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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Advocate, 1917-12-6, Page 13E MUR EDITN Cif f icia� Ct S�®r of Crime That Shockede �h . „ World is Q c �Y _ e Our Own Women From Those Murderers That Canada Fights and Votes Today Ttt :was•"ori October twenty -Second, 1915, that the world, still sick and shuddering from the i,,tzsitania horror awoke to' the realization that ones again Germany bad deliberately set aside all laws of peace or war, all considerations not only of chivalry, ' but' of mere humanity, had In O.'n• word, agai` stepped beyond: the pale ef'civilizatioiz.. On that da,y, the Bnit- ish Foreign Office made nubile; the report of Brasid. Whitlock; ' United States Ambassador to Belgium on -the "trial" , • and "execution° of . Edith Cavell: For days the world had waited for ,:.news of her. It loadbecome generally known thata form of trial of some '`"sort. had `either .taken place or was about to take place.; In sonde' quarters. fears were expressed as to,;,hor fate-- .sin some quarters, batt not :in many Tize idea that she would actually „be ' put to death does not seem seriously to. have occurred to anybody either in England or Amorlca. This is not surprialn_g,: for as we shall, see, ,even Miss Cavell :admitted' her "crinis" neutral representatives within sight and even volunteered the information of the prison in which she lay did not that"some of the men eo aided had written her from England thanking her for her assistance. This made the°ease"ivbrsi"l'or her. It laid her oP¢it"to the ".`criminal" charge (in the military sense) of having aided sol- diers to reach a country at, war with Germany insteadmerely of a viola- tion of the, passport regulations late Rolland. It would be interesting to know why her • "counsel" Herr Kir; schen, did not prevent her from pre judicing her casein this Way... The prosecutor asked that .the 4,tv Vx ,stili li death senfenceilbe passed under. paragraph ' 90 of"'the German Mili- tary Code, which .condemns to death those 'guilty 'ef "conductingsoldiers to the enemy." Obviously only the most strained, reading of thepara- graph could make it apply ..to the prisoner's casae. All this de Laval' gathered only at second hand; and this ,brings,.-.:310,,s,.to„ Sunday night, ct t •REFUSED HER CLERGYMAN. had ,had ,experience of :Berman milt- tary courts in operation, confirmed this almost' Unbelievable fact, Kir- schen solemnly promised de Laval to keep hini most fully- posted in all the developments of the case. THE TRIAL. We come now to Thursday, October 7. The trial' began that day and ended on: the next. As to what evi- denee .was hx ought out at the trial, Or Flow the trial was conducted, we know nothing and probably never shalI.. We know, however, that She Was accused' of having sheltered and aided soldiers to escape. This she admitted' very 'frankly, as did other persons tried with, her. There was never any inention of•:espionage-•tit was not till many months .afterwards anti for the same reason Which prompted the Kaiser's sheer noted abgyo'rthat" Germans began to speak of the "Spy Cavell." She was a British subject and could - not . be tried by a German court on the charge of treason. .A shas' bee • n said, conceive it: possible that a prisoner—. least of all a woman—accused of the military '"cri#Tte" Charged •-agaInst Edith Cavell' would suffer : the ex- trezne penalty. " What was the story of this wo- man'•s death that aroused the world to a>white heat of righteous indigna- tion? There have•been many military executions of women before and some since which •while generally known have caused` m comment,; What were :,,the circumstances' Surrounding this ,case which made the names of stilt !nen responsible for her death kin"g round the world 'in a eher'us of uni= r eva LL te•ieoez'ation? It; wall be best ;to give them in the order of their occur- rence. ' WOULD • NOT ESCAPE::: Edith Cavell was an Englishwoman, -who for some time: before. the out- . bzcai. of, the . ar was" the head of a big ,nursing institution "lir Brussels Before the "Ger lna.ns errtcred the city, she had plenty of time to :escape, but shechose rather to remain at her. post of duty. There was plenty for her, to do. {rounded: soldiers, French; German's, and Belgians flooded t'.e city and French, Germans 'and Bel- gians. 'alike were received anti ,cared tot tenderly and impartially, by h,ea seed by ,lies': assistants „ ftei h. death When the Germans, -thoroughly • On Ootob,er twelfth de Laval made two requests, one that he be allowed to see Miss Cavell, the other that she Might have the services .of. 11'.'. Gahan, the English chaplain.' -Both o1 {:hese requests were flatly refused, Word coming that she' might see any ane of. the th see .Protestant German chaplaul9 insi:eod De Laval was fur- thei °told. tilos even if sentence of ALL:RIGHTS DEMI D startled by the general den:unciatiorts ' death were passed, it could be con - of their .action sought by every pos- firnned only by the Military Clover-' sihle''nzeans to belittle the name of nor, who was - away :from Berlin for 'the woman- they. had killed, the; then two or three days. But sentence :h5•d ,German Foreign Secretary. then de- not get been pronounced it Was most clared that she'bave her services o,11Y tate;�orieally ',gated, and probably at a price beyond the reach 'of all no decision. would be arrived at for .`L•• a e the was lie and Via, two days._ ,0poo.again a promise was S v an :cheap lie..even for tize..,All I F.t'i? �xven, to 'azld,,the United gist's official mouti.pieee as,, the ovi- States pilo sly "and repeated half ,,denco of many of the yarn -toes melt a.' dozen 9iines""' that day' that: every Opal prove. move would be immediately reported. .At 8:30'•that night de' Laval got HER ARREST". wort! that Edith .Cavell was to St was en•Aust '12th that_ 1 dint u ; he 0 ;hot during the night, The Spanish Cavell: *asquietly arrested: 'so Minister was, hurriedly Sought cut quietly' that' news oC• •the''arrest id and lie, de -Laval and Hugh Gibson, not:'leait osis till the last day of .the secretary of the American Legation, ilrontii: Then' NTr. W1jitlockL, who.wt as rushed to `von "ser Laneken.' He .-was loosing after the interests of British t r• w' s subjects in 33russels,'reeeived a Corm- spondi'n,� the' evening •at a disrepu-' miss#:cation ,from ;the British Foreign' , table ,. theatre and there was much, Ofitce, asking him' to look. into 'her difficulty" in getting' 'an .orderly to disclose his whereabouts. - It was not cast.: `I -Ie •wrote on that day'to Baren von: der Lanelcen, civil governor of till ,7:0:30': that the Civil Governer deigned to return accompanied byBrassels,•,askng whether,' .she was wldrr a.rr©st,; :The Governor did not two members of his 'staff: Then be eve deignto.reply,.'in itself sells- gan a night of earnest..pleading and n strinsng for the . 1}1'e . of the little ;iacientlY :aerions breaeh•o>n„intoin• 'little' al: c�tiquotte. On S,epteznb,x 16 i4zz. Woman in :prison,:._Laociron over and oveir'a illi- 1otested: his.ignorance,, �'•,.'L'tirltitlaalc, wrote agrliu, aslrirxg pei>,1zls-, r fr ,..,I? .. . bogged Inc :spellers, to,go horns, and o t the fex_ce'o ` 'MIS's lion t tRlte t r tic i 1 over the matter sleep t`reasoilably Cavell with the least noses le del"a,3r•' " f o this von. der Lanoken replied that i,ud come again In the morning. . It vas only ,'0>11ep _Alio callers became, the' prisonerfracl •a;iimitted, havip�.. ,,. ,,.; . ::rconooaledoi i r,h ilea ariou En "rather insistent (In the diplomatic- , � �: i'. hsh.'a nd 'Tr nr 11 soleliers aa` well as language of Gibs(M) that' the irri-. '=eigiaus of nilltort' age, having pro sated Governor agreed to telephone ,,t 1dc d, thealn. 'with funds• 'and having to the preceding "Judge of the •sour! fac#lita,ted their departure froilx �3el rikia;zt sal. He ratizt. back ,With the filum: ;dile added..that 110'.' defcrtoo news that Miss Cavell 'cva;s`.to be. .. had been Intrusted to an, tidVoc,a,i,o bar '-lml during: rb1 night. Therc the naive Af ;Braun {'who is in tounh, lowed two !lotus, of the most searnest with the proper German author#tiers” ontr sty and p01. mtsion. '7 p.nCtte end concluded than those German could probably' have clone 'nothing', •l !put a . out]?oritles refused to a;llolar iiiter� rirnsoiC, u,, he flatly refused to' views of any, with the accused commt1111cat0 with those who could.' person. .Mastro 'Gaston c1e Laval, 'rhe 'arguments used by . ttic callers; el for theA'i erioail Le > '_ were:,'suffici;esatly•blunt:' The. cabbed corms n .{,slier!, y utas therefore neotei' peimit.tec1 to see z spade a spade 'more than once hes L'anch'ea , swallowed it, One men1-' • 'What end' was 'served by this' kill- Ile.dzd, hewevy manage to get ori ,her of. his staff lcgxetted openly that, ing of Edith .Cavell? Why was' it interview Wi'tli 131,aliir.,yonly to learn there were lot k41.1,10 or three old necessary to,l•ush:througiz a, farcical, th:Lt the lank!' !vizi 'dropped ' (Mt t Engils13 S0'91nen' to, shoot.": 111111ly, trial inlpOse senten(e 111 a cell with long. lifter niidu#g}it, when it hcica ire toelce(1 ,chars and hurry the friend- the case and was replaced 4 1 ' n).1 lc ss prhisonet fo death all vVillin! ,"sew 7�i1 aclrelr. S .ir^schen in turn cls " ahparent that nothing could, be clone,. hours. tvlt was: it necessary t y ti o the three Men left to break. 1 1 n1) 1(1 add lyingto ,i ltnfle1 #n err zx the'appahinV fact that 'lawyers de to the little kind. of women who had Iia, a1 •posh fending prisoners before Geraldtn 1�'oricea With;the):.prisoner and lovedsihie t r,cn 'the whole bloods her: Gibson 'tramped h burin els Trois, the e1r'. of Vit: hhndPul military caul is ,are not atlowziti tb (- 6,1'0 ;, n the' titret,a, .all . l ". .; > ,, �;; , ,, ni hi: tina;bi,e : to sloe i, 1c1p1 .ss x.e, irr., tnt. t vcs ci 1.1 tonsils g. 7. li ' a sig`" e. their c ozrQ s e. "i. c s s I b fa e 11b .trial PPIvers; C t a .and', ,...:;:, ": ..;..... � ;...'; rY � 1 � whCr1 11:(ierlr'1F1ti.wOrxr.6l.rt S was .1,5 > HER LAST MOMENT" c i h. MOMENTS. Ca t i ed handed i `i actual � � areshowtl rto.tie of the docltinents oi. . , . . . : ,, ospioni go. rta (Gngtait 1 comet 111 l e4 the larotiecutlon. 7t Wae tliorafore Mea;xit.imo issuesclic!' 11i;r: (mhos! bole was a11tj':„ivy#r,j>uh111 tz1a1 htd in ani esty irnposslib7o to pr;el aro nny hall ainarl l cixriiss#ori to loo i11e fora rivii colerts wi eviry obser:-, cvztdernfied tVon .,31.: t' ' 0 'wag, ca Y , ' r, lrlt' vat e.e'of ii.,.. �.,, �. C fenca nen 111. the 11 e„ez ac o1 t z... . r; sh llu'. i'3 }t d o> 1 ti* , >, y di h,, s11d- fae.et �,th aldcal� v r 1 e tiilaatt.t a seta, z tvlf >> . . .,•, � .,,.. 31.:, �c>aitc2leF.. _ , il'ihat �ai� t;• l\1\\�Stttttl�t t11t,4\.tA s • 1 „ 1 1 4 4 1� l.. 1 l 4 • IN'THE TRAIL OF, THE ZEPPELINS 'a tis la' fi� 1' 11 e1 \'41 4 , n111tt �1 4 1 4,41 tike\`; a.” 31 1 1 4: 0 lw�k Ai* i4 9,99911. 99 9411 '.1 tl s�xtie\ 4i3 gg 9'aqe 99 ;i • h, 1,0 Yt: 1d 1 "13ut'rnothe_rhas ,do no ing, has. she,Daddy?" °Dadd?” ■ patidotisn isr -not •enough. must hate noKhatiedt i,• bitterness towards .. any one." .They _shot her' just • {before :day- break,. day -break;. She was denied the support 1. of her own clergymen' at the end. , • Tl German chaplain who was with l • _ her'^then did not attempt' te'c'oneeai his admiration. ' "She ,was courage - Otis ..to the end. She said she•was ' glad to die for her' country. '. She , died like a• hero" be said. Theyre- fused to givo_;her;,.bodyto her friends. She is buried_ wtthin;, the prison walls' of nt,C?ijies : t, 'Those' are the bold facts of • her trial 'and.; death. A greater and more studied outrage 111 'the name o% justice was never perpetrated:* Every fundamental right ,of " the • ib ,dividual was denied her. There. was In the first -place a 0o, reason for a court-martial; for the German civil tribunals in Brussels were alI in operation \Ve ao not'compel any one_'ta testify against; himself. -eve inform as prasonei- 11i "advance of'his trial'" of: the,'chai'ge on which he' is hest1 We allow communication be- tween prisoner •and ,counsel,' our trials are public: and. open. Most nauseating of , till _•• perhaps, • Edith Caveil's• judges dict:0at pass sentence on her • In court: . At 'dead'. of night they;:stepped fluietly ,into her'. sten, and' told her of her 'doom' behind locked doors. At the supremo men€'she was'denioei the •simple, Qtly- ii'oge ,of .one 'kindly :face, ,on'e sup portink.. rieudl hancl._ Latere'bti"'wherilrGermnany "realized that this shooting of; one old English - warner} had:stirred the world •as;rio other•, ;single crime' in a. century, there •{vas a' frantic seeking of ex- cures. ' 1 -Teri' ' Zinimernia•nn, : the I'+'oreign Secretary hnnself 'led talo ;Van. of the 'seekers. ` His discovery was that the judges had 'no discre- tion in the matter; that the'military code..had to-. be.observed. But he made ;the .,7ad..,rniatake of adrnittirig in thenext; breath -that women wh0. expected to.•• .„bernotihers were, never subjected t:c the eC.treme penalty, Noti'the German. miiltary code tnalkes no such exception. ,Evidently 111011; the plea of -no discretion was worth. nothing at all. Not "even the Is a,iser' hizriselficould have:. 'pardoned. Miss Cavell. Said : von Lancl.on., When the Kaiser von Ix -molten was :called 011: fei1, an explanation, and was in y ex y:bet water for some dray's,; A 13 1)18ti01 - bf,sport," fact and as as hE roa,lz ad thg Very Se1107a?; hairn rho' shootirl;g of Miss 'Cavell had' done to;r the :German 'cau3o ire in.tde,lhastc '' to ," Pardon, every womn aw"'O had been tried with her ,nci, advertised the ` fact' to the . reato' ' POssibl,o e11t{u1t through ,the King o; Spain, 7:ie no; doubt realized that in this case, as"' la. the murder. of the Due .ci'L nt liten by Napoleon a , Contw'y earlier 'what: had happe sed was, 'worse than a,.. oxime, 1t i1as;a, 137iri1cicr," WHAT END „SERVED? Itr( s ` �IDrt, nrMva,wr o .�- umv ww+ LL 'HE CANADIAN �V O EN GIVE ' HEIR SOLDIERS COMFORT -. -BUT ND V C 'DRY There has been nothing more beautiful sante the war began than the devotionof the women -folk of the; soldiers to their men living in discomfort and danger. They have in the great majority of cases abandoned ever 'other'interest in if ivs , - r life andgiven themselves es u x1 hely yc,v pc mil They t working for warm o � gthe. boys: at the: front. knit them �� alzn souks for the wet trenches—they send thein heavy sweaters to keep out the searching cold of a Flemish, :winter7 110y,ship them' all sorts of com- fortable garments and familiar delicacies—they equip the hospitals in ':which they may chance any; day to he with everything thinkable, to restore their strength and while away the tedious time., Their minds can dwell upon nothing but their best beloved on the battlefront --how they can comfort them, sustain. them, keep them in good health and good heart, and enable them to press on like good soldiers. Is it conceivable then that these. same devoted women -folk of <our magnificent men in the, arinyr, will deliberately tens to these ,ween the one thing they sncst'covet? , Is it concehvablo that.tliey will work night; and day to give these soldier bays o£theirs xl ere.•bodily Comfort, and then will not spare half -114711011r ;to east a, vote which will give them 'what they value itnmeasurably.,rore--the reinforcements which will bring VICTORY? Touch the elbow of any Canadian soldier at the, front :and 'ask 'him what is the single, big, dazzling: thing -he'wants , out of'all .Ale 'best rifts the world can offer! Will he say "anotherpair:of:socks?",L\Viii Blas "a jar -of jam?" It is too ridiculous ,to dwell 'ore,these trivialities`"f matter how grateful and necessary they The•. all-engrossi-il dominating, towering thought in the soldier's mind. which 'dw everything else, is beating the 13oches and saving civilization. , • * * * • There ought to be no trouble in our visualizing this evenfawa here in peaceful Canada. Our "boys are risking their livesuin, Euz and we may be very •sure that they are doing this for no slight,obfe All the comfort -bringing things:: we do 'for:'them only enable, t1 "carry on" and take this deadly risk for a longer time TLhe' •is the risk -not the hardships .orf -the sufferings;, The big.'t word, is their being there at all. And why are they;: there .the war!. -that and that alone. - What they want their women -folk to do for then. above 'ev else; is to help them with the war. `They enjoy • comforts,- every drop of blood in their' veins they : demand ' VICTORY will die willingly if they can be assured that those who Cornea will persevere until they have won" VICTORY. They th cannot win this VICTORY alone.- They hoped to do, • so.-'dv enlisted, but the fates have been against -them:-' _Russiahof disorder and Italy has suffered_ :a 'terrible .:check.- -o:Mof'.'e a;l troops must now come if VICTORY is tobe obtained:.. An what they supremely desire to be assured of to -day. • - * * * >k, They look back to their`. women -folk. in Canada to ,. for the steady stream of reinforcements which is to win. the VI, whether they happily live to see itor not. Their chances of liv see, it will, be greatly increased with every ue .regiment whit" Canadianelectors, men and women, v.:op to, send "over -;Every regiment not only brings the VICTORM-nearer, but relieves the on .the men now under arms.- -It brings,three. things,: relief, :ho VICTORY; but' the greatest of these is VICTORY, •:. , It is impossible to believe that this 'appeal from • then f husbands, brothers and sons at the front will be disregarded sincerely loving and anxiously listening and devotedly laboring folk at home..' They will vote as, they have been working and' and hoping, " They. will • not: give their .,beloved' ever ything ye :.deny. them this one,thing; most..desPeratel. desired.,- ;3 'avE• or en's Military ery MO/ I EDITH' CAVELL- MARTYR 1 e x.. 1 S .r FOOD ITS GRE ; Tile Union Co 1ninent's 'aetion ..taking - control of the packing , business, is regarded'as :the Hardest !slow struck P ,yet at the cost' of living. :file •official announcement, issued •at Ottawa on November 1.3; says: , "In carrying out the po1ic" ,of, the Union Covern,ment,' as announced by the Prime .Ministcr`shortlyafter' its forma- tion, it has been decided, to, establish effective control over. all packing houses in .Canada. "The control ,of .profits shall be as. follows: "1. No packer shall Le entitled -to a profit lllofethan two per :test of his -total atntuit tilrntover that is, his total ,, ,. ri wales during' ay'one yenr.''�� .., "2: If the two 'per cent. on a1nual , tttl llov'cz exceeds seven er c4,nt; of the actual; cat !tai lzlvested ill the .bltsiness the pntfits shall be further restricted as follows: a) Lip to seven per, cent ``,oii,';c71'ita1+ the pa73314: tflay �j :.- G a.larier The 'Military, Service Act of 1017 is much thole lenient, and. s thetie in its provisions than was the Military .11,ct-'of 186s, s-%'ezme by Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1901.. The old Act empowered the Government'- to send` ovei.e necessary for the defence of Canada all British subjects' in between the ages of eighteen and sixty years: 'The Mibita•rY . Sul'vi 'calls for but',100,000 men, betweeti''the 'ages'of 2Q arid' 3 , '-9i.'3". -not Governinent but by Parliament. ..justice was Iizj e under the. oId 11I11rtxa Act, lace ruse ,t were selected by the ballot, or blind chance )-finder,. then new :s men are selected intelligently and sympathetically by civilian tribe . Again, :tinder the old 111ilitiaAct as left on trio statute books b Wilfrid. Laurier, the• first class included men eighteen years of age. present Act .leaves, such young•"amen; immune, starting ,to flake ' .only at the age.of twenty. , All male British subjects in Canada between 171' a;ge,s'=o1 `-ei sisty'-were liable 'for service under- stirs j`l4If11ita ct .:t xi ex^ ; t Act of 1917, only 100,000 of'the melt"' ' bietween 20•:4nd '60': jroari. liable. ' The old system enabled the existing Government to call uti' at 1ts }ef SU' Versos sent o ea c r. e e t ha ,p , w he per? G v trim nt d -relopt d rno,cr; tic wey ;of securing,an .Act of Parliament ter each Gail They old Militia. Act empowered military officers, in an e alter: or destroy all buildings,. lands,: food,. -crops, fodder, Sic{} e.4';. the.. entire. possessions of 'filo people. •Tlze<.'r':w 7lt i ±,, ervui no such powers to the military; bur rats ;the:contxa 01:7 0 s ' i 1 1t' boards •o' r'Iva;te c ti' Sri civil an rands. Cxeml, len Ela. , t, r s, ;Jadg,as an_dt� police administer the Act. pay -for tlze" rank n,nd file under; : the iiew !act is . Tngi 2 •th,�:n , high as Was their.' Pay as laid down, by sir''' wricrid'''[',;ii'ier •io90 erg n, Ont. Ir►siuit l��c 33.x- ow N® Kitchener, Ontario, until, J,.. 1.. en h Uerlizi, it is elle"centre of a ditli the name of the town was chat made a bralefl violent r" y v7ent pot 1)11' ' hyo'{ ltrduLy..1 .;