nt calumnies opposed to it by the
German Government and the Pro-German Press. Besides, in a way, the
atrocities committed during the last days of August, 1914, ought not to
be considered as the culminating point of Belgium's martyrdom. They
have, of course, appealed to the imagination of the masses, they have
filled the world with horror and indignation, but they did not extend
all over the country, as the present oppression does; they only affected
a few thousand men and women, instead of involving hundreds of
thousands. They were clean wounds wrought by iron and fire, sudden,
brutal blows struck at the heart of the country, wounds and blows from
which it is possible to recover quickly, from which reaction is
possible, which do not affect the soul and honour of a people. The
military executioners of 1914 were compassionate when compared to the
civilian administrators who succeeded them. The pen may be more cruel
than the sword. Considered in the light of the recent deportations, the
first days of frightfulness seem almost merciful.

Observers have found no words strong enough to praise the attitude of
the Belgian people when victory seemed close at hand, when news was
still allowed to reach them. What should be said now after the
twenty-seven months for which they have been completely isolated from
the rest of the world? The ruthless methods of the German army of
invasion which deliberately massacred 5,000 unarmed civilians and sacked
six or seven towns and many more villages has been vehemently condemned.
What is to be the verdict now that they have succeeded, after two years
of efforts, in sacking the whole country, ruining her industry and
commerce, throwing out of employment her best workmen and leading into
slavery tens of thousands of her staunchest patriots? The horrors of
Louvain and Dinant were compared, with some reason, to the excesses of
the Thirty Years War, but modern history offers no other instance of
forced labour and wholesale deportations. If, fifty years ago, the
conscience of the world revolted against black slavery, what should its
feelings be today when it is confronted with this new and most appalling
form of white slavery? We should in vain ransack the chronicles of
history to find, even in ancient times, crimes similar to this one. For
the Jews were at war with Babylon, the Gauls were at war with Rome.
Belgium did not wage war against Germany. She merely refused to betray
her honour.