Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-06-11

AN INCIDENT OF /;
THE WORLD'SWAR
1t Happened to a Reporter .
By F. A. Mitchell /.
By F. A. Mitchell

When the great European war broke
out | was a reporter on an American
newspaper. Young and full Of vigor, !
found 1t impossible to content myself
picking up unimpOrtant items when
great armies were In conflict ] beg
ged to be sent either to France or to
Germany as a war correspondent.
There were persons at hand who were
better able than ! to write descriptions
of battles, but l was chosen because
the proprietor of the paper. having
been a soldier In the Spanish-American
war. knew the dangers | would likely
encounter and that a young fellow OF
twenty-five was better able to face
them than an older man.
Everybody knows now, what no one
knew then. that newspaper correspond
ents would not be allowed at the front
| found 1t out when | arrived and de-
termlned, since l could not give battle
pictures. to send my paper scenes In
the wake of war.
I found it easier to penetrate ter
ritory occupied by the allies than by
the Germans. so / took the direction
of lesser opposition, on the same prin-
ciple that water flows. l entered Bel
GUM at a time when the Germans
were hammering at the Liege forts. 1t
was not long. however. before the al
lied retreat began. and for my purpose
of writing up scenes of the country
over which the tide of battle had
passed | followed the armies south
ward. This put me in the rear of the
Germans.
Tt will be remembered that where
the Germans passed through a certain
district given up to the growing of
grapes and the manufacture of wine
they helped themselves, to the stock on
hand. I came one evening upon one OF
these vineyards where the grape was
grown, turned into wine and stored in
cellars. The place had not only been
fought over. but had suffered from the
occupation of an army corps. When
| arrived the troops had just left and
there was not a person on h place.
It was evening, and. though | confess
I shuddered at the desolation 0
me, | took a melancholy interest In ex-
ploring the premises.
Singular it was and impressive to
walk through large rooms. in some of
which were the wine watts and some of
which had been used for bottling. each
apartment being devoted to a separate
purpose. The premises looked as If a
hurricane had passed over them. There
were vast rents in the roofs and the
walls, while in the interior shells had
been exploded. knocking the winemak-
ing apparatus to pieces.
Coming to a stairway leading below
the main floor, / went down and found
myself in a wine cellar. Judging by
the empty bottles scattered about, ev-
cry drop of wine had been drunk. The
sight reminded me Of the scene of an
orgy the morning after 1t had taken
place and the banquet room deserted
by the jewellers.
There was a sad fascination in wan
dering through these cellars, passing
from one to the other. They were
dark. but l found plenty of partly
burned candles lying about to give me
light. I passed through several cellars,
in all of which the bottles had been
emptied. then entered n in which
were only casks. I turned the faucet
of one on the lowest row and found it
empty. Then trying one on a higher
tier the red wine gushed forth. Evil
IDENTIFY the stock had been only partly
drained.
Penetrating a narrow passage at the
farther end of the room. l descended
several steps and came to an iron door.
While examining it I heard voices on
the other side. They were not the
voices of men. but of women.
It struck me at once that whoever
the persons we're they had shut them
selves in there to escape the fighting
that had rolled over the place. With
the reportorial instinct strong in me, |
desired to interview them. I knocked
on the door.
In an instant the talking ceased and
all was still. l knocked again, and re-
ceiying no reply called out in tolerable
French:
1.-THE soldiers have gone; there is NO
danger"
l heard nothing for a few moments;
then a sweet feminine voice. evidently
near the door, asked:
"Who are your,
"a citizen. an American"
"Has the battle ceased?"
Eyes. and the troops have moved on"
"Are you sure there are no Germans
on the placer"
81 have e e none"
I could hear that those behind the
door were debating, but not what they
said. Presently ONE one tried to move
a bolt ON the farther side of the door
and after some effort succeeded. Then
the door was slowly swung open.
Directly before me was a young girl
about eighteen. Farther on were sew.
eral middle aged women, an old man
and a number of children. The older