The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-01-25

ness the execution or many or IneIr
fellow citizens, who were for the most
part shot at the side Of the square,
near the house Of Mr.. Hemaide. The
women and children, after having re-
manned on the square for more than
'15 hours, were allowed to depart. The
Gardes Civiques Of Louyain were also
taken prisoners and sent to Germany,
to the camp of Munster, where they
were held for several weeks.
"On Thursday, August q, order was
given to the Inhabitants to leave Lou
vain because the city was to be bonn
barded. Old men, women, children,
the sick, priests, nuns, were driven on
the roads like cattle. More than TO-
600 OF the inhabitants were driven as
far as Tirlemont. nearly II miles from
Louvain.
Infants Shot In Mothers Arms.
"One Of the most sorely tried COM
munities was that Of the little village
of Tamines, down in what is known
as the Borinage, the coal fields near
Charleroi. Tamines Is a mining vii
1age In the Sambre: it is a. collection
Of small cottages sheltering about g.
600 inhabitants, mostly all poor labor
ers.
'"The little graveyard In which the
church stands bears its mute testi-
mony to the horror OF the event. There
are hundreds Of new-made graves, each
with its small wooden cross and its
bit Of flowers the crosses are so close.
ly huddled that there is scarcely room
to walk between them. The crosses
are alike and all bear the same date,
the sinister date of August %, 1914"
"But whether their hands were cut
OF or not, whether they were impaled
on bayonets or not, children were shot
down, by military order, in cold blood.
In the awful crime of the Rock Of Bay
ard, there overlooking the Mouse be-
low Dinant, infants in their mothers
arms were shot down without mercy.
The deed, never surpassed In cruelty
by any band of savages, is described
by the bishop of Namur himself:
"'One scene surpasses in horror all
others; it is the fusillade Of the
Rocher Bayard near Dinant 1t ap-
pears to have been ordered by Colonel
Meister. This fusillade made many
victims among the nearby parishes,
especially those of deS Rivages and
iNeffe. It caused the death of nearly
90 persons, without distinction of age
or sex. Among the victims were ba-
bies In arms, boys and girls, fathers
and mothers OF families, even old
men.
Dead Children In Pile Of Bodies.
"Tt was there that II children under
the age Of six persisted from the FIRE
of the executioners, six of them as
they lay in their mothers arms:
"The child Ffevet, three weeks old.
Maurice Betems, eleven months
old.
smelly Pollet, eleven months old.
"'Gilda Genon, eighteen months old.
"'Gilda Marchot, two years old.
"'Clara Struvay, two years and six
months.
The pile OF bodies comprised also
many children from six to fourteen
years. Eight large families have en-
tire1y disappeared. -Four have but one
death-and many Of whom were rid
died with bullets-were obliged to
bury in summary and hasty fashion
their fathers, mothers, brothers or sis
tiers; then after having been relieved
Of their money and being placed In
chains they were sent to Cassel (Prus-
aial'"
Mr.. Hugh Gibson, the secretary or
our legation IN Belgium, visited Lou
vain during its systematic destruction
by the Germans. In "a Journal From
Our Legation In Belgium" New York,
1917, pages 164-165, he relates what
the German officers told him:
1T was story of clearing out civil
ians from a large part of the town,
systematic routing out of men from
cellars and garrets, wholesale shoot
ings, the generous use of machine
guns, and the free application Of the
torch-the whole story enough TO
make one see red. And for our guild
ance it was impressed on US that this
would make people respect Germany
and think twice about resisting her."
German pastors and professors far
from the excitement of the firing have
defended this policy Of frightfulness,
e. e.:
1--WE are not only compelled to ac-
cept the war that is forced upon us
:. but are even compelled to carry
on this war with cruelty, ruthless
ness, an employment of every imagin-
able device, unknown In any previous
war."-Pastor d. Baumgarten, In
Deutsche Reden in Schwerer Zeit,
German Speeches in Difficult Days"