Omaha daily bee., 1919-01-13
The NeU Watch on the Rhine
Stars and Stripes, Published BY the A.EF.

stars ana oeftpeo, FuDuShed py tine a, h. r.
Merchants of Germany are as up to date and
canny as anyone else when it comes to invent
ing schemes to sell goods. That the Americans
are rabid souvenir hunters was long ago a we'll
known fact in Germany, but not until the
American army of occupation marched into the
Rhineland did the German merchants have a
chance to test this out,
A window on one of the main streets of
Coblence glittered with iron crosses the day aft
ter the Americans came. The next morning it
glttered not, for every iron cross had been sold,
Price, three marks each.
The brutality of the German soldier even to
his own kind, was noticed by the Americans the
minute they set foot in Coblence, where Ger
man guards were still on duty.
Small boys who played around idle trucks
and who gathered in fiocks to inspect the rub
In several cases they were beaten by the
It was a happy day for the small boys of
Coblence when the American NJ P's took
charge of the town and the German guards
passed over the long bridge of boats to the east
ern bank of the Rhine.
"See anything of the pack laid down on
that fence while ago| inquired doughboy
of a muleskinner as he sauntered along the
banks of the Rhine
mo" said the muleskinner "but it's mighty
queer what these mules will eat sometimes.
They're awful critters when they're hungry"
Holy smokePs exclaimed the doughboy.
. He. must have had good meal on my two
blankets and pair OF dirty socks and razor.
Come to think about it. I had box of c. c.
pills in there, too"
"What would you do if somebody entered
your billet while you were out and took your
razor and your clean socks and a box of
cigarsP Y. M. c. A. secretary demanded of a
Red Cross captain.
The Red Cross man glared at his questioner
out of the corners of his eyes and then spit ac-
curately through knot hole in the floor.
Il don't know whether you are allowed to
cuss or not" he said; "but that's what I'd
do. And I could sure make good job of it.,
too"
An American soldier came out of bakers
shop in Trier with FIVE apple pies in his arms.
He had gone but short distance when his toe
met up with a stone and he pitched headlong
into the/street, much to the amusement of the
German population
He got up laughing, rubbed the apple pie
from his face and returned to the bake shop.
few minutes later he came out again,
carrying in his arms the entire stock of the
shop which consisted Of nine apple pies. "I
learn em to laugh at me-" he said to a comrade
A German captain approached stablekeeper
in Gravenmacher and asked if he might put his
horses in the stable over night.
For four years no German has ever used my
stable" the stablekeeper told him, land don't
propose to break that rule now"
"What are you going to do when the Ameri-
cans Gomez the German asked. IF you don't
let them use your stable they'll hang you"
"You liep said the stablekeeper II am an
American myself and I know something Of
their ways"
Born in Germany. he had left years ago, re-
turning in 1914 just in time TO be unable to get
out again.
Two weeks before the Americans crossed
the Moselle and entered German territory the
newspapers of Trier published an article signed
by the mayor saying that if any German girl
was seen with an American soldier she would
be an outcast and would not be allowed to
marry on German soil
An American was walking up the streets Of
Trer the second night after the Americans
came. The hour was late. Something--two
something's, in fact-darted across an adjoining
street and made their way quietly except for a
constant feminine laugh that echoed through
the quiet streets toward the residential district
of the town. At another crossing an American
soldier and a rather pretty girl emerged from
the side door of restaurant and struck off up
the main street. paying no heed to several pc
destrians who were still abroad.
A German policeman grinhed to himself and
went about his duties.