The secret press in Belgium
Dichler Jan Rijswijck (I818fl869) ,stuur! ons van ui( clen hemel volgenden Open Brief, met verzoek van opname in » De Vrije Stem. » Wij houden ons verzekerd dat dit schrijven met groofe voldocning door ons volk zal gelezen worden. Den Hemel. 21* kamcr. 3 r verdicp. <• * Aan de Redacti* van « De Vrije Stem » • I * * * Hotel der Patriotten, Begijnenstraat, 42. . « ' * * ' Beste Vadcrlanders. Door tusschenkorast van Jan Olieslagers, die van zijn uitstnpkeri om ccnige bommen op de slcllingen der Duit'schcrs te gooien, gebruik hceft Upper Portion of the Firs"t Page of the Flemish Newspaper De Vrije Stem. (Reduced.) THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 23 know that readings of these have been organised among friends. May this be continued; may it occur more fre- quently and become general. {La Virite, No. 3, 20th May, 191 5, p. 13.) A Little Indulgence, Please t A few readers have complained of the disagreeable odour possessed by certain of our newspapers; we beg them to excuse us, but they must understand that in time of war one cannot always choose one's travelling companions. Thus La Libre Belgique has found itself compelled to travel in company with red herrings, or Herve cheese, or carbide of calcium. We beg our readers to extend to La Libre Belgique the same indulgence which they are forced, for the time be- ing, to extend to certain of their neighbours in the tram-cars. However, the Spring is here, so we shall do our utmost to give La Libre Belgique the perfume of the rose or the violet The present number is delayed in publication. This is the explanation: we had to reprint it. La Libre Belgique encountered the enemy. It threw itself into the water, in order to escape by swimming, and was drowned! Requiescat in pace! {La Libre Belgique, No. 10, March, 1915, p. 1, col. 1.) Please Hand This On! Our readers will not have failed to remark our insistent repetition of this advice. As prudence does not permit us to increase the number of copies printed to the extent our friends would wish, on account of the difficulty of introduc- ing packages of too voluminous a nature into the capital, we have, from the outset, relied on the patriotism of our "sub- scribers" to assist us in our task. Let every copy of our little paper pass from hand to hand. What matter if the owner sees it return to him a trifle soiled, a trifle tattered: what matter if it never returns at all? He will console himself, by reminding himself that it has travelled some distance, since it could not find its way back. It will there- fore have fulfilled the intention of its editors. *4 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM A hundred copies should represent at least a thousand readers. Now as we print . . . Tut! We must be silent: the Bodies must not learn how many 1 (La Libre Belgique, No. 21, May, 1915, p. 1, col. 1.) Owing to an accident to some machinery our service was rather disorganised last week; we were able to effect only provisional repairs, and if the appearance of the paper was somewhat delayed our readers will kindly excuse us. Important Notice to Our Readers and Distributors. The existence of our publication and the liberty of those who are concerned in its production depend, above all, on the discretion of those who receive it and distribute it, Curiosity, even the most benevolent, may be as dangerous and as mis- chievous as the criminal denunciation which is naturally encouraged by our worst enemies. We therefore urgently beg all true Belgians, to whom alone our paper is dedicated, to respect the anonymity of the contributors to La Libre Belgique, and to abstain from the slightest effort to learn their identity. This curiosity might by itself become an act of treachery, and might give rise to the most serious results, the least of which would be the premature decease of La Libre Belgique. (La Libre Belgique, No. 29, June, 1915, p. 1, col. 1.) Warning to Our Readers. If they receive a visit from a respectable ecclesiastic who wants to talk about La Libre Belgique, the good work ac- complished by the paper, etc., they are begged to take this Boche in a cassock politely by the arm, and to turn him out of doors without more ado. However, those who feel that they ought to embellish this eviction by a good kick in the part vulgarly known as "the THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 35 Prussian," are free to do so. The act will be deserved, if not deserving. The Editors. (La Libre Belgique, No. 31, June, 1915, p. 1, col. I.) To His Excellency Baron von Bissing, German Governor. Excellency, You overwhelm us with attentions. Your agents, public and secret, are multiplying their domiciliary visits in their search for La Libre Belgique. You have even mobilised, they say, a special brigade of detectives, who have come from Berlin to discover its editors, contributors, distributors, reporters, etc. You are wasting your time and squandering your money quite uselessly. It is true that you have already more than once laid hands upon a bundle of copies of the newspaper which is your nightmare, and that you have inflicted heavy fines upon those who were in possession of copies. But La Libre Belgique has continued to appear as . . . irregu- larly as before, and the size of its impressions has not ceased to increase . . . regularly after each of your raids. You know very well, moreover, your Excellency, that although certain of these raids have terminated more or less gloriously, others have covered your agents and their officers with ridicule. Once again, you are wasting your time, my dear Baron, and the results of your seizures and confisca- tions will not repay you for the trouble you are giving your- self, nor will it make up for the ridicule of your failure. The longer you persist, the further will our propaganda spread. Our automobile printing-press, thanks to your well- known obligingness, moves from one point of the country to another with a facility, a freedom, an essence 1 — pardon, 1 There is here a play of words beyond translation. Es- sence means benzine — motor spirit, A German would say essence when he meant aisance. Possibly there is also a reference to the raids upon cabinets d'aisances (water- closets) mentioned on pp. 14-15. — (TV.) 26 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM I mean an aisance (that comes of frequenting the Kom- mandantur, one picks up the accent) — an aisance which you do not suspect. You should remember, dear Sir, that La Libre Belgique pledged itself, from the moment of its birth, to appear in spite of everything, so long as our dear country is occupied by your compatriots, so long as it is necessary to react against the Press which is in your pay, and that which, by its lies or its omissions, is seeking to enfeeble our patriotism, to wear down our resistance, to enervate our characters, to sow doubt, division and despair in our ranks, in a word, to render vain and useless our sacrifices and our sufferings. You forget that in Belgium a promise is a sacred engage- ment, which binds him who has made it as firmly as an oath, and more firmly than a diplomatic treaty. You make the great mistake of regarding us as annexed. You may rob us, imprison us, shoot us even, but you will not silence us. We are not Germans — so do not measure us with YOUR ELL. You have recently remarked, or so we have been informed, that the Belgians are intractable. 1 This word, which is too reminiscent of the souvenirs which your officers have everywhere left behind them in our houses and our chateaux, should have scorched your lips; but it is, none the less, the unfortunate expression of a true idea: the Belgians are Indomitable. As for killing La Libre Belgique, do not count upon it; it is impossible. It is unseizable, because it is nowhere. It is a will-o'-the-wisp, which issues from the graves of those whom your countrymen massacred in Louvain, Tamines, and Dinant, and which is pursuing you. But it is also the will-o'-the-wisp which issues from the graves of the German soldiers who fell at Liege, at Walheim, on the Yser. These 1 Indicrottable means uncleanable, unpolishable, rude, incorrigible, unteachable, intractable. Crotter means to dirty, to defoul; crottin is dung. The play of words, which is untranslatable, refers to the peculiar stercoral relics de- posited by German officers in houses which have given them shelter. — (7V.) THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 27 latter now perceive for what a wretched scheme of domina- tion they were sacrificed to the Moloch of war, under the pretext of defending the Fatherland; finally, it is the voice of all the mothers, the voice of all the widows and orphans who are mourning those they have lost. This voice is daily gaining power; its echoes are heard over all our provinces and reach beyond our frontiers. It will be' silent only when the last of your soldiers and your policemen have ceased to oppress our invaded soil in defiance of all justice. Do not believe, my dear Baron, that we are so simple as to believe that you will take our advice and abandon the hope that your shady 1 Sherlock Holmeses will discover us. We know that nothing stops a German once he has entered upon an evil course — neither a sense of the ridiculous, nor any scruple, nor the consciousness of final defeat. This, Excellency, is why, in respect of your past, present, and future miscalculations, we approach you with the expression of our very sincere and entirely disrespectful condolences. La Libre Belgique. (La Libre Belgique, No. 49, October, 1915, p. 1, col. 1.) In the incessant conflict which the Belgians, prisoners in their own country, are sustaining against the German domination, the newspapers are supported by numerous pamphlets. Let us mention a few of these, simply to give some idea of their diversity. Nicrologe dinantais, August, 1914. — This pamphlet contains, first of all, an account of the massacres and the incendiarism ; then the "Official List of the Civil- ians shot at Dinant on the 23rd and 24th of August, 1914, by order of the German military authority, with- 1 Another play on words in the original. Sherlock Holmes de contrebande might mean "Sherlock Holmeses for the detection of smuggled goods," or Sherlock Holmeses who were also "black sheep." — (TV.) 28 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM out any previous trial." The list contains the names of 606 dead, with their professions, their places of resi- dence, and their ages. Then it continues: 'This list is incomplete; it does not contain the names of all those whose bodies could not be identified, or who died in the hospitals as a result of their wounds." The NScrologe dinantais was preceded by another printed list, which was implacably hunted down by the Germans in Dinant itself. 1 Pages du Livre des Douleurs de la Belgique. — Ob- jective narratives by eye-witnesses of some of the hor- rors committed in Belgium by the German Army. La Violation de la Neutrality beige. — A very simple account of the German perfidy, published in January, I9I5- Comment VYser ria pas itS franchi: Yser, Nieuport, Inondations. — Maps and photographs of the district; accounts of the battles and floods. Le Manifeste des intellectuels aUemands et les R6- ponses des neutres. — A French translation of the Manifesto, and some of the replies to it. La Sosialdemokratie et la Guerre. Le Crime des Socialistes allemands. Petit dossier documentaire. — This contains, in particular, an account of the visits paid to the Brussels Maison du Peuple by various German militants: Wendel, Liebknecht, Koster and Noske. La Franc-MoQonnerie beige et les Loges allemandes. — A reproduction of M. Charles Magnette's appeal to the nine German lodges, asking for an impartial inquiry into what had happened in Belgium ; the refusal of the 1 See Davignon, Belgique et AUemagne, p. 66. THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 29 only two lodges which replied; M. Magnette's reply; and documentary evidence of German origin. PatrioHsme et Endurance. — This is Mgr. Mercier's well-known Pastoral Letter, which produced so great an impression. The original edition, printed by Des- sain at Mahnes, was in part seized by the German authorities. But a dozen editions were printed in French, and three in Flemish; it was also distributed by means of typewriting. Numerous impressions were made of each edition. At the establishment of a single printer in Brussels the German police con- fiscated 35,000 pamphlets. But so many hundreds of thousands of copies were printed that every house in Belgium contains at least one copy. Autour de la Lettre cardinalice — A reproduction of the principal correspondence exchanged between the German authorities and the Belgian clergy in connec- tion with the proscription of the pastoral letter. The anti-German propaganda is also being carried on by means of picture postcards, representing the King, the Queen, Prince Leopold, M. Max, Mgr. Mer- rier, Miss Cavell and Ph. Baucq, etc. The prohibited postcard which must have annoyed the Germans most profoundly is that which reproduces the portraits of their spies. Thirty of these gentry had the brilliant idea of getting photographed in a body. A week had not elapsed before the Belgians had obtained possession of a print and had reproduced it as a picture postcard. Directly one of these con- genial informers entered a tram everybody stared at him with significant insistence. 30 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM Although the taking of photographs is prohibited, many amateurs brave the rigours of German "justice" and take photographs of the ruins of Louvain, Dinant, Termonde, Vise, the villages of Luxemburg, etc. 4. German Regulations Affecting the Press On the one hand are the Germans, the wielders of authority, determined to abuse it without the slightest scruple, seeking only to demoralise us in order to crush us more readily under their heel; on the other hand are the Belgians, abandoned to their own resources, exposed to all the severities of the courts-martial whenever they make an effort to escape from under the extinguisher. In this struggle, so unequal that the Belgians seem conquered beforehand, it is never- theless the Belgians who are uppermost; and nothing proves the victory of our countrymen, and the impo- tent rage of our enemies, than the more and more excessive penalties threatened by the decrees relating to the Press. A warning published by the military government of Brussels, on the 22nd of November, 19 14, spoke of long terms of imprisonment. Notice. I remind the population of Brussels and the suburbs that it is strictly forbidden to sell or distribute newspapers which are not expressly authorised by the German military gover- nor. Contraventions involve immediate arrest of the vendors and the infliction of long terms of imprisonment. Brussels, the 22nd September, 1914* The Military Governor, Baron von Luttwitz. (General,) THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 31 The decree of the 13th of October, 1914, signed by Baron von der Goltz, threatened with a punishment "conformable with the martial law, the distributors of non-censored writings." A notice dated the 9th of November, 1914, also signed by Baron von der Goltz, stated that offenders would be "punished by long terms of imprisonment." Sentences were actually passed at their period; for example, Louis Prost was condemned to six months' imprisonment "for having distributed copies of un- truthful news of the war, reproduced by typewriting." But the severities of the Germans did not prevent the introduction of foreign newspapers, nor the crea- tion of clandestine journals. In an official communiquS, reproduced by the censored journals, dated the 14th of June, 191 5, Herr Baron von Bissing, Governor- General in Belgium, complained of this situation. A few days later a fresh communique entered into details: offenders would be punished with imprison- ment varying in duration from one day to three years, and would be condemned to pay a maximum fine of 3,000 marks. A decree of the Governor's, dated the 25th of June, 191 5, states: The actions and omissions prohibited by the decree of the 13th October, 1914, and the Notice of the 4th Novem- ber, 1914, concerning the censorship of printed matter, reci- tations, etc., and the Notice dated the 15th [November, 1914, concerning the carrying of letters, writings, etc., are punish- able by imprisonment varying in duration from one day to three years and a maximum fine of 3,000 marks, or by one of these penalties to the exclusion of the other, unless other laws or decrees prescribe an increased penalty. Attempts to commit the above-mentioned actions and 32 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM omissions are punishable; the objects concealed from the censorship will be confiscated. Infractions will be tried by the courts-martial, or, in the case of contraventions not of a very serious nature, by the military authorities. The present order will come into force on the day of publication. (L'&cho de la Presse intemationale, 5tb July, 1915) But no threat affects the patriotism of the Belgians. Thus it was that the Governor-General gave vent to fresh lamentations in January, 1916. In these he admitted — at last! — that the people of Brussels were still implacably hostile to the occupying forces. This little fit of sincerity clashes with the interviews which he granted, early in 191 5, to the German newspapers, notably to the Norddeutsche Attgemeine Zeitung; in these he invariably stated that the relations between the people of Brussels and the Germans had improved. Here is his lament of January, 1916: The attitude of the population of Brussels towards the German garrison betrays, in every walk of life, an unjustified hostility. Not only are insulting writings continually and eagerly distributed and purchased in the city, writings of an obscene character attacking the German Administration — and this under the eyes of the city police; not only have German officers been insulted in the open streets (as, for example, in the case of Joseph), but the population of Brussels has often contrived to lend active assistance to the enemy's intelligence department, furnishing it with informa- tion as to the military situation in the city, for example, or the temporary occupation of the aeroplane hangars, and has thus rendered possible hostile actions against the Ger- man garrison established within its walls. It is regrettable that even the communal employees have not been ashamed to participate in these hostile actions, and to assist in their THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 33 accomplishment, as spies, or by concealing explosives. Further, in spite of the repeated warnings, with the threat of severe penalties, issued by the general Government, the population of Brussls has kept weapons in concealment, and this on a large scale, and has thus indicated its intention of keeping itself armed in view of a rising. Similarly, in the matter of billets the hostile attitude of the people of Brussels has been openly displayed. Not only have all sorts of difficulties been created for German officers and employees, in the matter of letting suitable apartments, but the few lessors who, to gain a legitimate living, have let apartments to German officers or employees, have been subjected, by their fellow citizens, to continual persecution, threats, and humiliations. In this way the question of find- ing lodgings has become, for German officers and employees, particularly embarrassing. (Signed) Von Bissing. A few days later, on the nth of January, 1916, there came a threatening confirmation of the Governor- General's complaints: It is Decreed. Art. 2. — (a) Whosoever, in the territory of the general Government, shall have published or consciously caused to circulate false reports as to the number, the advance, or the pretended victories of the enemy forces, which might lead the civil or military authorities astray as to the measures to be taken by them ........ will be punished by a term of imprisonment of not more than five years' duration, unless the laws and regulations in force prescribe the application of a longer term of im- prisonment. Art. 3. — Infractions of the present decree are within the competence of the German military tribunals. Brussels, nth January, 1916. Von Bissing. Von Sauberzwkig. 34 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM So far only those who busied themselves in dis- tributing "provocative writings" were exposed to the severities of the military courts. From the 5th of February, 19 16, it was equally criminal to receive or retain them. Those who found La Libre Belgique in their letter- boxes were, therefore bound to burn it immediately ! It is Decreed. Whosoever possesses printed matter which, contrary to the regulation in force, has not been subjected to examination by the censorship, will be punished either by a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years in duration, and a fine which may amount to 3,000 marks, or one of these penalties to the exclusion of the other, unless circumstances prove that the possessor is not guilty. The printed matter constituting the object of the in- fractions will be confiscated. These infractions are within the competence of the Ger- man military authorities or tribunals. Brussels, 5th February, 19 16. No doubt it was in pursuance of this decree that the proprietor of a cafe in Liege was sentenced: Liege. — M. Adam Quaden, the proprietor of the Taverne Britannique, Place Verte, has just been sentenced by the Boche courts to four months' imprisonment for the follow- ing reason: The Taverne Britannique, a meeting-place for all true citizens of Liege, was visited one day by some Germans, who proceeded to make a minute search. In the porter's lodge were discovered a few numbers of La Libre Belgique, which the porter remembered having picked up from a table where an unknown person had placed them. 1 2 One may ask who was this unknown person? Was he perhaps an agent provocateur t Do not forget that in Liege THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 35 M. Quaden was arrested as responsible, although innocent; and was sentenced. (Le Courrier de VArmei, No. 243, 30th March, 1916, p. 4, col. 1.) Later, in June, 1916, M. Preherbu, justice of peace at Schaerbeck, was suspended from the performance of his functions, having been found in possession of a copy of the detested newspaper. Two remarks on the subject of these arrests: (a) In the domain, essentially civil, of Press offences, only the military authorities or the military tribunals are competent and pass sentences "conformably with the martial law" ;* which means that the trials are not con- ducted in public, and there is no appeal against the de- cisions of the courts. What of "the respect for the laws in force in the occupied country" required by Article 43 of the Appendix to The Hague Convention, that "scrap of paper" which is partly the work of German jurists, and which bears their signature? (6) Each new decree threatens heavier penalties. How singular is the German psychology! Evidently they believe that the Belgians, who were not intimi- dated by six months' imprisonment, would shrink from five years! One may compare with this the reward of £200, then of f 1,000, and finally of £3,000, which is said to have been offered for the betrayal of the authors of La Libre Belgique. itself, in December, 1914, numbers of persons were sentenced because German informers had placed the Maestricht Courrier de la Meuse in their letter-boxes. 1 We need not be surprised that the military courts should try Press offences; in Antwerp restaurant-keepers guilty of serving their customers with peeled potatoes are arraigned before the military tribunals 1 36 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM In the country districts the same measures were taken against uncensored writings. It will suffice to refer to a few decrees already published in Comment les Beiges resistent, at Spa (p. 6), Louvain (p. 7), Namur (p. 8), and Antwerp (p. 17). We cannot resist the temptation to reproduce in these pages the delightful placard which was posted up in Liege, on the iQth of September, 1915, when the Battle of the Marne was at its height: To the Population of Li£ge and District. In view of the increasing successes of the German troops, it is impossible to understand how the people of Li6ge can be still sufficiently credulous to believe the absurd and frivolous news propagated by the manufactories of lies in- stalled in Liege. Those who occupy themselves in propagat- ing such news expose themselves to rigorous punishment. They are playing a dangerous game in abusing the credulity of their fellow-citizens and urging them to thoughtless acts. The reasonable population of Liege will of its own accord oppose all attempts of this nature. Otherwise it runs the risk not only of the most seriou9 disappointment, but also of becoming ridiculous in the eyes of intelligent people. Von Kolewk. Lieutenant-General and German Governor of the Fortress of Liige. It is forbidden to remove this placard or to post another over it. 5. The Aerial Supplement of La Libre Belgique. Since the spring of 1916 the Belgians have been utilizing a new means of transport in the distribution of prohibited publications: the aeroplane. Small "flying" leaflets (Le Clarion du Roi, suppM- THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 37 ment aerien de La Libre Belgique) are printed abroad and dropped upon the Belgian towns by our aviators. They give, month by month, in French and in Flemish, news of the war. Needless to say, the Germans do their very utmost to prevent our compatriots from picking up and handing on these commurdquis. Thus the aeroplane which flew over the Antwerp and Saint- Nicolas region at the end of June, 1916, scattered quantities of small leaflets; and for days German cavalry patrols were scouring the countryside, arrest- ing and searching all those who could be suspected of carrying the news which had fallen from the skies. Oil Wednesday the 6th of September, 191 6, Lieu- tenant C and Adjutant M shed a beneficent rain of aerial supplements of La Libre Belgique upon the strollers at the Porte de Namur and in the Grand Place, Brussels. As a result of this visit the inhabitants of the boule- vards near the Porte de Namur were punished; they had to be within doors by 8.30 p.m., and remain in their own homes, without light. As this prospect might not have been disagreeable enough to prevent the people of Brussels from picking up the papers distributed by aviators, the Germans hit on a more radical system. They fired at the aeroplane shrapnel which did not burst in the air, but on falling, close to the ground. Numbers of curious persons were killed and wounded in this way at the time of the raid of the 27th September, 1916. 6. Counterfeit Prohibited Newspapers Perceiving that neither brutal intimidation or cor- ruption was preventing our countrymen from pur- 38 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM chasing foreign newspapers and distributing the products of the clandestine Press, the German authori- ties employed our own weapon: they printed imitations of prohibited newspapers. As early as January, 19 15, a pamphlet was circulated in Brussels which spoke in an insulting manner of the civil authorities of Antwerp in connection with the entrance of the German troops into that city. This affair has not as yet been thoroughly cleared up; the complicity of the Germans has not been actually proved; but at all events the Germans have admitted, through the medium of Baron von Bissing, junior, Professor in the University of Munich, that they have done their utmost to profit by the dissensions which they have attempted to sow. 1 At the end of July, 191 5, a "Proclamation of King Albert on the occasion of the National Festival of the 2 1 st July" was on sale in Brussels. This was a tissue of ineptitudes mingled with venomous attacks upon the Allies. The pseudo-proclamation was reprinted by the German Press. The fraud was so clumsy that we had no need of the notice in No. 42 of La Libre Belgique in order to see daylight. Their finest invention was the publication of a news- paper, Le Fouet, which was distributed secretly. In addition to feeble jests about "Beastman (Beteman, German pun on Bethmann), the Chandelier of the Empire/' No. 1 contained a violent attack upon the "clerical Government" of Belgium and the "flam- *See Belgien unter deutscher Verwaltung, in the Sud- deutsche Monatshefte, April, 1915 (p. 31 of the Supplement), and "Belgians under the German Eagle," p. 238. THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 39 ingants." This was an unmistakable trademark, for there is not a single Belgian who has not to-day for- gotten our intestine quarrels. On several occasions counterfeits of foreign news- papers have been sold in Brussels; either of Dunkirk newspapers, or of newspapers published in Holland by Belgians. These imitations were sold at 30 centimes to 1 franc, whereas the genuine publications cost at least twice as much. They exhibited this peculiarity — that they announced astounding victories won by the Allies. Were they the work of some printer eager to make money, or did the Germans have a hand in them? It is difficult to say. At the same time, let us remember that during the siege of Paris, Bismarck took pains to ensure that fabricated newspapers should from time to time reach the Parisians, containing ac- counts of pretended French victories; for he knew that nothing more surely leads a population to despair than the destruction of illusions. B. AUTHORISED PUBLICATIONS We have just shown what efforts the Belgians make to publish the truth despite all obstacles. Let us now describe the manner in which the German authorities keep our populations informed of the news. The documents placed at our disposal may be di- vided into four groups: 1. The gratuitous information provided by the German authority and by private individ- uals. 2. Printed matter of German origin which may be bought in Belgium. 40 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 3. Newspapers and pamphlets, supposedly Bel- gian, which are submitted to the censorship. 4. Dutch newspapers tolerated by the censor- ship. 1. Gratuitous Information In the first place there are the official announce- ments. These, in the first place, were worded in Ger- man, French, and Flemish, but since October, 1914, they have been worded in German, Flemish and French. They are supposed to keep us informed of the military operations. Here is an article from La V&ritS, which leaves us in no doubt as to their sincerity. The Arsenal of Untruth. It is truly criminal to deceive the Belgian population by spreading false news. The Governor-General. In the whole of the German military machine, which the Allies are demolishing piece by piece, the portion which still works best is the arsenal of untruth established in Berlin, with a branch in Vienna. Do you wish to discover the secrets of their system of "faked" information? Pass along the Rue de la Chancellerie near Saint-Gudule, in Brussels, or the Rue des Paroissiens, at a few paces' distance. It is in my quarter of the city; every day I note an old placard which was posted on the 15th of September, and which expresses itself in these terms : "Berlin, 14th September (Official.) — In the western theatre of the war (France) operations have taken place the details of which cannot as yet be made public, and which led to a battle which has gone in our favour. All the news relating to this subject published by all sorts of means by the enemy, and representing the situation as unfavourable to us, is false/' Now this battle, which commenced two days earlier, THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 4* was the great French victory of the Marne which finally arrested the invasion. 1 Berlin knew the truth then, and published a lie! Whenever a victorious despatch comes from Berlin, let us remember the official despatch of the 14th of September, in which there are as many falsehoods as words, and in which the opposite side is accused by spreading falsehoods! The whole German method is there! Another example: If we refer to the news which the enemy was publishing in the second half of October, the Belgian Army, decimated, dismembered, was in the act of re-forming itself in the north of France. Now, the Belgians were then accomplishing wonderful exploits, between Nieu- port and Dixmude: they were occupying the Yser; face to face with an army superior in men and guns, fighting day and night, they inflicted a decisive defeat upon the Bar- barians ! We shall later on relate an episode of this action. Well ! it was months before the truth was known about these glorious days of our campaign, for the lies of Berlin con- trived to conceal from us their brilliant refulgence. This is not all. Recently a German placard informed us of the destruction of an Italian dirigible. But neither the placard nor the Brussels newspapers of Prussian origin breathed a word of the destruction of two Zeppelins, one at Evere-lez-Bruxelles, the other at Saint-Amand-lez-Gand, losses suffered three days earlier. On the 10th of June Berlin admitted that the German troops had "abandoned" (hum!) the last houses of Neuville, "which has been in the possession of the French since the 9th of May." Now this victory had been accomplished a full month before, but Berlin had until then omitted to inform us of it On the other hand, Berlin had not ceased to assure us that the offensive north of Arras was obtaining no success. Here are a few typical examples of the method of informa- x This defeat, which the Germans never reported, cost them, in addition to their dead and wounded, 65,000 prisoners, 345 guns, and more than 3,000 vehicles, with 5,000 horses. The battle lasted from the 6th to the 12th of September. It was fought by 1,500,000 Germans, and 1,250,- 000 French, reinforced by 60,000 English. 42 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM tion followed in Berlin: (i) A great French victory is denied, the French being accused of falsifying the real facts; (2) the Belgian Army is declared non-existent at the very moment when it is offering an unconquerable resistance; (3) facts unfavourable to the Germans, of which thousands of Belgians are the delighted witnesses, are passed over in silence; (4) it takes the Germans a month to admit a check, after first attributing it to the enemy. . .. There is a "Bureau for the Diffusion of German News Abroad/' which is situated in Dusseldorf. It has established in this country offices where all may read the style of the laboratory : Buro zu Verbzeitung von deutschen Nachrichten im Auslande. With such an organisation — and the official Wolff Agency — not forgetting the subservient Press — we are stuffed with lies and propagandist paragraphs. . .. The fellow-citizens of Manneken-Pis spit upon these filthy tricks — and all Belgium does the same. (La Verite, 3So. 6, p. 1, 21st June, 1915.) The accounts of the battles in Champagne, in Feb- ruary, 191 5, were of the same quality, as will be seen from the following extract from an article in La Libre Belgique. German Lies. On large blue placards, posted on the walls of the city, and relating to the battles which have been fought in Cham- pagne, the Germans particularly emphasised the statement that two weak divisions of Rhinelanders fought against six French army corps. Now, this is what we learn from the French official communique: "The military operations in Champagne have resulted, since the 16th of February, in enabling us to advance to a depth of 2j4 kilometres over a front of 7 kilometres." "The enemy employed four to five and a half army corps. Ten thousand corpses were found on the field of battle, and we made two thousand prisoners." According to this communiquS, the two weak divisions ! ! THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 43 ... of Rhinelanders were composed of 119 battalions, thirty- one squadrons, sixty-four field batteries, and twenty heavy batteries. Up to the 3rd of March the Germans had further brought up twenty battalions, among them six battalions of the Guard, one of field artillery, and two heavy batteries. (La Libre Belgique, No. 9, March, 1915, p. 4, col. 1.) The official German news attained the summit of veracity at the time of the attacks delivered in October and November, 1914, in the region of Ypres. La Soupe indulged itself in the pleasure of copying the German placards verbatim and publishing them. These official placards are not content with over- whelming us with authentic news as to the military operations. They are also careful to inform us of public opinion abroad. That these newspaper cuttings are sincere it is hardly necessary to say. Let us give a single example, that of the very first placard which is of direct interest to us. Up to the 13th of September, 1914, the placards posted in Brussels had merely summarised articles in the newspapers relating to France and England. On the 14th of September we were enabled to peruse two extracts relating to our own country: News Published by the German Government. Cologne, 12th September. The Kolnische Zeitung having, in its issue of Tuesday, reprinted an article from the Corriere delta Sera, according to which the Belgian Cardinal Mercier is stated to have expressed an unfavourable opinion of the Germans, describ- ing them as barbarians, Cardinal von Hartmann, Archbishop of Cologne, writes to the Kolnische Zeitung as follows : "I hasten to inform you, with reference to the article 44 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM bearing the title 'Cardinal Mercier as Accuser/ No. ion of the (Kolnische Zeitung) that during his recent stay in Rome he was interviewed by the correspondent of the Corriere della Sera. When this interview appeared in the newspaper the Cardinal immediately denied, in the most energetic fashion, that he had expressed himself as the Corriere pretends. More- over, he immediately sent to the Prussian Minister at the Vatican, and also to the Abt. von Stotzingen, through me, a protest which was to be published in the Osservatore Romano. "I shall be greatly obliged to you, Sir, if you will be so good, in the interest of the truth, as to publish this declara- tion in the Kolnische Zeitung*' Frankfort, 12th September. : The Frankfurter Zeitung learns from Stockholm: The truth as to Louvain is beginning to find its way even into England. In the Westminster Gazette, an ex-member of Parliament writes: "When the population of the city sud- denly fired from the houses on the German troops, this act of madness was bound to involve the just consequences. Field-Marshal Lord Roberts caused the farms of the Boers to be burned for similar actions." The German Military Government. Let us first of all consider the extract dated from Cologne, which states that Mgr. Mercier granted an interview to a writer on the staff of the Corriere della Sera. This is false; it was not with a contributor to the Corriere della Sera, which is a journal of Liberal tendencies, that Mgr. Mercier had an interview while in Rome, but with a contributor to the Corriere d'ltalia, which is frankly Catholic. The second extract is even more ingeniously garbled. An ex-Member of Parliament (English) is said to have asserted that the population of Louvain fired on the German troops. Now this gentleman is simply repeating — as he himself expressly declares — the Ger- THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 45 man assertions. The only thing which he himself re- marks is that German troops were defeated near Malines and that they fled toward Louvain. Here is the original article from the Westminster Gazette. It will be seen that the first part repeats a nonsensical tale about a pretended menace of aggres- sion on the part of the people of Brussels. We, who did not leave Brussels for a moment during the months of August and September, 1914, can certify the fact that there is not a glimmer of truth in this story. How- ever, false or true, it does not affect the deliberate falsification by the German censorship of the only passage which is summarised in the placard. Let us add that the Germans did not breathe a word about the first part of the article; so well did they realise that they would cover themselves with ridicule by re- peating such a story to the people of Brussels: The Truth about Louvain. To the Editor of the Westminster Gazette. Sir, — In all British fairness some prominence might be given to the very narrow escape Brussels had from the ter- rible fate of Louvain, as described in the Daily Telegraph by its capable correspondent, Mr. Gerald Morgan. He stated that, "accompanied by Richard Harding Davis," he was "permitted by the Germans to follow" this Army. A battle near Waterloo was expected, but it did not come off. Mr. Morgan and his friend returned to Brussels and — I quote his exact words, as given in the Pall Mall Gazette— ht "found the town on the verge of a turmoil. This was owing to Gen- eral von Jarodzky's stupidity, and very nearly involved the town in the same fate which afterwards overwhelmed Lou- vain. He was left in the city with 5,000 men. He moved 3,000 of these suddenly outside the city, and then as suddenly became alarmed for the safety of the remainder among so 46 THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM large a hostile population. He therefore marched the 3,000 camped outside hastily back again. It was reported that the Germans had been completely defeated at Waterloo and were fleeing in confusion. The inhabitants of Brussels wished to take up arms and finish off Jarodzky and any sur- vivors, but fortunately the error was discovered in time." Now, this is exactly what the German generals declare to have happened at Louvain. We know as a certainty that a small German force was actually defeated outside Malines, and actually fled into Louvain on the very evening it was burned and devastated. The Germans allege that the towns- folk immediately started "to finish off the survivors," firing from the windows and house-tops. This insane act would rouse the devil in any soldiery, and may explain how, after a twenty-four hours' struggle, the unhappy town was a heap of ruins. Lord Roberts, the justest and gentlest of con- querors, most properly ordered widespread farm-burning in South Africa for the same offence. If you shoot without blame a soldier who tries to shoot you from in front, should you do less to an armed civilian who shoots you in the back ? Yours, etc., A Liberal Ex-M.P. (Westminster Gazette, 5th September, 1914.) One sees immediately that the whole interest of the German placard disappears if the first word of the quotation is incorrect: "When the population of the city. . . ." Now leaflet 3 of the Bureau des deutschen Handel- stages, Berlin, received by a number of commercial houses in Brussels (see p. 57) also reproduces the ex- tract from the Frankfurter Zeitung, but instead of reading "When the population of the city" . . . the propagandist leaflet reads: "If the population of Lou- vain . . ." Neither quotation accords with the Eng- lish text, which states, "The Germans allege that the townsfolk . . " etc. THE SECRET PRESS IN BELGIUM 47 Generally speaking, the untruthfulness of the Ger- man placards is not demonstrated, in Belgium, until long after their publication. But another of their qualities — their foolishness — strikes the Belgian reader immediately. Here, for example, is a copy of a placard which the people of Brussels read with amusement on the nth of September, 1914: News Published by the German Government. Berlin, 6th September. The Austro-Hungarian Embassy publishes the following telegram which was forwarded by the Foreign Office in Vienna : "The Russian account of the battle of Lemberg and the triumphant capture of that city is a lie. The open town of Lemberg has been abandoned by us, without fighting, for strategical and humanitarian motives." Berlin, Sth September. The Prince Imperial, who was latterly in command of a division of the Guard, with the rank of Colonel, has been promoted by the Emperor to the rank of Lieutenant-General. London, Sth September. 