Evening star., 1948-04-14
By George Beveridqe

By George Beveridge
what I minded most was the
sound of that mob sharpening their
machetes on the sidewalk outside
our hotel"
This was the strongest impression
carried away from a two-day siege
in the riot-torn Colombian capital
of Bogota by Miss Elsie Gertz, 81
a State Department stenographer
who lives at 815 Green street, Alex
andria.
She was one Of IS State Depart
ment workers and others who ar
rived last night at National Air
port-the first American group to
be removed from Bogota.
The evacuees, % of them women
stenographers who were on duty at
the Pan American Conference ses-
sions, stepped from a huge Pan
American clipper after special
fight from Miami at 1913 pm.
They were herded quickly into a
waiting room by dozens of report
ers, photographers and newsreel-
men.
Rival Crowds Shoot.
Mostly, they told the same story:
the sudden cries of the maddened
mob. then entire city blocks on fire,
wholesale looting and crowds shoot
ing at one another or hacking away
with machetes. The Americans
were stranded where they happened
to be, with. little or no food.
Miss Gertz was In the Edificio
Americana, American headquarters
at the conference, shortly after
Jorge E. Gaitan, the Colombian lib
eral leader, was assassinated Friday
afternoon.
Almost Immediately, all the
buildings around us seemed to be
on fire." she said. And almost
everybody seemed to have
machete."
The stenographer wouldn't COM
ment on possible Communist insti-
CATION, but said she thought there
was a definite organization behind
the firing of the buildings.
There's no doubt about it," put
in Miss Patricia Foster, who was
archivist at the conference. She
lives at 608 Pickwick lane, Chevy
Chase, Md.
II don't know about the looting,
she said. Every one who passed oul
hotel seemed to have a typewriter
or a bolt of cloth. The mob seemed
to hit first for the hardware stores
to get machetes and knives. Soon
every one had on the red lapel
cloths that the liberals we're wearing
and every one was yelling, Viva
Gaitanp
Government Buildings Fired.
But the fires were too we'll Or
ganized to just start up. First they
went after the government build
ings, then the shops and schools and
churches. One Of the saddest things
I saw was a beautiful church steeple
on fire. Its bell was still ringing
Mrs. Kathryn Adkisson of 406
Aspen street NV, who was super
visor Of the stenographic pool, said
the first building she saw aflre was
the plant of Ell Siglo, Bogota's lead
ing conservative newspaper, owned
by Laureano Gomez. president OF
the ter-American Conference.
Mrs. Edythe Miller of 4501 First
street Sc. said bomb was thrown
in the American headquarters
where most of the girls spent the
nightmarish day and night.
I'VE noticed the American En-
bassy was on fire first" she told
reporters, land then suddenly there
was fire all around u.s."
During the height of it, she said
the girls sat in circle and began
to sing.
stuff like rDinah,'" she added
THE officials seemed surprised that
we were so COOL"
The stenographers said the only
American troops they saw were the
few men accompanying the delega-
ton as couriers. The only Amer
ican casualty, they said, was a
woman assigned to the American
Embassy who suffered a sprained
ankle when she leaped from a win
dow Of the burning Capitolio.
Two Take Refuge in Hotel.
Miss Foster said she and Miss
Margaret Moore, 54l5 Roosevelt
street, Bethesda, Md. were in a
restaurant when the rioting started.
Hopelessly far away from the dele
cation headquarters, they made
their way cautiously to hotel near
by and barricaded themselves on
the upper floors.
Friday night" she said, Eve
heard some men breaking into the
hotel. But people who were down.
stairs routed them into the bar. We
didn't hear anything else from
them.
TT seemed like a movie . We
went up on roof to see the fires
and a sniper kept firing at us.
There was no electricity, so we had
to carry candles
The girls were rescued from the
hotel soon after Columbian Army
tanks and trucks arrived at the
delegation headquarters Saturday
to remove the Americans from the
stormiest part of the city. Their
plane left for Panama at 5 pm.
Sunday.