The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-16
Richard Harding Davis Is Wiser Since Surrendering His Good United States Money
FINDS LEAST SIGN
 OF WAR IN ITALY AND IS PUZZLED
Italians Find Difficulty in Caring for Families of Those Coming From America to Fight
By RICHARD HARDING DAVIS

Saloniki, December 5.-(Special Corre- spondence.)-At home we talk glibly of a world war. But beyond speculating in munitions and as to how many Americans will be killed by the next submarine. and how many letters the President will write about it, we hardly appreciate that this actually is war of the world that not only in Europe, but that all over the globe, every ship of state, even though it may be trying to steer a straight course, is being violently rocked by it. Even the individual, as he moves from country to country, is rocked by it, not violently, but continuously. It is in loss of time and money he feels it most. And as he travels, he learns, as he cannot learn from a map, how rar-reaching are the notifications of this war, in how many different ways it affects everyone. He soon comes to accept whatever hap pens as directly due to the war. Even when the deck steward tells him he can not play shuffleboard because, owing to the war. there is no chalk
 FIFTEEN DAYS TRIP
 
 from Paris did not require more than six days, but now, owing to the war, in making the distance we wasted 1j. That is not counting the time in Paris required by the police to issue the passport, with out which no one can leave France. At the prefecture of police I found a line of people; French, Italians, Americans, Eng fish, in columns of four and winding through the gloomy halls, down dark stairways and out into the street
 took one look at the line and fled to Mir. Thoeksra our consul general. and ttanks to him. was not more than an heur in obtaining my laisser passer Tho police assured me l might consider my self fortunate, as the time they susually spent in preparing passport is two days. It was still necessary to obtain wise from the Italian consulate permitting mo to enter Italy: from the Greek consulate to enter Greece, and, as my American passport said nothing of Servia, from MT. Thackara two more vises, one to get out of France and another to invade Ser via Thanks to the war, in obtaining all these autographs two more days were wasted. In peace times one had only to go to Cooks and buy ticket. In those days there was no more delay than in reserving a seat for the theatre
 WAR ON PLEASURE GROUNDS
 War followed us south. The windows of the wagon-lit were plastered with warnings to be careful, to talk to no strangers that the enemy was listening War had invaded even Aix-les- Rains, most lovely of summer pleasure grounds. As we pa ssed, it was wra pped in snow, the Cats Tooth that towers between Aixe and Chambery and that lifts into the sky 8, great cross 200 feet in height, was all white, the pine trees around the lake were white the streets were white the Casino de Fleurs, the Cercle, the hotels.
 And above each of them, where once was only good music, good wines, beau- tiful flowers and baccarat. now droop in- numerable Red Cross flags. Against the snow-covered hills they were like little spiashes. of blood.
 War followed us into Italy. But rom the war as one finds it in England and France. it differed. Perhaps we were too far west but, except for the field unl- forms of green. and the new scabbards
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