The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1918-11-20

StrOylng every sign with u french
word on 1t and looking for spies. The
papers had announced that the coun-
try was full of French SPIES women
as well us men. j saw the crowd stop
an automobile, tnlNe a woman out and
literally tear her clothes to shreds be-
fore the police succeeded I'm rescuing
her from the mob and took her to the
police station. The general SUPPOSE
tlon was that all the man spies were
masquerading as women and the first
thing the mob did was to pull out hair
pins TO see whether the hair was real.
On Monday evening, we managed to
edge our way into the last through
train to Berlin. We were side-tracked
innumerable times to allow troop
trains to pass through. and we were re-
quired TO keep our windows closed SO
that no enemy passenger could drop
bombs on the bridges we crossed. 1t
was a hot August night and the lack
of ventilation was most oppressive.
Our compartment was crowded with
officers on their way to Join their regi-
ments and very grand and important
they felt In their new field-gray uni
forms which may have long been put
away in moth balls for just this oppor-
tunity. 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, u
company OF soldiers boarded the train
and guarded the corridors while n nom
commissioned officer questioned the
passengers.
My wife. who was asleep In q cor
ner Of the coupe /, was the only wom-
an In the compartment. Believing that
her sleep might be felgned and she
might, in fact, be n man in woman's
clothing. the officer yelled at her:
"Where are you going?" Her Ameri-
can accent. revealed when she an
swcred him, incensed him the more
and he demanded angrily: "what right
have you to use this train? Where Is
your passportf"
BY that time / had produced all the
papers OF Identification could find and
tried TO tell him that my wife and
Were returning to our home In Berlin.
but he was too excited TO listen and
would have dragged us Off the train
had not an officer. with whom I had
been talking en- route. interviewed and
said: 81 shall make myself personally
responsible for these people" I was
glad had admired his new uniform.
From the coupe next to ours | saw
soldiers drag six Russians. throw them
down and kick them In the face. and
one was u womani The train pulled
out as the crowd closed In on them so
that was unable to ascertain the fate
OF those innocent but helpless passen-
gers.
When we finally reached Berlin.
about five the next morning. II seemed
like a dead city. There WIS not a
droschke. taxi or a tram In sight.
Every available means of locomotlon
had been modified for the time being.
As we had heavy bags. We simply
had to find something 10 take us home
and after half an hours search far
from the station I found an old cab
driver who thought he could take us
for the liberal bonus I agreed to pay
him. we~had hardly got seated when
an officer tried TO force us out. and
OillN my Nlit uuiCh Difh vi iihtss
saved him black eye and me Iron
bars or a large fine.
After England declared war, the eff
forts to capture spies were doubled,
and the mob had a new lot Of signs to
tear down. We were forbidden to talk
English on the telephone or on the
street. We kept to our homes rather
closely. Most Of the buses, taxicabs
and horses had been Communicated,
and the only signs of life in Berlin
were furnished by the officers driving
madly about In high-powered cars
which exceeded all speed limits and
other traffic regulations.
After few days, things began to re-
turn to normal again. The food sup
ply seemed ample and the headlines In
the newspapers were so encouraging
and the reports of victories upon VIC
tories so convincing that every one ex-
pected the war to be over within
very short time and they began to eat
up the stores they had SO excitedly
collected.
Bread cards were initiated, 1t is true.
but the amount allowed was more than
adequate for all except, perhaps. the
very poor who depend ALMOST entirely
upon bread.
The press began advising the peo-