Viewing page 95 of 108

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

through to the East! Evidently the Russians are advancing from that direction, though the German papers which we see say nothing and only report victories in Belgium and France. My suitcase was smashed at Rheine.
We left Rheine at 11:30 A.M. and reached Salzbergen at 12.00; we left Salzbergen at 12:15 and reached Bentheim at about 1 [[strikethrough]] 00 [[/strikethrough]] 15 P.M. Every one of these stops meant a change of baggage (the hans - baggage) and we divided up, sent the women in to take places and then hustled the baggage through the windows.
The country is without people, and guards are stationed at every bridge and station.
The vigilance of the Germans increases as we approach the boundary.
At Bentheim, the last station in Germany, the German officers examined our passes, and the baggage was examined. They objected to my camera, but university credentials fixed it.
We took dinner at the depot restaurant,

[[end page]]

[[start page]]

179

and were closely watched. A tall young fellow, American, tried to be very friendly.
When I told him that reports in Austria indicated that advances had been made in Servia and Poland by the Austrians he spoke up enthusiastically for the Germans. He said his wife is German, the daughter of a Berlin banker & Geheimrat, though he also mentioned a wife in California, - explaining as he caught the point, that his Berlin wife is his second wife. When I mentioned California points he knew nothing of them.  He also told me that he was going to Berlin (came from England) to his wife, and later told me (& did so) that he was going back to Rotterdam!
After the examination we made a short run to Oldenzaal on the Holland side, and here again we had baggage and passports examined by Holland officials. My baggage was not opened. I was asked if I had anything dutiable