one of the favorite French guns known as a 75-millimeter. The captain told us he had orders to fire on the Deutschland if the submarine happened to turn up. The first officer, under instruction from the captain, showed the operation of the gun to the commissioners. This was very interesting; everything was done except to fire off the gun; all the maneuvers were gone through and we discovered on the lower deck enough shells to fight a good sized battle.
On Saturday, previous to landing, a bazaar was held on the boat for the benefit of the French hospitals. This was a very successful affair; contributions were made or supposed to be made by all the passengers. Among other things, I donated a quart bottle of champagne. This was sold at auction, the first bid was one dollar, made with the understanding that the last bid was to be no higher, but was to get the champagne. These bids continued until the bottle finally brought seventy-five dollars. It turned out to be a very good article with all that.
We were also informed before entering port that we were protected by two submarine destroyers.
We discovered on arising, Sunday morning, September 3rd, that we were in the Bay of Biscay and two cruisers were circling around and gradually escorting us into the port of Bordeaux. We were told subsequently that the wireless apparatus has been disconnected and we had been chased by a submarine.
The first land seen was the shore of Spain, the course of the vessel having been diverted on account of pursuit by the submarine. At four P. M. on Sunday a commission from Bordeaux came out in a tug boat to meet us. This delegation consisted of the prefect of Bordeaux district, the mayor of the city and other notables. They boarded the boat and we entertained them with a dinner party. We reached the Bordeaux dock about ten o'clock on Sunday evening, but did not land until the following morning.
III.
BORDEAUX AND PARIS
We were first impressed by the very large number of women employed. We visited several telegraph offices and all were "manned" exclusively by women. We also saw women driving large army trucks and milk carts, and women selling newspapers, some of them anywhere from seventy to eighty years of age. Newsboys are apparently unknown in France.
We were given a reception by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, and quite an address was delivered by the president.
We then visited the docks, which are extensive. The improvements contemplated will make Bordeaux one of the great world ports. In going about the streets we were struck by the number of women in mourning; in fact I can hardly recall any women, except the servants in the hotel, who were not in mourning. The shop windows were filled with mourning goods and people passing on the streets were either women in mourning or soldiers home on leave of absence, many of them crippled.
We were next taken to the prison camp where the prisoners of war were held. We happened to reach it when the prisoners were having a siesta. There were about four thousand in the camp, some hired out to contractors. We talked to some of these contractors, who in turn had talked with the prisoners, and were told that a great many of them were such voluntarily; that is to say, they were very glad to surrender when the opportunity presented. The prisoners were mostly Germans, but there were some Austrians and a few Bavarians. The French people never speak of them as Germans; they always call them "Boches", which, rendered in English, means vandal. They were fat and healthy and apparently contented.
[Illustration: Grand Theatre, Bordeaux. Closed until the War Ends.]
In the evening at Bordeaux a banquet was given in honor of Monsieur Gaston Doumergue, Minister of Colonies. All the commissioners were invited. On my left was Monsieur Etienne Hugard, Vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and a soldier who had been in battle within a week previous. On my right sat Monsieur G. Chastenet, Senateur de la Gironde. Very choice wines were served and the champagne was reserved for the last. There was a speech by the Mayor and a response by the Minister of Colonies. We were given information as we went along and some of this I will record. We were told that a great many submarines had been captured by the French in nets. The popular impression is that when captured the submarines are left under water six or seven days, then brought up to the surface and the bodies of the officers and seamen, who in the meantime have died, are either burned or buried. The submarine is then manned by a French crew and thus turned into the French service.
We made some inquiries in regard to the labor situation and we were informed that before the war a common laborer received four francs per day, about eighty cents of our money, and that they are now receiving five francs. The women received two francs before the war and they are now receiving three. There are no labor unions in Bordeaux or in the vicinity.
We had here our first visit from newspaper correspondents. A number of important Paris papers were represented, with the New York Herald, the Chicago Tribune and other leading American papers. We met the general of the Gironde and the marine official. We were told that at any of these functions we were not to mention the names of the officials to whom we were introduced, and this enabled us to talk quite freely. One of the generals whom I met at this banquet said that the war would end in December, 1917.
On Tuesday, September 5th, the Bordeaux Fair was dedicated. The commission was invited and we took part in the exercises. These fairs are an annual event in many parts of France. There is a very large theatre in Bordeaux, which has not been opened since the war. We were given an invitation to enter it. It is certainly finer than any theatre I had seen previously.
We were then taken to the celebrated wine vaults of Bordeaux, owned by J. Calvert & Co. and Bardin & Gustier. Some of these wines date back to the early part of the last century and the vintages are all the way from five to ninety years old. There were sixty thousand casks of wine stored and about ten million bottles of champagne. The money value of the stocks is very large. We were told that America was one of the best customers for these high grade wines.
In the evening we attended a reception to the Minister of Colonies at Ville de Bordeaux. This was a very enjoyable affair and we met some noted French people.
Wednesday, September 6th, was the birthday of Lafayette. We had been invited by the American Chamber of Commerce to assist in their celebration at Paris, but were unable to reach that city in time.
Instead of going to Paris on this date we visited the Chateau Margaux, built in 1780. We were shown through the private vaults. We met the Duchess, a most charming personage, a grandmother at the age of thirty-five, a very plain, unassuming lady. I supposed up to the time I was introduced to her that she was a newspaper correspondent. During the tour through these private vaults, the guide discoursed on the making of wine, from the planting of the vines to the bottling and selling process. This was all very interesting.
