The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-08-22
THRILLING EXPERIENCES
ON TRIP FROM CARLSBAD
Chicago Man and Party Arrive in
London After Travelling Continu-
ously for is Days.
ARRESTED SCORES OF TIMES
Treated With Utmost Consideration
by Military. but like Dogs by Civil
Authorities of Both Austria and
Germany.

LONDON. August 2i.-WilIiam ].
Chalmers. OF Chalmers & Williams OF
chicago. and Frazer & Chalmers. OF
London. arrived in London to-day at
the head of little party that has been
travelling continuously for sixteen days
from Carlsbad.
His story of their experiences out
does in point OF thrilling details any
thing the fugitives from the continent
have yet brought to London
There were $1,000 visitors in Carls-
bad when the war broke out. OF these
probably 1000 were Americans. For
eight days before left not single
train was available for civilians.
There was no difficulty In getting
money on letters of credit. the Carls.
bad banks and hotels behaving hand
somely. but money wasn't what the
vast majority of Americans wanted as
a means Of getting out of the country.
Among them were hundreds OF women
"ho journeyed afoot. in wagons or any
way they could all the way to the
| frontier. only to find that there was no
chance OF crossing the border.
Thcre were no trains running in
Germany. We waited at Carlsbad one
week after the war broke out. hoping
that the train service would be re-
sumcd. Finally three OF us decided not
to wait any longer. but 20 try to make
the trip in motors.
! travelling back and forth to the Ger
man frontier seeking nev-s but finally
| ] lcarend II probably would be months
before the railways could accep,
civilian passengers The two principal
motor routes out OF Austria. via Eu
remburg and via Munich. we're both
closed by the military. We were ready
to drive through the beds Of streams
~ necessary to escape from the country
The people we left behind were IN
4 ~ INV ct
trary TO general belief. Calsbad's pa
irons are not recruited from the ultra
rich. but are largely persons OF mod
crate means, whose annual savings
enable them to take the cure Most
OF these people pay ali their money
to a steamship agency for a book OF
coupons. which ordinarily represent
currency in tho payment OF steamship
and railway fares and hotel bills.
The moment war was declared the
! Office in Carlsbad shut its doors and
hung out sign: No check. or coupons
paid
MEETING OF AMERICANS
To VOICE INDIGNATION
conditions had reached such q point
on the day left that a meeting of
Americans was called at PuDps Hotel
where 5000 Americans voiced their In
diSnatton al the seeming impotence of
the United States government TO afford
them some means of getting out Of the
country
AT this meeting Judge Graham. of
Philadelphia. member of Congress
was selected chairman. and Frank A.
Munsey and Phil Lydig were appointed
members of committee to present
conditions to tho American government.
United States Consul Hoover. at
Carlsbad. had been doing fine work
night and day trying to alleviate the
fears of the Americans and helping
them IN every way possible, but his
powers are limited
Among others. said good by TO
George Glessner. brother of John
Glessncr, of the International Harves-
ter Company; Mrs. Rodney Warburt6n.
OF Philadelphia, and Frank Baird, the
music critic. OF Chicago.
With me were my wife and her
maid. an Austrian chauffeur and an
officer OF the Swiss army. whom We
consented to carry because he said
others had agreed his presence would
be invaluable In dealing with the mill
tary through the Austrian and German
towns.
Before we reached Swiss territory
We were arrested and detained forty
nine times. Almost every time II was
tho Swiss army officer who finally per-
suaded our captors to let us proceed
I'm the second car of our cavalcade
OF motors was Charles Conover presi-
dent OF Hubbard. Spencer. Bartlett &
old daughter Margaret 1t cost him
$500 to hire the car for the trip TO the
Swiss frontier
I'm the third car we're Dr. Fred Ows-
ley. of Chicago. and Mrs. Owsley
Our route lay through Pilsen. Bud
weiss. Frcdistadt. SaalburE and Inns
Eruck, which offered two means Of
escape, one OF Venice over the Italian
Alaps. and the other via CeldlSirch
| over the Austrian tyrol. to Switzerland
UNABLE TO FIND OUT
ATTITUDE OF ITALY
we expected TO decide which route
we would take on arriving at Inns
| bruck. where we thought we would be
able TO learn whether Italy had de.
clared war. But nobody at Innsbruck
knew anything.
we feared TO cross over into Italy
and determined 10 try to cross the
cross-country route to Switzerland in
stead.
I'VE finally managed 20 reach Buch,
and after crossing the Rhine landed on
Swiss soil. Thence forward our prog
ress to Zuerich was simplicity itself.
a long series of delightful receptions
all along the line. At Zurich. we cabled
to London, New York and Chicago
banks to arrange for funds
Inside of forty-eight hours We had
more actual cash than we knew Chat
TO do with.
The train journey from Zurich to
Geneva took fourteen hours. We sat
up all night mt Geneva and went to the
station at 3 o'clock the next morning
to board a train which was due to
leave for Paris at Z.
ut took forty one hours to make
the usual twelve-hour trip from &C.
neva to Paris. Mobilization was play
ing havoc with the train service
".At DIXON we ran half a mile through
the freight yards to board an already
overcrOwded third-class train, where
in we sat up all night until we reached
Paris at A. NJ.
I'VE found Paris deserted. mlser-
able dead city. British troops were
everywhere. There wak hardly an
avenue in Paris that was not alive
with men in khaki uniform who spoke
English. They were q treat for sore
eyes and ears.
"All along the railway line from
Paris TO Boulogne, English troops wore
much in evidence, and at Boulogne
there were swarms Of them.
I'VE had to board a train at Paris