Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-11-12
WAR REFUGEES
REACH NEWARK
Misses Volts Arrive Home After
Thrilling Escape from
81 Belgium.
DESCRIBE LlEoE SCENES
DURING BoMBARDMENT
Lived in Cellar During Attack
by Germans-Saw No Atroc-
tiles by Conquerors.

ALt@S ~ SCtiNtfSa " -
Two young women of Newark re-
turned home last night with the
most thrilling story of the great
European war brought by any Amer
can tourist to this country They
are the Misses Helen ] and Marie L.
VOLTS, daughters of Jean VOLTS. OF
9l5 South Sixteenth street. They
We're in Liege Belgium, from July p
until eighteen days ago, when they
made their escape in a covered mar
ket wagon, driven across the border
into Holland. They obtained passage
10 the steamship Ryndam, sailing
from Rotterdam 10 this country.
While their relatives and friends
We're exhausting every effort to as
sist them to gel home. enlisting he
aid of the state department at Wash
ington, the two young women saw
the very beginning of the world war,
saw the devastation of a once beau
1iful city. the laying waste of great
and historic buildings, and BY night
stood, terror-stricken, in the cellar
of the house in which they were
stopping while bombs and shrapnel
dealt death and destruction around
th-re Thev saw the sky night after
night redeemed as fires leveled the
BE gian homes and all through the
siege they heard the wailing shrek
and defamation of mighty prolectiles
that rent brick and stone and shat
tered humanity.
Later they watched the incoming
of the conquering German legions
and the thousands of manned men
of both armies brought from the
front Going through the streets of
I4iege and in the district surround
- havoc
on all sides. Wreckage strewed their
path. Houses that once held men and
women stood stark and dead, every
thing within them ripped out by
flames or shattered and torn by
bombs
Heard Many Stories.
Neither of the young women saw
anything of the alleged atrocities by
Germans. so frequently reported
through London and Paris sources.
They heard a number of stories, but
both of the young women declined
to talk of anything that they per
sonally did not know of. They did
say that they believed the German [
troops were unnecessarily severe and |
abrupt and Miss Marie told a story !
of reprisal on the part of the Belgian I
Invaders that was filled with sad
ness.
Both girls, who are on the faculty |
stan of the South Side High School |
kept q diary of the incidents and
told them in chronological order. !
They explained that since August 6, |
the.- had not seen a newspaper or
magazine, except one copy of an IL
Illustrated London paper that was
smrggled TO them and which they
had possession of but a few minutes.
The young women left Newark in
July after the ose of the school
year and expected to return from
Europe in time for the opening OF
the fall term. They went to various !
places in Europe and decided to pay |
short visit to the home of a rela-
tive in Belgium before sailing for !
Now York.
eve were in the home of our uncle,
Police Commissioner Mignon, in
Liege, on July %. when we heard
talk of war" said Miss Marie. I'VE
went to the office of the American
consul and asked about the rumors.
but were told to pay no attention to
them We went home, but the next
day the rumors persisted, but again
We were told that there was no dam
ger for us.
ION August we heard bugles in
the street. and then we were to d
that the National Civic Guard was
being called out. People assembled
at the corners and in the middle of
the street and gossiped about the
possibility of war, but everybody was
cheerful.
ct was not until August that
people began to be afraid Then 1t
" as publicly announced that the city,
which was surrounded by great
forts, was in state of siege. We
also earned that all of the German
people in Liege were being sent from
the town Later the same day we
saw crowd and we were told that
the people had caught a spy They
be ieved that they found a German
who was poisoning chocolate This
afterward proved to be untrue.
Messenger from France.
1.-THE next day, August 5, the only
French soldier that we saw in all of
our stay came to Liege. 1t appeared
that he was a messenger sent from
the army to announce that the
French would aid the Belgians. 1t
seemed as if the people would not let
him go. They cheered until ii seemed
as If they were crazy; they climbed
On the stage he was riding and men
tried to embrace him. 1t looked as If
ne would have a hard time getting
out of town.
IndC was the last utiy Il beiEldn
was printed. The war was
on and streams of wounded men be-
gan to pour into the city. After that
we did not see a single newspaper
and did not hear anything of the J.
outer world We have not known
about the war except the
gossip we have heard and the things
we have seen.
Night Of Terror.
1.-THE 9Th of August was the terri i
BILE night All night long we heard /
the detonation of cannon, and early /
in the morning we saw an areoplane.
in the city slept that night |
and we were all suffering intensely ,
from fright The people became |
panic stricken and thousands started |
afoot for the country. They said they !
were going to Brussels They went /
through the streets, carrying what !
ever they could pick up in hurry. !
every means of transportation out |
Of Liege was completely paralyzed. !
There were no cars or trains moving |
and the people simply had to walk.
They put things in paper bags, in
cloths or clothes baskets and carried /
them.
'sThat night we slept In the cellar