It is significant that the following notice has been placarded on the outside of the building occupied by the Military Government, next door to the Hotel St. Antoine:  “Reports that the French and English are marching on Antwerp are without foundation; the public is warned against helping to circulate these false reports.”  All day crowds hang about the door where this notice is posted among official German news bulletins.  The burghers of Antwerp are well informed about the varying fortunes of the war, for several papers printed in French are allowed to appear, under the German censorship, which seems surprisingly easygoing here and eminently fair, allowing them to print not merely the official German accounts circulated by the Wolff Bureau, but the official English, French, Russian, and even Belgian bulletins as well, in addition to matter copied from the Dutch papers, which are also allowed to circulate here.

If things look doubtful in the north, the Germans are looking confidently to the south, where the next big victory is hoped for.  I learn that Gen. von Beseler, “the conqueror of Antwerp,” as his popular picture postcard title reads, is now in charge of operations around Verdun, and that four of the new 42-centimeter mortars, in addition to more than thirty of the 30.5-centimeter, are already in place there.  On the strength of this combination well-informed German officers confidently expect the quick fall of Verdun as soon as Beseler gives the order for the “Brummers” to speak—­rather high-priced oratory, for I was told by an artillery officer that it cost the taxpayers 36,000 marks ($9,000) every time one of the 42-centimeter mortars was fired.

The Belgian Ruin

By J.H.  Whitehouse, M.P.

[An Associated Press Interview, Published Oct. 2, 1914.]

LONDON, Oct. 1.—­A graphic picture of the desolation of Belgium was brought to London today by J.H.  Whitehouse, member of Parliament from Lanarkshire, who has just returned from a tour around Antwerp for the purpose of assisting in the relief measures.

“Having always regarded war as the negation of all that is good,” said Mr. Whitehouse tonight, “I desired to see what its ravages were in a country exposed to all its fury, and what steps were possible to mitigate them.  I do not think that any one here has realized the plight of the civilian population of Belgium today, and can only attempt to give any picture of this by describing some of my own experiences.”

Mr. Whitehouse made the journey outside Antwerp with two military cars, attended by Belgian officials.  In describing the damage which he says the Belgians had to inflict upon themselves to supplement the defenses of Antwerp, he said: 

“Hundreds of thousands of trees had been cut down, so that at some points of our journey we had the impression of passing through a wilderness of roots.  The tree trunks had all been removed so as to afford no cover to the enemy.  All houses had been blown up or otherwise destroyed.  Later we passed through the country which had been flooded as a further measure of defense.  The damage resulting from these precautionary measures alone amounted to L10,000,000, ($50,000,000.)