Evening star., 1921-06-12

BY the naxen locks Of her tiny. "Made-
mediate onense. She, in her turn. dnds
It tres drole" that American boys can
marry German women. of whatever
. They line up at the barrier of chicken
wire that separates their inclosure from
the rest Of the compound. for hours at a
time. to visit their husbands. There are
the wire. with mothers and babies
crowded on one side. husbands on the
other. Occasionally baby is hoisted
up over the some six feet OF Wife-De-
tween it and the barb wire that tops it
from tts mothers arms into those OF It's
father. And sometimes the nursing bot
tie Is passed over, too, and the father
solemnly administers the babys dinner
while the mother sits opposite. bright
girl leaves the barrier and rushes back
to the barracks in tears-one OF those
who do not want to go to America with
their husbands.
Maj. Russell B. Patterson. in COM
mand at the casual depot. has need OF
vast diplomacy while. the brides are
among the inhabitants Of his compound.
The reasons why girls want to leave
that compound are wonderful things;
There are dentist appointments and
upon and fathers who are dying.
Dressmaker Cause Of Trouble.
Sir" reported one young private
to the major in his Office. after snappy
salute. Tho dressmaker won't come.
The major sighed; 1t was Just another
problem in diplomacy. The private's
wife insisted that she must leave the
compound because she was having a
new dress made and had to have
fitting. The majors edict was that
the dressmaker should come to the
compound. And now the dressmaker
refused to come!
And every visit that the major
makes to the compound results in
surrounding bevy of weeping brides
with dying parents, or parents who
will die very shortly if they are not
allowed to see their daughters outside
the compound.
German parents. 1t is said about
Coblenz, are greatly incensed over the
fact that their daughters are being
kept for period of days inside of
wire Enclosures. regardless Of the fact
that once inside the wire Enclosures
and cared for. Many of these girls
were English-speaking saleswomen at
the American commissary. a number
of others were maids in the homes of
American officers. others were farm
or factory girls.
Marriages between German girls and
American soldiers have been taking
place at the rate of about seventy five
month. and the administration.
which is unshaken in the opinion that
married soldier is not a good SOL
dier. was sending them home only at
the rate of fifteen or twenty a month.
Hence. the entire taking over of the
second class of the Cambria for the
overplus of brides which the Ameri-
can Army in Germany now has in its
midst A number of boys who are
planning to marry are waiting until
just after the sailing. in the belief
that there will be a long interim be-
fore the next batch Of brides is sent
home.
Many of these girls believe that they
are marrying men of considerable
wealth There was one man in the
American forces in Germany who is
known to have shown his "frawlen" a
photograph of the block-square pile
of the Chicago Art Institute and told
her that he owned it and lived in it..
Whether or not this girl is among
the present bevy OF brides Is not GER
tain, but 1t is certain that there are
many to whom their husbands salary
in marks looks large and to whom.
in dollars. it will assume a somewhat
different ASPECT.