Evening star., 1940-05-21
STAR wAsHNeToN D. O. TUESDAY MAY a. 1910

been repeated. The library Of the
University Of LouvAin. burned In
1914 and rebuilt with American
funds, Is charred wreckage once
more,
Flames have gutted the $500, 600
structure, erected through public
subscription In the United States,
and have destroyed its TOO, 900 rare
volumes, collected from around the
world and contributed to replace
those lost In 1914.
No one seemed to be able to say
how the fire started. All floors had
been swept by the flames and smoke
still came from the basement as we
looked at 1t late yesterday.
Many American universities CO.
operated to erect the new building
on Herbert Hoover Square.
In the Germans World War advance
through Belgium they occupied
Louvain on August 10, 1914. A week
later the library was destroyed by
fire. with thousands OF books and
manuscripts which could not be re-
placed.
Town Itself Shattered.
To help equip the new building
which was built after Cardinal
Mercier, head Of the university, had
visited the United States and sug-
gested aid for 1t, various govern
ments contributed a total of $50, ,0O0
volumes. OF these 10000 came from
Germany, $1,000 from Britain and
$4,000 from France.
ut was ordered originally that
the inscription. "Furore Teu-
tonico Diruta; Dono Americana
Restituta a"-"Destroyed by Ger
man Fury: Restored by Ameri-
can Generosity"-be placed on
the library balustrade. The
balustrade was built twice with
out the inscription and both
times it was destroyed by Bel
gians, but finally was allowed to
remain blank)
The ancient town of Louvain
itself. 14th century cloth -making
center long famous as the seat OF
the university, was shelled and
shattered and practically the entire
population of 41,0O0 had fed. It
presented picture of desolation.
Entire families, from aged grand
mother to nursing infant, were seen
perched miserably on top of spring.
less carts drawn by horses. Intermi-
nable lines of wanderers on foot,
weighted down with as much as
they could carry, trekked out of
the town.
The German administration was
trying to organize relief with char.
acteristic efficiency.
I saw another scene of wrecking
at Steenockerzeel, where the little
Belgian castle of the Archduke Otto
Of HapSburg, pretender to the van-
ished Austrian throne, had been
bombed and blown apart.
The Germans were prompted to
bomb the castle because the British
had made it divisional staff head
quarters. It was said. One bomb
struck beside it, digging hole 80
feet deep and blowing of part of
the roof. Otto's shaving equipment
was spread over the grand piano.
Costly French prints were scattered
in the wreckage. Letters belonging
to Otto's mother, the former EN-
press Zita, were strewn about.
(Reports last week said that
Zita and her family had fed
safely to France in advance of
the German invasion. Otto had
been home but few days after
returning from q trip to the
United States.)
These scenes at Steenockerzeel
and Louvain were in marked con-
trast to the situation found at Brus-
sells, where had expected to and ct
least large part of the. capital In
ruins. But as a matter Of fact, the
city is practically unhurt.
The Schaerbeek Railway Station
outside the city. from where trains
normally journey to all parts of Bel