Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-17
FORESAW PRESENT WAR
FORTY YEARS AGO
John Mason, Celebrated Actor, Witnessed
Franco-Prussian War as Boy of Ten.
Declares Germans Brutally Cruel
Then.

1t was in the dressing OF the Broad
Street Theatre yesterday afternoon Before
mirror, rubbing grease paint into his face,
| heightening his complexion with rouge, pen
cilling his eyebrows-making up for the part
Of the great railroad magnate Dexter int
"Drugged"-sat John Mason one of the COM
parativey few truly great living American
actors.
Good heavens! think OF it! Here I am
making up--in a moment I'll step out there on
the stage and play mimic part. Out in the
theatre people sitting; they'll watch me
act And meanwhile. the other side of the
world, nations at one another's throats,
battles are raging, men being moved down
by the fire Of cannon. It's horrble-almost in
credible. Yet foresaw this thing as a child
--foresaw Germany's effort to secure supre-
macy in the world, foresaw the brutality and
carnage that resulted in the burning of Lou
vain aud the maltreatment of innocent women
and children l was only 10 years old then"
Mr.. Mason rose. pacing the room.
Il was sent to Germany to school at the age
Of D When was 10 L was studying at Frank
fort-on-the-Main. | lived in a pension kept
by a professor. We were near the frontier
and saw the Franco-Prussisn war at its in
ccption. The Germans went TO war with a
grim determnation-a savagery OF purpose that
impressed and terrified me, young as 1 was.
Well after The first battles they began bringing
IN" wounded and prisoners to the city With
other school children l went out and carried
sandwiches and beer to the wounded soldiers.
Tie tales the Frenchmen told of the cruelty of
the Germans We're ghastly 1t came TO me
then-the thought that this nation would some
day pIecipitate a world war. and endeayor TO
secure world supremacy, and that the brutal
lty OF its soldiers would shock and horrfy the
nations, didn't think I'd live to see it, but.
well, it's come.
! want TO say right here [ consider the
German citizens OF the United States the VERY,
best "f our citizens of foreign extraction They
are hn" ana noble in every way Yes it seems
That Infected with the diabolic contaGion of
they go mad in war-a absolutely re-
vert 4" IN" barbarous spirit of the early dsvs
preceding civilization Certainly German civ
lization has been obliterated in this conflict
After the Frauco-Prussan war had begun
went ON a walking tour into France with the
son OF the professor with whom l lived and
two American boys. They We're about IA TO Is !
years Of age. We Travelled from town 10 town
and hnaHy arrived at Wesenburg where The
hrst shots OF the war had been fred The de-
N"Staton was terrible. We followed the trail
or the armies and what I saw was absolutely
burned INTO my brain The brutality Of the
German soldiers exceeded any convention ono
could have had of human brutality Tba,
simply cut loose There is no question about
t-th"y were more barbarously brutal than
any nation has been in modern warfare. Prfs-
'ners were tortured, women outraged. and even
children maltreated One day the two Am.rf-
'an boys my companions ran away to see a
closer view Of the conflict. They never re-
turned ] suppose they were shot
The carnage the raging war-huneer m.
hrst for killns on the part OF the German
roops appalled, and sickened me. As have
said, the countless instances OF brutality, r
'eheld brought 10 my boys mind premoni-
ion OF what was to come, and what the world
lad 10 fear from victorious mitaristic e..
many There was no spirit OF reIentinr no
mercy TO the fallen temporizing som.
lay, I told myself, this country will 20 to var
With the grim. unrelenting purpose of crusbipr
m rival nations, The world will then see ~,
colossal scale what 1 see-buruing OF citias
instead of villages. and atrocities that ,ytu
make all humankind shudder Well. We bay.
een German culture drop bombs fror, a,
wshp over Antwerp. We have seen RsI-
iau children brought 10 Ostend with their
ight hands severed and young women horribly
rutilated. We have been told OF worse thing.
Germany may make whatever excuses that