Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1918-05-03
German-Born Durant Citizen Tells
Things About the Huns.

II "" cn'!id prMt her" in fun tn.
lii" S'ul% ~ Fred Braun. propricto,
nf iH"a' utIrt't in DuiIAt ana fui
'hiriy odd years a ci'il"h ~ Texas
and Okl1hUina. with Ia" proper rhct-
nri"d; cuiuriHu uf "details and tn. out
standing incidon's. il would make a
huH"l"t'r surpasSing many Of eur
rent literature III upp.aiinr human
interest. for h, hn, Il siuiN to tell
that would r"quir,. day, in the tell.
inp, but "" can't tell il all
Mr. Braun wa born IN 1864 in
III" then independent Stat. ot Hes
sen Just south uf mili'ars Prussia
his plar" Of birth h"ing tho small
town. of GrotsAinm"r. n'ar The city
| Of Dorustadt. tn" principal city of
| 'I'ss"n. III, va, on" Of tw"lv. chill
dr"n of humble rar"n,ag". his par
"nts being farmers and in 1868 all
of those tW"lv" children were left
! orphans hy the death near together.
Of father and mother
II was in lNft that Prussia cash
"d IN ON her dream If being Il great
Empire. and forcibly seized the state
of IlcSscn. as she did many other
small states. and In IN" cas-" of Hes
sen II wasn't much but n formality.
AZ no shot was fired and no resist
anc" offered After the seizure.
Prussia began to Pursuance the
poor fiesSians. by changing their
schools. their religion. their money.
their weights and measures, to suit
tn" Prussian king. then King Franz:
ami PrusSian military attaches were
MI 1,
every capacity. both civil and mill !
tary. IN lieu of pensiOning them af-
Ter their activ" tim" Of service had
been given to Prussia. and things
went hard for the lI"ssians.
III was two years after the occu-
patton that Fred and his brothers
ana sisters were made orphans. and
the younger of them. including him
self. becam" public charges. and he
was placed with another family of
people. tn" Government paying for
MS keep. when his real troubles be-
gan. There he ate the food tha, the
'hildr"n OF III" family refused, wore
ne clothing they had discarded. did
me tasks that they wouldn't or could
lot 10. and often to procure enough
o"d I" sustain life had to fish in
h" table refuse intended for the
logs for potato or bread scrap to
Ill up the emptiness of his poor six
ear-old belly
AT SIX years he was put in school
'hich. as other institutions. was
oihinated bv the military authuri-
icS' ana there r" was forced to do
omage to the king in word and i'm
eed every day OF his Young lif" un-
u ms ordinarily tiinid blood revolt {
Il and his near |"rfdom grew oh.
Oxious almost beyond endurance IL !
AS then for eight years that h, and /
'her children Of tn" conquered Hes. !;
IN w"r" forced To sing ,'ycry mGrn- Il
lg. noon. and night. "IIoch I."bt der :
ais"r Franz. which translated
cans Long Live the Kaiser Franz,
~ words being set to tn" same tune
which our own song of patriotism.
America. was later set, and this ! :
7 ne grew tn hate with an intensity :,
at even IN" years and Father Tim,
mot efface from his memory
IL was the law of the Empire that II
cry man reaching twenty wears Il
nSf scrv" in the German army a I
rm ar years. in fact. all men in (
'rinany nave seen years uf service (;
they come of age and grow old --
nc" all German men are potential /
idi'rS as long aS they live. ready
'in"d to do their war lords hid (
hE To insure all mems service /