OVER THE GERMAN FRONTIER

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2935, 22 November 1916, Page 5

OVER THE GERMAN FRONTIER

LUNCH WITH KAISER'S SOLDIERS

A SMUGGLING INQUIRY

(By "The Man Who Dined With tho ■ Kaiser," in tho "Daily Mail.") I have been abroad again for tho "Daily Mail." This time I have not dined with the Kaiser for reasons best known to all concerned, hut I have lunched with the Kaiser's soldiers on his own soil. Tho story of how I lunched with tho Kaiser's soldiers was the climax of a three weeks' sojourn in Holland, whither I went to gather first-hand information about the " J twixt-hammer-and-anvil" role Holland is condemned to play in the great war. Much information about Holland is in ■ circulation; many facts are wholly unknown; many things are entirely unsuspected. I.have made some curious discoveries about tho German espionage system in Holland. I have seen Holland's military readiness for any emergencies the whirligig of the war may impose upon her. I have also seen something of the enormous difficulties confronting the Dutch in thoir desire to observe neutrality towards their powerful land neighbour on the east, while they sympathise with the cause for which England and her Allies are fighting. , What tho Frontier is Like. But first for my lunch with German soldiers in Germany. The desire to investigate smuggling operations on the Dutch-Gorman frontier led me to Zovenaar (on tho Dutch side), opposite which, at some distance, is .the German town of Emmerich. Emmerich' lies on the railway line from Amsterdam and tho Hague, to Frankfort and Berlin, over which so many English travellers have journeyed. The frontier between Holland and Germany is marked only by an imaginary line. You only know that you have reached it by two blockhouses, one on each side, separated by a stretch of "No Man's Land," perhaps 600 yards in'length. The German blockhouse is ordinarily a Customs office, but war has converted it into military, premises. • The old-time green uniforms or ihe Zollbeanter have disappeared. ■■ Tho only ones in sight now are tho Feldgrau (field-grey) of Ger- | man frontier-guards. It is they who were my "luncheon", hosts: LandI sturm men well, into the raiddlo forI ties. They were not at all "schneidig" (smart) German , warriors. In fact they were _ decidedly ' unkompt. They looked dirty and neglected. Their uniforms wore ragged. One of them approached mo as I crossed "No Man's Land" into 1 Germany. "'Gulen Morgen,' a beautiful day!" I exclaimed, in my best German. "'Jawohl, schon'l" (Yes, fine), the Landsturmer grunted phlegmatically in r0p1y.",.. ."How are things here?" I asked, handing him a. cigar. "Sehr schlecht".(very had) was his answer. "I've been at it now for over eighteen months, and seen a lot of fighting in Russia. Don't you think they ought, to send mo home,, with a hand like this?" He showed me his lef hand,: with three fingers missing.. "Jawohl, they ought to," I remarked sympathetically, "but perhaps they're short of men." The Middle-Aged Cuard. "Oh, no," s'aid tho Landsturmer, "the lads of nineteen havn't been called up yet. No, there are men enough But why they don't use the young fellows and let us older chaps off is a puzzle to mo. We've done our bit. Men of my age are strewn all along tho frontier, the majority partly, disabled like myself." A squad of fifteen or twenty men emerged from'the Zollamt. At tho same time I observed a military patrol approaching from a distance, their fixed bayonets glittering in the morning sun. I shuddered inwardly. You never can tell. "Thank God!" the Landsturmer broko in upon my soliloquy, "I'm free for twenty-four hours. . This is tho new guard. The patrol had come up now. 1 was about thirty yards away. It, too, consisted ■ almost entirely of middle-aged men in unkempt kits, but the Prussian military evolutions—clicking heels, _ eyes front, squared shoulders, machine-like presentation of arms —were all performed in regulation style. The newcomers took possession of the Customs office and another sentry took the place of the man I had been talking to. A sergeant advanced towards me. I prepared to do my utmost to secure his confidence. He wished me "Guten Morgen" and asked my. business. "Well,'' I said, •'l'm supposed to'be a journalist; as a matter of fact, 1 know something about a little company in Holland ■ -which smuggles food across the' frontier. It 6eems to be difficult 'nowadays, and I want to see whether anything can be done in this particular neighbourhood." Tho sergeant seemed convinced, and soon became communicative. He was a native of Essen before the war, and kept a puhlichouse there. For a while he was an employee of Krupps', and incidentally mentioned that a great deal of pepper is now used in the manufac-. ture of "tear" shells. He told mo therei was "a fortune in it" if I could, smuggle pepper across the frontier. The price in Holland is' about 2s. a. kilogram (a fraction over two pounds). The Germans gladly pay £3 10s. a "kilo." Pepper has disappeared in Germany from' the open market, and retail sales are strictly.forbidden. The Essen : sergeant then related his experiences in the Battle of Loos in September,. 1915, where he was severely wounded. The British were bombarding the second German line furiously with heavy guns. The first line was not shelled because of its proximity to the British trencheG. The Germans there•upon moved nearly all their men into the first line, thus causing the British (so the sergeant explained) to "waste" their shells against empty enemy trenches. At first, in consequence, there'were no German casualties, tho men in the first line only being jostled about by the tremendous air pressure. Later there was violent bombardment of their first lino with field artillery, and tho Germans who had been doposited in those trenches went forward to tho attack in mass formations, suffering hideous losses. "We are forbidden," ho went on, "to'take prisoners (luring an attack if they are few in number. Our custom is to-finish them off with the bayonet." , s AVe were , strolling along casually now. I happened to remark that I had plenty of bread and ham in my little bag. It was with backsheesh. of' that sort, plus tobacco, that Iwcnt armed to the German frontier. Tho sergcantfs eyes brightened visibly at tho magic mention of Brot and Schinken. Forthwith ho invited me to repair to the Zollamt —said it was almost eating time. Would I join him in a cup of "coffee"? I would. The banquetingchamber of tho Customs office was its one roughly furnished room. Nobody was present except a corporal, who was making coffee. Talk turned, as our "luncheon" drew to a close, on the Allied offensivo in Picardy. 1 told tho Germans I thought things looked bad for them. "Oh, no; we're not■ worrying,'! said tho N.C.O. "They may tako a village or two, and will doubtless tako others. But outturn is coming, and wo'll retako them all. It's tho old story. Neither sido will advanco much further. Verdun has been a big disappointment. I hardly blame tho two regiments of Bavarians who mutinied on the Crown Prince's front. They wore sent to tho Eastern front as a punishment. Bub Verdun is tho .best proof to us that tho Allies .cannot do what they intend. If wo.

have been unable to take Verdun' with the best soldiers, the best artillery, and a whole nation of scientific men behind us, how can the English and Trench hope to wrest a place like Strassburg or Metz from us? Don't forget thai; 300,000 men are engaged on nothing but construction of new defensive works behind our third line." "We returned to the open and walked slowly toward Elten, a little German town which loomed across country two miles away. 1 had gone about as far, conversationally and into German territory, as prudence dictated. So, wishing my hosts a Giiten Tag, with a parting reminder that I would look at once into the possibility of delivering pepper, I turned my 'stops toward the Dutch frontier, where .my friend from , who had been awaiting mo, not without anxiety, welcomed me "back to safety."