New-York tribune., 1920-03-15
u. S. Attaches i'm
Europe Stupid, ,
Says Traveller
Got Only Excuses During l i
Months He Asked for Pass
ports Out of Germany,
Asserts Robt. p. Williams
FOodLack Pinched Family
Women Who Are Helping to
Rebuild France Arrive to
Tell of Nations Courage

Robert p. Williams, of Watertown,
N. Y, son of former Justice Pardon
c. Williams, of the State Supreme
Court, who was travelling in Germany
when America entered the war and
who was trying to get out of the
country from the time of signing of
the armistice until January OF this
year, arrived yesterday from Havre on
the French liner France. accompanied
by his wifo and three children.
He blamcs his long sojourn in Ger
many to gross stupidity, on the part
Of American consular agents and the
Spanish Embassy He said he had
many letters from the various persons
and bureaus to whom he applied for
passports, all filled with excuses
Says World Laughs at U. S.
~ intend to offer the evidence l
have as proof of the inefficiency of
our State Department, which is MAX
ing the United States the laughing
stock of the world" said Mr.. Williams,
"When the United States entered
the war we were at West Baden. For
military reasons we were denied per-
mission to leave the country.
From then until the signing Of the
armistice we were forced to live within
restricted area and suffered much
because of food shortage. This condi-
tion is still unusually bad in Germany
We subsisted largely on turnips for an
entire winter.
eve were buoyed by hope, and when
the armistice was signed l felt con-
fident that we would soon be released
| made application for passports to
the military authorities at Cobenz,
the Spanish Embassy at Berlin and the
The only thing l have to show is a
large accumulation of correspondence
giving variety of reasons for inability
to act. We got no assistance from
February, 1919,- until January 1920
and then we obtained our passports,
merely because friends took up the
matter with the State Department di-
rect"
Interned Americans Comfortable
Apart from the food shortage, Mr..
Williams said that Americans interned
in Germany were made reasonably COM
Portable.
Mrs. Williams before her marriage
was Miss Ethel Moran, of Brooklyn.
During their internment the couple
sent their two daughters to school and
employed a tutor for their son.
On the France came four women who
are interested in the work of rebuild
ing France. All gave optimistic re-
ports of the manner in which the
French peopla are getting back to work
on peace basis.
These travellers were Nine Cecile
Sartoris, granddaughter of General U.
S. Grant; Nine. Claude Riviere, editor
nf ho i. =
in this city; Mrs. A. N. Dixie, commits
sioner in France for the American
Committee for Devastated France;
Nine. Marcel Cert, of the Jardin d'En-
fants Unit, and Miss Annabelle Curtis.
Of Brooklyn.
Nine. Sartoris said the French people
were full of initiative and enthusiasm
IN the work of reconstruction. Miss
Curtis and Mrs. Cert were engaged in
kindergarten work in the devastated
areas of Belgium and northern France.
We had Christmas trees in many of
the small towns" said Miss Curtis,
"and the illumination was the first
electric lighting the people had seen
since the war started. Some of the
girls were afraid of dolls and the boys
were afraid of pencils because they
were aware that Germans had used
these objects in which to secret bombs
and had left such things in the areas
over which they had passed"
Among others on the France were
Brigadier General H. II. Bandholtz,
American representative on the Inter-
Allied Mission into Hungary; Colonel
Raymond Sheldon, U. S. A; Dr., Romulo
S. Naon, former Argentine Ambassador
to Washington, and Miss Margaret
klngore, concert singer.