Omaha daily bee., 1917-02-25
GERMANS HUNGRY,
BUT NOT STARVING
Organization Does Much to
Alleviate Suffering, but
Lack of Food Exists.
ROUMANIA DISAPPO1NTS

Correspondence Of The Associated Press)
Berlin, Feb. 10.-Back last spring
when butter first began to run short
and the waiting lines first began to
form, two housewives were quarrel
ling over their respective rights IN
line. They quarreled so vociteroussly
that thew attracted the attention OF a
policeman.
Laboriously he separated the pair,
and, when he had placed them far
apart, he addressed them and all the
other women in the long butter
line"
stop the controversy. Don't hight
You're not going to starvc, but you
are going to go hungry,
His words were more effective in
the original German because of the
similarity of the two verbs. "Verhung-
ern verdict ihr NIGHT, aber hungern
wohl."
The policeman was no prophet, yet
in March of 1916 he almost exactly
outlined situation that now exists
There are no longer butter lines
and a few potato lines that began 10
form during the last month of the last
year have been done away with. Or
ganization has done that, though ii
has failed to supply any more butter
than there was on hand in the spring
or any more potatoes than there were
in November.
On the contrary, there is much les:
butter than there used to be, fac
which is attested to by the compari
son of 50 grams allowed each person
per week now, as against $50 in thu
spring. There are less potatoes, ant
the visible supply at very best will las
until next July-when a new harves
will be in.
Small Meat Supply.
A summary of the German foot
situation today shows: Very little but
ter with little, if any, prospect tina
there will be more in the immediate
future. An equally small amount o
margarine or other substitutes TO
butter. A supply of meat that doe
not bid fair to increase, because Their
is so little feed on which the cattl
can be nourished and fattened. !
minimum amount Of sugar, since les
than the usual supply Of sugar beet
was raised in 1916, and a part of tn
/ supply has to go toward making
chemicals. An almost complete failur'
of the potato crop, so that the brea'
ration is to be Stretched" with barle,
instead of potato -four. to the conse
quent diminishing OF tie beer produc
ton. An almost negligible supply o
coffee and very slender amount o
tea.
On the credit side of the ledge
stand the vegetables that were raise,
in great quantitis during the last sum
mer, and that with German thought
fulness and system have been dried il
great quantities and will be availabl
for the winter. Likewise there ar
great quantities of marmelade. o
near-marmelade, which have beei
stored up as a substitute for butter
The Substitute is very poor, but bet
ter than nothing.
The average German will insist tina
Roumana stands on the credit side O
the ledger, too, and that it is a BIZ
item. But it is extremely probabl
that the amount of food found in Rou
mania is far smaller than had been an
ticipated. Turkey. Bulgaria, Hungar
and Austria all also have claim OF
whatever there may be. Though Ger
many is running the military situation
in Roumania, Germany is very ia
away. Its authorities have known 70
weeks that there was little to ex
pect from Roumania, and have trie
to break the evil news gently. FRS
came the announcement that the siz
of the supplies captured was unknown
then the word that what ever nigh
be found would not be used, but KEEP
as a reserve.
Big Cities Suffer.
1t is, of course, the big German
cities that are suffering, and that ar
going to suffer increasingly as tn
war continues. Lack of transporta
ton facilities is an increasingly i'm
portant factor.
Germany, which before the war ha
somewhat more than ample freigh
cars for its own needs, now has t.
make the number of cars, approx
mately, do for all of the German EN-
pire, nearly all of Belgium, norther
France, all of Poland, and big piec