Academic

When scowling square-jowled Prussians wreaked their will upon the little red brick towns of Belgium, the iron of despair entered into many a Belgian soul. With victory came a desire for justice, if not for revenge. Now, for many months, a series of court martial proceedings have been going on at Brussels against German officials and men charged with committing "atrocities" during the War.

Last week the trial of a German officer, one Colonel Mersin, was about to be concluded. He had been convicted as a murderer, and the presiding officer of the court martial was rising to pronounce sentence of death. Suddenly instructions were received from the Ministry of Justice to quash the proceedings. It was announced that in view of the Locarno treaties, Belgium would cease to prosecute War-guilty Germans.

Thus Colonel Mersin escaped sentence of death by the splitting: of a second. He did not greatly care. Safe in Germany, like the rest of the accused, he had taken only passing interest in these wholly academic proceedings.