The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-11-05

rally to stop the engines and await or
ders.
Within an hour a patrol boat APP
preached and escorted US until the
Pilot came aboard early the next
nSrainE. No one aboard ship slept.
Few expected to reach Liverpool alive,
hut the next afternoon we were safe
In o1e OF the numerous snug wharvea
OF that 81 sat port
Few lays later / arrived In Lon
don as l walked through Fleet street
neNsooys were hurrying froIA the
pressrooms carrying orange-s slored
piacarda 9Th the words In big eiack
type, Pirates Sink Another Neutral
Ship"
Until TIE middle Of Ma-ehI re-
| m aiaed - london. whore Tic Widest
rumors were saoat about the dsuEcgS
of the cosst II England. and where
every one Sa@ excited ard expectant
over the reports that Germany was
starving. | was urged by friends and
phys ans not to go to Germany be-
ca use IL VAS universally believed In
Great Britain that the war would be
! over in a very short time. On March
is | crossed from TiIbury to Rotter-
dam. At Tllbury / saw pontoon
BRIDGES across the Thames, patrol
boats and submarine chasers rushing
back and torth watching for U-boats
which might attempt to come UP the
river. / boarded the Batavia ~ late
az night and left Gravesend a. daylight
the neIt morning for Holland. Every
one vas On deck looking for sub
marines al mines. The channel that
! day vas smooth as small lake, but
the terrible expectation that suhma-
rines might sight the Dutch ship made
every passenger feel that the sub
marine war was as real az 1t was horri-
! Bile.
/ On March II, arriving at the little
German border town of Bentheim, |
met for the first time the people who
were already branded as Huns and
! Bar par ans" by the british, and
! French. Officers and people, how
ever, were not whit they had been
pictured to me. Neither was Ger
mary starving The officials and in
tient and permitted me to take
into Germany not only British news
papers, but placards which pictured
The Gerin ans as pirates. TWO days
later. while walking down Unter den
Linden. poor old women. who wers
afre ady taking tho places of newsboys,
sold German extras with streaming
headlines: British Ships Sunk, Sub
marine War Successful In front Of
large crowd reading the bulletins
about the progress OF the Won Tirpltz
blockade.
i For luncheon that Day I had tbs
choice OF as many foods as | had had
IN London. The only thing missing
was white bread, for Germany al the
beginning of the war permitted only
krfcE sbrot (war bread3 to be baked
I All Ber in streets were crowded and
: at.yA -t
trucfs big moving vans, private AUTO
nl~h5ses. taxtcabs and carriages bur
RED n.ther and thither. soldiers ard
officers, seemingly by the thousands.
were parading Up ands1down. Stores
were busy. Berlin appeared to DE as
norm al as any other capital Efsn the
confidence of Germany in victory Inn
press ed ME SO that in one of my first
dispa sches / said:
! than ever that all efforts OF her enc
mics to crush her must prove ii, vain.
With threefoid offensive, In Flanders.
In Galicis and In northwest Russia, be-
ing successfully prosecuted, there was
n split of enthusiasm displayed here
In both military ana civilian circles
that exceeded even the stirring days
imms ately following the outbreak OF
the war.
Flags are flying everywhere today;
the lmeortal standards of Germany
and Austria predominant. althoug b
there is Il goodly showing of the Turk
. 'sh crest ent. Bands are playing as
regiment after regiment pass
through the city to ertrain for the
front. Through Wilheimstrasse the
) soldiers move 4. their hats and guns
: decorated with fragrant flowers. and
, with mothers. sisters and sweethearts
clingirg to aid encouraging them
Continued tomorrow.9