The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1914-10-22
CORRESPONDENT GIVES A GRAPHIC
DESCRIPTION Of FALL OF ANTWERP

damaged. A shell struck the house
occupied by an American named Hunt
and the Dutch consul and blew the
entire second floor into smithereens.
"A Zeppelin hovered over the city
during Thursday mornings lombard.
ment, dropping occasional bombs.
Though the German shrapnel Gre
ated enough havoc, it was child's play
compared to the damage done by the
siege guns. When a 42-centimeter
shell struck a house 1t not merely
blew a hole in it, it simply demol-
ished it, the whole house collapsing
into ruin as if shaken to pieces by an
earthquake"
Almost as much damage was cansed
by fires resulting from the lombard
ment as from the shells themselves.
The entire west side Of the Marcheux
Souliers from the head of the Place
de Meir to the Place Verte, including
the Hotel de Europe, the Cafe Royale
and line of fashionable shops oppo-
site the Hotel st. Antoine, was de-
stroyed. A quarter of a mile of build
ings in the Rue van Bree, including
the handsomest apartments in the
city, are nothing but charred walls.
The handsome block in the Rue de la
Justice is completely burned. In ad-
dition several hundred dwellings scat
tered through the city have been
burned to the ground.
Dynamite Saves Cathedral.
AS the city is without water, ex-
cept such as can be pumped from the
river, the firemen were powerless to
check the flames. That every building
on the Place Verte and very probably
the cathedral itself, was not burned is
due to an American resident, Charles
Whithofr, who, realizing the extreme
gravity of the situation, suggested to
the German military authorities that
they dynamite the surrounding build
ings.
At ten o'clock at night word was
sent to Brussels and at four o'clock In
the morning six automobiles with dy
Mantle arrived and the walls were
blown up the German soldiers stand
ing on the roofs of neighboring build
ings and throwing dynamite bombs
1T was lively night for every one
concerned" says the writer.
Il was just sitting down to my frs
meal in 80 hours when the police burs
In with the news the city was burn
ing" he goes on. 81 found an entir'
block opposite the hotel in flames
and as there was no water the tiremel
were powerless to check them. Whel
| discovered the block immediatel.
behind the hotel was also ablaZe,
quarters.
After wandering through pitch
black streets for three hours, slippin
on broken glass and stumbling owe
fallen masonry, and occasionally cha
lenged by German sentries, | saw
light in a building in the Boulevar
| Leopold. | rang the bell and wa
taken in by poor little consumptiv
bookkeeper
Takes Over Consulate.
Upon calling at the consulate i
the morning | found that Consul Ger
eral Diederich and Vice-Consul Shel
man had left two days before for part
unknown. AS there was a large nun
ber of frightened people clamorin
for reinsurance and protection, and a
there was no one else to look afte
them, opened the consulate and al
sumed charge.
The proceeding was wholly irregl
lar and unauthorized, of course, an
will probably scandalize departmer
of state officials in Washington, but
was no time for red tape.
2 Il Immediately wrote a letter to th
German commander, informing hi
that in the absence of the consul ge
eral | had assumed charge of tt
, fAmerican and British interests
Antwerp and expected the fullest pr
lection. | received courteous rep
n Immediately, saying that every pr
lection would be afforded foreigners