ORGANISED SLAVERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16833, 25 April 1918, Page 3

ORGANISED SLAVERY.

BRUTAL GERMAN MASTERS. PLIGHT OF FRENCH PEOPLE. Fbou a trustworthy Belgian citizen, who recently reached London from the German Army zone of Valenciennes, in Northern France, was received an account of the terrible conditions existing in the occupied provinces, which no one is allowed to enter or leave, and whence news scarcely ever reaches England. The escaped Belgian, wan and emaciated, and still bearing truces of a heavy blow on the jaw from the butt-end of a German rifle, which resulted in his teeth being knocked out, made his statement with great difficulty. " When 1 left St. Amand, Northern France, a few weeks ago," he said, " the conditions had become unbearable. The Germans have organised slavery in the army zone. All the men from 17 to 50 had been taken away. Some were sent to Douai to work on a railway line, others to Alsace. The unmarried women undjr 40 are obliged to work in the fields, ai;d even the little girls, from 12 to 14, are prevented from going to school and sent to collect acorns and nettles. Everywhere you meet civil prisoners or deportees under the guard of German sentries. Those of Lille are making concrete at Mortagne, and wear a yellow brassard; those of Valenciennes wear a red brassard. If you refuse to work you are first condemned to pay a fine. If you cannot, or will not, do this, you are shut up in the cell of the prison until the fine is paid or your time is up. If you refuse a second time, then you are sent to Germany— and- one seldom comes back alive from Germany. " Besides the civil prisoners, the Germans have brought behind their lines a great number of prisoners of war, whom they compel to work under terrible circumstance.;. There were 80 English and 60 French at M-jrtagne, and 200 English at St. Amand. The English were specially badly treated, and they were all in want of food. We had also some Russians. Their sufferings were ?o ternblo th"at some of us decided to take them some food, though, God kiKws. ve had scarcely enough for ourselves. I took a. bundle" in my hand, and, at nightfall tried to throw it over tie fence of their cage. A sentry saw me, quite a young felbw, and asked me what my business was t'.ere. When I told him, he gave me such a blow on the mouth with the butt of his rifle that 1 lent all my teeth. Yes," he grinned, showing his toothless gums, and producing his teeth from his pocket, " that was last May. " All along the Franco-Belgian frontier are posts of sentries, who shoot at sisjht anybody attempting to cross the line. This has been the cause of many tragedies. On the same day, at a place called Maulde, two Belgians, one the father of four children, the other the father of six children, were killed in this way. The first one was not dead, so they finished him with the butts of their rifles'. Not far from there, a eirl of 13, an orphan, who was lookin? after two small children, was killed without warning, as she was trying to cij<s the frontier in order to fetch 8»"« bread from a village near by. All these facts are well known in the region. I could give you the dates and the names of the people, but it might do a great deal of harm without adding mythinc; to thin statement. Besides, these are only a few examples to show you the kind of life we lead over there. Wherever you turn vour eyes, it is everywhere the sa:ne of starvation, slavery, find untold brutality."