UNDER THE HEEL OF THE CONQUEROR.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16463, 16 June 1919, Page 5

UNDER THE HEEL OF THE CONQUEROR.

CNREPENTENT GERMANY. ‘■TAMENESS” OF THE BOSCHE. It would bo impossible to find an in'vading army who, bear themselves more imodestly than do the British in their 'area of occupation in Germany, says the Right Rev. Bishop Frodsham, in an article in the Cornhill. It would be difficult to imagine an invaded people who appear more satisfied 1 to lie quietly under the conqueror’s he'd. "When our advance guards marched across the Belgian frontier they shouted fiercely to every German who appeared in his doorway to go in, and he obeyed. If they had. been met even by sulky opposition the British invaders might have borne themselves as truculently in the. streets as they did in the trenches. The German, however, bowed his head as a bulrush, and lo! the dreaded army of occupation became like an organised crowd of tourists. Guards and Highlanders, Canadians and New Zealanders, officers and men from almost every regiment in the British Isles, jostled one another in the streets of. Cologne ‘‘for to adfnire an’ for to see.” The shopkeepers rose to the situation, and in consequence they aro reaping a rich harvest. Consequential .civil servants in German uniforms, policemen and such like, salute the passing British officer with due form and solemnity, while the burghers and their wives go about their lawful occasions until nine at night, when they are forced to retire to their homes, as though there were no British army in their midst. This, on the surface, Is Germany under the conqueror’s heel. Is it the real Germany?

A NEW ZEALAND EPISODE. It is ridiculous to talk of tho Rhinelanders as displaying “indescribable dejection,” or of their being “utterly broken bj’ defeat.” They are nothing of tho sort. They are not repentant for the past, although they regret the failure. They are not dissatisfied with tho present, except as a temporary annoyance. ' And they are not pessimistic about the future. Let any man who imagines otherwise converse freely with Germans, and he will soon be converted. Not much can be gathered from chance conversation in public places. The Germans are learning that it is unsafe to rely upon the lingual ignorance, even, of the British soldier. One truculent young Gorman, who was annoyed by the presence of some soldiers (who travel free on tho Cologne trams) commented to a friend disparagingly upon their personal appearance. A New Zealander who was standing by him on tho tram platform understood him, and showed his resentment by ejecting from the car the critic, who fell upon Isis head and was taken to the hospital to ruminate upon his indiscretion. Tho judgment of the A.PAI. who told me of the occurrence was similar to the celebrated verdict recorded by a Welsh jury on the death of Mrs. Winifred Price: “Wo find, sarve her right!” None the less the gloomy eyes of tbe people in the trams, eyes which arc steady enough in their way, display neither consciousness of defeat nor true friendliness.

SOLDIER. QUICKLY FORGETS. It is hard to believe that the country folk are quite false in their offers of friendship and help. It would be difficult to persuade the British soldiers that such is the case. There are some grimfaced men, who have been in the war from the beginning, who despise the Bosch for his “tameness,” and who frankly regret that they cannot do unto him in Germany what he did to others in France and Belgium—saving such things as the English never do. Tho majority in the army of occupation, however, have no deep-rooted animosity against the Germans. The soldier quickly forgets, or he has no desire to remember. An ever-increasing number ot men never saw the German atrocities upon the civilian population in Belgium, nor the wanton destruction of French hearths and homes.

Regulations against fraternising with the enemy are strict. It must be assumed that they are obeyed, at least in the streets and public places. But regulations or no regulations, it is difficult for an English officer to be brusque or rude, for instance, to the people upon whom he is billeted who go out of their way to forestall his wishes and do him service. PROBLEM OF THE WOMEN. As every soldier knows, women are the perplexing quantities in warfare. Roughly speaking, they may bo divided into two classes —the hopelessly irreconcilable, and the still nior© hopelessly fraternising. If the army of occupation had been Amazons, the whole situation might be changed. The irreconcilable women of Germany relievo their feelings by acting as rudely as they dare to the soldiers billeted upon them. Curiously enough, although the soldiers may swear with fervour and endeavour with more or less success to circumvent their curmudgeonly schemes, they bear no resentment against the women. On the contrary they feel a certain respect, based upon the firm belief that English and Scottish women', if the circumstances were reversed, would be still more irreconcilable. “My old woman would have given them Germans socks if they’d coomed into her back kitchen,” remarked -on© of the K.0.Y.L.1. to a younger comrade, who was seeking sympathy for his ejection from that citadel of women’s rights. So far as the authorities are concerned, they are not disturbed with the irreconcilahles. It is the friendly woman who gives them trouble, and particularly those of a notorious class, who are a curse to friend and foe. There is grave reason for fearing that this class are being used deliberately by the Germans, as Bolshevist agitators may he used, for damaging the efficiency of the British Army, AN AMUSING CASE.

In exceptional cases where there has been robbery under arms, the punishments inflicted upon the British by the military courts have been very heavy. One amusing case of theft in which the , punishment fitted the crime came under my notice. A sapper complained to his O.C. that a parcel he had received that morning from home had been opened, and some cakes and a bottle of sugarcoated cascara pills had been removed. The owner of the billet, a stout baker, was_ promptly interrogated officially. He denied with tears all knowledge of the theft. His wife, also with tears, affirmed her innocence. The five children howled out their ignorance of all matters connected with the parcel. Then it was remembered that a neighbour’s son had been in the house, and a tow-headed small boy was produced. Did he know anything about the matter? Yes, the boy acknowledged the cakes big and little by him eaten had been. Did l he know anything about the medicine? No, ho had seen no medicine, but a bottle f°f confectioneries undoubtedly, bo had

seen and also eaten. Had he eaten all? Yes, ho had all consumed —and he was ( not feeling well! ! The distribution of food in Germany i has been notoriously unequal. The rich j could always procure more .than their ! share, cither in the shops or by illicit visits into the country. The same conditions prerail to-day. In brief, the food shortage in the occupied area is

probably no greater to-day than it was in England a year ago, but the method of distribution is much lesfs*-efficient. 5 * - efficient. This will account for cases of emaciation which undoubtedly can be seen here and there. GERMANS SUFFERING NOTHING. The state of Germany to-day may well puzzle the wisest in our midst. From

what I hare seen, 1 do not believe that the people are repentant for the wrongs they have done to Franco and Belgium. Neither dot they show much consciousness of defeat. Belgium and 1 Prance are still prostrate on’ the ground, although the heel of a brutal.and remorseless invader has been removed. In some strange fashion it is like awakening from a. bad dream to go into Germany from the war zone. Compared with the injuries they have done to others, the Germans are suffering nothing, and bocause they are suffering nothing they are neither sorry for the past nor desirous to ameneji in the future. It may he impossible in practice to alter this state of affairs, hut it will be unutterably base and' unjust if Germany is allowed to profit by the injuries it has wantonly and -deliberately done to French industries by getting away with the goods. ,