Any workman working for the Germans under coercion must be maintained by the Germans entirely, without any assistance whatever from the Commission. As you know, the Press at the present moment is full of the accounts of the coercion of Belgian workmen and their deportation to the place where the Germans wish them to work. There are two points in connexion with this that you should bear in mind. First, if deportations take place, it does not matter whether they take place to Germany or to other parts of the occupied territory, since under the third rule set out above you will have no further responsibility for them.
If, therefore, deportations take place on any large scale under any general decree of the Governor-General, it will become necessary to consider whether your importations should be proportionately reduced, and as it will be impossible for us here to judge accurately the extent to which any such decrees are being enforced at any given moment, or will be enforced by the time that any one of your shipments reach the ultimate consumer in Belgium, it will become necessary for us, in order to meet the pressure of public opinion here, to make a rough general reduction in your ration probably out of all proportion to the actual number of workmen coerced.
Secondly, to judge from the Press reportsand indeed from the necessities of the situationall coercion of labor in Belgium is bound to be based upon the criterion that men who fall under your relief owing to unemployment are liable to be coerced. Now, all relief, whether in kind or in cash, given in Belgium arises from your importations and is made on your responsibility.
Therefore, this criterion amounts to a statement that a workman renders himself liable to enslavement by the mere fact of accepting relief from you. This is clearly equivalent to the use of your relief as a means of coercing workmen against their conscience, and therefore constitutes a clear and deliberate violation of the German guarantees.
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You should be guided by these considerations in dealing with this very serious and dangerous question. Among the undertakings given by His Excellency the Governor General to the Protecting Ministers is one which provides that the German authorities will not make use of the institutions of the relief work for the purpose of compelling the Belgian population to work for the service of the German Army.
Until recently this undertaking has been rigorously lived up to, both as to the wording of the undertaking, and, which is no less important, as to its intention. Recent happenings , however, give grave cause to fear that measures are under way of execution which are in open contradiction to the intention and even to the wording of the undertaking. It is common knowledge that demands are being made upon unemployed, and even employed men, to work for the German army.
The most conspicuous examples of these measures now under way of enforcement are in the Belgian Etappen, but there are in addition specific cases in the territory of the General Government, for example, in the province of Luxembourg and in the region of Tournai in the province of Hainaut. It is, of course, true that the region of Tournai has been, for purpose of military control, recently transferred from the territory of the General Government to that of the French Etappen, but for the purpose of ravitaillement this region is still attached to the General Government and is still provisioned under the general regulations and guarantees established for the territory of the General Government.
Further orders prevent the men thus thrown out of employment from being employed by private persons. These men are then invited by the German military authorities to work for them. This is a condition which, if not directly, at least indirectly, produces an infraction of the intention of the undertaking with regard to the forcing of labor. Indeed, in connection with the situation in the Luxembourg there have been numerous incidents which contravene the wording of the undertaking.
In Tournai the situation is even more serious. Direct demands have been made upon large numbers of men to take up work for the military authorities. On the refusal of these demands the men have been interned in camps, practically as prisoners, and put upon a ration of bread and water. The ration of bread has been fixed by the military authorities at grams per person per day, and it has been ordered that the relief organizations furnish this bread but may not furnish any other part of the regular ration bacon, lard, rice, peas and beans, etc.
There have been numerous instances in various parts of Belgium. There have even been arrests and deportations to Germany of the local civil authorities for refusing to give these lists. All together, the incidents and conditions which are apparent today in various parts of Belgium seem to indicate a definite purpose on the part of the military authorities to force parts of the civil population to work in the service of the German Army in contravention of the undertakings given by the Governor-General to the Protecting Ministers.
The situation is one, therefore, that calls for immediate consideration and strong protest. Reports this morning from all over the country show seizure of men right and left regardless of employment, including members of our local committees and employees. I fear it is the beginning of the end. It is worth your considering uttering a full and strong protest with all the vigor of which you are so capable.
This is a greater issue to the Belgian people than anything since the invasion and they look to you as to America for some strong action.
It may result in nothing, but it will have put the American stamp on it in indelible terms, and if we do nothing else for Belgium we will go down in a blaze of indignation at this, its worst of any trials since the first agony. Rieth called this morning regarding any suggestions I might be able to offer with regard to regulations to be put in force to ameliorate the conditions surrounding the forced labor from Belgium. The matter is now in discussion between the American Legation in Brussels and the American Embassy in Berlin and, in consequence, it would be entirely wrong of me to intervene in any way.
In consequence of the deportations from Belgium, the State Department has directed Mr. Grew is requested to inform Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg that such deportations cannot but have a most unfortunate effect on neutral opinion, particularly in the United States, which has the welfare of the Belgian civilian population very much at heart. These instructions are the outcome of a long report from Mr. Grew stating that he had discussed the situation informally and unofficially with Herr Zimmermann, who admitted that the definite policy had been adopted of enforcing the labour of Belgians in cases where they refused to work voluntarily, on the ground that so many had refused to work that the strain on public charity had become intolerable.
The deportations are viewed here not only as a violation of international law, but in a certain degree as a violation of Germany's assurances made to Mr. Gerard in June, which, though relating to the deportation of French women from Lille, Roubaix, and Turcoing, are felt to be applicable to the present case. The theory by which the Germans justified the forced labor and deportation policy was that unemployment was demoralizing the Belgian workers and hence that work even for Germany was after all for the good of the Belgians.
These raids on the personnel of the Commission and C. The Commission protested vigorously to the German authorities, but to no avail. The threats of the British to stop relief and the protests of the United States Government at Berlin were equally without effect. Etienne, and Wavre.
The taking of chomeurs continues and will probably commence in the city of Brussels this week. Thus far our cards have been respected with one exception below noted. Indeed, in Antwerp, one of our representatives succeeded in getting on the train and taking back two men who had already been passed, to the great admiration and gratitude of the Belgian people.
The exception noted is at Mons, where, on the 17th inst. I am attaching copy of a letter written to the Vermittlungsstelle, which will describe the circumstances. I have also informed the Ministers, at their meeting on Friday last, of this transaction. I do not consider this single evasion of their promise as vital, provided it does not act as a precedent. I am, however, greatly concerned regarding the statement of Dr. Bruhn, which is the subject matter of the concluding paragraph of the letter.
If this decision is adhered to, it will seriously cripple our working force, and I shall endeavor as vigorously as possible to obtain a rescission of this conclusion on the part of the authorities. I think our men have done some good work in this regard, but in future our plan is not to send them unless the arrangement is being violated, for the reason that their presence may irritate the military authorities.
The taking of chomeurs to Germany from the province of Antwerp has been going on this week. Four thousand men are called every day to present themselves at the railroad station, and of this number up to date, from the closest calculations we have been able to make, 5, have been sent to Germany.
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This is from the city of Antwerp alone and does not include the country districts. When the men present themselves at the railroad stations the Germans make every effort to induce them to sign contracts to work. Among the inducements offered is pay at the rate of 6 marks a day.
Those who do not sign but are forced to go nevertheless are told they will receive only 3 marks a day and have to work in camps.
In addition, to the men that sign they advance 20 marks if single and 40 marks if married. They are then permitted to go home for two or three days before starting. In general every pressure is brought upon the men to sign, but in most cases the Belgians have refused to do this. Those who present certificates that they are employed in general are released, but those who have no certificates are put on trains and sent to Germany.
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One hundred and three men employed in the guano factory of Ohlendorf were all sent to Germany in a block, some of the workers being fifty years old. The C. Yesterday, 14th November, I went to Court-St.
Etienne to attend the taking of Belgian men by the Germans. I was obliged to leave, by order of the captain in charge, about half or three-quarters of an hour after the beginning, but about half an hour later came back and remained till the end, except for half an hour for dinner. The men were brought in by a long path to a "filature" some distance from the town.
The women and children therefore were not present. All men who stated themselves to be sick were examined by a doctor, and a certain number were thus released. Certain ones who were sent or went to the righti. Various burgomasters and employers were present to urge special reasons for exemption, or to give assurance that certain men were actually and regularly employed.
The Germans certainly really tried to take the young and unmarried men without employment, rather, than others. They released many men who were employed in usines, and on farms, or who were small cultivateurs on their own account. But toward the end of the list, when perhaps they were afraid they would not get as many men as required, they took a number of factory workers for whom their employer, Mr. Henricot, gave assurance that they were regularly employed. When he protested to the Commissaire Civil, the latter replied that this difficulty would not have occurred if the bourgomestre had given the lists of chomeurs.
I believe certain workmen employed elsewhere were also taken. Later, after the whole process was finished, I learned that two of the De Broux workmen, who had cards from the C. I protested to the Commissaire Civil, explaining that the men worked exclusively for the Commission and had cards issued with the assent of his Government.
He said we were lucky that so few were taken, that no one is irreplaceable, and that he had no instructions concerning our cards. I am told that certain men, having obtained this stamp, went away without presenting themselves at the filature.
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The others came along with the crowd and, thanks to the stamp, were allowed to go free. A few, however, whose attention had not been drawn to the bureau in the town, failed to obtain the "cachet" and arrived without it, but still provided with their cards given by us. The officers seem to have been somewhat at a loss as to the proper procedure in such cases.
My belief isthough I have no proof as I did not see them takenthat the two men taken by the Germans were of this class. Of these two men, one was later released, so that the final result was that only one of De Broux's laborers, out of about ninety-six who presented themselves, was taken. As far as I know, no member of a local committee who had received one of our cards was taken. Conclusion: Orders had apparently been given to the Kreischef that our cards were to be respected, but they had not been communicated to the officers making the actual selection of men.
These officers tried to choose primarily the men without work, and the young men without families to support. But they did not confine themselves strictly to these. In certain instances they took men concerning whom they had the positive assurance of their employers that they were working regularly. The decisions in these matters seemed more or less arbitrary, as certain laborers would be allowed to pass and others, for whom the employer made an equally positive statement that they were working regularly, were taken. My impression is that the officers had orders to take so many,, I believemen, and that when they thought too many were being let off, and that there might be difficulty in completing the number, they felt obliged to take a larger proportion of those who presented themselves, workers or not.
Leaving Brussels very early in the morning, I arrived at Wavre before the gates of the city were closed to outsiders and before the requisition began; by means of the automobile pass and my personal card as delegate of the C. Every approach to this square was crowded with men, women, and children, the men from neighboring communes waiting at different entrances the turn of their commune and held back in the meantime by lines of soldiers.
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Arriving at the square, after some difficulty, I found Mr. Francq, one of the regional controllers. From them, and by personal investigation, I learned that the cards which we have issued were actually in the hands of those who were entitled to them, i.