Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1916-04-14
RESTRICTS SIZE
':'.OF CAFE MEAL
Facing Inevitable Famine,
Berlin Takes Charge
Of Shops
SERIOUS CONDITIONS
English Soldier While Prisoner Ate
Potato Parings-Teutons Begged
Food From Him

London, April 14.-The German
governments order to all German
hotel and restaurant keepers that
they must reduce the size OF the
meals they serve, beth as to variety
and quantity. will be effective through
out German beginning with break
fast tomorrow orig.
The bills of fare will be reduced to
the smallest proportions on record,
and guests will not be permitted to
eat more than one item from any
single course-and not very much of
that. The butter supply, for instance:
now is restricted to one-eighth of a
pound per person pei week. Mighty
little sugar is given, Other food sup
plies are held to corresponding pre-
portions.
Germany is racing toward famine.
which has been forescen since last
summer by those who knew The truth
about the summer harvest according
to Francs Gribble, the British nov
elist, who has just returned to Lon
don after year in IT,, German inteln.
ment camp at Ruhlcben, near Berlin
"There is no avoiding the conclu-
sion," said Gribble today, "that the
state of the German people soon will
be much what the state of the Bel
gian people now would be but for AM
el1can phifanthropists.
:"The date at which the catastrophe
will occur depends upon good many
uncertain factors; but it cannot be
long delayed.
"The 1915 summer harvest, what
there was of it, was both sown and
rcaped while | was behind the barbed
wires at Ruhleben. There was prac-
tically no rain from the end Of March
until the beginning of July.
"The crisis passed. Then came the
lashing thunderstorms to complete the
damage. Those Of our custodians who
were concerned with agriculture pull
ed long faces and used ugly lam
euage. There was no mistake about
1.-THE German harvest of 1915 had
failed"
The novelist quoted the Yorwaerts,
the outspoken German Socialist news
paper, to show that the 1915 harvest
failed not only on account of drought,
but because.
/. The ground was not manfred,
the monopilization Of railway equip
ment by the military preventing this.
9. Horses and carts were scarce
because of the army needs.
8. Most skilled agriculturists were
away at the seat of war, and old men
women, children and prisoners could
not do the work.
d. The manufacturers of gr!cultur-
al implements have turned their en-
ergies to the manufacture of lmpie-
ments of war.
London, (By Mail, March Is.
"Being a military prisoner of war
in Germany is purgatory," according
to Lance Corporal William Egan, OF
the ROYAL Irish Rifles, who is sur
vivor of the Mons retreat and was
captured by the Germans at La bas'
see in October, 1914.
The following is Corporal Egan's
own story of his experiences. 1t con-
tains. as will be noticed, interesting
details regarding Sir Roger Case
ment's attempt to induce Irish pris-
oners of war to enlist in the German
ranks.
"When we irss arrived in Ger
many says Corporal Egan, eve were
simply half starved and / remember
my comrades and myself picking ou
potato peelings from the swllltuo
where they had been thrown by ou'
U sentries, washing them and making
meal of them. We would have eater
: anything.
:. ".When the parcels began to- ar11y
from the Oil Country our guard
were themselves being put on. shor
rations and they begged US to CIV
them some of our bread, but remem
c bered the sFlltub and we refused" !"