Evening star., 1917-12-30
MASSES IN BERLIN STAND m
LINE FOR HOURS TO GET BREAD
&ditor Of Copenhagen Newspaper Tells Of
Conditions He Found During Trip
to German Capital
Ny NJ. yIGGO CAyLING,
Editor -iA-chief the Polltiken, COpen-
hagen.

Ny NJ. yIGGo cAyLLNG.
EditOr-iA-chief the Pelitiken, Copen-
hagen.
IThe edieorin-chief Of the Copenhagen news
Dsper Poltiken, NJ. yiggo Cavling. gives some oi
his impressions of daily life In Berlin during a
recent visit to the capital. The Poitiken has
never been ant-German in Its views. so that the
conditions described By the editor are not By any
means exaggerated. This article is translated
from the Copenhagen publication.]
Our train arrived in Berlin at night.
and fairly well up to time. The streets
were shrouded in darkness. You could
scarcely see any taxis or motors. and
the horses Of the cabs looked terribly
underfed. The lack Of motor cars is
occasioned by the scarcity OF rubber.
(If you carry . pair OF goioshes with
you take good care OF them. and do
not. for example. hand them in to the
attendant of the theater anteroom or
you viii never see them again)
Tho darkness of the streets is to be
ascribed to the lack of lighting mate
rial. Indeed, theaters must close at ~
o'clock and the restaurants at half-past
IL. The heating of private houses was
forbidden up to the 18th of October.
Small Meat AarlonS.
You can understand how hard it is to
live in Berlin at present when you hear
that most households have to be carried
on without supplies of butter, fat, white
bread, sugar, coffee, tea or chocolate.
The meat rations are small. and on
meatless days the slightest portion OF
meat is forbidden. Cigarettes are fair
" plentiful. but there is great scare
a., - e,n ch1Yf
hours a day, and no more than hve
cigars may be sold to one customer
A common sight in Berlin Is the long
rows OF waiting people; in the Fried
bakers shop. and a little farther on
several hundreds Of people were pa
tiently standing in front of green
grooor's who was said to have received
p supply Of cabbages that morning
In the large beer halls of Unter Den
Linden nothing but war beer is served
1t is a bitter yellow drink and tastes
like ships beer, and almost moves one
to tears when one remembers the foam
ing Munich beer of former years.
Masters in Substitution.
are masters in the art of providing
substitutes" Their coffee substitute
Is not bad. while the German tea. made
of different plants, tastes rather ike
China tea
The waitress places on the coffee
table a small bottle of sweet stuff.
which is a white fluid prepared from
saccharine. and supposed to take the
place OF sugar. French wines are st1l
obtainable. and a bottle of Bordeaux
costs 10 marks. Sherry is also still to
be had, but no whiskey, Madeira or
liqueur.
question, we only receive paper ser
viettes. Even in the most wealthy
private houses no table linen is used.
Every one dimes off waxcloth. Our first
breakfast in the dining room of the
hotel was composed of a cup of tea
substitute. two pieces OF dry war
which had been prepared without
sugar There was no butter, yet for
such meal you are asked to pay
marks
strange effect when served in this mag
nincent hall. with its Persian carpets.
its silk tapestry and cleaning chande-
liers.
Woman Workers Not Liked.
You see nothing but women as mes
sengers. car drivers, railway guards,
etc. and one cannot say that the Ber-
liners are satisfied with this new order
OF things. The feminine officials are
said TO be either too strict or too
lenient, and very much given to hys-
terra
The quiet authority of the men is
greatly missed. and it is to be hoped
that the lady substitute will have only
q short term Of office.
At all street corners there are large
ing Germans that silence is their first
duty to their fatherland. yet in spite
Of that some people speak more than
they did in peace times.
this government order as they do to
the latest restrictions in the food ra-
tions. The proverbial telkativeness of
the Berliners has not disappeared. On
the contrary. inside the huge gray
buildings. where hundreds of officials
and commissions sit. it thrives particu-
larry. They talk there from morning
till evening.
Germans who formerly were proud of
their genius for organization now
complain OF organlzation mania; in
Vulnerable orders are sent out, often
contradicting one another, thus making
life burden to the Berliner.
Press Is outspoken.
The press has also suffered because
Of the scarcity OF paper. The newspa-
1eIs appear In smaller bulk; they are
printed with ink substitute, which has
truly terrible odor; but the war has
not robbed them of their sense OF hui
NOR. In spite OF the strict censorship
Sometimes they disappear for a day or
two when the high command finds that
they have gone rather too far, but when
thsy bob up again their tone is not any
more subdued.
4 number OF German newspaper edi-
tors have been sent to Constantinople
to fan the waning pro-German feeling
In Turkey. At banquet given in their
honor at Constantinople. the editor of
the Berlin paper Tagiiche Rundsha
made a speech in glowing praise of
the 'Vaterland."
In Germany there is no enthusiasm
for war except with the fanatical
fstheriand party. Everybody has
agreed. however. that they must just
close their teeth hard and hold out.
Dimcu1tfes are not so much at the
front, but at home increased prices, the