Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1918-11-29

"a PE taAdtlOA a. ~ ll4FCcA lAlEh sur
plus earnings in works Of art and other
expensive Injuries. 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 manipuia-
ton Of ones bank account, and By dis
bursting profits received without hay-
ing them go through the bank. A Ger
man whom I knew told lne that he had
disposed of an oil painting which had
cost him $500 for no less than se5. 0o0
the price of works Of art and antiques
having increased to a 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
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
l. - 81. rr.d
very plainly. One seldom saw a fat
man or a fat woman. although before
the war fairness was almost character
istic Of the German physique. Indeed,
I 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-
ceptfble to disease. Epidemics spread
rapidly and I am inclined TO believe
that little care was taken by the au-
thorities to protect the older people
from infection. l know that my sec
retary's mother fell and broke both
her legs last summer C1917) and was
taken to the accident ward Of hos
pital where her feilOw-patients were
all crippled. Ten Of the inmates Of
that ward died in a 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 at the expense Of
twenty-five useless women in one hos
pital alone-a fair record for two
daysi I have no proof that these I'M
fortunate victims of disease were de-
liberately infected by the hospital au-
thorities, but the mere fact that twen-
ty-two patients in an accident ward
died from dysentery in two days is
certainly evidence of gross careless
ness If nothing worse.
To buy new clothes it is necessary
to secure a certificate from the gov
eminent to the effect that you are alb
soluteIy in need of clothing, and. even
then. you are compelled 70 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 crowd
ed. Women are in charge and they
seemed thoroughly TO enjoy their au-
thority and their power TO deny an
application for new clothing.
When I left Berlin the law permit
ted a man just two shirts. two collars,
two pairs OF socks. etc, a year. Since
soap had disappeared from the mar
ket so many inadequate substitutes
had been tried that ones laundry in
variably came home full Of holes.
In November. 1917, paid 500 for a
suit of clothes which if it had been
made out OF cloth of good quality
would have been worth about S35. As
it was, the tailor frankly admitted
that the goods was made of re-worked /
yarn. and because of the lack of cotton l
thread. the seams were worked with a
material which looked like paper
string.
This paper string was in general use 1
It that time, the department stores all /
displaying notices warning customers
lot to carry their parcels by the string.
Many purchases were no longer
TO save paper. and no pur-
,hase amounting TO less than So was
delivered.
Before I left Berlin. artificial six
vas the principal fabric obtainable for
aides wearing apparel Almost every
woman in the land. princess or maid.
vas attired in art taffeta- II sold for
10 a yard In normal times it would
lave been worth from 10 cents to 81.
n the fan of 1917. a cloth suit was IN
btainable for less than $500. 1t would
ave been worth s25 in normal times.
III fur skins were needed for sol
iers' wear and the few that were sJill
btainable for home use in the form
[ fur sets sold for $1,000 up
Through spectators. we obtained
ONE imitation soft soap at 81 per