August z, iyi7 
L<i^iN Lf oc w j\i. nrv 
^/ 
Cbe iHark of tlje iieast 
" He that leadeth into Captivity shall go into Captivity ; he that killeth 
with the Sword mnst be killed with the Sword — Rev., Chap. XIII. v. lo. 
MUCH has been written concerning the terrors 
and brutalities of the occupation of invaded 
territories by German Armies, but nothing will 
bring home so impressively the reality of this 
horrible aspect of war as it is waged by the Teuton like 
the following official Proclamations. Let any British 
householder ask himself .what would be his feelings, had 
the document printed below been left at his door by a 
squad of Hun soldiery under a Prussian Non-commissioned 
officer ? And most assuredly this would have happened 
if a German Army Corps had made good its landing on 
these shores, which was quite within the possibilities of 
this war at one time. This return was, of course, drafted 
in Berlin, long before the war li(?gan. Regard its 
thoroughness; there is nothing in a home, be it castle or 
cottage, which makes life pleasant or even endurable 
which is omitted from it. This return has to be filled 
up " without any omission or dissimulation." And it 
concludes with this ominous sentence : ' ' The German 
military authority reserves to itself the right to verify the 
correctness of the above declaration." It is obvious 
this return was prepared by the German War Office 
in order to simplify and also justify looting. And we 
know the extent to which it has been acted on. 
Tlirough all these official documents, even the mildest 
of them, there runs that tone of cold-blooded cruelty, 
which is always and ever the mark of the bully. At the 
bottom of page 32 there is the proclamation issued at 
Charleroi in September 1914- It begins correctly 
enough : " The people of the town are from this day 
under the authority and protection of the German Army." 
The orders and restrictions are reasonable in war time 
until we come to the fourth paragraph : 
At night the inhabitants must keep a light in the rooms 
overlooking the street and the doors of every house are to 
be always open in order to give the authorities of the 
Imperial German Army free access to the habitations. 
This, so to speak, is a standardised clause, for it appears 
in almost every German proclamation to invaded towns. 
It was premeditated in peace time. Its effect in war was 
clearly seen by those responsible for it. Its true object is 
not to protect the Imperial German Armies, but to place 
the women of the invaded towns at the disposal of the 
German soldiery. There was no pretence about it in 
practice. The purpose of war must ever be to destroy : 
but to defile is only the practice of barbarians at war. 
There must be personal punishment for these gross and 
deUberate crimes. 
From a historical point of view, the two most interesting 
documents in this budget are General von Emmich's 
original proclamation to the people of Belgium (p. 28) and 
the proclamation by General von Bissing, Governor of 
Brussels, announcing the death sentence of Miss Edith 
Cavell (p. 33). It will be noticed that in the latter it is 
distinctly stated that Miss Cavell and M. Bancq had been 
killed before the proclamation was issued. Four persons 
(two men and two women) were condemned to fifteen years' 
penal servitude, and seventeen others to varying periods of 
penal servitude. It will be the duty of the Allies to rescue 
these and other inhabitants of occupied territory, who have 
been sentenced to periods of imprisonment. 
The series of proclamations issued at Luneville at the 
beginning of the war form an instructive comparison. Here, 
again, the bully starts off by assuming a mild tone. The 
first proclamation dated A'ugust 28th, 1914 (p. 30), 
certainly begins with a series of falsehoods, but afterwards 
in bolder tj'pe, the German General Goeringer appeals for 
good order in the town and a return to normal life. He 
states expressly that " the German army makes war on 
soldiers and not on French citizens. He guarantees to the 
inhabitants complete security of their persons and their 
goods." No exception can be taken to the orders, penal- 
ties and restrictions that follow. They are severe, but 
reasonable under the conditions. But contrast with this 
proclamation the requisition order issued less than ten 
days later by General von Fasbender, of the Bavarian army. 
What guarantee for their goods have the inhabitants of 
Luneville in face of this brutal demand. Everything, it 
will be noticed, is to be of the first quality, otherwise the 
whole township is to suffer. Read also the notice issued 
by the Mayor of Luneville, evidently under German dictation. 
Lastly, we come to the Lille proclamations of last year. 
The first one (top p. 34) suggests that the German 
authorities are sincerely soUcitous for the well-being of the 
peoples of Lille. One might assume that the order, harsh 
though it be on the face of it, was forced by circumstances 
on the military authorities. But glance lower down the page 
and you will see that this is not in the least the intention 
in the German mind. An hour and a half is the extreme 
limit of time permitted to these wretched people to prepare 
themselves to go unto captivity. The annals of war from 
the most remote ages can show no more callous and total 
disregard of human rights and needs. There is no question 
that the former proclamation was issued as a bUnd to the 
latter. Should victory rest with Germany, the latter would 
be denied or discredited, and only the former would be 
acknowledged by them 
In publishing these original documents, for the French 
text in every case is an exact photographic reproduction 
of the actual Order printed and issued bj^ the German 
Commanders, Land & Water believes it is rendering a 
public service. It places on record indisputable testimony 
of German official crime, cruelty and injustice in the 
districts which Germany's armies have invaded. 
M- 
_, rue. 
, n° 
Hommea. 
ComposItioB dia la famille { Femmas . 
Enfants - 
Je, soussign6, declare i I'Auloritd allemande avoir en ma possession les denr6ea suivantes, sans aucune .omission ni 
dissimulation- < 
Cette feutlle qui est remise aux habitants par MM. les Officiers de police, devra dtre remise directement, le 12 septembre 1914, 
fc 2 beures de I'apres-midi, & M. le Maire KELLER, 3, place de I'Eglise. 
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L'.\utorite militaire allemande se reserve le droit de (aire v^rilier I'exactitude de lit declaration ei-dessus. 
Das Etappen Kom.mando 
