The Anderson daily intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1915, 1914-09-17
STORY TOLD BY AN AMERI-
CAN REPUDIATES THE
CHARGES
KAiSER'S TROOPS
WERE CONSIDERATE
Acts Of Kindness and Generosity
Accredited 60 German Officers
In Many Instances
iBy tissoeiatea press.)


New York, Sept 16.-The Associat-
ca Press staff correspondent of Amer
ican pirth and antecedents who was
sent irom the New York office and
was caught in Brussels at the time of
the German invasion, held as a pris-
oner several days and who finally es-
capped to Holland, has sent by mali
the following story of his experience: {:
me night before the Germans en-
tered Brussels, when the Belgian civil
guards and refugees began poring in
10 the city from the direction Of Lou
VAN, they brought stories of unspeak-
able German atrcities. maltreatment
OF ola men and children and the vio-
lation of women.
Rumors Cause Apprehension.
The Belgian capital rceled with
apprehension. Within an hour the
gaiety. the viyacity and brilliancy OF
the city went out like a broken arc
light. The radiance OF the cafes was
turned to darkness: whispering
groups of residents broke W hurried
ly and locked themselves into their
homes, where they put up the shut
ters. and drew in their tri-colored' Boil
CLAN flags. The historic Belgian city
went through = state OF morbid con-
sternation remarkably like, that from
which 1t suffered on June IS, 1915,
when it trembled with the fear of a
French victory at Waterloo.
I'm less than "a hours the Belgian
citizens were chatting with the Ger
man invaders and the allegation of
greater brutality and torture dissoIv-
ed into one of the myths which have
accompanied all wars.
{ Atrocities Denied.
Neither in Brussels nor In it's en-
virons was a single offensive act, so
far as know, committed by Ger
man soldier In city Of more than
half million people, invaded by a
hostile army OF perhaps quarter of
million soldiers, no act sufficiently
fiagrant to demand punishment or to
awaken protest came to my attention.
"The frightful reports that had pre-
cedeG the German army into Brussels
included the disemhoWei>ng of old
lances.. Just outside of ouvain. In
vestigatfon not only failed to sub
staniate these rumors, but could not
even discover any one in the immedi-
ate vicinity who credited them An
told me the worst behavior he had OBJ
served during the first German entry
into Louvain august 49, was that of
9. German soldier who leaned from his
horse and kissed q pretty Flemish girl
who brought him glass of beer
II marched for davc with the Ger
man columns. often only one day be-
hind the fighting. with the houses that
had been burned still smouldering,
the ground freshly broken by shell
and trampled by horses and men, and
the memory OF the German advance
vivid in the minds OF the Inhabitants.
interviewed an average OF twenty
persons in each of dozen towns, and
found only one instance OF l...ii-
coIIitatant Who mad been Killed with
out q iustifiable provocation.
Evidence Not Conclusive.
7. In this casa ss.ss eSiasaSs G!5 not
clearly prove that the man had been
wanton1y murdered He lived In one
of the typical small Belgian country
side houses, which ,SEa5ines the CON-
forts OF home with thetinre OF a small
public bar, This house was at the
north end OF Merbes Le Chateau, q
town through which. 8 large part OF
the German army passed on the road
to Maubeuge. a son OF the murdered
man. whose name was Arthur, Nico-
dem, showed me, blood clots on the
fioor marking the place where NicG4
dom fell, his throat cut by q saw
edged German sabre, 81
'It was sad BY some inhabitants
that the murdered man showed pair
OF binocuiars. but & more probable
EXPLANATION was that English outposts
had concealed themselves In the
mouse, from which they poured q rain
9 OF FIRE upon the FIRST German insad-
ers. The inference that the shooting
was done by Belgian civilians may
have inflsunad flie Germans "a reprts-
ais. In that neiRhborhood four houses
had been bnrned and one was abiaze
assI passed August 2e;
This town of AEars,es SI.e Chateau.
which had been the scene OF an mn
Important sksriniah between the Ger
anhns and E,ngiish on The previous
Sunday. was riddled with rife shots.
The small number of windows infacs
showed that the Germs had made d de-