him that as
soon as the arrangements for a train could be made he could leave.
Zimmermann asked the Ambassador to submit a list of persons he desired
to accompany him. The Ambassador's list was submitted the next day.
The Foreign Office sent it to the General Staff, but nearly a week
passed before Gerard was told he could depart and then he was
instructed that the American consuls could not accompany him, but would
have to take a special train leaving Munich a week or two later.
American correspondents, who expressed a desire to accompany the
Ambassador, were refused permission. In the meantime reports arrived
that the United States had confiscated the German ships and Count
Montgelas, Chief of the American division of the Foreign Office,
informed Gerard the American correspondents would be held as hostages
if America did this. Gerard replied that he would not leave until the
correspondents and all other Americans were permitted to leave over any
route they selected. Practically all of the correspondents had handed
in their passports to the Foreign Office, but not until four hours
before the special train departed for Switzerland were the passports
returned. When Gerard asked the Foreign Office whether his passports
were good to the United States the Foreign Office was silent and
neither would the General Staff guarantee the correspondents a safe
conduct through the German submarine zone. So the only thing the
Ambassador could do was to select a route via Switzerland, France and
Spain, to Cuba and the United States.

The train which left Berlin on the night of February 10th carried the
happiest group of Americans which had been in Europe since the war
began. Practically no one slept. When the Swiss border was reached
the Stars and Stripes were hung from the car windows and Americans
breathed again in a free land. They felt like prisoners escaping from
a penitentiary. Most of them had been under surveillance or suspicion
for months. Nearly every one had had personal experiences which proved
to them that the German people were like the Government--there was no
respect for public sentiment or moral obligation. Some of the women
had upon previous occasions, when they crossed the German frontier,
submitted to the most inhuman indignities, but they remained in Germany
because their husbands were connected in some way with United States
government or semi-public service work. They were delighted to escape
the lan