SERBIA THE LAND OF MARTYRDOM.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 July 1916, Page 10

SERBIA THE LAND OF MARTYRDOM.

A XICITK.AL DKSHiIBKS iU'I.OAT! !'[u'p,i;nr,s. women klwiced in imsur (A'tie Til RV MR (icneva, May 1. A _ vivid plctuit- of ti,<! in iseries of Serbia is provided by a neutral wlio left Sp,n 'i,i (Hungary) with a food convoy ."'nt by Americans to relieve the Serbs "Tlic kindly rendered to tlieae 1111tortmiiite people by humane Americans," it ~a\s, U. however. a.s i; dron f water "I the desert, a».J they are too few in numbers to control the tyranny prevalent m this land of martyrdom.' "I reached Obrenov-ats' where I found about SIX) people, composed ol' women, children and old men; they were supplied with l-IO 21b loaves and J81)0 k« ol potatoes. tbi my return 1 fomul that nothing initlier had been given 'At I'alanka, where the survivors of . w>lr »w in «» indescribable state of tw'; v \ T 1 fron ' hj,r > the Tlnns barbarous militarism is rampant ill all Its horror. A little girl of !J J ears, having -stolen' a. half-pound loaf, Mas struck m an excess of fury bv a Hungarian ollioer. A few passers-bv endeavored to rescue the child from the officer's brntalitv, and he thereupon drew his revolver on them, killing an old man and wounding others. This criminal action passed, o"f course, unpunished. WHOEESALE EXECrTI(IXS. ■•At Krusheyats 1 myself witnessed the hanging of nine men accused of theft, all lime being hanged on the same day. 11l the Place St. Micael three wo.men w«'re bound to posts and whipped till tJioy fell from exhaustion and pain, their children being forced to witness the scene. "They had committed the crime of ■insulting' l ierinan officer- and soldiers. It IS not possible for me to detail the further cruelties committed in the various other villages through which I passed, but it is worthy of note that those Serbs who are unfortunate enough to live near the Bulgarian frontier arc subjected to even greater cruelties than their countrymen in other parts of the country. -Since the occupation of Zayechar bv the Bulgarians 37 men have been hanged for 'high treason.' Ten women were so severely, beaten that six died of their wounds, and the others are maimed for life. I myself have seen the place oil the wall of a church near a cemetery where a child's head was battered in b'v Bulgarian soldiers. CIYILIAX-S DENIED IiKEAD. In the I imok district the misery of the inhabitants is horrifying. The little food that they were able to procure has been forcibly taken from them by the Bulgarian soldiers. "The whole population is literally dying of hunger, and daily people drop dead 111 the streets from want and exhaustion. I his, however, only gives more incentive to the barbarians to calmly carry out their work of torture. "Nisi! can only be described as the town of martyrs. All monuments of Serbian national history have been destroyed. Ihe libraries have been destroyed by the Bulgarians and Austro- • iermans. "The 'l'lacc Obrenovic lias become the Place of Torture. Whipping-posts Jiave been erected here, and every day a, number of unfortunate wretches fall uncon'■scious from the terrible blows administered by the Bulgarian soldiers. "The 'Place is tilled with the cries of agony of the victim, Hogged by the solfliers under the orders of their officers. Besides the punishment- meted out bv court-martial the soldiers themselves iiillict nameless crueltie., upon the inhabit ants. lilil'TAL ili;i:iJEl,' 111-" A L'IIIIjI). "I myself saw a child of six years killed by a blow from a ritle-luitt for having stolen a carrot from a barrow drawn by two old men and escorted bv two soldiers. "At Leskovats the situation is slightly better owing to the presence of a few Americans who have threatened to denounce any such abuses. At Stajkovcc (south of Leskovats| 1 witnessed the hanging ol lour jm-i'mjin on true. 1 hi' St'ilts in Xoviba/ar arc iortumitely living under better conditions. Kood is scarce, it true, but what there is ol it is regularly distributed. Ihe treatment of the population is, however, >carcc!y better than in other parts of the country. Any oll'ence to a Herman or Austrian officer is paid for J'.v the lite oi an ollender; and insults to soldiers are wiped out at the whipping posts.

Any disorder or revolt is punished bv shooting the per-ons responsible (and others on the lightest pretext I, but the people are <o depressed and in such a deplorable state of misery that any manifestation on their part is well-nigh impossible. "it is also worthy of note that thousands of persons have been sent into Austria-Hungary to work in the lields or the munition works. The women so employed ha ve been separated from their children, so that the latter will not have to be led in* Au-tria-liiingary, where food is, of course, daily becoming scarcer."