The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1915-11-10
BOUNDARY LINE
A CURIOUS THING
Which Separates Holland
ard Neighbors.
cTRAncE pRnYIMITIec 0ccIlR
STRANGE pR0I|M|TIES OCCUR
Which Make Villagers On
Frontier Lead Confusing
Bisected Existence.
PECULIAR CONTRASTS APPEAR

Amsterdam, Nov. 1.-The barb
wire boundary between Holland ant
her neighbors, Germany and Bel
GUM, presents a remarkable picture
at some points, where it bisects farm
houses, towns, or even cuts straight
across the platforms of frontier rail
way stations.
There is one place where the
street is divided up the middle. so
that Dutch and German shops face
each other across barriers of barb
wire. On the further side of the
street runs a street railway. which is
in Germany. Separated from the
tracks by high wire fence. there
runs down the middle of the street
strip twelve feet wide which is
neutral ground. Then comes anoth-
er fence, and the narrow bit of road
and pavement beyond it are in Hol-
land. At each street corner are mar
row openings to allow passage from
one country to the other, sentries of
each country standing careful guard
on either side. 1t is the main street
of a busy town. and the ordinary
town life flows back and forth while
little Dutch street boys talk to the
German street boys through the
meshes. Down this street at the
beginning of the war the Dutch pop
ulation watched for four days and
nights the German army marching
southwark into Belgium.
All the villages on the frontier
lead confusedly bisected existence,
belt of barb-wire as it were sepa-
rating their heads from their feet
In these places the work of the
Dutch sentries is mainly to search
the people who pass, lest they carry
in or out Illicit merchandise The
German guards are mostly concern
ed with keeping lookout for de-
serters or able-bodied Belgians who
seek to escape from German rule. At |
a few points the German side of The |
barb-wire fence is further protected
by wires carrying electric current, |
and searchlights play up and down
the line during the nfgni.
In the towns which are bisected |
by the boundary line there are two |
or three contrasts which strike the
ohcarvar In, p,odiato1,, All A. ro1 /
diers on one side of the line are in |
one type of uniform. while in the /
other half of the town there are Just |
as many soldiers. but of course, in
a different type of dress. The SEN
try boxes on one side are red, white
and blue; on the other side they are
red. white and black.
Part of the town of Bearle-Hertog
is Belgian, but it is saved from Ger
man occupation owing to the fact
that it is entirely surrounded by
Dutch territory-a little Belgian is
land in the middle of Holland. There
is no need of sentries here, and there
is no wire to mark the invisible from
tier which runs through the middle
of the main streets From here to
the real frontier one travels over a
we'll paved roadway which is Dutch,
while the ditch at the side is Bel
gian At the railway station, which
is Bearle in Holland, and Wielde in
Germany. the frontier runs straight
the ticket Office and out
across the platform on either side
A line OF colored thing in the floor
marks the boundary, and the words
'Nederland' and "Belgique" are set
into the concrete ON either side. On
both platforms the sentries of the
two countries face each other at a
distance of yard or so apart.