The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-17

people misinformed as to their losses CD
 the battlefield, giving them false hope and misdirected courage. You ask me how should like to see Germany become re- public and it's Emperor deposed. Much
 as l love the country of my adoptlon--l
 have been an American for several years,
 you know-I should hate to see Germany
 changed. change in it's politics might affect it in other ways, and do not be- heve l should ever care to go back to visit my people if such a thing happened. The war is a dreadful thing" affirfs this German-born American. Hearts are aching all over Europe because of losses of life and property. l myself have a
 nephew in the army and since the day he 1 left us we have heard nothing We are trying to persuade ourselves that no news is good news, but the suspense until he comes home again will be severe. A poor
 Widow who lives near my people has given four sons to Germany. One of lis comrades came just before I left bring ing news of them. The news was simply the four watches of the soldier boys The
 four trinkets. you see, told all that the widow needed to knowl
 '1 returned home on the steamship La
 flardre, which is a French vessel, se- cured by the United States for the trafs- portation of her people who are abroad
 My trip was narrowing experience cf course. had even terrible time getting started. My sister, who lives in Texas, was with me, and for weeks we had had no
 news of the outside world Newspape. S could not reach us, nor could we write letters Finally we resolved to find a way to come home, and learning that we
 might come through Switzerland-we
 were just three hours ride from the bor- der-we made a trip over there to s.e about transportation. The soldiers on pt r1 you. We Were under suspicion as spies and the letters which we wished to post Were carefully read, and those which had even the tiniest reference to wars affairs were thrown out They wouldn't even let us eat, mind you, in .he first town we Visited, though we reached there at the luncheon hour, after having risen at , o'clock. No; we must get cut of Switzer
 land as quickly as possible. | assure you.
 never felt so wicked in my lifel We had our passports, to be sure and it seemed that the whole world was curious about them. We drove to another town.
 but even there, during our stay in a restaurant, Were subjected to careful
 scrutiny, and the most inquisitive con- versation, by two soldiers who discussed
 our antecedcnts, habits and probable fu- ture with the host and aso with ou-
 coachman. Having arranged for passac ce
 in France our success seemed doubtful
 lnere were tnousanuS or Americans to be
 similarly accommodated; the night we ar- rived the manager of our Lotel, who was exceedingly lacking in servants, bundled
 his family off to Vichy and was prepar-
 ing to close the place within the week: prices for everything were exorbitant. ano municipal transportation almost i'm
 possible. And a downpo,r of rain was constant throughout our stay, to maxo everything seem as misero ble and hope
 less as possible. But at nst we were on
 board and the captains s request that we avoid q discussion of the war was wise.
 l thought. At my table sat professor of French in a Boston institution &C.,
 companied by his wife. Remarks that they occasionally made caused my Ger
 man blood to boil but I was as placid as could be. I had already denied my birth place just to keep peacel But as an ir
 stance of the impossible reports sent from abroad, the wireless on this vessel reported to us, when we were several