Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-21
Special Cable to Evening Public Ledger
Copyright 1918. By Ne,o York Times Co.
The Hague, June FL


Copyright. 1918. By Ne'o York Times Co.
! The Hague, June 21.
The mysterious sickness now pre-
valent in Spain comt J from Germany
and will doubtless soon reach other
countries" said a Dutch tailor. who
recently returned from Germany.
Conditions among the civil popu-
lation Of Germany are terrible. Work
men die at their work from lack of
nourishment.
"If workman cuts or wounds him.
self he rarely recoyers, as the wound
gets inflamed and swells to an enor-
nous size Water accumulates and
then spreads all over the body until
he dies. This water is supposed to be
due to undernourishment and to come
from the enormous quantity of tur.
nps now eaten by the Germans of all
ella sses.
"I. my wife and our three children,
once had nothing to eat but boiled
turnips with no fat for three days and
yet, / had other than ordinary means
of getting food. and was getting good
wages. The workmen at Essen es-
pecially are dying by hundreds, al
though no one hears of it.
THE people are. Of course, earning
tremendous wages, and are able to
save, and this Is compensation. but
there will not be much to be done in
Germany after the war, and I for one
will not return. Living will be i'm
! dous taxes, and everything will be
ersatz for long time. Even at
present it Is impossible to get under
wear except that made of paper.
People Are PowerIess
"The Government is clever in con-
stantly telling the people that Germany
was attacked and that England wants to
shatter the German Empire, and this to
a workman means taking away his
bread. This fallacy, which people Of all
classes firmly believe. and the fact that
the people are powerless under the iron
heel and tyranny Of militarisnr. which
increases rather than decreases. has kept
the people from revolt besides. the pco-
pie are so apathetic from lack of nour
ishment that there will never be revo-
| luton. 49,
, THE soldiers at the front arc still well
fed. much better fed than those in bar
racks. but even the latter are better fed
than the civilians. Believe me. we are
, badly off in Holland, but 1t is a paradise
compared to conditions In Germany.
People do not realize outide of Ger
many what this slavery to militarism is
and how powerless the people are. A
man only becomes a human being when
he becomes an officer. German lieu
! tenant said. and this Is the spirit IN Ger
/ many at present. The German people
will, however, carry on the war. because
| they are powerless to resist the military
and because they believe they have been
| attacked
Fear of an economic war is fast gain
Ing ground in Germany. and the people
are being educated slowly and by de-
grees to the idea that Germany has not
yet won the war in spite Of the sacrifices
OF the big offensive. and that the eco
nomic trumps are still in the hands of
Great Britain and America" .-
The Rhenish Gazette points out to
Germans that the Anglo o-American
world is still considering the defeat of
Germany in this war. This idea appears
! to be a surprise to the paper. which ar
CUES that the Entente first hoped for
military victory with Americas help.
German View Of Economic War
1T is now stated on both sides of the
| Atlantic" it says, that Anglo-America
would not, consider that Germany had
! won the war even IL she drove the Eng