Norwich bulletin., 1913-02-21

i Sell Army SupPliss-scsnes in -eeI.
 grades Principal Cafe, Where Every.
 body Goes to Gossip and Plot.
 Belgrade at the present moment, Is
 Iull or adyenturers. not a few of them acters-the sort who are to be found wherever trouble brews-in Asia, South America or Africa Others are natives
 and foreign gentlemen connected with the various embassies-not adventur- CTS strictly speaking, yet doing much to add to the air of mystery, and intri- l que which makes the capital a fas- cinatiEg study just now.
 Every few moments one meets in the streets a group of .Americans''-B garians or Servians who have seized l the pretext of the war to return from their labors on American railroads or l in American factories to have a look | at their native land again says the correspondent of the Chicago News. In America they would not be much noticed. Here they swagger. Amer ica has gone to their heads. Their
 friends in the states supposed they were returning to fight the Turk. It i is to be feared that many of them, on arriving in Sofia and Belgrade pass l their time over cups of Turkish coffee l in the cafes telling admiring circles how to run the country.
 They are strange fellows. Although 1 making such capital of their American sojourn or in many cases of their American citizenship they will have nothing to do with born Americans. MT. Summers, the American consul in Belgrade. has tried to speak to sev-- eral Of these heroes from the new
 world in the streets They make short
 replies and turn their backs. I saw
 four going toward cafe this morning
 and called to them. They gave a nasty look and hurried on. touched
 one on. the arm.
 Am erican ?' asked.
 Yes!'' and he broke away from me and bounded through the door
 One would imagine they had guilty consciences.
 Not Homo to Fight.
 Some of these returned "Americans'' are less -touchy. There is at present in town papermaker from a New York community, a. naturalized Ser vian, who has lived nine years in the States. He is a fine figure, with mass es of yellow hair and large Vandyke beard and mustache. The shoulders of his overcoat are padded till he appears a giant. In his buttonhole he wears conspicuously a badge of the socialist party.
 Instantly he started to make speech, for either America or socialism or both have gone to his head, too.
 T have not come" he said. Ito fight for some foolish purpose. I-want to see how things look. If people is in danger of losing it's liberty a man must fight For that I would fight. But I am an internationlist.' I am for peace as a general thing. There is a saying in America, Eternal vigilance here The Balkan states keep fighting among themselves, while their inter ests are really identical United we stand, divided we fall So these little -t,1 rTw,@4 &e 5,-It opportunity
 All this and much more in broken English. have since seen him mak- ing speeches in the stores and cafes. This morning met him.
 s1 don't know what is the matter with my Serb countrymen," he said. '@They don't seem to realize a war is going on. I have tried to point out tfie seriousness of the situation to them, but it does no good. went to visit my comrades at the socialist headquarters, and they say they are as surprised as I am at the blindness Of the people. I am going down into the country now to visit my. old moth ar. She will be lonely, for have five brothers at the front"
 All Of which might be taken to mean that the Serbs of Belgrade are not yet ripe for the American kind of socialism.
 Looking for Contracts.
 Another ytpe of American Is the l agent for firm of English army out ] filters Like several other mysterious l looking figures to be seen around the l hotels. he Is fishing for army contracts | He is good natured man with small 1 glfttering eyes and & heavy red face | He talks pure American slang. He | tells Of having met William Jennings 1 Bryan in a Russian hotel. and of hay l ing taken the Nebraskan statesman to visit the old Tolstoi. He mentions people he knew in Corfu, or China, or Chile, or Algiers, and tells stories of | with Albanian bandits 1 He is convinced that for fairness and l hammedans than with Christians. In | fact, as far as his business goes, he | has little use for Christians. Just at | present he appears to be on the verge | army 2500O0 pairs of shoes made in | of American leather
 But they'll only give us five weeks, and that's the blank of it." he explains | over interminable glasses of whiskey | and soda. We've got private yachts | specially rigged out for blockade run | ming and that sort of busfness-oh, l we're game for anything; we | can't get a yacht around to Saloniki | with the shoes in that time. We're l willing to.guarantee to have the shoes ready and on s1nfpboard, but we can't | guarantee to deliver 'em. Do you suppose Austriass going to let all that | stuff for the Servians pass through her now when everytfings up in | the afr7 Not on your lifei We've got l to have full payment deposited in a l London bank first, or nothing doing l Come I'D to my room some day and | I'll show you our line-guns pistols, | bayonets. ammunition. canned meat, | unfforns-anything you like.''
 Meanwhile this willy agent passes his time fin sending cab1egrams and in | conferences with his Servian solicitor 8 capable looking black bearded Span ish Jew
 Nothing to Do But Plot.
 The center of the intriguing is the 1 cafe of sBelgrade's best hotel. AL | though Belgrade is striving hard to get | to be 8 cosmopolitan city, there is still | nothing to do here but gossip and plot There is one theater, but there are no plays Only the common people go to the dirty rooms where there are cine | shows, to see the films that | were new in Paris, Berlin and London 3 year or so ago. There are no drives | and no promenades. The only music | is played right here in this cafe, by | the kings royal orchestra. on Sunday | afternoon and evening. No wonder everybody" focks to the little tables | to talk about everybody else, and see who fs there and what they weart