Middletown transcript., 1914-10-24
CORRESPONDENT GIVES A GRAPHIC
DESCRIPTION OF FALL OF ANTWERP

QduldSSus a 6nIAA 1bA 0NG SAS AASNNN
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, 1t 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 caused
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, eI'
.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
Whithoff, 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 a lively night for every one
concerned" says the writer.
II was just sitting down to my first
meal in 80 hours when the police burst
in with the news the city was burn
ing" he goes on. 'I found an entire
block opposite the hotel In flames,
and as there was no water the f1remen
were powerless to check them. When
l discovered the block Immediately
behind the hotel was also ablaze, 1t
struck me it was time to change my
quarters.
after wandering through pitch
black streets for three hours, slipping
on broken glass and stumbling over
fallen masonry, and occasionally chal-
lenged by German sentries, saw a
light in a building in the Boulevard
| Leopold. I rang the bell and was
taken in by poor little consumptive
bookkeeper.
Takes Over Consulate.
upon calllng at the consulate IN
the morning found that Consul Gen
eral Diederich and Vice-Consul Sher-
man had left two days before for parts
unknown. AS there was large num-
Der Of frightened people clamoring
for reinsurance and protection, and as
there was no one else to look after
them, opened the consulate and as
sumed charge.
"The proceeding was wholly irregu-
lar and unauthorized, Of course, and
will probably scandalize department
of state officials in Washington, but 1t
was no time for red tape.
Il Immediately wrote a letter to the
German commander, informing him
that in the absence Of the consul gen.
eral l had assumed charge of the
American and British interests in
Antwerp and expected the fullest pro-
lection. l received a courteous reply
Immediately, saying that every pro-
lection would be afforded foreigners"