New-York tribune., 1918-02-24
Worst Pinch OF War
Saps Gernany'!s Morale
Continued from page 1

worked railways began to crack under
the strain of food and coal transporta
ton, finally breaking doYn badly.
Right in the middle of winter the fat
ration was reduced two and oNc-nalf
ounces q week, cabbages disappeared
from municipal markets and the meat
ration of half pound week was fire.
QucnJly unobtainabe.
"The working people, who were cc M
PEELED to work long hours in munitions
plants and then take their places in
the coal queues before they could cook
their scantv evening meal in their cold,
and often lightlcss rooms, rebelled last
month in the hope of moving the gov
ernmcnt 20 end the war. Their strikes
were intended primarily as a demon
stration to last three days, but the
stubbornness of the government pro-
longed it.
"The masses feel that they cave
been duncd by the Junkers, but they
have not yet found a way to remedy
their position. Some Of the wealthy
classes are extremely desirous Of
peace, but not on account of the food
shortage. Instances have been told me
of single wealthy families spending
$500 month for food. They buy,
secretly, geese at S25 each, butter at
s. a pound, ham at $40 q pound and
apples at 40 cents each. When it
comes to clothing the rich fare little
better than the poor, for cotton, wool,
leather and silk are almost unobtaina-
Bile for civilian purposes. An ordinary
coat and skirt for woman sell as
high as 5000, while a yard Of silk
brings $50
Many wealthy people have been
forced to buy secondhand clothing.
Schleichenhandcl, or secret trading, is
alone the number of prosecutions for
violations Of the food restrictions cX-
ceeds 100000, penalties being inflicted
in more than half the cases.
For q long time it was q common
practice of the upper middle classes to
spend the week end ostenshv shoot
ing. returning to the cities with we'll
stocked bags Of provisions obtained
from farmers. Finally this was stopped
by the working peonle, who acted as
spies and informed the police, because
their supplies of countrv produce were
no longer obtainablc Suspicion has
grown so acute that the food con-
troller is constantly deluced with com
plaints of violations Of his restrictions
Dugouts have been built in outlying
sections by lamstrum, or food hoard
crs.
'Howevor, the real reason why so
many Of the wealthy are dcsirous of
peace is because they fear that the
prolongation of the war means that
they Will become commercially bank
rupt. They know that Germany's store
Of raw materials has rapidly dimin-
ished, that the Allies have cornered
the worlds supplies. and that unless
they can make satisfactory peace the
commercial outlook is far from bright
'In the Rhine Vallev. where three
hundred thousand munitions workers
are earning large wages, there is a
scmblance of contentment. and the au-
thoritics make an effort to keep the
people in good temper by modifying
the restrictions and encouraging enter
tainments and amusements. There is
more real life here than in Berlin,
whore supplies are shorter and money
less plentiful among the working
classes
"lIotcls have been especially hard
hit. None of them takes visitor for
longer than week. Munich hotel
managers, who suffered many fines for
contraVo ontions Of the food regulations.
recently held a meeting, at which it
was declared impossible to supply their
customers unless changes were made.
They asked the people to agree to spe-
clal concessions, but to date they have
made no headway.
Since the treaty was signed with
the Ukraine there has been a slight
Improvement in conditions, probably
because the authorities released some
food in the expectation of getting more
from Southwest Russia later, but il
VIII take an immense amount OF food
to make any appreciab!c change
"Some Russian tea is now available
IN the best Berlin restaurants at 40
cents a cup. This is supposed to have
been brought from the northern prov
iaces by returning soldiers, who OBJ
tanned it from the Russians through
barter.
This raises an important question
regarding Ukraine. Germany is not ex-
pected to get much from Russia unless
Ukrainians, like the Hungarians, want
cloth, nails, ploughs. boots, etc, in ex-
change for grain. Certainly Germany
has no considerable supply of manu-
iactured articles at the moment.
Germans here show little enthusi-
asm over the immediate future, and
they expect small economic assistance
lrom Russia this year.
A correspondent in Copenhagen
S'"NeS 'lat fepIu uaIY Nnds Germany'S
supplies of food for man and beast
the lowest OF any time in the war.
lie quotes the Under-Secretary of War
a. warning German women's con-
gress that until May conditions can
not improve and shat bread ratons are
likely to be reduced, He reports:
The hardest blow that the people
have suffered in long time was that
following the reduction of the fat ra-
tons on January 81. This step was
taken because the cattle were giving
less milk, owing TO the shortage of
proper fodder
:" he other day 'Vorwaerts' reported
,pat in many Berlin suburbs only half
the quantity of meat called for bv a
food card was delivered Even the
aEfarlan 'Deutsche Tages Zeitung'
states that ! he weight of livir- cattle