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Show BELGIANS LONG FOR THE W OF DELIVERANCE General Von Bissing, New German Governor General, Gen-eral, Says They Expect Liberation Soon, SOUND OF CANNON BRINGS GREAT JOY Military Ruler Does Not Expect to Be Driven Out Very Soon; Submits to Interview. BRUSSELS, Belgium. Feb. 6, via London, p. m. "The Belgians," said General von Bissing, the new German governor general of Belgium, in an interview in-terview today with a representative of the Associated Press, "are politically undisciplined children. They believe their liberation from German rule may come at any moment and they are strengthened in their belief by the French newspapers as well as by Borne neutral newspapers, which continually are smuggled in. ""When, as it frequently happens ' continued the governor general, "a favorable fa-vorable wind brings the sound of cannon can-non to the city, the Belgians believe the longed-for day has come. On several 1 occasions the very date for the return of King Albert has been set and no number of disappointments seem to crush the hopes of the people." General von Bissing is 71 years of age. He is somewhat above the middle mid-dle height, spare and wiry and with features and demeanor of one who is very just, but very severe. He Etrengthened this impression by his answer an-swer to the question whether the Belgians Bel-gians had attempted to throw obstacles in his way. Fear the Germans. "Only in petty ways," he replied, "by pin pricks here and there. Undoubtedly Un-doubtedly they would like to, but they know if they did I should immediately adopt very drastic measures. " "What has been the attitude of the Belgian government officials toward the German government?" the governor general was asked. "The municipal official.," General von Bissing repiipd, j general! v co-operated with us from the beginning. Trie ieher officials took a divided stand, v.-h'iif; some absolute;.- refused to have anything to do with us. Officials f'f t-n.e department of justice, on the nther hand, realizing the importance of a proper functioning of the judicial branch of the government, worked lov-aily lov-aily -with the military government from the f i rst. "We have had much trouble with the postal and railway officials. The for mer are being gradually won over to co-operato with us, hut the latter, feeling feel-ing that the railways are an important adjunct of warfare a conception which is quito true and justifiable generally have refused to do anything to help us. They feel it would be unpatriotic and unloyal to assist us, even indirectly, indirect-ly, in carrying war against their own land. Courts Still Exist. "The Belgian civil courts," the gen eral said, "still exist and they try ordinary or-dinary cases of broaches of the law of the land. All crimes against soldiers or the unilitary government are tried by so-called courts, which are military courts, presided over by German judges. ' lt has been asserted," said the interviewer, in-terviewer, "that, the Belgians were misled mis-led and betrayed by their own government govern-ment and even that they have, without their knowledge, come under the complete com-plete control of the British and French financial world. Does vour excellency believe this to be truef" General von Bissing 's answer to this cmestion was the paragraph quoted in the foregoing to the effect that "the Belgians are politic-ally undisciplined children. ' ' What inference was to be drawn from his answer the general did not indicate. J He also left unanswered the question j whether he believed that if Belgium or ! part of that country eventually became j a part of Germany it would ever be ! possible completely to Germanize the j count rv, making it a harmonious por-j por-j tion of the German empire. Would Not Answer. J "I dont think that is a question I can answer at the preseDt time," he replied. General von Bissing added that conditions con-ditions in Belgium, as a whole, were as good as could be expected under the circumstances. "We are bettering them aa rapidly as possible. In some directions we have not yet accomplished what we hoped, but in others we have succeeded better than we expected." General von Bissing at first made only emphatic gestures when asked whether, in view of all that had happened, hap-pened, it was not a political and mil-itarv mil-itarv error to have invaded Belgium. "Xot to have marched into Belgium would have been a very grave mistake," mis-take," he replied. "If we had not done so France and England would. Even this, long before the war, made it apparent that some sort of an al-. liance existed between Belgjum and ' France and Great Britain. The last-; named two would, perhaps, have found i some pretext to make it appear that they were coming as allies and that thev were not violating Belgium's neutrality, neu-trality, but they would have come. Germany Ger-many then would have found herself in a position of great danger. A strong state simply could not suffer itself to be brought into a position so highly disadvantageous. There was no other course for Germany." American Relief Necessary. Speaking of American relief in Belgium Bel-gium in reply to a querv whether su'h help reallv were needed, General von Biasing said: "It was and till is necessary in the highest degree." 'There have been suggestion," paid i the representative of the Associated i Pre?s that the Gerrran army has bn using some foodstuffs nt to Belgium by Americans. What has your excet-: excet-: lency to say to thati" "Such assertions must be denied absolutely. ab-solutely. We are not eve a uinjj any Belgian products at the present tun, but are drawing the entire food suppiv of our soldiers from Ormany. It wa"? only during the first davs nf th occupation oc-cupation teat we lived off the rr,r.ntrv in any degree. As for the A merican supplies it is highly important that thev kep romin rr-ilarly. Wo are working harmoniou?:v with the American rrm-minion rrm-minion and the ro-pnrt thsr the Gorman Gor-man government ever placed orntrii'lr-ji in the way of the American relief workers work-ers is iele. ' ' |