Arizona republican., 1917-09-07
XXXIV
The Reign of Terror Dictated by the
 German War


 number of laws. which had been evil dently prepared long in advance, making various changes made neces- sary by war such as alteration of the coinage law, the bank law, the law of maximum prices and so on were passed. Laws as to the high prices were from time to time made. !'Or instance, the law of the twenty. eighth of October, 1914, provided in detail the maximum prices for rye in different parts of Germany. The | maximum price at wholesale per German ton of native rye must not exceed 220 marks in Berlin, 236 marks in Cologne, POS marks in | Koenigsberg. 22S marks in Hamburg. | ,35 marks in Frankfort A. M. The maximum price for the Ger man ton of native wheat was. set at | forty marks per ton higher than the l above rates for rye This maximum 1 price was made with reference to | deliveries without sacks and for cash payments.
 The law as to the maximum prices applied to all objects of daily reces- ! | to oil, coal and wood. Of course, these maximum prices were changed | from time to time But l think I can | safely state that at no time in the war while I was in Berlin were the | simple foods more expensive than in New York.
 Composition of German "War Bread The so-called war bread" the staple food of the population. which was made soon after the commence l ment of the war, was composed par = l tially of rye and potato flour II was not at all unpalatable, especially when toasted, and when it was seen that the war would not be as short IS the Germans had expected the bread cards were issued. That is every Monday morning each perscr received a card which had annexed tC 1t number of little perforated sec. tions about the size of a quarter of z postage stamp. and each marked witl twenty five, fifty or one hundred Tn, total of these figures constituted thu allowance of each person in gram! per week. The person desiring tt buy bread either at a bakers or in restaurant must turn in these little stamped sections for an amour equivalent to the weight of the breat purchased.
 Each baker received certain amount of meal at the commence ment of each week, and he had t, account for this meal at the end o the week by turning in it's equiva lent in bread cards
 Food Card System Applied to Al
 Staples
 As food became scarce the car, system was applied to meat. potatoes milk. sugar butter and soap. Greel vegetables and fruits were exemp from the card system, as were for iong time chickens, ducks, geese turkeys and game. Because of thes exemptions the rich usually manages to live well, although the price o goose rose to ridiculous heights There was, of course, much under Tround traffic in cards and sales o Illicit or smuggled butter and so or The police were very stern in thei enforcement of the law; the manage of one of the largest hotels in Der lin was taken to prison because h had made the servants give hir heir allowance of butter. which he il turn sold to the rich guests of tn hotel.
 No one more than six years of az at the time I left could get mil without doctors certificate. On result of this was that the childre of the poor were surer of obtainin milk than before the war. as the wo men of the F'rauendienst and socia workers saw to it that each child ha it's share
 In the third winter of the wal owing to a breakdown of means c transportation and want of laborer! coal became very scarce. All publi places, such as theaters, picture gal 'crles, museums. cinematograp 'hows and the like. were closed i Munich for want of coal In Berli the suffering was not as great, bu even the elephants from Hagen beck's show were pressed into servic to draw the coal carts from the rail way stations.
 Lights were economized All tn apartment houses (and all Berli lives in apartment houses) wei a1ncad of .a,oloa1.