ht Underwood and Underwood, N. Y.
THE SUPREME EXPONENTS OF GERMAN FRIGHTFULNESS
On the left, General van Bossing, military commander of Belgium. On
the right, Grand Admiral van Tirpitz, who inspired the German
submarine campaign.

THE TRAIL OF THE BEAST IN BELGIUM 91

And now, having considered these outrages as part of the German policy
of terrorism, let us turn to the facts presented by those who made
investigations at first hand in devastated Belgium and Northern France.

Let us first turn to the tragic story of the destruction of Louvain. The
first document comes in the form of a cable sent from the Belgian
Minister of Foreign Affairs under date of August 8,1914:

"On Tuesday evening a body of German troops who had been driven back
retired in disorder upon the town of Louvain. Germans who were guarding
the town thought that the retiring troops were Belgians and fired upon
them. In order to excuse this mistake the Germans, in spite of the most
energetic denials on the part of the authorities, pretended that
Belgians had fired on the Germans, although all the inhabitants,
including policemen, had been disarmed for more than a week. Without any
examination and without listening to any protest the commanding officer
announced that the town would be immediately destroyed. All inhabitants
had to leave their homes at once; some were made prisoners; women and
children were put into a train of which the destination was unknown;
soldiers with fire bombs set fire to the different quarters of the town;
the splendid Church of St. Pierre, the markets, the university and its
scientific establishments, were given to the flames, and it is probable
that the Hotel de Ville, this celebrated jewel of Gothic art, will also
have disappeared in the disaster. Several notabilities were shot at
sight. Thus a town of 40,000 inhabitants, which, since the fifteenth
century, has been the intellectual and scientific capital of the Low
Countries is a heap of ashes. Americans, many of whom have followed the
course at this illustrious alma mater and have there received such
cordial hospitality, cannot remain insensible to this outrage on the
rights of humanity and civilization which is unprecedented in history."

Minister Whitlock made the following report on the same outrage:

"A violent fusillade broke out simultaneously at various points in the
city (Louvain), notably at the Porte de Bruxelles, Porte de Tirlemont,
Rue Leopo