Omaha daily bee., 1919-02-25
The Watch On the Rhine
Stars and Stripes, France.

stars ana oulpeSS france.
The ex-kaiser is still missing. 1t happened
at Maven, headquarters of the 9th brigade,
Third army, where bust OF the last Hohenzol-
lern was mounted in an ornate pedestal in a lit
tie open space not tar from headquarters On
a joyous evening, while everybody who could
afford it was making merry, the bust disap-
peared.
Where did it go? Nobody knew. But there
had been light fall of snow in the night, and
through this snow between the pedestal and the
river there were visible foot prints, partly oblit
Grated by what seemed to be the dragging of a
heavy object over them. The foot prints went
down to the river bank. They went back, with
out the heavy object
The bust is still missing.
Near Hansen, on the road to Mayen, is a
cannon-a German cannon. 1t sits mhonored
and unsung. and it may be added to the number
of guns being handed over TO the allies by the
Germans, and it may not
But it is rapidly becoming a landmark Chill
dren play in the sand and mud beneath it. The
women of the neighborhood gather there to gos-
sip. The men discuss the state of internal at
fairs while leaning over it. American soldiers
examine it, discuss it, and try its levers and
wheels.
And the other day great red rooster
mounted upon the point of its muzzle and emit
ted long, loud, triumphant crow The best part
of it was that an outfit Of Yanks was marching
through the village at the time.
1t is as hard to get into Coblenz as it is to
get out of it.
At the Ehrenbreitstein fortress, just across
the river, are Kentuckians who have never been
in real big city, or even a medium sized one
like Coblenz and there are New Workers and
New Jerseyites who have tasted metropolitan
sweets and have great hankering for seconds.
They are on top of the big rock with the
winking, yellow reckoning lights just across the
river, with the music, the cafes, the commissary
and everything, and they can't get across.
The price of iron crosses is going up. Cob
LEM is now limited leave area and 1000 fresh
buyers from the Third army, not to mention
thousands of other transients, are in the city
every day.
Iron crosses of the 6rst class went from 3
marks to 9-and then leaped to y and 10, One
store demands 49, Crosses of the second class
are II marks. They used to be 2 and e.
Most of the helmets in the region are now
on their way to the states. The leather ones
brought 40, 50, 90 and more marks each, And
yet, word from Cologne is that these relics are
going begging at marks.
The delicatessen stores continue to do roar
ing business The pastry is the nearest ap-
proach to the real stuff many members of the
Third army have had since they landed, and
they're taking advantage of it, And the photo
graphic BdIEflGS-yOu Cdu SCdIGSly SCl IlllO
them. Everybody wants to have his picture
taken in Coblenz, it seems, in order to prove to
the folks at home that he had gazed upon the
Rhine.
Reading ones shirt seems just as popular an
indoor sport as ever even officers of high rank
taking part in the pastime ever and anon. All
Germany seems to have been smltten, due
chiefly to the fact that when the armistice was
signed the soldiers called it war and departed
for their homes. taking their guests right with
them. Hotels have not escaped.
Incidentally there is the story of the luck
less doughboy who read faithfully and diigent-
ly meanwhile boarding each piece of issue
clothing against the time when he would have
a complete new outfit. Then for bath and free
DOM Alasl He had his new clothes wrapped
up in newspaper in dsused room Of his bill
let 1t was decided to throw all old clothing
into the disused room; and when he went to
seek his bundle, after drawing his last neces-
sary bit of clothing, he found it buried beneath
pile of the coolest clothes in all Germany