Evening star., 1941-08-07
French Like to Violate Nozi Regulations
Line of Demorcotion,' Eosiy Crossed, Is Used by
Germany to Put Pressure on Vichy Regime

the Saone-Loire Canal that at Mont
chanin is the line. They led us down
lane and across a muddy field
behind screen of trees out of sight
Or so we hoped-of German post
1000 yards away on a hillside COM
manding the whole area.
There, I learned later, there were
four or five rifles with telescope
lenses, set on tripods and command
ing open spaces in the free zone
near the line where people were
wont to cross Like our field.
Pole Number One sauntered ahead
to the canal bank with his hands in
his pockets and engaged the lock-
tender in conversation. At signal
from him we all threw ourselves fat
In the mud behind a hedge and
watched the patrol-two green-clad
customs men with rifles slung over
their shoulders. cycle past in the
direction of Montchanin.
Guide Finds Land Mine.
Between the hedge and the canal
| was a barbed wire fence. Pole Num-
ber Two was about to open a way
through it but suddenly sprang
backwards very scared. He claimed
that he had spotted wires leading
down to land mine which would
have been about at his feet. These
are usually planted at night and
there is no safer place to cross than
one where some crafty passeur has
spotted a mine, cut the wires below
the ground and tidied up after him.
self.
We found better opening,
crossed the canal by the lock gate
and were onto the highway-in oc-
cupied France. Our job now was to
set back our watches an hour
since occupied France is on Central
European time and the customs
guards always ask the time of their
suspects. Our job was to reach the
road into Montchanin before the
patrol came back We passed Ger
man soldiers who must have guessed
that we had just crossed-for we
were smeared with mud-but none
seemed interested in us.
1t was a shock to pass the usual
village monument to the dead of the
World War of l914-l8 and to see,
for the first time, the blood-red
banner with the swastika floating
over it from the town hall and a
German soldier standing guard In
black, white and red sentry box
From Montchanin We took a
branch line to Chagny. There the
Lyon-Paris Rapide arrived with only
the crew on board: all of the passen-
gers had been taken off at Chalon-
sur -Saone for "verification" of their
passes.
15-Hour Journey.
BY the time We reached Paris
German soldiers against the French
landscape had ceased to be a nov
city. Since we confined our conver-
sation to French, of sort, they paid
no attention to us We arrived In
Paris at IL at nights hours for
trip that normally takes 4. With
only an hour to go until curfeW, our
problem was to find lodgings with
friends; hotels are out of the ques-
ton when you are not in a country
legally
The only alternative was a night
club, where you can stay until 5
in the morning. But were were too
| muddy for that. There is third
alternative. "A British officer I
know escaped from a German camp,
arrived in Lille 20 minutes after
curfew. Speaking beautiful French,
he asked some German officers for
advice, saying that he knew that
if he went the few blocks to his
hotel he would be picked up. They
agreed and politely presented him to
the proprietor of brothel next door
to the station.
Downs and had come in together
because We thought that we would
be comfort to each other if Jailed.
But he had orders to get to Syria at
the earliest possible moment. And
I, fascinated by a Paris different,
far different than the one I had
known so well in 1924, stayed on.
Downs and Thiriet got back safely
across the line at Montchanin. But
missed my clipper on March 10
and several clippers thereafter.
Avoided Other Americans.
Paris is story by itself. 1 stayed
nine days in all. went everywhere,
or almost. I avoided friends and
particularly the American CORE.
spondents, thinking that they might
be watched.
1t would seem that their move
mentS are pretty much circum-
Scrlbed. Later on, in the months
I spent in Chalon Prison, only one.
George Axellson of the New York
Times, an old friend, was able to
get down to see me.
left Paris on the night Of March
II, loaded down with German prop
aganda in French and with a fat
notebook filled with information of
a kind that the resident correspon-
dents cannot send if they want to
stay on in Paris which they are
supposed to do. There was data on
the food situation, most of which is
no longer timely since the move
ment in this country to feed France
seems to have subsided. And there
were facts, chapter and verse, on
the orgy of graft in the German
administration, with a price list of
the officers in key positions in vari-
Gus fields.
The amusement industry and the
issuing of passes for the free zone
offer the fattest rewards. And there
was data on the sorry condition of
the French industrialists, many of
them passionate Germanophiles be-