Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-09-06

before that / was sitting On my trunks in
all the heat of the hottest day on the
front steps g. my Washington homei and
| know "a Mis- kaueher somewhere over in
The ISrol- in an equally beautiful spot
wishing exactly the sa me thing Sne has
left Vienna. as, of course, every American
did who was wise, though l guess IL were
better if she had also left Austria.
cannot even guess what sort Of trip
they will have when they start moving
toward the frontier. However, she has
passports and, as l wrote her yesterday in
answer to her much disturbed letter. the
important thing for her to remember is
that she IS an American
Reports Not Exaggerated.
7 suppose our American newspapers
have come out with headlines telling
of the distressed Americans, and If they
did. no matter what they said, for once
they didn't exaggerate. We are dis
dressed, l perhaps less than any of the
others, herded together here in little
old trying hard-to-be-neutral Switzer-
land. Tomorrow there is going to be
one less l am going to hike for Rome.
Up to yesterday l couldn't even pay
my board bill. / had only about $40
in Swiss money which l drew when /
left Austria, all in small change-just
Tor tram use, thought. / had plenty
of Austrian money left and plenty of
my travellers checks, but there wasn't
the sudden draft on it. Almost over
night it came.
My Austrian money l couldn't give
away at this moment, it is so dis
counted. Banks have kept open only
TWO hours daily for while-since FRI
day they have been open four hours.
for one am not a good enough fighter
to stand the crush. SO 1 just sat steady
and kept cool and waited. People were
frantic to get money, and when they
couldn't get it they grew panicky. 1t
was awful for while last week.
Americans and English stood about in
excited groups all over the place, each
one taking a 'stagger' at what might
happen, and each one apparently try
ing his or her best to scare the others
to FRAGILE. Really it was ludicrous,
reminded me of the California rabbit
drives after they are all caught in
corral
Activities of Tourists.
NO doubt you read of various ac-
tivities because this story is typical
all over Europe where Americans are
herded together) of meetings being
held. committees being formed. cables
sent to Washington, etc. Typewriter
and pencil bulletins are stuck up in
all the big hotels as the result of these
meetings and the answers to cables
and kilograms to consuls. To put it into
nutshell there is quite a little rum
pus We are cut off from any real war
news, and naturally what little does
leak through is distorted, although no
doubt the truth is about as bad as it
well can be.
of course l have nothing special to
fofry about with the embassy for pro-
lection, when / once get into Italy but
am not there yet, and the memory of
my trip from Australia here is still
pretty fresh in my mind. l arrived
80
after travelling twenty-four hours,
changing cars seven times and
handling my own baggage
- don remember what / ate or when.
we all gracced what we could get and paid
what they asked. and once l ran for my
train without paying. l would have miss
ed 1t If l hadn't. ] had ffrst-class
ticket but rode third-class half of the
time punched in with soldiers, not-yet-
soldiers and ex-soldiers, all going to
mobilize. And we We're all very grateful
for the chance to sit down at all. Well. it
is one of those Observation-Disclosures ex-
but, dear me. those were only the little
puny selfish Personal Inconvenience
which are already thing of the past,
except the memory OF it.
Pitiful Scenes Enacted.
We saw sights along the way so pitt
full they gripped ones heart, and l just
about 'boohooed my eyes out. The little
peasant village platforms were crowded
With the country people, taken out of the
middle of their harvest field. | saw little
I'D bent men and women tbent from
sorkt tottering along the country roads
it'll their big. sturdy awkward sons who
arried all their belongings tied up in a
laid handkerchief. coming to catch the
rain to go 10 the nearest mobilziug sta
tion.-NheH those trains began to pull
uut you may be able 10 picture what it
meant TO those poor people.
Sometimes there We're three or -four
Boys out of one family, sometimes man
holding two children by the hands and
his wife with a third. IN her arms, and
Ill geing to he what they called can
nonan futter cannon food / tell you
this Is the -crueiest thing the world has
ever seen. L saw hay wagons left halt
loaden In the fields, oxen upyoked graz
ing about them: horses forcihly contis-
lated. and the natural pursuits of men at
staadstilL ,Fhe hotels have lost
waters cooks. porters and are now
mostly run by women. However, let me
Tell you, they are doing it mighty well
under the circumstances.
This IS u mighty long letter to be
sending into what seems now Just space
a sort of a shot at the moon. as 1t were
The mail boxes are only emptied once q
day by old men. God knows what they
DO with the mail. I should think they
would want to throw 1t into the lake
but maybe il goes into sacks and prob
ably about Christmas time you will gel
this Anyway, am writing 1t because
am thinking of you all and l hope Il
will interest you when you do get it
The Swiss government has issued
some flve-franc notes and now oui
hotels will take our checks, although
hey discount them some.
Baggage Is Mislaid.
Also, to add to the merriment oil
leld up somewhere along the frontier
{ sent them 10 Lucerne when 1 LEFT
Rome for Vienna. OF course, 1 will
get them some day when things se
moving again. In the meanwhile.
in darning my stockings and wearing
he same waists and dresses over ant
over again.
Il was never so grateful for any
thing in my life as I have been tina
can speak German and was in Ger
incorporating countries since thi.
thing had to happen. have been in