The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-11-01
Strangers Are Nabbed the Moment
They Turn Up at Any Point
Near the Fighting
Line,
ARRESTED REPORTERS
Not One Spy but Whole Company
Of Them At Work at sois-
sons During the
Battle.

VI
Press Stan Correspondent
SCISSORS, Oct. -(By mail to
New York y Spies are an obsession
in this town. Every stranger Is nab
bed the moment he enters the place
on suspicion of being German spy
and taken before the authorities.
Neighbors suspect each other. Women
and even children are not immune.
And Scissors is not a bit different
from scores OF other towns and VII
ilages along the battle line and imme-
diately back OF 1t. Looking for spies
is the chief occupation Of the people
left in the district.
While walking the streets here !
was stopped at least twenty times IN
two hours, was detained for few
minutes twice by soldiers and once
was taken from my lunch to the city
hall under escort nj eight privates. 9
corporal and sergeant some one
| / afterwards found out who 1t was
| and had my revenge. sinister though
Pm afraid 1t was--had denounced me
as q spy. Tho people are not to
blame. For more than two weeks the
Germans have been just outside the
city, on the rock quarry pitted, thick
" wooded hills TO the north. The
French have been unable to dislodge
them In the town here the slightest
movement Of troops calls for rain OF
shells proving that there is not one
but company OF spies very busily
on the job
Daily the Geographic and telephone
communications are re-established be-
tween here and Paris and other points
along the battle line. Nightly COM
munications are cut. Small wonder
then that the harrassed people of this
city are grimly hunting for spies;
their humor may be described as
nasty and it will not go we'll with the
informers II caught.
Walking through a narrow street
back Of the cathedral, looked up a
blind alley and saw two youths dress
ed in a strange array. One OF them
wore the tunic. and leggins OF Brit
ish lancer, the shoes of a German pr1-
vate, the cap Of French light cavalry
man. The other wore an ordinary
tourists cap, the overcoat of an Eng
lish guardsman, the canvas trousers OF
the German fatigue and German shoes
They hailed me in English, asking for
cigarette. Cigarettes are very scarce
at the front. Even onicers 60 days
without them
The youths claimed to be from
~ ~Qfd fhov
had been cut of from their regiments
and captured by the Germans. This
explained part Of their attire. Both
were % years old, they said. the
slighter Of the two men-the one
wearing the lancer's tunic-volunteer-
ing this information. He was extreme
/, w nervous and laughed now and then
inorinately and in the catchy manner
of the semi-hysterical. at the time
put his mannerisms down as the re.
suit of privations.
An hour later while washing up for
lunch a squad OF troops pounded on
the barred door of the little hotel. !,
and my two companions, both news.
paper men, were wanted We would
nave 10 ~ Will tHc SoaNlSiS IL LhC
outpost headquarters. 1t was clear
that we were suspected. but after
three-quarter of an hour we had fully
satisfied the authorities Of our iden.
tfty and were allowed to go with apol-
ogies.
"But where are the two English
soldiers?" the oficer who had exam
pln AL,
zled
After lunch we saw the two alleged
English soldiers again. This time they
openly accused us of being German
spies. Both were very excited and
talked less like cockneys than they
had that morning
you no Englishman," the larger OF
the two declared, pointing his finger
(Continued on page ~