Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-05-01
English Conduct Themselves
With Stolidity and Are Little
Liked TurcoS Are Calm and
BeIgianS Excltable.
WHOLE COMMUNITY
INTERESTED IN BABY
Censor Considers II No Breach
of Confidence TO Extend
News That Heir of British
Major Is Doing Well,
BY JAMES ODoNNELL BENNErTo

Copyright; 1915; BY The Chicago Tribune.
Vaals,. Holland, April 10.-'Mrs.
Be- had son today. Both well.
Please inform Major B.. prisoner
of war, Husaren Kasern. Krefeld.
SYDNEY P"
By roundabout ways from Lowndes
square in London TO military prison
in the big German manufacturing
town whence we get the Krefeld vel
vets that telegram finally reached a
major of the Twelfth British laneers
who has the right TO have ID. S. o.
written after his name.
He has never seen his. boy, and
when he does see him that boy may
be well out Of baby clothes and wear
ing his first pair of knickers. For
this new baby in Lowndes square
came since the war began.
Americans in Germany whose pleas
ure 1t has been to see that letters
about him are forwarded to his father
take "A genuine interest in his welfare,
The person who every week has to
glance over the correspondence to see
that it contains nothing in violation
of the regulations governing letters to
prisoners of war never speaks of what
he learns. OF course, but when he Is
asked, "How's the majors baby?' he
considers it no breach of confidence
TO reply, 20, getting on fine!'
Then everybody smiles and says
THAT is good!'
Baby One of Wars Benefactors.
Thus that baby in London has be-
come quite a humanizing influence in
q circle of people who will never see
him and TO whom both his parents are
unknown. Even the raneor of men
who are at war with each other cam
not long survive the weekly question
"How's the baby?' and the weekly
handling of the letters of the babys
mother to the baby's father
So, within a certain circle, this in
fant has become not only one Of the
romances of the war but something
more notent than that---a source of
no slight benefaction.
My share in the business Of the ma
jots baby is TO gather up the weekly
grist Of the mothers letters in the inn
at Walls, repack them in one envelope,
and get them started on their way
over the frontier.
The weeks when, being distant from
the frontier. | don't make the cross
ing, the letters accumulated rapidly.
for the mother writes very faithfully
did that even during the first days
of her eonvalescence. The letters go
to town in Germany to be examined,
and then TO American officials in
Germany. and finally TO the prison at
Krefeld.
The advantage the mother gains by
not addressing her letters direct to
the prison Is that she can write more
frequently.
One day a bit of folded paper tied
with a pink ribbon fell out of one of
the unsealed envelopes Holding IL
up to the light one could see that it
was tiny lock of hair-a tiny lock
of bright gold hair.
Another time Ii was a long list OF
dead and missing officers which had
been clipped from a London DeWspa
per--a little *" In black ink set oppo-
site the names of the men who, pre-
sumably, had been friends OF Major
B
All the envelopes bear in the upper
left hand corner the word "krlegsge-
fangemen."
Startling News In Address Changes.
Sometimes there are starting
changes in the addresses of prisoners
letters. Little gray envelopes ad-
dressed in a delicate hand used to
come for certain Scotch major who
Is a prisoner at Karfeld One after-
noon in the grist from England at
Vaals, was a white envelope. black
bordered, and addressed in the same
unmistakable hand.
But instead of Major - the
address read Major the Earl of
S. "
The heir Of a famous house had
come into his own and here was the
landlord of little Dutch inn blandly
posing between thumb and foreflnger
the letter which should bring to the
heir In prison the tidings OF his new
place in his native land
"'Tis the fortune Of war as John
Talbot of Shrewsbury said to the
Duke d Mencon when Jeanne d Arc $
men led him before her.
Neutrals Must Avoid Prisoners.
The casual neutral Is supposed TO
keep pretty we'll clear of prisoners oI
war not only for his own sake, ior
ii is easy to get suspected OF having
some traffic with them, but also lot
theirs.
They do not like TO be gawked at'
and on several occasions | nave no
ticed that the Germans were scrupu
lous to spare them from anything that
could make their plight bitterer tnall
in the nature of the case 1t must De'
Still, besides having been one my
self, I have seen a good deal OF pris-
oners since August-prisoners laush-
ing and prisoners dying-prisonersl
huddled in the shadow of freight cars
to escape the blazing sun and prison
ers squatting around fires built on tne
stone floors Of cold Russian churches