The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-01
STREAM OF BELGIAN REFUGEESFROM WAR ZONE HAS STOPPED
Vivid Picture of Conditions in the Stricken Little Kingdom Given by
 Eyewitness

ROsenuaal, Holland, October F. Correspondence of the Associated Press)-The stream of Belgian refugees has stopped. No longer do the trains of cattle cars, filled with half -crazed peo- pie, drive by in their endless process sion, hastening by the flag post that indicates the spot where Belgium ends and the peaceful kingdom of The Neth- erlands begins.
 The little Belgian town of Esschen, where these people took a last fare well of their own country, has returned to Its original quiet. The four bakery shops of the village no longer are be- sieged by starving people, but now sup ply the demands of the few hundred men, women and children left behind. In the station, dirty and dilapidated from tens of thousands of hurrying feet, the ticket office Is in the hands of a German sailor who sells tickets to the few passengers who venture forth and who are transported by Bel gian locomotives, manned by engineers of the German navy department and run by still more sailors.
 Within a few days many Belgians will go back to their city. If the Ger mans live up to their promises most of them undoubtedly will prefer to be back in their homes rather than live on foreign charity. Meanwhile 1t may be well to recollect what the five days of panic meant to those whose duty kept them near the point of entrance of seven -eighths of the population of the city of Antwerp into the Kingdom of Holland.
 Warned to Leave
 Right in the middle of cheerful op- timism in Antwerp there suddenly ap- peared a proclamation telling all cit izens that history teaches us how sometimes fortified cities have been subjected to a bombardment-that therefore everyone was warned to leave the city, if possible by ? o'clock that afternoon and those who had left would not be allowed to return until after the siege"
 Imagine then what happened Peo- pie, thousands of whom never had left their city before. were forced to give up everything they possessed at a mo- ments notice. They rushed home, packed some few belongings in a sheet or towel or bedspread, hoisted their children on a cart or wheelbarrow. put them astride a bicycle, or pressed a dog into service and then made for the nearest railroad station. Within half an hour the big avenue leading to he principal station was damned with
  of their eyes
 No Tickets Issued
 No tickets were issued. Train after train of 40 or 50 cars was brought up to the station. It was filled immediate ly, like bucket held under pump Cattle cars, coal cars, milk vans, beer vans cold storage cars, tenders, any think and everything on wheels was used as receptacle for humanity flee ing for it's life. It was horrible, and it lasted for four days, then when d train was as full as it possibly could be, with people on the balconies and on the roofs and hanging on the steps of the locomotive it would start and fall in with the endless procession oi other trains bound for Holland. Usually the distance between Antwerp and Roosehdaal is covered in 20 minutes During those days the trains never came through in less than six hours Then after six hours came another wait of two or three hours in Essehen and then finally came the town o1 Rozendaal and the end of all this suf- fering.
 The people of Rozendaal did what all the people everywhere in Holland did They gathered everything eatable 1T large baskets and moved to the station There they hastily cut the bread ano put the milk in such bottles as were available and distributed it among ths Dutch soldiers and the soldiers formed a long row like porters waiting fol the arrival of a limited train and whef a new load of compressed humanity slowly rolled into the station they gathered the small children and fed the mouth of bottles and out of spoons . and coaAed them to eat.
 The process of welcome was rather ele mentary Babies went to sleep tightl. clenching bottles of warm milk, and Ant verp's best families dined luxuriously or brown bread and cold water. But to those who had not seen food for one or two days, it was a most wonderful meal.
 Acted as Nurse
 The Dutch landwehr acted nurs, snd waiter and railroad porter. and when ever a train left for the north, out O the small windows of the cattle cars 2 iluttering of handkerchefs spoke srate So much for the healthy part of tht refugee army They suffered a sreai deal. but the sick fared worse There was not room enough to let them lit down. Bundled up in blankets or in olt rsgs, they were obliged to ride Tor miles in overcrowded cars.
 Next on the downward grade of mis cry came the idiots and incurably dis eased They. too had to be removed for the borAbardment of a modern cit, is no respector of roofs and shell Il q lunatic asylum is as deadly as on ir church. Packed in closed cattl cars and overawed by the noise an' the excitement, they looked on in duml appeal. They were removed to the near est Dutch asylum, where even the in mates have to show their generosity an' share their quarters with their Belgian Asthren in affliction.
 Finally, and worst of all, were tn nlamed and hopelessly malformed. Thes appeared beings like one hears about il rare medical works; creatures like Cali ban, muttering strange animal noise and being carried about like mucl helpless human flesh.
 This is not pleasant story. It merel. is the truth about modern warfare.
 And all this is written about peopl