New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-17
SEEK HAGUE, WILSON'S
HINT TO POWERS
Continued from page I

Van Damme, severely wounded and
lying on his back. was murdered By
German infantrymcn who fired their
7 revolvers into his mouth.
"ln different places. notably at Hell
longe-sur-Geer, at Barchon, at Pontisse,
at Haelcn and at Zelk, German troops
have fired on doctors, nurses. smbu-
lances and ambulance wagons.
The Massacre of Aerschot.
"The German troops penetrated into
! Acrschot on Wednesday, August 10, in
the morning. No Belgian forces re-
NAMED behind. No sooner did the Ger
mans enter the town than they snot
five or six inhabitants whom they
caused to leave their houses In the
evening, pretending that a superior
German officer had been killed by the
son of the BurgomRster or that a con-
spiracy had been Matched against thc
superior commandant by the Burgo-
master and his family, the Germans
took every man who was inside Acr-
schot, grouped them in lines Of four
men. and, making them run ahead of
them. shot them and killed them after
ward with their bayonets. More than
forty men we're found thus massacred
The following day they lined up viii
7 ldktIS NllOHl IltN Hdu dIItSJtu tue uhl
before, taking one man out of each
, line. These, taking with them the
IBurgomaster Of the town, Mr.. Tielmans,
and his son, aged fifteen and a half
years, and his brother. they shot.
About 100 inhabitants of Aerschot
are supposed TO have been mastered.
THE ambulance attendants, although
wearing Red Cross badges, were not
respected. One reports that the Ger
man troops fired on him while he vas
collecting wounded.
The Destruction of Louvain.
THE German army penetrated into
Louvain on Wednesday. August 10,
after having set fire TO the towns
through which it had passed. From the
moment OF their entrance the Germans
broke the doors Of houses abandoned
BY their inhabitants, piilaged them and
INDUCED in orgies"
Two instances are cited in which a
maid ard matrOn were ravishcd by
lands of soldiers.
I "On August "a and % Belgian troops
leaving the intrenched camp in Ant
Herp attacked the German army which
was outside of Malines. The German
troops were driven back as far az
Louvain and Vilvorde.
4 ain HOfstad the Belgian soldiers
found the corpse OF An old woman who
had been killed by bayonet thrusts. She
still held in her hands the needle with
which she was sewing when she was at
! tackled; one mother and her son, aged
about fifteen or sixteen, lay pierced
with bayonet wounds; one man was
found hanging.
ain Sempst. a nelghbOring village,
! were found the cOrpses Of two men,
/ partly burned. One of the men was
! found with his legs cut off at the
knees; the other was minus arms and
legs. A workman had been pierced :
with hayonets and while still living
soaked with petroleum and locked in
| burning house.
: "a witness. whose declaration has
been received by Edward Hertslet, son
o: Sir Cecil Hertsiet, Consul General
/ OF Great Britain in Antwerp, teStllIe"
TO having seen, not far from Malines, an
old. man attached by the arms 70
beam of barn. The body was burned.
Numerous corpses of peasants were
I found in positions of suppllcatIon.
Between Tmpde and Wolverthem
two wounded Belgian soldiers were
/ living near house which was burning.
( The Germans threw them into the IRE.
| "The German troops then entered
nesses assure us that at that momenS
the German garrison occupying Lol-
vain was advised enormously that the
enemy was entering the town. IA
mediately the German garrison with
drew toward the station, where II met
with the German troops that had peer
I Iepulsed and pursued by the Belgian
/ troops. Everything seems to indicate
/ that n collision took place between TWO
! German regiments. From that moment
under pretext that the LOuyain CIVIL
( isns had fired upon them TACT whlcn
is contradicted by all witnesses and
which would hardly have been possible
! irasmuch as all the inhabitants OF
/ Louyain for several days past had been
obliged to hand their arms over TO the
! tho local authorities), the German SOL
I 6iers began to lombard the city.
"Houses which had not taken lire
rare entered by German soldiers. who
threw fire grenades, which seem TO
have heen provided for the occasion.
/ The largest part of the city OF Lou
vain, especially the quarters OF the
Vile Haute. comprising the moiern
houses, the Cathedral OF 81. Heter, ne
Irniversity Halls, with the whole H.
brarv Of the university, its manuscripts,
( lis collections. the largest part oil me
/ scientific institutions and the town the
atre. were consumed by flames.
"Numerous corpses Of civilians coy
ered the streets and squares. On the |
Toute from Louvain to Tirelmont alone
one witness testifies having seen more
| than ffty. On the threshold Of houses
we're found burned corpses OF people,
who, surprised an the cellars by the
IRE, had tried to escape and fell into
live embers. 1t can be said that the
whole region between Louvain. and
WaIines and most of the suburbs OF
Louvain have been completely ami
| hilated. -,
Testimony shows that several thou
sand male inhabitants of Louvsin who
! had escaped shooting and burning were
| sent toward Germany.
"By facts which have thus far been
/ brought to its attention, the commits
/ sion reached the following conclusions:
"In this war German occupation OF
territory is systematically followed by
| Iand is at time preceded by and ae-
companied by acts of violence against
| the civil population, which acts OF
violence are contrary to the conven-
! tional laws of war, and to the most
elementary principles Of humanity.
Elm the towns and villages where
they stop the Germans first Of all re-
Quisitioned Yietusls and drinks which