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Show German Soldiers Driven Insane htj Scenes of Slaughter of Russians Wounded Are Killed With the Bayonet, According Accord-ing to Orders, and Those Who Surrender Are Often Shot Down in Masses. "Face to .Face ' With--Kaiserism" By JAMES W. GERARD, ' American Ambassador at the (merman Imperial Court, July 23, 1913, to February 4, 1917. Author of "My Pour Years In Germany." Copyright, 1918, by Public Ledger Company. Copyright Canada, 1913, by Public Ledger Company. CHAPTER XVI. THIS apartments of Berlin are do-signed do-signed for outward show, for which the Berllners have a 'weakness. 'weak-ness. They have great reception and dining rooms called "representation "repre-sentation rooms," but very little comfort com-fort or room in the sleeping quarters. It Is impossible to think of dropping in suddenly on a Berliner for a meal. The dinners are always for as many people as the rooms will hold and are served by a caterer. Only two very distinguished guests may he invited. The host and hostess sit opposite op-posite each, other at the sides of the table, with the guests tapering off in rank to right and left of them, the ends of the tables being filled with aides and secretaries. When a great man is invited his aide or secretary must be asked also. These come usually without their wives. After dinner men and women leave the table together and smoke In the other rooms of ,the house, going from group to group. And, .although perhaps, ten kinds of wine are served during dinner, as soon as the guests leave the dining Mr. Gerard's second book, written since his departure from Berlin upon the severing of diplomatic relations with imperial Germany, has teen secured se-cured hy the Public Ledger for exclusive ex-clusive newspaper publication in the United States and Canada. It will appear simultaneously in daily installments in-stallments in this and other newspapers news-papers licensed by the Public Ledger. Any infringement of the Public Ledger's copyright will be prosecuted. prose-cuted. room servants make their appearance with trays of glasses of light and dark beer and continue to offer beer during the remainder of the evening. The Germans talk much of food and spend a greater part of their Income on food than other nation. They take much interest in table furnishing, china, etc., and invariably turn over the plates to see the marks oh tho .under side-: (Continued on Page Three.) WI SOLDIERS DRIVEN IS1E (Continued from Page On8.) Shipped cream Is an essenti.il to many German dishes, and in the season a Berliner Ber-liner will commit any crime to obtain a plover's e??s. The weias beer of fecrlin. served in wine goblets, is rather going out of fashion. It often is drunk mixed with raspberry juice. Berlin's Restaurants Not Gay. The restaurants of Berlin are not pay, like these of Paris. There is, however, a rather rough night life created for foreign for-eign consumption. I did not take in any of these night restaurants and dancing cabarets, warned by the case of an ambassador am-bassador who was reproved by Von Jagow for visiting the "Falals de Danse." In peace times few automobiles are to be seen on the Berlin streets. There are many millionaires in the city, but the old habits of German thrift persist. The modern architecture of Germany is repulsive. The man who builds a new I house seems to want to get something resembling as nearly as possible a iamily vault. Ihne, court architect and imperial favorite has produced, however, some beautiful buildings, notably the new library li-brary in Berlin. Munich pretends to be more of a center of art and music than Berlin. Artists have their headquarters there, but the disciples of the awful "art nouveau" and kindred "aits'- hav produced many horrors hor-rors in striving for new effects. The opera in Munich is better than In Berlin. One of the Bavarian princes plays a fiddle in the orchestra in the Koval Opera house. The Berlin hospitals are better than ours, exceut for the caste system which prevails even there, and there are first, second and third class wards. The underground rd is built at about the same depth as the New York subway. sub-way. There are two classes, second and third; there are-no guards on the trains, only the motorman in the first car. The passengers open the side doors themselves them-selves and these are shut either by passengers pas-sengers or station guards. Accidents are rare, all showing the innate discipline of the people. The charge is by distance.. You buy a ticket for five or eight stations sta-tions and give up' the ticket as you go out of the station. If you have traveled further than the distance called for by your ticket you must make the additional payment. This requires that each ticket be inspected separately when taken up. The tramways have different routes. ThPse routes are shown by signs and by numbers displayed on the car. Women motormen in the war period caused many accidents. For those Germans who cannot afford to ride or shoot, walking is the principal recreation. There are a few golf courses in the German empire, mostly patronized by foreigners and American dentists. Military Training Ever in View. Militarv training is always in view, and the use of the knapsack on walking tours is universal; even school children carry their books to school in knapsacks and so become accustomed, at an early age, to carry this part of the soldier's burden. Occasionally, in summer, bands of girls or boys are to be seen on walking tours. In addition to the usual knapsack, they carry guitars or mandolins. These young people are known as "Wander vogel" (wandering birds), and sing as they walk. But they don't sing very loud. They might break some regulation. Outside of the large cities and even tn the cities vacant lots are occupied by "arbor colonies" (lauben colonie) tiny little bouses of wood erected by city workingmen and surrounded by little gardens gar-dens of vegetables and flowers. Here the citv workman spends Sunday and often the twilight hours a.nd the night in summer sum-mer time. Of course, these are possible only in a country -where the workingman is in a distinct social class and where he is compelled to be content with the amusements amuse-ments and occupations of that class alone. There is no baseball or substitute for it the clerks get their diversion in a coun-;rv coun-;rv excursion or at the free bath on the Wann or Muggel lake. These "fre baths," so-called, are stretches of sandy lake share where the populace resort, in hot weather, undressing vith the indifference of animals on the T.each men and women all mixed together, the men wearing only little bathing trunks ind the women scanty one-piece bathing suits There is a bathing tent where two cnts is charged for the privilege of un-lressing, un-lressing, but most prefer the open beach. I Few swim or go in the water, but the majority ma-jority lie about the beach, often sleeping in affectionate embrace, all without exciting ex-citing any comment, or ridicule. The Bov Scout movement was taken up enthusiastically in Germany with the cheerful support of the military caste, who look on the activity as a welcome adjunct to military training. The boys certainly are given a dose of real drill. On one occasion I saw a boy company at drill march straight into the Havel river, no command to halt having been given at the river bank! The workingmen of Germany are more brutal than those of England. France and Vmerica; but this is because of tile low-wages low-wages they receive, and because they fec-l the' weight of the caste system. Brutality Among Germans. In a speech in December. 1S17, I said that any revolution in Germany would come after the war and that a fellow ambassador in Berlin had said to me that because of the great brutality of the workingmen in Germany this uprising would make the French revolution look like a Methodist Sunday school picnic. A newspaper reported me as saying this on my own authority and added that I had said the Germans were the most "bestial" people on earth. t nniv want to he responsible for what T actually say. I did not call the Germans "bestial." although unfortunately It is a fact that manv officers of the army and others have been guilty of a brutality which has helped turn the face of the world from the whole German people. Not all the Germans are brutal. I received re-ceived many letters revealing evidence to the contrary. Here is the protest of a German soldier, sol-dier, an eve-witness of the slaughter of j Russian soldiers In the Masurian lakes I and swamps; I "It was frightful, heart-rending, as llieso masses of human beings were driven to destruction. Above the tor- j rible thunder of the cannon could be heard tho heart-rending cries of the Russians: Rus-sians: 'Oh. Prussians: Oh, Prussians:' But there was no mercy. Our captain had ordered: 'The whole lot must die; so rapid lire.' "As I have heard, five men and one officer of-ficer on our side went mad from those heart-rending cries. But most of my comrades and the officers joked as the unarmed and helpless Russians shrieked Tor mercv when ; hey were being suffocated suffo-cated in the swamps and shot down. The order was: "t-'iote up itnd at il harder" -'For days alierwai-d those heart-rending veils followed me. and I dare not think of item or I shall go mad. There is no God. there is no morality and no ethics any mere. There are no human beings any more, but only beasts. Down with militarism! "If yon nre a truth-loving man, please receive these lines from a common Prussian Prus-sian soldier." ! This was the experience of a Prussian 'soldier. At present wounded; Berlin. Oc- i tot.T 22. H'14. j Here, is the testimony of another Ger-j man ,-oUlier on the east rronl: J "Russian Poland. Dec. 1 . i;i;4. i "In the name of rhristi :nitv, I send you these words. NT'- conscience fort es ! me as a Christian German soldier to inform in-form you of these lines. "Wounded Ruins are killed with the i bayonel, according to orders. ;md Ru- : js.an who have rrendored are often I I s: ot down m masses, according lo or- ! ; ricrs. in ?;i!e .if thrir hcart-renling i "In the hope that you, ;:s the repre- j s ficr.taiive of a Christian state, will pro- test apalnft this, I fisn myself, 'A German Ger-man Soldier and Christian. ' "I would give my name and regiment, but these worrls could cret me rourt-martialed rourt-martialed for divulging military secrets.' Needless Slaughter of Prisoners. The following letter 13 from a soldier on the western front: "To the American Government, Washington,: Wash-ington,: U. S. A.: "Englishmen who have surrendered are shot down in small groups. With the Frencli one is more considerate. I ask whether men let themselves be taKen prisoners in order to be disarmed and shot down afterward? Is that chivalry in battle? "It is no longer a secret amon? the people; one hears everywhere that few prisoners are taken: they are shot down in small groups. They say naively, 'We don't want any unnecessary mouths to feed.' Where there is no one to enter complaint, there is no judge. Is there, then, no power in the world which can put an end to these murders and rescue The victims? Where is Christianity. Where is right? Might is right. "A Soldier and Man Who Is No Barbarian." Bar-barian." The ahove letters refer to the battle of the Masurian lakes, wjien the troops of Hindenburg, in checking the invading Russians, indulged in a needless slaughter slaugh-ter of prisoners. I heard in Berlin of many cases of insanity in-sanity of both German officers and men who were driven insane by the scenes of slaughter at this battle and especially by the great cry of horror and despair uttered ut-tered by the poor Russians as they were shot down in cold blood or driven to a living death in the lakes and marshes. An American newspaper said this could not be true, asking why did I not publish the letters in my first book. But my first book did not contain all I have to relate, and as the letters in question were sent bv me to the state department early in the war they were not at hand on' the publication of my other series. But speaking of anonymous letters, shortly before I left Germany I received a package containing a necklace of diamonds dia-monds and pearls with a letter, which, translated, reads as follows: "The inclosed jewelry was found in the fully destroyed Guesnet house. 35 Rue de Bassano, Paris. It is requested that this jewelry, which is his property, be returned re-turned to him." The package was addressed to the embassy em-bassy of the United States. I took it with me on leaving Germany and restored re-stored it to the family of the owner in Paris. The Gausnet house lay within the German lines and the sending" of the jewelry jew-elry to me show,s conscience somewhere in the German army. (Continued Tomorrow.) |
