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"1683-1920": The Fourteen Points and What Became of Them—Foreign Propaganda in the Public Schools—Rewriting the History of the United States—The Espionage Act and How It Worked—"Illegal and Indefensible Blockade" of the Central Powers—1,000,000 Victims of Starvation—Our Debt to France and to Germany—The War Vote in Congress—Truth About the Belgian Atrocities—Our Treaty with Germany and How Observed—The Alien Property Custodianship—Secret Will of Cecil Rhodes—Racial Strains in American Life—GermaSchrader, Frederick Franklin

History

"1683-1920": The Fourteen Points and What Became of Them—Foreign Propaganda in the Public Schools—Rewriting the History of the United States—The Espionage Act and How It Worked—"Illegal and Indefensible Blockade" of the Central Powers—1,000,000 Victims of Starvation—Our Debt to France and to Germany—The War Vote in Congress—Truth About the Belgian Atrocities—Our Treaty with Germany and How Observed—The Alien Property Custodianship—Secret Will of Cecil Rhodes—Racial Strains in American Life—Germa

Schrader, Frederick Franklin

Germans -- United States; World War, 1914-1918 -- Miscellanea

A highly important witness in this connection is Emily Hobhouse,
the well-known English philanthropist and writer. In October, 1916,
Miss Hobhouse wrote an article for a British periodical, giving her
impressions of her visit to Belgium. She emphasized her astonishment
at seeing so little of the terrible devastation which she had been
led, by English newspaper reports, to expect. From her experience
in the South African war she was well aware that soldiers rule with
fire and sword, but she found nothing in Belgium to compare with the
devastation of South Africa. While but 15,000 houses out of a total
of 2,000,000 had been destroyed in Belgium, the houses of 30,000
farmers had been destroyed in the Boer war out of a relatively much
smaller total, and whole cities and towns with their schools and
churches had been made level with the ground. Even in cities like
Liege and Antwerp, where the fighting had been fierce, she could
discover no evidence of any extraordinary destructiveness on the part
of the Germans, and the conditions in Louvain, which she had pictured
as a place of ruins, fairly astounded her.

In May, 1915, on his return from Europe, Ex-Mayor and
Ex-Representative McClellan of New York, gave out a statement
correcting the view so prevalent in American circles that Belgium was
devastated.

The following correspondence will speak for itself:

    Rev. J. F. Matthews, Glossop Road Baptist Church, Sheffield.

    Dear Sir:--A correspondent informs us that on Sunday
    morning you stated in the course of a sermon delivered in
    Wash Lane Church, Latchford, Washington, that there is a
    Belgian girl in Sheffield with her nose cut off and her
    stomach ripped open by the Germans and that she is still
    living and getting better. I am anxious to investigate
    stories of German atrocities and should be grateful if you
    could send particulars to me by which your statement could
    be authenticated. Faithfully yours,

                                    A. FENNER BROCKWAY,
                                    Editor of “Labor Leader.”

    The Editor the “Labor Leader.”

    Dear Mr. Brockway: I enclose our consul’s letter, which I
    have just received. I am writing a letter to my old church
    at Latchford, to be read on Sunday next, contradicting
    the story which I told on what seemed to be unimpeachable
    authority. I am glad I did not give the whole alleged facts
    as they were given to me. With many thanks for your note
    and inquiry, I am, yours sincerely,

                                        JOHN FRANCIS MATTHEWS,
    March 12, 1915.
                            (Enclosure.)

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