New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-02-14
Ministers of the Interior
and War Not Working
in Harmony.
PASSES NOT HONORED
AT FRENCH FRONTIER
Passengers Must Take Journey
of Is Hours. Instead of One
of go Minutes.
Ry GORDON RDON.SMITH.

Dele, Jan. Extracting IN France
anywhere near the fighting lire is be-
coming daily more difficult. Only per
sons in possession of special passes are
allowed to penetrate the zone des oper
atoms miitaires These precautions
are undoubtedly more than justified by
the existence OF a network of German
+ spies which was organized in France
for years before the war, and which
nov is working at high pressure. But
one reform is necessary il the general
public is not to be seriously incon-
vcnienced. and this is an understand
ing in the matter OF passes between
the Ministry OF the Interior and the
Ministry of War. At present the for
mcr. through the police authorities,
issues a pass from Paris to all parts
of France, including 80. zone Of mill
tary operations. Blu. :. often happens
that the traveller on arriving at the
frontier, this somewhat vague and con-
stantiy changing territory. finds that
the pass. though signed by the project
are Of police and provided with impos-
ing looking stamps. is refused by the
military authorities, and he is denied
peimi ssion TO enter or even simply
traverse i'm railway train the sacred
zone.
This was my experience few days
ago on the way TO Switzerland. I was
duly armed with a pass furnished by
the police authorities authorizing me
/ TO proceed to Dele, a French frontier
. station. and return. At the town OF
Lure, where the train. the through ex-
press 20 Basic, enters the zone of mill
tary operations, all passengers had TO
leave the train and have their passes
examined Those signed by the Paris
police authorities were fatty refused
the gendarmes stating that no one
could enter the military zone without
permit signed by the military gov
crnor Of Belfort
Passengers Plead in Vain.
/ Ill vain passengers pointed ut that
they were not going to stop il the
zone. but were going 20 traverse it in
an express train. The gendarmcs' only
reply was "C'est lc consigne," aid no
further argument was possible. All
that remained for these unfortunate
victims of this conflict Of authorities
! was TO take a train to Besancon and
thence to Dele, thereby avoiding the
forbidden zone. This entaIled = jour
ney of fifteen hours to reach Dele. BY
way of BSfort he journey occupies
one hour. In addition, they had to
make the journey at their own ex-
J pense, as the Besancon route is not on
/ the same railway line as the Bclfcrt
one. The only other solution was o
proceed TO Montbelisrd, forty-fve kilo-
metres distant, by way of motor car.
There il was possible to catch trim
for Dele, which is only one hour dis
tant from Montbeliard. As scores OF
people are daily victims of this con-
finct of authorities. az enterpris.re
motorcar owner attends daily at tn d.;
station at Lure and offers to condu".
stranded passengers to Montbeliard at
10 francs a head He thus earns on
estly 60 francs a day.
! managed to find thr'e companions
in distress two of them army con-
tractors on pressing business for the
government, but whose arguments with
the gendarmes pr we'd as powerlcss as
my own, and we started for Nor t.
beliard. II had been showing heavily,
and when we reached the uppe: plateau
a bitter wind, sweeping up fror Bel
fort, made one think Of the suffer- gs
of thousands of men living in the snow
filled trenches barely fifteen miles
away.
Meeting with Garibaldians.
In the train between Chaumont and
Cholindry | met a deputation of Off
GERS of the Garibaldi Legion, headed by
my friend, Captain Canudo. which had
left the trenches in Argonne TO attend
at Dion the celebration of the battle
fought there in 1870 by the army under
the command Of General Garibaldi
Though war-worn, all five looked fit
and well and were full of confidence in
victory.
1--WE are having a hard time in the
trenches" said Captain Canudo. "but
the legion supports it with admirable
courage. My chief difficulty is to re-
strain the excessive ardor of my men.
The mole work we have to do is little
in keeping with Italian temperament.
My men are always wanting to get at
the Germans with bayonets. How well
Garibaldians have borne their part is
shown by our losses. Since we entered
the trenches we have lost % officers
anu CoO wy omH company Has
shrunk to 26 men. And we have no
means of getting fresh recruits. as no
man liable to military service at home
is now allowed to leave Italy"
This remark naturally brought up
the question of intervention Of Italy
in the war.
There is not the slightest doubt that
Italy will join the Allies" said Captain
Canudo. From information we have
received from Italy the final decision
will be taken about the end of Feb
ruary. But al necessary preparations
for mobilization are already being
made. Since January 4 all schools in
Northern Italy have been closed and are
being fitted UP as hospitals. while
the control of all railways have already
passed into the hands OF the military
authorities"
Captain Canudo gave me yet another
proof of the excellence of the German
spy system in France. Half an hour
after the Italians entered the trenches
in Argonne voice called out from the
German trenches. $50 yards away, in |
perfect French: "Et venez done les |
Garibaldians; nous vous attentions
depuis trois mois." As the Garibal- |
dians wear the same uniform as the |
French army, their arrival in the |
trenches could only have been revealed |
&c the Germans by spies.