Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1914-10-03

in chalk that they we're not to be burned.
Where a destroyed house had obviously
contained articles Of value, looting had
taken place.
Il inquired what had become Of the
population II was a question to which
no direct reply could be given. They had
fled in all directions. Some had reached
Antwerp, but a great number are wan
dertng about the country. panic stricken
and starving. Many already were dead.
Misery Among Civilians.
What had happened to Termonde was
similar to what had happened in other
parts of Belgium under the military oo-
cupation Of Germany. The result Is that
conditions have been set for the. civilian
population throughout the occupied ter
ritory Of unexampled misery.
Comparatively Few Refugees.
Comparatively few refugees have
reached this country. Others remain
wandering about Belgium, flocking into
other towns and villages. or flying to
points a little way across the Dutch
frontier.
Sometimes when a town has been bonn
| barded the Germans have withdrawn
and the civilians have returned to their
homes, only to flee again at the renewed
attack. A case in point is Maline, which
on Sunday last, as 1 was about to try to
reach it, was again bombarded.
The inhabitants were then unable to
| leave, as the town was surrounded, but
when the bombardment ceased tkare was
great exodus.
! The whole life of the nation has been
arrested. Food supplies which would
ordinarily reach the civilian population
are being taken by the German troops
| for their own support. The peasants and
poor are without the necessities of life,
and conditions of starvation grow more
/ acute every day. Even where there is a
supply of wheat available, the peasants
are not allowed to use their wind-mills.
owing to the German fear that they will
send signals to the Belgian army.
I'VE are, therefore. face to face with =
| fact which has rarely If ever occurred in
the history of the world--an entire ma
ton, is in a state of famine, and that
within half-days Journey of our own
| shores.
| Destruction is Complete.
1.-THE completeness of the destruction
in each individual case was explained to
me later by the Belgian ministers who
described numerous appliances which the
German soldiers carried for destroying
property. Not only were hand bomts of
various sizes and descriptions carried
but each soldier was supplied with a
quantity of small black discs. a little
bigger than a siX-penny piece
Il saw some of these discs which had
been taken from German soldiers m the
field of battle. These were described 10
me as composed of compressed benzine
When lighted they burn brilliantly for O.
few minutes and are sufficient to start
whatever fire is necessary after the ex-
plosion of a bomb.
ITO the conditions of famine and
homelessness which exist on SUCH a stu
pendous scale, there must be added one
which is bad-the mental panic in which
many survivors remain. / understood
this when I saw and heard what they
passed through. Eye-witnesses of un-
Improbable character described the
sufferings of the women and children at
Liege. AS they fled from their burning
houses, clnging to their, husbands and
fathers, they were violently pulled from
them and saw them shot few yards
from them. M
Antwerp Normal i'm Daytime.
IT should supplement what l have said
regarding the condition of Belgium with
some reference to Antwerp itself, where
the exiled government now sits, IT. is a
wonderful contrast to the rest of the
country. and the first impression of the
visitor is that there is little change be-
tween its life now and in the days of
peace. I approached 1t by water, and In
the early morning It rose before me like
: fairy city Its skyline was beautifully
} broken by spires and towers; its
) churches. including the Incompatible
Gothic cathedral.