Washington Journal., 1919-11-21
1rsiag, sen q. @OOsmbsr 1919.
Starutn9 Ghtl0ren1
Frightful pictures of the ravages ofhunger
in the Erzgebirge Germany
By Richard Katz, Prague.
Translated from "yOssische zetung". June 8. 1913.
By Richard Kalz, Prague.
Translated from 'VOssische zeituns". June 8, 1919.

~
There were, at any rate, four Of
these a%ristocrats.
All the others had made their
breakfast on plants, or plant-soup,
or plant-hash. What is it, this
great spring-menu of the Erzge-
birger? Just weeds which grow
rankly in the meadows, irrigated by
liquid manure, adder's tongue for
the most part. Outside every vii
lage, troups OF children are seen
pulling these green, lancet-shaped
leaves, which are nearly tasteless
and have almost no nutritive value,
but nevertheless ill the stomach,
the always %grumbling. always un-
satisfied, and always disappointed
stomach. Yes, it is weeds that these
children have to thank for thei
ricketts,, the grown people TOR tier
hungcr-oedelna.
Now they are eating weeds, in
summer cabbage stalks, in autumn
half-ripe fallen pears. and in win
ter, il God grant it, potatoes. But
winter is far off and hunger-typhus
does quick work. No help in the
thought That comes only to the
very poorest, Nine-tenths of the po-
Dulation are in that class. And the
others? Well, the mayor of Wei
pert. 4 city Of 10000, suddenly
stopped taking us through the
schools of his town because he had
TO go on a five hours journey into
the Eyer Valley, with a sack strap
ped 10 his back, in order to pick up
a few kilograms Of -four for his
household. The mayor, if you
please! The man is 81 years old.
incidentally, they eat all sorts of
stuff. Possibly, boiled-out coffee
substitute, which they bake on the
stove-plates or the second growth
of hay, which they put through the
coffee mill, III order to boil it in
water afterwards or turnips, half
or quite rotten, or wormy aue
kraut (l saw a woman eat sauer-
kraut-eat it grecdily-which was
so swarming with masgots that she
had to pull them out of every
spoonful before she carried it to
her mouth} or else they eat things
that are too bad for the pigs-for
if the pigs would eat them, they
would be unobtainable for the Err
g~ebirgers. These unemployed
turner's of mother-of-pearl glove
makers, ~bobbin-lace makers, instru-
nlent makers have absolutely moth
ing else than their unemployment
relief assistance. Yes, they have
children, too; six, seven, eight, nine
children. Nowhere have | seen such
large families as in the Erzgebirge,
where they positively cannot sup
port them. Nowhere, too, do men
cling with such tenacity to their na-
tive soil as just here, where the
earth will scarcely produce sparse
grass 1t is an impossibility to in
duce the Erzgebirger to move into
4 more fertile region. YET most OF
them avoid working in factories
since they cannot do without their
house and their village all day!
But back to the childrenl
Which of yotrhas no shirt on?"
Eight make themselves known.
Which has no more than a sim
gle shirt, just the one he is wearing
next his skin?'
So many little arms go UP that
they cannot be counted quickly
enough before WEAKNESS makes
them sink again; certainly, more
than half of them! The teacher in
terposes: Only three-fourths Of
my pupils are here. Fourteen chill
dren have literally nothing to wear !!
They are lying naked in the straw.
Their parents have been obliged to
exchange their last bits of linen, the
last little garments for turnips and
potatoes. You see here, in general.
only a selection of the better nour-
ished and better clothed children"
Merciful Cod What must the