The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-26

l n0urishment which is l ,,ore serious in Germany every
 aa ana VIII not venture to 1 a.x but I know that before l Iest conditions were so bad that
 the older people were dying orr
 r.piJly. and the future Of the race
 must be seriously jeopardized ny
 the limited nourishment whicn 'he l children are receiving
 l SUSCEPTIBLE TO DISEASE Natnral,v the weakened condition of tba naonle makes them all easily sus- ceptible to disease. Epidemlcs spreau rapidly and I am inclined to nelleVe that little care was taken py the au- tborities to protect the older people iron, infection I know that my sec retarv's mother fell and broke both har legs last summer t1917) and was taken to the accident ward or nos pital where her fellow patients were lall crippled Ten of the inmates or that ward died in single day from dvsentery. and the following day the death list was increased by IF. the old lladv with the broken legs being one of them. Twenty two more bread cards saved at the expense Of 22 use- less women in one hospltal alone--a fair record for two days' l have no nroof that these unfortunate victims of disease were deliberately infected by the hospital authorities, but the mere fact that 22 patients in an ac- cident ward died from dysentery Tn two days is certainly evidence of gross careIessness if nothing worse. If the clothing problem had not peeh so difficult and the Germans had been ah1a to secure clothes to fit their now l slender figures they would be today far better looking race than they ever were before in the days Of food plenty
 Unfortunately for their appear ance, however. many are sui wearing the clothes which were
 made for them when their Figures
 were less attenuated. and some or them made very Iudicrous pie lures. Imagine man who had
 once boasted of well defined 1 corporation still wearing the same clothes although his contour l had changed from convex to con-
 cave. Their collars fastcn on their
 chests, like horse collars; their l clothes hang like bags. and even
 their hats have become too large
 since the rolls back of their necks
 have dwindIed.
 II To buy new clothes 1t is necessary N to secure a certificate from the gov- ernment to the effect that you are ab- solutely in need of clothing. and, even then. you are compelled to give up the suit you are discarding.
 Branch offices for Investigating the necessity of replenishing ones ward robe have been established all over the cities and they are always crowded Women are in charge and they seemed thoroughly to enjoy their authority and their power to deny an application for new clothing.
 When I left Berlin the law per-
 mitted a man just two shirts, two
 collars, two pairs of stocks, etc.,
 year. Since soap has disap- Deared from the market so many inade1uate substitutes have been tried that one's laundry fnva- rfnbIy came home full of holes. When my white office coats got into such bad condition that they were no longer wearable, I made an effort to obtain permission to buy new ones.
 PLENTY OF RED TAPE After wedging my way into the ill., smelling, crowded room where l had to malSn The necessary application. I was given a large paper to fill out-a printed form, asking for my life lis- torv and a full explanation or Just what I wanted to do with the articles in question. I had to submit my in- come tax receipts to prove that l was accustomed to such luxuries as oitice coats.
 II While my application was being nrepared had an opportunity to overbear some rather ludicrous con versations between applicants and off, ficials.
 one woman who had said she was .sFrau Major -." was asked whether her husband had been an off, ficer before the war or had been pro- noted from the ranks since the war. ii seemed that the original army of- ficers had greater privileges than those of more recent creation
 Another woman was trying to ob- I --sc n some underwear for Christmas pres- ent There was a great hubbub in the room and the girl who was examining the record of the governess had to scream to make herself heard. but that did not deter her rom caillng out in a stentorious voice. How many nairs of drawers has the Kinderfrau- lein (governess)g ~
 A soldier on furlough was trying to get "Bezugschein' (certificate of coyering) for his wife, who was mail carrier, to buy her pair of and she gets her feet wet" he ex- nlained. ..She must have stockings to change or she will be sick and my children will starve"
 "Your wife got a pair of stockings Hast week. came the answer That is enough" The fact that. as the sol \ dier explained, his wife had only that one pair of stockings availed him nothing and he had to go away with out the permit.
 ALLOWED COTTON COAT The outcome of my application was that they allowed me one cotton coat. U T fold them that the Kaiser was my natient and they increased my allow ance to four Usually they send someone to your home to examine vour wardrobe and inquire into your l scale of living. but apparently my in come tax receipt sufficed in this in- | stance.
 Even when one has obtained Be zugschein," the problem is not over. for there is very little left m the shops to buy. Very often ore gave up his "T2ezupschein'' and paid ridiculous