FANATICISM AT ITS HEIGHT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2598, 21 October 1915, Page 5

FANATICISM AT ITS HEIGHT

SHOCKING TREATMENT e —: — ' AMERICAN LADY IN GERMANY Perusal of the following, writes n correspondent, "Englishwoman," should afford readers food for future careful consideration, and enable soldiers to understand what the nation is fighting for: — "One of the most thrilling and vivid pictures of life in Germany by a neutral, conies from an American woman, who, unfortunately married a German doctor, who is at the front, while his wife is practically under surveillance by tho'authorities. The letter written by the lady to her parents in America, and supplied to the Pross by a friend of the family in Sydney, runs .as follows:— "Loved ones so far away. "For you seem worlds removed, so absolutely am ■ I cut off from all news of you. Eight months now since I liavo seen a line of the homo writing that stems to bring home faces so vividly before me. It is like writing to the dead who speak not and answer not again. Tour letters since then have gone to you from here—have you had them. I wonder, or am I as dead to you as you are to me? This is one of the days when I wisli I were dead in very truth, so terrible to live is tho life meted out .to the hated foreigners. 1 think not even tho missionaries in the. Boxer rising could have gone through more misery than we do. Not that we are in any fear of actual death, but like t'he con'ard in Shakespeare, we die many times before our time. You liave no idea of the daily, hourly slights and insults we receive, we, who are not of the race wc dwell nmongst. J dread going outside the door; dread ■ giving an order to those who serve in the house, or to take services from t'hern, for tho manner in which they aro rendered. ' I have oven como to dread meeting my own children. -They, ray boys in particular, seem to be losing all child-love for me, and can I blame them, when from the hoot-boy in the kitchen to the mastor' in the school, the one doctrine of 'Death to the English Devils' is preached? For a timo there was not tho same hatred for t'he Americans, but now there is no distinction.

A Terrible Position. "What have, you done or are you doing over there? That you are not yet in tho firing-line I know. We hear daily of the Killing or capturing of thousands of English 'dogs,' and batteries of Russians, of Italian, and French companies decimated; but so far no word of the Stars and Stripes being fired upon. Yet you must, I know, be doing' something to help, or something to hinder, the other side, for, to-day I saw a .tiny 'Flag of Freedom' ripped and stamped upon by mere children in tho streets, and dared not even gather up tho pieces, so. precarious is my position. We go to church on Sunday, and listen not to the Word of God, but to praises of' tho Kaiser, revilings and curses on his enemies, flnd. the. wrath of. God called down on their heads A mouth ago a strange Jsreacher filled the pulpit. Fanaticism breathed froiii bis very appearance, and, Oil! the awfulness of his utterances. He prayed for, the blotting out of the whole .English race, and called "down ghastliness too terrible for words on the children yet unborn. And beside mo I heard muttered expressions of applause. My oldest boy sat with the same fixed look of hatred in bis; eye as the speaker. ..... „ ."I think this terrible state' of affairs will drive me mad. Sometimes I turn away in absolute hatred of my own flesh and blood—children I have agonised for, and would give my life for. Only last night my laddio of six, as I stretched out my arms to him, cried, 'Say down with all .tho cursed enemies of our glorious race if you want my kisses, mother/ lam afraid sometimes they will' tafe> my little ones from me and put them in one of the training schools, where so manv, children whtf have had English mothers, have been put by the Government.

Victories Not Casualties. "Food is being sold very sparingly. »o aro forbidden to indulge in any juxuries. Yet we are ordered to join in all the different amusements that take place, under heavy penalties. And there aro so many sad hearts everywhere—hearts more than sa'd, for sadness can be borne. But these aro broken on anxiety's, cruel wheels. The papers aro full of victories. Thoy boast of towns taken, of armies cut to piocos, of prisoners captured.. But no casualty lists of Gorman dead or wounded come through to relievo tho tension of tho watcher on the hearth, lou hear news from tho battle ranks, or no news reaches you, and as weeK after week goes by the poor mothers and wives realiso what the silence means, but they dare not make any show of mourning. "Tho winter is going to bo a very hard one. Evidently the authorities, m spite of their glorious victories, expec*. to bavo to_ face another winter campaign. I tried to buy some woollen slnrts to-day. Wool is to bo kept tor the soldiers, and no woollen garments are to be sold for civilians. Even the stores of blankets in tho shops have been commandeered ftfr tho front. Government oversight is everywhere. Means of communication aro becoming increasingly difficult. It is fortucate I have a store of paper hidden away, for now wo can only buy ft sheet at a time.

' Servants as Spies, • My servants are, I know, spies.. I can only write to'you a few lines at a time, and in stealth. I have to hido what I write carefully away. I tested tho truth of my suspicions last week. \Vroto an innocent letter, but added a tew words about the state of Germany alio paper winch I left in my room was missing, and that evening I received a Visit from the Chief of. Polico, warning me against sending 'lying reports to those cowardly Americans, who wcro afraid to stand on the side of freedom.' "What au outcry thero would be if t'ho English treated their foreign population as we are treated! Yet here tho Government are the instigators of all the indignities perpetrated. I heard from my husband a month ago. Ho had been wounded, but was backagain at the front. _If anything happens to him, what will bo my fate? I shudder to think. I feel sometimes I must catch up my baby and run, and run, and run, till I run into tho dear old home shelter, and the safe haven of home call of t'ho Wood—how wo pay for neglecting it. Heaven keep you , safely. I cannot pray Heaven send an end to the war. I am beyond prayer whero it is conlorned. lam just hopeless, and so utterlv dejected that I can only drift on and on on a hopeless sea of misery, dejection, and life hatred."