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Show i People of Germany to Be Punished for Criticizing. j MILITARY DECREE' j Germans Learn of Fall! of Proud Kemmel Bastion. AMSTERDAM. Thursday, Sept. 5 Berlin and the province of Brandenburg Branden-burg have been placed under "the law relating to a state of siege which provides pro-vides for a fine or imprisonment for persons inventing or circulating un-i true rumors calculated to disquiet the populace," according to tho Cologne Zeitung. j A not accompanying the decree : which is signed by General von jLinsehgen of the Brandenburg province, pro-vince, calls attention to the clrcula-I clrcula-I tion of frivolous and sometimes ma- levolent and treacherous gossip, exaggerating ex-aggerating the transitory successes of i tho enemy and casting doubt upon Germany's power for an economic resistance re-sistance and depreciating tho wonderful wonder-ful achievements of the German troops I who, it declares, are victoriously with- standing the enemy. I General von Linsingen expresses the I hope lhat this admonition will suffice land that it will not beN necessary to enforce the decree. Tho Volks Zei-tung Zei-tung adds that similar decrees have been issued in Breslau and othr cities to become effective immediately, i Germans Learn of Disasters AMSTERDAM. Thursday, Sept. 5 Apparently it has not been possible to hide from the German peoplp the bil-1 bil-1 ter disappointment among the German Ger-man military authorities over the ; evacuation of Kemmel, one of the strategic strongholds southwest of Ypres. The Lokaj Anzeiger's military correspondent says the evacuation was effected-"with a heavy heart," and adds 'that the sole comfort surround-1 ing the withdrawal was that if -was 1 voluntary and that it served a tactical j purpose affecting the whole army on ; the western front "which docs not 'hesitate, at sacrificing a mere place ! when a purpose is to be attained." More outspoken is Koester, military writer in the Berlin Vorwacrts, who is completely at a lass to understand why "the proud Kemmel bastion" was j surrendered. He concludes that from the fact lhat , two American divisions had beon seen ' on -that part of Hie front some enemy 1 coup had been planned which now had been cleverly frustrated without cas-I cas-I ualties. Vienna newspapers received here ' continue to print interviews with Field ; Marshal von Hindenburg and General i von Ludendor(f, the latest appearing In the Ncuc Weiner Journal and Az j EsL I "The war has now been concentrated I 'upon French territory," General Lu-1 'dendorff Is Quoted as saying, "and by! the enormous utilization of troops and! ' materials has assumed proportions 'which have thrown ovorything hither-! hither-! to accomplished in the shade. Wc I thus far have stood the bitter strug-jgle strug-jgle honorably and are confident that I we will continue to do so. "We may all be thankful thajt the war in the forms it has assumed has on the whole' been spared us in our home territory, The armies of the ! Central powers are safeguarding" ! their homes." People Ask Inconvenient Questions 1 AMSTERDAM. '.Thursday.Scpt,: Efforts to counteract the inconvenient questions the German people are beginning be-ginning to "ask are ndv being made in Germany but with results thus far which scarcely, can be said to hearten the public. Gount von Posadowski-Wehncr, former for-mer chancellor, published an article Wednesday in which he pointed .out that it is now a matter of victory,. or political or economic destruction fori the fatherland. Occasional setbacks,' he said, could not bo avoided and he 1 exhorted the people, especially the 1 women, to have faith. i Urges Patriotic Campaign j He urged that from the legislative; j tribunal, the pulpit and from the pro-; fessional chair there should flow an t unceasing stream of warm and patriot- j Ic Impulse. ' Today Captain Newman of the Ber-1 lin war press bureau In an article blames the German nation -which hasj "become extremely selfish and ungrateful" un-grateful" for the "petty cavilling spirit spir-it which makes it difficult to look Into the future -with confidence." The Berlin , Vorwacrts complains that the popple are, not told the truth which j.t. says, is. (he cause for all ru-, ru-, niours. set .aflpaL |