Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1920-05-12 | Page 8 | Wartime Rules Vex Tourists

WARTIME RULES MISTS Americans Traveling Through Europe This Summer Will Be Much Harassed THE HAGUE, May 12. Tho thou-nnds thou-nnds of American tourist?, who are expected to visit Europe this summer, sum-mer, will boS disappointed If they look forward to all the comforts of the days before tho war. This verdict has been expressed to the Associated Press correspondent by many much-harrasscd Americans who. In overcrowded trains between stops i at overcrowded hotels, have run the I gauntlet of passport bureaus, frontier i controls and police registration offices, of-fices, Institutions which still prevail In many countries, only In a slightly leas degree than during the war. Passports and passport vises are necessary everywhere Even to make the five-hour trip from The Hague, quires days of prepanitlon, and the daj's generally lengthen Into weeks If one expresses the moat extraordinary whim to make a round trip or several round trips. And American, for Instance, having obtained In the United Slates a Dutch visa, which permits him to land In Holland for. a brief stay, desires to go to Brussels Just five hours away. On nrrlval In Holland ho has to register regis-ter T-'ith the police, securing an identity iden-tity 'card, permitting him to have a brcaM card, etc. (for bread is still ra- 7 i tioncd In many countrlos). c f Desiring to go to Belgium, he musl B first go to hi3 own legation or con- 5 I sulate. to have his American passport I amended so as to bo valid in Belgium. I This done, after a solemn oath that It Is necessary to go to Belgium, th would-bo traveler visits the Belgian consulate or legation, finds a long A waiting lino of persons with a similar fl desire, finally is attended to, and then. speeds off to the police bureau to havff jH his Identity card stamped In order that he may leave tho frontier. But Hr jH must surrender his bread car first at still another bureau, which Is prob- ably closed Tor the day. Armed with , M a receipt from the Inroad card bureau. 1 he returns to the police bureau, gati ' his stamped identity card and prob-5 "X H I ably finds tho last train lo Belgium for tho day has gone. j - H Even when he gets aboard the tralnf which may be so overcrowded that', even wnn a ilrst-class ticket, he maSC have to ride in a second or thlrd-clnss M compartment, his troubles arc far-from far-from ended. There aro waits and pas-port pas-port and customs examinations at1 . ' both Ihe Dutch and Belgium frontiers IH one examination to get out of, Holland and another to get Into Bol-glum, Bol-glum, waits in rooms like bull pons,! In which, If tho train happens to bo,' - crowded, the scramblo for a subway ' H at a rush hour Is play In comparison This condition, typical of travel bq-.' IH twecn Holland and RnlHnm - n2 H nothing to tho difficulties of gottlns?1 from Holland Into Germany. H ! Ilapld progress Is being made, par-tlcularly par-tlcularly in Belgium, to restore rail-. way traffic to normal, but tho short- ago of equipment, due to war lossag, or shortage of coal, due to strikes nnd; the war, has reduced tho number Of trains operated to a figure fur below J H that of before the war and all gener- V ll ally re overcrowded. As a rule, no IH reservations of senta, except on very H long trip, are ?ojlblc. H