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Show BIG BATTLE IS NOWTN PROSPECT I I GERMANS TAKE AMERICAN , I RELIEF STORES FROM THE STARVING IN FRANCE lied Si Three-fourths of Supplies for Women and Children Chil-dren Taken by Soldiers for Own Use Herd Civilians Together and Then Shell Village, Killing Several. War Correspondents' Headquarters, With the British Armies in France, Wednesday, March 21 (From a staff correspondent of The Associated Press.) "We would have starved if it had not been for the American relief commission," declared a French woman wom-an in the city hall of Nesle today to the correspondent, speaking for herself her-self and her two little children, their pallid faces and high cheek bones glv-ht glv-ht in? evidence of their privations. Wherever one went in the territory recently evacuated by the Germans the same story was repeated. There are many other stories of hardships being told, although most of the in- habitants said the German soldiers had been well disciplined and kept strict-aj strict-aj ly under control. It was repeatedly "Q asserted, however, that within the past few weeks the Germans had ap-1 st propriated some of the American re-1 lief stores to their own use, even to the extent of three-fourths of the supplies. sup-plies. It was also said that the Ger-1 Ger-1 mans took possession of the white flour, issuing black flour instead to the inhabitants. Some of the peasants encountered in the evacuated territory were plainly plain-ly joyous at their liberation. Others appeared to have their spirits broken. Their attitude was one of absolute submission to anything that might hap pen. Many young children, who had L seen nothing but German soldiers in k 1 their lives, Btared today in almost P stupid wonder at the British Tom-j mies clad in khaki and wearing their ' j Bteel hats. Homes Broken Ud. One of the greatest ordeals the peo-pie peo-pie said they had to endure was to stand by and see their homes broken up by the Germans as the soldiers were leaving. In some instances the French inhabitants who had been held virtually as prisoners during the German Ger-man occupation had been segregated j in certain parts of the villages while' the work of destruction was going on elsewhere. People Herded Together and Shot. At Rouly, it was stated and reiterated reiter-ated by scores of persons, that the inhabitants in-habitants of this village and of several sev-eral other villages had been gathered at Rouiy-Le-Petit in certaLn houses and told to remain in them a certain number num-ber of hours, while the Germans got away. While BO herded together, they declared, the Germans had sent 200 shells into the village, killing several persons. The funerals, which were in progress In the village today, lent color col-or to the story. People in other vil lage? also assert that they distinctly I heard this firing and thought that a . I battle was in progress 7 It was pitiful to motor today through villages which had been far from the firing line and untouched by any shells and yet were lying in absolute ruins Active steps are being taken by both the British and the French to relieve the people in the liberated zone. Boys Carried Off. About the only persons seen are old men. women and children. Boys vnIio had attained the age of sixteen years or more since the German occupation occu-pation and men who were considered over the military age by the French were taken off by the Germans for work behind their lines. Many of these French boya and old men had been compelled to work in the German Ger-man trenches where they said they also met many Belgians and Russians, the latter, of course, being prisoners of war. It was asserted that one of the reasons for the wholesale deportation depor-tation of Belgians was the necessity for this labor in constructing the new positions to which the Germans have fallen back. The Germans wished to spare the soldiers from this work and so employed these unwilling civilians and prisoners. I"" Saw Down Trees. The amount of work involved in sawing down fruit trees in the evacuated evacu-ated territory is almost incalculable and everywhere the destruction seems o have been carried out within the past few days. The Germans claim that some trees other than fruit trees with destroyed for the purpose of blocking the roads, this being justified jus-tified by military law, was belied in many places where trees lining the roads and deliberately cut down fell in positions away from the roadway. I In any event, the clearing of the roads of fallen trees was a matter of comparatively com-paratively few minutes. |