The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-09-17
HAD ROUGH TIME.
Americans Tell of Experiences With
Germans.

HOtlSE0a1n, vId LoHNOu, Sep'. i"'
The party OF American correspond
enls who accompanied the German
army nearly two weeks across Bel
GUM and into France found them
se.ves safe on Dutch soil today after
being held prisoners by the Germans
for four days under unusual circum-
stances.
The Associated Press correspond
ent reached Rotterdam late last
night. For the past week the party
had been under surveillance at AK
la-Chappelle, whittier they had been
brought on a train with prisoners
from Beaumont, Belgium. The par
ty. included Roger Lewis. Of the AS
sociated Press; Irwin S. Cobb, Cf the
Saturday Evening Post and the Phil
adelphia Public Ledger; James o.
Donnell Bennett and John T. Nc
Cutcheon, of the Chicago Tribune,
and Harry Hensen, of the Chicago
Daily News. With them on the trip
to Aix-la-Chappelle were three other
correspondents, Maurice Gerbeauld,
a Belgian newspaper man; Lawrence
Stein Stevens, an American artist,
formerly of Detroit, and Victor Hen
nebeard, King Albert's special pho
tographer.
The party of five Americans left
Brussels on August 23 with special
military passes and were the only
correspondents successful in review
ing the German army. The party
proceeded by carriage to Nivelles.
where the sound of cannon so fright
ened the carriage driver that he re-
turned to Brussels, leaving the cor
respondents to continue on foot.
The party marched along with the
army, sometimes in sight of fighting,
until Beaumont was reached. Here
the Germans had established tempor-
ary headquarters. At Beaumont the
correspondents were held up by Com
mandant Mittendorfer, whose suspi-
cions against all newspaper men had
been aroused by party OF three cor
respondents picked up the previous
day, who represented themselves as
Americans, although two of them
were Belgians. The trio had been talk
en- to a Beaumont Jail. The party
included Gerbeauld, Stevens and Hen
nebeard and a negro chauffeur. All
were arrested for photographing and
travelling in an automobile which un-
lawfully carried Red Cross flag.
The five American correspondents
were allowed to spend the night on
the stone floor of a Belgian school
house which hal been converted in
to barracks for the German troops.
They were courteously treated by
the soldiers, who, after the days
thirty-mile march, sang, danced and
otherwise entertained them royalty
until midnight.
The next day the Americans were
kept waiting in the public square, in
the centre of a group which included
Prince August Wilhelm, the third
son of the emperor, and other high
After being repeatedly told that
they were not prisoners the Ameri-
cans were locked up with the three
correspondents arrested the day be-
fore. Stevens had already been SEN
fenced to be shot as an English spy.
The Jail was filthy, harboring a large
number of French prisoners taken in
the skirmishes south of Beaumont.
One side of the Jail was stacked with
tons of German high explosives-a
rather uncomfortable situation, as
the French prisoners were constant
ly lighting cigarettes under cover of
their straw bedding. After short
Incarceration the Americans were re-
moved to a small cafe, where later
they were followed by the three
other suspects. For two nights they
slept on the floor under heavy
guard. They still were told they
were not prisoners, but were warned
that they would be shot if they NOV
ed one step out of the house. After
they had given their word that they
would not attempt to escape their
guard was doubled.
No food was supplied the prison
ers, their only sustenance being a
bottle of wine brought to them by
a petty officer. During their i'm
prisonment the Americans received
an alarming visit from an intoxicated
German officer. who called them Eng
lish spies and insisted upon giving
convincing demonstrations of the
sharpness of his sword when he
heard English spoken. The officer
cleyerlV remarked to the German