Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-09-10
AMERICAN WAR
CORRESPONDENTS
HAVE LIVELY TRIP
Locked Up by Germans in Bar
racks Where Explosives
Are Stored.
CIGARETTE SMOKERS GIVE
THEM MUCH UNEASINESS
Not Prisoners" but Told They
VIII Be Shot if They Try
to Escape.

BY the Associated Press.
ROTTERDAM, Sept TO- via Lon
don.-Fhe party of American cores
pondents who accompanied the Ger
man army for nearly two weeks
across Belgium and into France,
found themselves safe on Dutch soil
To-Day, having been held prisoners by
the Germans for +our days under un-
usual circumstances. The Associated
I'ress correspondent reached Rotter-
dam late last night.
FOR the past week the party had
been under surveillance at Aix-la-
Chapelle whittier they had been
Drought on train with prisoners
from beaumont, Belgium. The party
Included Roger Lewis, the Associated
l.fess; Irwin S. Cobb, the Saturday
Evening Post and the Philadelphia
i'Hblic Ledger; James ODonnel Ben
nett and John T. McCutcheon, the
chicago Tribune, and Harry Hansen.
The Chicago Daily News
with them on the trip to AiX-la-
Chapelle We're three other correspond
ents, Maurice Gerbeauld a Belgian
correspondent; Lawrence Stein
stevens, an American artist, formerly
OF Detroit, and Victor Hennebeard.
King Alberts special photographer.
Inc party of five Americans left
BRUSSELS ON August 20 with peciaI
Nllltary passes and were the only cor
respondents who were successful in
Following the German army.
BY Carriage to NiveIIes.
me party proceeded by carriage to
Nivelles, where the sound of cannon
SO frightened the carriage driver that
he returned to Brussels, leaving the
correspondents to continue ON foot.
Inc party succeeded in marching
aiong with the army, sometimes in
sight OF fightings until Beaumont was
reached Here the Germans had estab
dlsned temporary headquarters.
Az beaumont the correspondents
were held up by Commandant Mitten-
dofter, whose suspicious against all
heWspapermen had been aroused Inv
q party of three correspondents
picked up the previous day who rep
resented themselves as Americans
although two of them were Belgians.
The trio had been taken to a Beau
mont Jail The party included Ger
Deauld, Stevens and Hennebeard and
The negro chauffeur.
All We're Arrested.
All were arrested for photograph
Ing and travelling in an automobile
Riito"iuiiy ~ fleO Gross
flag. The Americans were allowed to
spend the night on the stone floor of
q Belgian schoolhouse, which had
been converted into barracks for the
Germ :" I troops. The correspondents
were courteously treated by the SOL
oilers Who, after the days thirty
pnile march, sang, danced and other
wise entertained them royalty until
midnight. The next day the Ameri-
L., ;As .I.1s
square in the centre of q group which
included Prince August Wilhelm, the
third son of Emperor William, and
other military authorities.
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, in view of the fact that the
French prisoners were constantly
lighting. surreptitiously, cigarettes
under cover of their straw bedding.
German Lieutenant to the Rescue.
After a short incarceration the
Americans, through the kindness of
German lieutenant, were removed to
a small cafe adjoining the prison,
where later they were followed by
the three other suspects. who were
the cause of their detention.
For two nights they slept on the
floor under a heavy guard, and still
Told that they were not prisoners. but
warned that they would be shot If
they moved one step out of the house.
After they had given their word of
honor that, they would not attempt to
escape the guard was doubled.
No food was supplied the prisoners,
their only sustenance being a bottle
of wine from the chateau of Prince
Chmay. which was taken by the Ger
mans The bottle was brought to
them by a petty officer. During their
Imprisonment the Americans received
an official visit from one of the in
toxicated officers, who called them
English spies and insisted upon giving
convincing demonstrations of the
sharpness of his sword when he heard
English spoken. The officer cleverly
remarked to the German soldiers on
guard: "Ha, they have betrayed
themselves; they call themselves
Americans, but they speak English
Then They Acted as Guards"
Finally, one night the Americans
were taken with a hundred French
and a hundred English prisoners to a
prison train, the destination of which
was unknown. They were asked po-
litely enough by the German officers
to walk alongside the prisoners and
acted as guards. At the same time
the officer said in an aside to the
German guard: Keep your eyes
open on those Americans. If they
move, or step from the ranks, shoot
them"
The train, carrying besides the pris-
oners several cars of wounded Ger
man soldiers, arrived at Aix-la- Chap
ellie after two days slow journey.
All eight of the correspondents were
packed into a single second-class
compartment, without food or drink,
and at the mercy of Belgian snipers,
who frequently fired from houses as
the train passed. The party arrived
at Aix-la-chapelle carefully guaFded
bv secret service and military guards
and were forbidden to leave the city
The surveillance of the military
guard and the police relaxed when the
authorities discovered that the Amer
lean correspondents had in their pos
session accounts favorable to the
German army, The party finally
erased the Dutch border without per-
mission of the authorities.