The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-08-18
PENSACOLA JOURNAL. MONDAY MORNING. AUGUST 49, 1915

possible. Compared to these Europeans
Americans are almost illiterate. Hard
~ European who knows English at
all does not know 1t better than an
American. No. It's too late.
Perhaps William and Jim haven't
said much about this subject, but if
they'd travelled about as much as /.
met the people have and felt the lack
of education as much as have, they
would agree with me, exactly. am
sure The fact of having a grandfath-
err who was a college president has
helped me somewhat, but not very far.
Someday we'll talk this over in de-
tail-merely because it is an interest
! ing and pertinent subject for discus
sion.
must tell you about my new Local
ton and how / happened to come here.
1 did not write from Paris because
there was no time and besides / had
cried wolf SO often that I though.
this time I had better get on the train
and announce my departure afterwards.
This did and hope you received the
postal cards sent you from Swtzer-
land and Italy.
I said little about the Red Cross
experience because everything was up
In the air, waiting to come down and
in the meantime I changed over to the
A. A. A. AS the r. C. was closing out
rapidly and the personnel of each par
tfcular bureau sent home as the work
finished by now be in the u. s. il I
had remained in Paris-if you get
what mean. / joined the A. r.. A.
rurposely to remain in Paris awhile
longer-mais me VOLTA.
The first day with the A. r. A. was
sent for, to go on a mission to. Petro-
grad. Next day, however, they decided
it was Belgrade, but it ended up as
Prague. / had travelling companion
cir the way-a recently discharged SER
geant who had been up on the Rhine.
We were sent via Trieste and Vienna
instead of by the diplomatic train di-
rect from Paris to Prague and enjoyed
ourselves much more by consequences.
As getting baggage across Europe In
these times is one of the most diff
cult fcats We were warned never to
leave any place without it. So this
kept us in Trieste a week. during which
time we took side trip by boat to
Venice, where we spent two days. Then
On to Vienna, where we laid over there
three days waiting for the express.
t. Prague. An Austrian Czech in our
compartment. said it was more difficult
TO go from Vienna 70 Prague now than
from New York to Calcutta and We
agreed with him at the end of thu
trip. There were four inspections of
passpol Turing which we were locked
L. the L Because the Vienna rail-
way people refused to sell ticket
beyond Gmund, our baggage was haul
| ed off there and would be there yet
| II a Czecho courier hadn't talked Ger
| man to the pig headed station help
Cur baggage adventures would fill
Young book. The sergeant was dress
ed in civies, SO had much more diff
| Guilty than l, who had kept on my Red
Cross uniform. Because the latter has
an open collar 1 was saluted every
where for a British officer and got a
lot better service because of it. That
uniform furnished some of the most
amusing incidents of the trip.
If / wrote my usual "travelogue" it
| 1t would take 20 pages or so and
there are a good many other things
to do. I'll tell you sometime what
became of the last letter I wrote. I
don't here because the assinine prac-
tice of censoring mail still continues
though peace is signed. 1 am civil
ian and we are supposed to have got
ten over militarism. But we won't
not for a long time yet.
My last days in Paris were full up,
to say the least. Strikes were tying
up the subways, trans and buses and
when taxfcabs were to be had at all
(there aren't half enough in Paris in
normal times) one paid double fare and
double tip. I'm strong for prohibitory
laws. but hope the mo tipping leg
islation will spread in the States Over
here it is one of the greatest nuisances
imaginable. Here in Prague I think it
walters in the restaurants, because Of
their system. which is abominable; the
"concierges" who let you in your house
after nine o'clock at night; every ele-
vator ride costs several heller, except
W here the service is automatic and
then you drop it in slot; even the
street car conductors are tipped for
selling you a ticket. To be sure, the
amounts are nominal but it is the
bother which we dislike. In Paris 10
per cent goes on every hotel or pen
sion mote" for service-whether you
get any or not. But even out of an
European hotel or restaurant or into
a theatre you've contingent upon a
visit to Paris theatre are enough to
take the joy out of the show. Nobody
is in a hurry over here except the |
Americans. The latter are usually in |
frenzy of impatience over the service
and this is responsible for most of our
unpopularity.
If / remember rightly you've never |
travelled on the continent. So il you'll |
amagine going to New Orleans and be- |
ing stopped at every state line and |
searched and inspected. changed your
money and declared how much you /
have, run into strange language, |
strange customs. strange clothes, diff |
ferent architecture. you'll get good |
idea of what it is like. We were into /
Switzerland and out in less time than |