With Governor von Bissing’s arrival the requisitions extended to whatever raw material was needed in the Fatherland, and all pretence of respecting the Hague Convention (Article 49) ceased forthwith:  One after another the stocks of raw cotton, of wool, of nickel, of jute, of copper, were seized and conveyed to Germany.  The administration seized, in the same way, all the machines which could be employed, beyond the Rhine, for the manufacture of shells and munitions.  I am afraid of tiring the reader with the long enumeration of these arbitrary decrees, but in order to give him an idea of what is still going on, at the present moment, I have gathered here all the measures of the kind taken by the paternal administration of Baron von Bissing which came to our knowledge during one month only (October last).  I have chosen the period at random, and it must not be forgotten that, owing to the difficulties of communication, these particulars are far from complete.  They will, however, give a fair idea of the economic situation of the country after the second year of occupation: 

October 5th:  The requisitions in cattle have been so frequent in Flanders that many farmers have not a milch cow left.

October 6th:  Owing to the lack of motors, bicycles and horses, some tradespeople in Brussels are using oxen to draw their carts.

October 10th:  All the chestnut trees around Antwerp have been requisitioned.  Potatoes cannot be conveyed from one place to another even in small quantities.

October 17th:  According to a decree dated September 27th, any person possessing more than 50 kilos of straps or cables must report it under a penalty of one year’s imprisonment or a fine up to 20,000 marks.

October 19th:  The scarcity of potatoes is increasing, in spite of a good crop.  The peasants were forbidden to pull out their plants before July the 21st, when the greater part of the crop was commandeered.

October 22nd:  The boot factories in Brussels are forbidden to work more than 24 hours per week.

October 24th:  A decree dated October the 7th adds borax to the list of sulphurous products which must be declared according to the decree of September 16th.

October 29th:  The Germans continue to take away the rails of the light railways ("vicinaux").  The line from St. Trond to Hanut has been demolished.  A great deal of rolling stock has been commandeered.  Owing to the shortage of lubricating oil it is to be feared that this last mode of conveyance left to the Belgians will have to be stopped shortly.

October 30th:  A decree dated September 30th makes the measures for the requisition of metals still more severe.  All the steel material—­in whatever shape it may be (including tools)—­must be declared to the Abteilung fuer Handel und Gewerbe in Brussels, under a penalty of five years of imprisonment (25,000 marks).