The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-09-19

feet high, covered with snow, where
they couldn't bring up their reserves
or new guns, and we surrounded
them!
"We took practically everything they
possessed-food enough to feed our
entire army without calling upon our
own supplies at all. Never before had
our armies seen such an accumulation
Of ammunition. 1 must certainly go
down to see 1t.
I'VE cut Off their northern retreat
and, as they swung their army to the
south, we captured 10000 Of them up
to their knees In the rice fields. One
Of the great mistakes they made was
n carrying their civilian refugees with
them--clogging their narrow roads and
impeding the retreat Of their soldiers.
We had taken possession Of their most
productive regions, and their retreat
was through territory which yielded
them nothing. Just think Of that re-
treating army thrown upon the already
impoverished inhabitants Of that Sec
ton. Why, they'll starve to death!
"Everywhere we went we found
their big guns abandoned. In n
small village we came upon a gun dec
grated with flowers and SurmOunted
with a portrait Of Emperor Franz JO-
sef. 1t had been put there by the Ital-
Ian inhabitants of the village to show
their happiness at being released at
last from the yoke Of the intolerable
Italian lawyer government! How ter.
ribly the Italians must have treated
them! Italy will never get over this
defeat. This was real help from God!
Now, we've got the allies" and he
struck his left hand with his right with
great force to emphasize his apparent
conviction that the turning point in
the war had been reached with Italy's
collapse.
That the kaiser now regarded him.
self and his armies as invincible l felt.
and | feared that the success in Italy
would be followed at the first favOra-
BILE opportunity by IA gigantic offensive
on the western front.
Indeed, on II subsequent occasion,
when he called at my office for further
treatment, and again referred to the
italian triumph, he remarked "If our
armies could capture 100000 Italians
and those 100000 might just as well be
dead as far as Italy Is commemorative
can do the same thing against our
enemies on the west !"
This was one of the interviews I was
SO anxious TO report to the representa-
lives of the American intelligence de-
partment at our legation in Copen-
hagen and, later On, when | finally ar.
rived in that city, | related Il in great
detail to them. l remained in COpen-
hagen eleven days and during the
greater part of that time | was being
interviewed by or another of the
representatives of u intelligence de-
partment. Exactly two months later,
on March u, the western offensive
broke out as | had feared.
L called at Potsdam a day a. two la
ter to attend the kaiser again, and
found him still i'm the same triumphant
mood, and so anxious was he to get
down to Italy that he called at my of
flee three times that week to enable
me to complete my work on his affect.
ed tooth.
On November 90 the kaiser called at
my office for what proved to be his
last sitting. l had received word on
the Goth that my pass for America had
been granted and that l could leave
on the Both, and accordingly told the
kaiser that it vas my intention to leave
for Copenhagen On that day.
l explained that I was completely
run down-and l certainly looked it
and that 1t was necessary for me to
get to Copenhagen anyway, so that ]
could get in touch with America re-
garding a porcelain tooth patent which
had been granted to me in July, 1915
but which a large dental company was
seeking to wrest from me. The patent
authorities had delayed action because
Of the fact that l resided In an enemy
country.
On the 2Sth I received a letter from
the court chamberlain stating that the
president Of police had made 1t known
to the kaiser that l had applied for a
pass to America and demanding an ex.
PLANTATION as to why 1 had told the kai.
ser that l had planned to go to Copen.
hagen and had not mentioned Amer.
lea.
l at once replied that 1t was indeed
my intention, as / had told the kaiser
to so to Copenhagen, but that l had
applied for the pass to America be
cause l wanted to be in a position ia
go there If my patent affairs demand
ed it and l expressed the hope that
nothing would be done to interfere
with the pass which had been prom
lsed me for the 3Oth
Nevertheless, the Both came around
and the pass didn't, and the boat which
sailed from Copenhagen on December
z, which l had planned to take, sailed
without me.
Again the weary weeks followed
each other without the slightest init
nation from anyone that l would ever
be allowed to leave. Indeed, I haG
f,,llv mazda nm INV mind fhof tho on