It goes down alleys and
avenues and fills the cafes. You can see Belgians standing together,
whispering. Twice they actually set the date when King Albert would
return.
"This excitement and unrest, and the feeling of the English coming in,
is fostered and encouraged by the articles in French and neutral
newspapers that are smuggled in. I do not anticipate any uprising among
the Belgians, although the thoughtless among them have encouraged it. An
uprising is not a topic of worry in our councils. It could do us no
harm. We would crush it out like that," and von Bissing snapped his thin
fingers, "but if only for the sake of these misled and betrayed people,
all seditious influences should cease."
I asked the Governor General the attitude of officials of the Belgian
Government who were being used by the Germans in directing affairs.
"My predecessor, General von der Goltz," he replied, "informed me that
the municipal officials in Brussels and most Belgian cities showed a
good co-operative spirit from the start. The higher officials were
divided, some refusing flatly to deal with the German administration. I
do not blame these men, especially the railway officials, for I can see
their viewpoint.
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