Evening star., 1939-10-24
Germans Clamp Down
On Joyrides Through
Siegfried Line
Find Battlefield Getting
Too Popular With
Visiting Newsmen
By ROBERT ]. CASEY,

SAAS"AD
chicago Daily News Foreign Correspondent.
WASSERBILLIG. Luxembourg,
Oct. 24-The Germans today
clamped down on joyrides through
the Siegfried Line on the reasonable
hypothesis that the battle front is
getting too popular.
This town is filled with eager
correspondents anxious to test out
the theory that this war is some
thing different. But the nice lads
across the bridge who last week were
30 helpful today are dour and peev-
ish. You cannot pass the barrier now
without an O. K. from military
headquarters in Treves, and prob
ably you will not get it. 1t seems
that somebody let newspaper cor
respondent by-und so weiter.
by-und so Weiter.
One must not take too much to
heart the coming of the jitters to
this erstWhile hole in the frontier
Taxicab rides through permanent
Notifications and field gun positions
did not seem quite right, even when
one was taking them. After all, the
military authorities ought to have
some rights in this war.
This may be the occasion to say
something about life jn Treves. 1t
may be long time before any neu-
tral gets a look at it again with
out the embarrassment of hand
cuffs.
Like Other War Capitals.
To begin with, despite the pres
ence of troops and an overplus of
generals, it looks much like other
war capitals. 1t has blackout at
night and a fever of los by day.
Just now it is as active as any town
In the World-streets constantly boil
ing with soldiery, thousands of civ
lllans still wandering about to pro-
vide complications.
The cinemas are open. An ancient
Mickey Mouse is still popular.
restaurants are able to provide
ration cards for transients. Bakeries
and butcher shops still display wares
IN the windows, however carefully
they may have to dispense them to
the populace.
There is no doubt about the strict
regimentation. although prices are
not yet eXorbitant. Markets are
crowded with women buying meat
by the ounce. And butchers are
learning to slice the baloney thin.
The town is doing a big business
In cigarette lighters. postal cards
and souvenirs. The beer stubes are
not too crowded because ordinary
beer is about 10 cents a glass-as
marks are computed by local
exchange agents-Pilsener IN the
dining room of the Hotel Porta
Nigra runs to 80 cents.
Menus Impressive.
Dinner menus, as elsewhere in
Europe, are not long, but are I'M
pressive with numerous fancy dishes.
such as Chateaubriand and COO au
win and veau saute marengo listed
by their French names German
wines seem to be most popular, but
familiar brands of Bordeaux and
Burgundy are still on the card. One
pauses in an interesting study of
these matters to remember the days
when hamburger became Liberty
steak and German fried potatoes
were Americanized. German res
taurateurs have so far not lost their
sense of humor.
One must say that TreVes, with
Its continuous history of 1000 years,
does not seem much upset by this
latest war. Civilians carry no gas
masks. There are no signs point
ing to abris, no piles of sand bags,
no air raid warden. Nobody, needs
hashLght because, when the
streets darken in the blackout
people stay home.
Most of the young people have
been modified for war work. The
remaining populace remembers one
war and an army of occupation
and preserves the tradition of others.
Marching men and rumbling artll-
lery are no novelty to them. They
accept the cards dealt to them
stoically, and without question.
Questions Are Dangerous.
Those who will talk to you do not
say much. Questions are dangerous
in war time and the answers prob
ably more so, but they contrive to
convey the impression that they
understand war and its by-products
too well to want much of it. They
repeat Internationally what they
have heard of Germany's strength
and destiny. Without too much ami
mus they shove the responsibility
for the present mess on to England
and France. who refused to recog-
nize Germany's high purpose in the
subjugation of Poland. They like
to think of a world remade by a
victorious Hitler. They have been
told that the German soil is now
free of French troops. that sub
marines are once more scourging
the seas, and that the British fleet
is being sunk piecemeal, and they
obviously believe it all But still,
despite the conviction that they
have mission to save the world,
and that quickly they hope for
peace.
fConvriph, 1o2o Chicooo Daily Neue 1,,