Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-02-13
Hungry All the Time
Throughout Germany
Correspondent Writes of His Impressions After
Three Weeks in Berlin Weekly Allow
ances of Many Food Staples

respondent heard similar expressions
from all sides. The mos, bitter COM
plants come from soldiers at home.
When the writer last visited the front
in July, the mems rations were ample
in every respect, and there is no rea-
son to believe the same is not true to-
day. The soldier at home. thus notices
the difference more keenly than do
those who have had gradually to ac
custom themselves to one deprivation
after another.
There is deadly monotony about
the meals in the average household.
Breakfast generally consists of rolls,
marmalade (often made of pumpkins),
| and a decocion of roasted acorns, rye,
chicory and what-no that goes by the
name Of coffee. There is no real coffee
Some tea at high prices is still to be
| had, but the poorer people drink prev
! of linden blossoms. raspberry leaves or
leaves of other shrubs or trees. For the
second breakfast" there is dry bread
! Dinner generally consists of boiled
| potatoes with salt, some kind Of boil
| ed vegetable, and, on perhaps two days
of the week tiny piece of meat. Fish
| takes the place of meat on other days,
unless one can buy q goose, at Sl.56 a
pound (they cost 81 a pound just be-
fore Chrstmas); duck at S1.44 a
pound: turkey at S1.32 a pound, or a
| hen at $1.0S to $120 4 pound
| Comparatively little game comes on the
market, apparently going to the hotels
and restaurants.
| Supper is the problem in the average
household. Generally there are no pota-
/ toes left over from noon and if there are
there is not fat in which 20 fry them.
The usual German supper before the war
consisted of cold meats. sausage, cheese,
bread and butter and beer. There is no
meat no cheese and no sausage. no but
ter on four or five days OF the week, NJ
more bottled beer, and many saloons re-
fuse to sell beer to be drunk Off the
premises. The beer, moreover, is all but
undrnkabe
There remain. then, only bread and hsn.
fresh, smoked, dried or canned. And
here the problem Of cost is added TO that
of monotony. The writer paid in Berlin
sl,20 a pound for ordinary lake trout and
"a cents a pound for small fresh water
bass. Dried sailed fish cast Sc cents a
pound and smoked eel s1.92 to $40.
Smoked goose breast cost S. to $3.50 a
pound and boiled shrimps are u cents.
once in every four or five weeks the city
authorities place on the market small
tins of sardines one of which may be
bought on presentation OF the municipal
provision card Each family. no matter
of how many members. has only one OF
these cards. The sardnes thus sold may
be had for about IS cents for the small
tim III the open market they cost from
81 cents for sardines in tomato sauce to
70 cents for sardines i'll oil. one smoked
herring from six to eight inches long
costs % to % cents. A can of alleged
shredded veal bought by the correspon-
dent was more than half gelatne and
cost y cents It's gross weight was n
pound.
Pepper costs SO pound. and small rails
ms s1.0S. Saccharine dissolved in water
has taken the place Of sugar for sweet
ening coffee and tea in private homes as
well as restaurants. Milk is ordinarily
available in limited quantities only for
invalds. the very aged and small chill
dren.