uble began in April and May, 1915, in Luttre, at the
Malines arsenal, and in several other Flemish towns, when the German
authorities exerted every possible pressure to compel the Belgian
workmen to resume work. They were brought, under military escort, to
their workshops, imprisoned, starved, and about two hundred of them were
deported to Germany, where they were submitted to the most cruel
tortures. (See the _Nineteenth Report of the Belgian Commission of
Enquiry_.) The threats and persecutions are sufficiently established by
three placards issued by the German authorities.

The first one, posted on the walls of Pont-a-Celles, near Luttre, says,
among other things: "If the workmen accept the above conditions (that is
to say, resume work with handsome wages) _the prisoners will be
released_...." The "prisoners" being several hundred workers who had
been imprisoned in their shops and deprived of food. (April, 1915.)

The second, _signed von Bissing_ (so that nobody could imagine that
these measures were taken by some too zealous subaltern) and posted in
Malines, on the 30th of May, tells us that "_the town of Malines must be
punished as long as the required number of workmen have not resumed
work_." These workmen were employed by the Belgian State--which owns the
country's railway--for the repair of the rolling stock. When they had
refused to resume work, at the beginning of the occupation, a few
hundred German workmen had filled their posts. These had been sent back
to their military depots. The patriotic duty of these Belgians was
evident enough: by resuming their work, they released German soldiers
for the front and increased the number of coaches and engines, of which
the enemy was in great need for the transport of troops. If you will
compare this poster with the one printed above and dated July 25th, you
will be confronted with one of the neatest examples of German duplicity.
Other people have broken their promises after making them. It was left
to Governor von Bissing to make them after breaking them.

The third document is still more conclusive. On June the 16th the
citizens of Ghent could read on their walls that: "The attitude of
certain factories which refuse _to work for the German Army_ under the
pretext of patriotism proves that a movement is afoot to create
difficulties for the _German Army_. If such an attitude is maintained I
will hold the communal authorities responsible and the population will
have