The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-04-14
THE BRUSSELS RIOTS
SEVERAL. KILLED AND MANY
WOUNDED BY POLICE.
GENDARMES HAD HARD WORK.
USED BALL CARTRIDGES ON MOD
FOR FIRST TIME.

The Maison du PeupIe, Where the
RiOting Occurred, Is Center of
Lowest Quarter of the City ana
Most of the Rioters Were of the
Lowest OIass-Gendnrmes Got Into
Hot Quarter in the Rue Haute,
Where the Worst Trouble Occur
red-Three Rioters Died in Hos
pitaI and Thirty others Were Re
ceived There.
Brussels, April 13.-The bloody re-
preston of the disorders of yesterday
evening has created a painful impress
sion among all classes here, although it
is appreciated that the majority of the
victims of the encounters do not belong
to the better class of workmen. Yes
terday, for the first time, the police
really fired their rifles loaded with ball
cartridges. Previous to yesterday they
had used their swords and their re-
volvers, the latter being usually loaded
with blank cartridges. Saturdays
rioters were composed of the dregs of
the population, with a sprinkling of
what is called the Young Socialist
Guard, composed of mere boys with
little regard for the orders of NJ. Van
der Velde, member of the chamber of
deputies and the leader of the Socialist
movement in Belgium, and the Social
list committee.
1t must be explained that the Mai
son du Peuple is situated on the upper
slime nf a hill Hat ho
ward and most of the business portion
of the city lies at the foot of this hill,
while the royal palace, the law courts,
the Chamber of Deputies and the min
| .strles stand upon the ridge of the hill.
The quarter around the Maison du
Peuple is the worst in the city. 1t is a
perfect rookery of low class dwellings,
intersected by steep and narrow streets
and malodorous alleys. In the vicinity
of the Maison there are some small
squares in which the rioters gathered
yesterday evening until they We're dis
persed and the squares occupied by de-
tachments of the civic guard. The
mob was mainly composed of the
rough population of the quarter, who
jeered and reviled the police when
they We're forced along the streets by
the cordons of officers.
$500 s'AS AO0 OA UGnUhEDGSs
The serious troubles began when a
number of roughs from a safe distance
fired revolvers in the direction of the
cordons. The gendarmes then charged
with drawn swords After firing at
the crowd with revolvers loaded with
blank cartridges they were greeted with
hail of missiles, such as stones, bot
ties and heavy iron rivets. This hap
pened in several streets. 1t was
cupants of the houses rained missiles
upon the heads of the gendarmes. An
officer of the gendarmes then shouted
to the crowd to dispense. No notice
was taken of this order. Then for the
first time in many years the gendarmes
fired their Mauser carbines loaded
with what are called strike cartridges
which contain ball, but minor
charge of powder. The gendarmes
fired only one volley, but when the
mob Scattered several bodies were ly-
ing on the ground. Two were MORALLY
wounded and died while being convey
ed to the hospital.
Over twenty narrow streets and blind
alleys lead into the Rue Haute. and
when the gendarmes charged the mob
other rioters issued from these alleys
and fired revolvers at the backs OF
the policemen until the latter were
obliged to leave three of their num-
Der at the mouth of each alley they
passed. These guards stood with their
rifles pointing down the alleys ready
to shoot. Other gendarmes, who were
stationed every few PAGES, covered the
windows in the Rue Haute with their
rifles.
Number of Wounded Unknown.
1t is impossible to ascertain the ex-
act number of the victims of yester-
days rioting. Many who were slightly
injured had their wounds dressed in
pharmacies or went home. The d.
rector of the hospital of ST. Pierre
however, told a representative of the
Associated Press this afternoon
that three rioters had died in the hos
pital Another one there was be-
lieved to be mortally injured Thirty
others who are badly hurt were re-
ceived at the hospital last night.
Among the injured are many impru-
dent spectators of the rioting who were
caught between two fires as the gend-
armes frequently combined their move
ments and charged the mob's front and
rear at the same time. A doctor who
was returning home after having Wis
tied a patient was caught between two
bodies of charging gendarmes and had
his nose cut off with a sword. A wo-
man was also among the injured.
One of the men killed was the assistant
secretary of the Socialist jewelers. I'M