The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-11-07
In the Midst of the Wars
DesOlatiOn 1t is a Scene
of Cheerfulness
IMPORTANT WORK BY
MINISTER VAN DYKE
Dutch Trains Suddenly Become Speedy
Holland Tremendously Excited
over Mines in North Sea-Another
Letter from W. F. Collins.

The Newark, y. j., Evening News
published Nov. 1 the following. letter
from its staff correspondent, William
+. Collins, sent from Amsterdam un-
der date of Oct. %:
! am minded to write in lighter vein
tonight. Amsterdam is responsible
for il. Amsterdam is an oasis in the
European desert. Amsterdam is alight
and alive. One can forget here for
the moment the war and its horrors.
And it is a good thing, saving
thing, to forget for moment. IL
one did not have the opportunity toS
] hate to think of the mental conse
quences.
Sitting in the writing room adioin-
ing the great palace, palm arlanded
restaurant of the Hope KrasnapolS ky,
one might fancy that there was no
war, The orchestra is playing, people
a hundred feet away are eating and
drinking, smoking and laughing In
other words, Holland, as represented
by its greatest city is, although well
prepared for eventualities, going its
way for the present time, so helping
to preserve the sanity of Europe
might write were | disposed of the
people not many miles away who are
p@mc-strieken, hungry and destitute,
but for tonight l will not.
was, in way, prepared for the
cheerfulness of Amsterdam by arriv-
ing here this afternoon from The
Hague on a really speedy Dutch train
| may not be believed when | apply
the adjective speedy to Dutch train
service, but | am actually speaking
the truth. The Dutch train ordinarily
when one makes an exception in ia
vor of the Danish or Spanish train,
are the most leisurely things il
steam conveyance in western Europe
They proceed in most deliberate
fashion. seeming determined to los,
time, and when they stop at station
the pause seems final. / nearly missed
the Amsterdam train at The Ha2ue to
day by counting upon this Dutch de
lay. | was busy at The Hague, an,
figured that if ! reached the station
at the exact time the train was schc
dulcd to leave should have at leas
half an hour to wait and so would b.
amply protected. But. wonder o
wonders, the train, which came frou
Rotterdam, was exactly on time. | ha,
to hustle to catch IT,, and this process
really made me feel mt home.
The slowneSs of the trains applies t
many other things in Holland. If yO
want hot water in a hotel it is a wis
plan to call for it - minutes befor
the time YOU hope to use it. They eve
are slow about making out the hott
bills. One has TO get used to it, 0
course, and perhaps it is a good thin
to get used to It. The Dutch deliber;
tiou is a sort of sedative these time
In another letter ! have written c
the cxpensiveness Of living in Hollan
in these times. Food is not cheap
Amsterdam, but some other things al
not dear. Hotel accommodations al
not so costly as in The Hague or
Rotterdam. In Rotterdam, whe1
There has been a great rush Of retur
ing Americans, the hotel men are
harpies preying on the defenseless. !
to Flushing, the point of departul
for England and the only pnrt-of q
parture nowadays, that is almost IL
possible hotefvise. A. man~ is lucl
il he gets a bed or couch or eve
n sofa.
! have seen men there who thoug
and justly--that they were fortuna
to get chair to sit on on which
doze. But in Amsterdam at presc
there is room enough in the hotels.
anticipate rest tonight in a clea
comfortable bed, the first dece
night 5 rest | have had, may ad
for three days. Also one thinks
Amsterdam with affection when t