The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1918-07-15

pethUneu 70 unr Clauueur p,
with me up to the office, as 7 hsa so
| money with which 10 nav him 10
when he got 10 the conSnIa.' aaa
told them that il they would nav q,
taxi fare l would tell them wh. ws
was and how l happened to he tbo.
They knew at once that 7 uaa
escaped prisoner and they rsoa, az
paid the chauffeur and invited mo
give some account of myself
They treated me most cordia,lr
were intensely interested in the h,,a
account | gave them of nv advas
lures. Word was sent to the consa,
general and he immediately sent I'll
| me. When l went in he shook hons
with me, greeting ME very hearth
and offering ME chair.
He then sat down, screwed ma,
Ocle on his eye and viewed me fro,.
top to toe. l could see that only poosI
breeding kept him from LAUGHING
the spectacle l presented. l could sell
he wanted to laugh in the worst v.,
go ahead and laugh !" said "Yonl
can't offend me the way l feel thiel
blessed day." and he needed no seconaI
invitation. Incidentally it gave me 4
chance to laugh at him, for I WAS
about as much amused as he was
After he had laughed himself about
sick he got up and slapped me on the
back and invited me to tell him NV
story.
Lieutenant" he said when I had
concluded, you can have ANYTHING
you want. l think your experience
entities you to it."
"Well, CONSUL" l replied, 81 would
like bath, a shave, haircut and
some civilized clothes about as badly
as a man ever needed them. / suppose.
but before that I would like to get A
cable off to America to my mother
telling her that / am safe and on nv
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 its way to America.
Then he sent for one Of the naval
men who had been informed 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 new man.
AS I 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.
I don't believe there will ever be
country that will appear in my eyes
quite as good as Holland did then. I
had to be somewhat careful, however,
because Holland was full of German
spies and knew they would be ken
to 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
in any respect to blame for it. As Twas
in 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 as they had arrived in Hol-
land in uniform and under arms, the
laws of neutrality compelled their in
ternment and they had been there ever
since.
The life of a man who is interned
In q neutral county, learned, is any
thing but satisfactory. He gets one
month a year to visit his home. II ne
lives in England that is not SO BAD,
but if he happens to live farther
away, the time he has to spend with
his folks is very short, as the months
leave does not take into consideration
the time consumed in travelling to and
from Holland.
The possibility Of escape from Hol'
land Is always there, but the British
authorities have an agreement with
the Dutch government to send refu'I
gees back Immediately. In this ri
spect, therefore, the position OF naAI
who is interned is worse than thatl
Of prisoner who, If he does suceeeeI
In making his escape, IL naturally 81
ceived with open arms In his nauvs
land. Apart from this restraint how'1
ever, internment, with all its daw'l
backs, Is a thousand times, yes, q misl
lion times, better than being a prtsonss
Of war in Germany.
It seems to me that when the W
Is over and the men who have DeenI
imprisoned in Germany return nome'
they should be given bigger anu
greater reception than the most VicJ
torious army that ever marched in'o
a city, for they will have suf1erea
and gone through more than the WORN
will ever be able to understand
No doubt you will find in the yer
man prison camps one or two RAM
hearted individuals with pronounce"