The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-04-19

perity of a country.
Let me describe something of what
saw in Holland when L was there
in November of last year. At that
time the food difficulties in this coun-
try-at least as far as my own exper-
fence went-were pretty will restricted
to the scarcity of sugar. At present,
of course, rationing no longer holds
the terrors of the unknown for any
of us-we have had queues, we are
threatened with even more drastic
, early closing orders. But when l was
in Holland it sometimes seemed to
me as if now for the first time I un-
derstood something of what it means
to live in a country at war. There is
plenty of sugar and 1 enjoyed my tea
and my coffee as for the last year or
so 1 have been unable to do in Eng
land. But I do not think there is
much that is plentiful besides. And
rationing f1ourisheS. Holland has
been forced to try an experiment in
State Socialism. On August 3rd, 1917,
already an Act was passed by Parlia-
ment and signed by the Queen, en-
towering the burgomasters after au-
thorization from the Minister in The
Hague to seize any foodstuffs in their
municipalities and to sell them to
their citizens at reasonable prices. In
course of time this Act was extended
and developed till the State had set
up a comprehensive system of buying
and distributing in nearly all essen
tial articles.
Bread has been rationed now for a
year. Every citizen has to obtain
bread tickets. To obtain tickets
are attached coupons which can be
torn off by the holder. The bakers
for restaurant proprietors have to settle
up with the authorities. A ticket for
one person is good for $4,000 grams
that is about six English pounds. Orig
inally it was meant to last a week,
which would have given not much less
than a pound of bread per. day for a
head. But the tickets now have to
last for eleven days. So now every
Dutchman only gets half a pound OF
- bread a day. The Dutch-like most
Continental peoples-eat more bread
than the English do. Breakfast in Hol-
land consists of hardly anything else
Most people find it hard to manage or
the ticket allowance. And this is es
. pecially true of the poor. They con.
sumo far more bread than the middle
class do and it is more difficult fol
them to find substitutes. 1t is true
of people who do hard manual Labor
can get supplementary tickets. Blu
that is only 400 grams Qess than {
pound,) which, distributed over clever
days, means practically nothing. TIL
= price of Government bread is KEEP
2 ~ NV fri hut ont of he
purse. Bread is not the only articl
for which this policy has ben found t.
be necessary. 1t is policy of course
which costs the state a great deal O
money but is inevitable, as the ris
of prices has not been counterbal
anced in Holland as to a large ex
tent it has been in this country, by
corresponding rise in wages. The othe
articles which were rationed in Hol
land include Goals, oil and petrol, can
dies, leather oats, rice, barley, tea
coffee, and in some places even mill
and I believe butter. Most of thes
are distributed among the local at
thorities, who in their turn distribut
them among the inhabitants.
For the middle class, at least, tn
food scarcity is not so irksome as
the lack of coal. This may now be
little easier than when I was in tt
country, for since then coal impo
arrangements have been conclude
with both England and Germany B,
unfortunately the difference is ce
tainly not great, and when I was the
the situation was very bad indeed. tt
quantity householders were entitl'
to for the winter was very sma
Hardly anybody dared have fires
one room of the hose. In many cas-
they even utilize it for cooking Il
dinner having brought a "otkacht
tie" kind of little stove, to save t
kitchen fire. At the same time g
is severely rationed, and the use
gas is much more general in Holla
than it is in this country. The pc
who cannot pay the present prices f
oil and candles simply go to bed
soon as it is dark. 1 stayed with
friend in the country who had {
coed his gas allowance. We cot
only sit up and talk by the light
his bicycle lamp-acetylene.
But the coal problem has a beari
on Dutch life which is rather me
serious than this. For one thing tn,
are the railways. In October
they were only just kept going. 7
coal mines witch Holland posses,
the Province OF Iimberg, unfor
natsIy yield only small quantity
Goals and those of an inferior quail
They had to use them on the railwi
and the result was endless della
But worse than this is the plight
Dutch industries. 1t has not o
fEomia lack of Goals they suffer.
kgpsdazany have for a long time ?
H&he@gTeatest difficulty in obta
materiaIs, Even now t