The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1918-10-10
CHAPTER xVlll-continued.

4
.,,h me up to the office, as / had no
"orov with which to pay him.. and
rhon he got to the consulate /
,",d them that If they would pay the
,'yI fare would tell them who
r.e and how / happened to be there.
They knew at once that was an
.,coned prisoner and they readily
osd the chauffeur and invited me to
,lre some account Of myself.
They treated Inc most cordially and
.ore intensely interested In the brief
account / gave them of my adven-
,rros Word was sent to the consul
soneral and he Immediately sent for
no When | went In he shook hands
with me- greeting me very heartily
and Offering me chair.
He then sat down, screwed n mon
Orle on his eye and viewed me from
nm 10 toe. I could see that only good
breeding kept him from laughing at
tbe spectacle presented. / could see
he wanted to laugh in the worst way.
$50 ahead and laugh T. said. "You
rant offend me the way / feel this
blessed day!" and he needed no second
invitation. Incidentally 1t gave me
chance to laugh at him, for was
about as much amused as he was.
After he had laughed himself about
sick he got up and slapped me on the
hack and invited me to tell him my
story
lieutenant" he said when had
concluded, "yOu can have anything
you want. / think your experience
entities you to It."
"Well, consul" replied, II would
like n bath, a shave, haircut ana
some civilized clothes about rs badly
As man ever needed them, l suppose,
but before that would like to get q
cable of to America to my mother
telling her that am safe and on my
way to England"
The consul gave me the necessary
Information and had the satisfaction
Of knowing before left the office that
the cable, with Its good tidings, was
on It's way to America.
Then he sent for one OF the naval
men who had been interned there
since the beginning Of the war and
who was able to speak Dutch and
told him to take good care of me.
After | had been bathed and shaved
and had haircut bought some new
clothes and had something to eat, and
felt like q new man.
As / walked through the streets of
Rotterdam breathing the air Of free
dom again and realizing that there
was no longer any danger Of being
captured and taken back to prison,
It was wonderful sensation.
| don't believe there will ever be a
country that will appear in my eyes
quite as good as Holland did then.
had to be somewhat careful, however,
because Holland was full of German
spies and / knew they would be keen
10 learn all they possibly could about
my escape and my adventures so that
the authorities in Belgium could mete
out punishment to everyone who was
n any respect to blame for 1t. AS was
10 Rotterdam only one day, they
didn't have very much opportunity to
learn anything from me.
The naval officer who accompanied
me and acted as interpreter for me
Introduced me to many other soldiers
and sailors who had escaped from Bel
GUM when the Germans took Ant
werp, and ms they had arrived In Hol
land in uniform and under arms, the
laws of neutrality compelled their In
temment and they had been there ever
since.
The life of man who Is internct
In a neutral county, | learned, Is any
thing but satisfactory. lie gets one
month year to visit his home. II NJ
lives in England that Is not so bad
but If he happens to live fnrthel
away, the time he has to spend witt
his folks is very short, as the month!
leave does not take into consideration
the time consumed In travelling to ant
from Holland.
The possibility Of escape from Hol
land Is always there, but the British
authorities have an agreement witt
the Dutch government to send refu
gees back Immediately. In this re
spect, therefore, the position Of maj
who Is in,erned Is worse than tina
Of prisoner who, II he does succeed
In making his escape, is naturally re
Ceved with open arms In his nativ
land. Apart from this restraint, how
ever nternment, with all Its draw
backs, is thousand times, yes, mil
lion times, better than being u prlsone
Oh war In Germany.
II seems to me that when the wa
Is over and the men who have beel
imprisoned In Germany return home
Wey should be given bigger ant
Greater reception than the most vic
'orlous army that ever marched int
city, for they will have suffered
una gone through more than the worl
Will ever be able to understand.
No doubt you will find In the Ger
a'ah prison camps one or two faint
hearted individuals with pronounce
yellow streak who voluntarily CAV
up The struggle and gave up their lib
uy rather than risk their lives o
amDs. These sad cases, however, are
am sure, extremely few. Nine hun
Ged and nnety-nine out Of thousan
VI The men fighting In the allied line
would rather be In the front trenches
UBntlng every day. with all the horror
0au all the risks, than be n prisone
VI war In Germany, for the men i
france have very keen realization
Whnt that means.