The Washington herald., 1922-09-10
Germany Sliding Into Deep
Pit of Anarchy, Thinks Gibbs
Starvation Faces Middle and Lower Classes
Unless Moratorium Is Granted.

went hack to work hoping to be
paid back by a decent reward of
labor, by a fair measure of comfort,
by a sense OF security and peace.
They were willing to bear heavy
burdens as the price of defeat and
as an Insurance of the future peace
Of Europe.
Sees Red Menace.
But what will happen II this win
ter. after real hardships already.
they find themselves hungry. with
out warmth and light in their
homes. with no reward for their
labor except slave hours and bur-
dens beyond human endurance?
Hungry men get fierce. There is no
reason or sanity among men who
see their women weakening and
their children without milk. Un-
less respite is given to Germany
the red flag will fly in Berlin and
this country which was the western
bulwark against Bolshevism will be
prompt to fall into anarchy"
This man may have exaggerated
the peril but he spoke certainly
with sincerity and the emotion that
stirred him profoundly was not
false. The fear of revolution is on
the lips of many men / have met
In Berlin. Even the walters at my
hotel said the word as sufficient
answer to my question about the
coming winter. One of them was a
lieutenant in Germany before he
served foreign visitors soup.
found this man shrewd politically
and he astonished me by saying
that the worst thing which could
happen to Germany would be a
breakdown of the entente cordiale
between France and England. IF
England breaks with France" he
said. France will be under no re-
straint for the full use of her mil
itary power to disrupt Germany.
She would rather see the world in
ruin than Germany prosperous, and
put forth such pressure that our
economic life will be impossible.
That will lead to one result. which
is anarchy. Then God help Eu-
rope"
Can't Buy Meat.
In the darkness OF the railway
platform at Cologne / had a long
talk with one of the porters who
guarded the bags. First, he talked
! about the war, in which he had
been three times wounded on the
Russian and British fronts. He
was a tall. heavily built fellow, but
when he spoke of his strength in
lifting heavy load. he struck his
chest and said, How can I keen
strength in this body when ] never
feed 1t meat? That is the trouble
of all of us of my class.
The paper money we get is never
enough because prices always rise
beyond our wages. Last year
earned 500 marks a week. Now ]
earn 1900. but they buy less than
ever and never do i eat meat II
costs los marks for a pork chop. A
suit of clothing costs 5000 marks
One egg is 9 marks. Milk for the
children? How can we buy 1t wher
a pint costs 120 marks
Hard Winter Ahead.
TT is pretty hard for us now. II
is going to be harder because the
mark will drop down like autumn
leaves. In this coming winter there
| will be bad times and trouble. We
shan't starve without a struggle
He spoke CT war again and lauS h et
when he said Germany has fought
too many enemies at the same time
One day. he said. Germany will re.
cruit Ruens and train them with
Geroffers. Then they would fight
on more equal terms. France
forces us to that idea. She will
give us no hope in peace" Stand
ing there in the darkness listening
to this mans words / had an uneasy
feeling that he was not speaking
for himself alone, but expressine
ideas of masses Of men like himself
the working men of Germany.
His last thought was for tn,
peace of the world. Perhaps it i:
not widespread. l believe the Ger
man people on the whole, apart
from the crazy minority which i:
still dangerous, desire to produce al
much as any people in the work
who have suffered the agony of war
but agree with the little officia
of the Deutschbank that hungr!
men get fierce; and II Germany get