The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-27
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS


 talking just now about women but men.
 Last week I received a letter from my old Vienna chum after he had been si- lent since the worlds fair at Chicago, where we last came together. He was living there and I was guest in the palatial home of his father and mother.
 It is strange how one picks up ac- quaintance after long lapse of time It is rather interesting to me to know how he got track of me. He is winter ing in Florida, and wrote that he had met Major Miner, and in looking over his Age-Hera1d had seen my name at the bottom of a column on the editorial page, and wrote to congratulate me on my opportunity for service.
 After all, the world is not very large place. In all my travels abroad I never went anywhere that someone did not hail me as friend or acquaintance. was in Constantinople once crossing the bridge from Perea to Galata and think ing for once I was outside the pale of those who knew me, when I was startled out of my belief by hearing a cheery voice ring out: Hello, MT. Barnett, what are you doing in the east?' It was a young lady friend from Savannah Time and time I had similar experiences in different parts of Europe.
 ba -f,-a q..I in Constantinople. In those days in or- der to visit the holy land it was neces- sary to get a Turkish passport, and in order to get it one had to have an Amer ican one. I had one but my younger brother, Paul, failed to get one, and we went to the American embassy to procure one, but the ambassador being out of the city, the attache refused to grant the re- quest.
 I argued, and we both showed our stu dent credentials. but all to no avail. It seems someone had put one over on him and gotten one for which he had gotten call down. He was obdurate and fi- nally I got peeved, and pulling out my passport, said Look at this-Frank Will lis Barnett, dark hair blue eyes, long nose, little mouth, medium height, mid dle weight-then look at me and later cast your gaze over the man by my side and if you have glimmer of intelligence you will conclude that he Is my brother, and therefore an American citizen" He was bit riled by my sarcasm and grab ping my passport scanned it carefully nett of Atlanta, Gar" "Yes" I an- swered, The is my first cousin" and to my astonishment, he replied: Well, your brother can get all the passports he wants, as Sam and I were roommates at the University of Edinburgh" Can you beat it?-my cousing across the sea identified my brother in the heart of Tur- key, and hostile government agent was transformed on the spot into warm friend ready to show us every courtesy.
 
 But back to my friend. Harry Furber, and Vienna. As handed up my card at the university for one of the professors
 
 lures, just behind me in line was a young man who. when I turned, said: T am glad to find another American who is to take the course" I waited for him to get signed up, and then we made for a nearby cafe and that's how Harry and got to be inseparable chums l. was in philosophy. while he was devoting himself to political econosly.
 suppose he has forgotten the incident, but he got very much engrossed in a theory which he thought was new and after searching through the literature of the subject and finding that no writer had given expression to it, in order that he might in the days in which he would give to the world be able to claim 1t as his own brain child he wrote 1t out and carried it to the American minister, and had it certified as having been filed by him on certain date. and I was to the fact.
 He was not only thinker but an ar tist in the use of pen or pencil in mak- ing life sketches. We used to frequent cafc in one of the districts near the uni versity which was frequented by the students. The tables had marble tops which made 1t convenient for the patrons to mark down tile number of schooners of beer they drank during the evening and pay the reckoning before leaving. Harry was in the habit of making pen sketches of the various types around the room. I recall one night he sketched an officer. A crowd drew around, and finally the soldier leaned over and laughing said: 'Yes, that's me-
 Those were happy days How the time raced by, for the viennese are fun loving people. As I recall the months of pleacure I put in in the gay capital of Austria 1t makes me sad to think that the Austrians. under the malign influence of the Emperor of Germany. were plunged into European war that at last caught America in it's swift current. and that we arc fighting people whom I am ready to believe had no idea that when they joined hands with the Kaiser 1t meant a break and later fight against the United States
 It may be a futile wish but down in the bottom of my heart I hope and pray that President Wilson may be able to detach Austria from her German alliance I,vts, ,rr;x ha @A