New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-12-27


rary." a..
II was a Roman holiday for the
French inhabitants Of the town OF -
who lined the roads en- masse, quiver-
ing with Suppressed emotion and happi-
ness. thinking they were eyewitnessAhg
a great German retreat. "Our French
soldiers will soon be here AGAIN., they
interpreted to one another But IL
wasn't retreat--it wac one OF those
mysterious strategic shifts" you read
about in the papers without really re-
aliEing what II means till you see IT
great masses being pushed from one
battlefield TO another on the long line
For weeks these same regiments had
been daily "decimnted," cut TO
pieces" and otherwise badly mauled by
English war correspondents, but you
would never have suspected II. Heard
ed dragons and Uhlans were ctill able
TO sit up and smoke big Hamburg
cigars as they rode along. the horses
looked fresh, the guns Of the batteries
were spick and span, the men seemed
TO have morale" to spare; they looked
as il they were just going for the
first time-and not coming from the
scrimmage.
By way of depression and as illus
trating the military discipline on
which the Germans pride themselves
so, the following whimsical interlude
took place in front Of the sacred por-
tails Of the great German staff: A for
mer German professor of philosophy,
adorned In civil life with the high title
of Privy Councillor, sixty-hve years
old. white-haired, white bearded and
with big yellow horn-rimmed spec,
tacles, anonymously wearing the heid
gray uniform whose collar ana shoul-
der straps indicated that he was an
under officer of the reserve regiment OF
a German university town well known
to Americans, was waiting patiently
outside of the guarded gate IN company
with a young Feldwebel "a non-com-
missioned officer of higher rank. The
old philosophy professor had enlisted
with practically his whole class at the
outbreak of the war, but on account OF
his age was not sent to the front win
them at the time, but finally was al
lowed to 60 with transport OF -FOUR
automobile loads of gifts and supplies
for the regiment. He and the reid-
webel had 70 hang around outside WINE
the lieutenant in charge went inside 10
do the talking in the great German
Staff building. Presently the old PM
losophy professor ransacked his pock-
cts and produced an apple, clicked MS
heels together in regulation fashloh
and saluting his young superior (inii-
nitely inferior i'll the civil social scale)'
said: "Am | permitted to offer you an
apple, Herr Feldwebel?"
His ranking superior Acknowledged
the gift with curt military punctlilo,
then added respectfully: Il thank you
Herr Privy Councillor"
In the afternoon a forced march OF
two miles brought me 70 the handsome
villa occupied by the foreign military
attaches, where Major Langhorne, the
American expert. was again found IN
good health and spirits, and partlcu-
larly happy because in couple OF
DAYS he was again 10 see some real
fighting. The great General Staft con
tinue 70 give our military attache
every possible opportunity TO see
things for himself and give Uncle
Sam the benefit of the military les
sons to be learned from the big scrap,
10 matter which way it goes.
How II Was Done.
To-day | again dropped in or the
great General Staff and found 1t not
only at home, but very much interest
ed on discovering that | had no pass
to come or 90 or be there at that time.
The wartime wind Of Prussian mill
,erism is keen and right TO the point.
II saw not the chance of getting pub
licitv in America, but the certainty
that other more dangerous spies
could come through the same way
Bv all the rules of the war game
Prussian militarism would nave Deeh
thoroughly justified in treating me as
common spy in possession OF VITA
military secrets, but II courteous!
contented itself in insisting on pluck
inr out the heart of the JOURNALISTIC
mystery. All attempts at evasion ana
humor were vain-here was the ruin,
less reality of war. 1t was the maliea
Prussian Eagle against the BLUM Amer
SCAN bird of the same species, and the
uneoual contest was soon ended when
Major Nikolai, chief of Division III
Of the great General staff, stood up
very straight and digniied and said'
al am a German officer. What Ger
man violated his duty? / ask you as
q man Of honor, how was 1t posslDle
Tor YOU to come here I'm,
The answer was quite simple: The
German military machine was so PEI
fens that il covered every contingency
evcent the most obvious and guarded
every road except the easiest way. All
you have 20 do is to take a passenger
train TO Luxembourg, and hang around
the platform until the next military
train pulls out for Belgium or France,
hon aboard, and keep on going. In case
Of doubt. utter the magic phrase, i am
an American. and fash the open sesame,
tbe red seal of the United States OF
America-to which bearded Landsturm
guards pay the tribute Of regarding II
as equally authoritative as the purple
Prussian eagle stamped on a military
Followed q two-hour dialogue in the
nrivate Office Of the chief of the kal-
ser's secret field police, as a result OF
which future historians will find IN the
Kaiser's secret archives the following
unique document, couched IN beThn
"detectivese" and signed and subscribed
TO by the Tribune correspondent;
Secret Field Police, Great Head
quarters, December l, 1914
There appears the American war
correspondent, and at the partlcu-
lar request of the authorities ex-
plains:
On Saturday, November 30. ar
rived at Trier on a second Grass
ticket at about 1880 p. m. mere
] bought third class TICKET ana
boarded train leaving about ll;lO
D. m, and reached Luxembourg at