Imperial Valley press., 1914-11-21
MOVING PICTURE MANS
WAR CES
(By j. C. Bee Mason.)

hut recent experiences have taught m'
that this does not necessarily NEAR
the whole story. l have just made
tour of Holland in quest of pictures
for the Hearst -Selig News Pretoria
and my experiences there have con-
WINGED me that it is easier to get
pictures in a country where war is
being waged than in a state whose
neutrality renders the surveillance of
the movements of strangers infinitely
more stringent than any to which
have been subjected in Belgium OF
France.
With Belgium in the hands of the
Germans | turned to Holland in the
hope of finding fruitful field of
operations. The kindly Dutch are
showing extraordinary and practical
sympathy with the poor Belgian refu-
gees tut the Dutch authorities are
&
any breach of neutrality and, in pass
ing, I would tell you that the Dutch
people, as whole community, are
all on the side of the allies. More
than one million Belgians, all des-
titue and homeless, have sought safety
in Holland and it is hardly possible
to tell in words the strain this has
put upon the resources of this little
country.
In Flushing it was impossible to get
sleeping accommodation and a mat
tress in an attic was all l could find
on my arrival there. Ordinary white
bread is not to be found in the coun-
try and the supply of black bread is
limited. l left Flushing the day after
my arrival and travelled by train to
Alkmar where the German prisoners
are interned. Alkmar is situated on
the western coast of Holland farthest
from the German frontier. There are
some hundreds of Germans in the COM
pounds here and | was greatly i'm
pressed by their general cheerfulness,
even when the weather was vile
enough to sadden the most CHEEKY
optimist
Evidently being interned in a Dutch
compound is not at all disagreeable
experience. Each day squads of these
prisoners are taken in parties of about
fifty for long walks in charge of two
Dutch guards. The men are more
or less placed on parole and they
make no effort to escape for they are
as far away from the German border
as the Dutch authorities can put them.
At this time of the year Holland is a
dismal country for the "sea-fret" from
the North sea and the Zuyder Zee
covers the country with haze which
casts sort of pail of depression all
over the place. And, by the way, this
haze is not beloved of the photograph
er. No permits are given by the
Dutch authorities for the taking of
photographs, but the officers are some
times subject to an attack of tenn
porary blindness.
/ left Alkmar for Enkhuizen and
crossed the Zuyder Zee in a fishing
smack to Stavoren, a journey which
took three hours and was made in a
drenching rain. Thence l proceeded
to Leeuwarden, where it was with diff
| fculty that | convinced the hotel pro-
prietor that l was not a spy. An
early start next morning brought me
to Groningen, on the German border,
where the English prisoners are To-
Gated. My entry into this town was
soon noted by the authorities and a
gendarme mounted on a bicycle was
told TO watch my movements. / en-
tered cafe overlooking the barracks
in which the British prisoners are
housed and my sleuth-hound kept
watch and ward at the door. How
to get picture was my chief thought
and while the gendarme kicked his
heels in the street | perched my
camera on the ledge of an upper win
dow and got the Britishers marching
in the barrack square.
Leaving the cafe / went to the bar
racks, the gendarme following at a
respectful distance. The officer re-
fused to allow me to take pictures
Of the men, but they were anxious
that I should not be sent away empty
handed. Placing my camera on the
ground and titling it with stone be-
meath the front end, / sat upon the
machine and while ostensibly chatting
to some of the sailors l was turning
the handle and taking a picture Of
the squad of sailors running up anc
down the barrack yard, as they do fol
exercise for two hours each day. This
is the only recreation which the Brit
ishers got. They are not allowed out