The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1917-05-17
BY CARL w.
copyriaht. 1917. Tho Trib-
ms Accumulation.

BY CARL w. ACKERMAN,
copyriaht. 1917. Tho Trib-
una Association.
(Registered In accordance with Thu
copyright act. Canada. 1877, The
Tribune Association.)
Last January. while in Berlin, j
wanted to buy a shirt. l saw in shop
windows shirts Of all kinds and va
department stores to purchase one.s
When / told the clerk what / wanted,
she asked: do you have a .bezug-
schein?'"
This was new to me. / asked her TO
explain. She said it was now inipos-
out a special lard from the city mag
istrate. She saids it would be useless
for her to show me the shirts for sale
unless I had this card.
Because I lived in Wilmersdorf, a
suburb of Berlin. / had to go to the
city hall of that suburb. Arriving
there, l was told the ticket office was
located on the fourth floor of another
building. Arriving there, I found a
long line of men, women and children
awaiting tickets for clothing. Finally
when 1 reached the desk where tickets
for mems clothing We're issued, I was
asked for my registration slip, which
the police issue to all foreigners and
others when they take up residence In
Berlin. This slip I did not have. So I
was informed that I could not have a
ticket for a shirt until I brought my
police registration card with me. +
went home. obtained the card and re-
turned to the magistrates ticket office
to find tflatfit was open only from 8
o'clock in the morning until l o'clock
in the afternoon. This was just one of
the means of d~iscouraging people from
b. doing 3nNfhinU ayopnf tho rpncf nnoacL
sary buying. The mex morning at 8
O'Clock l was standing in line. In due
course OF time / was usherod into the
little room where the tickets We're is
sued When i again informed the
woman that l desired aGshirt, she asked
whether l had purchased any other
clothing recently. After my reply in
the negative, h handed me a card to
fill out with my name, address, age,
religion, business, wife's name, the.
number in my family, and my national
ity. 1 returned this card. She marked
OH the back: Ticket for one dress
shirt given January 4. 1917" and hand
ed me a card emitting me to one shirt.
The Necessary Process.
This is the process one must follow
in all German cities today If one wishes
to buy clothing of2any sort. Should
n desire a pair of stockings. shoes,
gloves, shirtwaists, suit of underwear
OF anything else, one must go to the
magistrate. explain the necessity and
have it recorded on the city naagis-
trate'S card.
The number or these articles which
n can obtain depends entirely u,,on
the officials ls.tiiug the ticket. AT one
time no one can buy more thar two
pairs of stoci;iMgs. or two handkpr-
chiefs, or three towels. or one shirt, or
two collars. Raw materials in Ger
many are so scarce hat the govern
Vocrt fo rnr,o-olJal rs :,-,tt ,lo. .,n J.H. -
all clothing.
Cotton and WOO supplies have long
g been exhausted. New clothes waich
have been made during the last yea
have been MANUFACTURED fro.n cotton
and wool yarn made of ras,s. THIS GOV
buys every possible stitch 81
old clothing. sends it to a government
bureau, where the wool in the ear-
ments is separated from tie cottt.r.
The material is pulled To pieces. the
\ wool and cotton are bleacned or dyed
| black, and cotton and wool yarn "a
| thread are made from these scraps.
| Nothing goes to waste. From this sec
| ond-hand yarn new underwear, sl1irts
women's and mems suits and overcoats
are made. and the material naturally
is of a very poor quality. Last Octo-
! Der l purchased two he.vy suits oil
| six weeks were full of holes and pulled
out of shape. These garments We're
made from old wool and cotton and
cost $3.50 eeach.
Supply Only Necessities.
Because most OF the workers in fac
tories have been modified only sulfi-
Gent clothing establishments are being
operated to supply absolute necessities
In Cologne, where the largest corse,
factory in the world is located. under
wear for soldiers is being made. The
big silk velvet mills in Cologne, which
in peace. times supplied a great portion
of the American velvet, are now manu-
featuring paper and twine. Because OF
the scarcity Of flax, Irvine of all kinds
is being made from old paper.
The factories of Germany are starry
ing more han the people are. For over
a year. because there has been no raw
material, many Of tho big factories Of
Germany have been closed, or they
have been given. ammunition making
machinery and ordered to make sup
plies for the government.
The fear which SO many people have
in the United States that Germany has
been busy manufacturing millions of
dollars worth of articles for export inn
mediately after the war is entirely un
founded. investigators for the Ameri.
can government who have studied the
DAVIS COMMANDS