New-York tribune., 1919-09-30
Complaining Germans
BY William G.. Drehcr
Berlin Correspondent of The Tribune


cog mentally, and later I was not surprised
to hear that he had lost his little job
Heard Of another of these banished Ger
mans who even has two sons officers in the
British army. He is also going around ask
ing what he, naturalzed Englshman, is
to do here in country where he is an
utter stranger. Such stories as these make
it easy to believe what an English Quaker
css said here recently, after having spent
several weeks in Berlin. She expressed as
tonishmcnt at finding so little hatred among
the Germans, and she found it an agreeable
contrast to the white hot passion that still
glows in England against everything Ger
man.
Hated France
And yet the Germans do not generally
look upon the British as particularly given
over to hatred toward them In fact, the
British and Americans are singled out as
noteworthy exceptions to the passion that
confronts everything German in France and
Belgium. Here is what one newspaper
writer says in this mornings paper:
"Why does the Englishman, the Ameri-
can, the Italian find less hostility among
us to-day than the Frenchman? Because
those enemies meet us themselves with less
hatred. England is. of course, our most
dreadful opponent; it destroys our trade
our shipping, colonies. But its war
aim remained an objective one. The French
man, on the other hand, wants TO safe his
human, personal revenge, with cruelty
to J.or oh H.
enrichment appears to him the pleasure of
tormentlng us, Of strangling and cxtermi-
mating everything peculiarly German.
This comparison between the English
and Americans the one side and the
French the other also holds good as to
all German reports about conditions in the
occupied territory. While the Americans
and English have not been wholly free from
German blame, they appear to have shown
themselves models of moderation and JUS
tlce as compared with the French. One
German report, for example, described the
sudden change in the situation at Treves
when the French relieved the Americans
at that town-a change that caused much
unhappiness among the citizens. One thing
set down to the credit of the Americans
anu >lItiSH ID lildl tllcv nave gwen no
encouragement whatever to the scheme of
certain agitators in that territory to create
SO called Rhenish republic, Independent
Of Germany and leaning upon France; where
as the French generals and subordinate
officers, st is charged, have actively en-
couraged and even fomented that intrigue
The Cologne Mouse
Yet it must not be assumed that the
British or the Americans are positively
liked-c certainly not the British, at any
rate. In this connection a pretty little
story has reached me orally from Cologne.
When Mr.. Asqhth was there recently he
visited the Cathedral and was shown its
treasures by one of the priests. Among
these treasures was little silver mouse,
which, according to tradition. had been
given some ages ago as a votvc Offering
story. which doubtless many other travel
lers verify as having heard it long
before the war-how there had been a great
plague of mice that were tormenting the
people and running their property Then
along came some pious soul with this little
silver mouse, and. as always happens in
these cathedral Stories it charmed away
the devouring rodents.
Mr.. Asquth heard the story through
patiently and then asked:
And do you believe this story, Father?"
"No, | DON'T came the answer. "for if
I did you would also have found a tiny
silver Englishman among our treasures"
| hope the serious minded Asquith had
the good humOr 10 cniov the ioko. hn+ nv,
information stops short of that.