New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-20
ANTWERP MOB SLEW
MANY GERMANS
German Newspaper De-
clares Belgians Commit
ted Many Atrocities.

~, contains the 1OllO"lnR, uhu'' E"S
title GLOW Germans We're Butcher"d
in Antwerp:
Three reports OF the inhuman treat
mcnt TO which Germans were SUBJECTED
by the mob at Antwerp have 80 lar neen
published by this paper. Among these
repCrts was also that of an eyewitness |
who, after escaping from belgium 10
Leipsic, personally called at our once
In publishing this report, which was |
based upon Stenogram OF the story as
told Inv our informant, we believed 1t |
necessary TO present the most serious
charges in a mlder form and to make
number of omissions, acting upon the |
supposition that some OF the state
ments might possibly be OveGrawn, ana
in the belief that the Belgian people,
claiming 30 prominent \ position IN the
civilized world, could not possibly De
guilty of bCastly acts, parallel only 10
the excuses Of Chinese kordes IN re-
king or to the gloomy days OF the
Thirty Years War.
However, a second eyewitness now
presents himself, and the story told by
him ia almost absolutely identical with
the two reports previously obtained
And now we consider it the duty OF the
rress 10 give to the public the nun
story of the unspeakable vileness with
which peaceful German citizens were
slaughtered in the streets OF Antwerp
and how the blood mad mob at Ant
werp murdered defenceless German
women and children. Our informant,
who arrived in Icipsic the day before
YESTERDAY and who witnessed with his
own eyes the moss atrocious crimes
committed upon tho Germans Mt Ant
werp in the night between Tuesday
and Wednesday, reports as follows:
at was on Wednesday, at about $3.50
q, NJ, when | was aroused from sleep
/ by great cOmmotion. Looking out OF
the window, | saw a tremendous crowd
in the street, who, hootlng and shout
ing and brandishing canes and reyolV-
ers. made a rush for all that was Ger
man. A few groups of desperadoeS
forced their way into houses occupied
by Germans, broke down the gates and
dashed up the stairs. The doors OIL
private apartments were likewise
forced. and now these mad devils be
Laycd like beasts. Women and chill
dren, even women in child-bed, were
dragged by the hair from their beds,
inhumanly beaten with canes and
chased downstairs.
AIN wild haste | fled, so at least to
save my life. A trunk with my saw
| ings. amounting to 400 forms, | had
! to leave behind. In the street | 40
/ ticed a man, his wife and two chill
dren. all but scantIly dressed, trying
to escape. These people iwere at once
surrounded by Belgian. mob, threat
cning them with canes, knives and pIS-
/ tolls. | FASTENED 10 the mans aid and
! took charge Of the two children.
had hardly taken the children in my
arms when q Belgian-lOudly cheered
and applaudcd by the crowd-made Tor
! the poor woman, who, in a semi-con-
scious condition, lay in her husbands
arm, and killed her with his knife. For
moment | dropped the children in
order to bring succor to the unfortu-
nate husband, who was bleeding from
many wounds. But he had disappeared
in the mob. When again turnsd my
attention 20 the children / found that
they, too, had been stabbed to death.
Now | sought to save my own life.
"In the same street, about fifty PAGES
away, | saw two children, about three
and six years old, being flung from the
fourth story window of house. Their
little bodies were shattered on the
pavement. In the meantime the Bel
gian mob, composed of between 5000
and 1000 people, set out in hot pursuit
of the Germans, and subjected them to
most cruel treatment. Pistol shots
pierced the wild hooting of the crowd
again and again. What became Of my
fellow countrymen | do not know.
81 saw the unrestrained mob storm
German shops and large stores and set
fire TO some of them. From many
windows flames burst into the street,
and from amidst the crowd came shouts
like Down with the Zeppelins! Down
with the German dogs Death to the
German scoundrels' etc. A few tore
up the pavement and hurled the stones
at the Germans; others demolished
iron fences and used the pieces As
weapons.
"a large department store was COM
pletely ransacked Many women were
conspicuous among the looters. And
while all this was going on the Po-
lice Department took no action what
soeyer. An officer of the Antwerp po-
lice force stationed very near me
turned his back upon the occurrence.
and his features reflected pleasure
rather than an intention to interfere.
After submitting to many mistreat- !
ments and blows / .!nally reached the !
harbor, where my attention was drawn
TO an unoccupled sallboat on shore. I
Three other prosecuted Germans and
myself took possession, and only to
this lucky chance we owe our lives
and our escape without serious in
juries.
ain the outer part of the harbor we
were picked up by a ship navigating
under the Dutch flag. In Rotterdam
we went ashore, and then sailed up
the Rhine on board Dutch coal barge
as far as Vessel, where l enlisted as
a volunteer in order to avenge two
and three fold fighting in the ranks
of our German army, in honest battle,
sword against sword, the innocentlv
shed blood of my German compatriots.
The cries of agony raised by the tor
tured wsmen and children I shall not
forget as long as live. II was simply
horrible"
This description is officially con-
firmed by telegram from Goch, sent
by the Brussels representative Of the
Wolf Telegraph Bureau, and contain
ing the following informatIon:
The state OF siege" was declared in
Belgium on Saturday. The same night
all Germans, were told TO leave the
country as soon as possible. The oc-