The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-02-12
billions of temper on all sides.
High Strung Mentality


self beyond control over the slightest
provocation. He was fearful over the
future of the German nation. FROM
day to day we are becoming more ana
more unciyil to each other and ruoe
to strangers. Our open emeles haue
US and our neutral neighborS Will Sooli
despise us if We continue in our pres
'ent conduct"
why are you going to Germany
What induces you to return 10 d
country where there is great prlVd-
tions?" he asked me sympathetlcally
explainedzto him that / felt compeH-
ed to make fraternal visitatlons. lie
then confided to me many Things all
of which 1 am not at liberty to make
public. But this much l can report
that in the Munchen MUNICIPALITY
alone the birth rate was 10000 less
than the peace time average, IN the
second year of the war; $1,000 IN the
third year, and in the fourth year the
death rate among the children OF baby
age was so high that between the ages
of two months and five years the
death rate was larger than the pres
ent birth rate, counting each month.
continued, taking a toll at this rate,
and the birth rate not increased, with
in three or four years there will be
a period of childless Germany. This
had never occurred to me in such
concrete form.
| ChildIesS Germany
| Proceeding further he reasoned that
a land with unproportionate sex de-
creases the male sex decreasing rapid
ly would surely bring about period
of serious immortality.
The manageable young women
would emigrate. In such emigration
the alert and the courageous, the
mentally and physically better equip
ped would leave, while the propaga-
ton of the future German nation
would be left to the backward, timid
and physically weak or the near-the-
mdidle-aged women. The young men
to. come to Germany and secure en-
ployment in the industrial reconstruc-
ton would compel Germany to en-
courage foreigners. The result would
be the peaceful invasion of Germany
by nations who have not drained their
manhood.
But when my newly made friend in
formed me that beside the actual star
walton of hundreds of thousands OF
Germans throughout the Empire, the
!, lack of poor quality of food was sap.
ping the very life-blood of the whole
people, I began to tremble for the
coming nation.
He had put nearly 5000 German
9 babies in Swiss homes and twice tina
number with homes in Holland. These
|, were the children of parents who haC
died since the war. Both in HOLLAND
and Switzerland he had found GU
that these German children were de
veloping to be poor human material
s When my friend returned to hi
D seat for sleep 1 fell into deep think
, ing. He had pictured to me a countr
S that was suffering; whole natiol
e in the slow process of sure extermina
: ton. My train was speeding me to
e land where suffering was universe
= but alas! the people had reconcile
themselves to these tragic privations
o They had consented to suffer.
: A Terrible Change
On the frontier town where GU
T. train stopped, after having gon
II
u search, we boarded German trai1
e What a change it was! 1t was lik
y jumping in one single bound fror
Switzerland to Germany. The ca
was dirty, dirty beyond description
The conductor, an old man, looked 6
y though he would abuse his own yer
self if he should see his face in a mil
l. ror, and truly he was the very miro
IL of the present day German mentalit
. and temper. He grunted and sal
L many things, some of which I coul
/ not hear and others I would not dal
II to print. An inspector then boarde
the car and vised my ticket. He VIZ
III also angry. You would think that tt
III man whose ticket he had just wise
Oh had abused him and that he had n
v yet gotten over the insult. I produce
81 my ticket which he rudely grabbe
IS away from me. He also was an O
3 man.
r What do you wish in Germany
Us One more mouth to feed" That W;
his real complaint. Both the condu
III tor and the inspector wore uniform
~ that had patches on them and thu
III ill-fitted them. The friend whose a
~ quaintance I had made in the Swi
s. train did not appear.
~ 1t was nearly morning when Il
lis train pulled out of the town. 1t W
n closely filled to the DOORS. The c.
lie, did not have the appearance of ha
A. ing been washed or cleaned for mai
re years. I noticed the window pa
lie facing the next seat was patched wi
ne paper. Another window near the fo
wv ward door was boarded, while 70
-ly other windows had cracked panes.
nd The Land Without a Smile
r. Our train was travelling very slo7
ly. The shortage of lubricating
ad compelled slow moving of trains.
mt constantly watched the faces of t
to passengers and never once did he
It'll laugh or see the motion of a lip tn
at, could be construed as a smile. An
ids quisitive thought crept into my mil
ed Why were they travelling? They we
De- not suburban passengers. Why did
H. many people want to travel in such
train. I bent over and hesitatingly
CURED of a woman next to me why
many travellers were anxious to
lat these cars? The woman grumbled a
1 said something that sounded like
tly am not a walking information offic
1 held my tongue during the rest
ex- the journey.
vas (To be Continued.)
09t HEhnknHE ER0M