FTER leaving Dole, the next stop on our itinerary was Besancon, from which we entered the zone of actual hostilities. For us this town was the gateway to "The Front" and therefore a point of more than usual interest. Here we were asked to sign the following paper, which all members of the commission did on October 4th, we having reached the town at midnight on October 2nd.
Besancon, October 4, 1916.
The itinerary arranged for the American Industrial Commission includes several days' sojourn at the "front", which is considered of importance in the prosecution of its investigation, particularly as preliminary to a conference in Paris with the "American Centrale pour la Reprise de l' Activite Industrielle dans Les Regions Envahies."
The danger of such a trip is fully recognized and hereby admitted, and although the extraordinary risk inseparably connected with a trip to Europe at this time has been accepted by us all, yet, in the present case
Each of the undersigned by this means records for himself his voluntary assumption by him of all responsibility in connection therewith, and furthermore, asserts that neither by coercion, persuasion, nor even by suggestion on the part of the Chairman, or otherwise, has his course been determined.
M. W. W. Nichols,
M. J. G. Butler, Jr.
M. A. B. Farquhar,
M. G. B. Ford,
M. S. F. Hoggson,
M. J. F. Le Maistre,
M. J. R. Mac Arthur,
M. Le Dr. C. O. Mailloux,
M. C. G. Pfeiffer,
M. J. E. Sague,
M. E. A. Warren,
M. E. V. Douglass,
M. E. Garden.
We were met by the military automobiles at the station, two soldiers in each auto. I was accosted at the station by a number of wounded English soldiers. It seemed good to hear a little English spoken. One of the soldiers reached out his hand as I passed and said, "How are you?" We were domiciled at the Hotel Europe. The windows were barred with iron shutters excluding light and fresh air. Early the following morning we were treated to the sight of more than one thousand German prisoners, just captured and being taken to the camp at Besancon.
This was the birthplace of Victor Hugo, who was born February 26th, 1802. Old Roman ruins were very much in evidence, among them an old Roman citadel and a Roman theatre. By tradition, St. John the Baptist was buried here. We visited the underground water works and the Cathedral of St. Jean and saw in this church many paintings of the Holy Family and other religious representations. There were two immense holes in this cathedral, the result of bombs fired from the German guns in 1914, in the beginning of the war.
[Illustration: German Prisoners Passing Through the Village of St. Etienne.]