Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-05
Rv CARL W. ACKERMAN

BERLIN, May ~ Ndelayed).
Civilians in Germany must eat no meat
tor the next eight weeks Herr Adolph Won
patocu Germany's new food dictator"
NV holding one of the most important
,os,s In the empire, said today In frank
sisoussion of the food situation as he found
1, on assuming office last week.
Tbia regulation. the new food minister
.oid sbouid cause no alarm in Germany
and no elatlon in the camps OF Germany 8
|If the coming harvest is only medium" ;"
- .aid "the starvation of Germany
through the British blockade lis out of ques-
tion." ..- -, ... -
.oclti said. has Just begun The coming
eight weeks may cause some discomfort to
thoae Germans who are fond of meat.
Furthermore, the meat shortage is apt to
continue for at least three months, he de-
clared frankly.
NOW F'ATTENING CATTLE.
,rrbe cattle are lean now because of a
moor harvest in 1916" he said. "They can
mt be slaughtered now. We must walt
until they are fattened on pasturage. But
meanwhile we have enough meat for our
military hospitals and places where 1t Is
urgently needed,
"At all events, there is enough food in
Germany but It is necessary that civilians
eat no meat for the next eight weeks.
Starvation is out of the question. but we
must consider not only the present food
situation, but the situation the coming win
ter In the winter we need more meat
and more fats than in summer. In order
to insure a supply for the winter we must
eat meat sparlngly during the summer.
Probably meat cards will be issued through
out Germany and there will be a few meat
less weeks.
THE cause of the present shortage is the
bad harvest last year. If the harvest this
year is even medium the food situation will
begin to improve the middle of July or the
first of August"
Herr Won Batocks job is to take the
"stranglehold" out of the British blockade
He must prevent the starvation of Germany
by her enemies He must provide equitable
distribution of the nations food supplies
He has done much already and by keeping
the public well informed regarding the food
situation and obtaining public cooperation
he expects TO do much more.
WHAT BLOCKADE MEANS.
To understand his task an American
must imagine the United States blockaded
no corn to fatten the cattle and each per-
son provided with half a pound of meat
n fifth of pound of butter, war bread
and plenty of vegetables each week He
must imagine too, that the United States
is at war with all her able-bodied men
fighting, and two million prisoners the
. population Of Poland, besides So, 900 900
Americans to feed. Then he must imagine
the job confronted national food depart
rnent with authority to regulate what one
buys and eats.
Next Saturday representatives of the
larger German cities will come to Berlin
for conference at which arrangements
VIII be made for the establishment of food
depots, where cooked food will be sold at
cost. This scheme has been tried already
In some places with good results
Travellers arriving from the rural dis
tricts report the crop prospects excellent.
The farmers declare the present weather a
gift from Providence to the German people.
Ambassador Gerard, returning from his
hunting lodge, reported the rye four feet
high.