South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-12-05
THE truth About GERMANY
Babies Lice on SKINNED
Milk, Children in Berlin
ore a Very Solemn Lot


working as hard as day laborers
They were not Joking or laughing
about it, either. as we would do IN
der similar circumstances over here.
They were in quiet deadly earnest.
They worked regular hours. had
their hour for lunch and quit when
the working day was done. not be-
fore
The German woman may be stolid
and slow, but she certainly can
learn quickly. for while was in
Berlin / saw women performing
work that. before the war. there
never had been an idea that they
ever would need do il.
I saw them digging in the streets,
putting In telephone poles. repair
ing telephone and telegraph wires.
putting down car tracks, doing por-
tiers work, running street cars and
omnibuses. working on trains, lift
ing trunks. carrying loads which
would tax a mans strength. and all
cheerfully and uncomplainingly
The working woman there is per
mitted one-half loaf Of bread a
week extra. If she didn't get that
she soon would collapse. Many Of
the women do break down. anyway.
The working women there all
wear overalIs and caps just like
men. Some Of them cut their hair
short and others simply pull il back
as plain as they can. They wear
no corsets. for two reasons. one is.
J OF course they can work better, and
the other is that corsets are so ter
riblySexpensive
Wear Wooden Shoes.
The working women wear wood
en- shoes as do the children. The
women's shoes are like sabots.
shaped like a shoe. But the chill
dren wear fiat boards, hinged in the
center and fitted with straps to hold
them on their feet The children
go without stockings except in the
very cold weather.
Last winter the schools we're
] closed for six weeks in Berlin be-
| cause Of lack Of fuel. No language
except German is taught in the
schools now. German people who
can speak English never do so. In
school all references TO other coun-
tries, except what is absolutely
necessary, are omitted.
l have read with interest. since
my return. Of the argument in Chi
cagO as 10 whether the spelling
book containing the eulogy Of the
kaiser would be permitted TO remain
intact. 1t makes me laugh when I
think just how long any book would
be allowed TO remain undestrOyed i'm
the German empire which contained
the slightest complimentary refer
ence to Pres't Wilson. King George
or Pres't Poincare.
The universities still are open.
but the students are getting a much
inferior grade of education. I un-
derstood. The best professors all
/ have gone 10 the war Their sub
! stitutes, who are doing their best.
have not the learning nor the ex-
| perience.
Only SKINNED Milk.
I cannot undertand what Ger
many means She is permitting
/ herself 10 be drained of everything
/ worth while-her education. the
health of her people. their vitality
everything.
When / say that the babies in
Germany are given all the milk
there is there-that is true. but it
is not milk such as we buy It is
what we call skinned milk There
\ is only about half the nOurishment
necessary to keep the babies alive
All babies. whether their mothers
nurse them or not, are allowed milk
until five months old This is be-
! cause even the strongest mothers
! now have not sufficient nourishment
/ for their babies. II is a terrible
thing when you think that in all
| Germany, probably. there is hardly
a mother strong enough to give her
infant all the nourishment it needs.
More than ever now, a German
mother wishes TO bear seven sons.
for she knows that the seventh. at
least, viii be well taken care of.
The kaiser always is godfather 10
+ the seventh son of any woman in
Germany. He sees that that boy is
well taken care of. brought up well
educated and well placed in life I
haven't any idea how many such
boys the kaiser now is interested in,
but there must be a host Of them.
Heavy Taxes, Too.
I'm addition 20 the cost Of living
being so high. the Germans are be
ing heavily taxed in other ways.
Postal cards, for instance. which
formerly took five pfennig stamp
a pfennigs about equal one Of our
cents) now takes "a ~ -pfennig
stamp. The 1O-pfennig stamps have
been raised 20 15-pfennigs. Train
fares all over the empire have been
raised about 10 per cent. Omnibus
fares have been raised. but not
street car fares.
But no person rides on street cars
now any more than he can help be-
cause OF the many accidents. The
,r-,r,ar7 ara nor "a b1a IN rim them ;.