The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1918-11-15

wcts hVt UusfEhbfH 10 fu0I0T IN B1I-
glum and France. where we were
bound. we might safely plan tour la
the Black forest I'd Germany.
| We had left Berlin late In the after
noon In the evening. when we arrived
at Gotha, we found that the younger
walters in the restaurants and hotels
had already left and that the older re-
serves expected general call the next
day.
The next morning we started for
Frankfort. As we passed through VII
iaGe after village, war preparations be-
came more and more evident, Measures
were being taken everywhere to arouse
enthaslasm- young men gathered on
school steps were singing patriotic
songs, students were marching and
speeches were being made In the mar
ket places
About FIVE o'clock that afternoon we
arrived In Frankfort. The whole place
was In a fever OF excitement over the
mobilization posters and their resent
Inent against the French was being
aroused by extras" which were
handed out without charge, announc-
ing that the French had already
dropped bombs on the railroad at
Nurnberg and that French officers in
nutos had oyerrIdden the borders.
The ridiculous statements about
French flyers dropping bombs on the
lailroad at Nurnberg had not the
slightest foundation, OF course.
The older people who had lived |
through the war OF 1870 had interested
audiences for once while they related
past experiences and gave advice as to
what preparations TO make. A posi-
bility Of food shortage seemed to be
uppermost In all minds. and the gro
ecrles were stormed with eager buy
ers. Salt suddenly jumped 10 75 cents
pound and other things In proper
tion.
On Sunday. August 2. all the gaso-
line In the country was Communicated
and we heard Of many American tour
lists being put out Of their cars In the !
titles and even ON country roads, no y
natter how inaccessible to trains they 9
ulght be- We accordingly decided TO
tow our car away IN an old wagon b
he'd attached 70 y hotel and sought to q
eturn 10 Berlin by train. "
At the railway station there was (
pch n tremendous crowd that Il was G
nite Impossible 10 get anywhere near %
le ticket Office. and anyway no prom.
9 could be given as to trains to Ber
Trunks and bags were piled high In y
cry available space and II was
onths before that enormous pile of ms
gage was finally sorted out. be
We decided to, defer our effort to An
ach Berlin until Monday, since there ms
eined no hope of getting away that he
Nv. IA
On Monday morning. the streets %
ere filled with excited crowds de. A
troylng every sign with French IN
ord on It and looking for spies. The III
apers had announced that the coun-
~ was full Of French spies, women ~
3 well as men. saw the crowd stop q
a automobile, take woman out and q
literally tear her clothes to shreds be- q
ore the police succeeded In resculng y
Ter from the mob and took her TO the Z
'eiice station. The general SUPPOSE o
Ion was that all the man spies were =
nasquerading as women and the frst u
hing the NAB did was TO pull out hair q
iins 90 see whether the hair was real. "
On Monday evening. we managed to Z
adge our way Into the last through :
rain 70 Berlin We were side.tracked y
times to allow troop
trains 70 pass through. and we were re-
luired 10 keep our windows closed so !
that no enemy passenger could drop I
bombs on the bridges we crossed. II !
was a hot August night and the lack y
OF ventilation was most oppressive.
Our compartment was crowded with
officers ON their way TO Join their regi- :
ments and very grand aud important
they felt Ia their new fleld-gray uni
forms which may have long been put
away In moth balls for Just this oppor-
tnnity, but which took the German peo-
pie as well as the allies completely by
surprise.
AT Naumberg, which Is about half
way between Frankfort and Berlin,
company OF soldiers boarded the train
and guarded the corridors while non
commissioned ofieer questioned the
passengers,
My wife, who was asleep Ia cor
ner Of the coupe ], was the only wom-
an IN the compartment. Believing that
her sleep might be feigned and she
might, in fact, be man in woman's
the officer yelled at her
Where are you gOing2" Her Amerl.
can accent. revealed when she an-
swered him. lncensed him the more
and he demanded angrlly; "what right
have you TO use this trainf Where Is
your passport"
By that time had produced an the
papers Of Identification / could find and
tried 70 tell him that my wife and | |
were returning TO our home In Berlin.
but he was too excited 10 listen aud
would have dragged as or the train
had not an officer, with whom / had
been talking en- route, interviewed aud