Evening star., 1918-02-03

the Slavs a double amount of bad ra-
tions and kept them from starvation.
In a brief press despatch from stock
holm the day that Smith made his ar-
pearance in the office of the American
minister. Norris. the horseman from
Connecticut said that the daily food
black bread and drink of cold coffee
for breakfast. and Tor dinner ana sup
per about Il pint and a half of warm
soup, apparently consisting of water
and turnips. To the Germans. them
selves. the rations doled out are notice
ably larger. amounting to sufficient
flour to bake almost i've pounds of
bread a week. half peck OF potatoes.
cup of beans, peas and oatmeal. hall
a pound of meat, a dozen dominoes OF
sugar. half as many little pats of but
ter. According to the food admins
tration. this allowance is about two
fifths the standard ration necessary for
health. In the occupied portions of
France and Belgium the civilian popu-
lation appears to fare almost as bad
ly al the hands of the contluerors as do
the actual prisoners in camps on Ger
man soil.
Late in October thirteenyear-o
boy. Lucien Busiere, who reached an
Atlantic port by way of British
steamer and is now, very likely. safe
at home with his parents near 81.
Louis. told a reporter that in the Ger
man camp where he had been inn
prisoned for three years. with many
treat the children unhiudly, but that
all were suffering from laci. of food
1t s becoming more and more com
mon. as men asrape from these miser-
able places. to see A line. a paragraph,
a little story. of the unbelievable hrn-
tality of German officers toward even
the wounded prisoners. They are often
denied both food and drink. One OF the
London Postoffice Rifles men told an
English correspondent OF The agony of
real starvation endured by many of the
wounded prisoners.
.'But for the parcels that came later
from friends in the Old corps and from
friends at home. really believe /
should have pegged out" was the en-
phatic conclusion.
Michael Serink. a Russian seaman
who escaped his captors after long
internment in Hamburg. saw his COM
rades starved to death before his eyes.
Only his unusual strength and vitality.
coupled with the determination to
escape. saved him.
IF we complained" he wrote in a
recently published article, 1T meant
nothing but punishment. After a time
the lack of nourishment began telling
its tale on the crowd of us who We're
taken from boat in Hamburg at the
beginning of the war. Some went mad
and others committed suicide, rather
than face the cruelty of the inhuman
sentries.
Peterson Dahlgaard. a Dane. only Il
few months ago sailor in the service
of the kaiser. on the German battle
ship Of the same name. is now in Lon
don seeking British citizenship that he
may help to free his native heath from
the Teutonic heel. He said that the
food was horrible on the German Nes-
sells and that at Christmas and other
HOLIDAYS his mother used to send him
a goose. with the appropriate tiXings,
for a fine dinner. but this year she
, could send him only three small cakes.
since she was compelled to go to her
sisters to get food enough to live.
: The tall. Naxen-haired youngster was
amazed and delighted at the plentitude
of food in England
, Conditions have long been SO bad,