The Washington herald., 1918-02-10
GERMAN FOOD
RELIEF PLANS
PROVE EMPTY
FiguresShow PromisedSup
ply from Ukraine Does
Not Exist.

Berlin picked a lemon in the gar
den Of peace.
The grain stocks Of Ukraine do not
exist. The promises of food with
which Hertling and czernin quelled
the peace and hunger strikes in Ger
many and Austria last month and
secured Indulgence for the negotia-
lions at Brest-Litovsk are proving
smpty promises.
As a result, administration officials
predicted last night that the separate
peace which Berlin reports with
Ukraine will be a boomerang.
They say that 1t will only tend
further to increase the distrust of
the Teuton people for their present
masters.
President Wilson, Secretary Ian
sing and Col. House held an extended
conference at the White House yes
terday afternoon. 1t was denied at
the State Department that the Ukrai-
nian peace was discussed. The con-
ferees were unaware of the report
until their meeting was over.
Figures Prove II.
A high Official in illustrating the
Importance which the central powers
attached to the Ukrainian peace quot
ed this passage from the uncensored
text of Count Czernin's speech to
the Austrian Reichsrath:
st. Petersburg" he said. ''can ex-
port US only riot and anarchy, which
We decline to receive. From Ukraine
We will get rich stores of food.
can promise you that the negotia-
lions with Ukraine are ripening"
In the face of these hopes inter-
esting figures were made public here
yesterday.
They are complied by ]. Ralph
P1ckel, who made a four-month
study OF the Russian food situation
recently and who so successfully
mastered the problem that Kerensky
wanted to make him food dictator
for all the Russias. He has return
ed to the United States and his
figures submitted to Herbert Hoover
show:
L That Ukraine produced in 1915
about 100000 bushels of wheat. o.
this the Russian government got only
about 10.5OeOOO bushels that year.
2. In 1916 the production fell to
about 100000 bushels and no surplus
was left to Russia.
. In 1917 the production was only
S'OoeOO bushels and grain was short
in Ukrainia itself.
There was time, according to Mr.
P1ckel. when the surplus could have
been moved to Moscow and the rest
OF Russia Kerensky, however, re-
FUSED to move it over the privately
owned railroad which alone connects
the grain fields with Moscow and the
grain was either wasted or rotted
away.
Rations In Berlin.
Furthermore, figures from Eng
llsh sources compiled from the food
regulations printed in the German
press show that there is plenty of
cereal food in Germany and Austria.
Meat and fat are the necessary die
tary elements needed 1t will take
years to develop a food animal in
dustry on the littoral of the Black
Sea and the fertile plains above.
In Berlin the bread ration is 4 1-2
pounds per week per person; the
meat ration Is but S 3-4 ounces. An
egg month is allowed persons in
Berlin while some of the provinces
in the south and the city of Dres-
den allow as much as an egg a
week. The potato ration is about
z pounds>10 ounces a week; sugar
to ounces; jam 3 to 5 ounces;
in Berlin fresh milk is allowed a
litre a day for children under s
years old only. Children between
and IA are allowed a small guam
tity Of condensed milk.
1t is admitted that the German
people can survive on such rations
but their condition will be so mis-
cradle taht further trouble is sure
to follow the failure of the prom
ised Ukrainian relief.