Evening journal., 1914-11-14
RY KARL III. YON MIEGANn.

! crossed into Russia without a pass
port-probably the first American
that has done this In many years.
am in the German lines here Is
miles beyond the German border.
/ This afternoon / was close to the
Russian outposts, which are about
three miles beyond Mlaba. This town
was garrisoned by q regiment OF
Russian Hussars and is quite an i'm
portant point on the railroad that
leads to Warsaw.
Through the courtesy of the War
OAice and General Staff at Berlin
am making tour of the Russian
border, the first American correspon-
dent. in fact. the first foreign CORES
pondent. to come here since the war
/ began. Captain Kliower of the Cen
eral staff at Berlin and First Lieu
tenant Skopenik of the Goth Army
Corps headquarters at Allenstein,
have been detailed to accompany me
and a number of other correspon-
dents of neutral countries We have
an escort of nine men. On each Of
the powerful military automobiles are
two rifles placed where they can be
reached the quickest We cores
pOndents were strongly advised to
/ carry rcvolvers for we are in a coun-
/ try where dispersed bands OF Cos
sacks are raiding and Cossacks make
no distinction between military mcn
and nOncombatants
What a contrast between Russian
civilization and German culture and
! progressl Perhaps it is not fair TO
/ Judge Russia by this and other bor-
/ der towns / have seen. We left our
automobiles at Soldau. The beauti-
full roads which thread the rich East
Prussian province in all directions
like the macadamzed streets of n
city. come to an abrupt end at the
Russian border as If the world ended
there. From Soldau to Illovo, the
German custom station, thence to
| Mlaba, we went by train. The few
miles went through a battlefield over
which the Germans and Russians
have fought back and forth again
and again. Rife pits hastily scooped
out and little mounds with crude
crosses. marked the route on both
sides of the track while bandagesi
scraps of uniforms, cartridge boxes.
Russian caps and other pieces of
equipment, were scattered on the
ground The road" rather the
trail that answered for q road. run
ming parallel with the railroad, was
nothing but a miry bog.
Illovo is a typical German border
station Wide streets, gardens from
which flowers still smile-all the
buildings had been of brick-and even
the ruins show the mark Of the char
acteristic German neatness and or
derliness. The Russians have des-
troyed practically every building IN
town II was here that Lieutenant
Skopenik, a typical frontier ofiicel
, such as / have known in Arizona anC
] New Mexico held an entire regiment
Of Russian cavalry in check fol
four days from August l to 4, will
only 35 border guards.
nj We visited his house. The Rus
I slams had not burned it down but hai
> demolished every piece of furnitur
in il, even the iron stove had beel
/, hammered into pieces, the mattresse
ripped open. the crockery broken an
{ the house befOuled from garret I
cellar in an unprintable manner
: From the railroad station on tn
Russian side to Malba proper, littl
- over a mile distant, we walked. Tn
road was shaded with rows of beau
tiful trees, but the road itself wa
bog. A deluge of rain was fallinl
and we probably saw Russian road
and a Russian town under anything
but auspicious condition.
In contrast to the German side o
the line. the buildings were of wood
dirty and dilapidated. No flowers
smiled from balconies as they die
q even on the ruins In IllovO. Many o
e them reminded me of the ramshackl
affairs that many negroes live in II
ou- Southern States. The marke
hall-of brick and stone-and twi
churches, were the only respectable
loo king buildings in town. The Rus
slams razed Illovo, the German town
TO the ground. The Germans hadn'
touched the Russian town. A Ger
man shell had brought down tn
market hall and two or three othe
! buildings showed the marks of sho
Z and she'll Aside from these no dam
E age had been done.
i The greater part of the population
had fled with the Russian troops. TIL
= Jews and some of the very poores
. emained-picture of misery. I'm
S kempt, unshorn. ragged and dirty
they stood about and looked as am
n bilious as the people afflicted wit
D the "hOokworm" disease l have see
in the Southern States. Many q
them had the dropping blood-re
eyelids of the fearful eye disease
!, fractional
s An old rabbi with snow-whit
beard and finely chiseled intelligen
. face. expressed his pleasure that tn
n Germans were in town. May Go
n give that they remain" he remarked
= Another aged Jew said, "Ach Gott,
: the war was only over. Business
so bad"
Major Won Riedlinger, commandar
at Malba, rode up. He said that N
Russians we're showing great activit
again all along the line. "The
II nearly got my two batteries yestei
iel day" he laughingly remarked as
r, described the hard work of the Gel
ss mans to extricate themselves frol
?; a bad position due to the unexpecte
D. arrival of a strong Russian force.
n Russian scout was brought in. car
IN tured Just outside of town. He wa
IL a tall, fine daredevil looking chap.
BY WILLIAM G. SHEPHERD.
UNITED Press Staff Correspondent
SENLIS, France. Oct. 26.-(E
n Mail to New York; The Englis
W colonel ,,ybo had hold me- under nai