The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-01-05
HARD WINTER
FOR GERMANY
Wheat and Potato Harvest
Bad, Supply Of Meat and
Fish Low
NOVEMBER BLACKER
THAN ANY MONTH
Both Meat and Bread Rations VIII
Have to Be Reduced from Present
Basis - Newspapers Admit Serious
Food Situation.

OOu oituatlOl'
AMSTERDAM, Dec. % (by the As.
sociated Press 1.-The month of No
vember marked probably the blacklist
period in the history of the German
food supply, not indeed i'll the actual
upply, but in the outlook for the win.
ter and spring. The public had already
become aware that the breadstuffs har
vest was poor and the fodder harvest
bad, but further revelations came rap
idly during the month which must have
an all but cataatrophic effect on think
ing people in Germany. The supply
of vegetables, it became known. is very
inadequate everywhere, there is hardly
any prospect of help from the fish
trade. and an alarming drop Is shown
in the prospects of the already scanty
supplies of milk, butter and fat.
Finally, on top Of all this, it became
clear during November that the po-
tato harvest is disappointing in the ex-
IRENE. The quantity shown in the Off
cial returns is indeed so disappointing
that the authorities refuse to accept
the revised estimates, declare the farm
ers liars, and propose to call in the
military to reQuisition stocks More
over, the quality in different parts of
the Empire Is reported as extremely
poor, - that an unusual percentage of
lcs'S can bc counted on with certainty.
1t is now regarded as certain that
both the meat and bread rations will
have to be reduced in the early spring,
despite a desperate effort to gather up
all the remaining foodstuffs in the oc-
cupied territories. This latter move
mcut is likely to be extended to ex-
trcmo limits during the winter, with
the result that the inhabitants of all
occupied territories face the prospect
of absolute starvation for GermanvIs
| benefit "@'''' l~'s' f"'~
| In an effort to stretch further the
supplies of breadstufrs, orders have
| been given for wider use of potato
! -four, bat this movement Is found diff
| ficult owing to scarcity of potato flour
! To obtain more at this time il not
cas-, for il is necessary to dry anf
mill the potatoes, which takes time
and Just now more than the usual time
owing To the shortage Of labor con
and other requisites. Hence. until Feb
| ruary. bread must be stretched witt
fresh potatoes, a measure of doubtful
exncdiencv.
The failure of the fodder harves
comedies with a generally unsatisfac
tory hay crop. This is leading to in
creased slaughter of pigs, 4 falling OF
i'm weight of cattle slaughtered, and
steady diminution of milk and mil
products
The place of meat cannot be take
TO any extent by fish, for the suppl
of f h IS very poor, and the author
ties hold out no hope of any improve
ment. The obvious emergency food
vegetables, but there has been a, fai
IRE of the market garden crop in man
districts, and the wholesale evaaions q
! regulations as to Illicit sales have al
Farently left the markets almost bar
As late as October there were 600
hopes of satisfactory potato crop. an
many people described the coming ha
vest as "almost bumper. = Early /
November the estimates grew mon
sober. and during the latter part of til
- IlplLlIl llt LIuiH came OUT. lac ndfVet
] IS almost total failure. OF cour>
the authorities declare that the revise
/ estimates ''cannot be correct, - the ha
vest must and shall be at least a m
dunn one; the farmers are lying. II
l military will be called upon to uncov,
), the boarded stocks, the farming distris
will be compelled to deliver the quot,
l which they were assessed i'll cXpectt
tion Of normal harvest
The German newspapers have aba,
doned the pretensc that Hthings wi
be easier this winter than last" i,
they still cling to the hope that pro
pcct" may be changed by some mirac
:. in Russia or Italy. The Berlin core
l pondent of the Cologne Volk.neitun