The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-02-28

Soldiers Fed at Expense of Civilians
 And let me repeat myself still once more. In spite of the indescribable privation the civil population of Ger many is undergoing, the German sol diers, the armies at the fronts, are be- ing fully fed and clothed, and their present ration is only slightly smaller than it was three years ago.
 There are more than a hundred thousand people in the industrial cen ters of North Germany who are ac- tually starving, but Germany as q whole is not starving. The people are simply going through a process of dieting losing weight, losing health, succumbing to diseases which are the result of bad quality of food. But they are not yet actually starving, and even at this rate the actual starvation and surrender will not be reached till the middle of 1919, providing, of course that in the meantime the Ger man armies are not able to open new avenues of food, clothing, and raw material
 The Fly Pest In Berlin
 I found Berlin streets dirty beyond the possibility of description. Even in the early part of October the disease carrying flies were so dense that many kinds of sicknesses were spreading to the suburbs. After you have stayed in Berlin with a motive to see and hear you begin to appreciate the ut ter misery of the people more thor oughIy than if you were a casual trav- eller through the country.
 The very complexity of our German industrial civilization has enhanced the misery through privation more than it would have in a country that is not so we'll industrialized. As an example, I found the famine in win dow glass and screens was so serious ly increasing the various diseases, that the authorities had become desperate for an immediate remedy.
 The shortage of labor compelled the authorities to neglect the streets. The refuse from the homes often had tc be piled up in the corners of the streets or in back yards. Barrels anC other utensils used for depositing such refuse until they could be re. moved by the scavenger carts have been mostly communicated for mill tary uses The people had for a time
 
 health authorities were obliged to for bid this as these wooden boxes be come germ-hives.
 Refuse Piled in Street Corners
 The pfling up of the home refus' (garbage) in the street corners O back yards also incubated the mos undesirable flies by the billions. was informed that during the ho summer months the flies filled the at mosphere and even people walking il the streets found themselves the ob ject of attack. Last summer Berlil suffered through these disease carry ing. flies so greatly that the authori ties were obliged to provide eacl householder with enough netting wit which to protect at least one or tW windows. Old screens would be mend ed with thread, but it must be re membered that even thread is ol ration
 Emacisted North German People
 l have walked for miles and mile through the Berlin streets, and eac day l returned to my hotel with pained heart I always asked myseI how can they bear such privations After had remained in Berlin two c three weeks after I had made shol but frequent visits to other industris centers in North Germany, after ha interviewed Germans, men and wou biPh and IOxy bad n