The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-02-01
Within The Iron Ring
By FREDERIC J. HASKlN

Every hotel clerk is a part of the
secret police. The head-waiter, the
chambermaid and boots are in the
game to take you unawares. ut is
policy to lead an open, ingenious life, to
court publicity by leaving papers
scattered in the open, and to leave
trunks and bags unlocked. In the
streets, on park benches, in the cafes,
at the railway stations and upon the
trains, the secret police are always on
the look out for something strange. At
the first hint of ominous mystery,
trouble grows rapidly for the unhappy
suspect. So many neutrals have cross
ed into Germany and hidden their spy
work under the cloak of business
errands. that today an incurred sus-
picion is dangerous thing.
An elaborate watch is kept upon all
aliens. Enemy aliens, however, the
old men, the women, and those German
women married to subjects of the enemy
countries, are under a restraining
supervision. They must not leave the
town in which they live. They must
report daily to the police of their dis
trict, and have their special passes
stamped. They must exercise double
caution in every act and word.
Besides this protecting army of spies
and the precise body of regulations. the
authorities have stationed soldiers of
the Landstrum around all public build
ings, munition factories, army store
houses, bridges, railway stations, avia-
ton grounds, Zeppelin sheds, along the
roads to the artillery stands and the
troop training grounds. and. nearer the
frontiers, along the railways and roads.
All dissemination of information is
carefully supervised by the authorities.
All news of political or economic ma
ture, whether for internal or foreign
consumption, is censored at the news
bureau of the Foreign Office; all news
of military nature is censored at the
war departments news Office, and all
news relating to naval affairs of
similar bureau in charge of naval Of
ficers. The authorities have become
the sole arbiters of literary effort.
They have, however, welded their
power lightly, and allow much vehe-
ment criticism to be freely printed.
Even the German housewives have
had to conform to military precision in
many of their affairs. They can be
seen standing patiently in line outside
of butcher shops. dairles and grocery
stores waiting their turns to purchase
their cards allowances. On the days
of issue of the ration cards, they form
long, precisely moving lines at the point
of distribution, and in the same single
file they pass through the city halls on
the days that pensions for soldiers
wives are paid.
About everything Of military value
has been requisitioned. Taxicabs and
automobiles are very scarce, even in
Berlin. In one Saxon town, which
counted 4, 500 automobiles before the
war, there are only three of these con-
yeyances still in operation, and these
three are all to old to go to war. Horses,
too, are few and ancient in the cities.
In the smaller towns, their places have
been taken by oxen. The traffic on the
streets of these smaller places impress
ses one as though the clock had been
turned back some centuries and the
Middle Ages were alive again. In some
of the smaller cities, grass is growing
up between the cracks in the pavement.
as repairs have been neglected and
there is too little traffic to wear away
its vendure.
| Things are as quiet as a Sunday IN
New England in the towns and in the
cities of middle size. There IS no noise
of traffic on the streets, no cIatter of
drays and rattle of equipages. The
pedestrians go their ways silently.
There is no loud talking, ringing
laughter, or noisy calls. The scene first
livens up when regiment, with its
band clashing martial music, marches
away.
All life in Germany is managed on
military principle under the wars
stern necessity. The nation dimes and
sups on army rations. Several house
toulouse, and apartment department
food censuses have been taken. A
thorough copper and nickle census was
taken. In this connection, 1t is worth
mentioning that most of the better
homes and factories were, perhaps in
accordance with suggestions, fitted
with copper roofs. During the period
of copper scarcity, before the path was
broken through Servia, many of these
copper roofs were repuistioned, and
one sees today the scaffolding on the
buildings, from which this precious
copper was removed to be replaced by
tin or tiles.
Military management is an exact,
marvelously efficient and marvelously
oppressive management, which hardly