South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-09-09
Miss HiIda Baer Tells of ExCit-
ing Three Weeks in Europe
After War Started-PraiSeS
Treatment of Americans.


South Bend Tuesday night from Mar
burgh where she had been studying.
She will resume her work In teaching
German in the public schools this
fall
II was detained in Marburgh near
ly three weeks after the war broke
out" said Miss Baer. I'VE had no
passports and it would have been I'M
safe to travel without them. one day
/ was strOlling leisurely down the
street from the university. when a
German officer and a number of SOL
diers arrested me on charge of be-
ing a French spy. / told them in
German that / was an American, but
the officer shrugged his shoulders. J.
showed him a travellers check which
at the bottom had the letters ~. S.
a" He looked at it and told me he
couldn't read English. SO the card
was passed around among the group
of soldiers. some Of whom could read
English. After about half an hours
detention they released me, but the
officer told me 10 dress differently.
He evidently thought / had foreign
look.
\ Russians Experience.
'T was not thrown out of my wits
or anything like that when arrested.
as L could easily have been identified
| by the many American students at
the university. But only the day be-
fore a Russian disguised as a woman
was caught in Marburgh and tramp
led and stoned to death by a mob. A
man with him was shot. Thoughts OF
what happened to him did not arouse
any pleasureable sensations when 1
was held as a French spy.
Never before have / seen such
spirit as the German soldiers possess
ed. / saw great troops Of them march
ing through Germany singing.
Deutschland, Deutchland Uber Aus,
and Die Wacht am Rhein,' their ma
tiOnal songs Ihe songs expressed a
singularly warlike attitude. IT was
always the fatherland with them.
They were lighting for the very exist
ence of their nation. II was the
fatherland or death and many of
them knowing that they would be
killed. desired to serve their
country. The songs had a military
swing to them. But Of. the opposite
effect was the German song, soft and
low. In der Heimat geibts elm Weld
| ersehen-In the Home Comes a Meet
| ing.
Women Feed Soldiers.
Great hordes OF troops came
| through Marburgh enroute to Belgium
/ where the first lighting of great i'm
pOrtance took place. They went-all
of them-with the firm conviction
| that they would make a better and
greater Germany. At the stations,
they were met by German women,
who served them with coffee and
milk and sandwiches. one soldier
told me that they were overfed, so
anxious were the German women TO
give them plenty to eat.
! A number of us after mobilization
had been accomplished took the train
I for Holland. For three days and
nights we rode. having scarcely moth
\ ing TO eat except little chocolate.
/ We had no sleep. We were compell-
\ ed to travel third class which is very
much like a freight train in America,
/ at a speed of y miles an hour. In
/ Holland / wanted to get transporta-
/ ton over the North German Lloyd
route. but found that they had no
sailings. / had passage upon that
| line. / found, however. that l could
\ exchange my ticket for passage on
I the Holland American line and final
I ly sailed on the Rotterdam.
AT the steamship offices l saw
! Americans offering to pay first class
passage for Storage accommodations
and tip the clerks from 500 to $50
if they would give them tickets. But
I tips and money were useless then.
Had ] not had a ticket on the North
/ have been able TO get TO America"
Americans Well Treated.
When asked about the atrocities
that Germans were reported to have
committed To non-combatants, Miss
Baer said:
"I know that Americans were
shown the utmost courtesy. They
were treated as we'll as could be ex-
pected. Everything was all right if
&
treated as one of their own people
! would be. While we were in Mar
burgh our boarding house proprietor
told us that we could stay there with
perfect safety and that We should
have food TO eat as long as they had
any.
"Over there the Germans believe
that America is with them. They
! think that America will come TO their
aid with funds and assist them in
/ every financial way possible in con-
Quoting the war The Germans be-
Heve that the Russians have been
'hinterlistig.' that is, plotting behind
their back And of all their foes they
despise the Russians worse.
"In Marburgh before we left. q
number OF the German women began
observing the deepest mourning. As
reports from the actual scene OF
D
either one husband or another had
been killed. the widow would ores:
with a long black veil. But their sor-
row was not public sorrow. They
did not glory in the fact that they
had lost their husbands in battle.
He Shot at a Star.
An amusing incident happened IN
Marburgh before I left. We were al
awakened by a terrific shock. We
Immediately investigated. We found
that soldier guarding the road haC
shot at a star. dark cloud had
come between Venus ard the moor
and the soldier thought II was 6
'hieger'-an airship- preparing e
drop bombs on us. Another incident
occurred near AIarburgh which wa.
far from amusing An American wo.
man with a small child was driving
from the city. She was ordered Il
stop at the cross road by the guard
Her chauffeur did not heed the com.
mand and the guard shot. The bullet
struck the child she was carrying IL
her arms and killed it, But that wa:
nc. the fault OF the Germans. Wher