Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-11-18

month to Holland in return for food
stuffs. For there Is a coal famine in
Germany, as well as most serious
transport crisis. The great German
cities will be almost without coal this
winter, and the consumption OF gas is
also TO be curtailed because OF the
difficulties of manufacture. Coal. is
only permitted in large quantities to
munition factories: factories engaged
! on civilian work have to get along as
best they can on fraction OF what
they need.
Neutrals Soon Must Refuse.
In spite OF this, after a good deal of
dickering with Holland, the German
climbed down and agreed to give tho
Dutch all the coal they need. Send
us food" is the German cry to the
Dutch, TO the Danes, the Norwegians
and the Swedes. Food profitoers in
those neutral countries control certain
supplies OF food. and sell TO the Ger
mans, eager 10 get the stupendous
prices the starving Teutons are willing
TO pay, careless OF the food scarcity
among their own people. But. tho
authorities here are confident, the day
is almost at hand when the peoples OF
the neighboring neutrals will compel
their governments to stop the sale OF
any food to Germany, so that they
may be able TO eat themselves. And
when that day comes. the plight OF
the central powers will be worse than
IL is now.
Much credit is given here in official
circles to President Wilson and his
advisers for their firm and prompt
steps TO cut off supplies 10 Germany.
The desperate situation that Confronts
the enemy this winter Is held to he
due, in no small degree. TO the terror
inspired by the embargo among prof
iteering neutrals. America" "a high
official connected with the blockade
said to me, has done more TO win the
war already, by really blockading
Germany. than II she had put twenty
divisions I'm She line In France, or had
advanced us ten times the money sho
has so generously offered"
OF only less importance for the flu
ture of the war than the famine in
food is the famine in raw materia Is.
Leather, rubber, cotton are unobtain-
able. Information here TO the effect
that nickel and copper have given out
arouses optimism among munitions
manufacturers who know how essen>
tial these metals are. At HAMBURG
are great shell fuse works, and these
are now operated on part time, be-
cause there is not enough natal. Even
the most indispensable commodity of
all, steel, is giving the German author
tiles worry.
Some six million tons of ore yearly
are imported by Germany from
Sweden, and the continued supply OF
this quantity, or of anything like IL,
Is rendered more than doubtful. The
ore question is not one that can be
discussed in public at this time II
may be said however, that If any way
could be found seriously TO curtail tho
ore supply from Sweden to Germany
| 1t would be impossible for Germany
to continue the war. Here, too.
American pressure may ultimately
prove useful.
One of the bitterest complaints
made by the people of Germany as the
fourth winter approaches is their in
ability to buy shoes, or clothes, or
underwear. A German may have two
suits, four changes of underclothing,
four pairs of socks, per year. IL he can
buy them. Most Germans are unable
to get even this iron ration, and,
when they do get clothes, they find
that they are supplied with imitation
cloth. just as they get imitation food.
All the cloth" now put on the marke ct
for sale to civilians is made out OF
paper yarn" And the inability to
keep warm, with paper clothes, no
fuel and not enough food to keep the
fire of life burning at more than tho
lowest temperature, has much to do
with the prevailing sickness and de-
preston.
Austria Hungary Worse.
Conditions in Austria Hungary arc
much worse than in Germany / am
not able to give figures concerning
the harvests or the food rations, but
have been assured in circles familiar
with all the secret information that
leaks thru from the dual monarchy
that the only reasons the country is
holding out are, first, the presence OF
German troops and German COM
manders, which make revolt against
Prussan domination dangerous for
the civil authorities, and secondly, the
fear in court circles i'm Vienna and
among the Magyar magnates that rule
Hungary that the suspension of fight
ing will be the signal for a bloody
revolution in which the long oppressed
subject races will take vengeance on
their masters.
1t is natural that the presentation
of the terrible facts about the internal
conditions of Germany should arouse
optimism in allied countries. and ex-
pectations of the approaching collapse
of the enemy empires. There is one
to try to bring home to Americans |
when | was permitted to have the fig |
ures given above. That warning Is |
this:
Germany is not the only country |
which has food difficulties, where the |
strain of war is felt more terribly |
than Americans can conceive. Ger
many is hanging on in the despairing
hope that one or more of the allies
rrank fit.Ct Tho fuh oil al |
ening of effort on the part Of any one
of the allies, especially on the part OF
he United States, would inevitably
encourage the rulers of Prussia to
dragon their people into holding
out" even il half die in the process. II
The way to shorten the war is to go
on getting ready on the assumption
that 1t will last forever; then, when
he Germans realize that the strain is
not weakening the allies as much as
L is telling on themselves, the war
nay end with a sudden and dramatic