a point where all ships have got to pass, for the -express purpose of preventing any assistance being given to the -passengers of the Lusitania.” - - -NARRAGANSETT DRIVEN OFF - -That the British tank steamer Narragansett, one of the vessels that -caught the distress signal of the Lusitania, was also driven off her -rescue course by a torpedo from a submarine when she arrived within -seven miles of the spot where the Lusitania went down, an hour and -three-quarters after she caught the wireless call for help, was alleged -by the officers of the tanker, which arrived at Bayonne, N. J., on the -same day that the Etonian reached Boston. - -The story told by the officers of the Narragansett corroborated the -statements made by officers of the Etonian. They said that submarines -were apparently scouting the sea to drive back rescue vessels when the -Lusitania fell a victim to another undersea craft. - -The Lusitania’s call for help was received by the Narragansett at two -o’clock on the afternoon of May 7, according to wireless operator Talbot -Smith, who said the message read: “Strong list. Come quick.” - -When the Narragansett received the message she was thirty-five miles -southeast of the Lusitania, having sailed from Liverpool the preceding -afternoon at five o’clock for Bayonne. The message was delivered quickly -to Captain Charles Harwood, and he ordered the vessel to put on full -steam and increase her speed from eleven to fourteen knots. The -Narragansett changed her course and started in the direction of the -sinking ship. - - -TORPEDO FIRED AT NARRAGANSETT - -Second Officer John Letts, who was on the bridge, said he sighted the -periscope of a submarine at 3.35 o’clock, and almost at the same instant -he saw a torpedo shooting through the water. The torpedo, according to -the second officer, was traveling at great speed. - -It shot past the Narragansett, missing the stem by hardly thirty feet, -and disappeared. The periscope of the submarine went out of sight at the -same time, but the captain of the Narragansett decided not to take any -chance, changed the course of his vessel so that the stern pointed -directly toward the spot where the periscope was last sighted, and, -after steering straight ahead for some distance, followed a somewhat -zigzag course until he was out of the immediate submarine territories. - -Captain Harwood abandoned all thought of the Lusitania’s call for help, -because he thought it was a decoy message sent out to trap the -Narragansett into the submarine’s path. - -“My opinion,” said Second Officer Letts, “is that submarines were -scattered around that territory to prevent any vessel that received the -S. O. S. call of the Lusitania from going to her assistance.” - -When attacked by the submarine the Narragansett had out her log, -according to Second Officer Letts, and the torpedo passed under the line -to which it was attached. The torpedo was fired from the submarine when -the undersea boat was within two hundred yards of the tanker. - -The Narragansett when turned back had not sighted the wreck of the -Lusitania, and her officers, who were led to believe the S. O. S. was a -decoy, did not learn of the sinking of the Cunarder until the following -morning at two o’clock. - -The Narragansett, under charter to the Standard Oil Company, is one of -the largest tank steamships afloat. She is 540 feet long, has a -sixty-foot beam, and 12,500 tons displacement. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -BRITISH JURY FINDS KAISER A MURDERER - - “THE CRIME OF WHOLESALE MURDER”--CAPTAIN TURNER’S TESTIMONY -- SAW THE - TORPEDO -- DOUBLE LOOKOUTS ON LINER -- NO WARNING GIVEN -- OTHER - TESTIMONY -- CORONER HORGAN’S STATEMENT. - - -One of the first official acts with reference to the loss of the -Lusitania was the impaneling, on May 10, of a coroner’s jury at -Queenstown to fix the responsibility for the death of the passengers -whose bodies were recovered and taken to that place. The inquest was -conducted by Coroner John Horgan. The coroner’s proceedings were -comparatively brief, and were concluded with the return of the following -verdict of the jury: - - -“THE CRIME OF WHOLESALE MURDER” - -“We find that the deceased met death from prolonged immersion and -exhaustion in the sea eight miles south-southwest of Old Head of -Kinsale, Friday, May 7, 1915, owing to the sinking of the Lusitania by -torpedoes fired by a German submarine. - -“We find that this appalling crime was committed contrary to -international law and the conventions of all civilized nations. - -“We also charge the officers of said submarine and the Emperor and -Government of Germany, under whose orders they acted, with the crime of -wholesale murder before the tribunal of the civilized world. - -“We desire to express sincere condolences and sympathy with the -relatives of the deceased, the Cunard Company and the United States, -many of whose citizens perished in this murderous attack on an unarmed -liner.” - - -CAPTAIN TURNER’S TESTIMONY - -Captain W. T. Turner, the Lusitania’s commander, was the chief witness -at the inquest. - -The Coroner asked the captain whether he had received a message -concerning the sinking of a ship off Kinsale by a submarine. Captain -Turner replied that he had not. - -“Did you receive any special instructions as to the voyage?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“Are you at liberty to tell us what they were?” - -“No, sir.” - -“Did you carry them out?” - -“Yes, to the best of my ability.” - -“You were aware threats had been made that the ship would be torpedoed?” - -“We were,” the captain replied. - -“Was she armed?” - -“No, sir.” - -“What precautions did you take?” - -“We had all the boats swung when we came within the danger zone, between -the passing of Fastnet and the time of the accident.” - -[Illustration: “UNCLEAN!”] - -“Tell us in your own words what happened after passing Fastnet.” - - -SAW THE TORPEDO - -“The weather was clear,” Captain Turner answered. “We were going at a -speed of eighteen knots. I was on the port side and heard Second Officer -Hefford call out, ‘Here’s a torpedo.’ - -“I ran to the other side and saw clearly the wake of a torpedo. Smoke -and steam came up between the last two funnels. There was a slight -shock. Immediately after the first explosion there was another report, -but that may possibly have been internal. - -“I at once gave the order to lower the boats down to the rails, and I -directed that women and children should get into them. I also had all -the bulkheads closed. - -“I also gave orders to stop the ship,” Captain Turner continued, “but we -could not stop. We found that the engines were out of commission. It was -not safe to lower boats until the speed was off the vessel. As a matter -of fact, there was a perceptible headway on her up to the time she went -down. - -“When she was struck she listed to starboard. I stood on the bridge when -she sank, and the Lusitania went down under me. She floated about -eighteen minutes after the torpedo struck her. My watch stopped at 2.36. -I was picked up from among the wreckage and afterward was brought aboard -a trawler. - -“No warship was convoying us. I saw no warship, and none was reported to -me as having been seen. At the time I was picked up I noticed bodies -floating on the surface, but saw no living persons.” - -“Eighteen knots was not the normal speed of the Lusitania, was it?” he -was asked. - -“At ordinary times,” answered Captain Turner, “she could make -twenty-five knots, but in war times her speed was reduced to twenty-one -knots. My reason for going eighteen knots was that I wanted to arrive at -Liverpool without stopping and within two or three hours of high water.” - - -DOUBLE LOOKOUTS ON LINER - -“Was there a lookout kept for submarines, having regard to previous -warnings?” - -“Yes; we had double lookouts.” - -“Were you going a zigzag course at the moment the torpedoing took -place?” - -“No; it was bright weather, and land was clearly visible.” - -“Was it possible for a submarine to approach without being seen?” - -“Oh, yes, quite possible.” - -“Something has been said regarding the impossibility of launching the -boats on the port side?” - -“Yes,” said Captain Turner, “owing to the listing of the ship.” - -“How many boats were launched safely?” - -“I cannot say.” - -“Were your orders promptly carried out?” - -“Yes.” - -“Was there any panic on board?” - -“No, there was no panic at all; it was all most calm.” - -By the foreman of the jury: - -“In the face of the warnings at New York that the Lusitania would be -torpedoed, did you make any application to the Admiralty for an escort?” - -“No, I left that to them. It is their business, not mine. I simply had -to carry out my orders to go, and I would do it again.” - -Captain Turner uttered the last words of this reply with great emphasis. - -By the coroner: - -“I am very glad to hear you say so, Captain.” - -By a juryman: - -“Did you get a wireless to steer your vessel in a northerly direction?” - -“No,” replied Captain Turner. - -“Was the course of the vessel altered after the torpedoes struck her?” - -“I headed straight for land, but it was useless. Previous to this the -water-tight bulkheads were closed. I suppose the explosion forced them -open. I don’t know the exact extent to which the Lusitania was damaged.” - -“There must have been serious damage done to the water-tight bulkheads.” - -“There certainly was, without doubt.” - -“Were the passengers supplied with life-belts?” - -“Yes.” - -“Were any special orders given that morning that life-belts be put on?” - -“No.” - - -NO WARNING GIVEN - -“Was any warning given you before you were torpedoed?” - -“None whatever. It was suddenly done and finished.” - -“If there had been a patrol boat aboard; might it have been of -assistance?” - -“It might, but it is one of those things one never knows.” - -With regard to the threats against his ship, Captain Turner said he saw -nothing except what appeared in the New York papers the day before the -Lusitania sailed. He never had heard the passengers talking about the -threats, he said. - -“Was a warning given to the lower decks after the ship had been struck?” -Captain Turner was asked. - -“All the passengers must have heard the explosion,” Captain Turner -replied. - -Captain Turner in answer to another question said he received no report -from the lookout before the torpedo struck the Lusitania. - - -OTHER TESTIMONY - -Cornelius Horrigan, a waiter aboard the Lusitania, testified that it was -impossible to launch boats on the starboard side because of the -steamer’s list. He went down with the ship, but came up and was rescued. -Horrigan gave a partial identification of one of the bodies, which he -thought to be that of Steward Cranston. - -The ship’s bugler, Vernon Livermore, gave evidence that the water-tight -compartments were closed, but thought that the explosion must have -opened them. No one was able to identify a man in whose pocket was found -a card bearing the name of John Wanamaker of New York, and in the -left-hand corner “Notary Public MacQuerrie, Bureau of Information.” - - -CORONER HORGAN’S STATEMENT - -Coroner Horgan said that the first torpedo fired by the German submarine -did serious damage to the Lusitania, but that, not satisfied with this, -the Germans had discharged another torpedo. The second torpedo, he said, -must have been more deadly, because it went right through the ship, -hastening the work of destruction. - -He charged that the responsibility “lay on the German government and the -whole people of Germany who collaborated in the terrible crime. - -“This is a case,” he said, “in which a powerful war-like engine attacked -an unarmed vessel without warning. It was simple barbarism and -cold-blooded murder. - -“I purpose to ask the jury to return the only verdict possible for a -self-respecting jury--that the men in charge of the German submarine -were guilty of willful murder.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE WORLD-WIDE INDICTMENT OF GERMANY FOR THE LUSITANIA ATROCITY - - VIEWS OF COLONEL ROOSEVELT, UNITED STATES SENATORS AND OTHER PROMINENT - MEN -- OPINIONS OF THE NEWSPAPERS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA -- - VIEWS OF PROMINENT CANADIANS. - - -Not even the invasion of peaceful Belgium, nor any of the other -atrocities charged to the belligerent nations in the great war, stirred -such universal and emphatic condemnation as the destruction of the -Lusitania and over half its _human_ freight of _human_ lives. From all -quarters of the globe the cry of amazement, indignation and outrage -arose. - -One of the first to express his feelings was Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, -who said: “This represents not merely piracy, but piracy on a vaster -scale of murder than any old-time pirate ever practiced. - -“This is the warfare which destroyed Louvain and Dinant and hundreds of -men, women and children in Belgium carried out to innocent men, women -and children on the ocean and to our own fellow countrymen and -countrywomen who are among the sufferers. - -“It seems inconceivable that we should refrain from taking action in -this matter, for we owe it not only to humanity, but to our own national -self-respect.” - -Atlee Pomerene, U. S. Senator from Ohio, member of the Foreign Relations -Committee, said: “To Americans the sinking of the Lusitania is the most -deplorable incident of the European war. Every man with the milk of -human kindness in his breast condemns any policy by any nation that -leads to the slaughter without warning of babes, women and -non-combatants.” - -Morris Sheppard, U. S. Senator from Texas, said: “The sinking of the -Lusitania is an illustration of the unspeakable horror of modern -warfare, and will be a tremendous argument for general disarmament when -the war closes. Let us handle the present situation with patience and -calmness, trusting the President to take the proper course.” - -John W. Griggs, former Governor of New Jersey and at one time -Attorney-General of the United States, expressed himself emphatically on -the Lusitania tragedy. He said: “The time for watchful waiting has -passed. No investigating committee is needed. The facts are known. -Action is demanded. A demand should be made at once without waiting by -the government to get the finding of any investigations or inquests. -Would you hesitate to act if a man slapped you in the face? I do not say -what should be demanded. That is for the government to decide. But an -explanation should be demanded of Germany at once. The German submarine -violated a law that even savages would recognize. I would hold Germany -to account by proclaiming her an outlaw among the nations of the world. -If the German government pleads that it was justified in this -crime--which it will--it is then the duty of the United States to join -with other neutral nations and cut her off from the rest of the world.” - -[Illustration: “I’M NOT ARGUING WITH YOU, WILLIAM; I’M JUST TELLING -YOU!”] - -Jacob M. Dickinson, Secretary of War under President Taft, issued a -statement in which he said: “It is not likely that Germany will disavow -the purpose to destroy the Lusitania with full knowledge of the fact -that this involved many American lives. In view of the result and the -warning given by our government to Germany, some proper action must be -taken, or the American government will incur the contempt of the world -and the contempt of a vast number of its own people.” - -“An act of barbarity without justification,” was the expression of -Frederick R. Coudert, of New York, an authority on international law, in -referring to the torpedoing of the Lusitania. Mr. Coudert said: “I make -that statement on the supposition that lives of citizens of the United -States, a neutral nation, were destroyed by the sinking of the vessel. -There is no justification, however, for ruthlessly sinking a merchant -ship in the open seas when that vessel is not engaged in any manner as a -belligerent vessel, and when the lives of non-combatants depend upon its -safety. It would seem to be time for the government of this country to -determine whether it will sit idly by and accept explanations that -Americans were warned to keep off the steamer, or take a definite stand -upon the rights of our citizens on the seas.” - -The opinion of the nation on the sinking of the Lusitania is fairly -represented by the following extracts from the editorial columns of -leading newspapers throughout the United States: - - -THE EAST - -New York Evening Post: “Germany ought not to be left in a moment’s doubt -how the civilized world regards her latest display of ‘frightfulness.’ -It is a deed for which a Hun would blush, a Turk be ashamed and a -Barbary pirate apologize. To speak of technicalities and the rules of -war, in the face of such wholesale murder on the high seas, is a waste -of time. The law of nations and the law of God have been alike trampled -upon. The German government must be given to understand that no plea of -military necessity will now avail it before the tribunal on which sits -as judge the humane conscience of the world. As was declared by -Germany’s own representative at The Hague Congress, the late Marschall -von Bieberstein, there are some atrocities which international law does -not need to legislate against, since they fall under the instant and -universal condemnation of mankind.” - -[Illustration: NON-COMBATANTS HONORED WITH THEIR FLAGS. - -The upper picture shows the body of an American victim of the Lusitania -disaster carried through the streets of Queenstown covered with the -Stars and Stripes. Below, British soldiers laying the Union Jack over -the coffins of victims recovered after the sinking of the Lusitania. -(_C. Int. News Service._)] - -[Illustration: ONE AMERICAN FAMILY LOST ON THE LUSITANIA. - -Wife and children of Paul Crompton. Not only hundreds of non-combatant -men, but many women and children were intentionally sunk with the -Lusitania.] - -New York Tribune: “Failing these things, no American should -misunderstand the meaning of the present crisis; no American should -shrink from the facts that cannot be evaded or avoided. If Germany has -once and for all embarked upon a deliberate campaign of murder directed -against American citizens, there can be but one consequence--the end is -inescapable.” - -New York World: “The main thing that concerns the American government -today is not the subordinate question of reparation for the -assassination of American citizens who were traveling on the Lusitania. -It is the broader question of whether Germany can be brought to her -senses and induced to abandon methods of warfare that are a crime -against civilization and an affront to humanity.” - -New York Times: “Neither in law nor in custom is there any extenuation -for this act of monstrous inhumanity, no exception, no condition, can be -made to shield it from the full force and condemnation it deserves and -has received. And the warning advertisement published by the German -Embassy here, being notice of an intent to commit a crime, is of no more -avail for exculpation than a Black Hand letter of threat.” - -New York Globe: “The duty of this government is sufficiently clear. -In a formal and emphatic manner, not shrinking from explicit -characterization, it should denounce the greatest international outrage -that has occurred since the Boxer savages of China, with the countenance -of a treacherous government, attacked the women and children in the -legations at Pekin.” - -Philadelphia Public Ledger: “As it stands the horror is almost -inconceivable. There has been nothing like it before. One of the -consequences of this war ought to be that nothing like it can ever -happen again. Unless civilization is to relapse into barbarism, helpless -non-combatants must not be exposed in such a fashion to the worst -calamities of war.” - -Boston Transcript: “The torpedoing of the Lusitania was not battle--it -was massacre. To destroy an enemy ship, an unarmed merchant vessel of -great value and power, is an act of war; to sink her in such a manner as -to send hundreds of her passengers, among them many neutrals, to their -death, is morally murder, and no technical military plea will avail to -procure any other verdict at the bar of civilized public opinion.” - -Boston Post: “The sinking of the British liner Lusitania by the torpedo -of a German submarine with terrible loss of life, is the worst crime -against civilization and humanity that the modern world has ever known. -It is a reversion to barbarism that will set the whole world, save -perhaps the little world of its perpetrators, aflame with horror and -indignation.” - -Boston Traveler: “With the destruction of this queen of the ocean liners -and the hundreds of lives of non-combatant men, women and children, also -came the ruin of the last vestige of the structure of international law -and humane consideration that through the centuries mankind has been -striving to erect. The very life and honor of the nation depend upon -the manner in which this attack upon its integrity is adjudicated, even -if any adjudication of a civil nature will be deemed sufficient to -permit of a peaceful, to say nothing of a friendly, adjustment.” - -Hartford Courant: “It is hard to find in the dictionary the words strong -enough to fit such conduct, and the effect of the destruction of the -ship and the loss of lives will be to turn public sentiment more than -ever against the Germans.” - -Providence Journal: “Scores of Americans were murdered yesterday on the -high seas, by order of the German government. Men and women, citizens of -the United States, traveling peaceably on a merchant steamer, have been -sent to their death by the deliberately planned act of Emperor William -and his advisers.” - -Providence Evening Tribune: “The torpedoing of the Lusitania, in that it -destroyed innocent American lives, was a capital crime committed by -Germany against the United States. A capital crime is a crime punishable -by death. And in the case of a nation punitive death is usually -administered by the process of war.” - - -THE WEST - -Chicago Herald: “International law contemplates the capture of merchant -vessels. It contemplates their destruction under certain conditions. But -it does not contemplate, provide for or justify destruction of the crews -and passengers of such ships without giving them a chance for safety.” - -Minneapolis Journal: “Germany intends to become the outlaw of nations. -Perhaps we are yet to witness savagery carried to its ultimate -perfection.” - -Minneapolis Tribune: “The sinking of the Lusitania is outside the rules -of civilized warfare. The President will have the loyal support of the -people of this country in whatever course wise counsel may find it -necessary to pursue.” - -Denver Rocky Mountain News: “Mankind will hang its head in shame. It was -not war. It is not England that suffers; it is not the relatives and -friends of the dead that suffer only; the people of Germany will suffer -for the deed of yesterday.” - - -THE SOUTH - -Washington Post: “No warrant whatever, in law or morals, can be found -for the willful destruction of an unarmed vessel, neutral or enemy, -carrying passengers, without giving them an opportunity to leave the -vessel. Germany stands indicted on this charge, and if it is proved the -world will not exonerate that nation for the awful destruction of -innocent life.” - -Baltimore American: “Americans must and will resent the invasion of -their rights, and in this there can be no division of American -sentiment.” - -Charleston News and Courier: “The destruction of the Lusitania has been -accomplished, it now appears, with the most diabolically cruel -deliberation. If this shall be established as a fact, there can be no -question that the wrath of the American people will flame--and should -flame.” - -New Orleans Times-Picayune: “What is Washington going to do about it? -Slaughter of American citizens in contravention of all laws of warfare -has placed the United States in a position that is intolerable. Our -people were wantonly done to death.” - - -SENTIMENT OF THE CANADIAN PRESS - -Even sterner was the tone of the editorial opinion of the Canadian -press. In many cases the actual intervention of the United States in the -war was advocated. The following excerpts are characteristic of the -opinion of the newspapers of Canada: - -Toronto Daily News: “This fresh display of Teutonic Kultur raises anew -the question as to how long the Washington government is going to be -scorned and trampled upon by the most unscrupulous and barbarous race of -modern times. What effect will this deliberate destruction of hundreds -of American citizens in cold blood have upon public sentiment throughout -the United States? Can President Wilson forever stand aside while -international law and international moral standards are cast to the -winds by a brutal and infuriated people?” - -Toronto Mail and Empire: “The Washington government knows why the -American citizens whose names are on the passenger list of the Lusitania -trusted themselves to the ship despite the warnings of the Kaiser’s -agents and accomplices in New York. Those American men and women -disregarded the warnings, not because they believed the Germans -incapable of torpedoing a passenger vessel, but because they felt that -the neutrality and puissance of their nation would be respected. The -Washington government cannot let these American citizens who relied on -its protection go unavenged.” - -Toronto Globe: “But what of the United States. Does President Wilson -propose to let German submarines destroy the lives of American citizens -because they choose to cross the Atlantic in a passenger ship flying the -British flag? Does he still think the mad dog of Europe can be trusted -at large? Is it not almost time to join in hunting down the brute?” - -Toronto Daily Star: “The sinking of the Lusitania was not necessary to -prove what was already abundantly demonstrated--that there is no length -of vindictiveness to which Germany will not go. There is no lesson to be -drawn from it except that Germany must be fought to a finish, and that -all the resources of the allied countries must be marshalled for that -purpose. We are engaged in no ordinary war. The very existence of -civilization is at stake. The civilized world is threatened by a nation -that has deliberately gone back to barbarism and given a free rein to -criminal instincts. Denunciation and rebuke are of no avail in such a -case. The conflict is between a powerful criminal and those who desire -to live under the reign of law; and the time has come for every man who -believes in law, in every nation, to fight for the life of -civilization.” - - -VIEWS OF PROMINENT CANADIANS - -That the torpedoing of the Lusitania was not an act of war in the -technical sense committed by Germany as against the United States, was -the view expressed by Mr. McGregor Young, professor of international -law in Toronto University, who said in an interview: - -“Certain acts are acts of war in the technical sense--acts, that is to -say, which touch the state qua state. But the torpedoing of the -Lusitania does not come within that category, so far as the United -States is concerned. It is not an act such as is not compatible with -friendly relations between that country and Germany. The Lusitania was a -British ship, and the American passengers on board her were really an -incident, as it were. Whether it would be consistent with the United -States’ self-respect to put up with Germany’s action is another matter. -That is a question as to which a nation must judge for itself.” - -Mr. E. F. B. Johnston, K.C., gave his opinion as follows: - -“The Lusitania was a vessel owned by a British company, carrying on -business in England. It was not under the control of the United States. -Individual citizens choosing to travel by this boat would do so at their -own risk, and so far as loss is concerned, the United States as a nation -would not perhaps be legally affected. But if citizens of the United -States are not to be protected by their own Government, a wholesale -slaughter might be justified on the ground that the ship was English. It -seems to me to be a question of policy. And, as such, one would say that -it was the duty of the United States to protect, as far as possible, -their own citizens.” - -On the Sunday following the destruction of the Lusitania reference to -the disaster was made by countless clergymen throughout Canada. Varying -sentiments were expressed in their sermons, but perhaps the keynote was -sounded by the Rev. W. H. Hincks, D.D., pastor of Trinity Methodist -Church, Toronto, who alluded to the subject as follows: - -“Neutral nations headed by the President of the United States seven -months ago entered a united diplomatic protest against the violation of -the branch of The Hague Convention which has to do with the killing of -civilians. The greatest thinkers in Great Britain have taken the view -that the United States can do more good as a neutral by exerting her -influence in the interest of humanity and in accordance with The Hague -Convention than in entering unprepared into the war. Our duty is to pray -for the President of the United States, that, surrounded by the wisest -of his advisers, he may take action with other neutral nations to -prevent the repetition of such a crime.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -AMERICA’S PROTEST AGAINST UNCIVILIZED WARFARE - - PRESIDENT WILSON’S GREAT RESPONSIBILITY -- THE NOTE TO GERMANY -- - ATTACKS CALLED CONTRARY TO RULES OF WARFARE -- WARNING TO GERMANY - RECALLED -- SUBMARINE WARFARE ON COMMERCE CONDEMNED -- PUBLISHED - WARNING DECLARED NO EXCUSE FOR ATTACK -- PROMPT, JUST ACTION BY - GERMANY EXPECTED -- THE WHOLE NATION BEHIND THE PRESIDENT -- SOUTH AND - WEST RESOUNDED WITH APPROVAL. - - -Rarely has a man in any office of life had laid upon his shoulders so -great a responsibility as was thrust upon President Wilson by the -destruction of more than a hundred American lives in the Lusitania -disaster. No heart was more sorely stricken than his by the dastardly -calamity, and yet it is characteristic of the man, and to his -everlasting credit, that when impetuous minds were urging him to hasty -action, his reply was, - -“We must think first of humanity.” - -A man of lesser stature, mentally and spiritually, would have required a -host of counselors. In the great crisis which he faced President Wilson -assumed for himself full responsibility. There was the rare spectacle of -a man great enough and sure enough to determine wholly within his own -mind upon the action he should take. He sought no advice; he eschewed -advisers. In solitude he evolved his supreme duty. - -When, in the seclusion of his own soul, he had fixed upon his policy, he -proceeded in the same way to put it into words. It is a thing perhaps -without precedent before the administration of President Wilson that the -note to the German government, which has become a historic document, was -written originally by the President in shorthand. After he had set down -the communication in this way he transcribed it on his own typewriter. -No official or clerk of the White House had any part in the preparation -of the document until after it had been presented to the members of the -Cabinet. Not even Secretary Bryan saw it in advance of that time. - - -THE NOTE TO GERMANY - -The full text of President Wilson’s note, dated May 13, and communicated -over the name of Secretary of State Bryan, is as follows: - - _“The Secretary of State to the American Ambassador at Berlin_: - - “Please call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and after reading to - him this communication, leave with him a copy: - - “In view of the recent acts of the German authorities in violation of - American rights on the high seas, which culminated in the torpedoing - and sinking of the British steamship Lusitania on May 7, 1915, by - which over one hundred American citizens lost their lives, it is - clearly wise and desirable that the government of the United States - and the imperial German government should come to a clear and full - understanding as to the grave situation which has resulted. - - “The sinking of the British passenger steamship Falaba by a German - submarine on March 28, through which Leon C. Thresher, an American - citizen, was drowned; the attack on April 28 on the American vessel - Cushing by a German aeroplane; the torpedoing on May 1 of the American - vessel Gulflight by a German submarine, as a result of which two or - more American citizens met their death; and, finally, the torpedoing - and sinking of the steamship Lusitania, constitute a series of events - which the government of the United States has observed with growing - concern, distress and amazement. - - - ATTACKS CALLED CONTRARY TO RULES OF WARFARE - - “Recalling the humane and enlightened attitude hitherto assumed by the - imperial German government in matters of international right, and - particularly with regard to the freedom of the seas; having learned to - recognize the German views and the German influence in the field of - international obligation as always engaged upon the side of justice - and humanity; and having understood the instructions of the imperial - German government to its naval commanders to be upon the same plane of - humane action prescribed by the naval codes of other nations, the - government of the United States was loath to believe--it cannot now - bring itself to believe--that these acts, so absolutely contrary to - the rules, the practices and the spirit of modern warfare, could have - the countenance or sanction of that great government. It feels it to - be its duty, therefore, to address the imperial German government - concerning them with the utmost frankness and in the earnest hope that - it is not mistaken in expecting action on the part of the imperial - German government which will correct the unfortunate impressions which - have been created and vindicate once more the position of that - government with regard to the sacred freedom of the seas. - - - WARNING TO GERMANY RECALLED - - “The government of the United States has been apprised that the - imperial German government considered themselves to be obliged by the - extraordinary circumstances of the present war and the measures - adopted by their adversaries in seeking to cut Germany off from all - commerce, to adopt methods of retaliation which go much beyond the - ordinary methods of warfare at sea, in the proclamation of a war zone - from which they have warned neutral ships to keep away. This - government has already taken occasion to inform the imperial German - government that it cannot admit the adoption of such measures or such - a warning of danger to operate as in any degree an abbreviation of the - rights of American shipmasters or of American citizens bound on lawful - errands as passengers on merchant ships of belligerent nationality; - and that it must hold the imperial German government to a strict - accountability for any infringement of those rights, intentional or - incidental. It does not understand the imperial German government to - question those rights. It assumes, on the contrary, that the imperial - German government accept, as of course, the rule that the lives of - non-combatants, whether they be of neutral citizenship or citizens of - one of the nations at war, cannot lawfully or rightfully be put in - jeopardy by the capture or destruction of an unarmed merchantman, and - recognize, also, as all other nations do, the obligation to take the - usual precaution of visit and search to ascertain whether a suspected - merchantman is in fact of belligerent nationality or is in fact - carrying contraband of war under a neutral flag. - - - SUBMARINE WARFARE ON COMMERCE CONDEMNED - - “The government of the United States, therefore, desires to call the - attention of the imperial German government with the utmost - earnestness to the fact that the objection to their present method of - attack against the trade of their enemies lies in the practical - impossibility of employing submarines in the destruction of commerce - without disregarding those rules of fairness, reason, justice and - humanity, which all modern opinion regards as imperative. It is - practically impossible for the officers of a submarine to visit a - merchantman at sea and examine her papers and cargo. It is practically - impossible for them to make a prize of her; and, if they cannot put a - prize crew on board of her, they cannot sink her without leaving her - crew and all on board of her to the mercy of the sea in her small - boats. These facts, it is understood, the imperial German government - frankly admit. - - “We are informed that in the instances of which we have spoken time - enough for even that poor measure of safety was not given, and in at - least two of the cases cited not so much as a warning was received. - Manifestly, submarines cannot be used against merchantmen, as the last - few weeks have shown, without an inevitable violation of many sacred - principles of justice and humanity. - - “American citizens act within their indisputable rights in taking - their ships and in traveling wherever their legitimate business calls - them upon the high seas, and exercise those rights in what should be - the well-justified confidence that their lives will not be endangered - by acts done in clear violation of universally acknowledged - international obligations, and certainly in the confidence that their - own government will sustain them in the exercise of their rights. - - - PUBLISHED WARNING DECLARED NO EXCUSE FOR ATTACK - - “There was recently published in the newspapers of the United States, - I regret to inform the imperial German government, a formal warning, - purporting to come from the imperial German embassy at Washington, - addressed to the people of the United States, and stating in effect - that any citizen of the United States who exercised his right of free - travel upon the seas would do so at his peril if his journey should - take him within the zone of waters within which the imperial German - navy was using submarines against the commerce of Great Britain and - France, notwithstanding the respectful but very earnest protest of - this government, the government of the United States. I do not refer - to this for the purpose of calling the attention of the imperial - German government at this time to the surprising irregularity of a - communication from the imperial German embassy at Washington addressed - to the people of the United States through the newspapers, but only - for the purpose of pointing out that no warning that an unlawful and - inhumane act will be committed can possibly be accepted as an excuse - or palliation for that act, or as an abatement of the responsibility - for its commission. - - “Long acquainted as this government has been with the character of the - imperial German government and with the high principles of equity by - which they have in the past been actuated and guided, the government - of the United States cannot believe that the commanders of the vessels - which committed these acts of lawlessness did so except under a - misapprehension of the orders issued by the imperial German naval - authorities. It takes it for granted that, at least within the - practical possibilities of every such case, the commanders even of - submarines were expected to do nothing that would involve the lives of - non-combatants or the safety of neutral ships, even at the cost of - failing of their object of capture or destruction. - - “It confidently expects, therefore, that the imperial German - government will disavow the acts of which the government of the United - States complains; that they will make reparation so far as reparation - is possible for injuries which are without measure, and that they will - take immediate steps to prevent the recurrence of anything so - obviously subversive of the principles of warfare for which the - imperial German government have in the past so wisely and so firmly - contended. - - - PROMPT, JUST ACTION BY GERMANY EXPECTED - - “The government and people of the United States look to the imperial - German government for just, prompt and enlightened action in this - vital matter with the greater confidence because the United States and - Germany are bound together not only by special ties of friendship, but - also by the explicit stipulations of the treaty of 1828 between the - United States and the Kingdom of Prussia. - - “Expressions of regret and offers of reparation in case of the - destruction of neutral ships sunk by mistake, while they may satisfy - international obligations, if no loss of life results, cannot justify - or excuse a practice, the natural and necessary effect of which is to - subject neutral nations and neutral persons to new and immeasurable - risks. - - “The imperial German government will not expect the government of the - United States to omit any word or any act necessary to the performance - of its sacred duty of maintaining the rights of the United States and - its citizens and of safeguarding their free exercise and enjoyment. - - “BRYAN.” - - -THE WHOLE NATION BEHIND THE PRESIDENT - -With anxiety, even if with confidence, the American people waited the -publication of this note. Then they read, and the whole country -resounded with enthusiastic support. More than at almost any previous -period in the history of the United States, more certainly than at the -outbreak of any previous foreign war, the nation stood solidly behind -the President. According to the New York Tribune he “acted with calm -statesmanlike directness, deserved well of his own nation and earned the -respect of the world.” The New York Sun, commenting on the note, said: -“The President has spoken firmly. The country, supporting him as firmly, -awaits without passion the German reply,” and the New York Herald in an -editorial declared that President Wilson had “expressed the unanimous -voice of the great American republic.” “Everyone trusts the President -because he has shown himself worthy of trust,” was the comment of the -Philadelphia Public Ledger. “The Government’s position in this case is -the country’s position. It is not extreme, yet it covers the ground,” -spoke the Springfield Republican, and the Christian Science Monitor went -so far as to state that there was “probably no body of opinion in the -United States which will be dissatisfied either with the tone or temper -of the message.” - -[Illustration: ZEPPELIN DEVICE FOR DROPPING BOMBS. - -An armored car is suspended by three cables from the Zeppelin airship to -a distance of several thousand feet below the monster air-craft, which -is concealed in the clouds above. (_Sphere copr._)] - -[Illustration: FALLING TO EARTH LIKE A BLAZING METEOR. - -This stirring picture represents a German aeroplane of the type called -Aviatik, beaten in a fight high up in the air by the famous French -Aviator Garros, plunging to earth in flames, turning and turning like a -falling star.] - - -SOUTH AND WEST RESOUNDED WITH APPROVAL - -No less enthusiastic was the approval of the press in the South and -West. “The citizenry of this country is with Wilson,” stoutly declared -the Baltimore Sun, and the Louisville Post maintained: “There are no -neutrals in America now. We are all earnest supporters of the President, -who by patience and fortitude has established his right to lead a free -people.” The note, according to the Atlanta Journal, was “the voice of -the American people proclaiming in terms unmistakable their conscience -and their will.” - -“Whatever the fate of our relations with Germany, the President -undoubtedly has voiced the sentiment of the nation upon the use of the -submarine and as to the rights of neutrals on the high seas,” was the -comment of the Chicago Tribune. The note was described by the Cleveland -News as “all that Americans could wish,” and according to the San -Francisco Chronicle, it commended itself “to the common sense of people -unafflicted with inflammable hatreds.” “It is probable that no document -of state ever came nearer reflecting the sentiment of the American -people,” commented the Denver Times, and the Indianapolis News -proclaimed: “It is not simply the government, but the nation that speaks -through the document. There is no one who does not hope for a peaceful -adjustment of the difficulty.” The Minneapolis Journal, after analyzing -the note and especially the last strong paragraph of protest, declared: -“The American people will stand by these words.” - -If no president of the United States ever faced so grave a crisis, -certainly none ever received more unanimous support. If there were any -murmurs of dissatisfaction they were too faint to be heard above the -chorus of approval. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE GERMAN DEFENSE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE LUSITANIA - - BLAMES BRITAIN FOR MISUSE OF FLAG -- INVESTIGATING CASES OF CUSHING - AND GULFLIGHT -- DECLARES SHIP CARRIED MOUNTED CANNON -- SAYS IT ACTED - IN JUSTIFIED SELF-DEFENSE -- FINAL DECISION ON DEMANDS DEFERRED -- - AMERICAN OPINION OF GERMAN EXCUSES -- EVASIVE AND INSINCERE -- ATTACKS - ON AMERICAN VESSELS MUST CEASE -- SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT. - - -The German defense for the destruction of the Lusitania and for other -marine atrocities committed against non-combatant vessels in the famous, -or infamous, war zone was contained in a note to the American -government, transmitted May 31, in reply to President Wilson’s note of -protest. The full text of the German note is as follows: - -“The undersigned has the honor to submit to Ambassador Gerard the -following answer to the communication of May 13 regarding the injury to -American interests through German submarine warfare. - -“The Imperial government has subjected the communication of the American -government to a thorough investigation. It entertains also a keen wish -to co-operate in a frank and friendly way in clearing up a possible -misunderstanding which may have arisen in the relations between the two -governments through the events mentioned by the American government. - -“Regarding, firstly, the cases of the American steamers Cushing and -Gulflight. The American embassy has already been informed that the -German government has no intention of submitting neutral ships in the -war zone, which are guilty of no hostile acts, to attacks by a submarine -or submarines or aviators. On the contrary, the German forces have -repeatedly been instructed most specifically to avoid attacks on such -ships. - - -BLAMES BRITAIN FOR MISUSE OF FLAGS - -“If neutral ships in recent months have suffered through the German -submarine warfare, owing to mistakes in identification, it is a question -only of quite isolated and exceptional cases, which can be attributed to -the British government’s abuse of flags, together with the suspicious or -culpable behavior of the masters of the ships. - -“The German government, in all cases in which it has been shown by its -investigations that a neutral ship, not itself at fault, was damaged by -German submarines or aviators, has expressed regret over the unfortunate -accident and, if justified by conditions, has offered indemnification. - - -INVESTIGATING CASES OF CUSHING AND GULFLIGHT - -“The cases of the Cushing and the Gulflight will be treated on the same -principles. An investigation of both cases is in progress, the result of -which will presently be communicated to the embassy. The investigation -can, if necessary, be supplemented by an international call on the -international commission of inquiry as provided by Article III of The -Hague agreement of October 18, 1907. - -“When sinking the British steamer Falaba, the commander of the German -submarine had the intention of allowing the passengers and crew a full -opportunity for a safe escape. Only when the master did not obey the -order to heave-to, but fled and summoned help by rocket signals, did the -German commander order the crew and passengers by signals and megaphone -to leave the ship within ten minutes. He actually allowed them -twenty-three minutes time and fired the torpedo only when suspicious -craft were hastening to the assistance of the Falaba. - -“Regarding the loss of life by the sinking of the British passenger -steamer Lusitania, the German government has already expressed to the -neutral governments concerned its keen regret that citizens of their -states lost their lives. - -“On this occasion, the Imperial government, however, cannot escape the -impression that certain important facts having a direct bearing on the -sinking of the Lusitania may have escaped the attention of the American -government. - -“In the interest of a clear and complete understanding, which is the aim -of both governments, the Imperial government considers it first -necessary to convince itself that the information accessible to both -governments about the facts of the case is complete and in accord. - -“The government of the United States proceeds on the assumption that -the Lusitania could be regarded as an ordinary unarmed merchantman. The -Imperial government allows itself in this connection to point out that -the Lusitania was one of the largest and fastest British merchant ships, -built with government funds as an auxiliary cruiser and carried -expressly as such in the ‘navy list’ issued by the British admiralty. - - -DECLARES SHIP CARRIED MOUNTED CANNON - -“It is further known to the Imperial government from trustworthy reports -from its agents and neutral passengers, that for a considerable time -practically all the more valuable British merchantmen have been equipped -with cannon and ammunition and other weapons and manned with persons who -have been specially trained in serving guns. The Lusitania, too, -according to information received here, had cannon aboard, which were -mounted and concealed below decks. - -“The Imperial government, further, has the honor to direct the -particular attention of the American government to the fact that the -British admiralty in a confidential instruction issued in February, -1915, recommended its mercantile shipping not only to seek protection -under neutral flags and disguising marks, but also, while thus -disguised, to attack German submarines by ramming. As a special -incitation to merchantmen to destroy submarines, the British government -also offered high prizes and has already paid such rewards. - -“The Imperial government in view of these facts indubitably known to it, -is unable to regard British merchantmen in the zone of naval operations -specified by the admiralty staff of the German navy as ‘undefended.’ -German commanders consequently are no longer able to observe the -customary regulations of the prize law, which they always followed. - -“Finally the Imperial government must point out particularly that the -Lusitania on its last trip, as on earlier occasions, carried Canadian -troops and war material, including no less than 5,400 cases of -ammunition intended for the destruction of the brave German soldiers who -are fulfilling their duty with self-sacrifice and devotion in the -Fatherland’s service. - - -SAYS IT ACTED IN JUSTIFIED SELF-DEFENSE - -“The German government believes that it was acting in justified -self-defense in seeking with all the means of warfare at its disposition -to protect the lives of its soldiers by destroying ammunition intended -for the enemy. - -“The British shipping company must have been aware of the danger to -which the passengers aboard the Lusitania were exposed under these -conditions. The company, in embarking them notwithstanding this, -attempted deliberately to use the lives of American citizens as -protection for the ammunition aboard, and acted against the clear -provisions of the American law, which expressly prohibits the forwarding -of passengers on ships carrying ammunition, and provides a penalty -therefor. The company therefore is wantonly guilty of the death of so -many passengers. - -“There can be no doubt according to definite report of the submarine’s -commander, which is further confirmed by all other information, that the -quick sinking of the Lusitania is primarily attributed to the explosion -of the ammunition shipment caused by a torpedo. The Lusitania’s -passengers would otherwise, in all human probability, have been saved. - -“The Imperial government considers the above-mentioned facts important -enough to recommend them to the attentive examination of the American -government. - - -FINAL DECISION ON DEMANDS DEFERRED - -“The Imperial government, while withholding its final decision on the -demands advanced in connection with the sinking of the Lusitania until -receipt of an answer from the American government, feels impelled in -conclusion to recall here and now that it took cognizance with -satisfaction of the mediatory proposals submitted by the United States -government to Berlin and London as a basis for a modus vivendi for -conducting the maritime warfare between Germany and Great Britain. - -“The Imperial government by its readiness to enter upon a discussion of -these proposals, then demonstrated its good intentions in ample fashion. -The realization of these proposals was defeated, as is well known, by -the declinatory attitude of the British government. - -“The undersigned takes occasion, etc. - - “JAGOW.” - - -AMERICAN OPINION OF GERMAN EXCUSES - -The effect of the German note on American opinion was to create a sense -of angry disappointment. The newspapers were a unit in calling it -evasive. It “does not meet the issue,” declared the New York World, -while the New York Times viewed it as being “not responsive to our -demand. It tends rather to becloud understanding.” The Albany -Knickerbocker Press denounced it as “an answer which purposely does not -answer. Germany evidently is playing for time.” This thought was -reiterated by the Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, which pointed out that “it -is palpable that Germany proposes to consume time by raising points -which call for further correspondence, in the meanwhile continuing in -the course to which the United States has objected.” - -[Illustration: SURVIVORS OF THE LUSITANIA DISASTER. - -Mr. Cowper, a Canadian journalist, holding little Helen Smith, a -six-year-old American girl, who lost both father and mother. (_C. Int. -News Service._) - -“The Man Who Cannot Be Drowned.” This stoker was saved from the Titanic, -the Empress of Ireland and, lastly, from the Lusitania.] - -[Illustration: SAPPING AND MINING THE ENEMY’S TRENCHES. - -When the hostile trenches are near together an open zig-zag trench is -dug to a point very close to the enemy’s line, then a covered gallery is -excavated to a point almost under the hostile trench. - -GAINING A FOOT OF GROUND PER HOUR. - -Here a charge of explosive is placed and fired from a distance by an -electric wire. At the same instant the men charge over the ground and -occupy the ruined trench of the enemy. (_Il. L. News copr._)] - -[Illustration: BELGIAN REFUGEES FIND SAFETY IN HOLLAND. - -This photograph, made at Putte, a Holland frontier town, shows some of -the three hundred thousand refugees who sought safety in Holland. -(_Copyright by Underwood and Underwood._)] - - - United States’ Note of Protest and Germany’s Reply Compared - - - _President Wilson Demanded_: - - Practical cessation of submarine attacks on non-combatant vessels. - - Observance of the rule of visit and search in the case of all - suspected merchantmen before any such ship shall be subjected to - capture or destruction. - - Protection of non-combatants who may be on suspected merchantmen. - - Disavowal of official German responsibility for injury to Americans in - the Cushing, Gulflight and Lusitania cases. - - Reparation, so far as reparation is possible, for irreparable damage. - - Immediate steps by Germany to prevent the recurrence of incidents “so - obviously subversive of the principles of warfare.” - - The first three items, as noted above, were stated not as actual - demands, but as assumptions of what Germany would agree to in view of - previous communications from this country in the matter of what is - allowable in maritime warfare according to previously acknowledged - international law and the dictates of humanity. - - - _Germany Conceded_: - - No intention of attacking neutral ships not guilty of hostile acts in - “war zone.” - - Regrets and indemnity where neutral ship, not itself at fault, is - damaged. - - Attacks on the American ships Gulflight and Cushing unintentional, the - circumstances being rigidly investigated. - - Keen regret at loss of lives of neutral citizens on Lusitania. - - - _Germany Evaded_: - - Issue as to humanitarian aspect and facts in Lusitania case. - - Giving of any direct promise to abandon submarine warfare. - - Any attempt to justify such warfare, except as “self-defense.” - - - _Germany Countered_: - - By raising question as to Lusitania being an “auxiliary armed - cruiser,” and not of the “undefended merchantmen” class. - - By accusing Cunard company of using American citizens to protect the - “ammunition” carried by Lusitania, and of being guilty of their death. - -The Chicago Herald more specifically pointed out the evasiveness of the -German reply, claiming that it “fails wholly to meet the main points at -issue, both the specific point of the slaughter of American citizens on -the Lusitania and the general point of the impossibility of employing -submarines in the destruction of commerce without disregarding rules of -fairness, reason, justice and humanity--established principles of -international law.” - - -EVASIVE AND INSINCERE - -The Philadelphia Public Ledger also criticized it for ignoring -altogether “the protest in the name of humanity against submarine -warfare upon non-combatants,” and the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune laid -bare the “absolute ignoring of the vital principles set forth in the -Wilson letter,” adding that “there is a half contemptuous, albeit -entirely courteous, suggestion of ‘Well, they are still dead; now, what -do you propose to do about it?’” - -[Illustration: NO USE.] - -The German claim that the Lusitania was in effect a warship, with -mounted guns, and carried ammunition and Canadian soldiers, was -emphatically denied in a public statement by Dudley Field Malone, -collector of the port of New York, and the New York World vehemently -answered the German claim by declaring that “the Lusitania was a warship -in the same way that Belgium was an aggressor against Germany; in the -same way that the University of Louvain and Rheims Cathedral were -‘fortifications’; in the same way that various seaside resorts in -England, raided by Germans, were ‘defended.’” - - -ATTACKS ON AMERICAN VESSELS MUST CEASE - -Many newspapers joined in calling for more drastic action on the part of -the United States government. “We have but one thing in mind,” announced -the New York Tribune, “that these crimes shall cease. Any answer, -therefore, which fails to guarantee their stoppage as a condition -precedent to diplomatic rectification cannot be expected to satisfy the -just expectation of the United States.” The Washington Herald followed -this by saying: “The patience of the American people in the face of -contemptuous disregard of their rights and a series of outrages against -their countrymen has been sublime, but surely it has a limit. Surely a -way will be found, without much longer delay, to compel Germany to cease -her attacks on American vessels engaged in neutral commerce and to -guarantee the safety of American lives and property.” - - -SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT - -On the other hand there was a strong element that counseled coolness and -restraint. “This is not a time,” declared the Albany Knickerbocker -Press, “to suggest to President Wilson what ought to be done. It is not -a time to become impatient. It is a time for restraint. Nothing can be -gained now by playing upon the strings of excitable public opinion in -America. The President must find his way out and every true American -must support him loyally.” Echoing this sentiment, the Springfield -Republican added, “but the German government may fairly be required to -give definite assurances that during the period of the negotiations no -more torpedo attacks on passenger ships which may be carrying American -citizens will be permitted.” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -SWIFT REVERSAL TO BARBARISM - -BY VANCE THOMPSON - - CULTURE SWEPT AWAY -- BREAKING POINT OF CIVILIZATION -- BARBARISM AND - WOMEN -- AFTER BARBARISM, WHAT? - - [The following article is reproduced by the courtesy of the New York - Times.] - - -There is in Brussels--if the Uhlans have spared it--a mad and monstrous -picture. It is called “A Scene in Hell,” and hangs in the Musée Wiertz. -And what you see on the canvas are the fierce and blinding flames of -hell; and amid them looms the dark figure of Napoleon, and around him -the wives and mothers and maids of Belgium scream and surge and clutch -and curse--taking their posthumous vengeance. - -And since Napoleon was a notable emperor in his time, the picture is not -without significance today. Paint in another face, and let it go at -that. - -War is a bad thing. Even hell is the worse for it. - -War is a bad thing; it is a reversal, sudden and complete, to barbarism. -That is what I would get at in this article. One day there is -civilization, authentic, complex, triumphant; comes war, and in a moment -the entire fabric sinks down into a slime of mud and blood. In a day, -in an hour, a cycle of civilization is canceled. What you saw in the -morning was suave and ordered life; and the sun sets on howling -savagery. In the morning black-coated men lifted their hats to women. -Ere nightfall they are slashing them with sabres and burning the houses -over their heads. And the grave old professors who were droning -platitudes of peace and progress and humanitarianism are screaming, ere -today is done, shrill senile clamors for blood and ravage and rapine. - -A reversal to barbarism. - -Here; it is in the tea-room of the smartest hotel in Munich; war has -come; high-voiced women of title chatter over their teacups; comes -swaggering in the Crown Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria; he has just had his -sabre sharpened and has girt his abdomen for war. His wife runs to him. -And she kisses the sabre and shouts: “Bring it back to me covered with -blood--that I may kiss it again!” And the other high-voiced women flock -to kiss the sword. - -A reversal to barbarism. - -It has taken place in an hour; but yesterday these were sweet patrician -ladies, who prattled of humanity and love and the fair graces of life; -and now they would fain wet their mouths with blood--laughingly, as -harlots wet their mouths with wine. - -The unclean and vampirish spirit of war has swept them back to the -habits of the cave-dwelling ages of the race. In an hour the culture so -painfully acquired in slow generations has been swept away. Royalty, in -the tea-room of the “Four Seasons,” is one with the blonde nude female -who romped and fought in the dark Teutonic forests ere Caesar came -through Gaul. - -Reversal to barbarism. - -War is declared; and in Berlin the Emperor of Germany rides in an open -motor car down Unter den Linden; he is in full uniform, sworded, erect, -hieratic; and at his side sits the Empress--she the good mother, the -housewife, the fond grandmother--garmented from head to foot in cloth -the color of blood. - -Theatricalism? No. The symbolism is more significant. The symbol bears a -savage significance. It marks, as a red sunset, the going down of -civilization and the coming of the dark barbarism of war. - - -BREAKING POINT OF CIVILIZATION - -There was war; and the whole machinery of civilization stopped. - -Modern civilization is the most complex machine imaginable; its infinite -cogged wheels turn endlessly upon each other; and perfectly it -accomplishes its multifarious purposes; but smash one wheel and it all -falls apart into muddle and ruin. The declaration of war was like -thrusting a mailed fist into the intricate works of a clock. There was -an end of the perfected machine of civilization. Everything stopped. - -That was a queer world we woke in. A world that seemed new, so old it -was. - -Money had ceased to exist. It seemed at that moment an appalling thing. -I was on the edge and frontier of a neutral state. I had money in a -bank. It ceased to be money. A thousand-franc note was paper. A -hundred-mark note was rubbish. British sovereigns were refused at the -railway station. The Swiss shopkeeper would not change a Swiss note. -What had seemed money was not money. - -Values were told in terms of bread. - -It was a swift and immediate return to the economic conditions of -barbarism. Metals were hoarded; and where there had been trade there was -barter. And it all happened in an hour, in that first fierce panic of -war. - -Traffic stopped with a clang as of rusty iron. The mailed fist had -dislocated the complex machinery of European traffic. Frontiers which -had been mere landmarks of travel became suddenly formidable and -impassable barriers, guarded by harsh, hysterical men with bayonets. - -War makes men brave and courageous? Rubbish! It fills them with the -cruelty of hysteria and the panic of the unknown. I am not talking of -battle, which is a different thing. But I say the men who guarded the -German frontier--and I dare say every other frontier--in the first -stress of war, were wrenched and shaken with veritable hysteria. At St. -Ludwig and Constance those husky soldiers in iron-mongery, with shaved -heads and beards and outstanding ears, fell into sheer savagery, not -because they were bad and savage men, but simply because they were -hysterical. The fact is worth noting. - -It explains many a bloody and infamous deed in the tragic history of sad -Alsace and of little Belgium. The war-begotten reversal to savagery -brought with it all the hysteria of the savage man. The sentries at St. -Ludwig struck with muskets and sabres because they were hysterical with -terror of the new, unknown state into which they had been plunged, not -because they were not men like you and me. Surely the savage Uhlan who -ravaged the cottages of Alsace was your brother and mine, as were the -Magyar beyond the Danube and the Cossack at Kovna. Only they had gone -back to the terrors of the man who dwelt in a cave. - -Traffic stopped; and when it stopped civilization fell away from the -travelers. That was strange. Take the afternoon of the day war was -declared, the date being Aug. 1, in the year of our Lord 1914, and the -hour 7.30 P. M., Berlin time. It was the last train that reached the -frontier from Paris. Between Delle and Bicourt lies a neutral zone about -three kilometers--say, nearly two and a half miles--in extent. On one -side France and invasion and terror and war; on the other side of the -zone the relative safety of Switzerland. Six hundred passengers poured -out of the French train at noon into that neutral zone and started to -walk to Swiss safety. A blazing August sun; a road of pebbles and -stinging, upblown dust. - -The passengers had been permitted to bring on the train only what -luggage they could carry; so they were laden with bags and coats, -dressing bags and jewel cases--all they had deemed most valuable. Mostly -women. German ladies fleeing for refuge; Russian ladies; English, -American; and a crowd of men, urgent to reach their armies, German, -Swiss, Russian, Austrian, Servian, Italian; withal many of the kind of -American men who go to Switzerland in August. - -And the caravan started in the dust and heat of a desert. A woman let -fall her heavy bag and plodded on. Another threw away her coats. Men -shook off their bundles. The heat was stifling. And through the clouds -of dust a panic terror crept. It was the antique terror of the God -Pan--the God All; it was a fear as immense as the sky. - -A woman screamed and began to run, throwing away everything she had -safeguarded so she might run with empty hands. A score followed her. Men -began to run. They thrust the women aside, cursing; and ran. And for -over two miles the road was covered thick with coats and bags, with -packages and jewel cases. The greed of possession died out in the -causeless fear. - -These hoarse, pushing men, these sweating, shameless women had gone back -10,000 years into prehistoric savagery. Lightly they threw away all the -baubles and gewgaws civilization had fashioned for adorning and -disguising their raw humanity, and the habits of civilization as well. - -They had touched but the outermost edge of war, and their very clothes -fell off them. - - -BARBARISM AND WOMEN - -War; and it takes eighty-four hours to make a twelve-hour journey from -the Alps to Paris; the cable is dead; the telegraph is dumb; letters go -only when smuggled over the frontiers by couriers; you look about you -and find you are in a mediæval and mysterious world. You stand amid the -melancholy ruins of canceled cycles. The mailed fist of war has smashed -your world to pieces. You do not know it. - -The man you thought of as a brother looks at you with eyes of passionate -hatred; you have eaten bread and salt together; you have drunk together; -you have been uplifted by the same books; you have been sublimed by the -same music; but he is a German, and your blood was made in another land, -and he looks at you with suspicion and hate--perhaps you are a spy. (The -spy mania! Dear Lord, what absurd, bloody, and abominable stories I -could write of this madness which has Europe by the throat, this madness -which is only another form of war hysteria!) A reversal to barbarism; -you and the man who was your friend have gone back to the fear and -hatred of primitive savages, meeting at the corner of a dark wood. All -of humanity we have acquired in the slow way of evolution sloughs off -us. - -We are savages once more. For science is dead. All the laboratories are -shut, save those where poison is brewed and destruction is put up in -packages. Education has ceased, save that fierce Nietzschean education -which declares: “The weak and helpless must go to the wall; and we shall -help them go.” All that made life humanly fair is hidden in the fetid -clouds of war where savages (in terror and hysteria) grope for each -other’s throats. - -The glory of war--rot! The heroism of war--rot! The scarlet and -beneficent energies of war--rot! When you look at it close what you see -are hulking masses of brutes with fear behind them prodding them on, or -wild and splendid savages, hysterical with hate, battling to save their -hearth fires and women from the oncoming horde. Reversal to barbarism. - -Think it over. Upon whom falls the stress of war? Not upon the soldier. -He is killed and fattens the soil where he falls; or he is maimed and -hobbles off toward a pension or beggary--both tolerable things; anyway -he has drunk deep of cruelty and terror and may go his way. By rare good -grace he may have been a hero. In other words, he may have been a -Belgian--which is a word like a decoration, a name to make one strut -like a Greek of Thermopylae--and become thus a permanent part of the -world’s finest history. - - * * * * * - -I would like to write here the name of a friend, Charles Flamache of -Brussels. He was twenty-one years old. He was an artist who had already -tasted fame. He had known the love of woman. That his destiny might be -fulfilled he died, the blithe, brave boy, in front of Liège. It was the -right death at the right time--ere yet the massed Prussians had rolled -in fire and blood over his fair small land. Wherefore, hail and -farewell, young hero! - - * * * * * - -But upon whom falls the stress of war? - -In a time of barbarism those who suffer are always the weak. War is in -its essence (as said Nietzsche, the German philosopher of “world power”) -an attack upon weakness. The weakest suffer most. - -I saw children born on cinder heaps, and I saw them die; and the mothers -die gasping like she dogs in a smother of flies. - -Some day the story of what was done in Alsace will be written and the -stories of Visé and Aerschot and Orsmael and Louvain will seem pale and -negligible; but not now--five generations to come will whisper them in -the Vosges. - -What I would emphasize is that in the natural state of barbarism induced -by the war the woman falls back to her antique state of she animal. In -thousands of years she has been made into a thing of exquisite and -mysterious femininity; in a day she is thrown back to kinship with the -she dog. Slashed with sabres, pricked with lances, she is a mere thing -of prey. - -Surely not the dear Countess and Baroness? Of course not. War is made in -the palaces, but it does not attack the palaces. The worth of every -nation dwells in the cottage; and it is upon the cottage that war works -its worst infamy. Go to Alsace and see. - -Pillage, loot, incendiarism, “indemnity”--you can read that in the -records of the invasion of Belgium; that is war; it is all right if war -is to be, for all this talk of chivalrous consideration for foes and -regard for international law is all nonsense; necessity, as -Bethmann-Hollweg said, knows no law, and necessity has always been the -tyrant’s plea; it is the business of a soldier to kill and terrify; if -he restricts his killing and terrifying he is a bad soldier and bad at -his work of barbarism; but-- - -There is a more sinister side to Europe’s lapse into barbarism. The -women are paying too dear. And to make them pay dear is not really the -business of a soldier, not even a bad soldier. Yet the woman is paying, -God knows. A tragic payment. - - -AFTER BARBARISM WHAT? - -One morning at dawn--it was at Ambérieu--I saw the long trains go by -carrying the German wounded and the German prisoners, who had been taken -in the battles of the Vosges. There were 2,400 taken on toward the -south. There were French nurses with the wounded. I saw water and fruit -and chocolate given to the prisoners. - -This was early in the war. The sheer lapse into barbarism had not yet -come. Soon the German newspapers announced: - -“Great concern is expressed in press and public utterances lest -prisoners of war receive anything in the line of favored treatment. -Newspapers have conducted an angry campaign against women who have -ventured at the railway station to give coffee or food to prisoners of -war passing through; commanding officers have ordered that persons -‘demeaning themselves by such unworthy conduct’ are to be immediately -ejected from the stations, and in response to public clamor official -announcements have been issued that such prisoners in transport receive -only bread and water.” - -And the French followed suit; no “coddling” of prisoners; back to -barbarism, the lessons of humanity forgot and savagery come again. - -Civilization in the old world is smashed. I have traversed the ruins; -and my feet are still dirty with mud and blood. But I can tell you what -is going to come out of that welter of ruin. There will come a sane and -righteous hatred of militarism. What will be surely destroyed is -Cæsarism. Prophecy? This is not prophecy; I am stating an assured fact. -Even at this hour of hysterical and relentless warfare there lies deep -in the heart of the democracy of Europe a consuming hatred of -militarism. - -Drops of water (or blood) do not more naturally flow into each than did -the English hatred of Cæsarism blend with the high French hatred of the -evil thing; and when the palaces have done fighting, the cottages of -Europe, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean and from the Black Sea to -the Hebrides, will proclaim its destruction. - -And you will see it; you will see Cæsarism drowned in the very blood it -has shed. And the German, mark you, will not be the least bitter of the -foes of militarism. He will be indeed a relentless foe. - -Reversal to barbarism, say you? A shuddering lapse into savagery? - -Quite true; that is the state of Europe over the fairest and most highly -civilized provinces. The picture of Sir John French strolling up and -down the battle line smoking a cigarette does not give a fair idea of -it; nor do you get it from the Kaiser on a hilltop surveying his massed -war bullocks surging forth patiently to battle; all that belongs to the -picture books of war. - -The real thing is dirtier. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -BELGIUM’S BITTER NEED - -BY SIR GILBERT PARKER - - THE MARTYRDOM OF BELGIUM -- ABYSS OF WANT AND WOE -- NO WORK AND HEAVY - WAR TAXES -- PATIENCE OF BELGIANS -- CRYING NEED OF FOOD -- BELGIAN - PEOPLE WARDS OF THE WORLD. - - [Sir Gilbert Parker went abroad at the request of the American - Committee for the Relief of Belgium, and the following graphic - statement and appeal to the American people, dated December 5, 1914, - appeared in the New York Times.] - - -Since the beginning of the war the hearts of all humane people have been -tortured by the sufferings of Belgium. For myself the martyrdom of -Belgium had been a nightmare since the fall of Liège. Whoever or -whatever country is to blame for this war, Belgium is innocent. Her -hands are free from stain. She has kept the faith. She saw it with the -eyes of duty and honor. Her government is carried on in another land. -Her king is in the trenches. Her army is decimated, but the last -decimals fight on. - -Her people wander in foreign lands, the highest and lowest looking for -work and bread; they cannot look for homes. Those left behind huddle -near the ruins of their shattered villages or take refuge in towns which -cannot feed their own citizens. - - -ABYSS OF WANT AND WOE - -Many cities and towns have been completely destroyed; others, reduced or -shattered, struggle in vain to feed their poor and broken populations. -Stones and ashes mark the places where small communities lived their -peaceful lives before the invasion. The Belgian people live now in the -abyss of want and woe. - -All this I knew in England, but knew it from the reports of others. I -did not, could not, know what the destitution, the desolation of Belgium -was, what were the imperative needs of this people, until I got to -Holland and to the borders of Belgian territory. Inside that territory I -could not pass because I was a Britisher, but there I could see German -soldiers, the Landwehr, keeping guard over what they call their new -German province. Belgium a German province! - -There at Maastricht I saw fugitives crossing the frontier into Holland -with all their worldly goods on their shoulders or in their hands, or -with nothing at all, seeking hospitality of a little land which itself -feels, though it is neutral, the painful stress and cost of the war. -There, on the frontier, I was standing between Dutch soldiers and German -soldiers, so near the Germans that I could almost have touched them, so -near three German officers that their conversation as they saluted me -reached my ears. - -I begin to understand what the sufferings and needs of Belgium are. They -are such that the horror of it almost paralyzes expression. I met at -Maastricht Belgians, representatives of municipalities, who said that -they had food for only a fortnight longer. And what was the food they -had? No meat, no vegetables, but only one-third of a soldier’s rations -of bread for each person per day. At Liège, as I write, there is food -for only three days. - -What is it the people of Belgium ask for? They ask for bread and salt, -no more, and it is not forthcoming. They do not ask for meat; they -cannot get it. They have no fires for cooking, and they do not beg for -petrol. Money is of little use to them, because there is no food to be -bought with money. - -Belgium under ordinary circumstances imports five-sixths of the food she -eats. The ordinary channels of sale and purchase are closed. They cannot -buy and sell if they would. Representatives of Belgian communities told -me at Maastricht that the crops were taken from their fields--the wheat -and potatoes--and were sent into Germany. - - -NO WORK, AND HEAVY WAR TAXES - -There is no work. The factories are closed because they have not raw -material, coal, or petrol, because they have no markets. - -And yet war taxes are falling with hideous pressure upon a people whose -hands are empty, whose workshops are closed, whose fields are idle, -whose cattle have been taken, or compulsorily purchased without value -received. - -In Belgium itself the misery of the populace is greater than the misery -of the Belgian fugitives in other countries, such as Holland, where -there have come since the fall of Liège one and a half million of -fugitives. To gauge what that misery in Belgium is, think of what even -the fugitives suffer. I have seen in a room without fire, the walls -damp, the floor without covering, not even straw, a family of nine women -and eight children, one on an improvised bunk seriously ill. Their home -in Belgium was leveled with the ground, the father killed in battle. - -Their food is coffee and bread for breakfast, potatoes for dinner, with -salt--and in having the salt they were lucky--bread and coffee for -supper. Insufficiently clothed, there by the North Sea, they watched the -bleak hours pass, with nothing to do except cling together in a vain -attempt to keep warm. - -Multiply this case by hundreds of thousands and you will have some hint -of the people’s sufferings. - -In a lighter on the River Maas at Rotterdam, without windows, without -doors, with only an open hatchway from which a ladder descends, several -hundred fugitives spend their nights and the best parts of their days in -the iron hold, forever covered with moisture, leaky when rain comes, -with the floor never dry, and pervasive with a perpetual smell like the -smell of a cave which never gets the light of day. Here men, women, and -children were huddled together in a promiscuous communion of misery, -made infinitely more pathetic and heartrending because none complained. - -At Rosendaal, at Scheveningen, Eysden, and Flushing, at a dozen other -places, these ghastly things are repeated in one form or another. -Holland has sheltered hundreds of thousands, but she could not in a -moment organize even adequate shelter, much less comforts. - -In Bergen-op-Zoom, where I write these words, there have come since the -fall of Antwerp 300,000 hungry marchers, with no resources except what -they carry with them. This little town of 15,000 people did its best to -meet the terrible pressure, and its citizens went without bread -themselves to feed the refugees. How can a small municipality suddenly -deal with so vast a catastrophe? Yet slowly some sort of order was -organized out of chaos, and when the Government was able to establish -refugee camps through the military the worst conditions were moderated, -and now, in tents and in vans on a fortunately situated piece of land, -over 3,000 people live, so far as comforts are concerned, like Kaffirs -in Karoo or aborigines in a camp in the back blocks of Australia. The -tents are crammed with people, and life is reduced to its barest -elements. Straw, boards, and a few blankets and dishes for rations--that -constitutes the ménage. - -Children are born in the hugger-mugger of such conditions, but the good -Holland citizens see that the children are cared for and that the babies -have milk. Devoted priests teach the children, and the value of military -organization illuminates the whole panoply of misery. Yet the best of -the refugee camps would seem to American citizens like the dark and -dreadful life of an underworld, in which is neither work, purpose, nor -opportunity. It is a sight repugnant to civilization. - - -PATIENCE OF BELGIANS - -The saddest, most heartrending thing I have ever seen has been the -patience of every Belgian, whatever his state, I have met. Among the -thousands of refugees I have seen in Holland, in the long stream that -crossed the frontier at Maastricht and besieged the doors of the Belgian -Consul while I was there, no man, no woman railed or declaimed against -the horror of their situation. The pathos of lonely, staring, apathetic -endurance is tragic beyond words. So grateful, so simply grateful, are -they, every one, for whatever is done for them. - -None begs, none asks for money, and yet on the faces of these frontier -refugees I saw stark hunger, the weakness come of long weeks of famine. -One man, one fortunate man from Verviers, told me he could purchase as -much as 2s. 8d. worth of food for himself, his wife and child for a -week. - -Think of it, American citizens! Sixty-six cents’ worth of food for a -man, his wife, and child for a whole week, if he were permitted to -purchase that much! Sixty-six cents! That is what an average American -citizen pays for his dinner in his own home. He cannot get breakfast, he -can only get half a breakfast, for that at the Waldorf or the Plaza in -New York. - -This man was only allowed to purchase that much food if he could, -because if he purchased more he would be taking from some one else, and -they were living on rations for the week which would represent the food -of an ordinary man for a day. A rich man can have no more than a poor -man. It is a democracy of famine. - - -CRYING NEED OF FOOD - -There is enough food wasted in the average American household in one day -to keep a Belgian for a fortnight in health and strength. They want in -Belgium 30,000 tons of food a month. That is their normal requirement. -The American Relief Committee is asking for 8,000 tons a month, -one-quarter of the normal requirements, one-half of a soldier’s rations -for each Belgian. The American Committee needs $5,000,000 a month until -next harvest. It is a huge sum, but it must be forthcoming. - -Of all the great powers of the world the United States is the only one -not at war or in peril of war. Of all the foremost nations of the world -the United States is the only one that can save Belgium from starvation -if she will. She was the only nation that Germany would allow a foothold -for humanity’s and for Christ’s sake in Belgium. Such an opportunity, -such responsibility, no nation ever had before in the history of the -world. Spain and Italy join with her, but the initiative and resources -and organization are hers. - -Around Belgium is a ring of steel. Within that ring of steel is a -disappearing and forever disappearing population. Towns like -Dendermonde, that were of 10,000 people, have now 4,000, and in -Dendermonde 1,200 houses have fallen under the iron and fire of war. -Into that vast graveyard and camp of the desolate only the United States -enters with an adequate and responsible organization upon the mission of -humanity. - -No such opportunity was ever given to a people, no such test ever came -to a Christian people in all the records of time. Will the American -nation rise to the chance given to it to prove that its civilization is -a real thing and that its acts measure up with its inherent and -professed Christianity? - -I am a profound believer in the great-heartedness of the United States, -and there is not an American of German origin who ought not gladly and -freely give to the relief of people who, unless the world feeds them, -must be the remnant of a nation; and the world in this case is the -United States. She can give most. - -[Illustration: BRINGING UP REINFORCEMENTS.] - -The price of one good meal a week for a family in an American home will -keep a Belgian alive for a fortnight. - -Probably the United States has 18,000,000 homes. How many of them will -deny themselves a meal for martyred Belgium? The mass of the American -people do not need to deny themselves anything to give to Belgium. The -whole standard of living on the American continent, in the United States -and Canada, is so much higher than the European standard that if they -lowered the scale by one-tenth just for one six months the Belgian -problem would be solved. - -I say to the American people that they cannot conceive what this strain -upon the populations of Europe is at this moment, and, in the cruel grip -of winter, hundreds of thousands will agonize till death or relief -comes. In Australia in drought times vast flocks of sheep go traveling -with shepherds looking for food and water, and no flock ever comes back -as it went forth. Not in flocks guided by shepherds, but lonely, -hopeless units, the Belgian people take flight, looking for food and -shelter, or remain paralyzed by the tragedy fallen upon them in their -own land. - - -BELGIAN PEOPLE WARDS OF THE WORLD - -Their sufferings are majestic in simple heroism and uncomplaining -endurance. So majestic in proportion ought the relief to be. The Belgian -people are wards of the world. In the circumstances the Belgian people -are special wards of the one great country that is secure in its peace -and that by its natural instincts of human sympathy and love of freedom -is best suited to do the work that should be done for Belgium. If every -millionaire would give a thousand, if every man with $100 a month would -give $10, the American Committee for the Relief of Belgium, with its -splendid organization, its unrivaled efficiency, through which flows a -tide of human sympathy, would be able to report at the end of the war -that a small nation in misfortune had been saved from famine and despair -by a great people far away, who had responded to the call, “Come over -and help us!” - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -JAMES BRYCE’S REPORT ON SYSTEMATIC MASSACRE IN BELGIUM - - REPORT OF COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE GERMAN OUTRAGES -- A HARROWING - RECITAL -- TELLS OF MASSACRES--“KILLED IN MASSES”--THE TALE OF LOUVAIN - -- TREATMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN -- CALLS KILLING - DELIBERATE--“SPIRIT OF WAR DEIFIED”--THE COMMISSION’S CONCLUSIONS. - - -Viscount Bryce, former British Ambassador at Washington, was appointed -chairman of a special government commission to investigate and report on -“outrages alleged to have been committed by German troops.” Associated -with Lord Bryce on the commission were Sir Frederick Pollock, Sir Edward -Clarke, Sir Alfred Hopkinson, H. A. L. Fisher, Vice-Chancellor of the -University of Sheffield; Harold Cox, and Kenelm E. Digby. The commission -was appointed by Premier Asquith on January 22, 1915. The document is -considered as probably the most severe arraignment made of the German -military sweep across Belgium, mainly because of the position of -Viscount Bryce as a historian, and also because of the care with which -the investigation was made, the great number of witnesses whose -testimony was examined, and the mass of evidence submitted with the -report of the commission. - -The report makes an official document of sixty-one printed pages, or -upward of 30,000 words, accompanied by maps showing the various routes -of the army and the chief scenes of desolation. It states at the outset -that 1,200 witnesses have been examined, the depositions being taken by -examiners of legal knowledge and experience, though without authority to -administer an oath. The examiners were instructed not to “lead” the -witnesses, and to seek to bring out the truth by cross-examination and -otherwise. The commission also submitted extracts from a number of -diaries taken from the German dead, chiefly German soldiers and in some -cases officers. - - -A HARROWING RECITAL - -Taking up conditions at Liège at the outset of the war, the report gives -a harrowing recital of occurrences at various points in the devastated -territory. At Herve on August 4, 1914, the report says, “the murder of -an innocent fugitive civilian was a prelude to the burning and pillage -of the town and of other villages in the neighborhood; to the -indiscriminate shooting of civilians of both sexes and to the organized -military execution of batches of selected males. Thus some fifty men -escaping from burning houses were seized, taken outside the town and -shot. At Melen, in one household alone the father and mother (names -given) were shot, the daughter died after being repeatedly attacked and -the son was wounded. - -“In Soumagne and Micheroux very many civilians were summarily shot. In a -field belonging to a man named E----, fifty-six or fifty-seven were put -to death. A German officer said, ‘You have shot at us.’ One of the -villagers asked to be allowed to speak, and said, ‘If you think these -people fired, kill me, but let them go.’ The answer was three volleys. -The survivors were bayoneted. Their corpses were seen in the field that -night by another witness. One at least had been mutilated. These were -not the only victims in Soumagne. The eye-witness of the massacre saw, -on his way home, twenty bodies, one that of a girl of thirteen. Another -witness saw nineteen corpses in a meadow. - -“At Heure le Romain all the male inhabitants, including some bed-ridden -old men, were imprisoned in the church. The burgomaster’s brother and -the priest were bayoneted. The village of Visé was completely destroyed. -Officers directed the incendiaries. Antiques and china were removed from -the houses before their destruction, by officers, who guarded the -plunder, revolver in hand. - - -TELLS OF MASSACRES - -“Entries in a German diary show that on August 10 the German soldiers -gave themselves up to debauchery in the streets of Liège, and on the -night of the 20th a massacre took place in the streets. . . . Though the -cause of the massacre is in dispute, the results are known with -certainty. The Rue des Pitteurs and houses in the Place de l’Université -and the Quai des Pêcheurs were systematically fired with benzine; and -many inhabitants were burned alive in their houses, their efforts to -escape being prevented by rifle fire. Twenty people were shot while -trying to escape, before the eyes of one of the witnesses. The Liège -Fire Brigade turned out, but was not allowed to extinguish the fire. Its -carts, however, were usefully employed in removing heaps of civilian -corpses to the Town Hall.” - -Taking up the Valleys of the Meuse and Sambre, the report gives lengthy -details of terrible conditions described by witnesses at Andenne, and -says: - -“About four hundred people lost their lives in this massacre, some on -the banks of the Meuse, where they were shot according to orders given, -and some in the cellars of the houses where they had taken refuge. Eight -men belonging to one family were murdered. Another man was placed close -to a machine gun which was fired through him. His wife brought his body -home on a wheelbarrow. The Germans broke into her house and ransacked -it. - -“A hair-dresser was murdered in his kitchen where he was sitting with a -child on each knee. A paralytic was murdered in his garden. After this -came the general sack of the town. Many of the inhabitants who escaped -the massacre were kept as prisoners and compelled to clear the houses of -corpses and bury them in trenches. These prisoners were subsequently -used as a shelter and protection for a pontoon bridge which the Germans -had built across the river and were so used to prevent the Belgian forts -from firing upon it. - -“A few days later the Germans celebrated a ‘fête nocturne’ in the -square. Hot wine, located in the town, was drunk, and the women were -compelled to give three cheers for the Kaiser and to sing ‘Deutschland -über Alles.’” - - -“KILLED IN MASSES” - -Similar details are recited at much length in reference to the districts -of Namur, Charleroi and the town of Dinant. At the latter point, the -report says, “Unarmed civilians were killed in masses. We have no reason -to believe that the civilian population of Dinant gave any provocation -or that any other defense can be put forward to justify the treatment -inflicted upon its citizens.” - -The commission stated that it had received a great mass of evidence on -“scenes of chronic outrage” in the territory bounded by the towns -Aerschot, Malines, Vilvorde and Louvain. It stated that the total number -of outrages was so great that the commission could not refer to them -all. - -“The commission is specially impressed by the character of the outrages -committed in the smaller villages. Many of these are exceptionally -shocking and cannot be regarded as contemplated or prescribed by -responsible commanders of the troops by whom they were commanded. -Evidence goes to show that deaths in these villages were due not to -accident but to deliberate purpose. The wounds were generally stabs or -cuts, and for the most part appear to have been inflicted with a -bayonet. - -“In Sempst the corpse of a man with his legs cut off, who was partly -bound, was seen by a witness, who also saw a girl of seventeen in great -distress dressed only in a chemise. She alleged that she herself and -other girls had been dragged into a field, stripped naked and attacked, -and that some of them had been killed with a bayonet.” - -Taking up conditions at Aerschot and the surrounding district during -September, the report says: - -“At Haecht several children had been murdered; one of two or three years -old was found nailed to the door of a farmhouse by its hands and feet, a -crime which seems almost incredible, but the evidence for which we feel -bound to accept. At Eppeghem the body of a child of two was seen pinned -to the ground with a German lance. The same witness saw a mutilated -woman alive near Weerde on the same day.” - -A chapter is given to the terrible conditions at Louvain, where the -report states, “massacre, fire and destruction went on. . . . Citizens -were shot and others taken prisoners and compelled to go with the -troops. Soldiers went through the streets saying, ‘Man hat geschossen’ -(some one has fired on us). - - -THE TALE OF LOUVAIN - -“The massacre of civilians at Louvain was not confined to its citizens. -Large crowds of people were brought into Louvain from the surrounding -districts, not only from Aerschot and Gelrod, but also from other -places. For example, a witness describes how many women and children -were taken in carts to Louvain, and there placed in a stable. Of the -hundreds of people thus taken from the various villages and brought to -Louvain as prisoners, some were massacred there, others were forced to -march along with citizens of Louvain through various places, some being -ultimately sent to the Belgian lines at Malines, others were taken in -trucks to Cologne, others were released. - -“Ropes were put around the necks of some and they were told they would -be hanged. An order then came that they were to be shot instead of -hanged. A firing squad was prepared, and five or six prisoners were put -up, but were not shot. . . . This taking of the inhabitants in groups -and marching them to various places must evidently have been done under -the direction of a higher military authority. The ill-treatment of the -prisoners was under the eyes and often under the direction or sanction -of officers, and officers themselves took part in it. . . . - -“It is to be noticed that cases occur in the depositions in which humane -acts by individual officers and soldiers are mentioned, or in which -officers are said to have expressed regret at being obliged to carry out -orders for cruel action against the civilians. Similarly, we find -entries in diaries which reveal a genuine pity for the population and -disgust at the conduct of the enemy. It appears that a German -non-commissioned officer stated definitely that he ‘was acting under -orders and executing them with great unwillingness.’ A commissioned -officer on being asked at Louvain by a witness, a highly educated man, -about the horrible acts committed by the soldiers, said he ‘was merely -executing orders,’ and that he himself would be shot if he did not -execute them.” - -Another division of the report is on the “killing of non-combatants in -France.” This is not as detailed as the case of Belgium, as the -commission states that the French official report gives the most -complete account as to the invaded districts in France. It adds: - -“The evidence before us proves that, in the parts of France referred -to, murder of unoffending civilians and other acts of cruelty, including -aggravated cases of felonious attack, carried out under threat of death, -and sometimes actually followed by murder of the victim, were committed -by some of the German troops.” - - -TREATMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN - -A special chapter is given to the treatment of women and children. The -latter, it is said, frequently received milder treatment than the men. -But many instances are given of “calculated cruelty, often going the -length of murder, towards the women and children.” A witness gives a -story, very circumstantial in its details, of how women were publicly -attacked in the market place of the city, five young German officers -assisting. The report goes on: “In the evidence before us there are -cases tending to show that aggravated crimes against women were -sometimes severely punished. These instances are sufficient to show that -the maltreatment of women was not part of the military scheme of the -invaders, however much it may appear to have been the inevitable result -of the system of terror deliberately adopted in certain regions. - -“It is clearly shown that many offences were committed against infants -and quite young children. On one occasion children were even roped -together and used as a military screen against the enemy, on another -three soldiers went into action carrying small children to protect -themselves from flank fire. It is difficult to imagine the motives which -may have prompted such acts. Whether or not Belgian civilians fired on -German soldiers, young children at any rate did not fire.” - -Many instances are given of the use of civilians as screens during the -military operation. Cases of the Red Cross being misused for offensive -military purposes, and of abuse of the white flag are also given. As to -the latter the report says: “There is in our opinion sufficient evidence -that these offences have been frequent, deliberate and in many cases -committed by whole units under orders. All the facts mentioned are in -contravention of The Hague Convention, signed by the Great Powers, -including France, Germany, Great Britain and the United States, in -1907.” - -A division of the report is given to diaries of German soldiers. The -entry of a sergeant of the First Guards Regiment, who received the Iron -Cross, says, under date of August 10: “A transport of 300 Belgians came -through Duisburg in the morning. Of these, eighty, including the -Oberburgomaster, were shot according to martial law.” The diary of a -member of the Fourth Company of Jägers says, under date of August 23: -“About 220 inhabitants and the village were burned.” Another diary, by a -member of the Second Mounted Battery, First Kurhessian Field Artillery -Regiment, No. 11, records an incident which happened in French territory -near Lille on October 11: “We had no fight, but we caught about twenty -men and shot them.” The commission says of this last diary: “By this -time killing not in a fight would seem to have passed into a habit.” - -The report adds that the most important entry was contained in diary No. -19. This contained no name and address, but names referred to in the -diary indicate that the entries were made by an officer of the First -Regiment of Foot Guards. The entry made at Bermeton on August 24 says: -“We took about 1,000 prisoners; at least 500 were shot. The village was -burned because inhabitants had also shot. Two civilians were shot at -once.” - -“If a line is drawn on a map from the Belgian frontier to Liège and -continued to Charleroi, and a second line drawn from Liège to Malines, a -sort of figure resembling an irregular Y will be formed. It is along -this ‘Y’ that most of the systematic (as opposed to isolated) outrages -were committed. If the period from August 4 to August 30 is taken it -will be found to cover most of these organized outrages. Termonde and -Alost extend, it is true, beyond the ‘Y’ lines, and they belong to the -month of September. Murder, assault, arson and pillage began from the -moment when the German army crossed the frontier. For the first -fortnight of the war the towns and villages near Liège were the chief -sufferers. From August 19 to the end of the month outrages spread in the -direction of Charleroi and Malines and reached their period of greatest -intensity. - -“There is a certain significance in the fact that the outrages around -Liège coincide with the unexpected resistance of the Belgian army in -that district, and that the slaughter which reigned from August 19 to -the end of the month is contemporaneous with the period when the German -army’s need for a quick passage through Belgium at all costs was deemed -imperative. - -“In all wars occur many shocking and outrageous acts of men of criminal -instincts whose worst passions are unloosed by the immunity which the -conditions of warfare afford. Drunkenness, moreover, may turn even a -soldier who has no criminal habits into a brute, and there is evidence -that intoxication was extremely prevalent among the German army, both in -Belgium and in France. Unfortunately little seems to have been done to -repress this source of danger. - - -CALLS KILLING DELIBERATE - -“In the present war, however--and this is the gravest charge against the -German army--the evidence shows that the killing of non-combatants was -carried out to an extent for which no previous war between nations -claiming to be civilized (for such cases as the atrocities perpetrated -by the Turks on the Bulgarian Christians in 1876, and on the Armenian -Christians in 1895 and 1896, do not belong to that category) furnishes -any precedent. That this killing was done as part of a deliberate plan -is clear from the facts hereinbefore set forth regarding Louvain, -Aerschot, Dinant and other towns. The killing was done under orders in -each place. It began at a certain fixed date. Some of the officers who -carried out the work did it reluctantly, and said they were obeying -directions from their chiefs. The same remarks apply to the destruction -of property. House burning was part of the program; and villages, even -large parts of a city, were given to the flames as part of the -terrorizing policy. - -“Citizens of neutral states who visited Belgium in December and January -report that the German authorities do not deny that non-combatants were -systematically killed in large numbers during the first weeks of the -invasion, and this, so far as we know, has never been officially denied. - -“The German government has, however, sought to justify these severities -on the grounds of military necessity and has excused them as retaliation -for cases in which civilians fired on German troops. There may have been -cases in which such firing occurred, but no proof has ever been given, -or, to our knowledge, attempted to be given, of such cases, nor of the -stories of shocking outrages perpetrated by Belgian men and women on -German soldiers. . . . - -“We gladly record the instances where the evidence shows that humanity -has not wholly disappeared from some members of the German army and that -they realized that the responsible heads of that organization were -employing them not in war but in butchery: ‘I am merely executing -orders, and I should be shot if I did not execute them,’ said an officer -to a witness at Louvain. At Brussels another officer said, ‘I have not -done one hundredth part of what we have been ordered to do by the high -German military authorities.’ - -“That these acts should have been perpetrated on the peaceful population -of an unoffending country which was not at war with its invaders, but -merely defending its own neutrality, guaranteed by the invading power, -may excite amazement and even incredulity. It was with amazement and -almost with incredulity that the commission first read the depositions -relating to such acts. But when the evidence regarding Liège was -followed by that regarding Aerschot, Louvain, Andenne, Dinant, and the -other towns and villages, the cumulative effect of such a mass of -concurrent testimony became irresistible, and we were driven to the -conclusion that the things described had really happened. The question -then arose how they could have happened. - -“The explanation seems to be that these excesses were committed--in some -cases ordered, in others allowed--on a system and in pursuance of a set -purpose. That purpose was to strike terror into the civil population and -dishearten the Belgian troops, so as to crush down resistance and -extinguish the very spirit of self-defense. The pretext that civilians -had fired upon the invading troops was used to justify not merely the -shooting of individual franc-tireurs, but the murder of large numbers of -innocent civilians, an act absolutely forbidden by the rules of -civilized warfare. - - -“SPIRIT OF WAR DEIFIED” - -“In the minds of Prussian officers war seems to have become a sort of -sacred mission, one of the highest functions of the omnipotent state, -which is itself as much an army as a state. Ordinary morality and the -ordinary sentiment of pity vanish in its presence, superseded by a new -standard which justifies to the soldier every means that can conduce to -success, however shocking to a natural sense of justice and humanity, -however revolting to his own feelings. The spirit of war is deified. -Obedience to the state and its war lord leaves no room for any other -duty or feeling. Cruelty becomes legitimate when it promises victory. -Proclaimed by the heads of the army, this doctrine would seem to have -permeated the officers and affected even the private soldiers, leading -them to justify the killing of non-combatants as an act of war, and so -accustoming them to slaughter that even women and children become at -last the victims. - -“It cannot be supposed to be a national doctrine, for it neither springs -from nor reflects the mind and feelings of the German people as they -have heretofore been known to other nations. It is specifically military -doctrine, the outcome of a theory held by a ruling caste who have -brooded and thought, written and talked and dreamed about war until they -have fallen under its obsession and been hypnotized by its spirit. - -“The doctrine is plainly set forth in the German official monograph on -the usages of war on land, issued under the direction of the German -staff. This book is pervaded throughout by the view that whatever -military needs suggest becomes thereby lawful, and upon this principle, -as the diaries show, the German officers acted. - -“If this explanation be the true one, the mystery is solved, and that -which seemed scarcely credible becomes more intelligible though not less -pernicious. This is not the only case that history records in which a -false theory, disguising itself as loyalty to a state or to a church, -has perverted the conception of duty and become a source of danger to -the world.” - - -THE COMMISSION’S CONCLUSIONS - -The conclusions of the commission, as to the various detailed recitals, -are as follows: - -“We may now sum up and endeavor to explain the character and -significance of the wrongful acts done by the German army in Belgium. - -“It is proved, first, that there were in many parts of Belgium -deliberate and systematically organized massacres of the civil -population accompanied by many isolated murders and other outrages. - -“Second--That in the conduct of the war generally innocent civilians, -both men and women, were murdered in large numbers, women attacked and -children murdered. - -[Illustration: “THEIR FIRST SUCCESS.” - -“At Morfontaine, near Longwy, the Germans shot two fifteen-year-old -children who had warned the French gendarmes of the enemy’s -arrival.”--The Newspapers.] - -“Third--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 burning and destruction -were frequently where no military necessity could be alleged, being, -indeed, part of a system of general terrorization. - -“Fourth--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 -commission 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 civilized 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.” - -[Illustration: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY IN EUROPE DESTROYED BY THE -GERMANS. - -Scene of desolation in Louvain. On the right is the magnificent Town -Hall, considered one of the most marvelous pieces of architecture in -Europe’s which escaped almost untouched. In the center, however, the -famous St. Peter’s Cathedral has only the walls standing. (_Copyright by -the International News Service._)] - -[Illustration: RUINS OF YPRES AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT. - -The old Flemish town was the center of hot fighting between the Allies -and the German troops in the battles for the possession of Belgium. At -the right of the picture are seen the ruins of the famous Cloth Hall, -one of the most famous medieval buildings in Europe. (_Copyright by the -International News Service._)] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -A BELGIAN BOY’S STORY OF THE RUIN OF AERSCHOT - - PITIABLE PLIGHT OF BOY OF SIXTEEN STRANDED IN ANTWERP -- HIS ARREST -- - A TOWN IN RUINS -- BURYING THE DEAD -- THE LEVELED GUNS -- MARCHING - AMONG GERMAN CAMPS -- NO MONEY AND NO WORK. - - -To the thousands of unhappy Belgian refugees driven from their homes by -the advancing Germans and transported to England the pity of the whole -world has gone out; yet even more deplorable than the condition of these -was the fate of those who were left behind to suffer at the hands of a -relentless enemy. The story of a delicate boy of sixteen, as told in the -following letter which he himself wrote from Antwerp to his former -employer, an American living at the time in England, is typical. - -When this boy, fleeing from Aerschot, arrived in Antwerp, without -friends, money or papers, there was no agency to help him. If he had -been a smaller child somebody doubtless would have taken pity on him and -carried him with them as they fled; if he had been able to preserve his -legitimatization papers the Belgian authorities would have given him -some support; and, of course, if he had been older, he would have been -immediately enlisted in the service of his country. As it was he could -only drift before the foe, and suffer. - - “ANTWERP, Sept. 23, 1914. - -“DEAR SIR: As you correctly said in my testimonial when you were closing -the office, the war has isolated Belgium. Really I can well say that I -have been painfully struck by this scourge, and I permit myself, dear -sir, to give you a little description of my Calvary. - -“Your offices were closed in the beginning of August. As I did not know -what to do and as the fatherland had not enough men to defend its -territory I tried to get myself accepted as a volunteer. - -“On Aug. 10 I went to Aerschot, my native town, to get my certificate of -good conduct. Then I went to Louvain to have same signed by the -commander of the place. This gentleman sent me to St. Nicholas and -thence to Hemixem, where I was rejected as too young. I then decided to -return to Brussels, passing through Aerschot. Here my aunt asked me to -stay with her, saying that she was afraid of the Germans. - -“I remained at Aerschot. This was Aug. 15. Suddenly, on the 19th, at -nine o’clock in the morning, after a terrible bombardment, the Germans -made their entry into Aerschot. In the first street which they passed -through they broke into the houses. They brought out six men whom I knew -very well and immediately shot them. Learning of this, I fled to -Louvain, where I arrived on Aug. 19 at one o’clock. - - -HIS ARREST - -“At 1.30 P. M. the Germans entered Louvain. They did not do anything to -the people in the beginning. On the following Saturday, Aug. 22, I -started to return to Aerschot, as I had no money. (All my money was -still in Brussels.) The whole distance from Louvain to Aerschot I saw -nothing but German armies, always Germans. They did not say a word to me -until I suddenly found myself alone with three of the “Todeshusaren” -(Death’s-head Hussars), the vanguard of their regiment. They arrested me -at the point of the revolver, demanded where I was going and why I had -run away from Aerschot. They said that the whole of Aerschot was now on -fire, because the son of the burgomaster had killed a general. Finally -they searched me from head to foot, and I heard them discuss the -question of my fate. - -“Finally the non-commissioned officer told me that I could continue on -my way; that they would certainly take care of me in Aerschot, as I had -been firing at Germans, and they would shoot me when I arrived. I would -have liked better to return to Louvain, but with an imperious gesture he -pointed out my road to Aerschot, and I continued. On arriving within a -few hundred meters of the town I was arrested once more. - -“I forgot to tell you that of all the houses which I passed between -Louvain and Aerschot, there were only a few left intact. Upon these the -Germans had written in chalk in the German language: ‘Please spare. Good -people. Do not burn.’ Lying along the road I saw many dead horses -putrefying. There were also to be seen pigs, goats, and cows which had -nothing to eat, and which were howling like wild beasts. Not a soul was -to be seen in the houses or in the streets. Everything was empty. - -[Illustration: IN BELGIUM. - -_Jean_--“Do you think St. Nicholas will find us, now that we haven’t a -chimney?”] - -“I was then arrested when a short distance from Aerschot. There were -with me two or three families from Sichem, a village between Diest and -Aerschot. We remained in the fields alongside the road, while the -Prussian regiments with their artillery continued to pass by. When the -artillery had passed we were marched at the point of the bayonet to the -church in Aerschot. On arrival at the church the families of Sichem -(there were at least twenty small children) were permitted to continue -on their way, and the non-commissioned officer, delighted that I could -speak German, permitted me to go to my aunt’s house. - - -A TOWN IN RUINS - -“The aspect of the town was terrible. Not more than half the houses were -standing. In the first three streets which the Germans traversed there -was not a single house left. There was not a house in the town but had -been pillaged. All doors had been burst open. There was nothing, -nothing left. The stench in the streets was insupportable. - -“I then went home, or, rather, I should say, I went to the house where -my father had always been boarding. You know, perhaps, that my mother -died twelve years ago. I did not find my father, but according to what -the people told me he had been arrested, and, with five other Aerschot -men, taken to Germany--I do not know for what purpose. - -“I got into this house without any difficulty, because the door was -smashed in. I stayed there from Saturday, Aug. 22, up to Wednesday, the -26th, a little more comfortable. There was nothing to eat left in the -house. I lived on what a few women who remained in Aerschot could give -me. I was forced to go with the soldiers into the cellars of M. X., -director of a large factory, to hunt for wine. As recompense I got a -loaf. It was not much, but at this moment it meant very much for me. - - -BURYING THE DEAD - -“On Wednesday, Aug. 26, we were all once more locked up in the church. -It was then half-past four in the afternoon. We could not get out, even -for our necessities. On Thursday, about nine o’clock, each of us was -given a piece of bread and a glass of water. This was to last the whole -day. At ten o’clock a lieutenant came in, accompanied by fifteen -soldiers. He placed all the men who were left in a square, selected -seventy of us and ordered us out to bury the corpses of Germans and -Belgians around the town, which had been lying there since the battle of -the 19th. That was a week that these bodies had remained there, and it -is no use to ask if there was a stench. Afterward we had to clean the -streets, and then it was evening. - - -THE LEVELED GUNS - -“They just got ready to shoot us. There were then ten of us. The guns -had already been leveled at us, when suddenly a German soldier ran out -shouting that we had not fired on them. A few minutes before we had -heard rifle-firing and the Germans said it was the Aerschot people who -were shooting, though all these had been locked up in the church and we -were the only inhabitants then in the streets, cleaning them, under -surveillance of Germans. It was this German who saved our lives. - -“Picture to yourself what we have suffered! It is impossible to -describe. On Aug. 28 we were brought to Louvain, always guarded by -German soldiers. There were with us about twenty old men, over eighty -years of age. These were placed in two carts, tied to one another in -pairs. I and about twenty of my unfortunate compatriots had then to pull -the carts all the way to Louvain. It was hard, but that could be -supported all the same. - -“On arriving at Louvain I saw with my own eyes a German who shot at us. -The Germans who were at the station shouted ‘The civilians have been -shooting,’ and commenced a fusillade against us. Many of us fell dead, -others wounded, but I had the chance to run away. - - -MARCHING AMONG GERMAN CAMPS - -“I now took the road to Tirlemont, marching all the time among German -camps. Once I was arrested. Again they wanted to shoot me, insisting -that I was a student of the University of Louvain. The Germans pretend -it was the students who caused the population in Louvain to shoot at -them. However, my youth saved me, and I was set at liberty. - - -NO MONEY AND NO WORK - -“All my money, the twenty francs which you presented me and my salary -for five weeks, as well as my little savings, are lying in Brussels, and -I cannot get at them. . . I cannot work, because there is no work to be -got. I cannot cross over to England, as, to do this, it is necessary -that there should be a whole family. In these horrible circumstances, I -respectfully take the liberty of addressing you, and I hope you will aid -me as best you can. I swear to you that I shall pay you back all that -you give me. I have here in Antwerp no place, no family. The town will -not give me any aid, because I have no papers to prove my identity. I -threw all my papers away for fear of the Germans. I count then on you -with a firm hope to pay you back later. - -“Please accept, dear sir, my respectful greetings.” - - ---- ----. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE UNSPEAKABLE ATROCITIES OF “CIVILIZED” WARFARE - - DISCLOSURES MADE IN FRENCH OFFICIAL REPORTS AND NOTEBOOKS OF GERMAN - SOLDIERS -- NOTHING SACRED -- HIDEOUS FACES OF THE DEAD -- WOMEN - FORCED TO DIG GRAVES -- GETTING HARDENED -- WHOLESALE PILLAGE -- - MUTILATIONS OF THE DEAD AND WOUNDED -- THE FRENCH REPORT. - - -The French official report on German atrocities contained records of -such horror that the whole civilized world stood aghast. Here at last -was war with all its multitudinous attendant crimes, more horrible than -the actual warfare itself because so causeless and so bestial. Many -stories of atrocities had been told by travelers and war correspondents -abroad; the official report from France verified these earlier accounts, -though there was still a vestige of doubt because it was a French report -of German atrocities; and then to back up this record and remove the -last shadow of disbelief, came the testimony of the Germans against -themselves, through the “War Diaries” of German soldiers, many of which -naturally fell into the hands of the enemy. Paragraphs selected from -these notebooks follow: - -“In this way we destroyed eight dwellings and their inhabitants. In one -of the houses we bayoneted two men, with their wives and a young girl -eighteen years old. The young one almost unmanned me, her look was so -innocent! But we could not master the excited troop, for at such times -they are no longer men--they are beasts.” - - -NOTHING SACRED - -“Unfortunately, I am forced to make note of a fact which should not have -occurred, but there are to be found, even in our own army, creatures who -are no longer men, but hogs, to whom nothing is sacred. One of these -broke into a sacristy; it was locked, and there the Blessed Sacrament -was kept. A Protestant, out of respect, had refused to sleep there. This -man used it as a deposit for his excrements. How is it possible there -should be such creatures? Last night one of the men of the landwehr, -more than thirty-five years of age, married, tried to rape the daughter -of the inhabitant where he had taken up his quarters--a mere girl--and -when the father intervened he pressed his bayonet against his breast.” - -“Langeviller, Aug. 22.--Village destroyed by the eleventh battalion of -Pioneers. Three women hanged to trees; the first dead I have seen.” - - -HIDEOUS FACES OF THE DEAD - -“The inhabitants fled through the village. It was horrible. The walls of -houses are bespattered with blood and the faces of the dead are hideous -to look upon. They were buried at once, some sixty of them. Among them -many old women, old men, and one woman pregnant--the whole a dreadful -sight. Three children huddled together--all dead. Altar and arches of -the church shattered. Telephone communication with the enemy was found -there. This morning, Sept. 2, all the survivors were driven out; I saw -four little boys carrying on two poles a cradle with a child some five -or six months old. The whole makes a fearful sight. Blow upon blow! -Thunderbolt on thunderbolt! Everything given over to plunder. I saw a -mother with her two little ones--one of them had a great wound in the -head and an eye put out.” - -“At the entrance to the village lay the bodies of some fifty citizens, -shot for having fired upon our troops from ambush. In the course of the -night many others were shot down in like manner, so that we counted more -than two hundred. Women and children, holding their lamps, were -compelled to assist at this horrible spectacle. We then sat down midst -the corpses to eat our rice, as we had eaten nothing since morning.” - - -WOMEN FORCED TO DIG GRAVES - -“Aug. 25 (in Belgium).--We shot 300 of the inhabitants of the town. -Those that survived the salvo were requisitioned as grave-diggers. You -should have seen the women at that time! But it was impossible to do -otherwise. In our march upon Wilot things went better; the inhabitants -who wished to leave were allowed to do so. But whoever fired was shot. -Upon our leaving Owele the rifles rang out, and with that, flames, women -and all the rest.” - - -GETTING HARDENED - -“We arrested three civilians, and a bright idea struck me. We furnished -them with chairs and made them seat themselves in the middle of the -street. There were supplications on one part, and some blows with the -stocks of our guns on the other. One, little by little, gets terribly -hardened. Finally, there they were sitting in the street. How many -anguished prayers they may have muttered, I cannot say, but during the -whole time their hands were joined in nervous contraction. I am sorry -for them, but the stratagem was of immediate effect. The enfilading -directed from the houses diminished at once; we were able then to take -possession of the house opposite, and thus became masters of the -principal street. From that moment every one that showed his face in the -street was shot. And the artillery meanwhile kept up vigorous work, so -that at about seven o’clock in the evening, when the brigade advanced to -rescue us, I could report ‘Saint-Dié has been emptied of all enemies.’ - -[Illustration: THE ROAD TO YESTERDAY.] - -“As I learned later, the ---- regiment of reserves, which came into -Saint-Dié further north, had experiences entirely similar to our own. -The four civilians whom they had placed on chairs in the middle of the -street were killed by French bullets. I saw them myself stretched out in -the street near the hospital.” - - -WHOLESALE PILLAGE - -“Aug. 8, 1914. Gouvy (Belgium).--There, the Belgians having fired on -some German soldiers, we started at once pillaging the merchandise -warehouse. Several cases--eggs, shirts, and everything that could be -eaten was carried off. The safe was forced and the gold distributed -among the men. As to the securities, they were torn up.” - -“The enemy occupied the village of Bièvre and the edge of the wood -behind it. The third company advanced in first line. We carried the -village, and then pillaged and burned almost all the houses.” - -“The first village we burned was Parux (Meurthe-et-Moselle). After this -the dance began, throughout the villages, one after the other; over the -fields and pastures we went on our bicycles up to the ditches at the -edge of the road, and there sat down to eat our cherries.” - -“Our first fight was at Haybes (Belgium) on the 24th of August. The -second battalion entered the village, ransacked the houses, pillaged -them, and burned those from which shots had been fired.” - -“They do not behave as soldiers, but rather as highwaymen, bandits and -brigands, and are a dishonor to our regiment and to our army.” - -“No discipline, . . . the Pioneers are well nigh worthless; as to the -artillery, it is a band of robbers.” - -“Aug. 12, 1914, in Belgium.--One can get an idea of the fury of our -soldiers in seeing the destroyed villages. Not one house left untouched. -Everything eatable is requisitioned by the unofficered soldiers. Several -heaps of men and women put to execution. Young pigs are running about -looking for their mothers.” - - -MUTILATIONS OF THE DEAD - -“On the 22d, in the evening, I learned that in the woods, about one -hundred and fifty meters north of the square formed by the intersection -of the great Calonne trench with the road from Vaux-les-Palameis to -Saint-Rémy, there were corpses of French soldiers shot by the Germans. I -went to the spot and found the bodies of about thirty soldiers within a -small space, most of them prone, but several still kneeling, and _all -having a precisely similar wound_--a bullet through the ear. One only, -seriously wounded in his lower parts, could still speak, and told me -that the Germans before leaving had ordered them to lie down and that -they had them shot through the head; that he, already wounded, had -secured indulgence by stating that he was the father of three small -children. The skulls of these unfortunates were scattered; the guns, -broken at the stock, were scattered here and there; and the blood had -besprinkled the bushes to such an extent that in coming out of the woods -my cape was spattered with it; it was a veritable shambles.” - -“Dogs chained, without food or drink. And the houses about them on fire. -But the just anger of our soldiers is accompanied also by pure -vandalism. In the villages, already emptied of their inhabitants, the -houses are set on fire. I feel sorry for this population. If they have -made use of disloyal weapons, after all, they are only defending their -own country. The atrocities which these non-combatants are still -committing are revenged after a savage fashion. Mutilations of the -wounded are the order of the day.” - -This order was addressed by General Stenger, in command of the -fifty-eighth German brigade, on the 26th of August, to the troops under -his orders: - -“From this day forward no further prisoners will be taken. All prisoners -will be massacred. The wounded, whether in arms or not in arms, shall be -massacred. Even the prisoners already gathered in convoys will be -massacred. No living enemy must remain behind us.” - - -THE FRENCH REPORT - -Having been instructed to investigate atrocities said to have been -committed by the Germans in portions of French territory which had been -occupied by them, a commission composed of four representatives of the -French Government repaired to these districts in order to make a -thorough investigation. The commission was composed of M. Georges -Payelle, First President of the Cour des Comptes; Armand Mollard, -Minister Plenipotentiary; Georges Maringer, Counselor of State, and -Edmond Paillot, Counselor of the Cour de Cassation. - -They started on their mission late in September, 1914, and visited the -Departments of Seine-et-Marne, Marne, Meuse, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Oise, -and Aisne. According to the report, they made note only of those -accusations against the invaders which were backed up by reliable -testimony and discarded everything that might have been occasioned by -the exigencies of war. - -The statement, which extends over many pages and contains over 25,000 -words, is a record of the most fiendish crimes imaginable. “On every -side our eyes rested on ruin. Whole villages have been destroyed by -bombardment or fire; towns formerly full of life are now nothing but -deserts full of ruins; and, in visiting the scenes of desolation where -the invader’s torch has done its work, one feels continually as though -one were walking among the remains of one of those cities of antiquity -which have been annihilated by the great cataclysms of nature. - -“In truth it can be stated that never has a war carried on between -civilized nations assumed the savage and ferocious character of the one -which at this moment is being waged on our soil by an implacable -adversary. Pillage, rape, arson, and murder are the common practice of -our enemies; and the facts which have been revealed to us day by day at -once constitute definite crimes against common rights, punished by the -codes of every country with the most severe and the most dishonoring -penalties, and which prove an astonishing degeneration in German habits -of thought since 1870. - -“Crimes against women and young girls have been of appalling frequency. -We have proved a great number of them, but they only represent an -infinitesimal proportion of those which we could have taken up. Owing to -a sense of decency, which is deserving of every respect, the victims of -these hateful acts usually refuse to disclose them. Doubtless fewer -would have been committed if the leaders of an army whose discipline is -most rigorous had taken any trouble to prevent them; yet, strictly -speaking, they can only be considered as the individual and spontaneous -acts of uncaged beasts. But with regard to arson, theft, and murder the -case is very different; the officers, even those of the highest station, -will bear before humanity the overwhelming responsibility for these -crimes. - -“In the greater part of the places where we carried on our inquiry we -came to the conclusion that the German Army constantly professes the -most complete contempt for human life, that its soldiers, and even its -officers, do not hesitate to finish off the wounded, that they kill -without pity the inoffensive inhabitants of the territories which they -have invaded, and they do not spare in their murderous rage women, old -men, or children. The wholesale shootings at Lunéville, Gerbéviller, -Nomeny, and Senlis are terrible examples of this; and in the course of -this report you will read the story of scenes of carnage in which -officers themselves have not been ashamed to take part.” - - -HORRIBLE CASES OF RAPE - -Of the criminal attempts on women cited in the report two of the most -horrible occurred in the Department of Seine-et-Marne. - -“Frightful scenes occurred at the Château de ---- in the neighborhood of -La Ferté-Gaucher. There lived there an old gentleman, M. X., with his -servant, Mlle. Y., 54 years old. On Sept. 5 several Germans, among whom -was a non-commissioned officer, were in occupation of this property. -After they had been supplied with food, the non-commissioned officer -proposed to a refugee, a Mme. Z., that she should sleep with him; she -refused. M. X., to save her from the designs of which she was the -object, sent her to his farm, which was in the neighborhood. The German -ran there to fetch her, dragged her back to the château and led her to -the attic; then, having completely undressed her, he tried to violate -her. At this moment M. X., wishing to protect her, fired revolver shots -on the staircase and was immediately shot. - -[Illustration: THE BOMBARDMENT OF THE EAST COAST OF ENGLAND. - -This scene, painted in Hartlepool, shows the effect of a bursting German -shell in the unfortified British town. Several women and many other -civilians were killed by the German raiders.] - -[Illustration: PRUSSIAN SOLDIER KIDNAPPING A RED CROSS NURSE. - -In spite of her prayer he seized her roughly, tied her hands together -and throwing her across his saddle rode away. Fortunately, a Cossack -appeared, pierced the scoundrel with his lance and rescued the woman. -(_Graphic copr._)] - -“The non-commissioned officer then made Mme. X. come out of the attic, -obliged her to step over the corpse of the old man, and led her to a -closet, where he again made two unsuccessful attempts upon her. Leaving -her at last, he threw himself upon Mlle. Y., having first handed Mme. Z. -over to two soldiers, who, after having violated her, one once and the -other twice, in the dead man’s room, made her pass the night in a barn -near them, where one of them twice again had sexual connection with her. - -“As for Mlle. Y., she was obliged by threats of being shot, to strip -herself completely naked and lie on a mattress with the non-commissioned -officer, who kept her there until morning. - -[Illustration: “AT LEAST THEY ONLY _DROWN_ YOUR WOMEN.”] - -“It is generally believed at Coulommiers that criminal attempts have -been made on many women of that town, but only one crime of this nature -has been proved for certain. A charwoman, Mme. X., was the victim. A -soldier came to her house on the 6th of September, toward 9.30 in the -evening, and sent away her husband to go and search for one of his -comrades in the street. Then, in spite of the fact that two small -children were present, he tried to rape the young woman. X., when he -heard his wife’s cries, rushed back, but was driven off with blows of -the butt of the man’s rifle into a neighboring room, of which the door -was left open, and his wife was forced to suffer the consummation of the -outrage. The rape took place almost under the eyes of the husband, who, -being terrorized, did not dare to intervene, and used his efforts only -to calm the terror of his children. - - -ARSON AND MURDER RAMPANT - -“Personal liberty, like human life, is the object of complete scorn on -the part of the German military authorities. Almost everywhere citizens -of every age have been dragged from their homes and led into captivity, -many have died or been killed on the way. - -“Arson, still more than murder, forms the usual procedure of our -adversaries. It is employed by them either as a means of systematic -devastation or as a means of terrorism. The German Army, in order to -provide for it, possesses a complete outfit, which comprises torches, -grenades, rockets, petrol pumps, fuse sticks, and little bags of -pastilles made of compressed powder which are very inflammable. The -lust for arson is manifested chiefly against churches and against -monuments which have some special interest, either artistic or -historical. - -“Thousands of houses in the ground covered by the investigators had been -completely destroyed by fire. In the Department of Marne a great many -villages, as well as important country towns, were burned without any -reason whatever. Without doubt these crimes were committed by order, as -German detachments arrived in the neighborhood with their torches, their -grenades, and their usual outfit for arson. - -“At Lépine, a laborer named Caqué, in whose house two German cyclists -were billeted, asked the latter if the grenades which he saw in their -possession were destined for his house. They answered: ‘No. Lépine is -finished with.’ At that moment nine houses in the village were burned -out. - -“At Marfaux nineteen private houses were burned. - -“Of the commune of Glannes practically nothing remains. At Somme-Tourbe -the entire village has been destroyed, with the exception of the -mayoralty house, the church, and two private buildings. - -“At Auve nearly the whole town has been destroyed. At Etrepy sixty-three -families out of seventy are homeless. At Huiron all the houses, with the -exception of five, have been burned. At Sermaize-les-Bains only about -forty houses out of nine hundred remain. At Bignicourt-sur-Saultz thirty -houses out of thirty-three are in ruins. - -“At Suippes, the big market town which has been practically burned out, -German soldiers carrying straw and cans of petrol have been seen in the -streets. While the mayor’s house was burning, six sentinels with fixed -bayonets were under orders to forbid any one to approach and to prevent -any help being given. - -“All this destruction by arson, which only represents a small proportion -of the acts of the same kind in the Department of Seine-et-Marne, was -accomplished without the least tendency to rebellion or the smallest act -of resistance being recorded against the inhabitants of the localities -which are today more or less completely destroyed. In some villages the -Germans, before setting fire to them, made one of their soldiers fire a -shot from his rifle so as to be able to pretend afterward that the -civilian population had attacked them, an allegation which is all the -more absurd since at the time when the enemy arrived the only -inhabitants left were old men, sick persons, or people absolutely -without any means of aggression. - - -UNCONTROLLED SAVAGERY - -“On the 6th of September at Champguyon, Mme. Louvet was present at the -martyrdom of her husband. She saw him in the hands of ten or fifteen -soldiers, who were beating him to death before his own house, and ran up -and kissed him through the bars of the gate. She was brutally pushed -back and fell, while the murderers dragged along the unhappy man covered -with blood, begging them to spare his life and protesting that he had -done nothing to be treated thus. He was finished off at the end of the -village. When his wife found his body it was horribly disfigured. His -head was beaten in, one of his eyes hung from the socket, and one of his -wrists was broken. - -“At Montmirail a scene of real savagery was enacted. On the 5th of -September a non-commissioned officer flung himself almost naked on the -widow Naudé, on whom he was billeted, and carried her into his room. -This woman’s father, François Fontaine, rushed up on hearing his -daughter’s cry. At once fifteen or twenty Germans broke through the door -of the house, pushed the old man into the street, and shot him without -mercy. Little Juliette Naudé opened the window at this moment and was -struck in the stomach by a bullet, which went through her body. The poor -child died after twenty-four hours of most dreadful suffering. - - -CONSTANT EVIDENCE OF THEFT - -“We have constantly found definite evidence of theft,” states the report -further, “and we do not hesitate to state that where a body of the enemy -has passed it has given itself up to a systematically organized pillage, -in the presence of its leaders, who have even themselves often taken -part in it. Cellars have been emptied to the last bottle, safes have -been gutted, considerable sums of money have been stolen or extorted; a -great quantity of plate and jewelry, as well as pictures, furniture, -‘objets d’art,’ linen, bicycles, women’s dresses, sewing machines, even -down to children’s toys, after having been taken away, have been loaded -on vehicles to be taken toward the frontier.” - -Space forbids further quotation from the harrowing document, in which -one frightful tale succeeds another, until with a wave of sickening -horror the reader cries out, “Can such things really be?” - - -GERMANY DENIES ATROCITIES - -“A chain of baseless fabrications” is the phrase used by Germany to -characterize the charges brought against the German armies by the French -government, claiming that “German army officers have, by every means and -with full success, effected the maintenance of discipline and the strict -observance of all the rules of war in each and all the spheres of -operation.” - -The demolished villages and pitiful victims must tell their own tale of -terror. Doubtless many of the crimes committed have been without the -sanction of the German government or even without the authority of a -superior officer, but, even allowing for the partisanship that is -natural on the part of afflicted inhabitants, the testimony of the -French commission together with that of former Ambassador Bryce must -deeply affect the attitude of all thinking people toward warfare. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -DESTROYING THE PRICELESS MONUMENTS OF CIVILIZATION - - THE INEXPIABLE GERMAN CRIME, LOUVAIN -- ART TREASURES OF HISTORIC CITY - -- REDUCED TO A HEAP OF ASHES -- PITILESS DESTRUCTION AS TOLD BY TOWN - TREASURER -- A MODERN POMPEII -- BURNING OF CITY SYSTEMATIC -- - INDIGNANT PROTEST AGAINST MODERN HUNS. - - -All through Belgium and all through the country of the Franco-German -border line are towns and cities filled with treasures of art and -history--some of the richest, indeed, that centuries of civilization -have amassed. Under the guns of both sides of the mighty conflict these -paintings and shrines and storied buildings have been exposed to -destruction, and many of them have been wantonly sacrificed, shattered -beyond hope of restoration. - -Under the latest Hague proposals, Article XXVIII, historic monuments are -supposed to be respected even by warring nations, yet both Germany and -France have accused each other of violating this convention. The whole -of civilized humanity rises in protest against such sacrilege. - -Among all the black crimes of the German invasion of Belgium none is -blacker than the sack and burning of Louvain, the fairest city of -Belgium and the intellectual metropolis of the Low Countries. According -to a bitter statement of Frank Jewett Mather, the well-known American -art critic, “Louvain contained more beautiful works of art than the -Prussian nation has produced in its entire history.” - - -ART TREASURES OF HISTORIC CITY - -There was hardly a building within the ramparts but breathed the air of -some romance of the Middle Ages or marked a stepping-stone in its -stirring history. Once before war robbed it of its commercial prestige, -only to permit it to rise, phœnix-like, as the center of learning during -the sixteenth century. At the opening of the present war it still -boasted of the largest university in Belgium, in which thousands of -antique volumes and prints were stored. Its museums and its churches -housed scores of paintings of the old Flemish masters. - -Louvain has passed through successive periods of culture and barbarity -ever since Julius Caesar established a permanent camp there during his -campaigns against the Belgians and the Germans. In the eleventh century -it became the residence of the long line of Dukes of Brabant, and was -the capital until Brussels wrested this distinction from it during an -uprising of weavers against their feudal masters. In the fourteenth -century it had gained a population of between 100,000 and 150,000, and -there were no fewer than 2,400 woolen manufactories. The weavers were a -turbulent lot, however, and when they rose against the Duke Wencelaus he -conquered them and forced thousands of them to flee to Holland and -England. It was then that Brussels became the capital and Louvain lost -its prestige as a center of the cloth-making industry. - -[Illustration: THE VOICE OF THE COLOGNE CHURCH SPEAKS: - -“Louvain, thou wast built on my foundations, spirit of my spirit, heart -of my heart.”] - -Scholars began to pour into the town, however, to glean what learning -they could from the old parchments and books which its castles -contained. In 1423 Duke John IV of Brabant founded Louvain University. -Students flocked there from all over the world. In the sixteenth century -it had 4,000 students and forty-three colleges. - -The library occupied a large room with fine wood panels, carved in -intricate designs. It held 150,000 volumes and thousands of manuscripts, -valuable beyond price. It contained a colossal group representing a -scene from the Flood, sculptured by Geerts in 1839. - -One block to the north of the university is the Grande Place, on which -faced the Hôtel de Ville, one of the finest examples of the late Gothic -style of architecture in Europe. It surpassed the town halls of Bruges, -Brussels, and Ghent in elegance of detail and harmony of design. It was -erected in 1448 by Mathieu de Layens, and it was from the upper windows -of this building that thirteen magistrates of noble birth were hurled to -their death on the spears of the populace in the streets below during -the weavers’ uprising. - -Across the Grande Place stood the church of St. Pierre, a magnificent -type of the Gothic style built on a cruciform plan and flanked by -chapels holding reliquaries of the saints, life-sized wooden figures, -and priceless carvings and paintings. There might have been seen the -works of Van Papenhoven, Roger van der Weyden, Dierick Bouts, and De -Layens. - - -REDUCED TO A HEAP OF ASHES - -The notification of the sacking of Louvain was contained in the notice -issued by the British Press Bureau on Friday, August 28, 1914, which -read as follows: “On Tuesday evening a German corps, after receiving a -check, withdrew in disorder into the town of Louvain. A German guard at -the entrance to the town mistook the nature of this incursion and fired -on their routed fellow-countrymen, mistaking them for Belgians. In spite -of all denials from the authorities the Germans, in order to cover their -mistake, pretended that it was the inhabitants who had fired on them, -whereas the inhabitants, including the police, had been disarmed more -than a week before. Without inquiry and without listening to any -protests the German commander-in-chief announced that the town would be -immediately destroyed. The inhabitants were ordered to leave their -dwellings; a party of the men were made prisoners and the women and -children put into trains, the destination of which is unknown. Soldiers -furnished with bombs set fire to all parts of the town. The splendid -church of St. Pierre, the University buildings, the library, and the -scientific establishment were delivered to the flames. Several notable -citizens were shot. A town of 45,000 inhabitants, the intellectual -metropolis of the Low Countries since the fifteenth century, is now no -more than a heap of ashes.” - - -PITILESS DESTRUCTION AS TOLD BY TOWN TREASURER - -The town treasurer of Louvain, who managed to escape from the sacked -city, gave in the London Times the following account of the destruction: - -“At last, on Tuesday night, there took place the unspeakable crime, the -shame of which can be understood only by those who followed and watched -the different phases of the German occupation of Louvain. - -“It is a significant fact that the German wounded and sick, including -their Red Cross nurses, were all removed from the hospitals. The Germans -meanwhile proceeded methodically to make a last and supreme requisition, -although they knew the town could not satisfy it. Toward six o’clock the -bugle sounded, and officers lodging in private houses left at once with -arms and luggage. At the same time thousands of additional soldiers, -with numerous field pieces and cannon, marched into the town to their -allotted positions. The gas factory, which had been idle, had been -worked through the previous night and day by Germans, so that during -this premeditated outrage the people could not take advantage of -darkness to escape from the town. A further fact that proves their -premeditation is that the attack took place at eight o’clock, the exact -time at which the population entered their homes in conformity with the -German orders--consequently escape became well-nigh impossible. At 8.20 -the full fusillade with the roar of the cannons came from all sides of -the town at once. - -“The cavalry charged through the streets sabring fugitives, while the -infantry, posted on the foot-paths, had their fingers on the triggers of -their guns waiting for the unfortunate people to rush from the houses or -appear at the windows, the soldiers praising and complimenting each -other on their marksmanship as they fired at the unhappy fugitives. -Those whose houses were not yet destroyed were ordered to quit and -follow the soldiers to the railway station. There the men were separated -from mothers, wives, and children, and thrown, some bound, into trains -leaving in the direction of Germany. They saw their carefully-collected -art and other treasures being shared out by the soldiers, the officers -looking on. Those who attempted to appeal to their tormentors’ better -feelings were immediately shot. A few were let loose, but most of them -were sent to Germany. - -“On Wednesday at daybreak the remaining women and children were driven -out of the town--a lamentable spectacle--with uplifted arms and under -the menace of bayonets and revolvers. The day was practically calm. The -destruction of the most beautiful part of the town seemed momentarily to -have soothed the barbarian rage of the invaders. On Thursday the remnant -of the Civil Guard was called up on the pretext of extinguishing the -conflagration; those who demurred were chained and sent with some -wounded Germans to the Fatherland, whilst the population had to quit.” - - -A MODERN POMPEII - -Fair Louvain is now a place of desolation and ashes. Its treasures have -been madly sacrificed to the god of war. A graphic description of the -ruin has been written by Professor E. Gilson, of the University of -Louvain, in the form of a letter to the Belgian Minister of Justice. It -says in part: - -“At the ‘Seven Corners’ Louvain reveals itself to my eyes like a -luminous panorama in the glade of a forest. The center of the city is a -smoking heap of ruins. Houses are caved in, nothing remains but smoking -ruins, and a mass of brick. It is a veritable Pompeii. But how much more -tragic and vivid is the sight of this new Pompeii! An oppressive silence -everywhere. Everybody has fled; at the windows of cellars I see -frightened faces, and at the street corners Prussian sentinels, sordid, -immovable and silent. - -“In the center stand the walls of St. Pierre, now a grinning silhouette, -roof and belfry gone, the walls blackened and caved in. In front stands -the Hôtel de Ville, dominating everything and almost intact. Further on, -the remains of Les Hales, entirely destroyed, except for the arcade of -big pillars of the Salle des Pas Perdus. The library and its treasures -are entirely gone. - -“In the Petite Rue Louis Nelsens everything is destroyed. At the foot of -the statue, in a flower bed all tramped underfoot, there is an irregular -hillock covered with a few dead leaves. An old woman, recognizing me, -comes out of her cellar and tells me: ‘Monsieur, this is the grave of -Monsieur David and his son, the best people that ever lived.’ She cries. -They were killed by shrapnel fired upon them as they were leaving their -house. The Capuchin brothers made temporary graves for the dead. - -“Graves were found nearly everywhere. In front of the statue, near a -house, I find traces of fire. ‘In this place,’ the old woman tells me, -‘the Prussians burned a body after soaking it in petroleum. Some men -buried the charred remains.’ I pick up a key which must have belonged to -the dead man--a memento of this monstrous incident. - -“In the center of the city the sight is extraordinarily -picturesque--gloomy, abominable, and more so in the evening when the -full moon is shining over the mass of ruins, it is really fantastic, -diabolical. - -“The center of old Louvain, the old city of the Dukes of Brabant, exists -no longer; a new city will have to be built in the center of the -quarters spared by the torch. - - -BURNING OF CITY SYSTEMATIC - -“A villager told me that the soldiers had two ways of setting fire to -the houses: One was to break the windows of the first floor, to throw -petroleum on the floor, and throw in torches of burning straw, while -others were engaged in shooting at the upper-story windows to prevent -the inhabitants from throwing missiles on those setting fire to their -homes.” - - -INDIGNANT PROTEST AGAINST MODERN HUNS - -Indignant protest against the outrageous sacrifice of Louvain arose from -every quarter of the civilized world. The London Tablet, commenting on -the desolation of Belgium and the sacrifice of her temples, said: - -“The irreparable crime of Louvain and the ruthless damage done to the -Cathedral of Malines while Cardinal Mercier was absent in Rome have left -Belgium’s cup of bitterness still unfilled. We do not understand the -reason of these remorseless attacks upon venerable places of worship, -and particularly upon Roman Catholic churches. We do not fully discern -why even the modern Huns should be so eager to violate these peaceful -sanctuaries, destroying one, bombarding another with zest, stabling -their horses in a third, as they have undoubtedly done. One would almost -fancy that the late Professor Cramb was right after all, that Germany -regards the Christian creed as outworn, and that she dreams, when she -has imposed her will upon the world (if she can), of founding a new -religion, with the Kaiser as its inspired expositor. We wonder what the -pious people of Bavaria and Austria-Hungary think of this persistent -desecration of Catholic shrines. The meaning of the sack of Dinant is, -however, sufficiently clear. Thousands of travelers know that pleasant -little town, which clustered beneath the old citadel on the banks of the -Meuse. They will learn with horror and distress that it has shared the -fate of Louvain, that it has been shelled and burned, that many of its -defenseless men have been shot, and that its women are hunted and -homeless. We have not yet been told, but doubtless shall hear in due -course, that the splendid thirteenth-century church of Notre Dame, the -most complete example of pointed Gothic architecture in Belgium, has -perished amid the general destruction. The reason of this sack and -pillage of town after town in Belgium, with every accompaniment of -murderous barbarity--Termonde is another melancholy case in point--is -becoming obvious. It is due to the resolute resistance of Antwerp. The -Germans want to capture Antwerp, but can not spare enough men to invest -the fortress, and in any case hope to obtain it without paying the -price. They seek to terrorize Antwerp into submission by laying Belgium -waste, by razing her undefended cities to the ground, and by shedding -the blood of innocent Belgian citizens of both sexes. . . . The wilful -devastation of Belgium will have only one definite result. It will -increase the chorus of indignant denunciation of German methods of -warfare which now rises from every civilized country in the world.” - -[Illustration: BURNING OF THE CATHEDRAL OF RHEIMS. - -This noble building, one of the finest pieces of Gothic architecture in -the world, was bombarded by German shells and set on fire. Much of the -priceless statuary and the entire roof were destroyed.] - -[Illustration: THE SACKING OF LOUVAIN. - -According to the official report of the Commission of Inquiry into the -German atrocities at Louvain and other places, men were brutally -separated from their wives and children, and after having been subjected -to abominable treatment by the Germans were herded out of the town. The -corpses of many a civilian encumbered the streets and squares.] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -WANTON DESTRUCTION OF THE BEAUTIFUL CATHEDRAL OF RHEIMS - - DESECRATION OF THE SHRINES OF HUMANITY -- THE “ROYAL CITY”--CATHEDRAL - OF NOTRE DAME -- ART TREASURES -- CATHEDRAL A TARGET -- ANGER OF CROWD - STILLED BY PRIESTS--“SUPREME SACRIFICE AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF - MAN”--BEAUTY IRREPARABLY GONE. - - -If the destruction of famous buildings, shrines of humanity as well as -of art and religion, were but put down to the unavoidable accidents of -war, after the first poignant sense of the irreparable loss, one would -rather sorrowfully accept the smoking ruins as further evidence of the -horrible, if unavoidable, waste of war. But to have Louvain’s atrocities -justified, to have the destruction of towns systematically brought about -in a spirit of fiendish reprisal or as part of a propaganda of military -terrorism, this is what revolts the world. It is this demoniacal -barbarism, raised to the ultimate power for evil by modern mechanism, -that staggers civilization. - -The sacking of Louvain had hardly ceased to be a matter of world-wide -outcry against such inexcusable barbarity when there came the official -report that the Cathedral of Rheims, one of the most glorious examples -of Gothic art in the world and an historic monument of first rank, had -fallen before the German guns in the bombardment of that historic city. - - -THE “ROYAL CITY” - -Rheims has been a city of importance since the time of the Romans. The -cathedral, wherein for nearly 1,000 years the kings of France were -crowned, has been fittingly described as “the most perfect example in -grandeur and grace of Gothic style in existence.” - -Hincmar, a mighty archbishop of the ninth century, once declared that -Rheims was “by the appointment of Heaven a royal city.” - -The words are at once historical and prophetic. Here Clovis was baptized -by St. Remigius, and here in the cathedral in 1429, Charles VII of -France was crowned through the efforts of Joan of Arc. - -According to the historians of art, Rheims is royal in another sense. In -no city in Europe have the life and thought of the Middle Ages and the -Renaissance found such perfect expression in architecture. From early -Gothic to Romanesque, and from Romanesque to Renaissance, the buildings -of Rheims reveal better than any records the city’s historical -development. Of all the buildings illustrative of their various periods -there were said to be no better examples than the cathedral and the -church of St. Jacques, fine monuments of early Gothic; the later Gothic -edifice of the archbishop’s palace, and, finally, the city hall, a -handsome work of the best period of French Renaissance. - - -CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME - -No one really knows who designed and built the cathedral. The first -stones were laid in 1211, and the building, with the exception of the -superb west façade, was completed in the thirteenth century. The façade, -which dates from the fourteenth century, was adorned with three -exquisite recessed portals containing, in a more or less good state of -preservation, over five hundred statues. Of the entire structure, we -read in “Cathedrals of the Isle de France”: “Nothing can exceed the -majesty of its deeply recessed portals, the beauty of the rose window -that surmounts them, or the elegance of the gallery that completes the -façade.” - -[Illustration: THE CHRISTIAN WORLD!] - - -ART TREASURES - -The interior, which was cruciform, was 455 feet long and 99 feet wide; -the distance from the middle isle to the highest point in the roof was -125 feet. Here in niches in the walls was another multitude of statues, -and in the nave and transepts were preserved valuable tapestry, -representing biblical scenes and scenes from the history of medieval -France. Here also hung a treasure of paintings, including canvases by -Tintoretto, Nicolas Poussin, and others, and some fine old tapestries. - -In the treasury were reliquaries, one said to contain a thorn from the -Holy Crown, the skull of St. Remi and a collection of valuable vessels -in gold, the most remarkable in France. The treasures included not only -the coronation ornaments of various kings, but the vase of St. Ursula, -the massive chalice of St. Remigius, and countless crucifixes in gold, -silver and precious woods. - -In the treasury was also preserved the Sainte Ampoule--the vessel in -which the oil used to anoint the kings of France was preserved--a -successor to the famous ampulla, which a dove was said to have brought -from heaven filled with inexhaustible holy oil at the time of the -baptism of Clovis, in 496. During the Revolution the sacred vessel was -shattered, but a fragment was piously preserved, in which some of the -oil was said still to remain. - - -CATHEDRAL A TARGET - -The Cathedral of Notre Dame is now no more than an empty shell of -charred and blackened walls. The fire started between four and five -o’clock Sunday afternoon, September 20, 1914, after shells had been -crashing into the town all day. Over five hundred fell between early -morning and sunset. - -The cathedral had been turned into a hospital for the German wounded, to -secure for the building the protection of the Red Cross flag. When the -first shell struck the roof everyone believed it was a stray shot, but -later in the day a German battery four miles away, began making the -great Gothic pile its target. Shell after shell crashed its way into the -old masonry and stonework that had stood the storms of centuries. - -At 4.30 some scaffolding around the east end of the cathedral, where -repairs were going on, caught fire and soon the whole network of poles -and planks was ablaze. Then the roof of old oak timbers caught fire and -soon the ceilings of the nave and transepts were a roaring furnace. - -The blazing piers of carved woodwork crashed to the floor, where piles -of straw had been gathered in connection with the work of the field -hospital. As soon as this caught fire the paneling of the altars, the -chairs and other furniture were devoured. - -Twenty wounded Germans would have perished by the efforts of their own -countrymen if several French army doctors, with their bearers, had not -carried them one by one at their own risk out of the church by one of -the side doors. - - -ANGER OF CROWD STILLED BY PRIESTS - -There a grim scene was only prevented by the courage of the priests of -the cathedral. A crowd of about two hundred citizens had come out to -watch the terrible spectacle. As these Germans, in their uniforms, -appeared at the transept door howls of uncontrollable passion went up -from the crowd. “Kill them!” they shouted. Soldiers in the crowd -leveled their rifles, when Abbé Andrieux sprang forward between the -wounded men and the muzzles that threatened them. - -“Don’t fire,” he shouted, “you would make yourselves as guilty as they.” - -The reproach was enough, and amid fierce hooting and angry cries the -Germans were carried to shelter in the museum near by. - -From the hills the flaming cathedral was an even more impressive sight -than in the streets of the town. From the yawning roof the red glare -poured up into the dark sky and its windows flickered with dancing -flames. So night closed down. Not for long was its stillness -undisturbed. At two o’clock German batteries opened fire again. Then -from windows that looked toward Rheims across the plain one could watch -the lurid sight of night bombardment. - -At last daybreak came, a sad gray dawn, with cold, dispiriting rain -falling. When the shadows had lifted and enough light had filtered -through the low, lead-colored clouds for one to see across the plain, -the ravished city, with its ruined cathedral standing stark against the -background and a vast wall of smoke rising slowly from the still flaming -ruins, was as desolate a thing as the sun could well have found in its -journey round the world that morning. - - -“SUPREME SACRIFICE AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF MAN” - -“Will not every artist, every writer, every lover of the beautiful, -unite with us in a protestation of horror against the infamous -destruction of Rheims Cathedral?” wrote Emile Hovelaque, French -Inspector General of Public Instruction, in a letter to the London -Times. “It was the cradle of our kings, the high altar of our race, a -sanctuary and shrine dear from every memory, sacred in every thought, -loved as our remotest past, an ever-speaking witness to the permanence -through change of the ideals, aspirations and dreams of our country. - -“Can such deeds go unavenged? Will not the conscience of the whole world -rise against those nameless barbarians who shelled Red Cross flags -floating over that twice-sacred pile, who have committed this supreme -sacrifice against the spirit of man in seven hundred years? Those gray -cliffs of chiseled stone had risen above the furious tides of -innumerable invasions unhurt, spared by the most savage onsets. -Battered, by every storm of heaven and earth, the noblest sculpture of -the West remained until German culture came. - -“And then, deliberately, methodically, slowly, the princes and captains -of an accursed race mangled the sacred pile until all had fallen. -Fairest and most human images in all the world, a forest of gigantic -columns, a vast vaulted canopy of stone, majestic walls and -heaven-stained glass--it was murder in cold blood, the murder not of a -life but of immortality. Forty-eight long hours the inexplicable crime -dragged out. Louvain first, now Rheims. What next?” - - -BEAUTY IRREPARABLY GONE - -The artistic beauty of the cathedral of Rheims can never be restored, in -the opinion of Whitney Warren, the New York architect, who made a -thorough inspection of the structure. - -Mr. Warren, who is a corresponding member of the Institut de France, was -given the privilege of visiting the cathedral. His investigation had no -official character, but the result of his observations was communicated -to Myron T. Herrick, American Ambassador to Belgium. - -“That anything remains of the edifice,” said Mr. Warren, “is due to the -strong construction of the walls and vaults which are of a robustness -that can resist even modern implements of war.” - -The building was not battered by the heavier guns, as had been feared, -but it suffered most from shrapnel fire. The famous rose windows, the -sculpture and other details of the façade that were ruined are, however, -just the examples of art that can not be replaced. - -Statues, gargoyles, and other ornaments on the exterior of the cathedral -have been tumbled to the pavement and shattered, though at first glance -the outer walls of the cathedral do not show the ruin that has taken -place. These blackened walls yet stand as a monument to the glory of -France, but still more as a grim reminder of the barbarity of German -warfare. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE CANADIANS’ GLORIOUS FEAT AT LANGEMARCK - - THE CRUCIAL TEST OF CANADA’S MEN -- WONDERFUL STORY OF HEROISM AS TOLD - BY SIR MAX AITKEN -- A REMARKABLE PERFORMANCE -- QUIET PRECEDING STORM - -- SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES -- LINE NEVER WAVERED -- OFFICER FELL AT - HEAD OF TROOPS -- FORTUNES OF THIRD BRIGADE -- IN DIRE PERIL -- - OVERWHELMING NUMBERS -- PUT TO TEST -- CAPTURE OF ST. JULIEN -- A HERO - LEADING HEROES. - - -The fight of the Canadians at Langemarck and St. Julien in April, 1915, -makes such a battle story as has sufficed, in other nations, to inspire -song and tradition for centuries. In the words of Sir John French, the -Canadians, by holding their ground when it did not seem humanly possible -to hold it, “saved the situation,” kept the enemy out of Ypres, kept -closed the road to Calais, and made a failure of German plans that -otherwise were about to be successful. - -The Canadian soldiers have indeed shown that they are second to none. -They were put to as supreme a test as it would be possible for any army -to meet with, for they fought overwhelming numbers under conditions that -seemed to ensure annihilation. They fought on, and failed neither in -courage, discipline, nor tenacity, although thousands of them fell. - -The story of their unflinching heroism was told by Sir Max Aitken, the -record officer serving with the Canadian division in France: - -“The recent fighting in Flanders, in which the Canadians played so -glorious a part, cannot of course be described with precision of -military detail until time has made possible the co-ordination of -relevant facts, and the piecing together in a narrative both lucid and -exact of much which, so near the event, is confused and blurred. But it -is considered right that the mourning in Canada for husbands, sons or -brothers who have given their lives for the Empire should have with as -little reserve as military considerations allow the rare and precious -consolation which, in the agony of bereavement, the record of the valor -of their dead must bring, and indeed the mourning in Canada will be very -widely spread, for the battle which raged for so many days in the -neighborhood of Ypres was bloody, even as men appraise battles in this -callous and life-engulfing war. But as long as brave deeds retain the -power to fire the blood of Anglo-Saxons, the stand made by the Canadians -in those desperate days will be told by fathers to their sons. - - -A REMARKABLE PERFORMANCE - -“The Canadians have wrested the trenches over the bodies of the dead and -earned the right to stand side by side with the superb troops who, in -the first battle of Ypres, broke and drove before them the flower of the -Prussian Guards. Looked at from any point the performance would be -remarkable. It is amazing to soldiers when the genesis and composition -of the Canadian division are considered. It contained no doubt a -sprinkling of South African veterans, but it consisted in the main of -men who were admirable raw material, but who, at the outbreak of war, -were neither disciplined nor trained as men count discipline and -training in these days of scientific warfare. It was, it is true, -commanded by a distinguished English general. Its staff was -supplemented, without being replaced, by some brilliant British staff -officers. But in its higher and regimental commands were to be found -lawyers, college professors, business men and real estate agents, ready -with cool self-confidence to do battle against an organization in which -the study of military science is the exclusive pursuit of laborious -lives. - -“With what devotion, with a valor how desperate, with resourcefulness -how cool and how frightful, the amateur soldier of Canada confronted -overwhelming odds, may perhaps be made clear, even by a narrative so -incomplete as the present. - -“The salient of Ypres has become familiar to all students of the -campaign in Flanders. Like all salients it was, and was known to be, a -source of weakness to the forces holding it, but the reasons which have -led to its retention are apparent, and need not be explained. - -“On Thursday, April 22, 1915, the Canadian division held a line of -roughly five thousand yards, extending in a northwesterly direction from -the Ypres-Roulers railway, to the Ypres-Poekapelle road, and connecting -at its terminus with the French troops. The division consisted of three -infantry brigades in addition to the artillery brigades. Of the infantry -brigades the first was in reserve, the second was on the right, and the -third established contact with the allies at the point indicated above. - - -QUIET PRECEDING STORM - -“The day was a peaceful one, warm and sunny, and except that the -previous day had witnessed a further bombardment of the stricken town of -Ypres, everything seemed quiet in front of the Canadian line. At five -o’clock in the afternoon a plan carefully prepared was put into -execution against our French allies on the left. Asphyxiating gas of -great intensity was projected into their trenches, probably by means of -force pumps and pipes laid out under the parapets. The fumes, aided by a -favorable wind, floated backwards, poisoning and disabling over an -extended area those who fell under their effect. The result was that the -French were compelled to give ground for a considerable distance. The -glory which the French army has won in this war would make it -impertinent to labor on the compelling nature of the poisonous -discharges under which the trenches were lost. The French did, as -everyone knew they would do, all that stout soldiers could do, and the -Canadian division, officers and men, look forward to many occasions in -the future in which they will stand side by side with the brave armies -of France. - -“The immediate consequence of this enforced withdrawal was, of course, -extremely grave. The third brigade of the Canadian division was without -any left, or, in other words, its left was in the air. It became -imperatively necessary greatly to extend the Canadian lines to the left -rear. It was not, of course, practicable to move the first brigade from -reserve at a moment’s notice, and the line, extended from five to nine -thousand yards, was not naturally the line that had been held by the -allies at five o’clock, and a gap still existed on its left. - -[Illustration: MAP ILLUSTRATING THE BATTLE OF LANGEMARCK. - -Shaded Portion Indicates German Gain.] - -“The new line, of which our recent point of contact with the French -formed the apex, ran quite roughly to the south and west. As shown -above, it became necessary for Brigadier-General Turner, commanding the -third brigade, to throw back his left flank southward to protect his -rear. In the course of the confusion which followed upon the -readjustment of position, the enemy, who had advanced rapidly after his -initial successes, took four British 4.7 guns in a small wood to the -west of the village of St. Julien, two miles in the rear of the original -French trenches. - - -SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES - -“The story of the second battle of Ypres is the story of how the -Canadian division, enormously outnumbered, for they had in front of them -at least four divisions, supported by immensely heavy artillery, with a -gap still existing, though reduced, in their lines, and with -dispositions made hurriedly under the stimulus of critical danger, -fought through the day and through the night, and then through another -day and night; fought under their officers until, as happened to so -many, these perished gloriously, and then fought from the impulsion of -sheer valor because they came from fighting stock. - -“The enemy, of course, was aware, whether fully or not may perhaps be -doubted, of the advantage his breach in the line had given him, and -immediately began to push a formidable series of attacks upon the whole -of the newly-formed Canadian salient. - -“If it is possible to distinguish when the attack was everywhere so -fierce, it developed with particular intensity at this moment upon the -apex of the newly-formed line running in the direction of St. Julien. It -has already been stated that four British guns were taken in a wood -comparatively early in the evening of the 22d. In the course of that -night, and under the heaviest machine-gun fire, this wood was assaulted -by the Canadian Scottish, sixteenth battalion, of the third brigade, and -the tenth battalion of the second brigade, which was intercepted for -this purpose on its way to a reserve trench. The battalions were -respectively commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Leckie, and -Lieutenant-Colonel Boyle, and after a most fierce struggle in the light -of a misty moon they took the position at the point of the bayonet. At -midnight the second battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Watson -and the Toronto regiment, Queen’s Own (third battalion), under -Lieutenant-Colonel Rennie, both of the first brigade, brought up -much-needed reinforcements, and though not actually engaged in the -assault, were in reserve. - - -LINE NEVER WAVERED - -“All through the following days and nights these battalions shared the -fortunes and misfortunes of the third brigade. An officer, who took part -in the attack, describes how the men about him fell under the fire of -the machine guns, which, in his phrase, played upon them ‘like a -watering pot.’ He added quite simply, ‘I wrote my own life off,’ but the -line never wavered. When one man fell another took his place, and with a -final shout the survivors of the two battalions flung themselves into -the wood. - -“The German garrison was completely demoralized, and the impetuous -advance of the Canadians did not cease until they reached the far side -of the wood and entrenched themselves there in the position so dearly -gained. They had, however, the disappointment of finding that the guns -had been blown up by the enemy, and later on the same night, a most -formidable concentration of artillery fire, sweeping the wood as a -tropical storm sweeps the leaves from a forest, made it impossible for -them to hold the position for which they had sacrified so much. - -“The fighting continued without intermission all through the night and -to those who observed the indications that the attack was being pushed -with ever-growing strength, it hardly seemed possible that the -Canadians, fighting in positions so difficult to defend, and so little -the subject of deliberate choice, could maintain their resistance for -any long period. At 6 A. M. on Friday it became apparent that the left -was becoming more and more involved and a powerful German attempt to -outflank it developed rapidly. The consequences if it had been broken or -outflanked need not be insisted upon. They were not merely local. - -“It was therefore decided, formidable as the attempt undoubtedly was, to -try and give relief by a counter-attack upon the first line of German -trenches, now far, far advanced from those originally occupied by the -French. This was carried out by the Ontario first and fourth battalions -of the first brigade, under Brigadier-General Mercer, acting in -combination with a British brigade. It is safe to say that the youngest -private in the rank, as he set his teeth for the advance, knew the task -in front of him, and the youngest subaltern knew all that rested upon -its success. - -[Illustration: GERMAN ABUSE OF THE WHITE FLAG. - -An incident showing how a company of British soldiers were cut down by -an ambushed enemy. The front rank of Germans had been firing from behind -a small ridge. In apparent surrender they stood up in a long row and -held up the white flag. The British advanced to receive their guns and -take them prisoners, when suddenly the entire line fell down and a -second line arose from behind the ridge and immediately killed all the -British company. (_Sphere copr._)] - -[Illustration: TERRIBLE EFFECT OF A GERMAN SHELL ON WOUNDED BRITISH -SOLDIERS. - -A party of wounded Highlanders were resting in a house on the bank of -the Aisne River, where a doctor was attending them. A German shell came -through the window and the soldiers resting on the sofas and on the -floor were nearly all killed by flying fragments of shell. (_Sphere -copr._)] - - -OFFICER FELL AT HEAD OF TROOPS - -“It did not seem that any human being could live in the shower of shot -and shell which began to play upon the advancing troops. They suffered -terrible casualties. For a short time every man seemed to fall, but the -attack was pressed even closer and closer. The fourth Canadian battalion -at one moment came under a particularly withering fire. For a moment, -not more, it wavered. Its most gallant commanding officer, -Lieutenant-Colonel Birchall, carrying, after an old fashion, a light -cane, coolly and cheerfully rallied his men, and at the very moment when -his example had infected them fell dead at the head of his battalion. - -“With a hoarse cry of anger they sprang forward (for, indeed, they loved -him) as if to avenge his death. The astonishing attack which followed, -pushed home in the face of direct frontal fire, made in broad daylight -by battalions whose names should live forever in the memories of -soldiers, was carried to the first line of German trenches. After a -hand-to-hand struggle the last German who resisted was bayoneted, and -the trench was won. - -“The measure of this success may be taken when it is pointed out that -this trench represented in the German advance the apex in the breach -which the enemy had made in the original line of the allies, and that it -was two and a half miles south of that line. This charge, made by men -who looked death indifferently in the face, for no man who took part in -it could think that he was likely to live, saved the Canadian left. But -it did more; up to the point where the assailants conquered or died, it -secured and maintained during the most critical moment of all the -integrity of the allied line. For the trench was not only taken, it was -thereafter held against all comers, and in the teeth of every -conceivable projectile, until the night of Sunday, the 25th, when all -that remained of the war-broken but victorious battalions was relieved -by fresh troops. - - -FORTUNES OF THIRD BRIGADE - -“It is necessary now to return to the fortunes of the third brigade, -commanded by Brigadier-General Turner, which, as we have seen, at five -o’clock on Thursday was holding the Canadian left and after the first -attack assumed the defense of the new Canadian salient, at the same time -sparing all the men it could to form an extemporized line between the -wood and St. Julien. This brigade also was, at the first moment of the -German offensive, made the object of an attack by the discharge of -poisonous gas. The discharge was followed by two enemy assaults. -Although the fumes were extremely poisonous, they were not, perhaps, -having regard to the wind, so disabling as on the French lines (which -ran almost east to west), and the brigade, though affected by the fumes, -stoutly beat back the two German assaults. - -“Encouraged by this success, it rose to the supreme effort required by -the assault of the wood, which has already been described. At 4 A. M. -on the morning of Friday, the 23d, a fresh emission of gas was made both -upon the second brigade, which held the line running northeast, and upon -the third brigade, which, as has been fully explained, had continued the -line up to the pivotal point, as defined above, and had then spread down -in a southeasterly direction. It is perhaps worth mentioning, that two -privates of the forty-eighth Highlanders, who found their way into the -trenches commanded by Colonel Lipsett, ninetieth Winnipeg Rifles, eighth -battalion, perished of the fumes, and it was noticed that their faces -became blue immediately after dissolution. - -“The Royal Highlanders of Montreal, thirteenth battalion, and the -forty-eighth Highlanders, fifteenth battalion, were more especially -affected by the discharge. The Royal Highlanders, though considerably -shaken, remained immovable upon their ground. The forty-eighth -Highlanders, who no doubt received a more poisonous discharge, were for -the moment dismayed and indeed their trench, according to the testimony -of very hardened soldiers, became intolerable. The battalion retired -from the trench, but for a very short distance, and for an equally short -time. In a few moments they were again their own. They advanced upon and -occupied the trenches which they had momentarily abandoned. - - -IN DIRE PERIL - -“In the course of the same night the third brigade, which had already -displayed a resource, a gallantry, and a tenacity, for which no eulogy -could be excessive, was exposed (and with it the whole allied cause) to -a peril still more formidable. - -“It has been explained, and indeed the fundamental situation made the -peril clear, that several German divisions were attempting to crush, or -drive back this devoted brigade, and in any event to use their enormous -numerical superiority to sweep around and overwhelm our left wing at a -point in the line which cannot be precisely determined. The last attempt -partially succeeded, and in the course of this critical struggle, German -troops in considerable, though not in overwhelming, numbers swung past -the unsupported left to the brigade and, slipping in between the wood -and St. Julien, added to the torturing anxieties of the long-drawn-out -struggle by the appearance, and indeed for the moment the reality, of -isolation from the brigade base. - -“In the exertions made by the third brigade during this supreme crisis, -it is almost impossible to single out one battalion without injustice to -others, but though the efforts of the Royal Highlanders of Montreal, -thirteenth battalion, were only equal to those of the other battalions -who did such heroic service, it so happened by chance that the fate of -some of its officers attracted special attention. - -“Major Norsworthy, already almost disabled by a bullet wound, was -bayoneted and killed while he was rallying his men with easy -cheerfulness. The case of Captain McCuaig, of the same battalion, was -not less glorious, although his death can claim no witness. This most -gallant officer was seriously wounded in a hurriedly constructed trench. -At a moment when it would have been possible to remove him to safety, -he absolutely refused to move, and continued in the discharge of his -duty. But the situation grew instantly worse, and peremptory orders were -received for an immediate withdrawal. Those who were compelled to obey -them were most insistent to carry with them, at whatever risk to their -own mobility and safety, an officer to whom they were devotedly -attached. But he, knowing, it may be, better than they, the exertions -which still lay in front of them, and unwilling to inflict upon them the -disabilities of a maimed man, very resolutely refused, and asked of them -one thing only, that there should be given to him as he lay alone in the -trench, two loaded Colt revolvers to add to his own, which lay in his -right hand as he made his last request. And so, with three revolvers -ready to his hand for use, a very brave officer waited to sell his life, -wounded and racked with pain, in an abandoned trench. - -“On Friday afternoon the left of the Canadian line was strengthened by -important reinforcements of British troops, amounting to seven -battalions. From this time forward the Canadians also continued to -receive further assistance on the left from a series of French -counter-attacks pushed in a northeasterly direction from the canal bank. - - -OVERWHELMING NUMBERS - -“But the artillery fire of the enemy continually grew in intensity, and -it became more and more evident that the Canadian salient could no -longer be maintained against the overwhelming superiority of numbers by -which it was assailed. Slowly, stubbornly, and contesting every yard, -the defenders gave ground until the salient gradually receded from the -apex near the point where it had originally aligned with the French, and -fell back upon St. John. - -“Soon it became evident that even St. Julien, exposed from right and -left, was no longer tenable in the face of overwhelming numerical -superiority. The third brigade was therefore ordered to retreat further -south, selling every yard of ground as dearly as it had done since five -o’clock on Thursday. But it was found impossible, without hazarding far -larger forces, to disentangle the detachment of the Royal Highlanders of -Montreal, thirteenth battalion, and of the Royal Montreal Regiment, -fourteenth battalion. The brigade was ordered, and not a moment too -soon, to move back. It left these units with hearts as heavy as those of -his comrades who had said farewell to Captain McCuaig. - -“The German line rolled, indeed, over the deserted village, but for -several hours after the enemy had become master of the village the -sullen and persistent rifle fire which survived showed that they were -not yet master of the Canadian rear guard. If they died, they died -worthy of Canada. The enforced retirement of the third brigade (and to -have stayed longer would have been madness) reproduced for the second -brigade, commanded by Brigadier-General Curry, in a singularly exact -fashion the position of the third brigade itself at the moment of the -withdrawal of the French. - - -SECOND BRIGADE PUT TO TEST - -“The second brigade, it must be remembered, had retained the whole line -of trenches, roughly five hundred yards, which it was holding at five -o’clock on Thursday afternoon, supported by the incomparable exertions -of the third brigade, and by the highly hazardous deployment in which -necessity had involved that brigade. The second brigade had maintained -its lines. It now devolved upon General Curry, commanding this brigade, -to reproduce the tactical maneuvers by which earlier in the fight the -third brigade had adapted itself to the flank movement of overwhelming -numerical superiority. He flung his left flank round and his record is -that in the very crisis of this immense struggle he held his line of -trenches from Thursday at five o’clock until Sunday afternoon, and on -Sunday afternoon he had not abandoned his trenches. There were none -left. They had been obliterated by artillery. He withdrew his undefeated -troops from the fragments of his field fortifications, and the hearts of -his men were as completely unbroken as the parapets of his trenches were -completely broken. Such a brigade! - -“It is invidious to single out any battalion for special praise, but it -is perhaps necessary to the story to point out that Lieutenant-Colonel -Lipsett, commanding the ninetieth Winnipeg Rifles, eighth battalion, of -the second brigade, held the extreme left of the brigade position at the -most critical moment. - -“The battalion was expelled from the trenches early on Friday morning by -an emission of poisonous gas, but recovering in three-quarters of an -hour, it counter-attacked, retook the trenches it had abandoned and -bayoneted the enemy, and after the third brigade had been forced to -retire, Lieutenant-Colonel Lipsett held his position, though his left -was in the air, until two British regiments filled up the gap on -Saturday night. - - -CAPTURE OF ST. JULIEN - -“The individual fortunes of those two brigades have brought us to the -events of Sunday afternoon, but it is necessary, to make the story -complete, to recur for a moment to the events of the morning. - -“After a very formidable attack the enemy succeeded in capturing the -village of St. Julien, which has so often been referred to in describing -the fortunes of the Canadian left. This success opened up a new and -formidable line of advance, but by this time further reinforcements had -arrived. Here again it became evident that the tactical necessities of -the situation dictated an offensive movement, as the surest method of -arresting further progress. - -“General Alderson, who was in command of the reinforcements, accordingly -directed that an advance should be made by a British brigade which had -been brought up in support. The attack was thrust through the Canadian -left and center, and as the troops making it swept on, many of them -going to certain death, they paused an instant, and with deep-throated -cheers for Canada gave the first indication to the division of the warm -admiration which their exertions had excited in the British army. - -“The advance was indeed costly, but it could not be gainsaid. The story -is one of which the brigade may be proud, but it does not belong to the -special account of the fortunes of the Canadian contingent. It is -sufficient for our purpose to notice that the attack succeeded in its -object, and the German advance along the line, which was momentarily -threatened, was arrested. - -“We had reached, in describing the events of the afternoon, the points -at which the trenches of the second brigade had been completely -destroyed. This brigade and the third brigade, and the considerable -reinforcements which by this time filled the gap between the two -brigades, were gradually driven, fighting every yard, upon a line -running, roughly, from Fortuin, south of St. Julien, in a northeasterly -direction towards Passchendale. Here the two brigades were relieved by -two British brigades, after exertions as glorious, as fruitful, and, -alas! as costly, as soldiers have ever been called upon to make. - -“Monday morning broke bright and clear, and found the Canadians behind -the firing line. This day, too, was to bring its anxieties. The attack -was still pressed, and it became necessary to ask Brigadier-General -Curry whether he could once more call upon his shrunken brigade. - - -A HERO LEADING HEROES - -“‘The men are tired,’ this indomitable soldier replied, ‘but they are -ready and glad to go again to the trenches.’ And so once more, a hero -leading heroes, the general marched back the men of the second brigade, -reduced to a quarter of its original strength, to the apex of the line -as it existed at that moment. - -“This position he held all day Monday. On Tuesday he was still occupying -reserve trenches, and on Wednesday was relieved and retired to billets -in the rear. - -“Such, in the most general outline, is the story of a great and glorious -feat of arms. A story told so soon after the event, while tendering bare -justice to units whose doings fell under the eyes of particular -observers, must do less than justice to others who played their -part--and all did--as gloriously as those whose special activities it is -possible, even at this stage, to describe. But the friends of men who -fought in other battalions may be content in the knowledge that they, -too, shall learn, when time allows, the exact part which each unit -played in these unforgettable days.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -PITIFUL FLIGHT OF A MILLION WOMEN - -BY PHILIP GIBBS - -Of the London Daily Chronicle - - THE GERMAN ADVANCE UPON PARIS -- THE PRIZE OF PARIS -- HEROIC EFFORTS - OF FRENCH SOLDIERS -- GERMANS BALKED OF THEIR PRIZE -- SIXTY MILES OF - FUGITIVES -- TERROR IN EYES -- PARIS THE BEAUTIFUL. - - [The following article is reproduced by the courtesy of the New York - Times.] - - -At least a million German soldiers--that is no exaggeration of a light -pen, but the sober and actual truth--were advancing steadily upon the -capital of France. They were close to Beauvais when I escaped from what -was then a death-trap. They were fighting our British troops at Creil -when I came to that town. Upon the following days they were holding our -men in the Forest of Compiègne. They had been as near to Paris as -Senlis, almost within gunshot of the outer forts. - -“Nothing seems to stop them,” said many soldiers with whom I spoke. “We -kill them and kill them, but they come on.” - -The situation seemed to me almost ready for the supreme tragedy--the -capture or destruction of Paris. The northwest of France lay very open -to the enemy, abandoned as far south as Abbéville and Amiens, too -lightly held by a mixed army corps of French and Algerian troops with -their headquarters at Aumale. - -Here was an easy way to Paris. - -Always obsessed with the idea that the Germans must come from the east, -the almost fatal error of this war, the French had girdled Paris with -almost impenetrable forts on the east side, from those of Ecouen and -Montmorency, by the far-flung forts of Chelles and Champigny, to those -of Susy and Villeneuve, on the outer lines of the triple cordon; but on -the west side, between Pontoise and Versailles, the defenses of Paris -were weak. I say, “were,” because during the last days thousands of men -were digging trenches and throwing up ramparts. Only the snakelike -Seine, twining into a Pégoud loop, forms a natural defense to the -western approach to the city, none too secure against men who have -crossed many rivers in their desperate assaults. - - -THE PRIZE OF PARIS - -This, then, was the Germans’ chance; it was for this that they had -fought their way westward and southward through incessant battlefields -from Mons and Charleroi to St. Quentin and Amiens and down to Creil and -Compiègne, flinging away human life as though it were but rubbish for -death-pits. The prize of Paris, Paris the great and beautiful, seemed to -be within their grasp. - -It was their intention to smash their way into it by this western entry -and then to skin it alive. Holding this city at ransom, it was their -idea to force France to her knees under threat of making a vast and -desolate ruin of all those palaces and churches and noble buildings in -which the soul of French history is enshrined. - -I am not saying these things from rumor and hearsay, I am writing from -the evidence of my own eyes after traveling several hundreds of miles in -France along the main strategical lines, grim sentinels guarding the -last barriers to that approaching death which was sweeping on its way -through France to the rich harvest of Paris. - -There was only one thing to do to escape from the menace of this death. -By all the ways open, by any way, the population of Paris emptied itself -like rushing rivers of humanity along all the lines which promised -anything like safety. - -[Illustration: THE ANXIOUS HOUR.] - -Only those stayed behind to whom life means very little away from Paris -and who if death came desired to die in the city of their life. - -Again I write from what I saw and to tell the honest truth from what I -suffered, for the fatigue of this hunting for facts behind the screen -of war is exhausting to all but one’s moral strength, and even to that. - -I found myself in the midst of a new and extraordinary activity of the -French and English armies. Regiments were being rushed up to the center -of the allied forces toward Creil, Montdidier, and Noyon. - -This great movement continued for several days, putting to a severe test -the French railway system, which is so wonderfully organized that it -achieved this mighty transportation of troops with clockwork regularity. -Working to a time-table dictated by some great brain in the headquarters -of the French army, there were calculated with perfect precision the -conditions of a network of lines on which troop trains might be run to a -given point. It was an immense victory of organization, and a movement -which heartened one observer at least to believe that the German -death-blow would again be averted. - - -HEROIC EFFORTS OF FRENCH SOLDIERS - -I saw regiment after regiment entraining. Men from the Southern -Provinces, speaking the patois of the South; men from the Eastern -Departments whom I had seen a month before, at the beginning of the war, -at Châlons and Epernay and Nancy, and men from the southwest and center -of France, in garrisons along the Loire. They were all in splendid -spirits and utterly undaunted by the rapidity of the German advance. - -“It is nothing, my little one,” said a dirty, unshaved gentleman with -the laughing eyes of a D’Artagnan; “we shall bite their heads off. These -brutal ‘bosches’ are going to put themselves in a ‘guet-apens,’ a -veritable death-trap. We shall have them at last.” - -Many of them had fought at Longwy and along the heights of the Vosges. -The youngest of them had bristling beards, their blue coats with -turned-back flaps were war-worn and flanked with the dust of long -marches; their red trousers were sloppy and stained, but they had not -forgotten how to laugh, and the gallantry of their spirits was a joy to -see. - -They are very proud, these French soldiers, of fighting side by side -with their old foes. The English now, after long centuries of strife, -from Edward, the Black Prince, to Wellington, are their brothers-in-arms -upon the battle-fields, and because I am English they offered me their -cigarettes and made me one of them. But I realized even then that the -individual is of no account in this inhuman business of war. - -It is only masses of men that matter, moved by common obedience at the -dictation of mysterious far-off powers, and I thanked Heaven that masses -of men were on the move rapidly in vast numbers and in the right -direction to support the French lines which had fallen back from Amiens -a few hours before I left that town, and whom I had followed in their -retirement, back and back, with the English always strengthening their -left, but retiring with them almost to the outskirts of Paris itself. - -Only this could save Paris--the rapid strengthening of the allied front -by enormous reserves strong enough to hold back the arrow-shaped -battering ram of the enemy’s main army. - -Undoubtedly the French headquarters staff was working heroically and -with fine intelligence to save the situation at the very gates of Paris. -The country was being swept absolutely clean of troops in all parts of -France, where they had been waiting as reserves. - -It was astounding to me to see, after those three days of rushing troop -trains and of crowded stations not large enough to contain the -regiments, how an air of profound solitude and peace had taken -possession of all these routes. - -In my long journey through and about France and circling round Paris I -found myself wondering sometimes whether all this war had not been a -dreadful illusion without reality, and a transformation had taken place, -startling in its change, from military turmoil to rural peace. - -Dijon was emptied of its troops. The road to Châlons was deserted by all -but fugitives. The great armed camp at Châlons itself had been cleared -out except for a small garrison. The troops at Tours had gone northward -to the French center. All our English reserves had been rushed up to the -front from Havre and Rouen. - -There was only one deduction to be drawn from this great, swift -movement--the French and English lines had been supported by every -available battalion to save Paris from its menace of destruction, to -meet the weight of the enemy’s metal by a force strong enough to resist -its mighty mass. - - -GERMANS BALKED OF THEIR PRIZE - -It was still possible that the Germans might be smashed on their left -wing, hurled back to the west between Paris and the sea, and cut off -from their line of communications. It was undoubtedly this impending -peril which scared the enemy’s headquarters staff and upset all its -calculations. They had not anticipated the rapidity of the supporting -movement of the allied armies, and at the very gates of Paris they saw -themselves balked of their prize, the greatest prize of the war, by the -necessity of changing front. - -[Illustration: THE GREAT GERMAN HOWITZERS. - -Hauling a German twenty-one centimeter Howitzer on its firing mat with a -purchase on the wheels, which are fitted with caterpillar pads to -prevent sinking into soft mud.] - -[Illustration: FRIGHTFUL DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY GERMAN SIEGE GUNS. - -Ruins of the Fort Loncin at Liège, Belgium, after the German army had -bombarded it with their huge guns and reduced to fragments the strong -concrete fortifications. (_Copyright by International News Service._)] - -To do them justice, they realized instantly the new order of things, and -with quick and marvelous decision did not hesitate to alter the -direction of their main force. Instead of proceeding to the west of -Paris they swung round steadily to the southeast in order to keep their -armies away from the enveloping movement of the French and English and -drive their famous wedge-like formation southward for the purpose of -dividing the allied forces of the west from the French army of the east. -The miraculous had happened, and Paris, for a little time at least, was -unmolested. - -After wandering along the westerly and southerly roads I started for -Paris when thousands and scores of thousands were flying from it. At -that time I believed, as all France believed, that in a few hours German -shells would be crashing across the fortifications of the city and that -Paris the beautiful would be Paris the infernal. It needed a good deal -of resolution on my part to go deliberately to a city from which the -population was fleeing, and I confess quite honestly that I had a nasty -sensation in the neighborhood of my waistcoat buttons at the thought. - - -SIXTY MILES OF FUGITIVES - -Along the road from Tours to Paris there were sixty unbroken miles of -people--on my honor, I do not exaggerate, but write the absolute truth. -They were all people who had despaired of breaking through the dense -masses of their fellow-citizens camped around the railway stations, and -had decided to take the roads as the only way of escape. - -The vehicles were taxicabs, for which the rich paid fabulous prices; -motor cars which had escaped military requisition, farmers’ carts laden -with several families and piles of household goods, shop carts drawn by -horses already tired to the point of death because of the weight of the -people who crowded behind, pony traps and governess carts. - -Many persons, well dressed and belonging obviously to well-to-do -bourgeoisie, were wheeling barrows like costers, but instead of -trundling cabbages were pushing forward sleeping babies and little -children, who seemed on the first stage to find new amusement and -excitement in the journey from home; but for the most part they trudged -along bravely, carrying their babies and holding the hands of their -little ones. - -They were of all classes, rank and fortune being annihilated by the -common tragedy. Elegant women whose beauty is known in Paris salons, -whose frivolity, perhaps, in the past was the main purpose of their -life, were now on a level with the peasant mothers of the French suburbs -and with the “midinettes” of Montmartre, and their courage did not fail -them so quickly. - -I looked into many proud, brave faces of these delicate women, walking -in high-heeled shoes, all too frail for the hard, dusty roadways. They -belonged to the same race and breed as those ladies who defied death -with fine disdain upon the scaffold of the guillotine in the great -Revolution. - -They were leaving Paris now, not because of any fears for themselves--I -believe they were fearless--but because they had decided to save the -little sons and daughters of soldier fathers. - -This great army in retreat was made up of every type familiar in Paris. - -Here were women of the gay world, poor creatures whose painted faces had -been washed with tears, and whose tight skirts and white stockings were -never made for a long march down the highways of France. - -Here also were thousands of those poor old ladies who live on a few -francs a week in the top attics of the Paris streets which Balzac knew; -they had fled from their poor sanctuaries and some of them were still -carrying cats and canaries, as dear to them as their own lives. - -There was one young woman who walked with a pet monkey on her shoulder -while she carried a bird in a golden cage. Old men, who remembered 1870, -gave their arms to old ladies to whom they had made love when the -Prussians were at the gates of Paris then. - -It was pitiful to see these old people now hobbling along -together--pitiful, but beautiful also, because of their lasting love. - -Young boy students, with ties as black as their hats and rat-tail hair, -marched in small companies of comrades, singing brave songs, as though -they had no fear in their hearts, and very little food, I think, in -their stomachs. - -Shopgirls and concierges, city clerks, old aristocrats, young boys and -girls, who supported grandfathers and grandmothers and carried new-born -babies and gave pick-a-back rides to little brothers and sisters, came -along the way of retreat. - - -TERROR IN EYES - -Each human being in the vast torrent of life will have an unforgettable -story of adventure to tell if life remains. As a novelist I should have -been glad to get their narratives along this road for a great story of -suffering and strange adventure, but there was no time for that and no -excuse. - -When I met many of them they were almost beyond the power of words. The -hot sun of this September had beaten down upon them--scorching them as -in the glow of molten metal. Their tongues clave to their mouths with -thirst. - -Some of them had that wild look in their eyes which is the first sign of -the delirium of thirst and fatigue. - -Nothing to eat or drink could be found on the way from Paris. The little -roadside cafés had been cleared out by the preceding hordes. - -Unless these people carried their own food and drink they could have -none except of the charity of their comrades in misfortune, and that -charity has exceeded all other acts of heroism in this war. Women gave -their last biscuit, their last little drop of wine, to poor mothers -whose children were famishing with thirst and hunger; peasant women fed -other women’s babies when their own were satisfied. - -It was a tragic road. At every mile of it there were people who had -fainted on the roadside and poor old men and women who could go no -farther, but sat on the banks below the hedges, weeping silently or -bidding younger ones go forward and leave them to their fate. Young -women who had stepped out jauntily at first were so footsore and lame -that they limped along with lines of pain about their lips and eyes. - -Many of the taxicabs, bought at great prices, and many of the motor cars -had broken down as I passed, and had been abandoned by their owners, who -had decided to walk. Farmers’ carts had bolted into ditches and lost -their wheels. Wheelbarrows, too heavy to be trundled, had been tilted -up, with all their household goods spilled into the roadway, and the -children had been carried farther, until at last darkness came, and -their only shelter was a haystack in a field under the harvest moon. - -For days also I have been wedged up with fugitives in railway trains -more dreadful than the open roads, stifling in their heat and -heart-racking in their cargoes of misery. Poor women have wept -hysterically clasping my hand, a stranger’s hand, for comfort in their -wretchedness and weakness. Yet on the whole they have shown amazing -courage, and, after their tears, have laughed at their own breakdown, -and, always the children of France have been superb, so that again and -again I have wondered at the gallantry with which they endured this -horror. Young boys have revealed the heroic strain in them and have -played the part of men in helping their mothers. And yet, when I came at -last into Paris against all this tide of retreat, it seemed a needless -fear that had driven these people away. - - -PARIS THE BEAUTIFUL - -Then I passed long lines of beautiful little villas on the Seine side, -utterly abandoned among their trees and flowers. A solitary fisherman -held his line above the water as though all the world were at peace, and -in a field close to the fortifications which I expected to see bursting -with shells, an old peasant bent above the furrows and planted cabbages. -Then, at last, I walked through the streets of Paris and found them -strangely quiet and tranquil. - -The people I met looked perfectly calm. There were a few children -playing in the gardens of Champs Elysées and under the Arc de Triomphe -symbolical of the glory of France. - -I looked back upon the beauty of Paris all golden in the light of the -setting sun, with its glinting spires and white gleaming palaces and -rays of light flashing in front of the golden trophies of its monuments. -Paris was still unbroken. No shell had come shattering into this city of -splendor, and I thanked Heaven that for a little while the peril had -passed. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -FACING DEATH IN THE TRENCHES - - CAVE-DWELLING THE LOT OF MODERN SOLDIERS -- GERMANS HAVE LEARNED MUCH - -- STANDARDIZED MODEL -- FRENCH STUDY OF GERMAN METHODS--“COMFORTS OF - HOME”--BRITISH REFUGES IN NORTHERN FRANCE--“PICNICKING” IN THE OPEN - AIR -- RAVAGES OF ARTILLERY FIRE -- THE COMMON ENEMY, THE WEATHER -- - WHY COOKS WEAR IRON CROSSES--“PUTTING ONE OVER” ON THE RUSSIANS. - - -“Other times, other manners” applies as accurately to the battle-field -as it does elsewhere. The cavalry charge is nearly extinct, mass -formation is going, hand-to-hand conflict is rarely found, and now, it -appears, the old-fashioned and romantic bivouac is no more. -Trench-fighting has been carried on to such an extent in France and -Belgium, and Poland, that the open camp, with its rows of little tents, -outposts, and sentry guard, becomes almost a forgotten picture of -warfare. Doubtless the military schools of the future will make -provision for special instruction in the construction of commodious -caverns on the battle-field, safe, warm, and containing all the comforts -of a barrack. - -The modern warrior, like a mole, lives under ground and displays his -greatest activity at night. With the coming of subterranean warfare, as -trench-fighting can be appropriately called, great armies have had to -adopt unique methods. They have been compelled to build peculiar little -forts--for a trench is a fort, in fact--wherever their soldiers meet the -enemy. In consequence these rectangular excavations have been improved -far beyond their original outline. - -The first trench was nothing more nor less than a hole in the ground, -deep enough to protect a man kneeling, standing, or sitting, as the case -might be. Before the advent of the modern rifle and modern cannon, these -defenses, with several feet of loose earth thrown up in front of them, -served admirably. In those days the question of head-cover was of minor -importance; today a protective roofing is the sine qua non of any -well-constructed trench. Early in the European war it was discovered -that the trench offered the safest haven from the bursting shells of the -enemy’s field artillery. To all intents and purposes, shrapnel, or, as -its inventor termed it, the man-killing projectile--is practically -harmless in its effect upon entrenched troops. Unless a shell can be -placed absolutely within the two-feet wide excavation it wastes its -destructive powers on the inoffensive earth and air. This has led to a -modification of artillery methods, which, in turn, compels the -elaboration of the trench and emphasizes the importance of head-cover. - - -GERMANS HAVE LEARNED MUCH - -“The history of the great war,” to quote from a French paper, “will -show, among other things, how the Germans profited by the lessons of -recent conflicts. The South African, the Russo-Japanese, and the Balkan -wars were studied minutely by them, and their particular preparations, -their tactics, and their artifices result from the knowledge thus -acquired. They learned much, especially, as regards the formation of -trenches. - -“After 1870 we confined ourselves to three regulation types of trenches: -for men prone, kneeling, and standing. While in training, our soldiers -were taught how to take shelter momentarily between advances, by digging -up the soil a little and lying flat behind the smallest of mounds. They -were instructed, moreover, how to protect themselves from the enemy’s -fire by propping up their knapsacks in front of them. This meant -insufficient protection, and an extremely dangerous visibility, since -the foe, by simply counting the number of knapsacks, could know the -strength opposed to him. To insure the making of such shelter, a French -company was equipped with eighty picks and eighty spades; that is, 160 -tools for 250 men. These tools were fixed on to the knapsacks; and it -took some time to bring them into use.” - -The German methods for defensive and offensive trench-making are quite -different. Each man has a tool of his own, which is fixed on to the -scabbard of his sword-bayonet. When occasion for fighting arises, the -line conceals itself, and, as soon as it is engaged, it prepares for -possible retreat, making strong positions assuring an unrelenting -defensive and counter-attacks. - - -STANDARDIZED MODEL - -It is on these sound principles that all the German fighting-lines are -organized, on a more or less standardized model. The fighting-lines -consist generally of one, two, or three lines of shelter-trenches lying -parallel, measuring twenty or twenty-five inches in width, and varying -in length according to the number they hold; the trenches are joined -together by zigzag approaches and by a line of reinforced trenches -(armed with machine guns), which are almost completely proof against -rifle, machine gun, or gun fire. The ordinary German trenches are almost -invisible from 350 yards away, a distance which permits a very deadly -fire. It is easy to realize that if the enemy occupies three successive -lines and a line of reinforced entrenchments, the attacking line is -likely, at the lowest estimate, to be decimated during an advance of 650 -yards--by rifle-fire at a range of 350 yards’ distance, and by the -extremely quick fire of the machine guns, which can each deliver from -300 to 600 bullets a minute with absolute precision. In the -field-trench, it is obvious, a soldier enjoys far greater security than -he would if merely prone behind his knapsack in an excavation barely -fifteen inches deep. He has merely to stoop down a little to disappear -below the level of the ground and be immune from infantry fire; -moreover, his machine guns can fire without endangering him. In -addition, this stooping position brings the man’s knapsack on a level -with his helmet, thus forming some protection against shrapnel and -shell-splinters. - -At the back of the German trenches, shelters are dug for -non-commissioned officers and for the commander of the unit. The -latter’s shelter is connected with the communication trench; the others -are not. If one adds that the bank, or, rather, the earth that is dug -from the trenches and spread out in front, extends for five or six -yards, and is covered with grass, or appropriate vegetation, it will be -recognized that the works concealing the German lines can be seen only -when a near approach is made to them. - -[Illustration: REINFORCED TRENCHES. - -Upper view: Details of roofs, loop-holes, and the form of the -excavations. Lower left-hand view: Vertical section of trenches and -shelters. Lower right-hand view: A plan and section of trenches and -rest-room.] - -As to reinforced trenches, the drawings show clearly their conception -and arrangement. They are proof against ordinary bullets and shrapnel. -Only percussion-shells are able to destroy them and to decimate their -defenders. The interior details of the trenches vary according to the -ingenuity and spare time of the occupants and the nature of the ground. - - -FRENCH STUDY OF GERMAN METHODS - -The whole system, that of the rest-rooms more especially, is designed to -give the men the maximum of comfort and security. Doors and wooden -shutters wrenched from deserted houses are used for covers, or else -turf-covered branches. - -Ever since the outbreak of the war, the French troops in Lorraine, after -severe experiences, realized rapidly the advantages of the German -trenches, and began to study those they had taken gloriously. Officers, -non-commissioned officers, and men of the Engineers were straightway -detached in every unit to teach the infantry how to construct similar -shelters. The education was quick, and very soon they had completed the -work necessary for the protection of all. The tools of the enemy -“casualties,” the spades and picks left behind in deserted villages, -were all gladly piled on to the French soldiers’ knapsacks, to be -carried willingly by the very men who used to grumble at being loaded -with even the smallest regulation tool. As soon as night had set in on -the occasion of a lull in the fighting, the digging of the trenches was -begun. Sometimes, in the darkness, the men of each fighting -nation--less than 500 yards away from their enemy--would hear the noise -of the workers of the foe: the sounds of picks and axes; the officers’ -words of encouragement; and tacitly they would agree to an armistice -during which to dig shelters from which, in the morning, they would dash -out, to fight once more. - - -“COMFORTS OF HOME” - -Commodious, indeed, are some of the present trench barracks, if we may -believe the letters from the front. One French soldier writes: - -“In really up-to-date entrenchments you may find kitchens, dining-rooms, -bedrooms, and even stables. One regiment has first class cow-sheds. One -day a whimsical ‘piou-piou,’ finding a cow wandering about in the danger -zone, had the bright idea of finding shelter for it in the trenches. The -example was quickly followed, and at this moment the --th Infantry -possess an underground farm, in which fat kine, well cared for, give -such quantities of milk that regular distributions of butter are being -made--and very good butter, too.” - -But this is not all. An officer writes home a tale of yet another one of -the comforts of home added to the equipment of the trenches: - -“We are clean people here. Thanks to the ingenuity of ----, we are able -to take a warm bath every day from ten to twelve. We call this teasing -the ‘bosches,’ for this bathing-establishment of the latest type is -fitted up--would you believe it?--in the trenches!” - - -BRITISH REFUGES IN NORTHERN FRANCE - -Describing trenches occupied by the British in their protracted -“siege-warfare” in Northern France along and to the north of the Aisne -Valley, a British officer wrote: “In the firing-line the men sleep and -obtain shelter in the dugouts they have hollowed or ‘undercut’ in the -side of the trenches. These refuges are slightly raised above the bottom -of the trench, so as to remain dry in wet weather. The floor of the -trench is also sloped for purposes of draining. Some trenches are -provided with head-cover, and others with overhead cover, the latter, of -course, giving protection from the weather as well as from shrapnel -balls and splinters of shells. . . . At all points subject to -shell-fire access to the firing-line from behind is provided by -communication-trenches. These are now so good that it is possible to -cross in safety the fire-swept zone to the advanced trenches from the -billets in villages, the bivouacs in quarries, or the other places where -the headquarters of units happen to be.” - - -“PICNICKING” IN THE OPEN AIR - -A cavalry subaltern gave the following account of life in the trenches: -“Picnicking in the open air, day and night (you never see a roof now), -is the only real method of existence. There are loads of straw to bed -down on, and everyone sleeps like a log, in turn, even with shrapnel -bursting within fifty yards.” - - -RAVAGES OF ARTILLERY FIRE - -One English officer described the ravages of modern artillery fire, not -only upon all men, animals and buildings within its zone, but upon the -very face of nature itself: “In the trenches crouch lines of men, in -brown or gray or blue, coated with mud, unshaven, hollow-eyed with the -continual strain.” - -“The fighting is now taking place over ground where both sides have for -weeks past been excavating in all directions,” said another letter from -the front, “until it has become a perfect labyrinth. A trench runs -straight for a considerable distance, then it suddenly forks in three or -four directions. One branch merely leads into a ditch full of water, -used in drier weather as a means of communication; another ends abruptly -in a cul-de-sac, probably an abandoned sap-head; the third winds on, -leading into galleries and passages further forward. - -“Sometimes where new ground is broken the spade turns up the long-buried -dead, ghastly relics of former fights, and on all sides the surface of -the earth is ploughed and furrowed by fragments of shell and bombs and -distorted by mines. Seen from a distance, this apparently confused mass -of passages, crossing and recrossing one another, resembles an irregular -gridiron. - -“The life led by the infantry on both sides at close quarters is a -strange, cramped existence, with death always near, either by means of -some missile from above or some mine explosion from beneath--a life -which has one dull, monotonous background of mud and water. Even when -there is but little fighting the troops are kept hard at work -strengthening the existing defenses, constructing others, and -improvising the shelter imperative in such weather.” - - -THE COMMON ENEMY, THE WEATHER - -But it is not the guns or cannon of the enemy that affect the spirits of -the soldiers. It is the weather. A week of alternate rain and snow, when -the ill-drained dugouts are half-filled with a freezing viscid mud; -when, day after day, the feet are numbed by the frost until all -sensation in them is deadened; when the coarse, scanty ration is refused -by the tortured stomach--then it is that the spirits of the stoutest -falter. Let the enemy attack as he will, and he must fail. It is only in -fighting that the men find an outlet for their rancor. - -More than thirty years ago a well-known German general declared that a -book on “Seasonal Tactics” might as properly be written as those on the -tactics of weapons, and of geographical conditions; and in a recent -issue of the Deutsche Revue an unsigned article by a veteran of the -Franco-Prussian war recounts the difficulties that arise when the Frost -King holds sway. “To begin with, the precious hours of daylight are much -fewer, and even these may be shortened by overcast skies and heavy fogs. -Soft snow and mud seriously impede marching and at times it is -impossible to take cross-country cuts, even single horsemen having great -difficulty in crossing the frozen ridges of plowed fields or stubble. -Moreover, even regular highways may become so slippery that they -endanger both man and horse, and in hilly country such conditions make -it necessary to haul heavy artillery up steep ascents by man-power. Cold -head-winds also greatly impede progress. - -“The necessity of bringing the troops under cover enforces long marches -at the end of the day’s work, and again at its beginning, and therefore -makes extra demands on energy. . . . The early dark hinders the offense -from carrying out its plans completely and from utilizing any advantage -won by following it up energetically. Night battles become frequent. The -defense seeks to regain what it has lost by day, the offense to make use -of the long nights to win what it could not achieve in the daytime. -Then, too, the need of getting warmed-up makes the troops more -enterprising.” - -[Illustration: SINKING OF A TORPEDOED BATTLESHIP. - -As the British vessel “Aboukir” was sinking after being torpedoed by a -German submarine, one of the sailors described the last moment as -follows: “The captain sings out an order just like on any ordinary -occasion, ‘If any man wishes to leave the side of the ship he can do so, -every man for himself,’ then we gave a cheer and in we went.”] - -[Illustration: RESCUING SAILORS AFTER SINKING OF GERMAN BATTLESHIP. - -The conduct of the British fleet is well illustrated by this picture, -which shows life-boats and torpedo destroyers rescuing the drowning -sailors of a German battleship after the latter had been sunk. The heads -and shoulders of numerous unfortunate men are seen dotted about in the -water. (_Photo by Underwood and Underwood._)] - -All sorts of constructive work--fortification building, the erection of -stations for telegraphs, telephones and wireless, etc.--is naturally -much more difficult in frozen ground. General von der Goltz of the -German Army is said to have recommended many years ago that in view of -possible winter campaigns provision should be made in quantity of warm -winter clothing, materials for the building of barracks, making double -tents, etc. Another important preventive of suffering and the consequent -diminished efficiency is to provide plenty of good hot food for the men. - - -WHY COOKS WEAR IRON CROSSES - -“There isn’t anything heroic about cooks,” wrote Herbert Corey in the -New York Globe, “and when things go wrong one either apprehends a cook -as chasing a waiter with a bread-knife or giving way to tears.” Yet the -German army contains many a cook whose expansive apron is decorated with -the Iron Cross. “And the Iron Cross,” Mr. Corey reminds us, “is -conferred for one thing only--for 100 per cent courage.” - -“‘They’ve earned it,’ said the man who had seen them. ‘They are the -bravest men in the Kaiser’s four millions. I’ve seen generals salute -greasy, paunchy, sour-looking army cooks.’ - -“The cook’s job is to feed the men of his company. Each German company -is followed, or preceded, by a field-kitchen on wheels. Sometimes the -fires are kept going while the device trundles along. The cook stands on -the foot-board and thumps his bread. He is always the first man up in -the morning and the last to sleep at night. - -“When that company goes into the trenches the cook stays behind. There -is no place for a field-kitchen in a four-foot trench. But these men in -the trench must be fed. The Teuton insists that all soldiers must be -fed--but especially the men in the trench. The others may go hungry, but -these must have tight belts. Upon their staying power may depend the -safety of an army. - -“So, as the company can not go to the cook, the cook goes to the -company. When meal-hour comes he puts a yoke on his shoulders and a -cook’s cap on his head and, warning the second cook as to what will -happen if he lets the fires go out, puts a bucketful of hot veal stew on -either end of the yoke and goes to his men. Maybe the trench is under -fire. No matter. His men are in that trench and must be fed. - -“Sometimes the second cook gets his step right here. Sometimes the -apprentice cook--the dish-washer--is summoned to pick up the cook’s yoke -and refill the spilled buckets and tramp steadily forward to the line. -Sometimes the supply of assistant cooks, even, runs short. But the men -in the trenches always get their food. - -“‘That’s why so many cooks in the German Army have Iron Crosses dangling -from their breasts,’ said the man who knows. ‘No braver men ever lived. -The man in the trench can duck his head and light his pipe and be -relatively safe. No fat cook yoked to two buckets of veal stew ever can -be safe as he marches down the trench.’” - - -“PUTTING ONE OVER” ON THE RUSSIANS - -Granville Fortescue, who visited the Russian trenches in Poland, related -in the Illustrated London News a story of how the Germans, to use a -slang phrase, “put one over” on the too-confiding Russians. “This -happened,” he wrote, “at a portion of the line where the positions ran -so close that the men could communicate by shouting. It was around -Christmas, and the Germans invited the Russians to come over for a hot -cup of new coffee just received from home. The Russians replied to this -invitation, shouting: ‘Come over and try our tea. It’s a special gift -from the Czar.’ - -“The Germans then put up the white flag, and said that they would send -over fifteen men to try the tea if the Russians would send over the same -number to sample their coffee. The plan was carried out. When the -fifteen Germans appeared in the Russian trench, the hosts remarked to -one another that if these were a sample the enemy would not hold out -long. They were a sick-looking lot. Suddenly the Germans pulled down -their white flag and commenced firing. Then the Russians found that -they had exchanged fifteen good soldiers for fifteen typhus patients. - -“It is easy to believe that the Russian soldier could be imposed upon in -this way. Although extremely courageous, he is very simple-minded with -it all, and certainly trusting. He is a splendid physical specimen. In -the trail of trench warfare this is the great desideratum. Then, the -Russians of the type that are drafted into the army have all their life -been accustomed to privation and exposure. For this reason they are the -only troops that I have seen who can stick six days and nights on end in -a trench, under constant small arms and shell fire, with the temperature -below zero, and after a day’s rest be as good as ever. The Russians -never grumble.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -A VIVID PICTURE OF WAR - - THE BATTLE OF NEUVE CHAPELLE -- A SURPRISE PREPARED--“HELL BROKE - LOOSE”--A HORRIBLE THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES -- TRENCHES FILLED WITH DEAD -- - HOARSE SHOUTS AND THE GROANS OF THE WOUNDED -- INDESCRIBABLE MASS OF - RUINS RUINS--“SMEARED WITH DUST AND BLOOD.” - - -One of the most vivid word-pictures of what war means in all its horror -was told by an eye-witness of the battle of Neuve Chapelle in which the -British soldiers dislodged the Germans from an important position. He -said: - -“The dawn, which broke reluctantly through a veil of clouds on the -morning of Wednesday, March 10, 1915, seemed as any other to the Germans -behind the white and blue sandbags in their long line of trenches -curving in a hemicycle about the battered village of Neuve Chapelle. For -five months they had remained undisputed masters of the positions they -had here wrested from the British in October. Ensconced in their -comfortably-arranged trenches with but a thin outpost in their fire -trenches, they had watched day succeed day and night succeed night -without the least variation from the monotony of trench warfare, the -intermittent bark of the machine guns--rat-tat-tat-tat-tat--and the -perpetual rattle of rifle fire, with here and there a bomb, and now and -then an exploded mine. - - -A SURPRISE PREPARED - -“For weeks past the German airmen had grown strangely shy. On this -Wednesday morning none were aloft to spy out the strange doings which as -dawn broke might have been descried on the desolate roads behind the -British lines. - -“From ten o’clock of the preceding evening endless files of men marched -silently down the roads leading towards the German positions through -Laventie and Richebourg St. Vaast, poor shattered villages of the dead -where months of incessant bombardment have driven away the last -inhabitants and left roofless houses and rent roadways. . . . - -“Two days before, a quiet room, where Nelson’s Prayer stands on the -mantel-shelf, saw the ripening of the plans that sent these sturdy sons -of Britain’s four kingdoms marching all through the night. Sir John -French met the army corps commanders and unfolded to them his plans for -the offensive of the British Army against the German line at Neuve -Chapelle. - -“The onslaught was to be a surprise. That was its essence. The Germans -were to be battered with artillery, then rushed before they recovered -their wits. We had thirty-six clear hours before us. Thus long, it was -reckoned (with complete accuracy as afterwards appeared), must elapse -before the Germans, whose line before us had been weakened, could rush -up reinforcements. To ensure the enemy’s being pinned down right and -left of the ‘great push,’ an attack was to be delivered north and south -of the main thrust simultaneously with the assault on Neuve Chapelle.” - -After describing the impatience of the British soldiers as they awaited -the signal to open the attack, and the actual beginning of the -engagement, the narrator continues: - -[Illustration: “THERE IS NOTHING TO REPORT.”] - - -“HELL BROKE LOOSE” - -“Then hell broke loose. With a mighty, hideous, screeching burst of -noise, hundreds of guns spoke. The men in the front trenches were -deafened by the sharp reports of the field-guns spitting out their -shells at close range to cut through the Germans’ barbed wire -entanglements. In some cases the trajectory of these vicious missiles -was so flat that they passed only a few feet above the British trenches. - -“The din was continuous. An officer who had the curious idea of putting -his ear to the ground said it was as though the earth were being smitten -great blows with a Titan’s hammer. After the first few shells had -plunged screaming amid clouds of earth and dust into the German -trenches, a dense pall of smoke hung over the German lines. The -sickening fumes of lyddite blew back into the British trenches. In some -places the troops were smothered in earth and dust or even spattered -with blood from the hideous fragments of human bodies that went hurtling -through the air. At one point the upper half of a German officer, his -cap crammed on his head, was blown into one of our trenches. - - -A HORRIBLE THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES - -“Words will never convey any adequate idea of the horror of those five -and thirty minutes. When the hands of officers’ watches pointed to five -minutes past eight, whistles resounded along the British lines. At the -same moment the shells began to burst farther ahead, for, by previous -arrangement, the gunners, lengthening their fuses, were ‘lifting’ on to -the village of Neuve Chapelle so as to leave the road open for our -infantry to rush in and finish what the guns had begun. - -“The shells were now falling thick among the houses of Neuve Chapelle, a -confused mass of buildings seen reddish through the pillars of smoke and -flying earth and dust. At the sound of the whistle--alas for the bugle, -once the herald of victory, now banished from the fray!--our men -scrambled out of the trenches and hurried higgledy-piggledy into the -open. Their officers were in front. Many, wearing overcoats and carrying -rifles with fixed bayonets, closely resembled their men. - - -TRENCHES FILLED WITH DEAD - -“It was from the center of our attacking line that the assault was -pressed home soonest. The guns had done their work well. The trenches -were blown to irrecognizable pits dotted with dead. The barbed wire had -been cut like so much twine. Starting from the Rue Tilleloy the Lincolns -and the Berkshires were off the mark first, with orders to swerve to -right and left respectively as soon as they had captured the first line -of trenches, in order to let the Royal Irish Rifles and the Rifle -Brigade through to the village. The Germans left alive in the trenches, -half demented with fright, surrounded by a welter of dead and dying men, -mostly surrendered. The Berkshires were opposed with the utmost -gallantry by two German officers who had remained alone in a trench -serving a machine gun. But the lads from Berkshire made their way into -that trench and bayoneted the Germans where they stood, fighting to the -last. The Lincolns, against desperate resistance, eventually occupied -their section of the trench and then waited for the Irishmen and the -Rifle Brigade to come and take the village ahead of them. Meanwhile the -second thirty-ninth Garhwalis on the right had taken their trenches with -a rush and were away towards the village and the Biez Wood. - - -HOARSE SHOUTS AND THE GROANS OF THE WOUNDED - -“Things had moved so fast that by the time the troops were ready to -advance against the village the artillery had not finished its work. So, -while the Lincolns and the Berks assembled the prisoners who were -trooping out of the trenches in all directions, the infantry on whom -devolved the honor of capturing the village, waited. One saw them -standing out in the open, laughing and cracking jokes amid the terrific -din made by the huge howitzer shells screeching overhead and bursting -in the village, the rattle of machine guns all along the line, and the -popping of rifles. Over to the right where the Garhwalis had been -working with the bayonet, men were shouting hoarsely and wounded were -groaning as the stretcher-bearers, all heedless of bullets, moved -swiftly to and fro over the shell-torn ground. - -“There was bloody work in the village of Neuve Chapelle. The capture of -a place at the bayonet point is generally a grim business, in which -instant, unconditional surrender is the only means by which bloodshed, a -deal of bloodshed, can be prevented. If there is individual resistance -here and there the attacking troops cannot discriminate. They must go -through, slaying as they go such as oppose them (the Germans have a -monopoly of the finishing-off of wounded men), otherwise the enemy’s -resistance would not be broken, and the assailants would be sniped and -enfiladed from hastily prepared strongholds at half a dozen different -points. - - -INDESCRIBABLE MASS OF RUINS - -“The village was a sight that the men say they will never forget. It -looked as if an earthquake had struck it. The published photographs do -not give any idea of the indescribable mass of ruins to which our guns -reduced it. The chaos is so utter that the very line of the streets is -all but obliterated. - -“It was indeed a scene of desolation into which the Rifle Brigade--the -first regiment to enter the village, I believe--raced headlong. Of the -church only the bare shell remained, the interior lost to view beneath -a gigantic mound of debris. The little churchyard was devastated, the -very dead plucked from their graves, broken coffins and ancient bones -scattered about amid the fresher dead, the slain of that morning--grey -green forms asprawl athwart the tombs. Of all that once fair village but -two things remained intact--two great crucifixes reared aloft, one in -the churchyard, the other over against the château. From the cross that -is the emblem of our faith the figure of Christ, yet intact though all -pitted with bullet marks, looked down in mute agony on the slain in the -village. - - -“SMEARED WITH DUST AND BLOOD” - -“The din and confusion were indescribable. Through the thick pall of -shell smoke Germans were seen on all sides, some emerging hall dazed -from cellars and dugouts, their hands above their heads, others dodging -round the shattered houses, others firing from the windows, from behind -carts, even from behind the overturned tombstones. Machine guns were -firing from the houses on the outskirts, rapping out their nerve-racking -note above the noise of the rifles. - -“Just outside the village there was a scene of tremendous enthusiasm. -The Rifle Brigade, smeared with dust and blood, fell in with the Third -Gurkhas with whom they had been brigaded in India. The little brown men -were dirty but radiant. Kukri in hand they had very thoroughly gone -through some houses at the cross-roads on the Rue du Bois and silenced a -party of Germans who were making themselves a nuisance there with some -machine guns. Riflemen and Gurkhas cheered themselves hoarse.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -HARROWING SCENES ALONG THE BATTLE LINES - - DRIVING BACK THE GERMANS UNDER FIRE -- ON THE FIRING LINE -- AMONG - MANGLED HORSES AND MEN -- GERMAN LOSSES FRIGHTFUL -- DIXMUDE A PLACE - OF DEATH AND HORROR. - - -Some idea of the ruin wrought day after day as the battle raged in -Flanders may be gained from the occasional reports of war correspondents -who shared the fortunes of battle. - -“The battle rages along the Yser with frightful destruction of life,” -wrote a correspondent of the London Daily News in October. “Air engines, -sea engines, and land engines death-sweep this desolate country, -vertically, horizontally, and transversely. Through it the frail little -human engines crawl and dig, walk and run, skirmishing, charging, and -blundering in little individual fights and tussles, tired and puzzled, -ordered here and there, sleeping where they can, never washing, and -dying unnoticed. A friend may find himself firing on a friendly force, -and few are to blame. - -“Thursday the Germans were driven back over the Yser; Friday they -secured a footing again, and Saturday they were again hurled back. Now a -bridge blown up by one side is repaired by the other; it is again blown -up by the first, or left as a death trap till the enemy is actually -crossing. - -[Illustration: THESE ALWAYS SURVIVE.] - -“Actions by armored trains, some of them the most reckless adventures, -are attempted daily. Each day accumulates an unwritten record of -individual daring feats, accepted as part of the daily work. Day by day -our men push out on these dangerous explorations, attacked by shell -fire, in danger of cross-fire, dynamite, and ambuscades, bringing a -priceless support to the threatened lines. As the armored train -approaches the river under shell fire the car cracks with the constant -thunder of guns aboard. It is amazing to see the angle at which the guns -can be swung. - -“And overhead the airmen are busy venturing through fog and puffs of -exploding shells to get one small fact of information. We used to regard -the looping of the loop of the Germans overhead as a hare-brained piece -of impudent defiance to our infantry fire. Now we know it means early -trouble for the infantry. - -“Besides us, as we crawl up snuffing the lines like dogs on a scent, -grim train-loads of wounded wait soundlessly in the sidings. Further up -the line ambulances are coming slowly back. The bullets of machine guns -begin to rattle on our armored coats. Shells we learned to disregard, -but the machine gun is the master in this war. - -“Now we near the river at a flat country farm. The territory is scarred -with trenches, and it is impossible to say at first who is in them, so -incidental and separate are the fortunes of this riverside battle. The -Germans are on our bank enfilading the lines of the Allies’ trenches. We -creep up and the Germans come into sight out of the trenches, rush to -the bank, and are scattered and mashed. The Allies follow with a fierce -bayonet charge. - -“The Germans do not wait. They rush to the bridges and are swept away by -the deadliest destroyer of all, the machine gun. The bridge is blown up, -but who can say by whom? Quickly the train runs back. - -“‘A brisk day,’ remarks the correspondent. ‘Not so bad,’ replies the -officer. So the days pass.” - - -ON THE FIRING LINE - -Another correspondent who, accompanied by a son of the Belgian War -Minister, M. de Broqueville, made a tour of the battleground in the -Dixmude district wrote: - -“No pen could do justice to the grandeur and horror of the scene. As far -as the eye could reach nothing could be seen but burning villages and -bursting shells. - -“Arriving at the firing line, a terrible scene presented itself. The -shell fire from the German batteries was so terrific that Belgian -soldiers and French marines were continually being blown out of their -dugouts and sent scattering to cover. Elsewhere, also, little groups of -peasants were forced to flee because their cellars began to fall in. -These unfortunates had to make their way as best they could on foot to -the rear. They were frightened to death by the bursting shells, and the -sight of crying children among them was most pathetic. - -“Dixmude was the objective of the German attack, and shells were -bursting all over it, crashing among the roofs and blowing whole streets -to pieces. From a distance of three miles we could hear them crashing -down, but the town itself was invisible, except for the flames and the -smoke and clouds rising above it. The Belgians had only a few field -batteries, so that the enemy’s howitzers simply dominated the field, and -the infantry trenches around the town had to rely upon their own unaided -efforts. - - -AMONG MANGLED HORSES AND MEN - -“Our progress along the road was suddenly stopped by one of the most -horrible sights I have ever seen. A heavy howitzer shell had fallen and -burst right in the midst of a Belgian battery which was making its way -to the front, causing terrible destruction. The mangled horses and men -among the debris presented a shocking spectacle. - -“Eventually, we got into Dixmude itself, and every time a shell came -crashing among the roofs we thought our end had come. The Hôtel de Ville -(town hall) was a sad sight. The roof was completely riddled by shell, -while inside was a scene of chaos. It was piled with loaves of bread, -bicycles, and dead soldiers. - -“The battle redoubled in fury, and by seven o’clock in the evening -Dixmude was a furnace, presenting a scene of terrible grandeur. The -horizon was red with burning homes. - -“Our return journey was a melancholy one, owing to the constant trains -of wounded that were passing.” - - -GERMAN LOSSES FRIGHTFUL - -“The German losses are frightful” wrote another correspondent. “Three -meadows near Ostend are heaped with dead. The wounded are now installed -in private houses in Bruges, where large wooden sheds are being rushed -up to receive additional injured. Thirty-seven farm wagons containing -wounded, dying, and dead passed in one hour near Middelkerke.” - - -DIXMUDE A PLACE OF DEATH AND HORROR - -From Fumes, Belgium, members of the staff of the English hospital -traveled to Dixmude to search for wounded men on the firing line. Philip -Gibbs, of the London Daily Chronicle, who traveled with them in -reporting his experiences, said: - -“I was in one of the ambulances, and Mr. Gleeson sat behind me in the -narrow space between the stretchers. Over his shoulder he talked in a -quiet voice of the job that lay before us. I was glad of that quiet -voice, so placid in its courage. We went forward at what seemed to me a -crawl, though I think it was a fair pace, shells bursting around us now -on all sides, while shrapnel bullets sprayed the earth about us. It -appeared to me an odd thing that we were still alive. Then we came into -Dixmude. - -[Illustration: DESTRUCTION OF THE SEA-RAIDER “EMDEN.” - -The Australian cruiser “Sydney” came up with the German cruiser “Emden” -off the Cocos Keeling Island on November 9. After the “Sydney” had fired -six hundred rounds of ammunition and covered fifty-six miles in -maneuvering, she forced the “Emden” to run ashore owing to the breaking -of her steering gear. The German vessel ran at a speed of nineteen knots -upon the beach, the shock killing the man at the wheel. (_From a direct -camera picture taken on board the “Sydney.”_)] - -[Illustration: SINKING OF THE GERMAN CRUISER “BLUECHER.” - -This most dramatic photograph of the Great North Sea Battle, in which -the British fleet was victor, January 24, 1915, shows the death agony of -the German cruiser “Bluecher” just as she turned turtle and sank. The -ship is shown lying on her side, with her machinery and armament shot -into masses of twisted iron and steel, great fires raging forward, -amidship and aft. The officers and men can be seen ranged along the side -of the vessel: many of them have slipped into the water and may be seen -swimming about. (_Copyright by the International News Service._)] - -“When I saw it for the first and last time it was a place of death and -horror. The streets through which we passed were utterly deserted and -wrecked from end to end, as though by an earthquake. Incessant -explosions of shell fire crashed down upon the walls which still stood. -Great gashes opened in the walls, which then toppled and fell. A roof -came tumbling down with an appalling clatter. Like a house of cards -blown by a puff of wind, a little shop suddenly collapsed into a mass of -ruins. Here and there, further into the town, we saw living figures. -They ran swiftly for a moment and then disappeared into dark caverns -under toppling porticoes. They were Belgian soldiers. . . . - -“We stood on some steps, looking down into that cellar. It was a dark -hole, illumined dimly by a lantern, I think. I caught sight of a little -heap of huddled bodies. Two soldiers, still unwounded, dragged three of -them out and handed them up to us. The work of getting those three men -into the first ambulance seemed to us interminable; it was really no -more than fifteen or twenty minutes. - -“I had lost consciousness of myself. Something outside myself, as it -seemed, was saying that there was no way of escape; that it was -monstrous to suppose that all these bursting shells would not smash the -ambulance to bits and finish the agony of the wounded, and that death -was very hideous. I remember thinking also how ridiculous it was for men -to kill one another like this and to make such hells on earth.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -WHAT THE MEN IN THE TRENCHES WRITE HOME - - SOBERING REALITIES OF BATTLE--“WAR IS TERRIBLE”--THE COMMON ENEMY, - DEATH--“A WASTEFUL WAR”--“SAME PAIR OF BLUE EYES”--FIGHTING WITHOUT - HATE. - - -Life at the front is not all marching and fighting by any means: there -are long days and nights of waiting in which though it be - - “Theirs not to reason why” - -the soldiers have abundant time to reflect upon the grim fatality of war -and the hideousness of the carnage. They are continually facing death, -and though many of them, perhaps most of them, become inured to the -sights of human slaughter, others cannot fail to be impressed by the -stark, white faces of the fallen--friends and foes alike. Sights more -horrible than perhaps they could have imagined are burned into their -minds, never to be effaced. - -Naturally some of their reflections find expression in the letters home, -when the soldier is more or less off guard. There we get an “inside -view” of the war which does much to offset the ruthlessness of rulers -and restore one’s faith in the essential humanity of men. - - -“WAR IS TERRIBLE” - -The following letter, which Refers to the fighting along the Aisne, was -found on a German officer of the Seventh Reserve Corp: - - “Cerny, South of Laon, Sept. 14, 1914. - -“My dear Parents: Our corps has the task of holding the heights south of -Cerny in all circumstances until the fourteenth corps on our left flank -can grip the enemy’s flank. On our right are other corps. We are -fighting with the English Guards, Highlanders, and Zouaves. The losses -on both sides have been enormous. For the most part this is due to the -too brilliant French artillery. - -[Illustration: THE MOTHER.] - -“The English are marvelously trained in making use of ground. One never -sees them, and one is constantly under fire. The French airmen perform -wonderful feats. We cannot get rid of them. As soon as an airman has -flown over us, ten minutes later we get their shrapnel fire in our -positions. We have little artillery in our corps; without it we cannot -get forward. - -“Three days ago our division took possession of these heights and dug -itself in. Two days ago, early in the morning, we were attacked by an -immensely superior English force, one brigade and two battalions, and -were turned out of our positions. The fellows took five guns from us. It -was a tremendous hand-to-hand fight. - -“How I escaped myself I am not clear. I then had to bring up supports on -foot. My horse was wounded, and the others were too far in the rear. -Then came up the guards jäger battalion, fourth jäger, sixth regiment, -reserve regiment thirteen, and landwehr regiments thirteen and sixteen, -and with the help of the artillery we drove the fellows out of the -position again. Our machine guns did excellent work; the English fell in -heaps. - -“In our battalion three Iron Crosses have been given, one to C. O., one -to Captain ----, and one to Surgeon ----. [Names probably deleted.] Let -us hope that we shall be the lucky ones next time. - -“During the first two days of the battle I had only one piece of bread -and no water. I spent the night in the rain without my overcoat. The -rest of my kit was on the horses which had been left behind with the -baggage and which cannot come up into the battle because as soon as you -put your nose up from behind cover the bullets whistle. - -“War is terrible. We are all hoping that a decisive battle will end the -war, as our troops already have got round Paris. If we beat the English -the French resistance will soon be broken. Russia will be very quickly -dealt with; of this there is no doubt. - -“Yesterday evening, about six, in the valley in which our reserves stood -there was such a terrible cannonade that we saw nothing of the sky but a -cloud of smoke. We had few casualties.” - - -THE COMMON ENEMY, DEATH - -How foe helps foe when the last grim hour comes is revealed in the -letter which a French cavalry officer sent to his fiancée in Paris: - -“There are two other men lying near me, and I do not think there is much -hope for them either. One is an officer of a Scottish regiment and the -other a private in the Uhlans. They were struck down after me, and when -I came to myself, I found them bending over me, rendering first aid. - -“The Britisher was pouring water down my throat from his flask, while -the German was endeavoring to stanch my wound with an antiseptic -preparation served out to them by their medical corps. The Highlander -had one of his legs shattered, and the German had several pieces of -shrapnel buried in his side. - -“In spite of their own sufferings they were trying to help me, and when -I was fully conscious again the German gave us a morphia injection and -took one himself. His medical corps had also provided him with the -injection and the needle, together with printed instructions for its -use. - -“After the injection, feeling wonderfully at ease, we spoke of the lives -we had lived before the war. We all spoke English, and we talked of the -women we had left at home. Both the German and the Britisher had only -been married a year. . . . - -“I wonder, and I supposed the others did, why we had fought each other -at all. I looked at the Highlander, who was falling to sleep, exhausted, -and in spite of his drawn face and mud-stained uniform, he looked the -embodiment of freedom. Then I thought of the Tri-color of France, and -all that France had done for liberty. Then I watched the German, who had -ceased to speak. He had taken a prayer book from his knapsack and was -trying to read a service for soldiers wounded in battle.” - - -“SAME PAIR OF BLUE EYES” - -Sergeant Gabriel David, of the French infantry, who saw seven months of -continuous service in the trenches of the Argonne Forest, described the -odd effect of peeping over the top of a trench for weeks into the same -pair of German blue eyes. - -“I don’t know who this man was or what he might have been,” he said, -“but wherever I go I can yet see those sad-looking eyes. He and I gazed -at each other for three weeks in one stretch; his watch seemed to always -be the same as mine. We came to respect each other. I am sure that I -would always know those blue eyes, and I would like to meet that man -when the war has ended.” - - -FIGHTING WITHOUT HATE - -There is yet to appear an authentic letter from a private or officer on -either side that contains a tithe of the virulence and bitterness shown -in the statements and writings of many non-combatants. - -“One wonders,” runs a letter of a British officer, “when one sees a -German face to face, is this really one of those devils who wrought such -devastation--for devastation they have surely wrought. You can hardly -believe it, for he seems much the same as other soldiers. I can assure -you that out here there is none of that insensate hatred that one hears -about. - -“Just to give you some idea of what I mean, the other night four German -snipers were shot on our wire. The next night our men went out and -brought one in who was near and get-at-able and buried him. They did it -with just the same reverence and sadness as they do to our own dear -fellows. I went to look at the grave the next morning, and one of the -most uncouth-looking men in my company had placed a cross at the head of -the grave, and had written on it: - - “‘Here lies a German. - We don’t know his name. - For he died bravely fighting - For his Fatherland.’ - -“And under that, ‘got mitt uns’ (sic), that being the highest effort of -all the men at German. Not bad for a bloodthirsty Briton, eh? Really -that shows the spirit.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -BOMBARDING UNDEFENDED CITIES - - THE GERMAN RAID ON THE ENGLISH COAST -- MRS. KAUFFMAN’S DESCRIPTION -- - CANNONADING AT WHITBY -- FREAKISH EFFECT OF SHELLS -- FLIGHT OF SCHOOL - CHILDREN. - - -The Ninth Hague Convention of 1907, to which both Germany and Great -Britain gave their assent upon identical conditions, expressly forbids -“the bombardment by naval forces of undefended ports, towns, villages, -dwellings or buildings,” and by inference requires notice to be given -previous to any such operations. Neither of these stipulations was -observed by the German naval raiders who on December 16, 1914, bombarded -the historic English towns of Hartlepool, Whitby and Scarborough. -Appearing in the early morning, the Germans rained deadly shells upon -these coast towns, none of which was of strategic importance, and only -one protected by fortifications. The immediate result was the useless -slaughter of many non-combatants--men and women and children, and the -ruin of buildings, churches and historic monuments, including the -ancient abbey of St. Hilda at Whitby. - -The raid on Scarborough was described by Ruth Kauffman, the wife of the -novelist, Reginald Wright Kauffman, in an interesting communication. -The Kauffmans had been living for several years just outside of -Cloughton, a village near Scarborough. - - -MRS. KAUFFMAN’S DESCRIPTION - -“It’s a very curious thing to watch a bombardment from your house. - -[Illustration: WHERE THE WAR WAS BROUGHT HOME TO ENGLAND.] - -“Everybody knew the Kaiser would do it. But there was a little doubt -about the date, and then somehow the spy-hunting sport took up general -attention. When the Kaiser did send his card it was quite as much of a -surprise as most Christmas cards--from a friend forgotten. - -“Eighteen people were killed in the morning between eight and -eight-thirty o’clock in the streets and houses of Scarborough by German -shrapnel, two hundred were wounded and more than two hundred houses were -damaged or demolished. - -“From our windows we could not quite make out the contours of the -ruined castle, which is generally plainly visible. Our attention was -called to the fact that there was “practicing” going on and we could at -8.07 see quick flashes. That these flashes pointed directly at -Scarborough we did not for a few moments comprehend, then the fog slowly -lifting, we saw a fog that was partly smoke. The castle grew into its -place in the six miles distance. - -“It seemed for a moment that the eight-foot thick Norman walls tottered, -but no, whatever tottered was behind the keep. Curiously enough, we -could barely hear the cannonading, for the wind was keen in the opposite -direction, yet we could, as the minutes crept by and the air cleared, -see distinctly the flashes from the boats and the flashes in the city. - -“After about fifteen minutes there was a cessation, or perhaps a -hesitation, that lasted two minutes; then the flashes continued. Ten -minutes more and the boats began to move again. One cruiser disappeared -from sight, sailing south by east. - - -CANNONADING AT WHITBY - -“The other two rushed like fast trains north again, close to our cliffs, -and in another half hour we heard all too plainly the cannonading which -had almost escaped our ears from Scarborough. We thought it was Robin -Hood’s Bay, as far north of us as Scarborough is south, but afterward we -learned that the boats omitted this pretty red-roofed town and -concentrated their remaining energy on Whitby, fifteen miles north; the -wind blowing toward us brought us the vibrating boom. - -“We drove to Scarborough. We had not gone one mile of the distance when -we began to meet people coming in the opposite direction. A small -white-faced boy in a milk cart that early every morning makes its -Scarborough rounds showed us a piece of shell he had picked up, and said -it had first struck a man a few yards from him and killed the man. A -woman carrying a basket told us, with trembling lips, that men and women -were lying about the streets dead. - -“We did not meet a deserted city when we entered. The streets were -thronging. There was a Sunday hush over everything, without the -accompanying Sunday clothes, but people moved about or stood at their -doorways. Many of the shop fronts were boarded up and shop windows were -empty of display. The main street, a narrow passage-way that clambers up -from the sea and points due west, was filled with a procession that -slowly marched down one side and up the other. People hardly spoke. They -made room automatically for a group of silent Boy Scouts, who carried an -unconscious woman past us to the hospital. There was the insistent honk -of a motor-car. As it pushed its way through, all that struck me about -the car was the set face of the old man rising above improvised bandages -about his neck, part of the price of the Kaiser’s Christmas card. - -“The damage to property did not first reach our attention. But as we -walked down the main street and then up it with the procession we saw -that shops and houses all along had windows smashed next to windows -unhurt. At first we thought the broken windows were from concussion; but -apparently very few were so broken; there was not much concussion, but -the shells, splintering as they exploded, had flown red hot in every -direction, The smoke, we had seen, had come from fires quickly -extinguished. - - -FREAKISH EFFECTS OF SHELLS - -“We left the main business street and picked our way toward the -foreshore and the South Cliff, the more fashionable part of the town as -well as the school section. Here there was a great deal of havoc, and we -had to climb over some of the debris. Roofs were half torn off and -balancing in mid-air; shells had shot through chimneys and some chimneys -tottered, while several had merely round holes through the brick work; -mortar, brick and glass lay about the streets; here a third-story room -was bare to the view, the wall lifted as for a child’s doll house and -disclosing a single bedroom with shaving materials on the bureau still -secure; there a drug-store front lay fallen into the street, and the -iron railing about it was torn and twisted out of shape. - -“A man and a boy had just been carried away dead. All around small -pieces of iron rail and ripped asphalt lay scattered. Iron bars were -driven into the woodwork of houses. There were great gaps in walls and -roofs. The attack had not spent itself on any one section of the city, -but had scattered itself in different wards. The freaks of the shells -were as inexplicable as those of a great fire that destroys everything -in a house except a piano and a mantelpiece with its bric-a-brac, or a -flood that carries away a log cabin and leaves a rosebush unharmed and -blooming. - -“Silent pedestrians walked along and searched the ground for souvenirs, -of which there were plenty. Sentries guarded houses and streets where it -was dangerous to explore and park benches were used as barriers to the -public. All the cabs were requisitioned to take away luggage and -frightened inhabitants. During the shelling hundreds of women and -children, breakfastless, their hair hanging, hatless and even penniless, -except for their mere railway fares, had rushed to the station and taken -tickets to the first safe town they could think of. There was no panic, -these hatless, penniless women all asserted, when they arrived in York -and Leeds. - - -FLIGHT OF SCHOOL CHILDREN - -“A friend of mine hurried into Scarborough by motor to rescue her -sister, who was a pupil at one of the boarding schools. But it appeared -that when the windows of the school began to crash the teachers hurried -from prayers, ordered the pupils to gather hats and coats and sweet -chocolate that happened to be on hand as a substitute for breakfast and -made them run for a mile and a half, with shells exploding about them, -through the streets to the nearest out-of-Scarborough railway station. -My friend, after unbelievable difficulties, finally found her sister in -a private house of a village near by, the girl in tears and pleading not -to be sent to London; she had been told that her family’s house was -probably destroyed, as it was actually on the sea-coast.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -GERMANY’S FATAL WAR ZONE - - THE WARNING TO NEUTRAL NATIONS -- UNITED STATES REFUSED TO RECOGNIZE - WAR ZONE -- A VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS -- AIMED AT NEUTRAL - SHIPPING -- AN INHUMAN POLICY. - - -The German imperial decree making all of the waters surrounding the -British Isles a war zone and threatening to destroy ships and crews -found therein after February 18, 1915, whether they were English or -neutral, raised a storm of protest in the United States. The decree -read: - -“The waters around Great Britain and Ireland, including the whole -English Channel, are declared a war zone from and after February 18, -1915. - -“Every enemy ship found in this war zone will be destroyed, even if it -is impossible to avert dangers which threaten the crew and passengers. - -“Also, neutral ships in the war zone are in danger, as in consequence of -the misuse of neutral flags ordered by the British government on January -31 and in view of the hazards of naval warfare it cannot always be -avoided that attacks meant for enemy ships shall endanger neutral ships. - -“Shipping northward, around the Shetland Islands, in the eastern basin -of the North Sea, and in a strip of at least thirty nautical miles in -breadth along the Dutch coast, is endangered in the same way.” - -As plainly as words could state it, this was a warning that American and -other neutral vessels might be sunk by German submarines and that -Germany would repudiate responsibility for such action. The American -press denounced the declaration and its intent, and the United States -government made public a note to Germany, containing the following -paragraph: - - -UNITED STATES REFUSED TO RECOGNIZE WAR ZONE - -“If the commanders of German vessels of war should act upon the -presumption that the flag of the United States was not being used in -good faith and should destroy on the high seas an American vessel, or -the lives of American citizens, it would be difficult for the government -of the United States to view the act in any other light than as an -indefensible violation of neutral rights which it would be very hard -indeed to reconcile with the friendly relations now happily subsisting -between the two governments.” - -Frederick R. Coudert, of New York, an authority on international law, -said in discussing the war zone: - -“From the beginning the United States government always maintained the -right to treat the open sea as a public highway, and refused to -acquiesce in one attempt after another to establish a closed sea. It -refused to submit to an imposition of the Sound dues by Denmark, or to -recognize the Baltic as a closed sea. It refused to pay tribute to the -Barbary powers for the privilege of navigating the Mediterranean, and -gave notice to Russia that it would disregard the claim to make the -North Pacific a closed sea. - - -A VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS - -“No one has ever pretended to assert a claim to control the navigation -of the North Sea, and Germany has no more right to plant mines in the -open sea between Great Britain and Belgium and France than she would -have to do so in Delaware Bay, or than a property owner, who was annoyed -by automobiles, would have to plant torpedoes in a turnpike. - -“The right to plant mines as a defense to a harbor, from which all -vessels might lawfully be excluded, is one thing, but to destroy the use -of the open sea as a highway, by sowing mines which might indeed destroy -British ships, but might also destroy American ships, is an act of -hostility which, if persisted in, would constitute a casus belli, and if -we had Mr. Webster, or Mr. Marcey, or Mr. Evarts in Washington as -Secretary of State, prompt notice would be given that for any damage -done Germany would be held responsible.” - -A representative quotation from the newspapers of the United States is -the following: - -“The imperial decree making all of the waters surrounding the British -isles a ‘war zone,’ and threatening to destroy ships and crews found -therein after February 18, whether they be English or neutral, is surely -the maddest proposal ever put forth by a civilized nation. - - -AIMED AT NEUTRAL SHIPPING - -“This excessively efficient method of warfare, however, is one that most -concerns England and France. The interest of the United States lies in -the fact that the threat is aimed emphatically at neutral shipping. - -[Illustration: THREE BRITISH CRUISERS SUNK BY SUBMARINES. - -The “Aboukir,” “Hogue” and “Cressy” sunk by torpedoes on September 22. -The horrors of modern warfare are illustrated by the notice issued after -this disaster by the British Admiralty, which reads in part, “No act of -humanity, whether to friend or foe, should lead to neglect of the proper -precautions and dispositions of war, and no measure can be taken to save -life which prejudice the military situation.” (_Copyright by the Sun -News Service._)] - -[Illustration: THE LOSS OF THE “IRRESISTIBLE” IN THE DARDANELLES. - -On March 18 the “Irresistible” quit the line of the French and English -fleet, which was bombarding the Turkish forts in the narrows of the -Dardanelles, and sank in deep water. The whole ship was lifted up in the -explosion, and to increase the horror of the situation the Turks -commenced bombarding the vessel with their big guns.] - -“Neutral nations were loath to accept the sinister meaning of the order -when it was first published; but its intent was emphasized by Bismarck’s -old organ, the Hamburger Nachrichten: - -“‘Beginning on February 18 everybody must take the consequences. The -hate and envy of the whole world concern us not at all. If neutrals do -not protect their flags against England, they do not deserve Germany’s -respect.’ - -“The misuse of the American flag is annoying to this country as well as -exasperating to Germany, but no government in its senses would seriously -threaten to make that an excuse for piratical operations. A merchant -ship has a right to fly any flag the skipper has in his locker, -particularly if thereby he can deceive an enemy and evade capture. The -custom is as old as maritime warfare, and has been resorted to -numberless times by every nation. - -“But this issue is trifling compared to the German effort to exclude -neutral shipping from an arbitrarily decreed ‘war zone.’ It is -officially admitted that this does not comprise a formal blockade, but -it is clear that Germany is attempting to achieve the benefits of a -blockade without its heavy responsibilities. - - -AN INHUMAN POLICY - -“It is understood that she has a perfect right to hold up and search -neutral ships in her declared ‘war zone,’ and to make prizes of such as -carry contraband. But it is the possession of this very right which -forbids the inhuman policy she proclaims. She cannot plead ignorance of -a vessel’s identity, or attack it unless it refuses to stop when -signaled. The burden of proof is upon the submarine, and to torpedo a -vessel on suspicion merely would be unredeemed piracy and murder. - -“This is distinctly a case in which the convenient doctrine of ‘military -necessity’ is not to be invoked. Nor would an occasional misuse of a -neutral flag by belligerent vessels, as a ruse of war, justify a -mistaken act of destruction. If every British merchantman approaching -England flew the American colors, that would not excuse the torpedoing -of one American ship. - -“These facts are stated with convincing clearness in the official -protest sent from Washington to Berlin. We do not know who framed this -document, although it bears distinct literary marks of revision by -President Wilson. But whoever the men actually responsible for it, they -produced a state paper which is a model of terseness, lucidity, -dignified courtesy and force, an irrefutable presentation of the -relevant principles of international law and justice. No loyal American -wants trouble, but the blood of the most pacific citizen must move a -little faster on reading the German decree and the restrained but -perfectly straightforward reply sent by our government.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -MULTITUDINOUS TRAGEDIES AT SEA - - TWENTY-NINE VESSELS SUNK IN ONE WEEK -- EIGHTY-TWO NON-COMBATANT - VESSELS DESTROYED IN GERMAN WAR ZONE -- THE ATTACK ON THE GULFLIGHT. - - -The fact that the Lusitania was the twenty-ninth vessel to be sunk or -damaged in one week in May in the war zone established by Germany around -the British Isles throws into grim relief the ruthlessness of modern -war. The naval battles of the past were engagements of dignity in which, -when a vessel was lost, it went down with a certain tragic magnificence -after a fair fight; but most of the vessels lost in the European war -have been the victims of torpedoes, struck by stealthy blows in the -dark. In less than three months, from February 18 to May 7, 1915, no -less than eighty-two merchant vessels belonging either to the Allies or -to neutral nations were torpedoed or mined in the war zone, with a loss -of life estimated at 1,704 non-combatants--a terrible sacrifice to -modern warfare. - -Naturally the greater number of these merchant ships were British, but -the fact that the war zone was proclaimed by Germany with a view to -stopping neutral shipping as well is established by the figures which -show that among the eighty-two non-combatant vessels destroyed there -were French, Russian, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, Greek and three -American vessels, the latter being the Evelyn, sunk by a mine explosion -February 20; the Carib, sunk by a mine explosion February 22, and the -Gulflight, torpedoed May 1. - -In addition to these eighty-two cases of non-combatant vessels -destroyed, there have been innumerable instances of unsuccessful -attacks, of which a notable example was the double attempt to sink the -American tank steamship Cushing, once by a Zeppelin which aimed three -bombs at the vessel, and once by a submarine which placed a contact mine -directly in the path of the ship; her bow narrowly missed the mine, and -her stern struck it a glancing blow, but not with sufficient force to -explode it. - - -THE ATTACK ON THE GULFLIGHT - -It would require many hundreds of pages to recount the details of all of -these crimes against non-combatant merchant ships, and to show the -relentless severity with which neutral commerce has been attacked, but -the organized military measures even against neutral ships are well -illustrated by the case of the American ship Gulflight, as described by -the second officer, Paul Bower: - -“When the Gulflight left Port Arthur, Texas, on April 10, bound for -Rouen, France,” said Bower, “we were followed by a warship of some -description, which kept out of sight, but in touch by wireless and -warned us not to disclose our position to any one. - -“At noon Saturday, May 1, we were twenty-five miles west of the Scilly -Islands, a small group about thirty miles southwest of England. The -weather was hazy, but not thick. About two and one-half miles ahead I -saw a submarine. - -[Illustration: WHERE LUSITANIA WAS TORPEDOED. - -Kinsale, on South Coast of Ireland, close to Cork Harbor.] - -“Twenty-five minutes later we were struck by a torpedo on the starboard -side, and there was a tremendous shock. The submarine had not reappeared -on the surface before discharging the torpedo. - -“Previous to this, we had been met by two patrol boats, which -accompanied us on either side. The boat on our starboard side was so -badly shaken by the explosion that her crew imagined that she also had -been torpedoed. We immediately lowered the boats and left our ship and -were quickly taken on board the patrol boats. But the fog increased and -we drifted about all night and did not land at Scilly until 10.30 -o’clock Sunday morning. - -“At midnight of Saturday, while still on board the patrol boat, Captain -Gunter summoned me. I found him in bed and he said he wanted some one to -roll a cigarette for him. He then tossed up his arms and fainted. From -then until the time of his death, which occurred about 3.30 o’clock -Sunday morning, he remained unconscious. - -“Captain Gunter’s speech was thick and indistinct, but we could -distinguish that he wished some one to take care of his wife. The crew -had always regarded Captain Gunter as a healthy man and had never heard -him complain.” - -Second Assistant Engineer Crist, of the Gulflight, said: - -“I was on watch in the engine room when we were torpedoed, and so -terrible was the blow that the Gulflight seemed to be tumbling to -pieces. She appeared to be lifted high in the air and then to descend -rapidly. I told the boys to beat it as quickly as possible and shut the -engines down. - -“Reaching the deck, I found them launching both life-boats. We got -safely into them, with the exception of wireless operator Short and a -Spanish seaman, who had dived overboard when they felt the shock, and -were drowned.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -HOW “NEUTRAL” WATERS ARE VIOLATED - - THE THREE-MILE LIMIT -- BELLIGERENTS’ RIGHTS -- NOTICE IN LEAVING - NEUTRAL WATERS -- EVASIONS OF NEUTRALITY. - - -“A neutral has a perilous part to sustain.” So says Louis XI to his -treacherous minister, Cardinal Balue, in Scott’s famous novel. The -dictum is true enough even when a strong state is in question. For Great -Britain the question of neutrality is of great importance in so far as -it affects her on the sea. Historically, of course, neutrality is rather -a modern development. Small and weak states in the earlier ages of the -world had little hope of keeping themselves free from the havoc of a -great world conflict. Great naval powers, such as the Hanseatic League, -Genoa, and Venice, did, during the Middle Ages, succeed at times in -inspiring respect for their neutrality, but it was at best precarious, -and strong states rarely paid much respect to neutral waters. Early in -the reign of Charles I the Dutch destroyed a Spanish fleet in the very -Downs; and though Charles was master of a strong naval power he made no -attempt to resent the insult. In this case, of course, there were -special reasons for England’s apathy, but the incident is significant. -Roughly speaking, it may be laid down as an axiom that in all the ages -of history the neutrality of a state, on sea as on land, has been -respected only in so far as it has possessed the power to make it so. - - -THE THREE-MILE LIMIT - -During the Napoleonic wars, Great Britain was in constant trouble with -the United States owing to the fashion in which British naval commanders -exercised, and sometimes abused, the right of searching American ships -for contraband of war. The British-American quarrels had the good effect -that attempts were made to standardize and establish on a firm basis the -laws of neutrality at sea. The naval portion of the Neutrality -Conference of 1907 contains twenty-eight clauses, of which the first -provides that belligerents must respect neutral waters. Where the coast -borders the open sea the neutral zone extends to three miles from the -shore. As this is well within the range of even small naval guns it is -clear that an opportunity is afforded to an unscrupulous captain of -sinking vessels which have crossed the neutral line. In the case of a -power controlling the entrance to inland seas the provision becomes of -enormous importance. - - -BELLIGERENTS’ RIGHTS - -Within neutral waters belligerents may not take prizes, hold prize -courts, nor establish warlike bases, nor may they obtain supplies -therein. At the same time neutrality is not held to be compromised by -the simple passage through neutral waters of belligerent ships and -prizes. Belligerent vessels may also obtain the help of pilots. The -neutral state must use all its endeavor to be impartial and must expel -or warn off vessels guilty of breaches of neutrality. - -Except in special cases a belligerent warship may make a stay of only -twenty-four hours in neutral waters. The special cases would usually be -those of vessels disabled or otherwise in distress or storm-bound. When -damaged a warship may remain long enough in a neutral port to effect -necessary repairs, but it must not take on board extra armament, -ammunition, or reinforcements of men. If out of coal it must only take -on board sufficient to carry it to its nearest home port. Nor is it -supposed to fill up with food stores beyond its ordinary supply in time -of peace. In all these cases the neutral authorities are the judges. It -must be obvious that a weak neutral state will be in a terrible quandary -if the vessel be a powerful one and the country to which it belongs a -powerful one. - - -NOTICE IN LEAVING NEUTRAL WATERS - -The belligerent ship must give twenty-four hours’ notice before leaving, -and must not visit the same port again until three months have elapsed. -Should it break the neutrality laws the neutral state authorities may -incapacitate it for immediate service and detain it, leaving on board -just as many of the crew as are necessary to keep it clean and in order. -The steps taken would generally be to remove the vitally necessary -engine and gun fittings. Should two hostile ships enter a neutral port -they must, while there, observe its neutrality, and must leave at an -interval of twenty-four hours. - - -EVASIONS OF NEUTRALITY - -It must be obvious from all this that the inviolability of neutrality -will always depend very much upon the ability of the state concerned to -keep it so. - -It is not difficult, either, to imagine various methods by which the -neutrality, which is supposed to govern within the three-mile limit, may -be evaded. It is only necessary to cite the case of a war vessel unable -to overtake a fast merchant-man until the latter reaches neutral waters, -but successful in sinking it by long-range gun-fire from a point outside -the three-mile limit. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -THE TERRIBLE DISTRESS OF POLAND - - A LONG-TORTURED NATION AGAIN BLIGHTED BY WAR -- DESOLATION AND FAMINE - THROUGHOUT LAND -- RICH AND POOR ALIKE DESTITUTE -- PLIGHT OF RUSSIAN - POLAND -- NO BREAD FOR WEEKS IN LODZ -- THREE TIMES A BATTLE-FIELD -- - UNABLE TO HELP HERSELF -- NO SEED AND NO DRAFT ANIMALS. - - -“If you imagined all the people of New York State deprived of everything -they owned, left a prey to starvation and disease, and hopelessly -crushed under the iron heels of contending armies, you might form a -slight idea of what the Poles are enduring at present,” declared the -great pianist, Paderewski, while visiting America in 1915 in the -interests of the afflicted nation. “One of the worst phases of the -situation lies in the inability of the inhabitants of one-half of the -country to communicate with those in the other. Compared with their lot, -even that of the Belgians loses some of its horror, for my unhappy -countrymen have no France, Holland, or England in which they can seek -refuge.” - -Girt by a ring of war, Poland in the winter and spring of 1915 was in -the most terrible straits. Her cities and villages had been captured and -recaptured by both Germans and Russians, her fields had been laid waste, -and her inhabitants were slowly dying of starvation. - - -DESOLATION AND FAMINE THROUGHOUT LAND - -“If figures can give any idea of the immensity of this disaster,” -pleaded the great musician, “then these may convey a slight impression -of what has gone on in Poland: An area equal in size to the states of -Pennsylvania and New York has been laid waste. The mere money losses, -due to the destruction of property and the means of agriculture and -industry, are $2,500,000,000. A whole nation of 18,000,000 people, -including 2,000,000 Jews, are carrying the burden of the war in the east -on their backs, and their backs are breaking under the load. The great -majority of the whole Polish people, about 11,000,000 men, women and -children, peasants and workmen, have been driven into the open, their -homes taken from them or burned, and they flee, terror-stricken, hungry -and in confusion, whither they know not. In ruins, in woods or in -hollows they are hiding, feeding on roots and the bark of trees. It is -Christian humanity that calls for help for succumbing Poland.” - -“From the banks of the Niemen to the summits of the Carpathians,” wrote -the novelist, Henryk Sienkiewicz, in his plea to the American people, -“fire has destroyed the towns and villages, and over the whole of this -huge, desolated country the specter of famine has spread its wings; all -labor and industry have been swept away; the ploughshare is rusted; the -peasant has neither grain nor cattle; the artisan is idle; all works and -factories have been destroyed; the tradesman cannot sell his wares; the -hearth fire is extinguished, and disease and misery prevail. To such -starving people, crying out for aid, listen, Christian nations.” - - -RICH AND POOR ALIKE DESTITUTE - -The Polish Relief Committee, headed by Madame Sembrich, published this -word from the great tenor, Jean de Reszké, whose home is in Paris: - -[Illustration: THE HARVEST-MOON IN EUROPE.] - -“My poor brother was unable to get away from the war zone in time. He -wrote this letter several weeks ago, and now I fear he may never survive -the terrible hardships. He had plenty of money and a splendid estate, -but all were swept away.” - -The letter referred to shows that there is no leveler like war. It runs: - -“My dear brother, whether this will ever get through the lines and reach -you I do not know. I am sure no man could get through alive, with all -this fighting and the continual bombardment going on on every hand. - -“The war broke with such suddenness that it was impossible to escape. I -was forced to remain here on my estate in Garnesk. This part of Poland -has been reduced to worse than a desert. All is desolate and every one -is suffering. My beautiful estate has met the common fate and been -reduced to ashes. I am now living in a cellar with scanty covering. If -a shell should drop in it would afford no protection. So fierce has -been the fighting here that there have been days when I could not -venture forth. We have been between two fires. All Poland needs relief. - -“I have no coal, oil, coffee, and only a handful of grain left. Through -the cold and the rain I have had but poor shelter, but my lot is the -same as that of my fellow countrymen here. Every one is in want; every -one is suffering. Many are dead, and many more will die unless aid -reaches them soon. Prince Lukouirski and his wife recently reached here -and are sharing my cellar with me. Their own beautiful estate has been -destroyed, and even the cellar blown to atoms by the shells.” - - -PLIGHT OF RUSSIAN POLAND - -Mr. Herbert Corey, writing from Berlin to the New York Globe, in the -spring of 1915, declared that unless something was done the world would -be horrified--if the world had not lost its capacity for horror--by the -sufferings of the Poles. “Soon cholera will come to Poland. Famine is -there now. Scarlet fever and typhoid and smallpox and enteric and typhus -are old settlers.” The million now in utter want only live at all -because “humanity has a wonderful capacity for adjustment to -wretchedness. - -“There are 6,000,000 Poles in the portion of Russian Poland that is -being fought over. Of these, according to the Red Cross men, 1,000,000 -are absolutely destitute. They are without food or the means to buy -food. They are living on the charity of others who are but slightly -better off. That charity must come to an end soon--because food is -coming to an end. It is not merely that money is lacking. Flour is -lacking. It must be imported or starvation follows. - -“Russian Poland is a conspicuous example of Russian rule. No measure of -self-government is permitted the people. All governing officials are -appointed from Petrograd. Lodz, for example, a city which contains from -500,000 to 750,000 people--all statistics in Poland are mere guesses--is -ruled by a mayor and four assistants, all sent out from Russia. No city -may expend more than $150, American money, for its own purposes, except -permission is secured from Petrograd. That permission is rarely given. -Petrograd needs the taxes that Lodz pays. When permission is given it is -long delayed. Therefore, Lodz, a town as large as St. Louis, has unpaved -streets that are ankle-deep in mud in winter and ankle-deep in dust in -summer. It has a privately owned and paid fire department that responds -only to calls from its own clients. Ninety per cent of its residents -live in sties on streets that are mere stenches. - -“And yet Lodz is the second cotton-manufacturing town in Europe. It is -excelled only by Manchester in its manufacturing totals. Isolated on the -bleak plains of Poland, at a distance from a seaport, served by two -railroads only, it is an anomaly in the commercial world. - - -NO BREAD FOR WEEKS IN LODZ - -“For two weeks Lodz had no bread at all. For months it has had no meat -at all--so far as the poorer classes are concerned. During those two -weeks the mass of the population lived on potatoes. - -“Conditions were slightly worse in Czenstochow, the second city in -Russian Poland. Here 90,000 people live. It has no street-lights. It has -no attempt at street-paving. It has no sewers. It has no city water. It -has no publicly maintained fire department, though a few of the -merchants have a department of their own. It is pre-middle-ages in -everything--morals, discomfort, filth, darkness, disease, death-rate. -Cholera is there all the time. Most of its people exist in reeking -hovels, smoke-filled when they can afford fires, wet and cold at other -times. - -“As the towns grow smaller, conditions grow worse.” - - -THREE TIMES A BATTLE-FIELD - -If the war had not come, these people would have prospered after a -fashion. Potatoes were plentiful, and they had few other wants. A woman -earned thirty cents a day in the mills and a man three cents more. -Children worked as soon as they were old enough. Sixty-five per cent are -wholly illiterate. Then-- - -“Russia struck at Germany. The German armies invaded Poland in -retaliation. They swept almost to Warsaw--and an invading army sweeps -fairly clean. There were some things left when they passed over. They -were driven back, and the Russian armies covered this territory--and -they gleaned what was left. Then the Russians were driven back--sacking -as they went--and the Germans covered the ground once more. Three times -unhappy Poland has been fought over. It had little at the beginning. It -has nothing now. For months Poland has been starving, not merely going -hungry. That is a commonplace of war. Poles have been dying because they -cannot get food. - - -UNABLE TO HELP HERSELF - -“Poland is quite unable to help herself. Most of the mills--probably all -of the mills--are owned by Russian and German and French capitalists. -The banks are all branches of foreign institutions. These concerns are -all conducted by resident managers. Some of the managers have--on their -own responsibility--given their work people two and a half and three -cents a day each for food. Some have added a trifle for the children -also. But this has practically come to an end. The managers have -exhausted their supply of cash. They cannot get more. There are no -mails. The towns of Poland are each printing their own paper money--not -by consent of the Russian bureaucrats, but in defiance of them--but this -money circulates only within the town’s borders. It is highly improbable -it will ever be redeemed in real money. Meanwhile the price of food -commodities has risen fifty per cent in two months. By the time this -reaches America the prices may have doubled. - - -NO SEED AND NO DRAFT ANIMALS - -“Conditions are slightly better in the agricultural sections. The -farmers have no seed and no draft animals, it is true. But they have -fairly good supplies of potatoes. Last year’s potato-crop was an -enormous one. - -“There is a Jewish question in every city of Poland. Where there is a -Jewish question in Russia there are riots. There will be more rioting -in Poland unless Providence intervenes. Russia has always confined her -Jews to the pale. Being forced to make their living by trading, their -naturally sharp wits have been whetted. Today they are--broadly -speaking--owners of every shop in Poland. There may be Christian -shopkeepers here and there. People who know Poland doubt it. - -“Beggars follow the stranger in the Polish cities. Some of them are -mute. They only look at the stranger through hollow eyes and hold out -skinny hands. Others are vociferous. They cling to the garments of the -passer-by. They cry for aid in an uncouth dialect. They run out from -darkened doorways. The man who gives is pursued by a cue of them.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -THE GHASTLY HAVOC WROUGHT BY THE AIR-DEMONS - - THE HORROR OF BOMB-DROPPING -- ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS -- KINDS OF BOMBS -- - STEEL DARTS--“ARROW BULLETS” AND AERIAL TORPEDOES -- MACHINE GUNS IN - AIRCRAFT -- ACCURACY IN DROPPING BOMBS. - - -Ten years ago the dropping of bombs from balloons was still considered -an illegitimate form of warfare, involving danger to non-combatants, and -was under the ban of the Geneva Convention. At the Hague Peace -Conference the Germans refused to abstain from bomb-dropping, and other -nations followed suit. According to the German conception of war, -civilians in the theater of operations must take their chance of being -killed, but must not shoot back under pain of summary execution. The -horrors which this theory has added to war have proved only too real, -but, so far as bomb-dropping is concerned, the reality has so far fallen -short of anticipations. The great Zeppelins, capable of carrying a ton -of explosives, have practically been frightened out of the air by the -new anti-aircraft guns; and, except for one instance at Antwerp, -bomb-dropping has been confined to aeroplanes. Now, in the first place, -an aeroplane can carry only a limited weight of bombs--say, two hundred -pounds; and in the second place, it is extraordinarily difficult to hit -anything with them. If the airman could hover over his target and take -deliberate aim, he might be more dangerous; as it is, the German airman -finds a cathedral hardly a big enough mark. The British airmen, at -Düsseldorf and Lake Constance, adopted a different plan from the -Germans; instead of dropping bombs from a great height, they made a -steep “vol piqué” down on to the target, turned sharply up again, and -dropped the bomb at the moment when the plane was checked by the -elevator. This plan is more dangerous, but affords a better chance of -hitting. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF AIR-CRAFT WEAPONS. - -Fig. 1.--An aeroplane bomb containing 12 lbs. of tetranitranilin, with a -screw stem up which the vanes travel in flight and thus “arm” the fuse. -Fig. 2.--Steel dart and boxes of darts used by Taube aeroplanes over -Paris, showing how they are inverted and released. Fig. 3.--A French -“arrow bullet”; very light, but able to kill a man from a height of -1,800 feet. Fig. 4.--A French aerial torpedo used by aeroplanes against -Zeppelins, exploding when it has pierced an air-ship’s envelope and is -suddenly arrested by the wooden cross.] - - -KINDS OF BOMBS - -Various kinds of bombs are used for dropping from aeroplanes. A simple -pattern shown in Fig. 1 consists of a thin spherical shell of steel, -containing twelve pounds of tetranitranilin, which is an explosive more -powerful than melinite. The stem of the bomb, by which it is handled, -has an external screw-thread, and carries a pair of vanes. While in the -position shown, the bomb is harmless, but as it drops, the vanes screw -themselves up to the top of the stem till they press against the stop. -This, by means of a rod passing down the center of the stem, “arms” or -prepares the fuse seen at the bottom of the bomb, so that it acts at the -slightest touch, even on the wing of another aeroplane. The fuse effects -the explosion of the burster by means of a primer of azide of lead, -which causes the tetranitranilin to detonate with great violence. The -whole bomb weighs twenty-two pounds, and an aeroplane usually carries -six of them. - -The Italians, in their campaign in Tripoli, used similar bombs, but -without the special device for rendering the fuse sensitive. These were -not a success, as many of them failed to explode in the desert sand, and -the Arabs used to collect them and throw them into the Italian trenches -at night. - - -STEEL DARTS - -The Taube aeroplanes, when they flew over Paris, used sometimes to drop -steel darts pointed at one end and flattened and feathered at the other, -as shown in Fig. 2. These were put up in boxes of a hundred, so that -when the box was released from its hook, it turned over and released the -darts. - - -“ARROW BULLETS” AND AERIAL TORPEDOES - -The “arrow bullet” shown in Fig. 3 is a French device; though weighing -only three-quarters of an ounce, its peculiar shape enables it to -acquire a high velocity, so that it will kill a man when dropped from a -height of six hundred yards. An aerial torpedo carried by French -aeroplanes for the destruction of Zeppelins is shown in Fig. 4; it -contains a powerful charge of explosive and a fuse, to which the -suspending-wire is connected. When dropped on a Zeppelin, the -needle-pointed torpedo pierces the envelope and gas-chamber, but the -wooden cross is arrested and the sudden jerk on the suspending-wire sets -the fuse in action, causing the certain destruction of the airship. The -torpedo would be too dangerous to handle, but the French have an -ingenious device which renders it perfectly safe until it is dropped. - - -MACHINE GUNS IN AIRCRAFT - -Various attempts have been made to mount machine guns on aeroplanes, but -the operator, in his narrow seat, has hardly space to point a machine -gun in any direction except straight to his front. The American Curtis -machine gun exhibited at Olympia is the most efficient form yet -produced, but at present the airman seems to prefer an automatic rifle. -Even in the early days of the war, Sir John French was able to report -that British airmen had disposed of no less than five of the enemy’s -aircraft with this weapon. - -The Zeppelins are well armed with machine guns, carrying one in each of -the two cars, and one on top of the structure. Access is had to the -latter by means of a shaft and ladder which passes up through the -gas-chambers. - - -ACCURACY IN DROPPING BOMBS - -The Zeppelins have elaborate bomb-dropping apparatus with which it -should be theoretically possible to drop a bomb with great accuracy, but -on the occasion when it was tried at Antwerp, the Germans met with no -great success. The principle of the bomb-dropping device is as follows: -A sort of camera, pointed vertically downwards, is used, and an observer -notes the speed with which an object on the ground passes across the -field, and the direction in which it appears to move. He then reads the -height of the airship from the barometer, which gives the time taken by -the bomb to fall, say fifteen seconds for 3,500 feet. He has now to -calculate, from the data given by the camera-observation, the allowance -to be made for speed and leeway for fifteen seconds of fall, and to -point his sighting-tube accordingly. The air-ship is steered to windward -of the target, and at the moment when the target (say, the second funnel -of a dreadnaught) appears on the cross wires, the nine hundred-pound -bomb is dropped, and the ship goes to the bottom. - -[Illustration: SCENE OF AIR RAID ON ENGLAND. - -Leigh, shown on the map, is only twenty-five miles from the British -capital, and South End just five miles further on. The fleet of -Zeppelins, or aeroplanes, or both, it will be seen, got uncomfortably -close to the British metropolis.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -THE DEADLY SUBMARINE AND ITS STEALTHY DESTRUCTION - - NEW COMPLICATIONS IN NAVAL ATTACK -- ATTACK ON LINER DESCRIBED -- - OPERATION OF TORPEDOES -- NETS TO TRAP SUBMARINES -- HOW CRAFT - SUBMERGE. - - -What is the value of the submarine in war? Is it so great that all our -theories of naval attack and defense will have to be revised? Are the -great battles of the future to be fought under water? Is a little vessel -of a few hundred tons to make the dreadnaught useless? German naval -tactics in the present war have made these questions interesting alike -to the expert, who has his answers to them, and to the layman, who is -profoundly ignorant on the whole subject. - -Simon Lake, an inventor who has done much to bring the submarine to its -present degree of efficiency, says that “it is the first weapon which -has a potential power to destroy an invading force, and also to prevent -an invading force from leaving its own harbors or roadsteads, but which -is itself useless for invading purposes.” This is at once an exaltation -and a limitation of its effectiveness. Yet Captain Lake believes that it -will be “the most potent influence that has been conceived to bring -about a permanent peace between maritime nations.” - -Heavy armament would have availed the Lusitania nothing, even if the -vessel had been so equipped, declared Captain Lake. Even if the Cunarder -had been bristling with guns from bow to stern, she could have done no -damage to the under-water craft that attacked her. She was doomed when -the submarine approached her. - -The submarine with its periscope three feet under water could not have -been seen fifty feet distant from the liner’s side, and the chances were -she was 1,000 yards distant. No shot from the vessel could have located -her, though aimed by trained officers. - - -ATTACK ON LINER DESCRIBED - -The scenes on both the vessel and the little submarine may be pictured -from a theoretical description given by Captain Lake as follows: “The -great ship, knowing the lurking danger, is traveling at her best speed -limit, changing the course from time to time in a zigzag manner. Waiting -beneath the surface of the calm sea a big submarine, now said to be -capable of discharging a torpedo at a distance of five miles, rolls idly -in the underground swell. Her crew is sleeping or talking in the -semi-fetid atmosphere that the compressed air tanks relieve from time to -time. An officer sits with his eye glued to a periscope, which -constantly revolves that he may discern the rising smoke of an -approaching vessel. - -“On the deck of the Lusitania passengers are lolling in steamer chairs -or leaning over the rails. They covertly fear attack, yet the horizon -shows no sign of the impending calamity. - -“Suddenly the submarine commander focuses his periscope upon a faint and -hazy line on the horizon. Closely he watches it move. An electric signal -is given and the submarine crew is in place. Another and the boat swings -silently and slowly on its course diagonal to that of the approaching -vessel. The electric engines turn without noise. - -“The vessels near each other. An order is transmitted from the conning -tower to the forward compartment of the submarine. The outside ports of -two bow torpedo tubes are closed; compressed air drives out all water. -Two inside ports are carefully opened and two one-ton torpedoes are -lifted by means of chain tackle and swung carefully into the tubes. The -inside ports are closed and the outside ports again opened. The air -chamber between the torpedo and the breaches is filled with air -compressed to nearly 1,200 pounds to the square inch--nearly the force -of exploding dynamite. - -“Both vessels are closing together at right angles. On the bigger one -all is gayety and hope of early and safe arrival at port. On the -submarine all are alert. The bow is carefully trained toward a direct -line over which the ship must travel. The speed and distance are -carefully gauged by trained officers. - -“The submarine sinks beneath the surface and men are stationed at the -firing levers on each of the forward tubes. An officer stands with a -watch in his hand, counting the seconds. A little bell tinkles over the -lever man on the port or starboard side of the submarine. He pulls the -lever which releases the trigger, and with a rush the enormous torpedo -forces itself in a direct line toward the vessel. Another second elapses -and the bell rings again. Similar action is observed on the submarine, -which a moment later rises with its periscope above the slight ripple of -the water. - -“There is a deadening crash, as the shock is transmitted through the -water and the resounding shell of the air-filled submarine. The officer -at the submarine periscope, or conning tower, is the only living person -on the submarine that sees a great vessel rise out of the water and -slowly settle back. He knows that the shots have taken effect and he can -offer no aid to the thousands who a moment later will be attempting to -save their lives. He turns his bow homeward, or cruises for other -victims of his mechanical ingenuity, as his sealed sailing orders may -direct. - - -OPERATION OF TORPEDOES - -“The course of the torpedo from the time it is released in the tube by -the lever trip is interesting,” said Captain Lake. “These torpedoes are -made at a cost of $5,000 each, much of which is spent in testing. With -their high charge of explosive placed well forward and a little plunger -on the nose, connecting with a percussion cap, their interior presents -the same view as that of a large steamship. The officer is a little -gyroscope, impelled by compressed air. This in turn may be set from the -outside to travel straight forward or on a curve, and by a timing device -to change its course after a certain distance. Usually it is set to -travel straight beneath the water at a depth of about fifteen feet. - -“To insure accuracy the torpedo without explosive charge must be fired -many times from a fixed torpedo tube. It is finally inspected and -passed. As it leaves the torpedo tube on its last journey the trip -releases the compressed air which turns its turbine engine. That in turn -revolves the propeller. The rudder, speed and depth of passage are -actuated by the gyroscope. - -“A torpedo has been fired accurately at a distance of five miles. The -distance for accuracy is between fifty yards and one thousand. Owing to -the concussion on the ear-drums of those in a submarine the greatest -distance compatible with accuracy is sought. As the plunger on the -torpedo strikes the vessel it explodes the charge almost directly -against the side of the vessel.” - - -NETS TO TRAP SUBMARINES - -The British naval authorities took measures to guard British shipping in -the English Channel by stretching nets over as much of the water, -particularly in the narrows, as possible. The nets are made of links of -steel. These links are about six or eight inches in diameter and made of -one-half inch steel. The nets are similar to those formerly used to -guard battleships and large cruisers, but which have now been discarded -because a torpedo will puncture the net and the second torpedo, which is -fired only a second or two after the first, will go through the hole -made by the first and reach the hull of the vessel. - -These chain nets are moored very securely and have buoys at the upper -edges to hold them in position. Often they are set just as a fisherman -sets his nets. When the submarine, like a fish, gets in the pound it -cannot get out, and those in the vessel must either die there or take -chances on reaching the surface and swimming to shore. - -It takes very little to disable a submarine. The hull is of -comparatively thin steel which is easily punctured and the propeller -when caught is absolutely useless. Even an ordinary fisherman’s net will -disable a submarine, and should one get foul of such a net the chances -of getting clear are very slim. - -According to the German naval press, the latest submarines are fitted -with double acting Diesel oil engines of 1,000 horse power or more. -These engines are as simple and run as smoothly as marine steam engines -and are as easily controlled. So strongly built are these craft that -they can plunge to a depth of 150 feet, at which the water pressure is -enormous. - - -HOW CRAFT SUBMERGE - -A security weight, as it is called, of about five tons is carried. This -can be released from the inside of the vessel at a moment’s notice, and -the effect is like that of dropping a mass of ballast from an airship. -When in diving trim, that is to say, when the boat is awash, an -up-to-date submarine can disappear under water in fifteen seconds and -re-emerge in twenty seconds. It can remain under water for a whole day -and night, or even longer. - -A submarine when submerged is handled mechanically. Those in charge -cannot see where the vessel is going. The officer in charge steers -according to the ranges he has taken when on the surface, and it is -absolutely impossible to see obstructions that may be ahead. It is -impossible to see another submarine unless the two are floating near the -surface and in bright daylight. For this reason it is impossible for one -submarine to fight another when submerged. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - -THE TERRIBLE WORK OF ARTILLERY IN WAR - - SEVENTY PER CENT OF CASUALTIES DUE TO ARTILLERY FIRE -- INCREASED - RANGE -- MODERN GUNS -- RAPID FIRING -- HOW A BIG GUN IS AIMED -- - AWFUL DESTRUCTIVENESS OF MODERN GUNS. - - -A full century ago, Napoleon the Great, himself an artillery officer, -had developed the fighting power of artillery of his day so as to make -its fire a dominant factor on the battle-field. In the present war its -action is even more important, since we learn from the front that -seventy per cent of the casualties are due to artillery fire. It was the -gun that took Liège and Antwerp, and it is the gun which held the -contending armies pent up within a semicircle of fire. Once massed -formations were abandoned, the gun lost its terrors to a great extent, -and did not regain its place in military estimation till the -introduction of the shrapnel shell. - -This is a hollow steel projectile, packed with bullets, and containing a -charge of powder in the base. (See Fig. 1.) It is exploded by a -time-fuse, containing a ring of slowly burning composition which can be -set so as to fire the powder during the flight of the shell, when it has -traveled to within fifty yards of the enemy. The head is blown off, and -the bullets are projected forward in a sheaf, spreading outwards as -they go. The British eighteen-pounder shell covers a space of ground -some three hundred yards long by thirty-five yards wide with its 365 -heavy bullets. - -[Illustration: TYPES OF SHELLS - -Fig. 1.--Shrapnel shell, packed with bullets that spread. Fig. 2.--A -French quick-firer shell, like an enlarged rifle cartridge. Fig. 3.--The -“Universal” shell, combining the action of shrapnel and high explosives. -Fig. 4.--A fuse-setting machine.] - - -INCREASED RANGE - -In 1885 the British brought out the twelve-pounder high-velocity -field-gun, which remained for some years the best gun in Europe. Its -power was afterwards increased by giving it a fifteen-pounder shell, -and, as a fifteen-pounder, it did good work in South Africa. Then came -another development, the quick-firing gun now being used in the war, -with a steel shield to protect the detachment. The quick-firing gun is -badly named; its high rate of fire is only incidental, and is rarely of -use in the combat. The essential feature of the “Q.F.” gun, as it is -generally styled, is that the carriage does not move on firing, so that -the gunners can remain safely crouched behind the shield. - - -MODERN GUNS - -The French gun as it was originally brought out has now been improved by -the addition of a steel plate which closes the gap between the shields; -and a steel shield is also provided to protect the officer standing on -the upturned ammunition-wagon. - -The carriage does not move, and the men remain in their positions behind -the shield while the gun recoils between them. The carriage is prevented -from sharing the movement of recoil by the spade at the end of the -trail, which digs into the ground so as to “anchor” it. - - -RAPID FIRING - -The gun-recoil carriage, as the new invention was called, increases the -rate of fire, since there is no delay in running up. The French were -quick to develop this new feature, and set to work to make the rate of -fire as high as possible. Up till then the ammunition fired from a -field-gun had consisted of a shell, a bag of powder, and a friction-tube -introduced through the vent to fire the charge. This was called a round -of ammunition, and its complexity was increased by the fuse, which was -carried separately and screwed into the shell when the round was -prepared for loading, and afterwards set with a key to burst the shell -at the required distance. The French combined the whole of these -separate parts into one, so that a round of “fixed” ammunition, as now -used, looks exactly like an enlarged rifle cartridge. (See Fig. 2.) - -Further, they did away with the cumbrous process of setting the fuse by -hand, and introduced a machine which sets fuses as fast as the shell can -be put into it. One of these machines is shown in Fig. 4. It is of a -later pattern than that of the French service gun, being the one used by -the Servians with their new gun made by the famous firm of Schneider of -Creusot. The machine is set to the range ordered by the battery -commander, the shell is dropped into it, and a turn of the handle sets -the fuse. - - -HOW A BIG GUN IS AIMED - -The independent line of sight is another modern device for facilitating -the service of a gun. With this the gear for giving the gun the -elevation necessary to carry a shell to the required distance is kept -entirely separate from that used for pointing the gun at the target. The -gun-layer has merely to keep his sighting telescope on the target, while -another man puts on the range-elevation ordered by the battery -commander. - -The result of all these improvements is that the best quick-firing guns -(among which the French gun is still reckoned) are capable of firing -twenty-five rounds a minute. The German field-gun is hardly capable of -twenty rounds a minute, being an inferior weapon converted from the old -breech-loader. - -But these high rates of fire are used only on emergency, as a gun -firing twenty-five rounds a minute would exhaust the whole of the -ammunition carried with it in the battery in three minutes. - -One of the first consequences of the introduction of the shielded gun -was the reappearance of the old common shell in an improved form. The -common shell is almost as old as Agincourt, and consisted simply of a -hollow shell filled with powder, which exploded on striking the object. -When shrapnel came into use most nations abandoned the common shell. But -shrapnel proved almost ineffective against the shielded gun, and the -gunners were indifferent to the bullets pattering on the steel shield in -front of them. The answer to this was the high-explosive shell, a steel -case filled with high explosive, such as melinite, which is the same as -lyddite, shimose, or picric acid. This, when detonated upon striking a -gun, can be relied upon to disable it and to kill the gunners behind it. - - -AWFUL DESTRUCTIVENESS OF MODERN GUNS - -Of late years a shell which combines the action of the shrapnel and the -high-explosive shell has been introduced. This is the “Universal” shell -(see Fig. 3) invented by Major van Essen, of the Dutch Artillery. It is -a shrapnel with a detachable head filled with high explosive. When burst -during flight it acts like an ordinary shrapnel, and the bullets fly -forward and sweep the ground in front of it; at the same time the head, -with its explosive burster, flies forward and acts as a small but -efficient high-explosive shell. These projectiles have been introduced -for howitzers and for anti-aircraft guns, and some of the nations with -new equipments, such as the Balkan States, have them for their -field-guns. Their introduction has, however, been delayed in Western -Europe, as they are less efficient as such than the ordinary shrapnel, -which is considered the principal field artillery projectile. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - -WHOLESALE SLAUGHTER BY POISONOUS GASES - - CANADIAN VICTIMS -- TRENCH GAS AT YPRES -- AWFUL FORM OF SCIENTIFIC - TORTURE -- REPORT OF MEDICAL EXPERT -- KIND OF GAS EMPLOYED -- ALLIES - FORCED TO USE SIMILAR METHODS. - - -Killing by noxious gases may be, as the Germans claim, no more barbarous -than slaughter by shrapnel, but it has been denounced in America as a -violation of all written and unwritten codes and as a backward step -toward savagery. Certainly the descriptions of responsible persons who -have witnessed the pernicious work of the gas only deepens the horror -with which all peace-loving citizens look upon “civilized” warfare. - -The following description of the effect is told by a responsible British -officer who visited some Canadians who were disabled by gas: - -“The whole of England and the civilized world ought to have the truth -fully brought before them in vivid detail, and not wrapped up as at -present. When we got to the hospital we had no difficulty in finding out -in which ward the men were, as the noise of the poor devils trying to -get breath was sufficient to direct us. - - -CANADIAN VICTIMS - -“There were about twenty of the worst cases in the ward, on mattresses, -all more or less in a sitting position, strapped up against the walls. -Their faces, arms, and hands were of a shiny, gray-black color. With -their mouths open and leaden-glazed eyes, all were swaying slightly -backward and forward trying to get breath. It was a most appalling -sight. All these poor black faces struggling for life, the groaning and -the noise of the efforts for breath was awful. - -“There was practically nothing to be done for them except to give them -salt and water and try to make them sick. The effect the gas has is to -fill the lungs with a watery frothy matter, which gradually increases -and rises until it fills up the whole lungs and comes to the mouth--then -they die. It is suffocation, slow drowning, taking in most cases one or -two days. Eight died last night out of twenty I saw, and the most of the -others I saw will die, while those who get over the gas invariably -develop acute pneumonia. - -“It is without doubt the most awful form of scientific torture. Not one -of the men I saw in the hospital had a scratch or wound. The Germans -have given out that it is a rapid, painless death--the liars. No torture -could be worse than to give them a dose of their own gas.” - - -“TRENCH GAS” AT YPRES - -Asphyxiating gases seem to have been first used by the Germans in the -fighting around Ypres in April, 1915. The strong northeast wind, which -was blowing from the German lines across the French trenches, became -charged with a sickening, suffocating odor which was recognized as -proceeding from some form of poisonous gas. The smoke moved like a vivid -green wall some four feet in height for several hundred yards, extending -to within two hundred yards of the extreme left of the Allies’ lines. -Gradually it rose higher and obscured the view from the level. - -Soon strange cries were heard, and through the green mist, now growing -thinner and patchy, there came a mass of dazed, reeling men who fell as -they passed through the ranks. The greater number were unwounded, but -they bore upon their faces the marks of agony. - -The retiring men were among the first soldiers of the world whose -sang-froid and courage have been proverbial throughout the war. All were -reeling like drunken men. - - -AWFUL FORM OF SCIENTIFIC TORTURE - -“The work of sending out the vapor was done from the advanced German -trenches. Men garbed in a dress resembling the harness of a diver and -armed with retorts or generators about three feet high and connected -with ordinary hose-pipe turned the vapor loose toward the French lines. -Some witnesses maintain that the Germans sprayed the earth before the -trenches with a fluid which, being ignited, sent up the fumes. The -German troops, who followed up this advantage with a direct attack, held -inspirators in their mouths, these preventing them from being overcome -by the fumes. - -In addition to this, the Germans appear to have fired ordinary -explosive shells loaded with some chemical which had a paralyzing effect -on all the men in the region of the explosion. Some chemical in the -composition of these shells produced violent watering of the eyes, so -that the men overcome by them were practically blinded for some hours. - -[Illustration: - -_Right-hand figure: British soldier wearing respirator with air valve on -top_. - -_Left-hand figure: German with respirator and goggles armed with -burning-oil-distributor_. - -USING DEADLY GAS AS A WEAPON IN WAR. - -The German use of poisonous gases that asphyxiate soldiers of the enemy -against whom they are directed, has made it necessary to devise a new -defense. The pictures show the devices used by those who direct the use -of the gases and those who have to meet their deadly vapors.] - -The effect of the noxious trench-gas seems to be slow in wearing away. -The men come out of their violent nausea in a state of utter collapse. -How many of the men left unconscious in the trenches when the French -broke died from the fumes it is impossible to say, since those trenches -were at once occupied by the Germans. - - -REPORT OF MEDICAL EXPERT - -Dr. John S. Haldane, an authority on the physiology of respiration, who -was sent by the British government to France to observe the effect of -the gases, examined several Canadians who had been incapacitated by the -gases. - -“These men,” he said, “were lying struggling for breath, and blue in the -face. On examining their blood with a spectroscope and by other means I -ascertained that the blueness was not due to the presence of any -abnormal pigment. There was nothing to account for the blueness and -their struggles for air but one fact, and that was that they were -suffering from acute bronchitis, such as is caused by the inhalation of -an irritant gas. Their statements were to the effect that when in the -trenches they had been overwhelmed by an irritant gas produced in front -of the German trenches and carried toward them by a gentle breeze. - -“One of the men died shortly after our arrival. A post-mortem -examination showed that death was due to acute bronchitis and its -secondary effect. There was no doubt that the bronchitis and -accompanying slow asphyxiation was due to irritant gas. - -“Captain Bertram, of the eighth Canadian battalion, who is suffering -from the effects of gas and from wounds, says that from a support -trench about six hundred yards from the German lines he observed the -gas. He saw first of all white smoke rising from the German trenches to -a height of about three feet. Then in front of the white smoke appeared -a green cloud which drifted along the ground to our trenches, not rising -more than about seven feet from the ground. - -“When it reached our first trenches, the men in these trenches were -obliged to leave, and a number of them were killed by the effects of the -gas. We made a counter-attack about fifteen minutes after the gas came -over, and saw twenty-four men lying dead from the effects of the gas on -a small stretch of road leading from the advanced trenches to the -supports. He, himself, was much affected by the gas, and felt as though -he could not breathe. - -“These symptoms and other facts so far ascertained point to the use by -the German troops of chlorine or bromide for the purpose of -asphyxiation. There also are facts pointing to the use in German shells -of other irritant substances. Still, the last of these agents are not of -the same brutality and barbarous character as was the gas used in the -attack on the Canadians. - -“The effects are not those of any of the ordinary products of combustion -of explosives. On this point the symptoms described left not the -slightest doubt in my mind.” - - -KIND OF GAS EMPLOYED - -Various have been the opinions of chemists as to the kind of gas -employed. Sir James Dewar, President of the Royal Institution, was of -the opinion that it was liquid chlorine. Dr. F. A. Mason, of the Royal -College of Science, considered it to have been bromine. Dr. Crocker, of -the South-Western Polytechnic, said it may have been either carbon -monoxide or liquid peroxide. Dr. W. J. Pope, Professor of Chemistry, -Cambridge, and Sir E. Rutherford, Professor of Physics, Manchester -University, agreed in thinking the gas to have been phosgene, a compound -of carbon monoxide and chlorine, largely used in dye production in -Germany. - -“For some years,” stated Sir James Dewar, “Germany has been -manufacturing chlorine in tremendous quantities. . . . The Germans -undoubtedly have hundreds of tons available. If several tons of liquid -are allowed to escape into the atmosphere, where it immediately -evaporates and forms a yellow gas, and if the wind is blowing in a -favorable direction, it is the easiest thing for the Germans to inundate -the country with poison for miles ahead of them. - -“The fact that the gas is three times heavier than air makes escape from -its disastrous effects almost impossible, for it drifts like a thick -fog-cloud along the surface of the ground, overwhelming all whom it -overtakes.” - - -ALLIES FORCED TO USE SIMILAR METHODS - -Of the German attack on the allied front near Ypres, Secretary of War, -Earl Kitchener, speaking in the House of Lords on May 18, said: - -“In this attack the enemy employed vast quantities of poisonous gases, -and our soldiers and our French allies were utterly unprepared for this -diabolical method of attack, which undoubtedly had been long and -carefully prepared.” - -It was at this point that Earl Kitchener announced the determination of -the Allies to resort to similar methods of warfare. - -“The Germans,” said Earl Kitchener, “have persisted in the use of these -asphyxiating gases whenever the wind favored or other opportunity -occurred, and His Majesty’s government, no less than the French -government, feel that our troops must be adequately protected by the -employment of similar methods, so as to remove the enormous and -unjustifiable disadvantage which must exist for them if we take no steps -to meet on his own ground the enemy who is responsible for the -introduction of this pernicious practice.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -“USAGES OF WAR ON LAND”: THE OFFICIAL GERMAN MANUAL - - CRIMES IN BELGIUM EXPLAINED BY INSTRUCTIONS TO GERMAN OFFICERS -- - UNLIMITED DESTRUCTION THE END OF WAR -- RULES OF CIVILIZED WARFARE - CLEARLY STATED -- OTHER EXCELLENT RULES. - - -The black crime of Louvain, the world-lamented destruction of the -cathedral of Rheims, the denudation of the fair land of Belgium, with -all its horrible attendant crimes, is explained, in part at least, by -“Usages of War on Land,” the official manual of instructions to military -officers compiled by the general staff of the German army. It is an -authoritative exposition of the rules of war as practiced by the -Germans. - -Two general principles bearing directly on the question of the invasion -of Belgium are clearly stated in this guide: - -“A war conducted with energy cannot be directed merely against the -combatants of the enemy state and the positions they occupy, but it will -and must in like manner seek to destroy the total intellectual and -material resources of the latter. Humanitarian claims, such as the -protection of men and their goods, can only be taken into consideration -in so far as the nature and object of the war permit. - -“The fact that such limitations of the unrestricted and reckless -application of all the available means for the conduct of war, and -thereby the humanization of the customary methods of pursuing war, -really exist, and are actually observed by the armies of all civilized -states, has in the course of the nineteenth century often led to -attempts to develop, to extend, and thus to make universally binding -these pre-existing usages of war; to elevate them to the level of laws -binding nations and armies; in other words, to create a law of war. All -these attempts have hitherto, with some few exceptions to be mentioned -later, completely failed. If, therefore, in the following work the -expression ‘the law of war’ is used, it must be understood that by it is -meant not a written law introduced by the international agreements, but -only a reciprocity of mutual agreement--a limitation of arbitrary -behavior, which custom and conventionality, human friendliness and a -calculating egotism have erected, but for the observance of which there -exists no express sanction, but only ‘the fear of reprisals’ decides.” - - -UNLIMITED DESTRUCTION THE END OF WAR - -Put in plain language, these passages mean that there is no law of war -which may not be broken at the dictates of interest. Unlimited -destruction is the end, and only fear of reprisals need limit the means. -The sentimental humanitarianism and flabby emotion which prevail -elsewhere have no place in the bright lexicon of the German officer. “By -steeping himself in military history,” the manual clearly states, “an -officer will be able to guard himself against excessive humanitarian -notions” and learn that “certain severities are indispensable in war,” -and that “the only true humanity often lies in a ruthless application of -them.” Then there is laid down this comprehensive general rule: - -“All means of warfare may be used without which the purpose of war -cannot be achieved. On the other hand, every act of violence and -destruction which is not demanded by the purpose of war must be -condemned.” - -Interpreted by other passages in the volume, this implies that the end -justifies the means. Barbarities may be forgiven if only they are -useful. Thus “international law is in no way opposed to the exploitation -of the crimes of third parties--assassination, incendiarism, robbery and -the like--to the prejudice of the enemy.” - - -RULES OF CIVILIZED WARFARE CLEARLY STATED - -It must not be assumed, of course, that the German war manual is a -defense of unlimited rapine. The rules of civilized warfare are usually -stated clearly enough. But there are so many exceptions to the -application of them that a zealous officer might well be pardoned if he -regarded them as not binding whenever it was to his interest to ignore -them. Thus, after a careful statement of the right of the inhabitants of -an invaded country to organize for its defense, the advantages of -“terrorism” are candidly set forth as outweighing these considerations -in many instances. That policy has been illustrated in Belgium very -significantly. The difference between precept and practice is also seen -in the prohibition of the bombardment of churches and unfortified towns. -Regarding the latter the manual says: - -“A prohibition by international law of the bombardment of open towns and -villages which are not occupied by the enemy or defended was, indeed, -put into words by The Hague regulations, but appears superfluous, since -modern military history knows of hardly any such case.” - -Military history has been made since then, particularly by the German -air raids on English seashore resorts. - - -OTHER EXCELLENT RULES - -Several other excellent rules in the manual may be contrasted with -German practice in the present war. - -“No damage, not even the smallest, must be done unless it is done for -military reasons. - -“Contributions of war are sums of money which are levied by force from -the people of an occupied country. They differ in character from -requisitions in kind because they do not serve an immediate requirement -of the army. Hence, requisitions in cash are only in the rarest cases -justified by the necessities of war. - -“The military government by the army of occupation carries with it only -a temporary right to enjoy the property of others. It must, therefore, -avoid every purposeless injury, it has no right to sell or dispose of -the property.” - -“Usages of War on Land” makes interesting reading throughout, though -the conclusions that the impartial reader will draw from it will not be -in every case those which the German military authorities would have him -draw. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII - -THE SACRIFICE OF THE HORSE IN WARFARE - - DUMB ANIMALS PRESSED INTO SERVICE -- PART PLAYED BY HORSE IN WAR -- - AMERICAN STOCK DEPLETED. - - -So overwhelming has been the thought of human suffering in Europe, so -anxious has the world been to relieve it, that little thought has been -bestowed on the dumb sufferers. Various war photographs have shown us -the novel sight of the dogs of Belgium impressed into service for -dragging the smaller guns; but all contestants use horses, and when we -reflect that the average life of a cavalry horse at the front is not -more than a week, if that, we gain some idea of the sacrifice of animals -which modern warfare demands. - -One of the pleaders for the horse is John Galsworthy, the English -novelist, who gives in the London Westminster Gazette this moral aspect -of the use of the horse in warfare, with the attendant obligation: - -“Man has only a certain capacity for feeling, and that has been strained -almost to breaking-point by human needs. But now that the wants of our -wounded are being seen to with hundreds of motor ambulances and -hospitals fully equipped, now that the situation is more in hand, we can -surely turn a little to the companions of man. They, poor things, have -no option in this business; they had no responsibility, however remote -and indirect, for its inception; get no benefit out of it of any kind -whatever; know none of the sustaining sentiments of heroism; feel no -satisfaction in duty done. They do not even--as the prayer for them -untruly says--‘offer their guileless lives for the well-being of their -countries.’ They know nothing of countries; they do not offer -themselves. Nothing so little pitiable as that. They are pressed into -this service, which cuts them down before their time.” - - -PART PLAYED BY HORSE IN WAR - -The horse still plays an important part in war, as every army service -corps officer who has had anything to do with them well knows. The men -love their mettlesome beasts, and much trouble and worry is pardoned and -lost sight of in the comradeship which arises between man and beast. The -great part played by motors and motor-driven vehicles in the present war -has tended to draw attention away from the work of horses at the front, -yet motor cavalry has not been evolved. While recognizing that for -moving big guns along a well-made road motor power is very valuable, it -is still equally true that once the roads are left it is found in -practice of little use. - -A remarkable feature of the European war, new, so far as we know, to -military experience, has been the use upon an extensive scale of the -heavy draught horse, whose stately pace admits of no hurrying, but whose -great strength permits of his hauling very heavy weights where the -nature of the road does not admit of the use of the motor. - - -AMERICAN STOCK DEPLETED - -That the European war threatened to deplete the stock of horses even in -the United States is emphasized by a careful computation which fixed at -185,023 the number of horses shipped to the warring nations from July 1, -1914, to March 31, 1915. The value of the animals, according to an -inventory compiled from the manifests of ships transporting the horses -is placed at $40,695,057. During that same period 26,976 mules, valued -at $5,143,270, were sent abroad. - -Buyers representing the British, French and Russian governments were -reported as searching the country for more, and, according to estimates -made by shippers, at least 120,000 animals were to be shipped to Europe -during the summer of 1915. - -Frank L. Neall, statistician, asserted that few persons realized the -extent of the raid made by European buyers on the horse market. -“Shipments,” he said, “have been made from New Orleans, Newport News, -Portland, Boston and New York. During the month of March, 33,694 horses -were shipped, representing a value of $8,088,974.” - -Shippers were deeply interested when it became known for a certainty -that the German government had representatives purchasing horses in the -West. Wood Brothers, the largest horse dealers in Nebraska, were asked -to bid on a 25,000-head shipment. Ruling prices for the grade of horses -desired by foreign buyers have ranged from $175 to $200 per head. - -The stockyards in New Orleans, where these animals were assembled, cover -about eight acres and shed 3,500 animals. Horses were thoroughly -examined as to their fitness for service, both at the point of purchase -and at New Orleans. - -The last step before placing the horses on shipboard was to adjust -special halters to them, so that, as in the case of many horses -purchased by France, it was only necessary, when the animal reached the -other side, to snap two straps to his head-stalls and make him instantly -ready to be hitched to a gun limber or a wagon of a transport train. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV - -SCOURGES THAT FOLLOW IN THE WAKE OF BATTLE - - THE COMMON ENEMY, DISEASE -- SCOURGES OF MODERN WARFARE -- RAVAGES OF - TYPHUS IN SERVIA -- NO WORD OF COMPLAINT -- AMERICA TO THE RESCUE. - - -In many campaigns of the past, disease has slain its thousands where -bullets and shells have killed hundreds, and even the twentieth century -with its marvelous science of sanitation has not defeated the direful -common enemies of allies and foes. Why disease should attack masses of -men in the prime of life, living in the open air, and on the whole well -fed and clothed, at first sight seems strange, but when we remember that -modern fighting begets an intolerable thirst, which the soldier is -naturally tempted to slake as best he can and when he can, at least one -reason is not hard to find. - -All modern armies, since the striking experience of Japan in the -Manchurian campaign, pay special attention to the drinking water, and -with good results. But an irremovable source of disease remains in the -typhus-carrying vermin, in the myriads of flies bred in the rotting -carcases of men and horses and in the filth that inevitably collects -around perpetually shifting camps and bivouacs. As everyone now knows, -these insects are ceaseless and tireless carriers of infection, and it -is difficult to see how, under conditions of war, the plague of them can -be utterly wiped out. - - -SCOURGES OF MODERN WARFARE - -Of the diseases which assail an army in the field, a few stand out so -prominently that all others may practically be neglected. These are -cholera, typhus, typhoid fever, dysentery, and pneumonia; and they have -this in common, that they are all caused by specific bacilli. Thus -cholera is the child, so to speak, of the dreaded vibrio, and pneumonia -that of the pneumococcus; while typhus, typhoid and dysentery have each -their own special microbe. The modes of attack are, however, different, -for the pneumococcus can enter the organism by the nose and mouth only; -typhoid and dysentery through the alimentary canal; while the way in -which cholera is propagated is at present unknown. All have this in -common, that while the microbes causing them are probably always -present--that of cholera being a doubtful exception--they seem only to -assault a subject previously weakened by exposure, bad food, or -intemperance. - - -RAVAGES OF TYPHUS IN SERVIA - -The dread aftermaths of war made their first visitations upon the -Servian nation. One read with dismay that Belgium was later outdone by -Poland, and Poland seemed almost fortunate beside Servia. The account -sent by Captain E. N. Bennett, Commissioner in Servia for the British -Red Cross Society, of the conditions prevailing in Servian hospitals and -prisoners’ camps filled the whole world with dread. “Fires are needed -to clear Servia of typhus, just as fires were needed to stop the great -plague in London,” reported Sir Thomas Lipton, who spent considerable -time in that country. He said: - -“I met on the country roads many victims too weak to crawl to a -hospital. Bullock-carts were gathering them up. Often a woman and her -children were leading the bullocks, while in the car the husband and -father was raving with fever. Scarcely enough people remain unstricken -to dig graves for the dead, whose bodies lie exposed in the cemeteries. - -“The situation is entirely beyond the control of the present force, -which imperatively needs all the help it can get--tents, hospitals, -doctors, nurses, modern appliances, and clothing to replace the garments -full of typhus-bearing vermin.” - -His picture of the hospital at Ghevgheli, where Dr. James F. Donnelly, -of the American Red Cross, died, is appalling. Sir Thomas called Dr. -Donnelly one of the greatest heroes of the war: - -“The place is a village in a barren, uncultivated country, the hospital -an old tobacco factory, formerly belonging to Abdul Hamid. In it were -crowded 1,400 persons, without blankets or mattresses, or even -straw--men lying in the clothes in which they had lived in the trenches -for months, clothes swarming with vermin, victims of different diseases, -typhus, typhoid, dysentery, and smallpox were herded together. In such a -state Dr. Donnelly found the hospital, where he had a force of six -American doctors, twelve American nurses, and three Servian doctors. -When I visited the hospital three of the American doctors, the three -Servian doctors, and nine of the nurses were themselves ill. - -“The patients were waited on by Austrian prisoners. The fumes of illness -were unbearable. The patients objected to the windows being opened, and -Dr. Donnelly was forced to break the panes. The first thing Dr. Donnelly -did on his arrival was to test the water, which he found infected. He -then improvised boilers of oil-drums, in which to boil water for use. -The boilers saved five hundred lives, said Dr. Donnelly. He also built -ovens in which to bake the clothes of the patients, but he was not -provided with proper sterilizing apparatus. - - -NO WORD OF COMPLAINT - -“No braver people exist than the Servians. They have never a word of -complaint. In one ward I saw a fever patient, his magnificent voice -booming songs to cheer his comrades. Some were in a delirium, calling -for ‘mother.’ - -“One source of infection is the army black bread, which is the only -ration of the troops. The patients in the hospital receive only a loaf -each, which they put in their bed or under their pillow. Later the -unused loaves are bought by pedlers and are resold, spreading disease -among the people, who are mediæval in so far as sanitation is concerned. -A Servian soldier receives a rifle, some hand-grenades, and perhaps part -of a uniform, but otherwise looks after himself. - -“The street-cleaning and hospital-waiting are done by Austrians, who are -rapidly thinning from typhus and other diseases. - - -AMERICA TO THE RESCUE - -“The best hospital in the Balkans is at Belgrade, under Dr. Edward W. -Ryan, of the American contingent, where there are 2,900 patients. Dr. -Ryan kept the hospital neutral during the Austrian occupation, and -accomplished wonders diplomatically at that time. He is worshiped by the -people. - -“Dr. Ryan says that the greatest task is to keep the hospital free from -vermin. The typhus affects men the most severely. Women come next, and -children for the most part recover. The symptoms begin like those of -grip. The disease lasts fifteen days, with fever and delirium.” - -In the spring of 1915, a large sanitary commission was organized by the -American Red Cross and the Rockefeller Foundation, each of these -organizations donating $25,000 to the prosecution of the work. The -commission included a group of distinguished bacteriologists and -physicians, among them William C. Gorgas, surgeon-general of the U. S. -A. An initial supply of 10,000 anti-cholera treatments was carried to -Servia by the commission, for there was danger not only of a spread of -typhus but also of an outbreak of Asiatic cholera or some other -infectious disease that might sweep across all Europe. Heavy indeed is -the price of warfare. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV - -WAR’S REPAIR SHOP: CARING FOR THE WOUNDED - - EFFICIENCY OF THE RED CROSS SERVICE -- THE BANDAGING CAMP -- THE - SANITATION COMPANY -- THE HOSPITAL BARGE. - - -Amid the dreadful welter of carnage and its attendant agony which spells -modern warfare one ray of brightness appears in the universal gloom in -the shape of the highly organized efficiency of the Red Cross Service, -which waits upon battle. Die Umschau, of Berlin, printed an admirable -description of its activities from the pen of Professor Rupprecht, one -of the chief organizers of the German Military Hospital Service, of -which we give an abstract: - -“The stretcher-bearers of the infantry--four to each company--who bear -the Red Cross symbol on the arm, when a battle is on hand, gather at the -end of the battalion (sixteen men with four stretchers) and then proceed -to the Infantry Sanitation Car. As soon as the ‘bandaging camp’ is made -ready . . . they go to the front with stretchers and knapsacks in order -to be ready to give aid to the wounded as soon as possible. Musicians -and others are employed as assistant stretcher-bearers. These wear a red -band on the sleeve but do not come under the provisions of the Geneva -Treaty.” - - -THE BANDAGING CAMP - -Similar arrangements are made for the cavalry. The so-called “bandaging -camp” is for the purpose of gathering the wounded and examining and -classifying them. It should be both protected and accessible, and if -possible near a water supply. At the end of a battle it is the duty of -the troops to search trenches, woods, houses, etc., for the wounded, -protect them against plunderers and carry them to the bandaging camp, as -also to bury the dead. - -[Illustration: QUICKER AND EASIER THAN BANDAGES: THE “TABLOID” -ADJUSTABLE HEAD-DRESSING. - -This dressing for head-wounds in the form of a cap, can be applied in a -few seconds, and remains comfortably in position. It can be washed, -sterilized, and used repeatedly. The diagrams show the method of -adjusting and the dressing in position.] - -“At the bandaging camp the surgeons and their assistants must revive and -examine the men and make them ready for transport. Operations are seldom -practicable or necessary here. The chief concern is to bandage wounds of -bones, joints, and arteries carefully. . . . Severe hemorrhages usually -stop of themselves, on which account it is seldom desirable to bind the -limb tightly above the wound. The wound itself must never be touched, -washed, or probed. After the clothing is removed or cut away it must -merely be covered with the contents of the bandage package.” - -Every soldier carries two of these packages in a pocket on the lower -front corner of his left coat-tail. Each package contains a gauze -bandage enclosed in a waterproof cover. There is sewed to this bandage a -gauze compress saturated with sublimate and of a red color. It is so -arranged that the bandage can be taken hold of with both hands without -touching the red compress. - -It is strongly impressed upon the stretcher-bearers and all assistants -that cases having wounds in the abdomen are not transportable and must -on no account be given food or drink; also that bleeding usually stops -of itself. They are taught, too, that touching, washing, or probing the -wound is injurious, and that only _dry_ bandages must be placed on the -wound--never those that are damp or impervious. - -“The wounded who are capable of marching leave their ammunition, except -for a few cartridges, at the bandaging camp, are provided if need be -with a simple protective bandage, and march first to the nearest ‘camp -for the slightly wounded,’ or to the nearest ‘resting-camp.’ The rest of -the wounded are removed as soon as possible directly to the field -hospitals or lazarets. If obliged to remain for a while before removal -they are protected by portable tents, wind-screens, etc. . . . If it is -impossible to carry the wounded along in a retreat they are left in care -of the hospital staff under the protection of the Red Cross.” - - -THE SANITATION COMPANY - -In case of a big battle a sanitation company remains near the bandaging -camp. Every army corps has three of these companies, which, together -with the twelve field lazarets of the corps, form a sanitation -battalion. - -As soon as it is apparent that the troops will remain in one locality -for some length of time the smaller bandaging camps or stations are -supplemented by a chief bandaging station some distance in the rear, and -if possible, near a highway and near houses. At this spot there are -arranged places for the entry and exit of the wagons carrying the -wounded, for the unloading of the wounded, for the dying and the dead, -for cooking, and a “park” for wagons and horses. - -Each field lazaret is capable of caring for two hundred men, but this -capacity may be extended by making use of local aid. The supplies -carried are very comprehensive, including tents, straw mattresses and -woolen blankets, lighting materials, clothing and linen, tools, cooking -utensils, soap, writing materials, drugs and medical appliances, -sterilization ovens, bandages, instruments, and an operating-table. As -fast as possible the patients treated are sent home on furlough or -removed to permanent military hospitals. The very perfection of this -system but deepens the tragic irony that occasions it. - - -THE HOSPITAL BARGE - -One very important development in the care for the wounded is the -introduction of the hospital barge. The rivers and canals of France -offer splendid opportunities for conveying wounded from point to point. -This new method of transport was foreshadowed in an article in the -London Times, in which the writer, in describing the hospital barges, -said: - -“The north of France, as is well known, is exceedingly rich in -waterways--rivers and canals. The four great rivers, the Oise, the -Somme, the Sambre, and the Escaut (Scheldt), are connected by a network -of canals--quiet and comfortable waterways at present almost free of -traffic. So far as the reaching of any particular spot is concerned -these waterways may be said to be ubiquitous. They extend, too, right -into Belgium, and have connection with the coast at various points--for -example, Ostend. Here, then, is a system of ‘roads’ for the removal of -the wounded, a system which, if properly used, can be made to relieve -greatly the stress of work imposed upon the ambulance motor cars and -trains. Here also is the ideal method of removal. - -“The Ile de France is lying at present at the Quai de Grenelle, near the -Eiffel Tower. This is a Seine barge of the usual size and type, -blunt-nosed, heavily and roomily built. You enter the hold by a -step-ladder, which is part of the hospital equipment. This is a large -chamber not much less high from floor to ceiling than an ordinary room, -well lighted, and ventilated by means of skylights. The walls of the -hold have been painted white; the floor has been thoroughly scrubbed out -for the reception of beds, of which some forty to fifty will be -accommodated. - -“The forward portion of the barge can accommodate more beds, and there -is no reason why a portion of it should not be walled in and used as an -operating room, more especially since in the bow a useful washing -apparatus is fitted. The barge is heated by stoves, and a small electric -plant could easily be installed. The barges are used in groups of four, -and a small tug supplies the motive power. In favorable circumstances -about fifty kilometers a day can be traveled.” - -The barges employed are big, roomy barges one hundred and twenty feet -long, sixteen feet broad, and ten feet high. Care is taken to use only -fairly new and clean barges which have been used in the conveyance of -timber or stone or other clean and harmless cargoes. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI - -WHAT WILL THE HORRORS AND ATROCITIES OF THE GREAT WAR LEAD TO? - - WAR, A REVERSAL TO THE PRIMITIVE BRUTE IN MAN -- THE SPREAD OF - DEMOCRACY -- DECLINE OF THE WAR SPIRIT -- THE DAWN OF UNIVERSAL PEACE. - - -In the mobilization of armies, in the appropriation of colossal funds -and consequent imposition of intolerable taxes, in the disregard of the -neutrality of lesser nations, in the “emergency measures” that tear -apart a home to give its bread-winner to the reeking shambles--in all -these phenomena original incentives quickly are forgotten, as though -they had never been. - -What imperial chancellery now remembers, or now cares, that a -sovereign’s nephew and his morganatic wife were done to death in an -obscure dependency upon the Adriatic shores? Their hands and steel are -at each other’s throats on that pretext, but they improve the occasion -to settle all old scores that rancorous racial antagonism in an -interminable blood-feud have created. War has thrown down the barriers -of social restraint; it has abolished the delimitations of political -adjustment; international decorum, propriety, all that is signified in -the German tongue under the untranslatable name of “Sittlichkeit” are no -more; landmarks set in place with a thankful sense of achievement and a -pious aspiration are obliterated. - -None will deny to our heroes living, nor to those who after warfare rest -in peace, the sublimity of their utmost pattern of devotion and of the -sacrifice they made. But with all that selfless devotion implies and -patriotism means, with all that the bugle sings or flaunting pennons -inspire, with all that the sight of old and tattered battle-flags -conveys, with all that the histories tell, with all the exemplary -careers of conquerors that were not ruthless and armies that sang psalms -and nations whose quarrel was just and kings who laid their crowns -before the throne of God in prayer, and their laurels in the dust of the -profoundest self-abasement--the nature of war is not changed. - -With all the Te Deums that have risen in cathedrals, and hosannas that -were sung for conquering Caesars when earth and sky were shaken like a -carpet with their welcome at the gate; with all the splendor of shining -accoutrements of guardsmen and Uhlans and cuirassiers; with all the -investiture of romance that poet and painter and even the sensitive -historian have been able to confer upon it--war remains what it is: an -abysmal and sickening reversion to the primitive brute in man. It must -still be a sight “to grieve high heaven and make the angels mourn” that -men created in the image of their Maker, endowed with a diviner instinct -beyond the body’s need or transient existence, could sink so far, and in -the slough of primordial animality forget the very light of life and -their immortal destiny for the sake of the mere fiction of power on -land, sea and even in the throbbing and embattled air through which the -prayers of women ascend like silent flame to God. - - - The World’s Best Intellects on War - - JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU: War is the foulest fiend that ever vomited - forth from the mouth of hell. - - THOMAS JEFFERSON: I abhor war and view it as the greatest scourge of - mankind. - - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: There never was a good war or a bad peace. - - WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON: My country is the world; my countrymen are all - mankind. - - NAPOLEON BONAPARTE: The more I study the world, the more am I - convinced of the inability of force to create anything durable. - - PAUL ON MARS HILL: God hath made of one blood all nations of men for - to dwell on all the face of the earth. - - ANDREW CARNEGIE: We have abolished slavery from civilized countries, - the owning of man by man. The next great step that the world can take - is to abolish war, the killing of man by man. - - GEORGE WASHINGTON: My first wish is to see the whole world at peace, - and the inhabitants of it as one band of brothers, striving which - should most contribute to the happiness of mankind. - - ABRAHAM LINCOLN: With malice toward none, with charity for all, with - firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive - * * * to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace - among ourselves and with all nations. - - EMANUEL KANT: The method by which states prosecute their rights cannot - under present conditions be a process of law, since no court exists - having jurisdiction over them, but only war. But through war, even if - it result in victory, the question of right is not decided. - - -THE SPREAD OF DEMOCRACY - -We are apt, in thinking of the consequences of the European war, to -consider the readjustment of national boundaries as of prime importance. -Such a thought betrays a wrong perspective, or a narrowness of vision, -or both. Territorial definition is a small, material factor. The larger, -spiritual considerations that affect all mankind are the momentous -things. And probably of all the consequences that are evolved out of the -horrors and atrocities of the great war, the spread of the democratic -spirit must be the most momentous. Despite the fact that the ambitions -of the people and the dynasties are in accord, the effect of the war -upon monarchical institutions must be momentous. The spirit of democracy -is abroad. It has practically abolished the British House of Lords. It -has forced the establishment of a parliament in Russia. It is so active -and alert in Germany that the Social Democratic party is the largest and -most powerful political organization in the empire. In France it -overturned the monarchy nearly half a century ago, and is now so firmly -established that only the wildest dreamers ever imagine that republican -institutions can be displaced. It is regnant in Portugal and nearly so -in Spain. A nation in arms, as Germany now is, will not long be content -to remain a nation without a ministry responsible to its Parliament. The -democratization of German institutions is inevitable after the war, -whatever the result. The people, even in Russia, are no longer driven -serfs. They think, they reason, and a demonstration of the power of -5,000,000 men on the battle-field will not be lost on the patriots who -wish also to demonstrate the power of the same number of millions in -deciding at first hand the causes for which they will take up arms. -Whether the kings and the emperors remain on their thrones matters -little. Great Britain, though it retains the fiction of a monarchy, is -as democratic as the United States, and its Parliament responds with -greater precision to popular sentiment than the American Congress. The -war means the end of autocracy whether the kings remain or not. - - -DECLINE OF THE WAR SPIRIT - -It is significant that the most democratic nations are likewise the most -peace-loving. With the spread of democracy must come the decline of the -war spirit. The teaching that war is a biological necessity for the -preservation of the heroic virtues in men has met its fate in this war, -for we have found men, whole regiments of them, who had only been in -warlike training a few months, showing just as cool courage and just as -stubborn fighting powers as men who had been trained to war from their -youth. Even from the standpoint of effectiveness in war the war spirit -is unnecessary. - -And we have a right to insist that the bravery of the battle-line is not -the highest bravery, and that the deliverance wrought by bayonet and -shrapnel is not the most necessary to the welfare of humanity. The -courage which is unmoved by the roar of great guns and undaunted by the -gleam of advancing bayonets is good, but it is no better than the -courage of the timid woman who faces death upon the operating-table -without shrinking or complaint; and it is in nothing superior to the -courage which, in the daily life of our people, takes up patiently the -burden of the day, and in the face of poverty, sorrow, and pain, and -bearing also the contempt of many, goes forward without bitterness and -even with cheerfulness to the end of the journey, faithful unto death. - - -THE DAWN OF UNIVERSAL PEACE - -Finally, as the spirit of democracy rises and the spirit of war -declines, the vision of universal peace begins to crystallize. While to -many it may seem that this must always remain a vision, the real seers -of the world do not doubt that, when the awful conflict in Europe is -ended, the warring nations, viewing their dead and their devastated -countries, will welcome a plan which promises an end of such disasters. -The practicability and feasibility of the idea of an international -tribunal is shown by the successful operation of the American -Constitutional Courts of Arbitration, which have settled controversies -between the states, and by the so-called general arbitration treaties to -submit justiciable disputes to arbitration. And if an international -arbitration court is feasible, an international police, to give force to -the decrees of the tribunal, is also feasible. We have only to come to -believe this and the plan itself can be formulated. All great -achievement in the world has been a matter of great faith. - -The hope of humanitarianism and civilization rests on the very enormity -of the present calamity. The horrors and atrocities of the war are so -great, its waste and devastation so enormous, its scars so deep, that -no one who is touched by it can want war again. The disaster is so -overwhelming that peace when it comes must be lasting. - - The 32 pages of illustrations contained in this book are not included - in the paging. Adding these 32 pages to the 320 pages of the text - makes a total of 352 pages. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - - Inconsistent and unusual spelling and hyphenation have been retained, - except as listed below. - p. 139, Todeshusaren (Death’s-Head Hussars): either the English - translation should be Death’s Hussars, or the German name should be - Totenkopfhusaren. - p. 148, Haybes (Belgium): Haybes is in France (albeit close to the - border with Belgium). - p. 153, Mme. X.: probably an error for Mme. Z. - p. 155, Bignicourt-sur-Saultz: probably Bignicourt-sur-Saulx. - p. 234, “A WASTEFUL WAR”: there is no such section. - - - Changes made: - Some illustrations have been moved out of text paragraphs. - Some minor obvious typographical and punctuation errors have been - corrected silently. - Accents have been corrected and standardised on French and German - words (Châlons, château, Hôtel de Ville, Liège, Visé, Jäger, - Pêcheurs, Pégoud), but not on English words (debris/débris); the - capitalisation of German nouns has not been corrected. - p.34: several section titles added to the list of subjects cf. the - actual text - p.109: Onsmael changed to Orsmael - p. 159: BURNING OF CITY SYSTEMATIC added to list of subjects - p. 179: Poekappelle changed to Poekapelle - Illustration caption after page 200: Fort Loucin changed to Fort - Loncin - p. 280: RAPID FIRING added to list of subjects - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Horrors and Atrocities of the Great War, by -Logan Marshall and Gilbert Parker and Vance Thompson and Philip Gibbs - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HORRORS AND ATROCITIES *** - -***** This file should be named 55503-0.txt or 55503-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/5/0/55503/ - -Produced by Brian Coe, Harry Lamé, Hathi Trust (for some -illustrations) and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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