Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-12
FOES FIRE BOMBS
DESTROYED HAM
Electrically Controlled De-
vices Exploded After Ger
mans Left Town
CIvILIANs IN CELLARS
French Troops Found Men
and Women Without Food
in Ruins of City =.
BY WALTER DURANTY
Special Cable to Evening Public Ledger


Special Cable to Evening Public Ledger
Copyright. 1918. bv Nep York Times Co.
With the French Armies, Sept IL.
For pure wantonness of destruction,
Ham offers an example that even the
Germans will find it hard to beat.
More than ever 1t Is necessary that
America support the demands which
have been strongly taken up by the
French press-that Germany be for
mally warned Of the consequences Of
nonmilitary acts Of vandalism.
Your correspondent has visited Ham
and walked through street after street
Of fire-swept houses. At frequent In.
tervals the wind still famed the
smoldering embers into blaze, and
the crash Of falling walls was heard
continuously. The boches had fired
the town, which was virtually un-
sniured by shell fire of friend and
foe. with deliberate thoroughness,
despite the fact that its position on
what was virtually an island. formed
by the Somme River and Saint Quen-
Tin Canal on the south, made 1t un-
available for military purposes once
+he bridges were destroyed. I crossed
the canal by clambering across the
lock gate that had escaped destruc-
tion. and passed out on the further
side by tottering series Of foot.wide
blanks spanning the river bed.
Chauny street. leading to the
market place, was piled high with the
xvreckaRe of fallen walls. and at the
entrance to the square a group Of
,,oilus were risking their lives in clear
Inc the outlet Of cellar in a house
whose glowing beams still cracked
into flame at each gust of wind, and
u,hose side walls were bound to fall
at any minute.
Searching for Refugees
I'VE have just spoken with one Of
the municipal clerks who emerged
only half an hour ago from cellar
behind the courthouse" said their
leader, HE had an idea that there
were two civilian refugees here, and
we hope to save-them I fear several
must have been trapped by the mass
Of debris in the different parts of the
city"
waited until the work was COM
Melted, but the cellar proved empty.
The soldiers stated that the civilian
An the courthouse cellar had been there
since Wednesday night with nothing
to eat or drink save haifpo0nd bag
Of wheat ears taken from the fields
and a quart bottle of water. Though
his provisions were exhausted OF
Saturday, it was only yesterday morn.
ing that he ventured to leave his
hiding place through fear lest he be
shot IL the town were still in the
hands of the enemy for having dis.
obeyed the order of evacuation posted
on Wednesday.
When he saw the horizon blue uni.
forms he broke down and wept from
weakness and emotion.
''Tell the American what the boches
have done to Ham," they told her.
She began in almost the same words
as Senator Noel at Noyon-nothint
can be more touching than the faith
of the inhabitants Of the devastated
regions that an American has only t.
appreciate fully the boche vandalism
for the practice to be put to an end.
Town Methodically Destroyed
The woman continued: Ham wa,
destroyed methodically by fires stimuli
taneously started in every quarter b!
electric devices. Nearly a month agt
we noticed the boche had begun fixini
,up wires in all directions, and we com
mented on the strangeness of such in
stallation at time when everything
else pointed to a German retreat. I
did our hearts good to see the streaii
OF guns, the material. and the shat
tered dispirited troops that had beel
pouring backward through Ham 70
the last few weeks.
kic,a ,1aseal tl,o hooha
steadily continued their preparation
for departure, removing wagon-load
of furniture and, indeed everything o
any value. But the wiring partie
continued their work all the NOR
busily.
Last Wednesday we had the key t
the enigma. That morning the Frencl
shells fell close. At noon the boche
issued orders to all civilians 4
evacuate the town. There were onl
about fifty inhabitants here, and per
haps twice that number of French an
Belgian youths in the boche pres
gang. Some fifteen OF us and six boy
managed to hide In the cellars. be
lieve all save one or two are nov
safely accounted for.
ION the night from wednesda,
to Thursday We heard a sudden out
burst of small explosions all around
At first we thought there was grenad
fighting in the streets, as 1t was nc
loud enough for shells or air bomb.
before dawn. father stole cautiousl
out. The whole town was famin
above our heads, though our hous
had not caught fire until we wer
able to leave 1t.
"The boche wires had been cor
nected with incendiary bombs. whic
were fired simultaneously from
central electric control. Ham burne
furiously all Thursday and Frida!
On Saturday morning the fire wa
dangerously close. and we left tn
cellar to meet the French soldier
afterward-"
TI d.