HAGUE REGULATIONS FLOUTED

When Belgium attempted to protest against the illegal requisitions, citing The Hague regulations, they received answers such as the following, which was read to the Municipal Council and notables of the town of Halluin, June 30, 1915:

Gentlemen: What is happening is known to all these gentlemen. It is the conception and interpretation of Article 52 of The Hague Convention which has createddifficulties between you and the German military authority. On which side is the right? It is not for us to discuss that, for we are not competent, and we shall never arrive at an understanding on this point. It will be the business of the diplomatists and the representatives of the various States after the war.Today it is exclusively the interpretation of German military authority which is valid, and for that reason we intend that all that we shall need for the maintenance of our troops shall be made by the workers of the territory occupied. I can assure you that the German authority will not under any circumstances desist from demanding its rights, even if a town of 15,000 inhabitants should have to perish. The measures introduced up to the present are only a beginning, and every day severe measures will be taken until our object is obtained.This is the last word, and it is good advice I give you tonight. Return to reason and arrange for the workers to resume work without delay; otherwise you will expose your town, your families, and your persons to the greatest misfortunes.Today, and perhaps for a long time yet, there is for Halluin neither a prefecture nor a French Government. There is only one will, and that is the will of German authority.The Commandant of the Town,SCHRANCK.(From Massart's "Belgians Under the German Eagle," New York, 1916, pp. 192-3.)

Today it is exclusively the interpretation of German military authority which is valid, and for that reason we intend that all that we shall need for the maintenance of our troops shall be made by the workers of the territory occupied. I can assure you that the German authority will not under any circumstances desist from demanding its rights, even if a town of 15,000 inhabitants should have to perish. The measures introduced up to the present are only a beginning, and every day severe measures will be taken until our object is obtained.

This is the last word, and it is good advice I give you tonight. Return to reason and arrange for the workers to resume work without delay; otherwise you will expose your town, your families, and your persons to the greatest misfortunes.

Today, and perhaps for a long time yet, there is for Halluin neither a prefecture nor a French Government. There is only one will, and that is the will of German authority.

The Commandant of the Town,

SCHRANCK.

(From Massart's "Belgians Under the German Eagle," New York, 1916, pp. 192-3.)

The German profits from the Rathenau plan were summarized thus frankly by Herr Ganghofer in an article published in the Münchener Neueste Nachrichten Feb. 26, 1915:

For three months about four-fifths of the army's needs were supplied by the conquered country. Even now, although the exhausted sources in the land occupied by us are beginning to yield less abundantly, the conquered territory is still supplying two-thirds of the needs of the German Army in the west. Because of this, for the last four months the German Empire has saved an average of 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 marks a day. This profit which the Germans have secured by their victory is very greatly increased by another means. That is the economic war which, in accordance with the rules of international law, is being carried on against the conquered land by the exhaustion of the goods which belong to the State, which are being carried to Germany from Belgium and Northern France. These are in enormous quantities and consist of war booty, fortress supplies, grain, wool, metal, expensive hardwood, and other things, not including all private property which cannot be requisitioned. In case of necessity this private property will, of course, be secured to increase the German supply, but it will also be paid for at its full value. What Germany saves and gains by this economic war, carried on in a businesslike way, can be reckoned at a further 6,000,000 to 7,000,000 marks a day. Thus the entire profit which the German Empire has made behind its western front since the beginning of the war can be estimated at about 2,000,000,000 marks. For Germany this is a tremendous victory through the sparing and increase in her economic power; for the enemy it is a crushing defeat through the exhaustion of all of the auxiliary financial sources in those portions of his territory which have been lost to us.Of the branches and management of this economic war I shall have more to say. Then people will learn to banish to the lumber room of the past the catch phrase about "the unpractical German." A German officer of high rank at St. Quentin characterized this happy change which has taken place in our favor in these half-serious, half-humorous words: "It is extraordinary how much a man learns! Although in reality I am an officer of the Potsdam Guard, now I am in the wool and lumber business. And successful, too!"

Of the branches and management of this economic war I shall have more to say. Then people will learn to banish to the lumber room of the past the catch phrase about "the unpractical German." A German officer of high rank at St. Quentin characterized this happy change which has taken place in our favor in these half-serious, half-humorous words: "It is extraordinary how much a man learns! Although in reality I am an officer of the Potsdam Guard, now I am in the wool and lumber business. And successful, too!"

Governor General von Bissing's testimony on this subject, as recorded in his "Testament," will be found in full inCurrent History Magazinefor February, 1918, pp. 330-38. Among the passages from it quoted in the pamphlet here under review is this:

The advantages which we have been able during the present war to obtain from Belgian industry, by the removal of machinery and so on, are as important as the disadvantages which our enemies have suffered through the lack of their fighting strength.

That the systematic exploitation and destruction in Flanders and Northern France were still going on in the Fall of 1917 is shown by the following dispatch from the American Chargé d'Affaires in Holland:

The Hague, Sept. 29, 1917.Secretary of State, Washington:A person who has recently arrived here from Ghent gives the following information as to conditions in East and West Flanders and Northern France:The looms and machinery are beingtaken away from the textile mills in Roubaix and Tourcoing and sent to Germany. Such machines as cannot be removed and transported have in some instances been dynamited, and in others are being destroyed with hammers. In the neighborhood of Courtrai in Flanders all the mills have been ordered to furnish a list of their machinery. The measures which have been applied to the north of France will be carried out in Flanders. All textile fabrics have been requisitioned by the military authorities, even in small retail stores, and woolen blankets have been taken from private houses. There is also extensive requisitioning of wine. In the larger cities in the course of the past few weeks large numbers of children of from 10 to 15 years have been brought in for office work. There is a rapid increase in the number of women brought in for this purpose. A marked animation was observed in the Etappen inspection at Ghent last week. It is believed that at the meeting of the inspection something unusual was being discussed.LANGHORNE,Charge d' Affaires.

The Hague, Sept. 29, 1917.

Secretary of State, Washington:A person who has recently arrived here from Ghent gives the following information as to conditions in East and West Flanders and Northern France:

The looms and machinery are beingtaken away from the textile mills in Roubaix and Tourcoing and sent to Germany. Such machines as cannot be removed and transported have in some instances been dynamited, and in others are being destroyed with hammers. In the neighborhood of Courtrai in Flanders all the mills have been ordered to furnish a list of their machinery. The measures which have been applied to the north of France will be carried out in Flanders. All textile fabrics have been requisitioned by the military authorities, even in small retail stores, and woolen blankets have been taken from private houses. There is also extensive requisitioning of wine. In the larger cities in the course of the past few weeks large numbers of children of from 10 to 15 years have been brought in for office work. There is a rapid increase in the number of women brought in for this purpose. A marked animation was observed in the Etappen inspection at Ghent last week. It is believed that at the meeting of the inspection something unusual was being discussed.

LANGHORNE,

Charge d' Affaires.

That the Rathenau plan is still wringing the remnants of industrial supplies from Belgium in 1918 is shown by documents still later than those printed in the brochure just reviewed. In January linen and mattresses were being taken from hotels, boarding houses, and convents all over Belgium. The inhabitants were forbidden by law to have any wool in their possession, but were offered a substitute made of seaweed. The large electrical plant at Antwerp known as l'Escaut was stripped of its machinery, which was transferred to a German plant. Belgian kitchens did not escape. The huge copper pans and kettles, the glory of Belgian housewives, had to go to Germany with the bright jars and jugs of the milkmaids. Nearly every conceivable brass, copper, and bronze object had been requisitioned by that time.

The Belgian Government sent out a statement on Feb. 17, 1918, containing these passages:

The German authorities then aggravated the evils of industrial stoppage by forbidding public works and commandeering the factories and metals and leather for military purposes. After this they instituted the barbarous system of deporting workmen to perform forced labor in Germany, a system which they had to interrupt officially, after some months, because it proved revolting to the conscience of mankind, but only to substitute for it immediately the forced labor of the civilian population, in work of military value, by the order of the military authorities. This system is still being cruelly maintained in the zones lying back of the fighting line in the provinces of East and West Flanders, Hainault, Namur, and Luxemburg.Meanwhile, the commandeering has become general, and affects both natural and manufactured products and also tools, motors, and means of transportation, whether mechanical or animal. Finally, fiscal and administrative measures have been taken to close the last remaining outlets for Belgian products into neutral countries.These facts are incontestable. They are proved by many rules and regulations officially published by the German authorities.At present the raid upon the last economic resources of occupied Belgium has been carried on to such an extent that they are methodically taking away all the machinery from the factories, which they themselves have made idle, in some cases to set it up again in Germany, in other cases, to break it up and use it for grapeshot.The purpose of this entire system of destruction is double: First, to supply deficiencies in German industry; secondly, to put an end to Belgian competition and later to subject Belgian industry to that of Germany when the time comes for refitting the factories with machinery after the war.The proofs collected by the Belgian Government in support of this statement are conclusive. It is significant that in general the task of systematically stripping Belgian factories was intrusted to German manufacturers who were the direct competitors of the Belgian owners. Some of them have taken advantage of their official positions to steal secrets of manufacturing processes, for example, at the artificial silk shops of Obourg, and personal methods of production and sale.And as to the fact that Germany is destroying the factories for a military reason without any regard for the economic needs of Belgium or for the rights of nations, it is sufficient to cite the following passages from a semi-official note that appeared in the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, No. 392, of Dec. 18, 1917, in which Germany distinctly pleads guilty:"All measures taken in Belgium are inspired by military necessity.The exploitation, under military control, of Belgian factories in order to repair locomotives and automobiles, and also to obtain material of war for the front, is carried out for the purpose ofrelieving the strain on German industry and economizing transportation. It has become necessary to strip the Belgian factories of their machinery and other fittings, because all German industry is busy filling orders for material of war. * * * By relieving the home market from the necessity of enlarging our own factories we are accelerating the production of munitions and other products. * * * In consequence of the intense activity of all German industry our machinery and other equipment is tremendously overworked, and must from time to time be partly replaced by new machines, while, furthermore, we must be able to furnish spare parts rapidly unless we wish to see our output of munitions diminish. The machinery and equipment required for these purposes are evidently brought from Belgian factories. The destruction of whole factories for the production of grapeshot is effected in order to maintain at its present level the supply of iron and steel in Germany, or, if possible, to raise it. * * * It is not only possible, but even evident, that, in view of all the steps taken by the military authorities, the question of keeping up work in some of the factories of the occupied country must be subordinated to considerations tending to spare the lives of German soldiers and thus protect our national power."

Meanwhile, the commandeering has become general, and affects both natural and manufactured products and also tools, motors, and means of transportation, whether mechanical or animal. Finally, fiscal and administrative measures have been taken to close the last remaining outlets for Belgian products into neutral countries.

These facts are incontestable. They are proved by many rules and regulations officially published by the German authorities.

At present the raid upon the last economic resources of occupied Belgium has been carried on to such an extent that they are methodically taking away all the machinery from the factories, which they themselves have made idle, in some cases to set it up again in Germany, in other cases, to break it up and use it for grapeshot.

The purpose of this entire system of destruction is double: First, to supply deficiencies in German industry; secondly, to put an end to Belgian competition and later to subject Belgian industry to that of Germany when the time comes for refitting the factories with machinery after the war.

The proofs collected by the Belgian Government in support of this statement are conclusive. It is significant that in general the task of systematically stripping Belgian factories was intrusted to German manufacturers who were the direct competitors of the Belgian owners. Some of them have taken advantage of their official positions to steal secrets of manufacturing processes, for example, at the artificial silk shops of Obourg, and personal methods of production and sale.

And as to the fact that Germany is destroying the factories for a military reason without any regard for the economic needs of Belgium or for the rights of nations, it is sufficient to cite the following passages from a semi-official note that appeared in the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, No. 392, of Dec. 18, 1917, in which Germany distinctly pleads guilty:

"All measures taken in Belgium are inspired by military necessity.The exploitation, under military control, of Belgian factories in order to repair locomotives and automobiles, and also to obtain material of war for the front, is carried out for the purpose ofrelieving the strain on German industry and economizing transportation. It has become necessary to strip the Belgian factories of their machinery and other fittings, because all German industry is busy filling orders for material of war. * * * By relieving the home market from the necessity of enlarging our own factories we are accelerating the production of munitions and other products. * * * In consequence of the intense activity of all German industry our machinery and other equipment is tremendously overworked, and must from time to time be partly replaced by new machines, while, furthermore, we must be able to furnish spare parts rapidly unless we wish to see our output of munitions diminish. The machinery and equipment required for these purposes are evidently brought from Belgian factories. The destruction of whole factories for the production of grapeshot is effected in order to maintain at its present level the supply of iron and steel in Germany, or, if possible, to raise it. * * * It is not only possible, but even evident, that, in view of all the steps taken by the military authorities, the question of keeping up work in some of the factories of the occupied country must be subordinated to considerations tending to spare the lives of German soldiers and thus protect our national power."

"All measures taken in Belgium are inspired by military necessity.

The exploitation, under military control, of Belgian factories in order to repair locomotives and automobiles, and also to obtain material of war for the front, is carried out for the purpose ofrelieving the strain on German industry and economizing transportation. It has become necessary to strip the Belgian factories of their machinery and other fittings, because all German industry is busy filling orders for material of war. * * * By relieving the home market from the necessity of enlarging our own factories we are accelerating the production of munitions and other products. * * * In consequence of the intense activity of all German industry our machinery and other equipment is tremendously overworked, and must from time to time be partly replaced by new machines, while, furthermore, we must be able to furnish spare parts rapidly unless we wish to see our output of munitions diminish. The machinery and equipment required for these purposes are evidently brought from Belgian factories. The destruction of whole factories for the production of grapeshot is effected in order to maintain at its present level the supply of iron and steel in Germany, or, if possible, to raise it. * * * It is not only possible, but even evident, that, in view of all the steps taken by the military authorities, the question of keeping up work in some of the factories of the occupied country must be subordinated to considerations tending to spare the lives of German soldiers and thus protect our national power."

Trafalgar Square, London, as it appears after three and a half years of warTrafalgar Square, London, as it appears after three and a half years of war(© Western Newspaper Union)

Trafalgar Square, London, as it appears after three and a half years of war(© Western Newspaper Union)

A typical scene in Flanders today, with all signs of civilization completely obliteratedA typical scene in Flanders today, with all signs of civilization completely obliterated(International Film Service)

A typical scene in Flanders today, with all signs of civilization completely obliterated(International Film Service)

This record of the deliberate crippling of Belgian industries was brought up to March 6, 1918, by an official dispatch to the United States Government, quoting the statement of Belgian refugees to the effect that dynamite was being used to destroy machines and equipment in factories in the Mons district. Rails of tramways were being taken up, and in some cities they were entirely destroyed. Meanwhile, deportation of men, and even of children 13 years old, was proceeding, several hundred boys between the ages of 13 and 15 being taken from Mons alone.

Cardinal Mercier, Archbishop of Malines, issued the following letter to the clergy and people of his diocese on March 2, 1918:

My Very Dear Brethren:The painful tidings, announced semi-officially on Feb. 8, by the occupying power, have been confirmed. The bulletin of laws and edicts, dated Feb. 21, requires an inventory of the bells and organs of our churches. Informed by experience, we need not delude ourselves; the inventory of today is the signal for the requisition of tomorrow.The repeated protests of the Sovereign Pontiff, our appeal to the Chancellor of the Empire, appear thus to have been in vain.Your Christian hearts will bleed. At a time when we are in such need of comfort, a veil of mourning will descend upon our land, covering like a shroud our every day. It is to be for Catholic Belgium an interminable Way of the Cross.It is true, is it not, dear brethren, that we should have borne this sorrow, added to so many others, if it had concerned ourselves alone, but this time the rights of God, of our Saviour, Jesus, the freedom of the Church and of her heritage are to be sacrificed to what is called necessity, that is, to the military need of our enemies."This term, liberty of the Church, rings harshly on the ears of politicians," writes the great Dom Gueranger. They immediately discern therein the signs of a conspiracy. Now there is no thought in our minds either of conspiracy or of revolt, but of the indefeasible affirmation of the rights granted to His Immaculate Spouse by our Saviour, Jesus.The freedom of the Church lies in her complete independence with regard to all secular powers, not alone in her teachings of the Word, in the administering of the sacraments, in the untrammeled relations between all ranks of her Divine hierarchy, but also in the publishing and applying of her disciplinary decrees—in the conservation and administration of her temporal heritage."Nothing in the world is dearer to God than this liberty of His Church," says St. Anselm.The Apostolic See, through the medium of Pope Pius VIII., wrote on June 30, 1830, to the Bishops of the Rhine Province: "It is in virtue of a Divine order that the Church, spotless spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, Jesus Christ, is free and subject to no earthly dominion.""This freedom of the Church," continues Dom Gueranger, "is the bulwark of the very sanctuary, hence, the shepherd, sentinel of Israel, should not wait until the enemy has entered into the fold tosound the cry of alarm. The duty of protecting his flock begins for him at the moment of the enemy's siege of his outposts, upon whose safety depends the police of the entire city."In the execution of this duty of our pastoral office we protest, dear brethren, against the injury which the forcible seizure of church property will cause to the liberty of our mother, the Holy Church.We add that the removal of the bells without the consent of the religious authorities and despite their protests will be a sacrilege.The bell is, in fact, a sacred object its function is sacred. It is a consecrated object; that is to say, it is devoted irrevocably to Divine service. It has been not only blessed but anointed by the Bishop with the holy oil and the holy chrism, just as you were anointed and consecrated at holy baptism; just as anointed and consecrated as the priest's hands which are to touch the consecrated wafer.The function of the bell is holy. The bell is sanctified by the Holy Ghost, says the liturgy, sanctificetur a Spiritu Sancto, to the end that, in its voice, the faithful shall recognize the voice of the Church calling her children to hasten to her breast.It announced your initiation into Christian life, your confirmation, your first communion. It announced, dear parents, your Christian marriage; it weeps for the dead; thrice daily it marks the mystery of the Incarnation; it recalls the immolation of the Lamb of God on the altar of sacrifice; it sings the joys of Sabbath rest, the cheer of our festivals of Christmas, of Easter, of Pentecost. Her prayers are associated with all the events and all the great memories, happy or unhappy, of the fatherland.Yes, the seizure of our bells will be a profanation; whosoever assists in it will lend the hand to a sacrilege.The Catholic Bishops of Germany and Austria will not deny these principles. If their patriotism has wrung from them concessions which must have cost their religious spirit dear, patriotism with us confirms on the contrary the law of resistance. We would be betraying the Church and the fatherland were we so cowardly as to permit without a public act of reprobation the taking away of metal to be converted by the enemy into engines of destruction, destined to carry death into the ranks of the heroes who are sacrificing themselves for us.The authorities, strangers to our beliefs, will not be greatly moved, I fear, by the protest, however worthy of respect, of our religious consciences, but at least they should remember their given word and not tear up a juridical code which their believers have elaborated with us and promulgated. Morality has force of law for Governments as for individuals.On Oct. 18, 1907, the representatives of forty-four Governments gathered together at The Hague, drew up a convention concerning laws and customs of war on land.They were assembled, they proclaimed unanimously, for a double purpose—in the first place to safeguard peace and prevent armed conflicts between nations; and, in the second place, in the extreme hypothesis of an appeal to arms, to serve, nevertheless, the interests of humanity and the progressive demands of civilization by restraining, as much as possible, the rigors of war.To this convention there was annexed a set of regulations which, the general tenor of its clauses having been examined a first and a second time, respectively, during the peace conferences held in 1874 at Brussels and in 1899 at The Hague, was submitted a third time, in 1907, to careful study at the second conference at The Hague and signed by the plenipotentiaries of all the great powers.The first signer of this code of international law in wartime was Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, delegated by his Majesty, the German Emperor, King of Prussia.Articles 52 and 46 of the regulations annexed to the convention are formulated as follows:"Article 52. Neither requisitions in kind nor service can be demanded from communes or inhabitants, except for the necessities of the army of occupation.""Article 46. Family honor and rights, individual life and private property, as well as religious convictions and worship, must be respected."Evidently bells and organs are not necessary to supply the needs of the army of occupation, they lie in the domain of private property, are destined for the exercise of Catholic worship.The transformation of these articles of the Church into war munitions will be, therefore, a flagrant violation of international law, an act of force perpetrated on the weaker by the stronger because he is the stronger.We Belgians, who have never wished nor acted other than well toward Germany, we are the weak ones. I call you all to witness, brethren, is it not true that prior to 1914 a current of sympathy, of esteem, of generous hospitality was turning our trusting hearts toward those who are today so harshly oppressing us? You will remember that on the very day of the invasion the first lines that flowed from my pen spoke to you of those "whom we have the sorrow to call our enemies." For four years Germany has been rewarding us. Nevertheless, we will not rebel. You will not seek in desperate recourse tomaterial force the sudden triumph of our rights.Courage does not reside in passionate impulse but in self-mastery. We will offer to God in reparation for the sacrilege which is about to be committed against Him, and for the final success of our cause, our supreme sacrifice.Let us pray, one for the other, that the arm of the All-Powerful may lend us support; "Lord," says the Holy Spirit, in the Book of Esther, "Lord, Sovereign Master, all is subject to Thy authority. Nothing, nobody, is capable of resisting Thee if Thou shalt decide to save Israel. * * * Grant our prayer, Lord! Transform our grief into joy, so that, living, we may glorify Thy name. * * * Thou art just, Lord. Now they are no longer satisfied to weigh us down under the most grievous servitude, they intend to silence the voices that praise Thee and to tarnish the glory of the temple. Remember us, O Lord. Reveal Thyself to us in this hour of our tribulation. * * * O God, Thou art exalted above all, hearken to the voice of those who place their hopes in Thee. Deliver us from the blows of injustice and grant that our courage may control our fears."In the name of the freedom of the Church, in the name of the sanctity of the Catholic religion, in the name of international law, we condemn and reprove the seizure of the bells and organs of our churches; we forbid the clergy and faithful of our diocese to co-operate toward their removal; we refuse to accept the price of the sacred objects taken from us by violence.Strong in invincible hope, we await the hour of our God.D. J. CARDINAL MERCIER,Archbishop of Malines.

My Very Dear Brethren:

The painful tidings, announced semi-officially on Feb. 8, by the occupying power, have been confirmed. The bulletin of laws and edicts, dated Feb. 21, requires an inventory of the bells and organs of our churches. Informed by experience, we need not delude ourselves; the inventory of today is the signal for the requisition of tomorrow.

The repeated protests of the Sovereign Pontiff, our appeal to the Chancellor of the Empire, appear thus to have been in vain.

Your Christian hearts will bleed. At a time when we are in such need of comfort, a veil of mourning will descend upon our land, covering like a shroud our every day. It is to be for Catholic Belgium an interminable Way of the Cross.

It is true, is it not, dear brethren, that we should have borne this sorrow, added to so many others, if it had concerned ourselves alone, but this time the rights of God, of our Saviour, Jesus, the freedom of the Church and of her heritage are to be sacrificed to what is called necessity, that is, to the military need of our enemies.

"This term, liberty of the Church, rings harshly on the ears of politicians," writes the great Dom Gueranger. They immediately discern therein the signs of a conspiracy. Now there is no thought in our minds either of conspiracy or of revolt, but of the indefeasible affirmation of the rights granted to His Immaculate Spouse by our Saviour, Jesus.

The freedom of the Church lies in her complete independence with regard to all secular powers, not alone in her teachings of the Word, in the administering of the sacraments, in the untrammeled relations between all ranks of her Divine hierarchy, but also in the publishing and applying of her disciplinary decrees—in the conservation and administration of her temporal heritage.

"Nothing in the world is dearer to God than this liberty of His Church," says St. Anselm.

The Apostolic See, through the medium of Pope Pius VIII., wrote on June 30, 1830, to the Bishops of the Rhine Province: "It is in virtue of a Divine order that the Church, spotless spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, Jesus Christ, is free and subject to no earthly dominion."

"This freedom of the Church," continues Dom Gueranger, "is the bulwark of the very sanctuary, hence, the shepherd, sentinel of Israel, should not wait until the enemy has entered into the fold tosound the cry of alarm. The duty of protecting his flock begins for him at the moment of the enemy's siege of his outposts, upon whose safety depends the police of the entire city."

In the execution of this duty of our pastoral office we protest, dear brethren, against the injury which the forcible seizure of church property will cause to the liberty of our mother, the Holy Church.

We add that the removal of the bells without the consent of the religious authorities and despite their protests will be a sacrilege.

The bell is, in fact, a sacred object its function is sacred. It is a consecrated object; that is to say, it is devoted irrevocably to Divine service. It has been not only blessed but anointed by the Bishop with the holy oil and the holy chrism, just as you were anointed and consecrated at holy baptism; just as anointed and consecrated as the priest's hands which are to touch the consecrated wafer.

The function of the bell is holy. The bell is sanctified by the Holy Ghost, says the liturgy, sanctificetur a Spiritu Sancto, to the end that, in its voice, the faithful shall recognize the voice of the Church calling her children to hasten to her breast.

It announced your initiation into Christian life, your confirmation, your first communion. It announced, dear parents, your Christian marriage; it weeps for the dead; thrice daily it marks the mystery of the Incarnation; it recalls the immolation of the Lamb of God on the altar of sacrifice; it sings the joys of Sabbath rest, the cheer of our festivals of Christmas, of Easter, of Pentecost. Her prayers are associated with all the events and all the great memories, happy or unhappy, of the fatherland.

Yes, the seizure of our bells will be a profanation; whosoever assists in it will lend the hand to a sacrilege.

The Catholic Bishops of Germany and Austria will not deny these principles. If their patriotism has wrung from them concessions which must have cost their religious spirit dear, patriotism with us confirms on the contrary the law of resistance. We would be betraying the Church and the fatherland were we so cowardly as to permit without a public act of reprobation the taking away of metal to be converted by the enemy into engines of destruction, destined to carry death into the ranks of the heroes who are sacrificing themselves for us.

The authorities, strangers to our beliefs, will not be greatly moved, I fear, by the protest, however worthy of respect, of our religious consciences, but at least they should remember their given word and not tear up a juridical code which their believers have elaborated with us and promulgated. Morality has force of law for Governments as for individuals.

On Oct. 18, 1907, the representatives of forty-four Governments gathered together at The Hague, drew up a convention concerning laws and customs of war on land.

They were assembled, they proclaimed unanimously, for a double purpose—in the first place to safeguard peace and prevent armed conflicts between nations; and, in the second place, in the extreme hypothesis of an appeal to arms, to serve, nevertheless, the interests of humanity and the progressive demands of civilization by restraining, as much as possible, the rigors of war.

To this convention there was annexed a set of regulations which, the general tenor of its clauses having been examined a first and a second time, respectively, during the peace conferences held in 1874 at Brussels and in 1899 at The Hague, was submitted a third time, in 1907, to careful study at the second conference at The Hague and signed by the plenipotentiaries of all the great powers.

The first signer of this code of international law in wartime was Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, delegated by his Majesty, the German Emperor, King of Prussia.

Articles 52 and 46 of the regulations annexed to the convention are formulated as follows:

"Article 52. Neither requisitions in kind nor service can be demanded from communes or inhabitants, except for the necessities of the army of occupation."

"Article 46. Family honor and rights, individual life and private property, as well as religious convictions and worship, must be respected."

Evidently bells and organs are not necessary to supply the needs of the army of occupation, they lie in the domain of private property, are destined for the exercise of Catholic worship.

The transformation of these articles of the Church into war munitions will be, therefore, a flagrant violation of international law, an act of force perpetrated on the weaker by the stronger because he is the stronger.

We Belgians, who have never wished nor acted other than well toward Germany, we are the weak ones. I call you all to witness, brethren, is it not true that prior to 1914 a current of sympathy, of esteem, of generous hospitality was turning our trusting hearts toward those who are today so harshly oppressing us? You will remember that on the very day of the invasion the first lines that flowed from my pen spoke to you of those "whom we have the sorrow to call our enemies." For four years Germany has been rewarding us. Nevertheless, we will not rebel. You will not seek in desperate recourse tomaterial force the sudden triumph of our rights.

Courage does not reside in passionate impulse but in self-mastery. We will offer to God in reparation for the sacrilege which is about to be committed against Him, and for the final success of our cause, our supreme sacrifice.

Let us pray, one for the other, that the arm of the All-Powerful may lend us support; "Lord," says the Holy Spirit, in the Book of Esther, "Lord, Sovereign Master, all is subject to Thy authority. Nothing, nobody, is capable of resisting Thee if Thou shalt decide to save Israel. * * * Grant our prayer, Lord! Transform our grief into joy, so that, living, we may glorify Thy name. * * * Thou art just, Lord. Now they are no longer satisfied to weigh us down under the most grievous servitude, they intend to silence the voices that praise Thee and to tarnish the glory of the temple. Remember us, O Lord. Reveal Thyself to us in this hour of our tribulation. * * * O God, Thou art exalted above all, hearken to the voice of those who place their hopes in Thee. Deliver us from the blows of injustice and grant that our courage may control our fears."

In the name of the freedom of the Church, in the name of the sanctity of the Catholic religion, in the name of international law, we condemn and reprove the seizure of the bells and organs of our churches; we forbid the clergy and faithful of our diocese to co-operate toward their removal; we refuse to accept the price of the sacred objects taken from us by violence.

Strong in invincible hope, we await the hour of our God.

D. J. CARDINAL MERCIER,

Archbishop of Malines.

The Belgian Government, shortly after the Bolshevist Government of Russia deserted the Allies and disbanded its armies, sent this eloquent appeal to Petrograd:

By the treaty of April 19, 1839, Russia placed her guarantee upon the independence and neutrality of Belgium. On Aug. 4, 1914, when Germany had violated this neutrality—which the German Government also had guaranteed—Belgium appealed to Russia for aid. To this appeal Russia replied on Aug. 5 by promising the assistance of her arms. Thus Belgium entered into the struggle for independence and neutrality, trusting in the unswerving loyalty of the Russian people.

On Feb. 14, 1916, Russia undertook to renew by a solemn act the pledges she had made regarding Belgium, "heroically faithful to her international obligations." Russia declared before a listening world that she would not cease hostilities until Belgium should be re-established in her independence and liberally indemnified for the losses she had endured. Furthermore, Russia promised her aid in assuring the commercial and financial rehabilitation of Belgium.

The authorities placed in power by the Russian revolution have just signed—on Feb. 9 and March 3, 1918—treaties under which they lay down their arms before the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires.

Yet Belgium is still the prey of the imperial armies, which oppress her, decimating her population by privations and pitiless repressions, and overwhelming her with the worst kind of moral tortures. To these violences the Belgian Nation continues to oppose forces of resistance drawn from a consciousness of right, from the beauty of her cause, from her love of liberty.

Respect for treaties is the basis of the moral and juridical relations of States and the condition of an honest and regular international order. Carried into the war by a will to compel respect for a treaty which Russia had guaranteed, Belgium is pursuing the struggle without wavering, and at the price of the most cruel sacrifices. She considers that the promise of Russia, in which she trusted, is still binding. She refuses to believe that the Russian people, master of its destinies, will irrevocably abandon the promises made in its name. Confident in the honor and loyalty of the Russian people, Belgium reserves to herself the right to implore the execution of obligations whose permanent character places them outside any internal changes of régime in the State.

Premier and Foreign Minister of Serbia

[Speech delivered March 31, 1918, before the Skupshtina at Corfu and especially translated forCurrent History Magazine]

Since the last meeting of this Assembly a great number of events have come to pass which have measurably modified the general military and political situation. One of our greatest allies, Russia, has retired from the battlefield, but another ally, quite as powerful as Russia, but doubtless not yet bringing to bear all the force of which she is capable, has rushed to our aid.

These two principal events, with others of less importance, have perceptibly changed the situation which existed more than a year ago, when Germany proposed to us the conclusion of a peace "honorable" for both the belligerent groups. Already at that time had Germany perceived the impossibility of fighting her adversaries by military force alone, and was obliged to resort to other means, which she had already employed, although in a more restrained fashion. So Germany decided to make more energetic use of her hidden channels with the idea of disorganizing in the quickest possible time the unity of her adversaries. She contrived intrigues, employing different methods according to the country where they were to be used and where she believed they would succeed.

You still remember the case of Miassoyedov, which was perpetrated with the aim of annihilating an entire Russian army. You also remember the attempt of the enemy to have Ireland revolt, an experiment which dismally failed owing to the prompt and energetic measures taken by the British Government. Surely you have a vivid memory of the criminal exploitation which the enemy Governments made in Italy of the Papal note in favor of peace. Also, you remember the numerous cases of arson of munition plants by the action of their agents, and the enemy propaganda of a premature peace for the benefit of Germany, employed to the limit by pacifists and certain imperialist and international adventurers through lectures and "defeatist" newspapers in neutral countries.

All these intrigues were clothed in fine phrases and put forward with high humanitarian ideals, by which the enemy propagated monarchistic ideas in republics and republican ideas in monarchies, eulogizing a military régime in democratic countries and in autocracies democratic, republican, and even anarchistic ideals.

They all had one sole end—to provoke internal disorders and discord among the Allies in order to divert the attention of Germany's adversaries from the principal aim. In every allied country these secret machinations of our enemies were unmasked and repelled. Repelled—except in Russia. All these intrigues and secret machinations could not succeed anywhere except in Russia, where there are many Germans, and where our enemies managed to concentrate the entire attention of a people in the midst of war upon their internal organization. In this way the possibility was placed in the hands of enemies—most dangerous to the liberty of the people and to their right to dispose freely of their destiny—to guide more easily the struggle with free and democratic nations reared against Prussianism in order to defend the rights of the weak and prevent the enslaving of other countries and other peoples.

The first revolutionary movement in Russia was directed against an autocratic and irresponsible Government. On the side of the revolution they pretended that the Government had initiated pourparlersfor a separate peace with Germany unknown to the Russian people and the Allies. After this first movement, a second took place in Russia demanding a democratic peace "without annexations and indemnities" on the basis of the right of peoples to determine their destiny freely and for themselves.

This second revolutionary provisional Government not having the desire to cut the bonds which attached Russia to the democratic and allied countries, a third movement followed, which did not hesitate to cut the bonds uniting Russia to the Allies, to demobilize the Russian armies—an act contrary to all reason, even revolutionary—and to initiate pourparlers with the enemy at Brest-Litovsk for a separate peace.

The result of these pourparlers was the capitulation of the Maximalists to Prussian militarism, the disguised annexation by Germany of the great Baltic provinces of Russia, and the conclusion of peace between the Central Powers and the Ukraine, by which the latter separated from her enfeebled sister in order consciously to aid the enemies of the Slav race. The recognition of the independence of Finland, Caucasia, and Poland by the Central Powers followed, and, upon its heels, disintegration and general discord in Russia finally giving place to the present civil and fratricidal war.

We would not wish to deny that the Russian revolution counted for something in the ranks of its sincere combatants in the way of high social ideals, for democratic reforms, and for liberty. But, judging from its results, it is impossible to deny that the Russian revolution sustained a German influence, and that this influence so far has been useful only to Germany, who still makes war on Russia in order to prevent the latter from unifying her enfeebled peoples and re-establishing her position in the world.

The Russian revolutionists fell before the blow of Prussian militarism and surrendered to it the peoples who had hoped to obtain the right of self-determination. It is possible, even probable, that the situation in Russia may improve. But at present what the Germans aimed at in Russia has been attained. They have taken away Russian provinces, incited civil war in the Russian fatherland, and removed the danger of the Russian armies which threatened them. These armies having been prematurely demobilized for incomprehensible reasons, the enemy is able to direct all his forces against his other adversaries. He has also obtained in this way a considerable amount of war material and food.

This catastrophe, which has covered the Russian people with shame, has been a lesson to all other nations, for it has definitely confirmed the conviction that it was certainly Germany who provoked this terrible war with the aim of conquest and hegemony.

But the great and free America did not wait for this moment before deciding to declare war on Germany, who had placed above the principles of right and justice that of brute force. On account of the Germans' conduct in the war, which surpassed all known horror and barbarism, not sparing even neutral nations, the United States became convinced that it was its duty to restrain this bestial force if the world were not to fall under the yoke of Prussian militarism. America entered the war to defend civilization and the right of people to dispose of themselves.

The appearance of North America on the war stage filled the place made vacant by the surrender of Russia. Our allies having come to the conviction that they could count no longer on Russia, and that it would even be dangerous to regard her as a military asset, have employed all their forces in conformity with the new situation in order to fortify the solidarity which unites them and to augment their military and material force in proportion to what they had lost by the withdrawal of Russia, all with the idea of assuring the world a just and durable peace based on the liberty of the people to be self-determining. The strength of the army of our allies is greater by far than that of the enemy, not only in man power but also in material.Organization is improving, and on all questions there is complete accord. Quite recently German war atrocities decided Japan to participate still more actively in the struggle.

The Serbian people, who have made the greatest sacrifice and given the finest proofs of their loyalty and fidelity toward the Allies, may therefore be certain that their sacrifices have not been in vain, and that their ideals will be realized if they continue to give in the future the evidence of their military and civil virtues, and if, as in the past, they abhor all intrigues having for their aim the destruction of our concord and union in defense of the interests of our people, who bear three names, but who form but one nation. We have observed that Austria-Hungary, particularly in these latter days, has intensified her intrigues and her calumnies against the Serbian people. She began by spreading in Western Europe the false rumor that Serbia had tried, in an indirect way, to initiate pourparlers for a separate peace, because in our country and on the front of the Serbian Army she had suggested that she would be disposed to end the war against Serbia were it not for the fact that King Peter and the Serbian Government were opposed to the project. All such intrigues and calumnies, have only one end—to destroy the faith which our allies have in the Serbian people, to rupture the national concord, and by our discord and quarrels to assure the conquest of the Serbian Nation.

But our people know Austria-Hungary too well to be taken in by these infamous intrigues and to believe her lying words. The nation remains faithful to her noble allies, who are pouring out their blood for little and weak nations, and will not deviate one hair's breadth from her stand until the end. The Serbian people have given all that they have, and now, although few in numbers, they still stand faithfully by the side of the Allies. They should never lose sight of the fact that it was Austria-Hungary who provoked the war with the idea of annihilating Serbia.

Our allies will not fail to acquire the conviction that the various peoples of Austria-Hungary cannot be free, and that a durable peace cannot be guaranteed so long as these peoples shall live in the State of the Hapsburgs, who from peoples once free have made Germano-Magyar slaves and have prevented their development by subjecting them to Germano-Magyar exploitation.

Germanism in its drive toward the Orient hurled itself upon Serbia, and only as a single united nation of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, closely bound to Italy, can we obstruct the German push toward the Orient and Adriatic, and aid in the establishment of a durable peace.

We ask only justice. We demand that slavery of peoples be abolished, just as slavery of individuals was suppressed. We demand equality among all nations, whether great or small, the fraternity and equality of all nationalities, and the foundation of a free State of all the reunited Jugoslavs. The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France and the complete re-establishment of independent Belgium; the re-establishment of the kingdom of all the Czechs, also that of all the Poles, the union of Italians with Italy, of Rumanians with Rumania, of Greeks with Greece, all of which would constitute the greatest and most solid guarantee for a just and lasting international peace. Hence we proclaim what should be realized soon or later—if not after this war then after a new shedding of blood—because this realization is identified with the progress of civilization and of humanity.

These great ends, humane and just, which are incarnated with the life and growth of civilization, we repeat, should be realized. They embrace those great ideals which spring from the soul and sentiments of individuals and races, and which will vanquish the brute force of certain anachronistic States, just as, in the last century, they vanquished the brute force of the individual.

Let us pledge our honor and eternal gratitude to all the peoples who are fighting for the right of all nations to shape their own destiny and for an international peace both just and lasting.

The peace treaty between Rumania and the Central Powers was signed at Bucharest May 6, 1918, and is called "the peace of Bucharest." Dr. von Kühlmann, the German Foreign Secretary, was Chairman of the plenipotentiaries representing the Central Powers. A comprehensive synopsis of the terms of the treaty appears elsewhere in this issue ofCurrent History Magazine.

A writer in The London Times explains why Rumania was compelled to accept the enemy's exacting terms. He quotes General Averescu, the Rumanian Prime Minister, in these words:

If Rumania accepts the humiliating German peace terms and is ready to yield to her enemies the dearest part of her territory, she does not do it only to spare the lives of the remnants of her army, but for the sake of her allies, too. If Rumania refuses the German conditions today she may be able to resist another month, but the results will be fatal. A month later she might have to lose even the shadow of independence which is left to her now; and then, no doubt, the Germans would deal with her in the same way as they dealt with occupied France and with Belgium. The whole Rumanian army would be made prisoners, and would be sent to work on the western front against the Allies, while the civilian population would be compelled to work in ammunition and other factories for the Kaiser's army. I fought in the ranks in 1877 to help my country to win the Dobrudja. You may imagine how I feel now, having to sign the treaty which gives it to our worst enemies. But we are compelled to amputate an important part of our body in order to save the rest of it. However painful it may be, we are bound to do it.

To understand Rumania's situation, as The London Times correspondent goes on to say, we have to consider her position since Kerensky's fall. At the end of November, 1917, the front from the Bukowina to the Black Sea was held by a Russo-Rumanian force. Its flanks from Dorna-Watra to Tergu-Ocna and from Ivesti to the Black Sea were held by three Russian armies, numbering about 450,000 men, and by two Rumanian armies of about 180,000 men. The Russian armies were, of course, weakened by many desertions and by lack of discipline, so that their actual was much less than their nominal strength. Nevertheless, about 350,000 Russians were still holding the front at that time. When the Russian armistice was signed, Rumania was compelled, by the joint threats of Germany and the Soviets of the Rumanian front, to adhere to it. From that day the Russian troops began to leave the trenches, not in hundreds, as they did before, but in masses of thousands at a time. Thus, at the end of January, 1918, hardly 50,000 Russians remained on the whole Rumanian front, and they had no desire to fight the enemy, but, being from Siberia or some other remote part of Russia, found it more convenient to spend their time in Rumania than to go back to their own country. They could easily raise money by selling to the highest bidder (Austrian or Rumanian) their guns, rifles, motor cars, &c.

For a certain time many—especially the French—believed strongly in the Ukraine and in the promises of the Rada. Much money had been spent in recruiting an army of the Ukraine which was supposed to fill the gaps left by the Russian Army on the southwestern front. All that I saw of this army was a group of about 150 boys, none of them over the age of 16, armed with rifles with fixed bayonets, a pistol, a sword, and a dagger. All wore spurs, though none of them had a horse. They paraded in the main streets of Jassy daily between 11 and 12. I calculated that every one of these boys cost the Entente well over £10,000. But in time the most incorrigible dreamers realized that the Ukraine had played a trick on Rumania. Then the handsomeUkrainian toy soldiers were withdrawn from circulation, and no army ever replaced the Russians.

In the meantime, the Rumanian Government decided, for political and military reasons, to occupy Bessarabia. This operation required no less than seven divisions. Thus at the beginning of February the same front which was held in November by over 500,000 men was occupied by barely 120,000. Army supplies were getting shorter every day; and Rumania, being in a state of war with the Bolshevist Government, was completely cut off from the rest of her allies. In these circumstances Germany had an easy prey, and dealt with it in true German fashion.

When the treaty with the Ukraine was signed Rumanian Headquarters received a note from General Morgen, the German Commander in Chief, saying that, as peace with Russia had been concluded, the Rumanian armistice had come to an end, and that delegates should be sent without delay to Focsani to examine the new situation. The Rumanian delegates arrived at Focsani next day. They were received with such insolence by the German delegates that the Chief of the Rumanian General Staff, General Lupesco, threatened to leave immediately. The discussions, however, did not last very long, and the mission came back with the announcement that Rumania had to decide within four days whether she was ready to discuss peace terms or not. A Crown Council was held immediately; and the majority of the Generals declared that the army could resist for a month at the most. M. Bratiano and M. Take Jonescu, who could not consent to make peace with the enemy, resigned, and the King asked General Averescu, the most popular man in Rumania, to form a new Cabinet.

Meanwhile, King Ferdinand received a telegram from Berlin, by which he was warned that the Austro-German Government would not discuss peace terms with a Cabinet which included M. Bratiano or any member of his former Cabinet. The feelings of the King of Rumania—when he saw that even before peace discussions had begun the enemy had begun to interfere in Rumania's internal politics—-can be appreciated. But King Ferdinand carried his head high, as he had done all through the tragic misfortunes of his country, and was indifferent to German arrogance. He replied to Herr von Kühlmann that Rumania was an independent country, and had a right to any Government she pleased. But none of the members of the former Cabinet came into the new one. General Averescu formed a Government which had the tragic task of concluding peace, and thus of annihilating, temporarily at least, all the tremendous efforts that Rumania had made during the preceding fifty years to become, economically as well as politically, the leading power in the Balkans.

The peace negotiations were supposed to last for a fortnight at most. In fact, they were nothing more than a farce, for the Germans allowed no discussion at all. They simply laid their preliminary conditions before the Rumanian delegates, and, taking advantage of the military helplessness of Rumania, told them: "You can take it or can leave it." The Rumanian delegates made a few attempts to discuss the German terms, but they soon found that it was useless and that the only thing to do was to yield.

The fact was that Rumania had to satisfy three hungry enemies. Each had his own object, but in each case the result was the same from the point of view of Rumania—subjection to the German yoke. The Bulgarians were eager to accomplish their ideal of "a great Bulgaria" by the annexation of the Dobrudja. Therefore, Rumania had to give up the Dobrudja. The Austrians, under Magyar pressure, demanded the surrender of the Carpathian passes—a condition which was pressed by Count Czernin, who remembered with bitterness the rebuff that he had suffered from the Rumanian King and Government at the time when Rumania came into the war. The Germans were determined to seize the immensely rich oilfields of Rumania and tosecure for an unlimited period Rumanian wheat for Germany at a price to be fixed by German authorities. For years Germany had tried to get control of the Rumanian oilfields. Where bribes and the offer of a heavy price had failed, the chance of war now insured success. The oilfields were seized nominally by way of a monopoly for ninety-nine years.

As usual, Germany's allies had to yield up some of the prey to her. Thus the Germans succeeded in setting up a condominium over the most important part of the Dobrudja, between Constanza and the mouths of the Danube. From Campina, the centre of the oilfields district, a pipe line runs direct to Constanza, where the oil can be stored in enormous tanks, which were left practically untouched when Constanza was abandoned in November, 1916. It is essential for Germany that she should control the pipe line, and this she will certainly do under the form of the condominium.

As for the grain supply, the Germans, who had had to pay a heavy price for Rumanian grain before Rumania went to war, owing especially to British competition, were particularly careful to insure now against the repetition of anything so unpleasant. The form of the agreement which was dictated to Rumania on this point is that the surplus is to go to Germany after the needs of Rumania have been satisfied. What the needs of Rumania may be will be decided by a Rumanian commission; but this is to be under German control, and there is not much doubt that the ration allowed to the Rumanian population will be proportioned pretty accurately to the needs of Germany.

These territorial and economic advantages secured, Germany went on to add humiliation for Rumania to the heavy toll of material loss. They insisted that the eight Rumanian divisions which were holding the Rumanian front should be demobilized at once under the control of German staff officers. Finally, the Germans asked that the Rumanian Government should give all possible facilities to a German force to pass through Rumania to Odessa. In point of fact, on March 10, long before the peace conditions were settled, the first German battalions passed through Galatz on their way to the Ukraine.

All these humiliating conditions had to be accepted. The motive of the Germans in piling up their enactions so frequently was evidently to compel the Averescu Cabinet, which they suspected of being pro-ally, to resign. They hoped to force the King to form a Cabinet of their Bucharest friends. In this they succeeded. The present Government of Rumania may be pro-German; but the Rumanian Nation—from the last peasant soldier, who brought the Germans to a stand last Summer at Maraseshti and Oitoz, to the King—bitterly hates everything German. Isolated as Rumania is now, she waits breathlessly for the victory of the Allies, hoping to be helped to free herself from German dominion.

Following is a comprehensive summary of the treaty finally signed by the Rumanian Government at Bucharest, May 6, 1918:

Clause 1.—Re-establishment of Peace and Friendship.Article I. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey, on the one hand, and Rumania on the other, declare the state of war ended and that the contracting parties are determined henceforth to live together in peace and friendship.Article II. Diplomatic and Consular relations between the contracting parties will be resumed immediately after the ratification of the peace treaty. The admission of Consuls will be reserved for a future agreement.Clause 2.—Demobilization of the Rumanian Forces.Article III. The demobilization of the RumanianArmy, which is now proceeding, will immediately after peace is signed be carried out according to the prescriptions contained in Articles IV. and VII.Article IV. The regular military bureau, the supreme military authorities and all the military institutions will remain in existence as provided by the last peace budget. The demobilization of divisions eleven to fifteen will be continued as stipulated in the treaty of Focsani signed on March 8 last. Of the Rumanian divisions one to ten, the two infantry divisions now employed in Bessarabia, including the Jäger battalions which are the remnants of dissolved Jäger divisions, and including two cavalry divisions of the Rumanian Army, will remain on a war footing until the danger arising from the military operations now being carried on in the Ukraine by the Central Powers ceases to exist.The remaining eight divisions, including the staff, shall be maintained in Moldavia at the reduced peace strength. Each division will be composed of four infantry regiments, two cavalry regiments, two field artillery regiments, and one battalion of pioneers, together with the necessary technical and transport troops. The total number of the infantry of the eight divisions shall not exceed 20,000 men; the total number of cavalry shall not exceed 3,200; the entire artillery of the Rumanian Army, apart from the mobile divisions, shall not exceed 9,000 men. The divisions remaining mobilized in Bessarabia must, in case of demobilization, be reduced to the same peace standard as the eight divisions mentioned in Article 4.All other Rumanian troops which did not exist in peace time will at the end of their term of active military service remain as in peace time. Reservists shall not be called up for training until a general peace has been concluded.Article V. Guns, machine guns, small arms, horses, and cars and ammunition, which are available owing to the reduction or the dissolution of the Rumanian units, shall be given into the custody of the Supreme Command of the allied (Teutonic) forces in Rumania until the conclusion of a general peace. They shall be guarded and superintended by Rumanian troops under supervision of the allied command. The amount of ammunition to be left to the Rumanian Army in Moldavia is 250 rounds for each rifle, 2,500 for each machine gun, and 150 for each gun. The Rumanian Army is entitled to exchange unserviceable material at the depots of the occupied region, in agreement with the allied Supreme Command, and to demand from the depots the equivalent of the ammunition spent. The divisions in Rumania which remain mobilized will receive their ammunition requirements on a war basis.Article VI. The demobilized Rumanian troops to remain in Moldavia until the evacuation of the occupied Rumanian regions. Excepted from this provision are military bureaus and men mentioned in Article 5, who are required for the supervision of the arms and material laid down in these regions. The men and reserve officers who have been demobilized can return to the occupied regions. Active and formerly active officers require, in order to return to these regions, permission of the chief army command of the allied forces.Article VII. A General Staff officer of the allied powers, with staff, will be attached to the Rumanian Commander in Chief in Moldavia, and a Rumanian General Staff officer, with staff, will be attached as liaison officer to the chief command of the allied forces in the occupied Rumanian districts.Article VIII. The Rumanian naval forces will be left to their full complement and equipment, in so far as their views, in accordance with Article IX., are not to be limited until affairs in Bessarabia are cleared, whereupon these forces are to be brought to the usual peace standard. Excepted herefrom are river forces required for the purposes of river police and naval forces on the Black Sea, employed for the protection of maritime traffic and the restoration of mine-free fairways. Immediately after the signing of the peace treaty these river forces will, on a basis of special arrangement, be placed at the disposal of the authorities intrusted with river policing. The Nautical Black Sea Commission will receive the right of disposing of the naval forces on the Black Sea, and a naval officer is to be attached to this commission in order to restore connection therewith.Article IX. All men serving in the army and navy, who in peace time were employed in connection with harbors or shipping, shall, on demobilization, be the first to be dismissed in order that they may find employment in their former occupations.Clause 3.—Cessions of territory outlined in Articles X., XI., and XII.Article X. With regard to Dobrudja, which, according to Paragraph 1 of the peace preliminaries, is to be added by Rumania, the following stipulations are laid down: (A) Rumania cedes again to Bulgaria, with frontier rectifications, Bulgarian territory that fell to her by virtue of the peace treaty concluded at Bucharest in 1913. (Attached is a map showing the exact extent of the frontier rectification, with a note to the effect that it forms an essential part of the peace treaty.) A commission composed of representatives of the allied powers shall shortly after the signature of the treaty lay down and demarkate on the spot the new frontier line in Dobrudja. The Danube frontier between the regions ceded to Bulgaria and Rumania follows the river valley. Directly after the signature of the treaty further particulars shall be decided upon regarding the definition of the valley. Thusthe demarkation shall take place in Autumn, 1918, at low water level.

Clause 1.—Re-establishment of Peace and Friendship.

Article I. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey, on the one hand, and Rumania on the other, declare the state of war ended and that the contracting parties are determined henceforth to live together in peace and friendship.

Article II. Diplomatic and Consular relations between the contracting parties will be resumed immediately after the ratification of the peace treaty. The admission of Consuls will be reserved for a future agreement.

Clause 2.—Demobilization of the Rumanian Forces.

Article III. The demobilization of the RumanianArmy, which is now proceeding, will immediately after peace is signed be carried out according to the prescriptions contained in Articles IV. and VII.

Article IV. The regular military bureau, the supreme military authorities and all the military institutions will remain in existence as provided by the last peace budget. The demobilization of divisions eleven to fifteen will be continued as stipulated in the treaty of Focsani signed on March 8 last. Of the Rumanian divisions one to ten, the two infantry divisions now employed in Bessarabia, including the Jäger battalions which are the remnants of dissolved Jäger divisions, and including two cavalry divisions of the Rumanian Army, will remain on a war footing until the danger arising from the military operations now being carried on in the Ukraine by the Central Powers ceases to exist.

The remaining eight divisions, including the staff, shall be maintained in Moldavia at the reduced peace strength. Each division will be composed of four infantry regiments, two cavalry regiments, two field artillery regiments, and one battalion of pioneers, together with the necessary technical and transport troops. The total number of the infantry of the eight divisions shall not exceed 20,000 men; the total number of cavalry shall not exceed 3,200; the entire artillery of the Rumanian Army, apart from the mobile divisions, shall not exceed 9,000 men. The divisions remaining mobilized in Bessarabia must, in case of demobilization, be reduced to the same peace standard as the eight divisions mentioned in Article 4.

All other Rumanian troops which did not exist in peace time will at the end of their term of active military service remain as in peace time. Reservists shall not be called up for training until a general peace has been concluded.

Article V. Guns, machine guns, small arms, horses, and cars and ammunition, which are available owing to the reduction or the dissolution of the Rumanian units, shall be given into the custody of the Supreme Command of the allied (Teutonic) forces in Rumania until the conclusion of a general peace. They shall be guarded and superintended by Rumanian troops under supervision of the allied command. The amount of ammunition to be left to the Rumanian Army in Moldavia is 250 rounds for each rifle, 2,500 for each machine gun, and 150 for each gun. The Rumanian Army is entitled to exchange unserviceable material at the depots of the occupied region, in agreement with the allied Supreme Command, and to demand from the depots the equivalent of the ammunition spent. The divisions in Rumania which remain mobilized will receive their ammunition requirements on a war basis.

Article VI. The demobilized Rumanian troops to remain in Moldavia until the evacuation of the occupied Rumanian regions. Excepted from this provision are military bureaus and men mentioned in Article 5, who are required for the supervision of the arms and material laid down in these regions. The men and reserve officers who have been demobilized can return to the occupied regions. Active and formerly active officers require, in order to return to these regions, permission of the chief army command of the allied forces.

Article VII. A General Staff officer of the allied powers, with staff, will be attached to the Rumanian Commander in Chief in Moldavia, and a Rumanian General Staff officer, with staff, will be attached as liaison officer to the chief command of the allied forces in the occupied Rumanian districts.

Article VIII. The Rumanian naval forces will be left to their full complement and equipment, in so far as their views, in accordance with Article IX., are not to be limited until affairs in Bessarabia are cleared, whereupon these forces are to be brought to the usual peace standard. Excepted herefrom are river forces required for the purposes of river police and naval forces on the Black Sea, employed for the protection of maritime traffic and the restoration of mine-free fairways. Immediately after the signing of the peace treaty these river forces will, on a basis of special arrangement, be placed at the disposal of the authorities intrusted with river policing. The Nautical Black Sea Commission will receive the right of disposing of the naval forces on the Black Sea, and a naval officer is to be attached to this commission in order to restore connection therewith.

Article IX. All men serving in the army and navy, who in peace time were employed in connection with harbors or shipping, shall, on demobilization, be the first to be dismissed in order that they may find employment in their former occupations.

Clause 3.—Cessions of territory outlined in Articles X., XI., and XII.

Article X. With regard to Dobrudja, which, according to Paragraph 1 of the peace preliminaries, is to be added by Rumania, the following stipulations are laid down: (A) Rumania cedes again to Bulgaria, with frontier rectifications, Bulgarian territory that fell to her by virtue of the peace treaty concluded at Bucharest in 1913. (Attached is a map showing the exact extent of the frontier rectification, with a note to the effect that it forms an essential part of the peace treaty.) A commission composed of representatives of the allied powers shall shortly after the signature of the treaty lay down and demarkate on the spot the new frontier line in Dobrudja. The Danube frontier between the regions ceded to Bulgaria and Rumania follows the river valley. Directly after the signature of the treaty further particulars shall be decided upon regarding the definition of the valley. Thusthe demarkation shall take place in Autumn, 1918, at low water level.

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