Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-09-14
England to accept terms of peace.

1 dlNdNS utlFCNtus uHtl tO0k up
my studies in Berlin. tina my people, the
Turks, were the most helplessly isnor-
ant people in the world, but since l
came to know the German people / re-
ahze that the German masses are the
only people that take for granted ev-
erything their rulers tell them. Here
and there l found people wha doubted
the bulletins announced by their gov
ernment, but ninety-nine per cent of
the Germans look on other peoples as
low and uneultmed that they cannot
understand how it is that they are not
yet convinced of Germany S superiority.
The so-called educated German men and
women are the most dangerously and
arrogantly ignorant people about other
peoples view of culture. The unedu-
| Gated look up to these elements and thus
permit themselves to be misled Here
is an example of hundred instances
l observed during my five years con.
tact with this class of German people.
One of my instructors who had never
been outside of Germany-or from Ber.
lin for that matter-tQld me, one dav
during the first week of the war, that
the German armies would march across
Belgium unopposed, France would be
brought to her knees, Russia would be
crushed within two months, England
would be invaded within three months,
and the peace treaty would be signed no
more than four months after the first
firing Of the gun in the war. He ex-
planned to me in language profuse that
all these nations were made up Of de-
cadent peoples and that they could not
stand against the German might more
than few months The only iustifica-
tion that he offered of this programme
was that as Germany s enemies were all
weak and unable to successfully defend
themselves it was right that she should
invade their territories. You never hear
a German consider it necessary to offer
3 moral justification in Germany invad-
ing and attempting to hold her neigh
boris territories. You never hear such
discussions in Germany. Occasionally
certain reichstag deputy makes a
, speech in the course Of which he dwells
on this point, but he is socialist. and
in most eases he is either Jew or a
Pole.
Shortly after America s entrance into
the war | made every attempt to secure
an interview with some American war
prisoners in one of the camps, but for
months failed as l was not regarded as
friendly to Germany. Had it oot been
for my family connections at Central
Asia-Minor, I would have been imprison.
ed on some pretense. But at last /
succeeded in worming myself into the
confidence of a German Red Cross off.
eial whe secured permission for me
whereby visited two war prisoner s
camps where American soldiers were be.
ing kept. ! must also state that quite
few marks changed hands in obtain.
ing such privilege.
Accompanied by an intimate friend
of the Red Cross officer whom | have
already mentioned, / first visited Sols
tau prison csNnp. There the officer who
had, accompanied us that far received
orders to report to another station. He
introduced us to ono Of the prison off.
eers who promised to give us an op-
portunity to visit the camps.
American Negroes Keep Their
Humor in Spite of Hardshir5.
As we walked through the grounds
on our way to the American section we
met two blacks, who, although thin and
weak looking, were nevertheless chat
ting with each other happily as they
pushed a hand truck full with packages.
| asked the escorting officer who they
We're. "They are American blacks per-
haps You wish to see the whites" he
remarked with little sarcasm. "Please
permit me to speak with them, - | beg
ged the officer. Then he ordered the
black Americans to approach whore we
were stading. Going up to the one who
was shorter and not SO black as the
other | told him that / was a Turkish
ady and chat | wanted to talk to the
American soldiers. He grnned at me
rather impolitely, and turning TO his
companion he said: "The lady says she
is Turkish lady and she speaks Eng
lisb, wouldn't you think she were Ger
man American2 Heh?" Naturally r
was somewhat embarrassed, as the Off
Ger had asked me what the black Am
erican had said. was about to tell him
when the tall blackman said with
grin: Lady never had much use fof
them Turks, but your people couldn u /
be worse than them Huns.V | laughed
and noticed that the Americans liked
the spirit in which received their wit. .
Ny companions were still insisting on
knowing what the Americans weg. cav.
ing that made me laugh SO loudly, but
| kept on talking to the blacks. "And
to what part Of America do you be-
long9" l asked. "What part9'' ex-
claimed the tall black American, =" why
lady, there is no part to America, it is
all one damn big country" I asked
him why he thought his country, his
America was damned. To my remark
they both almost doubled up and
laughed and laughed again. Their in
cessant laughing was making my Ger
man companions terribly uneasy. Then
the short American explained to me that
the word was an expression that lady
who learned English from book could
not appreciate. Then they again laugh.
ID and asked me to ask my "Hun
friends If it all the same if we went
'ur way" Their parting sally was:
We are sorry for you lady, you bet