New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-19

THIS begins series o. u''''''o ~
Mr.. Bennett on conditions IN Ger
mGnUl
Aacben. Germany, March 26.-Forty
thousand freight cars kept kumahla
out of the war. .ui
II NAV have been, and it may still
be. that there is a pro-Russ war parry
in Rumania. It may even he that the
majority Of the class Of people VINO
have relatively little to lose by war
were. il not for war, at least not
4 against war. ,.-l.. rs
came trundling over the Rumanian Dor
der 70 take grain back TO Germany the
merchant class of Rumania said;
"Well, we have grain and OIL ana
not much else, 20 sell, and here are
the cars for its transportation. Why,
then. should not Rumania be neutral
And Rumania, IL will be Observed
has remained neutral, and never was
more neutral than it Is in these CLOS
ing days Of March.
The assembling and swift forward
ing Of the freight cars was master
stroke not only Of economies, but OF
diplomacy, on the part OF the govern
ment railway management. us NaIue
cannot be overestimated. 49,
other aspects of the food situation
in Germany cannot be more telllnGly
nor more truthfully summed up man
BY the crude but exact statement thaI
at any time anywhere man can cay
more than is good for him TOT hlaiN
and a half.
an excellent soup, a liberal portion o.
Rhine salmon or some other lIesH
water fish, with potatoes; roast meat,
garnished with potatoes. means anu
peas, and a large slice OF Hollana OF
Swiss cheese, with bread, or, II ne
does not care for cheese, Jelly omeleI
or an orange.
lea IL would cost more than 81. CoHee
is ~ cents extra. The ordinary light
beer is 5 cents FOR a large glass.
All the dishes are we'll prepared.
OF course. you can, as in any coun-
try. souander money on your food IN
Germany in war time. but you would
have hard work 10 run up such a bill
for dinner as the habitues Of the. best
restaurants in New York and Chicago
pays without Gualm.
No Food Panic Apparent.
UnGeniab.j prices Of some kinds Of
food have increased, and it likewise IS
undeniable that the small householder5
feel the increase. The sole difference
between America and Germany in this
respect is that in America the small
householder feels it all the time and
complains bitterly, while in Germany
the small householder feels it in war
time and complains little.
AS for the sojouruer IN this land, he
reads the Food Panic in Germany
dispatches in his English and Ameri-
can newspapers and wonders whence
his next meal is coming. Then he goes
into the beer lokal' Of his hotel IN
town like Aachen, which IS only few
minutes ride from the Belgian border,
and eats and drinks for an hour at an
outlay of 30 cents.
Sunday before last the new Amcri-
can Consul at Aachen, Henry Damn,
rode over to K0ln for a days outing.
K0ln is city Of over half a million
population, and it is full of soldiers.
1t ought to feel the pinch of war prices
more than any other town IN the khlue
province. saw the consul the day
after his return.
"Did you have a good time? ~ / asked
yes" said he, though. Of course,
my privations were something TO tell
about"
"For example"
"Well, three Of us consular PEOPLE
went to the best hotel in town, and had
a Sunday dinner Of soup, fish with po-
tatoes, a meat course with vegetables,
pheasant with salad. and ices, and the
bin was > marks 30 for each OF us
Two marks 30 equals 62i2 cents.
In America pheasant is so expensive
that . believe il is considered special
luxury.
Other sideHehts on this alleged food
panic i'm Germany l eceiye almost
daily when 90 to the postoihce to send
q telegram or register a letter or get
q parcel weighed. At the weighing
windows one has 10 stand IN line ten
minutes, because so many people have
come TO have packages of dchcaclcs for
/ the soldiers weighed. Girls who are
sending sweetmeats and cakes 20 their
/ lovers at the front, matrOus who are
/ sending more substantial dclicacies 20
their boys, are IN the line, and It 10 70
. line that is hardly broken al, day long.
The Cost Of German Living.
I But, to come down TO brass tacks,
made out q list Of some of the prime
necessities Of life and went over it
with one housekeeper in Aachen and
/ with the proprietor of the Hotel
/ Kaiserhof The hotel keeper and the
householder agreed as TO the correct
ness Of the list when we had finished
with it. Here are the facts il con
tains:
For potatoes. which under normal
conditions cost 81 l2h2 hundred
weight at this time of the year the
hotel keeper now pays 81 % 20 81 90,
the latter price for the best quality.
The small householder, however, who
buys from the green grocers IN small
lots, has 70 pay from - TO cents a
pound, where in October he was paying
only ! cent q pound, or ia cents
pound for the best quality. For the
small buyer, therefore, the price of po-
tatoes has more than doubled.
The municipality of Aachen. however,
/ is selling potatoes to the people at the
same rate the wholesalers charge the
/ large buyers. but il cannot at present
sell in small lots owing 90 the large
number of salespeopie and the amount
of clerical help that retailing would
require.
That the hotelkeepers are not fear
ing a shortage Of potatoes is indicated
by the fact that with every fish and
/ meat course they serve more potatoes
than anybody really wants.
IL is said that In koln potatoes can
be bought in small lots for ~ cents
a mound but | have not verified that