Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-04-26

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 to be
piled up in the corners of the streets
or in back yards Barrels and other
utensils used for depositing such ref
use until they could be removed by the
scavenger carts have been mostly COM
Wandered for military uses. The peo-
pie had for il time utilized wooden
boxes, but soon the health authorities
were obliged to forbid this as these
wooden boxes become germ-hiyes.
Refuse Piled in Street Corners
The piling up of the home refuse
(garbage) in the street corners OF back
yards also incubated the most undesir-
able flies by the billions | was i'll
formed that during the hot summer
months the flies filled the atmosphere
and even people walking in the streets
found themselves the object of attack.
Last summer Berlin suffered through
these disease carrying flies so greatly
that the authorities were obliged SO
provide each householder with enough
netting with which to protect at least
one or two windows. Old screens
would be mended with thread, but it
must be remembered that even thread
is on ration.
Emaciated North German People
l have walked for miles and miles
through the Berlin streets, and each
day / returned to my hotel with a
panied heart | always asked myself
How can they bear such privatiOns 2"
After | had remained in Berlin two or
three weeks after l had made short
but frequent visits to other industrial
centers in North Germany, after l had
interviewed Germans, men and women,
high and low, after / had seen and
heard; then / understood the secret
the very deep secret of the reason of
the German peoples fOrebearance.
1t is very simple, but nevertheless,
it is deep secret, but l can uncover it
in this report in very few words.
They bear, and they will bear still
more and intensely, because they do not
know way whereby they can avoid
privation.
The German people have suddenly
become fatalistic en masse.' They
complain, they curse, they are angry,
but they never speak of program or
scheme whereby they can stop this
slowdying process that has the whole
nation in it's firm grip. From week to
week they subsist on smaller ration
because they know and believe that
there is no way out of it. There is no
food in the country, so while they curse
the Government they are not, in the
blaming their rulers for not providing
them with food.
Why They Stand 1t All
But the prime reason Of their fore
bearance lies still deeper. From one
day to another they expect to hear that
their enemies will give ill., l have
heard from the lips of intelligent,
highly intelligent, German men and
women, the statement such as this,
that has almost become stereotyped:
1T is true, we are suffering, but it will
soon be ended. Just think how much
more our enemies must be suffering
They will soon yield and it will be all
over' They will make these state
ments to you and while your better
knowledge of the outside world tells
you that your friends are laboring I'M
der a great delusion, they expect that
you will confirm these false ideas that
have been inculcated in them by their
rulers. As often as it became my OPP
pOrtunity, disillusioned my friends on
this subject. / told them that although
it is true that their submarines had
destroyed enormous tonnage of ship
ping, yet several thousands OF steam
erS were entering and leaving the
enemy ports each week. Tt was strange
news to hundreds of Germans whom
voluntarily adopted food rations in or
der that they could provide their allies
with sufficient food.
What They Were Told
1 told my friends in many North
German cities that America had al
ready landed a force of -- men to
take their places along with the
French. / convinced them that my
information regarding the number of
men was correct as | had learned from
friends who had recently visited
Switzerland from France.
My friends awakening was eX-
tremely rude, and they became down
cast. They had been fed on studied
lies. lies of all kinds. They had become