The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13

Iromptly vetoed my plan of setting off i after look around, the general threat ening that unless 1 promptly agreed to dine with them and spend the night, he W ould give instant orders to the military police to stop my car and place me un- der arrest. So I did stop and they gave me a perfectly rousng time.
 What impressed me most about the American army of occupation" Britain went on, was the physical fitness and the extraordinary cheeriness of all ranks. Wherever I went I saw physical drill going on, baseball being played and | other outdoor exercises in progress and as a result of these every man-officers and doughboys alike-was obviously in the pink of condition. Smart. too, my word. Not spot on their uniforms and absolutely punctisouS about saluting. The men seem to keep their ears cooked for officers, and instantly come to at tention and give the salute in the most soldierly fashion possible, It was very | amusing, by the way to discover how the quick, jerked salute of the American army has caught on with the German children. Wherever I went the Roche kiddies had it, even the little girls Up their hands came to their foreheads, and they stood to attention like little gren- adiers as soon as our car passed the spot W here they were playing. It is really inn possible to exaggerate the splendid bear ing and discipline of the American troops in Germany, and never once did I see a single instance of fraternization in all the dozens of villages and towns through which I went
 Another point" added Sir Harry. The experience those boys of yours are iy, enormously broadened outlook There you have men from all over, the union not only seeing unaccustomed things but taking in what they see and meditating on it. It is proving an education tha. they could have got in no other possible way, and is enlarging their viewpoint in a fashion that will make every one of them a more useful citizen for the rest of his life. Of course, they are all nat urally anxious to get home, but all of the large number spoke to were perfect | ly prepared to sit tight as long as re- | qured."
 Although he was officially the guest of | the American army, Sir Harry Britain | also made a thorough tour of the zones occupied by the French and British. His observations have a special interest by | reason of the fact that he covered al | most the identical regions just previous l to the war, and was thus able to draw ellightening comparisons. Speaking | German fluentiy, too. he was not de | pendent upon secondhand reports as to the sentiments and general attitude of | the inhabitants. As a result he is in- ! clined to discount heavily the generally | accepted accounts of distress through l out Germany.
 "The whole impression of my tour" he said, was an increase, if possible, in prosperity since 1913 Nowhere does land l seem to have come out of cultivation even under the orchards every square | yard has been carefully cultivated and kept up.
 ''The vines are in order and the fruit trees trimmed. The villages do not ever
 seem to lack such wartime luxuries as
 pa int, thereby even differentiating them
 selves from the villages of England. Per
 haps the point which strikes one mos | forcibly at first sight is the enormou:
 number of people about and particularly
 of children. I observed most careful,
 to endeavor to trace evidences of poo feeding, etc., but in the extraordnar,
 healthy crowds I saw could detect n'
 traces of lack of nourishment Anothe in pressive point is the stocks in thu
 shops of all classes and every distric
 visited, necessities of life, as well a
 articles de luxe. r. visited innumer
 able shops to question the people as t'
 supplies, prices, etc, and discovered tn
 latter at figures with which We coul' l not dream of competing, particularly fo
 example in such articles as glass, alum
 inium, cameras, cutlery, etc.. and, o
 course, 1 franc goes for marks, and vii
 probably go still further.
 "The attitude of the people is quit
 amazing, even when one understands o
 thinks one understands the Germans
 There is apparently no trace of resent z ment, merely exaggerated politeness 0
 1yi yir,1 T
 sire which they do not hesitate to ex
 press, of visiting England at the frs opportunity for the purpose of taking u | their residence again.
 '.The cafes which have not been take J by Y M. c. As. etc, for the army ( 7 occupation, were well filled with an amount of well dressed, prosperous look 4 ing Germans, the only difference bein
 that the conversation was not as aggre' sively loud as in former days. The wine o being drunk, or at any rate those serve 2 to citizen of the allies, were only tf , newer varieties nothing earlier than l9 - being available for the visitor It 1 quite extraordinary how, in shops
 ! every town, all traces of everything bea 0 ing on the war have disappeared-no Ws
 rictures, war books, war post cards 5 anything of that kind, the bookshol e being filled with books relating to musi 6 art, the keeping of poultry, etc. IT 6 only exception is the souvenirs WIle 5 these people, who apparently lack 8 ! pride are selling, such as their own he < nets, iron crosses and other Germa relics of the kind. The flower shol I , were filled with beautiful flowers fd
 which a ready sale must obviously be al
 ticipated At one place l was billett ' at the governors palace where they we ! cbsequiously polite. There was SUI S gestion that a lack of coal preventt 5 many hot baths. However, on deman s a bath was always forthcoming. 0 "As to German places of entertainment can say nothing, for I made only or :. attempt to attend one. That was tf opera, in one of the large cities, but ever . | seat in the house was booked On Sul o | day the population, male and femal V turned out in it's most gorgeous raimen
 up date, in accordance with Germa 8 fashions.
 3 "English signs do not apepar to ha, 5 been taken down. I met many Of tho' | in hotels and shops which had previous
 been up during the war. In their adve
 tisements they unabashedl ydescribe an,
 thing as British as heretofore. For e; I. an pie, one cutlery shop announced, s large letters Puma razors, made in Ge t many of Sheffield steel Only in or s shop. some sort of confectionery estat T lishment in Wiesbaden, did see the m tice: .Ausverkauft' (sold out. One 1T
 stance of lack of rubber noticed in tv
 or three bicycles made with spring vii e wheels.
 Copyright, 1919)
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 Having married the widow of h