Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-08-22
STARVING NATION
MAY HAVE TOY|ELD
If Germany Loses War, It Will
Be Because of British
Blockade.
EFFECTS ALREADY FELT
Travellers See No Difference, but
Actual Suffering Is
There.
BY rREDER1oI1 WERNER.

nearly all walks Of life expressions
such as this:
IF we lose this war, we shall have
been conquered. not by the millions OF
soldiers who have surrounded US on all
sides. but who have never been able
to pierce the walls of our living de-
tense. but by the inhunran British
blockade and the refusal OF America
to heed our protests against the starv-
ing of an entire nation"
AS n matter OF fact there is no alb
solute lack of anything mere. II YOU
have money enough. you may still get
any luxury your palate may desire, but
the time is drawing closer when the
great masses of the German people will
not have money enough to buy even the
necessaries OF life. Neutral travellers
who pay an occasional visit. to Berlin,
stopping at hotels like the "Adlon" or
the "IIaiserhof." find the tables there
as we'll provided as ever and the prices
about the same before the war. but
neutral visitors see but the surface OF
things and they do not know that
these hotels, which made enormous
profits before the war, are being run
almost at a loss. ,,5 - a.: : 49,. ~,
FIGHTING AGAINST f,3.is,
INCREASING PRICES
Of thousands of middle-class homes,
| thrifty and experienced housewives are
hghting as desperately against the in
creasinE prices their husbands or
Some are lighting the enemies east and
| west.
Figures published bY The .RatshxShs
zetger give vivid ftnpressfofi OF. tbs
| enemy the German housewives have To
fight
Statistics gathered in fifty OF Ger.
many's largest cities and showing the
upward movement of prices during tho
past twelve months prove that butter
mas gone up 43 per cent; potatoes, 96
per cent; rice, ISL per cent: barley
meal tused here much as oatmeal -in
fsxtaerica). 1875 per cent; Eggs. 81 per
cent; rye meal. So per cent, and peas,
goo per cent. The hgursSSshags. psiees
on May 1. and many articles have gone
| up in price since then
During the same period (Nfay, 1914,
! to May 1879 meat prices rose as fol-
lows. beef. 30 per cent; veal, SO per
cent; mutton and lamb, As per cent:
pork. Ion per cent.
Maximum prices were placed on pork.
tho principal meat food of the middle
ana working classes, but. thess pr Ices
were soon found impossible TO anIafnys'
IL, l..
| is now an absolute luxury. Time and
again the Vorwaerts has pointed out
| how tho high prices OF meat tempt the
FARMERS to disobey the government
order not to give potatoes and grain
! to PIGS. because they get much more
| Tor their grain using 1t in this way
than by selling it.
IL is just the same with ilnf1it Prices
or butter and cheese have gone up SO
enormously that farmers make all their
milk into butter and cheese and milk fs
| increasingly difficult to get This. OF
course, is fatal to tens of thousands OF
oanies. 1t IS useless TO keep tho price
or milk down while permitting the
prices OF butter and cheese to soar The
time is approaching when the making.
OF dairy products will have to be for
hidden at least in part to save the fu.
ture generations.
In some places. as in Bavaria and
Wuertembe"s. the military command.
ers have stepped in and meted out SCI
| we're punislments to the usursrs in
| ioodstuhs. but In Prussia, the govern.
ment hesitation to interfere with the
Junkers AND large landed proprie,ors.
whose support it cannot to without.
| we arc now being told that bread
will be dearer yet during the coming
year owing to the drought and the re
suitinE partial failure OF the harvest
| and housewives of the working classex
are IN despair. They do not see how
tney are going to get through another.
| winter OF war and blockade
INCREASING; FLEMISH
MOVEMENT IN BELGrUN
No matter to whom Will fall the
| task OF regulating tho fate of Pei
gtGm after the war, the increasing
Flemish movement in Belgium must be
| taken into consideration, for the poru
'aton OF the northern provinces APP.
| pear moro and moro determined to
emerge from the war an independent
state. preferably republic 1t would
| be wrong 20 say that they are salts
fled under the present German regime.
but it would be even further from the
truth to imagine that they have anv
desire to revert to their condition he
| fore the war.
SIX months ago it would have been
absurd to have spoken Of any indepen-
dent Flemish movement, for the Flem-
ish population OF Belgium had sep
| arated into two camps. One faction.
the leaders of which arc at present re-
siding in Holland, had purely Belgian
program, and their aim was first OF all
| the liberation OF Belgium. while the
other party, whose leaders are at Client
and who have repeatedly been accused
OF playing the hand of tho Germans.
before tho war, arc now openly night
Ing under the device: FLANDERS for
the Flemish" These people consider
Belgium mere geographical name. and
maintain that the historical moment
has come to liberate Flanders from the
foreign yoke. No matter. what be tho
outcome OF tho war. they desire to
create Flemish state which shall be
neither French nor German. but abpo-
lutely independent.
] At present. Flanders. like the, old
Continued on Sixth Page.S \