Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-03-21

dfu'leS w VII. btil1clt on tiie ktIcf0l
subject of Into Russia With the Ger
man Army."J
CBy James O'Donnell BennetD
Copyright 1915. by the Chicago
TribuneD.
Posen, Germany, Feb. 1S.--I sup
pose that when most Americans say
"Posen-Posen? What do ] know
about Posen2" the most they can re-
member is the name Of an old and not
very good play that flourshed on the
one night stands in our. country tWen-
ty-five or thirty years ago. 1t was
called "Sam' OF Poscn," and its prin-
cipal figure was for many seasons im-
personated by 4 Jewish actor who
took the name OF Nj b. Curtis and
who nearly got himself hanged after
a Wild cscapade in California
That was about all | knew Of Posen
until l arrived here from Berlin.
Won Hindcnburgs Headquarters.
The most important fact about the
city that / know now is that II Is the
headquarters of his eXcellency the
field marshal, Gen. Won Hindenburg,
and that from it as consequence the
stupendous operations against the
Russians and Warsaw are being di-
rected. II is fun of interesting peo-
correspondents and painters, and their
wives 1t is also full of prospective
American citizens of Polish-Jewish
eXtractions. and of pictures and busts
of Hindenburg. Prevalent, too, are
the infants Paderewskl, who run pro-
nnuncedly to hair and have tempera-
mental eyes
In fifteen minute walk through
the older part OF Posen you encounter
fifty originals of David Wariield's 81
mon Levi and in the railway station
at the other end Of the city you sud
denly find yourself looking INTO the
quiet, speculative eyes of the ponce
of the German secret service, VINO
wonder why you have come to Poseh
from Berlin-or from anywhere else
and who in an extremely yelVety buo
definite way make it their business to
find out.
Passports ScIutinizcd.
Arriving at Posen, you pass through
covered ways from the train into the
railway station. but you don't pass out
of the railway station until a soldier
has examined your passports and held
q brief conference with one of the Sc
cret service men.
BY the time that is over the German
officers in uniform, who don't nave TO
show passports, have taken all the
cabs. So you stand in the outer yaru
of the railway station and yell an IN
terrogatory, "Frei?" until cabman'
coming back from the Hotel de Rome
for his second fare takes pity on you
and saws "Jawohl, eXcellency' Thei
"excellencya is good for twenty pten-
nigs extra in the cabman's tip, but as
the fare for mile-driVe is only d
mark. the "excellency' is cheap at the
price Besides ! like it. it being some
what Of an improvement on the Amer
lean Sure"
Posens Attractions.
Posen is the only town in the worla
that | know about where you can Sc
an admirable performance of Goethe
"Faust' one evening and then be on
the German battle line in RUSSIA the
next evening. ,....o
Just now Posen is the headquarters
for all the forms of activity directed
against Russia. The brains are mere
under Won Hindenburg's short pom
padour; the taciturn general St'll
which works out the devsngs OF that
brain-is around him ana here is tle
principal point of departure lor tnI
new troops daily being sent easl"al"
into the little valleys and the Wood
lands lying Between Bolimow anu
Warsaw ..
Posen in other words, is the
works"
On the wall of the breakfast room
Of the Hotel de Rome hung Woouen
shield carved in high reliet WIN
coat of arms that seemed to me RUS
sian and could not understand WIZ
1t was displayed in this German Guy
In Frivolous Mood.
One of the cadets of the mouse ot
Bismarck explained. 81 noticed tlat
YOU were studying that coat OF arms
on the wall Of the breakfast roon.
when you arrived here yesterday
morning" said he. Naturally you
We're puzzled. Well, ! must tel you
about il. You see. one of our ottlcers
took it down from the city hall OF
Russian town we had captured ana ~
frivolous mood he brought it PACK
here and hung it up in the preaNi'9'
room" ,,,I
That phrase "in a frivolous moou
has stuck in my mind; l doh MN"
just why.
Also 'In a frivolous mood" ! sup
pose, there have been hung on Wv
walls of the breakfast room peilii''n' ~ -
Of red AMI blue and green bearing tile
dates of the important German We
tories won since the first Of Ausus.
Liege. Tannenberg, Namur Antwerp
Maubeube and so on.
Warsaw Was Not Next.
II suppose Warsaw goes up neNt'
said the cadet of the house OF BIS
marck as he gazed reflectiveiy at tiie