The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1919-01-02

n
aroused by extras" which were
handed out without charge, announc-
ing that the French had already
| dropped bombs on the railroad at
Nurnberg and that French officers in
| autos had over-ridden the borders.
The ridiculous statements about
French flyers dropping bombs on the
lailrOad at Nurnberg had not the
| slightest foundation, of course.
The older people who had lived
through the war of 1870 had interested
audiences for once while they related
past experiences and gave advice as to
what preparations to make. A posi-
bility of food shortage seemed to be
uppermOst in all minds, and the gro
ceries were stOrmed with eager buy
ers. Salt suddenly jumped to 70 cents
a pound and other things in proper
| ton.
On Sunday, August 2, all the gaso-
| line in the country was Communicated,
and we heard of many American tour
| lists 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 our car away in an old wagon
shed attached 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 prom
Use could be given as to trains to Ber
| lin.
Trunks and bags were piled high in
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.
On Monday morning, the streets
were filed with excited crowds de-
strOying every sign with a French
word on it and looking for spies. The
papers had announced that the coun-
try was full of French spies, women
as well as men. I saw the crowd stop
an automobile, take a woman out and
literally tear her clothes to shreds be-
fore the police succeeded in rescuing
her from the mob and took her to the
police station. The general SUPPOSE
ton 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
innumerabIe times to allow troop
two 70
CURED to keep our windows closed so
that no enemy passenger could drop
bombs on the bridges we crossed. It
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 we'll as the allies completely by
surprise.
At Naumberg, which is about half
way between Frankfort and Berlin, a
company of soldiers boarded the train
and guarded the corridors while a nom
commissioned officer questioned the
passengers.
My wife, who was asleep in a cor
ner of the coupe L, was the only wom-
an in the compartment. Believing that
her sleep might be feigned and she
might, in fact, be a man in wOman's
clothing, the officer yelled at her:
''Where are you gofng?" Her Ameri-
can accent, revealed when she an
swered him, incensed him the more
and he demanded angrily: what right
have you to use this train? Where is
your passport?"
By that time had produced all the
papers of Identification could find and
tried to tell him that my wife and L
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 1 had
been talking en- route, interviewed and
said: 81 shall make myself personally
responsible for these people" 1 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 a 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, 1t seemed
like dead city. There was not a
droschke, a taxi or a tram in sight.
Every available means of locomOtion
had been modified for the time being.
AS we had heavy bags, we simply
had TO find something to 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
only my wife's quick plea of illness
saved him a black eye and me iron
bars or 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,