Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 122, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 May 1915 — KEEP SENTRY BUSY [ARTICLE]

KEEP SENTRY BUSY

Smugglers and Fugitives Run Gantlet on Holland Many Shot, but Germans Hesitate to Fire Over Line for Fear of Neutrality Violation—Lacerated in Wire Maze. Bergen-op-Zoom, Holland. Dutch soldiers under arms stand at Intervals along the Dutch-Belgian frontier near here, keen observers of the movements of the Germans in devastated Belgium. The Dutchmen, themselves not at war, live through at least some of the excitement of actual fighting, for in the stillness reigning over the peaceful agricultural districts about here they can hear from time to time the roar of cannon from the direction of Zeebrugge. Also they are often witnesses of the chase by German troops of young Belgians making a dash for the frontier in an effort to get to Holland and thence across the channel to Flanders to join the Belgian army In Flanders. The German sentries just over the river separating the two countries never cease their vigilant lookout for these young fellows and have taken many precautions to prevent their crossing the line. Bushes have been cut down and obstacles in the way of a clear view of the landscape have been removed. Barbed wire entanglements' have b%en erected for many yards. Yet the young Belgians dare everything. They crawl beneath the wire in the night and with luck manage in many cases to get through at the expense of torn clothing and flesh. Then, however, there is the open space before the frontier to pass. This is closely guarded by' German landsturm troops, but the Belgians, often try to cover it in a desperate dash under the fire of the sentries. Many of them succeed, for the Germans take good care not to fire in the direction of the frontier, as they would thus run the risk of shpoting the Dutch sentinels on the other side of the line and in this way committing a breach of neutrality.

Once within Dutch territory the Belgian youths are free. As they are not yet soldiers, they cannot be interned and most of them make their way to a port for shipment across the channel. The Dutch troops on other parts of the frontier have to keep a sharp lookout for smugglers of contraband from their own territory into Germany. These smugglers, because of the rich profits in case of success, are darinj and risky and do not hesitate to use violence against their own countrymen.

Gasoline and horses are the mos* profitable to the smugglers. The former brings at least treble its former price. Sound horses of any age fetch extraordinary prices from the Germans, anything up to SSOO being paid for draft horses. All roads leading to the frontier are closed to traffic. Directly on the border line at wide intervals stand single sentries with their loaded rifles resting beneath their arms. About 200 yards farther back is a second line of sentinels and behind these some distance in the rear are pickets of a dozen men, each with a noncommissioned officer. The smugglers naturally» keep to side paths or go across country. In case they should be seen by the pickets they are at once arrested and their loads confiscated. Often, however, at night they succeed in passing through the gaps between the pickets. Then their progress becomes more difficult and their presence is often discovered by the forward lines of sentries, who fire if the smugglers, as sometimes happen make a dash to reach the German lines.