Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-03-15
Installment Two

InStallment Two
About an hour after our train had
started | heard loud voices in the rear
of the car. There was Il tussle. |
heard several voices shout Shame
shame Then | saw the conductor
and the inspector dragging a woman
to the door / did not dare to inquire
the cause of this unusual excitement.
When the woman was dragged out of
the rear door and the door was shut
The passengers fell into an agitated
discussion regarding the incident.
QuuarrelS followed From what !
heard | gathered that the woman was
cursed and insulted by the conductor.
Apparently she had resented his re-
marks. and, having found out that
alone he couldn't remove the woman
to the next car which was a baggage
car. he had demanded the assistance
Of the inspector. Together they had
succeeded.
What Other People Would Have Done
I'm any Swiss city or in any other
land in which | have been. Il crowd of
passengers would not have permitted
woman to be dragged out of her
by a conductor, or ten conductors. 1t
was talk. talk, afterwards. Angry
and threatening. but empty talk. The
passengers were ready to fight each
other over the merit of the unchival-
r3US conductors act. but there was not
one person who would dare to raise his
hand in behalf of the woman. 1t has
become part of the German peoples
soul TO fear their men in uniform. It
Will take many years before my peO-
pie learn that under a uniform the
flesh and blood is no different than
what is found hidden under civilian
attire. IN my six months travels III
Germany / have seen and heard people
bevome dangerously restive, but the
German people as a whole have not yet
learned that just because a thing is
"forbidden' by the authorities it may
not he sin n0r always be very difficult
10 challenge it.
On the both day of August | reached
b. 5. which is about eighty miles
from Muncheon. In that place there
were military officers with whom |
was. in 0lden days. on terms of famil-
iarity. as many of them had been adj
mitte;l to the fratelIral organization
during the period in which | had heid
high office in the district branch fra
tcrnity. ! wanted to interview them.
| wanted to learn from their lips how
things political stood in Germany.
The first person | interviewed at
b was very old friend. a
Colonel of regiment, now slowly dying
of tuberculosis. which he had con
tracted at the--front How aged
he was. He was heartily happy not
only to see me. but to see someone
who had come from Il neutral country
who could tell him something about the
war He had remained at rhe front
until three months before. and now he
was asking me about the very war he
had been engaged in fighting.
The German officer Sees Light
Instead of interviewing him | sud.
denly found myself being interviewed
by him. was not only amazed With
his childlike innocence of what was
going on outside of Germany, bu1
really became disguested with his
ignorance regarding the military posi-
tion of Germany compared with thai
of his. enemies. For instance, he ar
gued with me whole hour about tht
Battle of the Marne." While | termed
that battle q disaster, he would try Il
make me believe that it was nothin.
but an extensive withdrawal of tn,
advanced guards. When | reminded
him of the fact that in military circle
it would not be considered as an ey
tensive withdrawal of advanced guard
when the retreat covered an area 0
thirty miles, he brushed my reasoning
aside and bluntly informed me that m
statement as to the extent of tn
Marine was not true. 1t disheartene
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