WORKING IN THE EMBASSY BALLROOM AT THE OUTBREAK OF HOSTILITIES, AUGUST, 1914.

WAR DAYS IN BERLIN. AMBASSADOR GERARD AND HIS STAFF.

One morning an American woman spoke to me and said she would consent to go home on one of these ships provided she was given a state-room with a bath and Walker-Gordon milk for her children, while another woman of German extraction used to sit for hours in a corner of the ballroom, occasionally exclaiming aloud with much feeling, "O God, will them ships never come?"

In these first days of the war we also made a card index of all the Americans in Berlin, and, so far as possible, in Germany; in order to weed out those who had received the passports in the first days when possibly some people not entitled to them received them, and to find the deserving cases. All Americans were required to present themselves at the Embassy and answer a few questions, after which, if everything seemed all right, their passports were marked "recommended for transportation to America."

I sent out circulars from time to time to the consuls throughout Germany giving general instructions with regard to the treatment of Americans. The following circular sent out on August twelfth is a sample:

AMERICAN EMBASSY,
BERLIN, August 12, 1914.

"To the Consular Representatives
of the United States in Germany,
and for the general information of
American Citizens.

"A communication will to-morrow be published in the Berlin Lokal Anzeiger regarding the sending of a special train to the Dutch frontier for the special conveyance of Americans. Other trains will probably be arranged for from time to time. No further news has been received regarding the sending of transports from the United States, but applications for repatriation are being considered by the Embassy and the various consular offices throughout Germany according to the Embassy's last circular and the announcements published in the Lokal Anzeiger.

"All Americans leaving Berlin must have their passports stamped by the Foreign Office, for which purpose they should apply to Geheimer Legationsrat Dr. Eckhardt at Wilhelmstrasse 76. Americans residing outside of Berlin should ascertain from their respective consular representatives what steps they should take in this regard.

"Letters for the United States may be sent to the Embassy and will be forwarded at the first opportunity.