New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-05
ONCLE ROF UND TANTE YAAKRES
How They Settled in Asaee, Despite the
Censor
To the Editor Of The Tribune.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: Notwithstanding the baroed wire en-
,anqements that encrcle sace-Lorraihe
and the extreme censorship established IN the
Reichsland, news will occasionally reach 'he
outside world. Information obtained through
clever channels depicts a situation that eS-
plains. # il docs not justify, the apparent
desire for peace manifested BY the Kaiser
The truth, the simple truth, is that Ter
many is hungry, literally hungry. her pe0-
pie are clamoring IN one breath Tor peace
and Cor food.
Two postal cards addressed to prominent
New Yorker. written in German and mailed
in the little town Of W, in Alsace, with
the rcd stamp of the censor, give interesting
information.
One Of the cards, mailed September 20,
1916, bears this sentence:
"Die Haupt Daaje hier list die Ochilla.'
To the ordinary layman the sentence means
nothing and evidently meant nothing to the
censor But TO person familiar with the
Hebrew language the above phrase is reye-
ation. The word "Daaje" in Hebrew stands
for anxiety, worry; while the word Och
lila" iron "Ochol," to eat means the action
of eating. So that the translation of the
quoted sentence reads: "Thc main anxiety
here is the action of eating
The other postal card, also bearing the
yiglant censor's stamp, was mailed on Octo-
Der 10, 1916, and among insignificant re-
marks alb, ut the health Of the writer, informs
the New York friend that "Oncle Rof und
II = rnrha IN
wshrscheinlich langere zeit bleiben.'
The word "Rof" in Hebrew means famine,
Starvation; the word Yaakres signifies Eek
travagant prices" so that the sentence
quoted above reads as follows.
Uncle Famine and Aunt Extrayagant
Prices are also here and will probably stay
4 long time"
As confirmation Of the present state OF
things in the empire, | submit the following
excerpt of letter from one of my Alsatian
correspondents. That gentleman, whose resi-
dencc is StrassburG, crawled out from Alsace
into Switzerland after untold adventures and
is now residing in Lausanne. From that
place he sends me the following, written in
French and scrupulously translated here:
The women in Strassburg go to the Ca
scrne military barracks) and beg food from
the soldiers. | have seen them standing in
line in. rain or snow, early in the morning
with children hanging on their aprons. Hun
ger is stamped on their emaciated faces. On
the other hand, families whose sons or hus-
bands are at the front arc writing them to
send home whatever they can spare from
their allotted ratons"
The letter further relates an absolute state
of terrorism in unfortunate Alsacc. "Our
jails are crowded, not with criminals, but
with victims of Prussian brutality, and what
is still verse, a number OF people arc driven
to insanity. The asylum at Stephansfeld Gin
lower Alsace) is overcrowded. Most of the
harmless patients have been sent away TO
make room for miserable creatures who have
lost their reason through mstreatment. And
yet we suffer with resignation. Our heart
swels with hope when we hear above our
heads the roar of French 'avion' (air-
plane).
"A bientot la deliverance' are the conclud-
ing words, and these words need no com
ment JONAS LIPPMANN,
Formerly of The Journal d'Alsace).
New York, Feb. 3, 1917.