South Bend news-times., 1915-05-06

Il SlTOIE-hnteu woman IN Germany 10
be proof against it.
1 know of one or two incidents
which have come close home. \
friend of mine had made the ac-
quaintance Of a very charming young
German woman. the wife of an officer.
They met on various occasions, and,
sure enough, one morning the Frau
Hauptman" (Mrs. Captain received
visit from the police sergeant. His
clumsy attempts TO hide the real OBJ
ject Of his call failed lamentably with
, the quick -witted lady.
When the detective tried to make
her promise secrecy she told him that
she would do nothing Of the kind, in
fact. she told him that she could
hardly wait to tell her friend about
1t, and actually went to the telephone
while the sergeant was still in the
house.
She asked our mutual friend to
come and see her at once which he
did. Her attempts TO make Mr..
Policeman wait were unsuccessful.
They do not work that way in Ger
many.
POlizei Is Feared.
Not every visit is as meagre in re
suits as the one described above.
They first try to intimidate their wit
ness, if that proves necessary. for the
| average German is scared TO death of
the criminal polizei"
In my friends case the lady was
told that her foreign acquaintance
was suspected of being a spy.
Did she know anything about
him." they asked
why, of course. she did. They
used 10 play together at school," etc.
well, did he ever ask her leading
! questions as to who her husband was,
and in what regiment? Did he never
ask TO read any of the letters that
came from the front? Did he seem
! interested in the German navy? Did
! she know whether he visited the rail
way stations What was his real
/ business? Had he very much money.
| and how did he spend it2 In short
| could she think of anything that
might in any way be regarded as sus-
piCiouS2''
If your girl friend happens TO be in
a position where she is less inde-
pendent than the wife Of an officer
that is better for the police In that
case. il is easy to enrol her. or. shall
we say press her" into the services
of the vaterland. Under dire threats.
nay vile threats. such as being placed
under police supervision-the most
dreaded thing in Germany-the girl
is cross eXam amined and at the same
/ time ordered maui halten" (tO keep
her mouth shuD to the foreigner"
(auslander). / am writing here. in
both cases. Of actual occurrences.
Actress Is Bullied.
Such an incident came TO my
knowledge quite accidentally. one
afternoon. unter den linden. / ran in
10 a young German actress. whom l
I had met a few days previously. In
full daylight she was crying. the tears
streaming down her face. / thought
she had had bad news from the front.
so I stopped her and offered whatever
help ! might be able 10 give.
IL was case of mobilization" but
IL had nothing 10 do with the front.
( She had just left the police station.
where for the last three hours she
had had TO undergo the third degree
from \ TO Z.
She was absolutely exhausted,
physically and mentally. and. before
she knew il. she had conhded the
whole story to me. The police had
called her up the night before and
told her servant over the phone that
I the police headquarters. criminal
+ department" was on the wire
ThereuDon the servant promptly
became scared. packed her trunk and
went off. The next morning the girl
was asked 20 come down 10 the police
station. She thought. on her way.
that she would dron i'm at the hotel
/
about il.
At the hotel one Of the friends" or
colleagues OF the man saw her. and
evidently knowing bit more about
the investigation ON foot promptly
. telephoned 20 the police station. Ten
minutes later a police sergeant came
10 the hotel. and without much cere-
mony ordered the girl 10 come with
him 20 the station. There she was
given the third degree unmercifully
bullied and cOerced. and finally. aft
er three hours. set at liberty. but Civ
en- 20 understand that she was mob
ilized" for Germany.
a few months ln such an atmos-
phere and YOU viii find yourself un-
consciously looking into the mirror
and beginning TO wonder who YOU
really are You almost doubt wheth-
er the declaration on your passport
that "the above nhotograph and sig
nature are those OF the bearer. Is
stating the truth.
MILLINERY ANNOUNCEMENT.
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