OCR Text |
Show Shooting Civilians. According to the laws of war, any civilian who is found with arms in his possession is liable to be shot without mercy. Although this seems a very severe rule, it is absolutely necessary nec-essary for the safeguarding of the whole civil population. The rules of war say that no men will be recognized as combatants unless un-less they wear a distinguishing badge, which can be easily recognized. If it were not for this, any number of men could at any time band themselves together, and say they were belligerents. belliger-ents. If this were allowed, therefore, invading troops would safeguard themselves them-selves against surprises by killing every man in villages through which they marched. This particular rule is so stringent that even a noncombatant who took up arms to defend his wife against some drunken soldier would he liable to be shot. |