Evening star., 1918-08-07
Food Hoarded and Stolen.

Almost every one in towns Of any size
In Germany lives in an apartment ana
each family has a key to position OF
the attic, which is divided into as many
parts as there are apartments in the
house. Later. when food really became
scarce, robbing these attics became a
popular profession. and 1t was necessary
to make room for the valued stores
the quite stube''-good room-the sugar
being locked away in the writing desk
and room being made for the butter
next to the cherished war bonds in the
safe.
On Sunday. August 2. all the gasoline
in the country was Communicated, and
we heard of many American tourists
being put out Of their cars In the cities
and even on country roads, no matter
how inaccessible to trains they might
be. We accordingly decided to stow
cur car away in an old wagon shed at
tached to a hotel and sought TO return
to Berlin by train.
At the railway station there was
such a tremendous crowd that IT was
quite impossible to get anywhere near
the ticket office. and anyway no
promise could be given as to trains to
Berlin.
Frankfort had.always been a busy
railroad center. but 1t had never wit
messed anything like the rush Of Ger
man vacationists coming home from
Switzerland and from the various
German baths. people Of all nationali,
ties Fastening out of Germany: ana
the long trainloads of troops being
hurried to the frontiers.
every available space and 1t was
months before that enormous pile OF
baggage was finally sorted out.
We decided to defer our effort to
reach Berlin until Monday. since there
seemed no hope of getting away that
day.
Hunt for Spies Begins.
On Monday morning the streets
were filled with excited crowds de-
stroying every sign with q FreHcn
papers had announced that the coun-
try was full Of French spies. women
as well as men. saw the crowd stop
an automobile. take woman out and
literally tear her clothes to shreds
ing her from the mob and took her to
the police station. The general sup
position was that all the man spies
were masquerading as women and the
first thing the mob did was 10 70 pun pui.
out hairpius to see whether the halr
was real.
On Monday evening we managed to
edge our way into the last through
train to Berlin. We were sidetracked
innumerabIe times to allow troop
trains TO pass through. and we were
required to keep our windows closed
so that no enemy passenger could
drop bombs on the bridges we crossed.
It was a hot August night aud the
lack Of Ventilation was most oppres-
sive.
officers on their way to Join their
regiments, and very grand ana I'M
portant they felt in their new neid-
gray uniforms, which may have long
been. put away in moth balls for just
this opportunity. but which took the
German people as well as the allies
completely by surprise.
At Nuremberg. which Is about half
way between Frankfort and Berlin,
company of soldiers boarded the train
and guarded the corridors while a
non commissioned officer questioned
the passengers.
NV wife, who was asleep in COR
ner Of the coupe l, was the. only won.
an in the compartment. Believing that
her sleep might be feigned and she
clothing, the officer yelled at her:
"Where are you going?" Her Ameri-
can accent, revealed when she an
swered him, incensed him the more
and he demanded angrily; What st
right have you to use this train!
Where is your passport
BY that time had produced all the
papers of Identification / could .hnd
and tried to tell him that my wife and
I were returning to our home in Ber-
| lin, but he was too excited to listen,
and would have dragged US on the
train had not an officer with whom
had been talking en- route intervened
and said: II shall make myself per-
sonally responsible for these people.
was glad I had admired his new uni
form.
Men Kicked in Face by Soldiers.
From the coupe next to ours I saw
| soldiers drag six Russians throw them
down and kick them in the face. ant
one was q woman! The train pulled
| out as the crowd closed in on them, 81
that I was unable to ascertain tht
fate of those innocent but helpless
passengers.
When we finally reached Berlin
about the next morning. it seemed
like a dead city. There was not
droschke, a taxi or a tram in sight
| Every available means OF locomotior
had been mobilized for the time being