The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1917-06-23
STARVATION IN
GERMANY PROVEN
English Woman, Interned Until
Recently, Tells of Conditions
as She Saw Them.
HEALTH OF PEOPLE IMPAIRED
Impossible, She Says, for Germany to
Hold Out Much Lonoer-Food
Riots Are Becoming Worse
and Worse.

London.-That it is impossible for
Germany to hold out much longer is
the considered opinion of the wife OF
an EngliShman who for the whole
period Of the war up till now, has been
interned at Ruhleben, and who her
self within the last two or three weeks
has been permitted by the German au-
thorities to return to the land of her
birth. Her knowledge Of Germany is
especially thorough, as she has resided
there with her husband, who was as
ISOLATED with q commercial house, for
nearly twenty years; and her account
of the conditions of the country when
she left last month is so balanced and
restrained as to carry full conviction
of it's truth.
"The people," she said, "are starv-
ing, and yet most of them think that
if they hold out they will be the vic
tors. Only defeats on the battlefield
will bring it home to them that their
starving is no good, and then they will
turn round upon their government.
"My husband and I, after SO long a
stay in Germany, were on the point OF
returning to England in September,
1914, when the war broke out in Au-
gust, and then there was no chance to
get away. We had to give up our
pretty home and go into the interior
Of the country, whence he was taken
to Ruhleben, where he has been ever
since. For the first two years wives
situated like myself were not allowed
to see their husbands and 1t was not
until June, 1916 that I met mine for
the first time after his arrest. You
can perhaps imagine the shock l got
when / saw him again-thin and hol-
low-cheeked, as he had lost As pounds
while in the camp. After that we were
allowed to visit every three months
for two hours, which was better than
nothing at all, especially to me, as l
had q brother also there and many
others I knew.
Money Is Held Back.
81 held out as long as I possibly
could because then I could occasional
ly see my husband, and besides had
money, which, as soon as l came over
the frontier, 1 had not. No one was
allowed to take out Of the country
more than 200 marks, which should
be worth $50; but when crossed the
change came to not much more than
$25. Thanks to the help of friends, |
1 am now being financed in a small |
way, but 1 am only too thankful for |
this, because things are so distressing |
ly bad in Germany that I am much |
afraid we should be starving If we still |
were there. The food riots are becom- |
ing worse and worse, and every one
knows the worst times are yet to |
come. These will be in May and June,
until some of the new crops are avail
able; but if they eat these as soon as
they come out of the ground there will
be none for the coming winter. And
what then?
"That is why there were many Ger
mans 1 knew who envied me for be-
ing able to leave the country, where
things are going from bad to worse
as the weeks pass on. Now, it seems,
the bread rations have been made
smaller, instead of larger as was prom
ised to the people some months ago,
and it is less than three and a half
pounds head per fortnight, and very
poor stuff at that, it being made chief
y of swedes. The largest amount of
neat allowed per head weekly is one
half pound. including bone, and for
he last seven months we in - did
lot see anything in the shape Of pork,
bacon, lard or any other fat. The
at problem, of course, is for the Ger
mans the worst. All we saw in that
way for the last seven or eight months
vas about three ounces Of butter
lead per week, and there were many
owns that were allowed only half
hat weight and even less. You can
.et nothing unless you have plenty of
uOney. Jam-dreadful stuff 1t is
osts 1.50 mark a pound and one can
et only half a pound Of that every
the same with coffee.
"You can imagine that, with this
light amount of nourishment, the
ealth Of the people as whole is
living way. Of course the rich can :
wv duu lICu SCl CAlldS, SuSh do q
mall fowl of from two and a half to
hree pounds for from $3.50 to So, I
lille at Christmas geese were bought
t prices up to $50 and SIS, and there
vere folks who were glad to have
lem even at that price. Foreign lard
an now and again be had at $3.50
ound, but there are very few who
an buy that.
No More Sugar.
"All sweet shops were closing down
hen left, as there was no more
lgar to make sweetmeats, and choc-
late and cocoa were not to be had
le last three or four months. Milk
as hardly to be had any more, and,
fact, there are many towns which
ave not seen drop of milk for
eeks and weeks, and when came
way last month it was publicly
nown that in April and May there
ould be hardly any meat or milk to
: had and the shortage would be