Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-08-05
INTERNAL GERMANY
PICTURE OF PEACE
Little of Awful Struggle Now
Convulsing World Seen in
Life of Berlin.
FOOD DISTRIBUTION UNEQUAL
Observer Struck With Ignorance
of People Concerning Districts
Other Than Their Own.

yelling through Germany to study the
writes from Berlin:
The further ono gets away from
the front the less he sees Of the awful
struggle now CONFUSING the world.
Berlin presents a picture OF peace.
Business ia almost normal. but the
crowds in the streets are smaller than
before the war and always literally
sprtnkled with 'fleld-gray.' Cafes.
theaters and moving picture shows
are crowded and the subway and ele-
waited trains. street cars and electric
omnibuses with their female conductors
j. and drivers run on schedule time. Here
and there little groups OF captured
French. English and Russian of1icers
can be seen who chat pleasantly and
are permitted to move about freely.
The faces OF these prisoners always
express surprise and show that they
expected to find the capital OF the
Huns different than it is. Most of
all the prisoners are surprised by the
fact that the principal Paris, London
and Petrograd papers are for sale at
all large ncws-stands.
Travelling through Germany a for
sisner Is struck by the inequality in
the distribution of food and the ig-
norance OF the population of the diff
ferent districts in regard to the con-
ditions in other parts OF the empire.
Tho bread, meat and soap cards entitle
the holders to the Same quantities
everywhere. but as far as the other
necessities arc concerned the, distribu-
ton ia different in every province and
city.
When was in Munich I was told
that Saxony with its large cities and
industrial centers. was suffering more
than any other state. Don't so there
arriving at Leipzig found food there
less expensive than in. tho Bavarian
capital and not more scarce. - 'T-.'s'-
FOOD IN BERLIN SELLS
AT REASONABLE PRICES
I'm Leipzig l was cautioned not to
go to Berlin. You will not get any
thing there well-meaninE citizens as
! sured me. but their warnings were as
{ groundless as those OF my friends in
Munich In regard to Saxony To my
establishment I discovered that l could
get good meal for so to IS cents.
Tho so-called middle-class kitchens
furnish a dinner consisting Of soup.
meat or fish. potatoes and two kinds of
vegetables for 20 cents. For 2l-2 to
cents a dessert may also be had which
is served under alluring names. One
consists of stewed turnips favored with
extracts from different fruits like cher
ries. pears. dates and pincapples. The
relief kitchens for the poorest classes
in the thirty-ffth month of the war
still sell one liter of nourishing and
well-cooked stew for 10 to Is cents.
Many articles of food are not yet
rationed Condensed soups vegetables
fruit, fish and sea food Of all kinds
are sold without cards and can be OBJ
tanned in considerable quantities by any
one who has the money to pay for
them. The wealthy classes always
manage to get meat and all kinds of
delicacies on the sly by paying fabu-
lous prices for them, but II their secret
provisioning is discovered they invari-
ably are dragged to court and sent
to prison. Their social rank and money
never saves them.
THE neutral foreigners are better
off everywhere than the natives, be-
cause they may import food from home
and do so freely. The Swiss govern
ment furnishes eleven pounds OF pro-
visions per month to every one Of its
citizens working in Germany. or liv-
Ing hero for some other reason.
During the last four weeks I have
traversed the empire in different di-
rections and am compelled to state
that I saw no actual hunger, but the
population is undoubtedly undernour-
ished. The principal reason for this
is the lack OF fats.
THIN GERMANS OF WAR DAYS
PROVING MUCH MORE HEALTHY
All Germans have lost their rotund,
bulky shapes for which they were
.cnown once. They are slim now with
few exceptions. Those who had fat
reserves enough in their bodies are
healthier to-day thar formerly but the
others have been weakened and many
are hardly able to perform the strenu-
Gus labor demanded from all.
THE organization Of the food distri-
button throughout the empire has
proved faulty in many respects, but It
is improved greatly. One of the great
est mistakes the government made was
tHdC IL ctCOuTdSeu the raising or cattle,
hogs and sheep to an abnormal degree
The result of this policy is that Ger
many to-day has more heads OF cattle
than before the war. but no fodder for
them. To kill the animals in their half
starved condition would mean an enor-
nous loss. They will have to be kept
alive somehow until the harvest comes
Then they will be fattened up as quick
ly as possible and sent to the slaughter
houses In large numbers This assures
a considerable Increase Of the meat
srations late in fall and. during the win
ter. The fodder question for tho next
year seems to be solved In spite OF the
drought and the scant hay harvest
because It is officially reported that
the occupied parts OF Roumania will
fprnish large quantities OF hay. clover,
Aifsife. beets and and OIL cakes"