FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126  
127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   >>   >|  
pudiated or ignored. "Two things it should teach England," said this journal; "never to invite insult and contempt by a repetition of Sunday's Disarmament Demonstration or enunciation of its fallacious and dangerous teaching; and the necessity for paying instant heed to the warnings of the advocates of universal military training for purposes of home defence." But at that time the nicknames of the "The Imperialist Banner" and "The Patriotic Pulpit," applied by various writers and others to this great newspaper, were scornful names, applied with opprobrious intent; and London was still full of people whose only comment upon this sufficiently badly-needed warning would be: "Oh, of course, the _Standard_!" But the policy of reticence, though I have no doubt that it did save London from some terrible scenes of panic, was not to be tenable for many hours. Within half an hour of noon special editions of a halfpenny morning paper, and an evening paper belonging to the same proprietors, were issued simultaneously with a full, sensational, and quite unreserved statement of all the news obtainable from East Anglia. A number of motor-cyclists had been employed in the quest of intelligence, and one item of the news they had to tell was that Colchester had offered resistance to the invaders, and as a result had been shelled and burned to the ground. A number of volunteers and other civilians had been found bearing arms, and had been tried by drum-head court martial and shot within the hour, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the German forces. Another sensational item was a copy of a proclamation issued by the German Commander-in-Chief. This proclamation was dated from Ipswich, and I think it struck more terror into the people than any other single item of intelligence published during that eventful day. It was headed with the Imperial German Arms, and announced the establishment of German military jurisdiction in England. It announced that the penalty of immediate death would be inflicted without any exception upon any British subject not wearing and being entitled to wear British military uniform who should be found: 1. Taking arms against the invaders. 2. Misleading German troops. 3. Injuring in any manner whatever any German subject. 4. Injuring any road, rail, or waterway, or means of communication. 5. Offering resistance of any kind whatsoever to the advance and occupation of the German Army. Then fol
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126  
127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
German
 

military

 

announced

 

Commander

 

applied

 
subject
 
British
 

England

 
proclamation
 

intelligence


people

 

London

 
sensational
 

invaders

 
Injuring
 

number

 
issued
 
resistance
 

offered

 

result


Another

 

forces

 

burned

 

Colchester

 

civilians

 

bearing

 

Ipswich

 

ground

 

volunteers

 

martial


shelled

 
eventful
 

manner

 

troops

 

Misleading

 
Taking
 

waterway

 
occupation
 

advance

 
whatsoever

communication
 

Offering

 
uniform
 
published
 

headed

 

single

 
struck
 

terror

 
Imperial
 

exception