The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-05-26
FOOD SITUATION
IN GERMANY Is
BECOMING ACUTE
Protests Against Decreased
Rations Causing Much
Ferment.

Berne, Switzerland, May 26. - Tit
Berlin Lokal Anzeiger, commenting OF
the western offensive, wrote recently
THE battle continues to rage. Enemy
masses hurl themselves furiouslS
against our lines, which our heroes pro.
tect with their bodies. The enemy hal
appealed to the world to rise agains'
us.
yet Germany never has been van.
pushed so long as 1t has remained
united. No doubt, the enthusiasm Of
the first days Of war has given place
to g. firm, grave resolve. The bitter
misery of the times is making itself
felt. We have learned to renounce and
to make sacrifices"
Admission is Bitter.
Such an admission must be painful Il
those who only twelve months age
were SO confident and so arrogant But
today the German nation is less con-
cerned over the smiling prospects Of
the future than the misery and uneasi-
ness Of the present.
Hindenburg's retreat. accomplished
as they love to repeat, without the loss
Of a cannon, has suddenly had vex-
atious results. And now the allies Of
time when the German government
sees itself compelled to reduce its sub
jects' ration Of bread. Such painful
condolences are not of nature to re-
store confidence to those about to lose
it.
Demand Seizure OF Stock.
Decidedly, it seems as If the Berlin
laboring classes were in q state of fer
mentation. From reports received here
one may expect that the apparent calm
which succeeded the first disturbances
will be followed by other more violent
manifestations. .---.-.
A great number of laborers have not
returned to work The Vossische lei
tung informs us that these laborers will
resume work only when they have sat-
isfactory assurances from the authors
ties regarding the distribution Of food
The strikers demand that energetic
steps be taken to insure the seizure
of all stocks existing in the towns and
country. In addition to the question of
food, there is another motive for the
strike, of political order; this is the
question Of universal suffrage in PruS-
STA.
But the main question for the mo-
ment is the question of food. It is this
which causes the authorities of the en-
pire the greatest uneasiness. Before
the municipal council Of Berlin the
burgomaster, Dr. Reicke, summed UP
the situation thus:
THE days to come are not easy days
for the great majority of the inhabi-
tants of towns. The government, we
are sure, decided only with regret to
order a reduction in the ration Of
bread; but 1t had no choice, for a con-
scientious census of the harvest, the
abundance of which. unfortunately, had
been somewhat exaggerated, showed
that we would find ourselves totally
lacking one month before the new har-
vest IL we continued to consume as
much bread as heretofore. Under these
conditions we can but bow with dignity
to the inevitable"
"Last MorseI We Can Spare"
The Koelnische Volkszeitung COM
ments sadly on the new reduction in
the ration: 1.-THE bread which is be-
ing taken from us is, so to speak, the
last morsel that we can spare. These
measures of the Prussian food dictator
may be considered as premature and
too hasty; one may think that they
could have been avoided or retarded II
other arrangements had been made.
"One may demand that the measure
remain in force not one hour longer
than is absolutely necessary; one may
even demand that military necessities
be subordinated to the imperious ne
cessity of nourishing the civil popula-
ton"