burg also occurred in
other Russian cities; we shall soon know.

There are a great many complaints against the French and the Belgians.
On the evening of Aug. 1 the mobilization was announced, and the next
morning the official order was posted on the walls, that within
twenty-four hours from the beginning of that day all Germans and
Austrians, irrespective of sex, age or profession, would have to leave
France. Those who remained and could not reach the boundary would be
taken to the southwestern part of the country and imprisoned. There were
few trains for Belgium or Switzerland. Thousands and thousands who had
to abandon their property rushed to the stations with wife and children,
fought for room in the overcrowded trains, surrounded by a howling mob,
and even then were punched and slapped by policemen. During the trip
there was nothing but misery. Men and women fell ill, children died. The
refugees had to cross the Belgian boundary, walking a distance of six or
seven kilometers in the middle of the night, dead tired, their luggage
stolen--sometimes, it is said, by officials. In Belgium the same tragedy
occurred as in France. And then came the salvation. The cordial,
hospitable reception by the Germans in Holland and Switzerland is
unanimously praised and appreciated.

The reports of brutal acts from Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, would be
incredible were they not confirmed hundredfold. The most brutal and
insulting threats of death were flung by processions of people going
through the streets to all those who looked like foreigners. They were
severely ill-treated. Houses and stores were upset, furniture and the
like were thrown into the streets, employers and working people were
dragged out, women were stripped and pushed through the streets,
children were thrown out of windows. Knives, swords, sticks and
revolvers were used. One could fill books with the details, but they are
all equally cruel. Not only Germans and Austrians were expelled
and ill-treated, but citizens of neutral States shared this awful lot.
Thousands of Italians were expelled, as well as numerous Rumanians. The
press in both countries complains bitterly and asks what has become of
those who remained in France and were imprisoned in the south--but
nobody knows.

History will place this ill-treatment and oppression of foreigners on
record. The responsibility rests, not with an uncontrollable mob, but
with the Government and the authorities of the two c