El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-04-05

! before / quit Germany.
From which IL viii be realized that,
while the Huns may not freeze 70
death in the cold weather, they are
I in little danger Of kicking the bucket
because Of overheating5 or Overeatlng.
for that matter.
Not only 50, but in many Of the
cities the public lighting plants
close down for the night as early
as . o'clock, gas and electricity
being included among the scared
ties. This emfOrces an early TO
bed policy upon the civilians, for
candles and oil for lamps are Al
most as rare as pink Whiskers on
a Chinaman-
The combined effect OF those
meager supplies Of food. clothing,
heat, light, etc, is seen not only in
the abnormal number Of deaths from
epidemics, but in the greatly reduced
vitality and energy OF the survivors
Workingmen All Weak.
The average German working man,
badly fed and badly clothed, is in
capable Of doing as much work as
formerly Many weary months have
elapsed since he enjoyed a fun meal,
with the inevitable result that bodily
weakness has supervened and he re-
mains but the shadow OF the man ne
was. I have labored in the company
Of many Germans, and they have told
me these things themselves.
And, just as the men are worn out,
so is much Of the machinery which
they operate. Accidents on the rail-
ways are OF alarming frequency. due
mainly TO the imperfect conditions OF
the rails and tracks and rolling stock
So many men have been hustled into
the army that THERE ARE NOT
SUFFICIENT NUMBERS OF SKILLED
WORKERS To EFFECT ALL THE
NECESSARY RENEWALS AND RE
PAIRS. The same remarks apply TO
the tramWay systems in the cities
and towns. and in a lesser degree 70
those workshops and factories de-
voted TO the output OF munitions
OF rubber tired vehicles none
remain for civilian use in the
F'atherland- Springs now take
the place Of ruhbers on wheels.
and have proved a fairly efficient
substitute.
Everybody knows by this time
about the scarcity Of copper, brass
and lead over there, and altogether
the authorities are having a desper-
ate time OF it TO keep the civilians
supplied not only with the bare ne
cessiues Of life, but with the raw
materials OF war, so that they IN
their turn may be able TO look after
and provide for the colossal wants
Of the army.
Not all classes in Germany are
r+aaa mere arr III AAaAa EAAaN~
tions TO all rules. Not every Ger
man has experienced the gnawing
pains Of an aching void that has en-
dured for a year There are three
classes that have remained immune
from the ravages OF want and hunger.
And these are soldiers in the front
line, the farmers, and those in pos
session OF great Wealth-
There has always been food for the
men in the German trenches have
cOnversed with dozens Of German
soldiers. and they not only declared
physical appearance corrob0rated the
assertion They have always plenty
of food for US" said one Of these men,
and we never go short, save when
the enemy's gunfire is so heavy as
TO interfere with the transport ar
engagements"
The soldiers behind the lines. how I
ever. men held in reserve and the
troops in Belgium and Earris0ned in /
Germany. are not so well off Their !
rattons are poor compared with those
or the men facing the enemy. But
the worst fed soldiers Of all are the /
guards on duty At the numerous in
ternment camps for prisoners Of war. 4
When our parcels were coming regu- /
larry from the old country the SEN 4
tries had less food than many Of the
prisoners.
Farmers Eat We'll.
As for the farmers the great bulk j
or them have never known what tt I
means to sit down TO a poor meal I
While the city jewellers were living 1
on the verge OF starvation. the agri- I
culturists continued 10 live on any
fat that was in the land.
True. there were inspectors whose \
duty 10 was TO see that the country \
people supplied correct returns OF all
their possessions in the way fof pro-
Hmrn and live eHnnN- "a
required an army Of such inspectors
10 effectively check the sWindlinE
that went on and doubtless still pro
ceeds. and Germany does not have
The men to spare for the Job.
am making no false accusation
lgainst the farmers. Last August.
when the food pinch was most severe.
. was sent out 20 work for a farmer
n the burgsteinfurt district For
breakfast I received bacon and one
egg ; on catching sight Of the fare
-oulQ not repress my establishment
You didn't expect anything like j
! laugh
You are right" I declared. 81
hought everybody in the country was
IN starvation ratious" III
i haven't been so far and don't In Il
end TO be- replied Schroeder, adding, II
and ] depend upon you and your
: uard to say nothing about this up
.t camp"
Magic Powers Of Gold.
The German soldier and I both 4
.agerly pledged our word. and
schroeder assured US that that being
10 he would treat US well during our
tay az the farm. We ate as much as
y e could stuff into ourselves at
breakfast, and for dinner we had po-
atoes, fairly large piece Of meat.
milk pudding, and steWed apples.
At $3.50 we were treated to bread
nd butter, cheese and coffee. and. TO
rown all. at the end OF a perfect day
We sat down to another dinner-an
Xact replica OF the one we had had
Z noon
worked at five or six different
arms. and the food at each was
plendid and plentiful All those
armers had huge stores OF food con-
called from the eyes Of prying in
pectors, and am convinced that. no I
natter how long the war may last.
mere is not the slightest danger o.
he farmers OF Germany taking their
tand in the hunger queues.
FINALLY ] have said that those fin
Ossesslon Of great wealth never run
hort Of provisions And this, my
riends. IS simply another demon
-ratlon or the magic power OF gold.
IL necessary to say mOrer
llu the next instnlment. The author
rites graphically and Interestingly ]
n the psychological effects and I
hangea that have manifested them
Elves among the Huns durlnr- the
rOEreaa OF the Vrnr.h