Evening star., 1923-01-19
GERMANS SPURN
GOODS OF FRENCH
Shipments Turned Back
Through Occupied Zone
and SeaportS.
BY GEORGE WITTE.

BY Wireless TO The Star and Chicago Daily
News. Copyright 1928.
BERLIN, January 19.--The Franco
German trade war is on in earnest.
All French goods, whether shipped
through the occupied zone or by sea
to Bremen and Hamburg. are being
turned back. All the banks. in ac-
cordance with instructions received
from the MINISTRY of finance. are re-
fuSing to accept checks and drafts
made payable through French and
Belgian banks. The majority of the
German business concerns which have
had dealings with French and Belgian
business houses have Cancelled all
orders and refuse TO carry out the
orders placed with them.
Resistance Is Firm.
The reported closing down of the
Reichsbank branches. in Mayence and
other RhineIand cities seems to lndi-
cate that the German people and gov
ernment are determined to see their
present resistance to the treaty OF
Versailles through. If now the Ger
man government were to return their
nassports to the French and Belgian
diplomatic and consular representa-
tives in Germany, 4 virtual state OF
war would exist, though without
actual fighting.
The officials in Wilhelmstrasse be
lieye that It will not be long until
this critical stage is reached. AFTER
that Europe. and to some extent the
United States will be a the cross
roads leading either to complete
reconciliation and world peace or to
new wars. the end of which cannot
be foreseen.
Sanctions Line Crossed.
According TO official German sources.
French troops have crossed the nfty
kiiometer boundary which orlgiha,y
constituted the line drawn by the
French as defining the ''Ruhr sanctions
zone" and are now marching on Muen-
ster in Westphalia and on Elberfeld ana
Barmen, the twin cities south OF the
River Ruhr The German ministry of
war has issued orders to the Muenster
garrison to evacuate the place at once
as soon as the French troops approach
the city and TO keep distance OF at
least fifty kilometers between itself
and the invaders in order to avoid nos
tilities.
Unless all the French and Belgians
have been expelled from your hotel by
January u the place will be blown
up" This was the substance OF
letter received Thursday by the man
agement of the Adlon Hotel, which is
frequented largely by American tour
lists The threat became known all
over the hotel in the course of the
day and American business men and
sieging the ticket offices along Inter
Den Linden all day in their efforts
to get away before Sunday.
The Paris and London express has
been booked up until Monday and the
accommodations even on the slower
trains have been sold out.
Move to Boarding Houses
Those Americans and other foreign
ers who are unable to leave the
German capital on such short notice
have moved from the hotels de luxe
TO the less pretentious boarding
houses. as they are afraid that they
will be attacked by mobs within the
next few days or be blown up, as
threatened in the letter to the Adlon
Hotel.
Among those staying on at the
Adlon are Gen. Nollet. the French
chief of the intera.lled military COM
mission: Gen. Bingham, the British
commander, and a good many British
and American newspaper correspond
Cnts. But on the whole, the hotel
is getting emptier every day.
The FSplanade which is owned by
Hugo SHINES, has barred all French
and Belgian subjects.