The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1915-02-11
PERSONAL EXPE-
RIENCES OF WAR

Mr.. and Mrs Amson Reinhart, who
returned Sunday from an extended
trip to Germany, had an experience
during their travels that will fall to
the lot of but few of the living genel-
alton. They arrived III Germany dur
ing the first week of last April, and at
that time there was no thought of war
in the mind of any of the people. When
the blow fell Mr.. and Mrs. Reinhart
were at Baden Baden, Germany's fa-
nous watering place, but left imme-
diately for their old home at Mann
helm. In speaking of their experiences
to Silver State reporter this morning
Mr.. Reinhart said:
Martial law was declared in Ger
many on the 30th day of last July,
and war was declared two days later,
on August l. The mobilization of the
German army is wonderful thing.
The soldiers are at all times ready,
and when the call came every man
knew exactly what to do. As result,
in less than week the army was on
war footing.
Mannheim is situated about 135
miles from the war zone, and at times
the cannonading was distinctly heard
| by residents of our city. Fort Landau,
one of Germany's principal military
bases, is but fifteen minutes ride from
the city and hundreds of trains pass
ed through town. loaded with soldiers.
"After the first excitement oeea-
stoned by the declaration of war had
subsidized, business moved along in
Mannheim in the usual order. Prices
of foodstuffs were slightly increased,
but there was no corner on the me-
cessities of life, nor was there any
speculation. The government prompt
/ " took charge of all the available sup
plies. and not only fixed the price at
which they must be sold, but regulat
ed the amount that each person or fam
ily could purchase. This was made
necessary from the fact that Germany
with its 65,000,000 people was shut off
from the markets of the world and was
Obliged to subsist or what it had for
an indefinite length of time.
FThere is no such thing as disloy-
atty known in Germany, and every
man, woman and child in the empire
is working for the good of all the peo-
| pie. Whenever a soldier is brought
home suffering from a wound, his only
anxiety appears to be on account of
the delay in getting back to the front.
"Before leaving this country, Mrs.
Reinhart and myself secured the usual
i passports. which contained our names
and a brief personal description. On
the first of September, however, the
rules regulating passports were made
as drastic as possible, so that when we
were ready to return home we found
that we were required to have our pho
tographs attached to the documents.
After these had been secured, we were
obliged to visit the American consul
ate and have them certified. We left
Mannheim, on the return trip, on Jan
nary 3, going to Genoa Italy, via Swift
zerland Arriving at the Italian port,
we shipped for New York on the Hol-
land steamer Rotterdam We stop
ped at Naples for "a hours while the
vessel was coaling and then proceeded
on our way.
N"At three O'Clock one morning,
while passing through the Mediterra-
mean, the ship stopped so suddenly
that it awoke practically everybody on
board T went up on deck and found
that we had been overhauled by a
| fTeDc0 CRUISER. we Wttt oHOtbAy buoAN
ed by a crew from the Frenchman,
who placed two Austrians on board
under arrest. In this country they
would be termed game but at the
time their conduct was termed defiant
by their captors, for they readily ad-
mitted their identity and went down
the side of the ship singing Der
Wacht am Rhine Their presence on
the vessel had no doubt been eommu-
nicated to the French officials by spies
about the docks at Naples.
''The only other incident to remind
us that there was war occurred at
Gibraltar. Here we were boarded by
an English inspector, but were not de-
] tanned for more than FIVE minutes.