The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1917-12-23

between home and battlefield. We -
home lend more and more water %
help turn the mill Of the entente" Or.
Franz Berne has Published an appeal
for strong nerves In the TAG.
. He attributed the failure OF Ger
many IN this respect 20 cunning
psychological strategy on the part
Of England. But he remarked, very
significantly, that "the state Of our
food supply need not weaken our
nerve" and he added that there was
q ''remedy for weak nerveH. which
must be applied n the worst comes
10 the worst" though he unlrindly
omitted 70 tel what II waS The
Kreuzzeitung said that there were
people at home who "reviled cur Hieh
Command" and that q German could
only understand victories which
brought IN "a large amount Of prison
ers, territorial gains, and booty"
Feed Inpertnnt Question
Such being the facts. q writer in
Die Konjunktur has kindly explained
them for us. His text IL q telegram
from Admiral Won Tirpitz 10 Herr Basr
ssrmann, which said: Neither tenn
porary difficulties should cause us 10
lose control OF our nerves." Easily
said, remarks the writer: but ''o1r
people are not wont to lose control
Of their nerves when their physical
condition n such that control Is pos
sfble. When this prerequisite II hack
ing, fine speeches and admonitions 70
for nothing. Nerves Of the people
are no longer steady. because the
means for keeping them steady are
not available. The difnculties beset-
ting our supply Of food stuffs begin
to withdraw gradually from the ma
ton the necessary prerequisite for the
control Of the nerves II we are 70
prevent q worsening OF the national
mood. we must somehow surmount the
obstacles to an adequate supply %
food"
A striking commentary on this very
notable utterAnce IL a set Of figures
given by DR.. Dienemaun, medical
ofncer Of health for Dresden, in So
cisl Praxis. OF September q. The ex-
act minimum amount OF nourishnnent
required BY different ages and occupa-
tons has Of course been worked out
by many experiments. D4enemann
gives the following table. A man en-
gagged on light work requires $50 cal.
StAce eAAss ne TcCclNcQ IN SeTnAng
LOO az he gets them). barely one
half.
A man engaged on heavy work re-.
quires AGO calorfes; he receives soa.
much less than q half. A man en-
gagged on the heaviest work requires
100 70 5000 calories: he receives $50.
Sometimes not a third Of what he
needs- Finally. boys Of Is to Is re.
quire $50 Galleries and receive 500:
and this, as Dienemann points out, s
far more serious matter than any
thing that can happen in the case Of
man. II means among other things.
that the new German classes Will be
deficient in vitality and stamina.
VIII Probably Increase.
Anyone who wants to understands
the position Of the combatants in this
war should try TO realize those figures.
The Austro-Germans have won a great
victory In Italy; one might imagins
that all difficulties over German
nerves' would cease So. far from
ceasing. they will probably be in
creased 1t is known from many quar-
tiers that large sections Of the Ger
man people now only value ''yicto-
reg because they hope they will bring
peace; when they ind that the VIC
tory In Italy does not bring peace anv
nearer. the reaction may be expected
70 accentuate German ''nervoSitst.-'
For the causes Of German nerves are
now beyond control
The allies may and will retrieve their
defeat Germany cannot retrieve the
stats Of thinEs shown by the table OF
cslories- have quoted; Il is perma-
nent. and its effect IL cumulative. TAX
Ing people in bulk, no patriotism or
resolution can alter the fact that as
the physical condition and vitality OF
workers decrease, the strain on the
nervous system grows greater, till IL
timately that system goes to pieces.
Many people in Germany, even now.
are not In q condition TO stand 8 big
reverse; and when one comes. one
which cannot be CLOSED over. the
world may see the real meaning OF
that table OF calories
The last traveller 1 have seen who
has been in Germany since the ItaI-
ian victories remarked to me. Those
things don't matter. People in trains.
In shops, talk not about victories, but
about food. and politics. Political talk
centers about getting rid OF the Kat
ser's bureaucrats and setting up a
more democratic government II 1ha
Kaiser does not give them peace this
winter, no matter how many victories
he gives them. Germany next yesr will
20 TO pieces internally. with the armies
still standing Arm in the trenches. as
Russia has done"
II the war is 10 be won by the side
with the strongest nerves. there need
be no fear as to who il going 10 win
IL.