Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-06-19
Food Situation in Central Europe.

Food Situation in Central Europe.
What's the use of talking about
Germany and Austria being hungry?
They've got more food than We
have" asserted an outwardly self
satisfied individual in a sidewalk
group who were waiting for a car.
He went on: This attempt to keep
up confidence on the hope that the
Germans and their allies are likely
to be starved into submission, makes
me tired. They have had us beat on
the food question ever since they got
Russia by the throat. We can't be-
lieve any of these reports sent out
from London or Paris, so what is the
use for newspapers to tell about
starvation and demands for peace?
They don't know anything about it,"
| AS it happens the newspapers"
are in possession of a volume of facts
collected and furnished by the U. >.
J Department of Labor, Bureau Of Sta
tistics. This survey of the food sit
uation in Germany. Austria Hungary,
Bulgaria and Turkey during 1917 is
based exclusively on laws, DEGREES,
orders, utterances of public officials
and civic bodies of the countries COW
cred. and on comments Of the daily
press and leading economic and
trade journals of these countries.
In general. the survey shows that
Turkey is actually starving because
of the corruption of her own officials
and the greed of Germany that Ger
many and Austria are not starving,
but are having a very hard struggle
to feed themselves; that Hungary is
in better shape than either Germany
or Austria, and that Bulgaria so far
as food is concerned, is suffering the
least of all the countries covered. The
survey also shows that Germany has
failed by a wide margin to live up
to her reputation for efficiency in her
attempts at food administration, hay
ing been obliged to reverse her pol
icies in an effort to remedy in part
the fatal results of official blunders.
It shows conclusively that the civil
populations Of Germany and Austria
are suffering permanent physical de-
terioration from lack of proper food,
that the death rate from tuberculo-
sis is rapidly increasing, that grow
ing boys and girls are not getting half
the nourishment they should have,
and that manual laborers are being
underfed to about the same extent.
/ Politically, the most interesting
thing revealed by the survey is the
fact that the traditional hatred be-
tween the two parts of the dual mon
archy. Austria Hungary. has been
manifesting itself in the refusal of
Hungary to share her comparative
abundance with Austria and in the
official and public resentment Of that
fact in the latter country.
Profteering, greed. breakdown of
transportation, and faulty orsaniza-
ton are big factors in the food sit
uaton Of Germany and her allies.
Many original articles on the food
situation in leading German and Aus
trian newspapers were at the dispo-
sal Of the Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics Comments on food orders, their
enforcement. and the practical result
OF their application were available
from organs of all political parties,
thus representing every point Of
view. Material relating to the food
situation in Hungary, Bulgaria, and
Turkey was much scarcer. Those
parts Of the bulletin which cover the
food situation in these three coun-
tries are therefore less comprehensive
than the parts covering Germany and
Austria. AS far as it was possible
the material for each country covered
was arranged in the following order:
First, an official or unofficial sum
mary of the food situation in 1917, or
both; this is followed by an outline
of the food policy for the 1918 har-
vest reports, food ord.rs relating to
individual foodstuffs. comments on
and criticism of these orders and their
practical application, data on TIE
supply and prices of individual food
stuffs and their rationtng, illegal pro-
curing of food, food-card systems,
measures for cheapening the food for
the poorer classes, and the effect of
the food shortage on The health of
the civilian population.
The German people are said to be
asking: Have we taken Paris yet?'
No. but there are about three quar-
tiers of a million husky Americans
over there. already yet. to give Hindy
a warm reception.