Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-02-14
THE MOOD or METZ
UNDER THE TRICOLOR
Blue Uniforms Everywhere in Lor.
roine City-No Orert III Feel
ing Manifested by Some
tchdt Dased Inhabitants

A 7 THE Care de lEst in Paris you start
a 4 being in Germany For the train is a
Gernain train, In which YOU are still warned
against "Spionengefahr." or danger OF spies.
and are requested not TO "spucken' and not
TO 'hinauslehnen," and not TO commit varl
Gus other crimes which would not otherwise
have occurred to you. The carriage windows
are several OF them broken--no great dis
advantage when travelling ten in carriage
made 10 seat sx-and the red plush OF the
seats is frequently absent. Sometimes the
cushions are lacking altogether. All along
the line YOU teams OF engines and trucks
German engines and trucls--whereon are
written Mainz. Kattowitz, Chemnitz, Dus-
sedorf and so on. The engines look like
strings of elephants holding each others
tails.
At Pont-a -Mousson--a run--you see the
last Of the French trenches. At Pagny you
nave the opposing German position. German
notices at tipsy angles iilform you OF air
raid shelters. prominent institution in
Pagny is small building labeled "rntlau-
sungsanstalt." It takes a little time to real
ize that alone among the ruins, the institute
AOA lt4tN lllB you OF NeTnln mas nelO us OWL.
"A FTER Pagny the country begins to smile
AA again Frerchmen find it hard 10
bear the sight OF their own devastated
country in such close contrast with the n-
tactness OF country that was or still is for
that matter. Germany There is tremen-
dous sense OF age. OF human struggle, about
this part OF the country Away 10 the right
are the immense Roman ruins OF Jouy-les-
Arches. one OF the popular expedition points
for the people of Meta. The Cathedral OF
Metz comes into sight--the Cathedral OF
which one OF the local guide books points
out as the distinguishing feature the great
interest taken in it by the Kaiser. The statue
on the cathedral OF the prophet Daniel by
the way. which has the features OF the
Kaiser, Is still there, with its hands bound,
and the legend "Sic transit gloria mundi"
There have been agtations for its removal
altogether. but the historic sense has pre-
vailed so far, and the happy thought OF the
"sic transit" has reconced people to re-
tanning it.
THE station at Metz is a seething mass of
l. blue. Any greater contrast than the
crowded leave trains and the crowded troop
trainsal blue and blue again-wth the
immense German station. its Norman rocco
style. known as Rhensh, extraordinarily
reminiscent of a Wagner opera. can hardly
be imagined. There is not German uni
form anywhere. German civilians are only
allowed to travel on permits. German minor
officials man the ticket Offices and wear their
smart blue peaked caps in an unsmart, depre-
eating manner. German women are in
clined to be pettish at the various restric-
tions; otherwise everything Is orderly and
you can stow away your luggage at half the
cost for which you could deposit it at
Charng Cross. There is an excellent train
service, of which the price has only been
raised in the last few weeks 1t is crowded,
and German civilians and ex-soldiers and
blue "poilus" jostle each other without in
eldent. The tram conductors for the most
part wear new French fatigue caps in bright
blue or bright scarlet. The fatigue cap in
Metz is the outward and visible sign Of
French sympathy. There are very many
fatigue caps The children particularly have
adopted them, Other signs are immense ad-
vertisements that such and such a house
is a "naison franchise" The streets which
used TO have both German and French names
now have only French names. though the
German may be written in brackets for the
use of those who do not know French In
the trans is a notice--an ultra-polte notice
that ION est prie au mesure du possible
de ne parler que lie francais." All the same
YOU hear a great deal OF German, particu-
arly from the peasant women and not in
low voice either.
To a certain extent Metz protests a little
too much. 1t is not likely that what has
been the most German OF German garrison
towns. with an immense imported German
population. should at bound become wholly
French. There are too many French labels.
too many trcolor cockades. In the tram a
German speaking peasant woman with
large basket was offered seat by a French
'poiu" She refused, looking daggers at
him. This is an attitude commanding re-
spect For the most part. however, the
public attitude approaches the servile. At the
hotels the proprietors-of clearly German
orign-fall over each other to serve you.
The big hotels are cheap and the food ex-
celent
VNHE shops are craInmed with things calcu-
/ lated 10 appeal TO the foreign occu-
piers Picture postcards and guide books,
souvenirs Of all kinds, French German gram
mars can all be had In any number at very
low price. There is a general tendency TO
enter into conversation. As the occupier or
n conquered coultry, feels certain re-
serve in speaking to the inhabitants but
the further you get into Germany the more
Germans are anxious TO speak o'you, 10
give YOU information OF any kind and even
10 discuss the situation. At Saarbruclen, for
instance where ! arrived Mt II o'clock at
night, the German waiter at the German
hotel informed me within two minutes Of my
arrival that he had not served that his
grandfather was French that his mother
had been in France and that 1t was good
thing the war was over.
In Metz they are less genealogical, but
outwardly as anxious 10 oblge. They usually.
begin a conversation by saying genialy that
II is a good thing the war is over. All the
time they are expecting YOU TO bully them,
and theirs Is "A sort OF paws-up attitude.
And, as a French officer told me- you have
20 do It sometimes otherwise they take It
l.na. ~ n har