Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-11-10
DEITY ARRANGED. !.
W|RESAS BARRIER
Hun Construction in Section
= of BeIgian-Dutch Frontier
u Still Intact.
ALL ROADS. ARE CLOSED
BY +. PERCY NOEL.
CabIegram to The Sunday Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918.


WITH THE BRITISH ARMY AT
THE FRONT. November 9.-The ten
miles of the Belgian-Dutch frontier
Tegained by the allies is closed even
u civilians from neutral countries.
Gigh double walls of barbed wire with
electric high-rension wires between
them remain intact just as the Ger
mans constructed them. So I saw the
other day, when, after travelling over
q long and devious route, and after
many attempts to cross canals where
the bridges were down, / arrived at
last on Belgian soil on the road to
Siuis, Holland. where the Dutch sem
tries on the other side of the wire
smartiy saluted my British uniform.
Really. il was not the true frontier
where l was stopped by Il gate in the
wires across the road. hut some TWEEN
ty yards from il. for the Germans in
their effort to prevent allied prisoners
from escaping into Holland or inva-
sion from that direction arbitrarily
moved back the Belgian frontier dis
tances varying from twenty to 100
yards.
Used as Temporary Frontier.
The Belgians temporarily use the
German barrier as frontier, so that
Belgian woman living in Sluis. a
mile across the line, was permitted
by the Dutch sentry to come to the
road gate and talk TO her son. a Bel
Eian soldier. whom she had not seen
since four years ago, when she fled
into Holland upon the German inva-
sion / saw them standing at the
slightly open gate. she with tears of
Joy streaming down her cheeks. try
ing TO crowd much into IL few minutes
of conversation with her boy.
Beyond the true frontier were the
red. white and blue flags of Holland
flying. and Dutch SentrieS in Blush
gray uniforms and high crowned
caps. The Belgian soldier was warned
by the scntrieS on our side of the wire
TO be careful not to put his footebe-
Jond the line when he leaned over to
embrace his mother, as he would be
liable To be interned in Holland.
Greatest Danger on othe~ Side.
The walls of mesh barbed wire, nine
feet high, seemed impossible to climb
but the greatest danger is on the
other side Many strands of wire,
which were charged with electricity
until the BelSians cut the circuits,
were inSeniously arranged in several
circuits SO that they would not be
broken all along if cut in one place
A foot beyond the electric wires was
another nine-foot fence of barbed
wire and then room for the Germans
10 shoot without firing upon Dutch
soil y German sentry box, painted
IN the enemy's colors, still stood at
the gate This system runs through
the sand dunes into the sea, where
on the beach it is backed by a deep
field of barbed wire. 4 quarter of
mile from it along all that part of
the frontier which / visited is field
of close barbed wire entanglements
several hundred yards deep. con-
structed TO assist in defending the
frontier against invasion by the Brit
ish through Holland. MiSjudging
others by their own standards, they
thought this possible. The beach
dunes from Hcyset past knocke-sur-
Mer are thick with wire. There is
more of it hero than ! have seen on
! other parts of the coast.