GERMAN IN AN HOTEL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 70, 27 June 1916, Page 2

GERMAN IN AN HOTEL.

STAFF REFUSES SERVICE, ' [ ! ~ ' ' ' /. PROTEST FROM GUESTS. ' ; The presence oi' a..Genua", prisoner of wan in .'ojße of the,:, leading .Jiotqls, in Auckland' a'day ( or, two ago, was responsible for an unusual .incident. the prisoner,, who. arrjye,(J ion. Monday Psftk the Islands by the steamer Taflune, was. charge ;of; an officer, oil I the Defence Department, and tljei two; 'sat down for lunch at the hotel, in question. A substantial repast, it is stated, was ordered, including drinks in the form of lager beer, and the prisoner, who was a typical "squarehead" in appearance, went so far, it is '■ aflege.d ? ,a s , to, call. for ' 'German ):he officer and prisoner were first no,i4eed by a lady guest, who was 'grarfciy. perturbed, and agitatedly told that there-was a German at .luncheon. Shortly afterwards two were staging- at' the hotel complained, of the prisoner's presence. A timber of • retunifcd 'soldiers their upon and their were forcibly expressed to the licensee. The' climax came, when it wa&autim'atod that the two would Be 'present for dinner. On this one ol the waitresses of the hotel told the I licensee that she had received a letjter from her brother in France, in which he described the hardships endured by the men in the trenches. On 'that' account she .said she could not take any part in serving a first-class dinner for a German prisoner. Her sentiments were echoed by the remainder of the staff, and they declared Chat: if the German appeared dinner wliild not- be .served; in fact, they would strike. The returned soldiers also declared that they would eject the prisoner, and there was no mistaking their intention. One said he had n German bullet in his body, and he would -certainly refuse to dine with a. German prisoner. The licensee was finally obliged to approach the officer in charge of the prisoner and inform him that he would have to take the German elsewhere, for dinner, whereupon, it is said, the officer stormed, and commanded that bis prisoner should be allowed to dine at the hotel. •He asked if, in the circumstances, they might have a private room. The licensee said he would be glad to oblige the officer, but be pointed out that the staff would not serve dinner if the two remained. There was no way out of the difficulty, and at last the officer had to take his prisoner t > dine elsewhere. The witnesses at the hotel state that they .were not only actuated by patriotic motives, but that they were incensed by the German's manners. They assert that he treated them discourteously.