_
ARTICLE 25. _The attack or bombardment, by whatever means,
of towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are
undefended is prohibited._
ARTICLE 27. _In sieges and bombardments all necessary steps
must be taken to spare, as far as possible, buildings
dedicated to religion, art, science, or charitable purposes,
historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and
wounded are collected, provided they are not being used at
the time for military purposes._
ARTICLE 28. _The pillage of a town or place, even when taken
by assault, is prohibited._
It seems that the men of The Hague, when they wrote those
articles, had a sort of prescience of the future cruelties
of war and that they wanted to avoid them. Let us see how
far they have succeeded.
It was forbidden to employ poison or poisoned weapons. No
later than last spring when the Germans evacuated certain
parts of the north of France instructions emanating from the
German general headquarters were found in the pocket of many
German prisoners or on the dead, and those instructions
indicated how the water of the wells was to be poisoned:
"Such and such a soldier," ran instructions, "will be in
charge of the wells, will throw in each one a sufficient
quantity of poison or creosote, or, lacking these, all
available filth.
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