Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1918-11-22

knipty box were used to decorate
the depleted show windows of the
shops. The fact that they were empty
was not known to the public and very
often the windows would be broken by
hungry mobs who couldn't resist the
sight of what appeared to be so much
food. This led the government to or
der the shopkeepers to label the boxes:
Empty Boxes" in order to avert such
disturbances and riots.
There was simply nothing to buy in
the food line except substitutes, and OF
these there ere hundreds, each worse
than the last. The remaN: IF things
get much worse, we shall soon be eat
ing rats as the Parisians did in 1S7O''
brought the re- nder: "Well, that
wouldn't be so bad: what I'm dreading
is the time when we shall have to be
content with rat-substitute
When we finally had cards for cof-
fee-substitute gave up interest in
substitutes and commenced to patron
ize the spectators, figuring that it was
better to risk the penalties imposed by
the law for such violations of the food
regulations than to ruin our health
through undernourishment.
For long time we were permitted
to receive presents" of bacon, ham,
sausages, eggs and butter from Den
mark, but this was finally prohibited
through the influence of the Central
EinKaufs Gesellschaft (The Centrni
Society for Buying Food From Other
Countries) which found that 1t was
interfering with their graft.
This society was formed by COM
pany of clever Jewish business men to
buy food from foreign countries and
sell 1t to hhe people, small percent
age of the profits going to the govern
ment. 1t not only developed into a
most successful enterprise from the
standpoint of profit, its prosperity be-
Ing augmented by graft, but 1t provided
haven for the Stacker sons of the
proprietOrs and stockholders. Just be-
fore / left Berlin, this company, to
hide their war profits, bought build
ing for three million marks, which they
claimed was needed for the business.
One of the subterfuges resorted to
by some of the war profiteers to con-
ceal the extent of their gains and es-
cape taxation was to invest their sur.
plus earnings in works of art and other
expensive luxuries. AS the tax assess
ments were based principally upon the
individuals bank deposits and the tax.
collecting machinery was very much
out of gear 1t was comparatively easy
to evade the law by careful manipula-
ton of ones bank account, and by dis
bursting profits received without hav-
ing them 90 through the bank. A Ger
man whom knew told me that he had
disposed of an oil painting which had
cost him $500 for no less than $S5, 1000,
the price of works of art and antiques
having increased to remarkable ex-
tent because of the demand for them
from tax dodgers.
Under the stress Of the changed
food conditions the hungry German
soon replaced the honest German. Ger
mans had always had reputation for
honesty, but their claims to such dis
tinction disappeared with the food sup
ply. Necessity soon brought out all
that was worst in the German char
acter.
Although the government decreed a
high fine and Imprisonment as pun
ishment for buying or selling anything
which had been Communicated, specu-
latOrs sprang up on every side and
people Dragged openly of what they
had stored away.
The worst deprivation was in the
lack Of fats. The people showed it
very plainly. One seldom saw fat
man or a fat woman, although before
the war fairness was almost character
istic Of the German physique. Indeed,
l saw a rather stout woman being fol-
lowed by at least twenty boys who
were jeering at her and making slur-
ring remarks about the manner In
which she had retained her avoirdu-
pois. A fat person in Germany today
Is regarded with suspicion.
Naturally the weakened condition of
the people makes them all easily sus-
ceptible to disease. Epidemics spread
rapidly and l am inclined to believe
that little care was taken by the au-
thorities to protect the older people
from infection. / know that my sec
retary's mother fell and broke both
her legs last summer G917) and was
taken to the accident ward of hos
pital where her fellow-patients We're
all crippled. Ten of the inmates of
that ward died In n single day from
dysentery, and the following day the
death list was increased by twelve,
the old lady with the broken legs be-
ing one of them Twenty-Five more
bread cards saved ut the expense of
twenty-five useless women in one hos
pital alone--a fair record for two
days! l have no proof that these UNI
fortunate victims OF disease were de-
HbprntnIy ipfaata6 hy tho bpcnital an.