Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1916-09-22
Scarcely Six Months in the Max
ing It Attracts Wide
Attention.
LITTLE GERMANY IN ITSELF
Three Hundred Little Model Houses
and Other Structures That Co to
Make Up a Village Are Con-
structed From Scraps.


iu the making. which Is attracting Mt.
tcntion throughout the country. Vlsi-
tors to the yard vie with one another
for the precious and somewhat rare
passes which will admit one to the
peculiar place, and thousands Of post
cards showing scenes within It's lin
fits are sold daily.
The village Is unincorporoted and
without legnlized form ot government.
Its residents, though filled with civic
pride rare in It's Intensity. are abso-
lutely opposed to increasing the popu-
latiou. They toll aud spin in the VIII
lage only as Il pleases them, yet they
eat regularly. sleep regularly and are
assured OF "A comfortable existence. at
least, until the end Of the great Euro
pcan war.
And, now that war hns been men
toned. YOU have the key to the iden-
tity ot this strange municipality In
the making. Il Is the village built by
the informed crews Of the Kronprlnz
Wilhelm and the Prinz Eltel Friedrich.
German war vessels, which ran into
the Virginia capcs within 80 days of
each other for safety. about a year
ago and since have beer informed by
the United States government for the
duration ~ the war.
Build Wonder Village.
Cast into the waters Of n neutral
country and realizing that their stay
probably would be long, these sturdy,
blond Teuton sons did not sit on the
decks and mourn their fate. Instead,
they sprang upon the land, grabbed
every scrap of wood and metal and
cloth and leather and every drop of
pnint that came their way and began
the construction OF their wonder vii
luge.
From scraps gathered from hithcr
and you In the navy yard ana out of
II. more than 800 little model houses. n
windmill, a chapel and other struc-
lures that 20 to make up the village
have been constructed. They line pref
ty streets.
Their front yards bloom with flow
crs and their back yards are filled with
garden truck. Nor Is the end yet. To-
day you see a load Of old boxes or dis
carded ends Of boards going into the
village and tomorrow Il new house. Of
which they will be a part, will be I'M
der construction. Building operations
always are under way.
The start OF the village came with
the granting Of the use Of the east end
Of the yard, near where the great in
termed ships lie, by the commandment
10 the informed men. II Is composed Of
several acres cut of from the remain
der Of the yard so completely that It
seems a little Germany within Itself.
on one side In the Potomac river lie
the two ships. Another side Is bound
ed now by the immense United States
collier Organ, in the making. Green
grass, n wood and some water form
the other two sides.
Must Have Pass.
The village must be approached
through guards from the O'Ryan col
Her side so, unless you have n pass,
there Is little chance of seeing II. The
executive officers OF the informed ships
issue the passes, regular navy yard Of
hcers having nothing to do with them.
As the village grew II became OBJ
vious that II was planned with Infinite
skin. Not only were there houses and
yards laid out, but ever streets and
parks We're added. The owner Of each
piece Of property was made to realize
that he would he held strictly respon-
sible for his place being kept nent and
clean.
When word Of the building progress
that was being made reached the out
side world German sympathlzers be
gan 10 lend a hand. Contributions OF
various kinds poured In, and when. n
few weeks ago, the first formal OPEN
ing was held, visiting crowds marveled
M the wonders the lnterned crews had
worked with their poor material and
few outside contributions.
That opening day was n proud one
for the residents. The band from the
ship-and II Is a good one-played /;
the men marched and showed visitors
about the village, and n regular carnl-
val was staged. With an OF the bust
ness acumen Of Yankee horse traders,
h Germans arrested persons for al
legged violations OF their village laws
and fined them before magistrates.
All paid their fines willingly. for the
money went 20 the German Red Cross
fund for the benefit Of blinded soldiers.
Every prisoner was permitted to assess
his " fine. Where fines were too
low or the prisoner was good natured
he was arrested again.
All OF the usual attractions OF an
amateur carnival we're at hand. There
were cold drinks, hot dogs and mu-
seums 10 sOOthe the palate ard ease
the eye. Frequently the mayor, or
D~Orfschulze. would post a new bulletin
-. A. E.II.aFa 49, "a w.w..Nr.a.N