The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-19
WAR ECHOES

Fritz Arno Wagner in Leslie's: As the train pulled out of Karlsruhe. found that had a sergeant as my vis-a-vis. The Iron Cross decorated his breast, and he was the recipient of felicitations from many people, including myself He told me he had Just left the hospital after a
 month of illness. his nerves having been shattered by his experiences at the front. I asked about these experiences and he told me briefly and modestly, after much questioning. story which runs as fol- lows:
 .I was in Darmstadt on duty when war was declared. week later my regiment received orders to leave in A hours for the front I had a sweetheart in Pots dam to whom I was to be married at the end of August, so l wired to her to join me the next morning. I was on duty un- til a. m My fiancee arrived shortly after that time. I had bought our we'd ding rings the night before When she alighted from the train and saw me wait ing, she rushed into my arms, trying in vain to keep back the tears that were running down her cheeks. Tn an hour, 1 told her, you will be the wife of sol der, therefore you must be strong, whereat she smiled. A great happiness and also a great sorrow overcame me. was so glad to leave her so soon TWO hours later we were married and we had two hours to pass together before had to leave my dear young wife-perhaps for a short time only, perhaps forever can tell you that it was heart-brealling:
 Golfers Weekly: Some of our too nasty British cousins criticize us for not more as an innocent bystander. Rightly or wrongly, they feel that there is great dea, of idealism about their war, and they think we ought to share the dam age. eve do.) Other friends actually jump on us for not joining in with the allies-since British critics think our in terests and sympathies lie on their side. Now, we do not feel called upon to com- bat this basis of argument, but we do deny these conclusions. Ours is not mill itary nation, we have never engaged in any continental war and hope never to do so, and our people is a composite of many nations whose friendliness for one another as Americans must never be dis turbed. James Bryce, better than any of his fellow countrymen, has understood the American commonwealth. Says Bryce:
 "The United States is the greatest of the neutral powers--the administration might conceive that many questions will arise during the war in which the rights of all neutrals would be involved, and might think that the authority with which thu United States can speak on such ques- tions would be weakened if at the outset it's government had taken up a position adverse to one or the other party to the struggle.
 q doubt whether we in England have yet fully realized either the magnitude of the service which the United States government and it's representatives have rendered in protection of British subjects or the noble spirit that has animated them in that service. Their embassies and legations have become enormous business offices, manned mainly by voluntary workers. The looking after our prisoners of war in Germany alone has become a gigantic task"
 This is a part of what we are doing. As the New York World observes, what we have done for the British in Germany we are doing also for the French, for the Germans and Austrians in Great Britain and France, and for the British and French in Turkey. Great Britain has off, hcially recognized the services of MT. Gerard in Berlin and MT. Morgenthau in Constantinople yet none of the countries affected has displayed much gratitude to the United States for its assumption of diplomatic burdens. This is quite nat ural, and we don't complain. But it isn't the most thoughtful foreigners who criti- cize us with asperity for setting peace before war, for preferring the succor of the starving to the making of more widows and orphans and cemeteries and hospital cases. Our part as neutral is neither spectacular nor popular, but the real problem is to maintain our self resrtct and to act so that we may indeed maintain it.