Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-07-30


leaihern skin. wrinkled and old and
weather-beaten, was remorselessiy
shaved as 10 chin and throat and
high lean cheeks, leaving the thick
heavy moustaches of a Prussian
reiter to hide somewhat the thin
lips of the stern mouth and then
flow on. growing across his cheeks
TO bristle up fiercely by his ears.
He was scrpulously clean, one
might almost say scrubbed, one
might almost imagine him smelling
of soap like an old sergeant major
in a regiment of guards. His brow
was high and wide and the lean face
tapered to the wedge of a very firm
jaw; the visage of an old Prussian
dragon of the school and men
tality OF Bismarck. But out of il
there cleaned a pair of piercing
dark eyes that seemed black until
one saw that they were blue; they
were keen, shrewd eyes, not wholly
unkind. He wore. tremendously. a
great heavy sabre that clanked
against has thin legs as he walked
stiffiy into the salon until its hilt
was grasped. as though by an habit
ual gesture. in the aged hand.
He had on a well worn uniform
of field gray; his thin legs, on
which he walked so slowly and so
stiffly. as with automatic move
ments. were encased in tight gray
trousers. caught with straps below
the long, soft-pointed boots that
were furnished with great silver
spurs. His tunic was light. too.
and its shabbiness was somehow ac-
centuated by the iron cross of the
first class that he wore, and by the
blue enameled star OF the order of
something; Vilalobar knew and told
me afterwards. but I made no note
of il in my journal and I have for
gotten il now. It was, Z remember.
fastened BY a ribbon like a cravat
about his collar and tangled heavily
out at his wrinkled old throat.
Though he spoke French he did
not like to do so, and in this audi
ence he expressed himself with a
rough voice in German, which the
Baron Won der Lancken, standing
on his left, translated into French
for US. He shook hands with me
first and thanked me for what I had
done on behalf of German interests,
and spoke OF certain American con-
suls N Germany with whom he had
recently had relations. He spoke
then to the marquis, expressing his
regret for an incident that had
occurred at Namur a few DAYS
before, when ViIlalobar had been in
suited by a kommandant. And then
ne had few words for Van VII
lenhoven, to whom he spoke in
German, something or other per-
tanning to Holland. He seemed TO
nave prepared, or more likeIv
Baron Won der Lancken had sug-
gested to him, something personal
70 each of US to say, and this said
the brief audience, which had been
invested with the formality of a
private presentation at court, ended
ana we drove back in the black AFT
ernoon, with its lowering clouds ana
WINDS under the impression of an
interesting, a strong and possibly
a hard personality.
The first important act of tha non,
governor general was to imnose ~,
the population of Belgium, bv a de-
cree or December 10, a contribu-
tlon or war amounting to 100000
Ooo francs. Another decree. dated
december s, convened the provin-
cal councils of Belgium in extra
ordinary session for December 10
The session was to be opened and
closed in the name of the German
governor general; it was not to last
longer than one day; its session was
to be held in secret committee, and
the sole object of the elaboration
was TO be the method of raising the
contribution of war levied on the
Belgian population. And, further
more, quorum was not necessary
to the validity of the acts of the
session.
To Meet NJ. Hoover
One evening. after dinner, as we
were standing before the fire that
blazed in the great chimney in the
drawing room of his home on the
Avenue Lou1se-one evening in No
vemher-Monsieur Emile Francuui
gave me, in his vivid way. a por-
trait of Mr.. Herbert c. Hoover. 1t
was an impressionistic portrait
drawn with broad. rough strokes. a
portrait which impeIled the admi-
ration that seemed to inspire so
much of il, and he completed X
finally with a swift gesture that
described a half arc under his own
chin, as he said:
"Une machoire. vous savez:" GA
jaw-you knowi')
The dinner we had just had had
been arranged in honor OF Mr..
Hoover. but he had been detained
at the Dutch frontier and had not
arrived in time; we were expecting
him then in the morning, and we
were awaiting his coming impa-
tiently. for the great task of or
ganization was assuming proper
tions that were appalling, I had
never met my compatriot and /
knew him only as the rich Amer
lean who had so ably organized the
repatriation of American refugees
in London on the outbreak of the
war that DR.. Page had at once sus-
gested him to organize the ravi-
taillement. and l had Of his Per
sonality only such impression as
might be derived from the two la
comic dispatches he had sent me.
But Mr.. Francqui had known MIN
fifteen years before in China, where
they had been associated in one OF
those vast colonial enterprises for
the exploitation of the kingdom.
He spoke of Mr.. Hoover that
evening in terms of unqualified ad-
niration: he said that he was pre-
cisely the man for the work there
vas TO do and that Belgium was
lucLcv TO have him TO its aid. His
description. indeed, evoked hgure
in such heroic proportions th2t 1
was prepared to sec a man phys
icalIy somewhat larger than me
man I found nervousiy pacing the
floor of my Office the following ait
a~noon when vent down in re-
s,,oDsa n the card that had been
sent up.
he gave the impression of being
tall, though he was of medium helsht
because he was slender ana ne mao
extremely small hands ana 1eet' MS