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Show ill GERMANS DESTROY BELGIAN TOWN I ! I Oif DINANT; SHOOT DOWN CITIZENS I Orie Party of 100 Prominent MaleExe; l ; Tcuted Together; Invaders 'Allege In- i : I i habitants r ired on 1 nem.- -, i I 1 London, Bept 8. An Ostend dls- , ! I 1 patch to tho Reutcr Telegram com I J I pany sayi " ' fi j "Tho Germans have destroyed tho ' i -1 I Belgian town of Dlnant (fltteen miles ' J J J south of Namur), after shooting ; ' 1 Ur lj hundreds of tho male lnhhbltants Te I . j D i cause It was alleged shots had been . ' M fired from tho holghts overlooking , , , J I tho city. jiff "The Gormans In a fow hours by J i ' jjl1 ,, shell flro and incendiarism, destroyed ,; tho town. Ono party o'f 100 promt- ' ', If nent citizens wore executed together I in tho Placo do Arms. iV M "The Germans alleged that tho cl- . iH Vlllans had flred Bhots Into Dlnant g from tho heights. Whllo the shoot: ', ft Ing and burning wcro going on tho V German residents of the city were 1 confined In tho convents. Among I ft those shot were M. Hummers, weal- !' I ttry manager of a largo weaving fac- !' tory, and'M. Pencelot, son of a for- I I 'jjl mer senator. Tho latter was killed i lj H in tho presence of his wife and phJV J 1 1 H dren. ij Banker and Sons Shot 1 " "Germans appeared at a branch of i 0 the national bank, whore they de- manded'the cash In the safo. The J manager M. Wasselio refused to i I hand It over, whereupon he, together ! lj I with his two sons, was shot. Ijljl "Tho re Is at evidence, so far as ! 'j ft Is known, that tho alleged shooting ! I if? from tho heights resulted in tho kill- j ,1j lng of nny Germans." ; fi Dlnant, which had a population of Jjl nbout 8000 dated back to tho sixth I Hi century, Tho town was pictures fi III i' quoly situated beneath Umestpno 1 j fli : cliffs near tho river Meuso. Tho cliffs ' were surrounded by tho walls of an i j old fortress, much decayed through j, j I neglect, reared to defend the town . ; H i against approach by tho river. J i jj (., Twice Before Destroyed j ! Dlnant frequently has been the ' j If i scene of warfare. In llfifi Duke Phil- fill Ip tho Good besieged tho town with 1 30,000 men und wlion it. surrendered permitted his men to pillage It (or three days and then set It en fire. Bound in twos, 800 ofthe inhabitants' were "drowned In' tho Meuse, whlie Philip although ill, witnessed the ex-' ccutlon from the Utter on which hd was carried to the river .bank. JVf; terwards, even tho walls of the buildings build-ings were leveled so that not a vestige ves-tige of the' town should remain. Tho town was icbullt by Charles tho Bold, Philip's son, but it again was sacked and burned in 1654 by tho French. .. The principal building, of historic Interest was tho Church, of Notro Dante, built In tho thirteenth century. The town was tho center of manu, factories of metallic wares, glass, paper pa-per and leather. |
