The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1914-11-12

Herald this week publishes a letter
from Mrs. Margaret Bell Corson, for
merly a resident Of this city, but who
is at the present time in South Amer
lea with her husband. The letter fol-
lows herewith:
Caixa do Correio 813,
Rio de Janero
August 2, 1914.
When 1 find myself in a group of
people talking war news it is bourne
in upon my mind that just the same
discussions are taking place at home,
with the same eager interest in the
last word from the other side of the
water. Brazil is, of course, more in
timately affected by the present crisis
in Europe than the United States, be-
cause it means that the twenty mil
lion dollar loan which had been prac-
tically assured, and which, it was
hoped, was to be the means of saving
the business situation here, is now out
of the question. Also, good many OF
the people whom we know are directly
or indirectly affected.
This afternoon we met Mr.. and Mrs.
Samson (the people with whom we
boarded at Number Praia Flamen-
go) on the street and heard from
them that MIR. Samson was expecting
word within the next twenty-four
hours calling him home to join the
French army. The tragedy there lies
(aside from the chances of war as
affecting Mr.. Samson himself) IN the
fact that Mrs. Sanson's people are Al
satians and although they are al
together French in sympathies they
will have to fight on the German side.
1t also means, of course, that she will
have to stay here while her husband
goes, as neither her own home in
Alsace, nor that of her husbands
people in bordeaux, is likely to be
safe. She said, "Ich habe die game
Nacht ceweintw q cried all nightly
and indeed she looked it, her face, un-
der her fashionable hat brim, having
lost it's animated gayety and relapsed
into an expression of sullen gloom.
Mrs. Leakey's best friend is young
Englishwoman whose husband is q
well-to-do German engaged in the
perfumery business in Rio. This
couple, Jurgens by name, were about
to 20 to Germany for three months
trip, and Mrs. Jurgens has been sell
ing off some of her things the past
week in preparation. Now it looks as
if Mr. J. would have to go home to
fight, going alone, Of course, and leav-
ing her here.
For the indirect effects of the stu.
alton here is. an example You have
probably heard us speak of the Shep'
herds, an English couple with one
daughter, nine years old, whom we
first met when we were living at Num-
Der 8 on the Praia? Mr.. Shepherd is
a civil engineer employed by com
pany known as the City improvements
Company, the business of which is tt
take over various government con-
tracts for public utilities. The com
pany would be flourishing if it were
not for the terrible arrearage in the
government payments. The twenty
million dollar loan referred to above
would have enabled the government
to pay its most pressing debts al
least, but as it is such companies as
are to any extent creditors Of the
government are either discharging
their men or suspending payment
Mr.. Shepherd is sending his wife and
little girl home to England on the first
boat, leaving Wednesday, because ne
is afraid that in another month he
may be out of job. We saw him
this morning when he came over on
an errand, and he said that, once his
wife and child were safe in England
he could take to the sea, if worst came
to the worst. We had known that he
had been almost everywhere but he
had never happened to mention before
that he had been a seaman. He said
tina he had been everything from plain
"A. B." to First Mate, and that he
carried first papers. He had come for
our electric iron which had promised
to Mrs. Shepherd for such laundry
work as she could do in her room in
preparation for the voyage. We kept
him here for some time talking about
experiences he had had on the sea, es-
pecially his first, when he was an ap-
prentice on sailing vessel which fol-
lowed the route around the Horn.
Lucky for him that he has that prac-
teal experience and training among
his resources, as it offers him an al
most sure means Of escape from the
difficulties here when they commence
to affect him individually.
As a representative Of yet another
country we have here at the Hotel a
young Italian woman of a distin-
guished family. She is Miss Carl
baldi, granddaughter Of the famous
Garibaldi who fought for Italian unity
in the middle Of the last century. She
is here as representative Of society
of patriotic Italian women who are
trying to keep their people, especially