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For instance, to read Vorwaerts in public in Berlin is an action which requires a certain amount of heroism. The newspaper which in the last two months has been suppressed three times by the Censor, and three times allowed to appear again on the promise of good behaviour, is almost the only one which shows any independence of the military Press office, and dares to tell news other than optimistic to the Berlin public.

Wishing to read something fairly truthful about the war, I was scanning this newspaper while riding in a tramcar on my way to the War Fund garden party, which was, at the moment, the great attraction of all Berlin.

An elderly gentleman, sitting opposite me, after looking suspiciously for a long while at the paper and at myself, addressed me with this extraordinary remark: "To be a Socialist at the present moment is to be an enemy of the Fatherland. You should be ashamed to read a paper like that when you should be fighting for the country."

I answered that I read what I liked best and that he need not worry—I would gladly fight for my country as soon as she was at war. When the old man heard I was an Italian he commenced, tactless as only a German can be when he is of the tactless sort, a long talk about the treacherous politics of Italy, the punishment Germany is going to give her, and other similar nonsense.