Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-09-06
LOUVANIANS ARE DRIVEN MAD
BY TORTURES WHILE HELD
PRISONERS, IT IS DECLARED
Fire Fails to Touch
Some of the Beau
tiful Buildings In
Recently Destroy
ed Belgian City.

LONDON, September 1.-The Rot
terdam correspondent Of the Niuwe
Rotterdamsche Courant sends the report
that the town hall in Louvain is safe,
standing alone with all the houses
around it destroyed.
The dispatch to the Niuwe Rotter-
damsche Courant serves to confirm
earlier reports to the effect that the
historic Hotel de Vile, which is a
beautiful example of late Gothic ar
chitecture, was spared by the Germans
when they burned the town of Lou
vain.
Though the first stories given out in
Belgian official circles depicted the
town as being nothing but heap of
ashes" later official announcement
said that only the central part of
,Louvain has been burned" leaving it
to be inferred that many of the his
toric structures still were standing.
One eyewitness of the burning of
Louvain, who escaped through the Ger
man lines. said the Germans took pre-
cautions to preserve the Hotel de
Vile, the officers declaring that it was
their intention to save the building.
Accounts Called False.
A dispatch to the Wolff bureau from
that the Nord Deutsche Allgemeine
official statement:
Belgium is circulating officially a
false account of the occurrences for
which Louvain was compelled to suffer.
1t is declared that German troops We're
repulsed by sortie from Antwerp and
were mistakenly fired on by our own
troops in Louvain, and that this caused
the burning of Louvain.
AS a matter of fact, events proved
Individually that the Germans repulsed
the Belgian sortie. During this en-
gagement the Germans in Louvain were
attacked. unquestionably in pursuance
OF an organized plan, in different parts
of the city. This happened after the
Germans had been in pleasant rela-
tionship with the inhabitants of Lou
vain for more than twenty-four hours.
This attack was first made upon q
battalion of the Landstrum. composed
principally of middle-aged and peace
full men. themselves fathers of fam
lilies.
Germans Killed and Wounded.
Others attacked included members OF
the staff of the commanding general. The
Germans lost numbers of dead and
wounded. Nevertheless, they gained the
upper hand with the help OF newly ar
rived troops, who themselves were greeted
with rife fire at the railroad station.
AN investigation is under way. the
result of which will be made public. The
truth of the statements made in the
foregoing is beyond all doubt The Hotel
de Vile was saved from fire. Efforts to
extingusn the flames elsewhere We're
unavailing.
Commenting upon the occurrences in
Louvain. the Allgemeine Zeitung says:
German diplomats in the ducal states
have been furnished with material to re-
flute these lying accusations against the
German army. The German minister at
The Hague also has been instructed to
ask the Dutch government to urge the
Belgian government. in the interest of
humanity. to stop the civil population of
Belgium from continuing a resistance
which is SO completely futile. The Dutch
minister Of foreign affairs transmitted
this request to the Belgian minister at
The Hague, who in turn promised to pro-
test to his government