Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-04-04
new DISORDERS
IN GERMANY ARE
DANCER SIGNS

Vi puOiiC OplHiOH, WHICH would MOI
easily understand or accept any fail
ure to obtain peace, and the desper-
ate food situation probably will force
the government to sign any terms
of peace presented by the allies ex-
cept those aforementioned.
This pressure already has shown
its effect at the renewal of the ar
mistice in March, when the govern
ment had actually determined to re-
fuse to sign the condition of the
renewal. The government, however,
was forced to reverse its decision
upon hearing from the representa-
tives in the national assembly who
were in closer touch with the peo-
pie.
~ Food May Check Unrest.
Factory owners and others in
close touch with industrial condi-
tons regard the distribution of
American food supplies at reason
able prices as the only possibility of
mastering the strike movement, re-
establishing industrial order and
stimulating production. With the
workmen able to buy with their
wages the necessary food they may
be able to shake off the influence Of
the radicals. Without this possibil-
ity all must inevitably drift COM
pletely into the domination of the
extremists.
The industrial situation is COM
plicated by shortage of coal and
raw materials. Factories are run
ming only five days a week on a
short scale. Should the coal pro-
duction be increased and transporta-
ton improved, there would be a far
better outlook for industry
Leading German manufac turers,
particularly in the electrical and ma
chineky lines, assured the CORE
spondent that they would have no
difficulty in doing a profitable bust
ness even under the present wage
scale, if the food and fuel difficulty
was solved. The food situatio was
rapidly becoming critical when the
food and shipping agreement was
signed. But the speedy arrival of
American food ships with food on
board, had already had an imposing
effect on general sentiment, although
distribution had not been begun a
week ago.
Supplies Nearly Exhausted.
The exhaustion of the potato
stocks was in sight, the food admin
istrators hoping only to continue the
reduced ration until May. Some
stocks of grain could last at best
only into the third week of May.
The emaciated herds of Germany
were no longer able to supply the
reduced meat ration Of from four
to seven ounces per week. The gov
ernmental distribution of bread was
slightly over five pounds a week,
but was still functioning efficiently.
Otherwise the rationing machinery
had largely broken down, either on
account of exhaustion of supplies or
of weak government to
enforce the purchasing regulations,
which had been beyond the power
of strong war government. The
ration, even on paper, was inadequate
to maintain the working ability of
people weakened by four years of
food privation. Every one, rich and
poor, bought what supplies could be
obtained outside the rations at enor-
nous prices.
The workman, earning his impos-
ing 80 or 40 marks per day, had been
spending a days wages for pound
Of lard, pork or beef. The more I'M
fortunate middle-class man, on a
fixed salary, was unable to finance
such luxury except on the rarest
occasion. Both of these classes at
the end of March found that, even
at such exorbitant prices, nothing
was to be obtained. Restaurants,
which earlier had catered to custom
ers with money and had furnished
them with food, without the pre-
sensation of a card, were being forced
to obey them.
The long wait for the decision of
the peace conference and the press
reports from time to time of deci-
sions adverse to Germany had pro-
duced a very pessimistic sentiment,
and just as the government repre-
sentatives talked of refusing to sign
a humiliating treaty, so many pub
licists and men in various walks of
life had begun to argue the advis-
ability of casting over the west and
coming to an understanding with
bolshevist Russia.
This sentiment when coming from
those of the better classes, was un-
doubtedly voiced largely for foreign
consumption. An alliance with Rus
STA and bolshevism, however, is
plank in the plan of the independent
socialists in their drive for power,
and is a cardinal principle of the
propaganda of the Spartacans who
are so largely financed by Russian
that the government early
in March introduced special emer-
gency legislation to prohibit the i'm
portation and circulation of Russian
currency.