The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-16

cents day. An Italian told me the heaviest drain upon the war relief funds came from the families of these Italian Americans, stranded in their own coun- try. He also told me his chief duty was to meet them on their arrival.
 "But haven't they money when they arrive from America 2" l asked.
 That's it." he said naively. 'Im al the wharf to keep their countrymen from robbing them of it.
 GETTING SOME EXPERIENCE
 At present in Europe you cannot take gold out of any country that is at war As a result, gold is less vaIuale than paper, and when I exchanged by double eagles for paper, l lost. But l did not really lose, for as l had turned in the gold in France, I received a beautiful certificate, suitable for framing which testifies that unselfshly and patriotically as true son of France, instead of hoard ing my gold, I surrendered it to the re- public.
 And would accept and perpetuate that erroneous and undeserved tribute by fram- ing it? I would.
 On the advice of the wisest young bank CT in France, I changed, again at loss, the French paper into Bank Of Englanu notes. But when I arrived at Salonlkl' I found that with the Greeks Engllsn bank notes were about as popular as Ehs fish troops, and that had l changed my American gold into American notes, as vas my plan, l would have been pass ing rich. That is what comes ol asso- ciating with bankers
 At the Italian frontier, Frencn gen tleman had come to the door or tHe compartment, raised his hat to the IF mates, and asked if we had any golu. Forewarned, we had not, ana taklns our word for it, he again raised ms hat and disappeared. But, on leaVlhs Naples, it was not like that. In these piping times of war your baggage IS examined when you depart as well as when you arrive. You get It coInlhS and going. But the Greek steamer was to weigh anchor at noon, ana at hool all the port officials were at deJeuner so. sooner than wait week for another boat, the passengers went on board anu carried their bags with them
 It was unpardonable. It was an al front the port officials could not brook They had been disregarded. Their dls nifty had been flouted. What was worse, they had not been tipped. Into the dining saloon of the Greek steamer where we were at lunch, they burst like Barbery pirates. They shrlekeo, they yelled Nobody knew who tney were. or what they wanted. Nor dld
  upon the tables, clanked their sworos' and spoiled our lunch. Why we were abused or of what we were accuseu' we could not determine we NasuelS recognized our names, and stood up and while they continued to beat upon the tables, a Greek steward explained they wanted our gold I showed them my bank notes, and was allowed to re- turn to my garlic and veal. But the English cigarette king, who each week sends some millions of cigarettes to the Tommies in the trenches, proposed to make a test case of 1t.
 WANTS TO MAKE TEST CASE
 q have on me-" he whispered, -four English sovereigns. I am not taking them out of Italy, because, until they crossed the border in my pocket, they were not in Italy, and as l am now leaving Italy, one might say they nave never been in Italy, It's as though they were in bond. I am British subject, and this is not Italian but British gold I shall refuse to surrender my four sov- ereigns I will make it test case
 The untipped port officials were still iangling their swords, so I advised the cigarette king to turn in his gold. Even a Greek steamer is better than an Italian jail.
 q will make of it test case." he repeated.
 Let George do it. I urged.
 At that moment, in the presence or all the passengers, they were search ing the person of another British sub ject and an ally. He was one of Lady Pagets units. He was in uniform, and as they ran itching fingers over his body he turned crimson, and the rest of us, pretending not to witness ihs hu- initiation, ate ravenously of goat $ cheese.
 The cigarette king. breathing de- fiance, repeated: T will make of it a test case"
 Better let George do it, l urged.
 And when his name was called, a name that is as well known from Va valla to Smyrna in tobacco fields. sweet meat shops, palaces and mosques, as at the Ritz and the Gayety, the ciga- rette king wisely accepted for his four sovereigns Italian fires.
 At their rate of exchange, tool
 Later, off Capri, he asked: When you advised me to let George make test case of it, to which of our fellow pas sengers did you refer?"
 LANDING AT MESSINA
 In the morning the "Adriaticus' picked up the land falls of Messina, but instead of making fast to the quay anchored her length from it. This ap- peafeQ to De port feSuldtloIl. IL eI- ables the boatman to earn a living by charging ? francs for round trip of 50 yards. As the wrecked city seems to be populated only by boatmen. row. ing passengers ashore is the chief in dustry.
 The stricken seaport looks as though as recently as last week the German army had visited it. In France, al though war still continues, towns wrecked by the Germans are already rebuilt. But Messina, after four years of peace. is still ruin No effort that is apparent has been made to restore it. The post cards that were printed at the moment of the earthquake show her exactly as she is today. With in the streets no sign of life, with the inhabitants standing idle along the quay, shivering in the rain and snow, with for a background crumbling walls, gaping cellars and hills buried under acres of fallen masonry the pie ture was one of terrible desolation, of neglect and inefficiency.
 The only structures that had ob- viously been erected since the earth quake were the ready o-wear" shacks