Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1914-12-24
On GERMAN LINE THROUGH
BELGIUM To THE SEACOAST

suburban Brussels, your free ride to
the point is cut short by a conscien-
tious Landsturm sergeant who search
es the train and politely points out
that the document you produce is
good only for transportation to Brus-
sells. And you become for the first
time victim of war, for there are no
longer waiting taxicabs or horse cabs,
and there is nothing to do but walk to
Brussels
At ; a. m. that place is deader
than New York below the dead line.
You walk through miles of streets
without sighting a military patrol or
even policeman. till you come to
the heart Of the city. Your daytime
impression of Brussels under the
German occupation will be of swarms
Of racing military with motorcars full
Of husky officers for whom war seems
to mean one long JOY ride.
Country Under Water.
It takes you six hours to get from
Brussels to Antwerp by military
trains. As you near your destination
you see whole stretches of country
side still under water, where the des-
perate defenders tried to check the
German advance by flooding opera
tons It looks like pictures Of the Day
ton food. In front Of the Hotel Ter
minus, by the main railroad station,
you. come upon an old friend fallen on
evil days-a London motor bus, shorn
Of its old advertising glory and paint
ed gray by the Germans.
Many little straws you see on all
sides point to the fact that the Ger
mans intend to sit tight in Antwerp.
Their occupation has a look of pro-
spective permanency.
Curiously enough, you see mostly
American flags here. The Belgian red
yellowblack is banned, the German
flag is flown sparingIy; the Stars and
Stripes are everywhere in evidence.
More than half of the inhabitants
have already returned More of the
stores have reopened. Business in
many lines is beginning to go on
again as usual. Hackmen again try
to cheat you. The German civil and
military governments seem to be run
ming smoothly and efficiently. On the
whole, Antwerp is now disappointing
to the sensation seeker
Zeppelin Attack on London.
The German military government
is intrenched in the Municipal build
ing, next to the Hotel Antoine, which
is also pre-empted by the new gov
eminent. Here, doing desk duty, you
will meet an officer with a hard-luck
story with a moral. mo, thanks,
don't dare smoke" he says 81 con-
tracted weakness of the heart Zep-
pelining. l was commander of a Yep
pelin for a year and a half, during
which we negotiated 142 flights, aggre-
eating $4,000 kilometers. Just my hard
luck that l can't command one of the
Zeppelins that will visit London" AS
to the date of the visit" he will haz-
ard no opinion, but there will be more
popular rejoicing over a successful
air attack on London than over the
fall of Paris" he adds. 1t is a signifi-
cant phenomenon that you can't talk
with any officer or common soldier
five minutes without having him
switch to the all-absorbing theme of
the Zeppelin attack on England. 1t
! seems to be almost a national obses-
sion, and the people are waiting pa
tiently for the blood red letter day."
confident that it is coming.
Germans Justify Thar praeanoa
Whenever you meet a high German
officer on Belgian soil good way to
lead off is to ask him how he justifies
his presence there, and so when you
are ushered into the presence of his
| eXcellency Won Frankenburg and
Ludwigsdorf, adjutant and right hand
man to the military governor, General