Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1917-11-01
A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD IN
WAR Time
BY URIAH S. JAMES.
(Continued)

Ino reason Tor tnlS was 10 dSCtI lain
whether all the passengers were IN
possession of passports, as without this
it would have been impossible to pro-
ceed further, and the unlucky party
would have been placed in the hands OF
the authorizes Immediately. So far as
/ know there was no such person on
board.
This inspection took about half an
hour, after which we were ready for
the last lap of the journey which would
land US in Petrograd within the next
forty eight hours. Although you are
still in Finland the train in which you
travel is typically Russian. The loco
motive is of rather crude design and
burns wood instead of coal. From the
smoke stack after dark can be seen
issuing great quantities Of sparks and
small pieces Of half burned wood which
in all presents a spectacle that would
do Justice to a miniature volcano.
The coaches are divided into COM
partments re accommodate two or four
persons according to the class you are
travelling, first or second. l trust it
will not be out of place to add here
that tickets for these compartments are
sold without any regard to sex. so if
any of you have ever felt that our Pull
man sleeping car arrangement is just a
little immodest, please take d tip from
me and stay out of Russia.
AS all trains do not carry dining cars
a stop of fifteen to twenty minutes is
made at stations along the line, where
there are buffets at which the pas
sengels may buy something to eat.
The conductor announces, in perfectly
good Russian, when you are to arrive
at these stations, and also the length of
time the train will stop. If you are
not familiar with this language about
all there is to do is to follow the crowd.
The food is set out, steaming hot, on a
long table at which you may sit if you
happen to be good runner and sue
ceed in beating the other fellow to it.;
if you go at a slower pace and arrive a
few seconds late you are obliged to eat
standing.
The announcement Of the departure
of the train is made by tapping on a
big bell, which is placed in conven-
lent place just outside of the entrance
to the buffet. The first tap of the bell
does not mean that the train is going
to start Immediately; generally three or
four minutes elapse and a second gong
is sounded, within a minute after this
second gong a third is given and the
train pulls at once. You can under
stand that there is not much danger Of
anyone being left behind.
Having as my instructors an A
merican family who had lived in Russia
for several years, also several Russian
people whom | had met on the way, l
succeeded in learning enough of the
Russian language before my arrival in
Petrograd to enable me to buy glass
of tea all by myself. Tea in this coun
try is served in glasses and constitutes
an indispensable part of the Russians
diet.
AS we neared Petrograd food because
scarcer, butter had disappeared entire
ly. and war bread had taken the place
of the nice white crisp buns which had
become quite favorite with me during
my journey through Norway and
Sweden.
This war bread is we'll named as it
makes the person who is obliged to eat
it feel like fighting. 1t is very dark in
color and has sour taste. BY pinch
ing piece between the fingers you can
see your finger prints as perfectly as
though it were piece of clay.
We were now nearing the Russian
frontier after stopping at a small
station on the border for custom and
passport examination we proceeded to
Petrograd, which was but short dis
tance. Upon my arrival l was met at
the station by a friend who had
arranged for hotel accommodations. 1t
was very fortunate for me that he had
as all the hotels were filled to the limit
of their capacity and then some. Peo-
pie were sleeping in the corridors, on
billiard tables, and those who were
fortunate enough to secure a cot set it
up in bath room and paid ten Rubles
or So 90 per night for the privilege and
were highly pleased.
Petrograd is the city that's different.
T. is not by any means typical Rus
sian city as it has cosmopolitan popu-
lation, there being over 5000 Ameri-
cans who have their homes there, not
mentioning those who live at the var
ious hotels. It's buildings bear evidence
of having been designed by German
architects and they compare strikingly
with those seen in Berlin and other
Gornan cities.