The sun., 1918-10-22
BRUGES AND OSTEND
STRIPPED BY ENEMY
Everything Of Value Carried
OFF and Factories Are
Left in Ruins.
EVEN THE WOMEN LOOTED
Water Works and Electric
Lighting Plant of Ostend
Wrecked as Last Act.
EVEN THE WOMEN LOOTED
ny PERRY ROBINSON.
sp,ciaI cable Despntoh TO The srN from the
london Times serrice.


London Times serrice.
Copyright, 1915; all rights reserred.
WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN France.
Oct. si.-The liberated people OF France
and Belgium continue their understandable
rejoicing. 1 reached ostend yesterday
and spent the night there and then re-
turned to Bruges. What impressed me
most after making q tour of that part
OF Belgium recently under German rule
ts the extraordinary skill with which the
Germans got themselves hated every
where.
national hatred as enemies was to
be expected, but the sentiment univer-
sally aroused was something more. The
Individual German is loathed by all
classes Of people. Brute. bully. thief.
brigand. are terms one hears every
where. and It is applied to officers more
than to the men.
Sometimes the prosecuted people
threatened the Germans with such state
ments as 1.-THE English are coming or
Il will tell the English when they get
here" The invaders made special efforts
t, treat the Flemings well and to play
on the national prejudices OF the diff
ferent classes OF people with whom they
came in contact. But they played these
cards so badly that instead of being
driven apart they were welded. more
closely togethera They knew but one
enemy,
On the evening of October 10 a curious
panic set in among the Germans. who
heard the British were coming and that
cur ships were about to attack from the
sea. Every German in Ostend fled when
these reports gained currency.
Ostend Not Greatly Damaged.
Ostend is not seriously damaged
Around the station and the docks where
the big guns were placed there il ex-
"sllent evidence OF the good marksman-
ship Of our airmen and gunners. So true
MAS their aim, indeed. that the greater
part of the city Is unframed. Along the
water front there are many broken win
dows in hote.s and the buildings look as
though they had been roughly handled
The damage Ia small, however. and Os-
tend will be as gay as ever after the
war
One OF the last acts of the Germans
before retiring was to wreck the lighting
plants and water works. As result
the city was without light. except for
vandles. and without water. except for
rain water.
On Friday night the civilians of Ostend
were told to remain in doors until
o'clock Saturday This order was i'm
plctly obeyed. giving the Germans the
finest possible opportunity to loot.
Squads of German soldiers would appear
IN doorways and when the householder
responded TO their knock he would be
asked for shirts. Upon being told by
the house owner that he had no shirts
except the one he wore the Germans
would then ask him what time IL was.
Upon taking out his watch the Germans
would demand the timepiece and also
any other jewelry that remained In the
house.
In shops heard similar stories. Ger
man soldiers would appear, fiourishing
revolvers, and would then make demands
on the shopkeepers for anything they
possessed. All the houses in Ostend
were stripped clean of everything. as
were the hotels The Kaiser's burglars
left nothing but the paper on the walls.
s6,OOO.OOO Plant Stripped.
II Bruges the invaders destroyed the
great Compagne Brugoise plant. worth
100000 Before the war II was used
FOR manufacturing vehicles. but was
adapted by the Germans to make NUM-
tons. As the invaders left they placed
mines under the factory buildings, wreck
ing the whole place.
In Ostend fine private residence was
occupied by the German Governor-Gen-
sral. Won Schlein. who, before he left,
stripped the place OF everything of value
In this he was assisted by many Ger
man women who had been acting in cleri-
cal positions. Both for their insolence
and their capacity for theft these women
are said by the Belgians TO have been
worse than the men.
1t seems that German officers did a
tAr.ving business In Ostend in the prod
uce and provision line. They would go
about the country buying butter and
eggs and such things from the farmers.
paying for them In requisition slips, and
aferward selling them in the city for
cash
They had TO have money" said my
Informant, ito spend on their women"
Bruges is unhurt except for the de-
truction OF its bridges and some fac
,oTes, The churches and public build
hgs are unframed, but all were looted
OF everything porta BILE.
From the people of Tourcoing and
konoaix l gather that the people there
suffered the same hardships as those of
Lille There was the same thievery, the
same fines and the same horrible de-
portation Of women.
personally saw one of the deporta-
"on orders. II stipulated that the peo-
PIE were To assemble in their houses and
mat an officer would call later to desig-
nate which ones should be taken away.
added that ANY one who attempts to
dsobey this order will be appropriately
punished" Nothing that Germany has
aone in this war will remain n deeper
slsin on her name than those deeds to
which this document testifies.
RUPPRECHT IN LINE
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