William J. Chalmers, of Chicago, describes his trip with his wife and
maid and some friends from Carlsbad to Buchs in Switzerland:
At Budweis they were arrested and their passports examined. Five miles
further on the road was blockaded by fallen telegraph poles and twenty
gendarmes commanded by a boy stepped out and placed cocked pistols and
rifles to the Americans’ bodies and ordered them to surrender. The
gendarmes had heard that French spies were crossing to Russia with
$25,000,000 in motor cars.
At Freistadt Count von Sedlitz ignored the passports and ordered the
party searched to the skins, including the women. He examined their
clothing, took their baggage away, ransacked it for papers, took off the
automobile tires, examined the inner tubes, then brought in the police
dogs to get their scent, acting with the utmost insolence.
Mr. Chalmers demanded to be allowed to telegraph to the Mayor of
Carlsbad. This was permitted and the party released the next morning.
At Salzburg the party was detained five hours, but treated with kindness
and a military pass was given by an archduke and a general.
At Landeck a civil official ignored the military pass, but yielded when
the threat was made to appeal to the archduke.
The party was forced to carry a civilian to Feldkirk. On an appeal to
the military there the civilian was sharply reprimanded and made to walk
back.
Afterward the party arrived safely at Buchs.