Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 57, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 October 1914 — DR. HONAN VISITING HERE [ARTICLE]

DR. HONAN VISITING HERE

\\ ith His Brother, K. P. Honan.— Recently Returned From Germany. Dr. and Mrs. J. H. Honan of Badnauheim, Germany, who recently returned to America, reached here Tuesday night for a visit with his brother, E. P. Honan and wife. They stopped over in Ann Arbor, Mich., for a few days to visit the doctor’s nephew, Edward M. Honan, who is attending there.

As previously stated in The Democrat, Dr. Honan secured a special train to take his patients from Badnauheim to the Hague. He had quite a little difficulty in securing this train, but in company with a prominent gentleman of Philadelphia, Pa., he went in person to the president of the railroad and stated the condition of some of his patients an<jl a train was placed at his disposal. The itrip from Badnauheim to the Hague usually requires about ten hours, but they were twenty-nine hours in making the journey, their train being held up at many places to allow mobolization and munition trains, which had the right of way over everything else, to pass. They met two trainloads of French prisoners and two trains of wounded German soldiers, the latter having about 900 wounded on board. The wounded were in box and cattle cars, with straw for bedding, and were being taken care of as well as coufd be expected.

On this train there were 110 Americans being taken out of Badnauheim, most of whom were there for a course of treatment for heart trouble. The Germans there were very nice and accommodating to them, and even advanced money to some, of liis patients who could not secure funds on their letters of credit.. This, of course, was all squared up before they left, after letters of credit and express orders were being paid.

IL S. Ambasador Gerrad, to wh.o|n pr. Honan made,, a personal appeal for funds fbr some of his patients and friends, forwarded 500 marks to him to give to Americans in need, who' simply gave as assurance their

home address. Hon. William Dudley Foulk of Richmond, Ind., and Frank H. Dodd, of the publishing house of Dodd, Meade & Co., of New York, assisted Dr. Honan in distributing these funds among the temporarily embarrassed Americans.

two men who looked after the baggage of Dr. Honan’s party on their special train, were millionaires, and millionaires were no better off than their poorer brothers at this time. The train carried no diner, but the ladies had all provided themselves with baskets of food, and they got along very nicely. Arriving in London they found all the steamship offices packed and besieged with Americans seeking passage Tor Uncle Sam’s domain, and Dr. Honan and wife were three weeks before they could secure passage. Several of his patients, however, preceeded him in leaving London. Dr. Honan and wife sailed from Liverpool on the Olympc on the night of Sept. 16. The ship was darkened and stole out as quietly as possible with its 3,000 passengers bound for New York. No was experienced on the trip over.”^

While Dr. Honan was not at any time in the fighting zone, they were within hearing of some of the sea fighting near Helogoland while at the Hague.

Dr. Honan gives great praise to Ambassador Gerard of Berlin, and to Consul General Harris of Frankfort on the Main, for the very efficient manner in which they handled this most trying situation, and for the almost daily instruction* received by him, for the welfare of the American citizens.