New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-04-10

give up.
Blockadc'S Eject on Food supply
entered Germany 1T the beginning
Of the Allied blockade. IN February.
1919. one could purchase any kind aUd
Fny quantity of food 100 Germany Two
years later when left. there were at
least eighteen foodstufs which could
not be purchased anywhere. and there
were twelve kinds of food which could
b. obtained only hy government cards.
7 hat Is what the Allied blockade did 10
the food supplies. IL made Germany
look like q grocery store after closing
cut sale.
Suppose In the United states you
wanted tn" simplest breakfast coffee
and bread and butter. suppose you
wanted light luncheon of egg or a
sandwich, tea and fruit. suppose for
dinner YOU wanted plain menu OF
soup. meat, vegetables and dessert At
any grocery or lunch counter you could
got not only these plain foods. but any
thing else you wanted.
Not 30 ~ Germany, For breakfast
you cannot have pure coffee. and you
can have only very small quantity OF
butter with your butter card. Hotels
serve a coffee substitute, but most peo-
Tle prefer nothing. For luncheon YOU
may have an egg, but only one d2y dur
irg two weeks. Hotels still serve a
weak, highly colored .ca and apples or
oranges. For dinner YOU may have
soup without any meat or fat in II.
Soups are just a mixture of water and
vegetables. Two days a week you can
get a small piece Of meat with a meat
card. Other days you can eat boiled
fish
IlOuscholders Store Food
People who keep house. Of course,
have more food. because as rule they
have been storing supplies. Take the
Christian Scientists as an instance.
Members OF this Church have organized
semi-oiiicial club. Members buy all
the extra food possible. Then they
divide and store away what they want
for the "siege" the time when food
will be scarcer than IL Is to-day
Two women practitioners in Berlin.
who live together, bought thirty pounds
Of butter from an American who had
brought il In from Copenhagen They
canned it and planned to make this but
ter last one year Until a few weeks
ago people with money could 20 TO
Switzerland. Holland and Denmark and
or without permission. Some w althy
citizens who import machinery and
other things from outside neutral
countries have their agents smuggle
food at the same time.
While the Dutch, Danish and Swiss
governments try to stop smuggling
there is always some going through.
The rich have the money TO bride Dor
dor onicary ord NTLo. 7 -,..
in Dusseldorf. last October, ] met the
owner Of a number Of canal boats, who
shipped coal and iron products from
the Rhine Valley 10 Denmark. He told
me his canal barges brought back food
from Copenhagen every trip aud that
the border authorities were not very
careful in making an investigation Of
his boats
In Dusseldorf too. As well as in
Cologne, business men spoke about the
food they got from Belgium. They did
not get great quantities, Of course. but
the leakage was enough 10 enable them
to live better than those who had TO
depend upon The food in Germany
Card system Made General
When the food supplies began to de
crease the government Instituted the
card system Of distribution. Bread
cards had been very successful, so the
authorities figured that meat, butter
potato and other cards would be equal
iy so. But their calculations we're
wrong
When potato cards were issued each
person was given nine pounds a week.
But the potato harvest was a big fall
ure. The supply was 20 much less than
the estimates that seed potatoes had 10
be used to keep the people satisfied.
Even then the supply was short, and
the quantity to be sold on potato cards
was cut to three pounds a week Then
transportation difficulties arose. and
potatoes spoiled before they reached
Berlin. Munich Hamburg, Dresden,
Lcipsic and other large cities.
The same thing happened when the
government conhscated the fruit crop
last year
The government monopoly which
controls the purchase and distribution
Of food L. known As tho central kln-
kaufgescllschaft, the 81. J.. G. Because
this company has made 50 many mis-
takes and caused 50 much food 10 spoil
there is universal Dissatisfaction. Las
summer one day a trainload OF plums
was SNlppcu lioU NfiNti' INV itr''
city near Berlin. 10 the capital. The
~ F. G." confscated the plums nine
freight car loads, and delayed the dis
trIbution so long that the plums
spoilcd. So a group OF citizens went
out 70 the cars one morning and paint.
ed on each car boo big letters:
This is the kind of jam the Z. J.. &.
makes
Ham at $3.50 Pound
One dav / wa, asked on the telephone
whether / wanted 10 buy an ll-pound
ham. I asked'to have II sent 10 my
Office Immediately. When 10 came the
price was $3.50 a pound. / sent the meat
hack and told the man ! would not pay
such a price.
That's all right" he replied. "Dr
Stein and 4 dozen other people VIII pay
me that price. ! sent u 70 you because
wanted 10 help you out
Dr. Ludwig Stein. one Of tho editors
Of the "Nossiche Zeitung,' paid the
pricc and ordered all he could get Tor
the same money.
When / left Berlin the government
had issued an order prohibiting the
sale of all canned vegetables and itult.
II was explained that this food would
be sold when the present supplies 90
other foods were cNhau stcd. There were
i'm Berlin many thousand cans, bur no
one can say how long such food VIII
last -
In an article which Will follow thus ]
hall explain in more detail how the
food il bought and distributed, what
effects the Rumanian food had upon ihe
.ituation in Germany and Austria and
wbat the prospects are NJ Germany
make an offensive against RUSSIA 20
cot food Smuggling. TOO, VIII be- *
planned. ard SUCH instances as Yep