Okeene Eagle. (Okeene, Okla.), Vol. 24, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 27, 1917 Page: 2 of 8
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“HUNS” SCORNED
t LAW Of NATIONS
Use of Civilians as Hostages and
for Screens Part of
devilish System.
FIRST MADE USE OF IN 1870
At That Tima It Was Condemned by
the Civilized World, but the Ger-
man Military Leader* Have
Never Abandoned IL
Ample proof that the march of the
German armies through Belgium
was marked by massacres and cru-
elties almost beyond belief is given
in a document made ,public by the
committee on public information,
from which the following is taken:
The massacres In Belgium and
northern France were a part of the
German system of frightfulness. An-
other feature of this system was the
use of civilians as hostages and for
screens.
In discussing the use of hostages the
German War Book (Kriegsbrauch 1m
Landkriege) says:
“A new application of ‘hostage right’
was practiced by the German staff in
the War of 1870, when it compelled
leading citizens from French towns
and villages to accompany trains and
locomotives in order to protect the
railway communications which were
threatened by the people. Since the
lives of peaceable Inhabitants were,
without any fault on their part, there-
by exposed to grave danger, every
writer outside Germany has stigma-
tized this measure as contrary to the
law of nations and as unjustified to-
wards the inhabitants of the country.”
Clung to Frlghtfulne**.
Although their deeds in the Franco-
Prusslan war had been universally
condemned, as they themselves admit-
ted, the leaders did not intend to
abandon such a useful measure of
frightfulness. In L’Interprete Mlli-
taire the forms were provided for such
acts in the next war. Both In Belgium
and In France the Germans have con-
stantly used hostages. The evidence
Is contained in the proclamations of
the governing authorities and also in
the diaries of the German soldiers. A
few examples from these will illus-
trate the system which was employed.
A specimen of the arbitrariness and
Cruelty is furnished by the proclama-
tion of Major Dleckmann, from which
the following sections are presented:
“After 9 a. m. on the 7th Septem-
ber, I will permit the houses In Beyne-
Heusay, Grivegnee, and Bois-de-Breux
to be inhabited by the persons who
lived in them formerly, as long as
these persons are not forbidden to fre-
quent these localities by official pro-
hibition.
Prominent People Hostage*.
“In order to be sure that the above-
mentioned permit will not be abused,
the burgomasters of Beyne-Heusay and
of Grivegnee must immediately pre-
pare lists of prominent persons who
will be held as hostages for 24 hours
each at Fort Fleron. September 6,
1914, for the first time (the period of
detention shall be) from 6 p. m. until
September 7 at midday.
{ “The life of these hostages depends
on the population of the above-men-
tioned commune* remaining quiet un-
der all circumstances.
‘ “During the night It is severely for-
bidden to show any luminous signals,
bicycles are permitted only between 7
a. m. and 5 p. m. (German time).
* “From the list which is submitted to
me I shall designate prominent per-
sons who shall be hostages from noon
of one day until the following midday.
If the substitute is not there in due
time, the hostage must remain anoth-
er 24 hours at the fort. After these
24 hours the hostage will Incur the
penalty of death, if the substitute falls
to appear.
“Priests, burgoumsters. and the oth-
er members of the council are to be
taken first as hostages.
"I Insist that all civilians who move
about in my district . . . show
their respect to the German officers by
taking off their hats, or lifting their
hands to their heads in military salute.
In case of doubt, every German sol-
dier must be saluted. Anyone who
does not do this must expect the Ger-
man military to make themselves re-
spected by every means.”
This is an Invitation to a service in
memory of 60 men and women from
one parish, of whom all but two were
killed by the Germans in the massacre
®f August 5 and 6, 1914. The closing
•entences are:
“Gentle Heart of Mary, be my
refuge.
“Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for ns.
“St. Joseph, patron of Belgian, pray
for us.
“St. Hardelln, patron of the parish,
pray for us.
“Salnte Rarbe. patroness of kindly
death, pray for us.”
After rending such ghastly accounts,
many of them written by Germnn eye-
witnesses, nnd knowing that similar
tales were published widely In the
Germnn newspapers, It is difficult to
read with patience such words a*
these:
“The German army (in which I of
course include the navy) is today the
greatest institute for moral education
In the world.”
“The German soldiers alone are
thoroughly disciplined, and have never
so much as hurt a hair of a single In-
nocent human being.”—Houston Stew-
art Chamberlain, in Krlegsaufsdtze,
“War Essays,” 1914.
“We see everywhere how our sol-
diers respect the sacred defenseless-
ness of woman and child.”—Prof. G.
Roethe, in Deutsche Reden in Schwerer
Zeit, “German Speeches in Difficult
Days.”
Hostages' Live* Hung by Thread.
“In order to insure sufficiently the
safety of our troops and the tranquil-
ity of the population of Reims, the
persons mentioned have been seized
ns hostages by the commander of the
German army. These hostages will
be shot if there is the least disorder.
On the other hand, if the town re-
mains perfectly calm and quiet these
hostages and Inhabitants will be
placed under the protection of the
German army.
“TnE GENERAL COMMANDING.
“Reims, 12th September, 1914.”
Beneath this proclamation there
were posted the names of 81 hostages
and a statement that others had also
been seized as hostages. The lives of
all these men depended in reality
upon the Interpretation which the Ger-
man military authorities might give to
the elastic phrase, “the least disorder,”
in the proclamation.
Hugh Gibson, in a Journal from our
Legation in Belgium, page 184, explains
what was likely to happen:
“Another thing is, that on entering
a town, they hold the burgomaster, the
procureur du roi, and other authorities
as hostnges to Insure good behavior by
the population. Of course, the hood-
lum class would like nothing better
than to see their natural enemies, the
defenders of law and order, ignomlnl-
ously shot, and they do not restrain
themselves a bit on account of the
hostages.”
Diary of Bombardier Wetzel.
“Aug. 8th. First fight and set fire
to several villages.
“Aug. 9th. Returned to old quar-
ters; there we searched all the houses
nnd shot the mayor and shot one man
down from the chimney pot, and then
we again set fire to the village.
“On the 18th August Letalle (?) cap-
tured 10 men with three priests be-
cause they have shot down from the
church tower. They were brought Into
the village of Ste. Marie.
“Oct. 5th. We were in quarters In
the evening at Willekamm. Lieutenant
Radfels was quartered in the mayor’s
house and there had two prisoners
(tied together) on a short whip, and In
case anything happened they were to
be killed.
“Oct. 11th. We had no fight, but we
caught about 20 men and shot them.
(From the dairy of Bombardier Wetzel,
Second Mounted Battery. First Kur-
hessian Field Artillery, Regiment No.
11.)”
The Germans also found it con-
venient on many occasions to secure
civilian*, both men and women, who
could be forced to march or stand in
front of the troops, so that the country-
men of the civilians would be com-
pelled first to kill their own people if
they resisted the Germans. This
usage is illustrated in the following:
Letter of Lieutenant Eberleln.
“October 7, 1914.
“But we arrested three other civil-
ians, and then I had a brilliant idea.a
We gave them chairs, and we then or-
dered them to go and sit out in tfie
middle of the street On their fiart,
pitiful entreaties; on ours, a few blow*
from the butt end of the rifle. Little
by little one becomes terribly callous
at this business. At last they were
all seated outside In the street I do
not know what anguished prayers they
may have said but I noticed that their
hands were convulsively clasped the
whole time. I pitied these fellows, but
the method was Immediately effective.
“The Bank fire from the houses
quickly diminished, so that we were
able to occupy the opposite house and
thus to dominate the principal street.
Every living being who showed himself
in the street was shot The artillery
on its side had done good work all this
time, and when, toward seven o’clock
in the evening, the brigade advanced
to the assault to relieve us I was in
a position to report that Saint Die
had been cleared o* the enemy.
“Later on I learned that the regl
ment of reserve which entered Saint
Die further to the north had tried the
same experiment. The four civilian?
whom they had compelled in the same
way to sit out in the street werr
killed by French bullets. I myself saw
them lying in the middle of the street
near the hospital.
“A. EBERLEIN.
“First Lieutenant”
I Letter published on the 7th October
i 1914. In the Vornbendblatt of tl*«
J Munchner Neueste Nachrichten.
MORE OF LUXBURG MESSA6ES
THE GERMAN MINISTER WAS
SOME LITTLE PLANNER
Had a Great Little Scheme To Com*
bine All South America Agalnat
The United Statee.
Washington.—Evidence of a German
plot to align the nations of South
America against the United States if
revealed in telegrams sent to Berlin
by the notorious Count Luxburg, form*
er German charge in Argentina, made
public by the state department
In one of the messages, of which
there are some forty, Luxburg reporta
he induced President Irlgoyen of Ar-
gentina, to enter into a secret agree-
ment with Chile and Bolivia, a "mutual
approachment for protection versus
North America,” and did his utmost1
to have Peru included in such agree*
ment.
Translations of the dispatches were
given out by the state department in
agreement with the Argentine min*
ister of foreign affairs, who in an ao*
companying statement gave general
denial to Luxburg’s account of the ne-
gotiation with his government.
The new disclosures complete the
story of Luxburg’s intrigues which be-
gan when the state department gave
out the famous “spurlos versenkt”
(sink without a trace) messages.
They are of importance chiefly because
of their bearing upon various hereto*
fore unexplained activities in South
America.
Count Luxburg still is in Argentina,
although safe conduct was obtained
for him long ago and there have been
frequent announcements of his plans
for sailing for a north European neu-
tral country. The last report received
here concerning him said he was un-
dergoing treatment in a sanitarium for
a nervous disorder. For a time he was
In a detention camp, probably chiefly
because the Argentine public was so
Incensed against him that it was not
safe to have him at large.
Exposures Amazes Argentina.
Buenos Aires—The Argentine gov-
ernment published fifty-seven of the
four hundred or more dispatches ex-
changed between Count von Luxburg,
the former German minister at Buen-
os Aires and the Berlin government,
explaining that only these have so far
been received from the legation at
Washington. The nature of the dis-
patches has caused surprise and pes-
simism despite an official note ac-
companying them declaring that the
telegrams contained untruths.
ENGLAND’S WAR AIMS TOLD
Small Comfort for Kaiser In Lloyd
George’s Speech.
London.—England’s war aims rest
primarily on necessity that the allies
have security from Germany for fu-
ture world's peace. As outlined in
the house of commons by Premier
Lloyd George, this security can only
be obtained by destruction of Ger-
many's military power and democrat*
izatlon of Germany’s government.
“Mesopotamia and Armenia should
never be returned to Turkish rule.
“The future trustees of the German
colonies must consider the sentiments
of the people themselves—whether
they may desire to return to their
former masters.”
“We demand the complete restora-
tion and compensation for territories
that have been taken,” Lloyd George
asserted.
“The next few months of the war
will be most trying,” Lloyd George
continued, "because one ggeat power
in gone out and another has not fully
come in.”
A great crowd, both on the floor
ind In the galleries, heard him vigor-
rasly set forth the objects for which
Bngl&nd proposed to light to the last
To fight this flghL the premier de-
clared solemnly, it will be necessary
■jy call up many of those at present
exempted.
“We must have security from Ger-
oany for future world's peace,” the
jremler declared, emphasizing his mo-
netous words with ringing tones.
'One guarantee for such a world’s
?eace must be destruction of her mili-
tary power. Another must be the
democratization of the German gov-
srnment.”
Lloyd George was frank In admitting
he allies’ disappointment of their mili-
tary hopes this year—which he at-
tributed to the collapse of Russia. He
held, however, that the single military
success which the enemy had been
able to achieve—that at Cambral—had
been due to surprise, and added that
this German stroke aad the British
failure to fend If off was now under
investigation. Germany, he said, had
lost 100.000 men taken prisoner during
the year.
British losses have been not more
than one-fourth of those of Germany,
the prime minister continued.
The submarine situation, the Wel«b
statesmen viewed optimistically. H«
said the food shortage had been great
ly impro’. ed.
WHO WILL PAY THE INCOM&TAX?
• _
By Hubert L. Bolen, Revenue Collector for Oklahoma.
The unmarried individual who received a net Income of $1000, or more,
from all sources during the calendar year 1917, must report his income to
the Collector of Internal Revenue and pay the tax on all amounts above
$1000.00. A married individual, or the head of a family, who received a net
Income of $2000, or more from all sources during the same period must reP°™
his income to the Collector and pay the tax on all amounts above the $2000,
unless there are children under the age of 18 years dependent upon such
person for support, in which case an
additional exemption of $200 for each
child is allowed.
Here are some rules to go by to
determine whether you should file a
statement ofo your income with the
Collector. These suggestions are of
particular interest to the farmers
throughout the country for the reason
that very few farmers understand JuBt
what “income” is within the meaning
ot the Income tax law as defined by
the Department of Internal Revenue.
Gross Income.
Income is defined by the govern-
ment as gains, profits and income de-
rived from salaries, wages, commis-
sions, from professions, vocations, bus-
inesses, trade, commerce, or sales, or
dealings in property, whether real or
personal, alBO from Interest, rents, in-
terest on bonds, and partnership gains.
In the case of a farmer the run-
ning of his farm Is his business and
the Income derived from that business
is subject to the income tax. The
value of everything raised and pro-
duced on the farm during the year
1917, regardless of wnether the prod-
ucts were consumed by the farmer for
feeding purposes, family use, seed,
etc., or whether the products were disposed of by sale, must he considered
income. This includes the value of the wheat crop disposed of In 1917, the
oats, corn-, cotton, and cotton seed, alfalfa, rye, millet, timothy, kafir corn,
broom corn, barley, fetertta, hay and straw, rice, flax, clover seed, horses
and mules, cattle, hogs, sheep, chickens, turkeys, ducks, bees and honey, eggs,
butter, cheese, vegetables, peanuts and pecans, cow peas, fruits and berries,
wood and timber and other products not enumerated, disposed of during
1917. The sale price of livestock sold during the year (credit for the cost
of such livestock is allowed under expenses), must be accounted for as
gross income; also all rents received, including crop-share rents and amounts
received in money or its equivalent as rent for work or breeding animals,
must be included. All Interest received on money loaned, on bank deposits,
etc., the individual’s share in the net profits of partnerships, whether suen
profits have been distributed or not, royalties from oil, gas and mining prop-
erties, and dividends from bank stock and other stock of domestic corpora-
tions, must all be included and reported as gross income.
Deductions.
From the gross income the Individual Is allowed certain deductions, such
as the expenses of running the business (no farfllly or living expenses can
be deducted). In the case of a farmer the expenses of running the farm,
such as money or Its equivalent paid for hired help; taxes paid during 1917
(except Income taxes); interest on borrowed money paid in 1917; the cost of
seed, grain, hay and straw purchased in 1917; cost of live stock purchased
for resale; loss of livestock by death, theft, etc., the cost of which was not
covered by insurance; freight or express in marketing products; deprecia-
tion in farm buildings (except the farmer's own dwelling and contents
thereof) of not to exceed 5 per cent, of the original cost In the case of
frame buildings, and 2% per cent, of the original cost In the case of brick
buildings; and depreciation in farm machinery of not to exceed 10 per cent
of the original cost. (The entire cost of small hand tools purchased during
fhe year may be deducted as an expense for that year.) In the case of oil or
gas wells or mines on the farm, the owner of the land may deduct a reason-
able per cent, of the cost of the land for depletion. The total of the amounts
claimed under the items here enumerated gives the total deductions to
which the individual is entitled in determining the amount of his NET
INCOME.
Subtract the total deductions from the total gross Income and you will
have the amount of your net income.
After the amount of the net Income received during 1917 is determined
the individual is interested in knowing just how much tax he must pay on
that amount. A certain amount of the net Income is exempt from taxation.
In the case of an unmarried individual $1000 is exempt; in the case of a
married individual, or the head of a family, $2000 Is exempt.
(By the term “head of a family” is meant an unmarried individual who
actually supports and maintains one or more persons who are closely con-
nected with him or her by blood relationship, relationship by marriage or
by adoption.)
In addition to the above exemptions there is allowed an exemption In
the sum of $200 for each dependent child under the age of 18 years, and $200
for each older child if she or he is Incapable of self support because mentally
or physically defective.
Tax Imposed.
amounts above the exemptions allowed by law the Individual is
On all
subject to a tax as follows:
Net Income
1.000
1,300
1.500
1,800
3.000
2.500
3.000
3.500
4.000
5.000
6.000
7.000
7.600
3.000
10,000
Man* a tax
trrled
5Jar
10
20
30
40
80
130
if.
2*5
355
Man’* tax
Single
10
IS
20
SO
40
So
00
130
170
220
245
335
395
Net Income
11,000 „
13.000
13.000
14.000
15.000
11.000
17.000
18.000
19.000
20.000
21,000
22,000
23.000
34.000
25.000
Man’* tax
Married
495
670
<60
780
820
910
1,000
1,090
1.180
i.ioo
1.490
1,640
1,860
1.780
Man’s tax
Single
465
535
610
ft
860
960
.«
1.380
1,340
1,460
1,680
1,700
1,820
Things To Be Remembered.
An ordinary hen will produce 8 dozen eggs per year. An ordinary cow
will nroduce $60.00 worth of butter fat per year. The value of produce traded
at stores for groceries, meats, dry goods, etc., is the market price of the
.merchandise received, and such value must be accounted for as income.
Insurance received for damages or loss of anything raised or produced
on the farm must be reported as income. It is Income for the reason that
it was converted ihto cash for the amount of the Insurance received. The
farmer sold bis produce for the amount of the insurance.
Rents paid in products of the farm instead of cash must be reported as
income for the amount of the value of the products at the time paid.
When farm products are held for favorable market prices no deduc-
tion on account of shrinkage in weight or physical value, or losses by reason
of such shrinkage in storage shall be allowed. When grain or any other
product is held over from another year, like holding wheat over for a better
market when it is sold it must be accounted for as income in the year sold
and for the full amount of the price for which sold or exchanged.
All expenses and costs Incident to the producing of crops must be listed
for the year In which paid, although the Income from the crops may not be
received until another year. Thus your report may cover income from crops
produced this year, and the expenses incurred in planting, etc., the crop
which will he produced next year.
The entire sale price of live stock must be accounted for as gross income
but the farmer or stockman may deduct the original cost thereof under the
head of expenses.
The obligation to secure full information, blanks, etc., rests with each
individual. The law makes no provision for furnishing Income blanks upon
which to make returns. You can secure income tax blanks and copies of in-
structions pertaining thereto by writing Hubert L. Bolen, Collector of
Internal Revenue, Oklahoma City, on January 1st He will not receive a
supply of such blanks for distribution before that time.
The law Imposes a specific penalty of not less than $20.00 nor more than
$1,000. or Imprisonment, on Individuals who fail to have their returns in on
time, and in addition thereto a penalty of 50 per cent, of the amount of the
tax due. These penalties are imposed by the law, and It ia the duty of the
collector to collect them in cases of delinquency.
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Chapman, H. C. Okeene Eagle. (Okeene, Okla.), Vol. 24, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 27, 1917, newspaper, December 27, 1917; Okeene, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1170567/m1/2/?q=music: accessed June 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.