There is _one_--only one--reform that they will
appreciate; the German evacuation. All the rest does not count. When
the Germans speak of cleaning the country, the Belgians do not
understand. From their point of view, there is only one way to clean
it--and that is for the Germans to clear out.
"The Germans are very disappointed that a certain number of Belgians
have been able to escape, either to enlist in the Belgian army or to
live abroad. Of course, the more Belgians are in their hands, the more
pressure they can exert. They are now slandering the Belgians who have
left their country--all the 'rich' people who are 'feasting' abroad
while their countrymen are starving.
"The fewer Belgians there are in German hands, the better it is. The
Belgians whose ability is the most useful, are considered useful by the
Germans for the latter's sake. Must it not be a terrible source of
anxiety for these Belgians to think that all the work they manage to do
is directly or indirectly done for Germany? It is not astonishing that
she wants to restore 'business, as usual' in Belgium, and that in many
cases she has tried to force the Belgian workers to earn for her. Let
me simply refer to the protest recently published by the Belgian
Legation. But for the American Commission for Relief, the Belgians would
have had to choose between starvation and work--work for
Germany--starvation or treason.
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