The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-08-29
GATEWAY Of
THE WOUNDED
What charIng Gross, London's Great
Railway Terminus 10 Called
During Time Of
War.
CROWDS ALWAYS THERE
Scotland Yard Never Heard Of Mes
saohusetts and Thought AmerI-
can Was Worth
! Watching.
CROWDS ALWAYS THERE
[By Wilbur s. Forrest, United Press

[By Wilbur s. Forrest, United Press
Staff Correspondent
LONDON. Aug. ~. (by matD-Char-
ing Cross, London's railway terminus,
often called in novels The Gateway
of the World" is today, principally, q
Gateway OF the wounded"
Always IN peace times the scene OF
gay farewel1s Of tourists, including
practically all Americans who pro
ceeded to other points OF Europe, II
Is now almost the exclusive clearing
house for England's wounded. Tens OF
thousands Of British soldiers. battered
and torn. have arrived from the CONT
mental battlefields since the war be-
gan, always at Charing Cross.
London's principal railway trmini
today all have their meaning.
A British soldier leaves for the
front from Waterloo. Here he says
goodbye to relatives and friends as
they shed silent tear that means
they may never see him again.
He goes to France or Flanders and
fights. II he isn't killed he comes
back some day. II he's wounded he
arrives home via Charing. Cross. II
he's on leave he arrives home via Vic.
toria.
There are always crowds at these
three London railway terminals. The
spirit Of the crowds at Waterloo and
Victoria are, however in sharp con
trast to the ones at Charing Cross. It
Is Charing Cross that reminds Lon
don that war is not all flags and
cheering. At every turn of the clock
a silent party Of ''mourners" gathers
outside the big iron gates that lead
to the trains. A silent Red Cross
train glides in. Before it's arrival a
long grey line Of Red Cross ambu-
lances has been waiting to carry
away the freight Of human misery.
The station platform inside is line1
with nurses, orderlies and stretcher
bearers. The crowd isn't allowed In
side. 1t waits just beyond the big
iron gates The gates are finally
opened. One at time the grey am
balances pass through, enroute to hos
pitfalls. Men raise their hats as the
wounded pass Sometimes women
silently weep. Occasionally there is q
hushed cheer as some less seriously
wounded Tommy" sits up in his am
bulance bed to wave faint hello.
When the last ambulance has
passed and the big gates have changed.
the crowd disperses, but not for long.
The place, the former crowd, the for
mer Red Cross train, the former am
buIance procession and the former
quiet work, handling of the wounded,
is taken by another-always the
same.
What is Massachusetts, Scotland
Yard heard Of it for the first time to-
day. It happened like this:
A short time ago Grafton Minot,
secretary to Ambassador Gerard, at
Berlin, journeyed homeward, through
London, on his way to Massachusetts,
u. s. A. He visited the American en-
bassy in London and remained sever
al days at a well known London no.
tel.
Minot came from Berlin. Anyone
who comes from Berlin nowadays
must be scrutinized by Scotland Yard
consequently, scrutinized Minot and
Minot convinced Scotland Yard that
he was a genuine Honest-to-Heavens-
American.
Leaving the hotel, Minot signed a
prescribed form swearing that his
next step would be Massachusetts,
Scotland Yard came around to look
at the form Then f1sked all the maps
in Scotland Yards big map room just
to see If Mfnot really told the truth
about his destination.
Ha, He had lied to Scotland Yard!
There was no such place as Massa-
chusetts.
Then one Of Scotland Yards most
the American embassy.
what do you know about an Amer