The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1919-01-02


the food line except substitutes, and OF
these there were hundreds. each worse
than the last. The remark: IF things
get much worse. we shall soon be eat
Ing rats as the Parisians did In 1870"
brought the r~ejoinder: swell. that
wouldn't be 70 bad what I'm dreadine
Ia the time when we shall have to be
content with rat-substituter
When We finally had cards for cof-
fee-substitute I gave up interest in
substitutes and commenced to patron
lie the spectators. figuring that It was
better to risk the penalties imposed by
the law for such violations Of the food
regulations than to ruin our health
through undernourishment.
Under the stress Of the changed
food conditions the hungry German
soon replaced the honest German. Ger
mans had always had a reputation for
honesty, but their claims to such dis
tinction disappeared with the food sup
ply. Necessity BOON brought out all
that was worst In the German char
acter.
lhtt'IOuku tiic kONCT ilfilcut utCTetu u
high fine md Imprisonment ms pun
ishmert for buying or selling anything
which Mad been Communicated. specu-
lators sprang up on every side and
people Dragged openly Of what they
had stored away.
The worst deprivation WINS In the
lack Of fats. The people showed Il
very plainly. One seldom saw a fat
man or a fat woman. although before
the war fairness was almost character.
istic Of the German physique. Indeed
| saw a rather stout woman being fol
lowed by a. least twenty boys who
were jeering at her and making slur
ring remarks about the manner Il
which she had retained her avoirdu
polls. A fat person In Germany today
Is regarded with suspicion.
Naturally the weakened condition oi
the people makes them all easily sus
ceptible to disease. Epidemics spread
rapidly and I am inclined to believe
that little care was taken by the au
thorities to protect the older people
from infection. ! know that my nee
refary's mother fell and broke botl
her legs last summer (1917) and wal
taken to the accident ward Of q hos
pital where her fellow-patlents wer,
all crippled. Ten Of the inmates Q
that ward died In a single day from
dysentery, and the following 2AJ tn
death list was increased BY twelve
J the old lady with the broken legs b
Ing one Of them. Tweutxstwo NOR
bread cards saved at the expense o
twenty-five useless women In one hoi
pital aloneNa' fair record for tw
daysi i have no proof that these ur
fortunate victims Of disease were d.
: iiberutely infected BY the hospital ~
thorities. but the mere fnct that twer
ty-two patients In IN accident war
died from ~dysentery In two days
certainly evidence o. gross careless
ness II nothing worse.
RI To buy new clothes Il II necessar
to secure q certificate from the go
i eminent to the effect that you are al
e solutely in need Of clothing. and. eve
then, you are compelled to give up tn
8 suit you are discarding.
e Branch Offices for investigating tn
necessity Of ~replenishing ones war;
$ robe have been established all ovs
the cities and they are always crow
y ed. Women are In charge and the
; seemed thoroughly to enjoy their a
thority anc their power to deny O
application for new clothing.
When l left Berlin the law perml
ted a man Just two shirts. two collar
two pairs Of socks. ETC.. a year. SIM
soap had disappeared from the mn
= ket SO many inadequate substitute
q had been tried that ones. laundry I
n variably came home full Of holes.
n In November. 1917, l paid 500 for
q suit Of clothes which II II had be'
9 made out Of cloth Of good quail
would have been worth about $35.
u It was, the tailor frankly admltt'
" that the goods was made Of re-work'
v yarn, and because Of the lack Of cett,
70 thread. the seams were worked with
material which looked like pap
y string.
a This paper string was in general u
Ut tuut tiuucs tuo department. ot0tcS
displaying notices warning custome
q not to carry their parcels by the strir
u Many purchases were no long
y wrapped. to save paper. and no p,
n chase amounting to less than s. W
x. delivered.
"a Before / left Berlin. artificial 81
/" was the principal fabric obtainable
D. ladies' wearing apparel Almost eve
ie woman in the land. princess or ma
III was attired In art taffeta. II sold I
$40 a yard. In normal times It wor
as have been worth from 70 cents to
es In the fall Of 1917. q cloth suit was I
al obtainabie for less than $500. II wov
m have been worth $25 In normal tim
1t Through spectators. we obtain
IT. some Imitation soft soap at "a
y pound. People said It was made fr'
q. human corpses. but 1t was the Of
thing available outside Of the subj
lte tutes which were soap only In name,