Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1922-03-17
Present Conditions
In Germany
(By Federated Press)

(By Federated Press)
Thomas Kennedy, special repre-
sentative, writes as follows regarding
the present condition in the German
Republic:
Paris-I have just spent a month
in Germany. ! set down my exper-
fences and impressions so that Ameri-
cans may have some idea of what is
going on in the Republic. | travelled
about, not as a newspaper man look
ing for storv but as former Amer
ican student in German universities,
who wished to see what had happened
to Germany during and since the war.
The first night was at Cologne and
could find no place in a hotel but the
public housing bureau sent me to
private room. paid 35 cents for the
nights lodging. The room was
clean, the sheets were patched in
about 30 places, the bowls and pitch
ers had the handles and spouts broken
off. In other words, the room, as ev-
erything else, told the story that the
country had been through a war. The
population in the streets in Cologne
and all other large cities, showed
marked evidences of having suffered
long famine. 1t is quite certain that
a large part of the population even
now is underfed.
The labor efficiency of German is
certainly considerably under normal
because the people do not have as
much to eat as they need in order to
enable them to do sufficient work.
The next day | went on to Hanover
and stayed in hotel. For my room
and three very good meals day I
paid rs cents daily. Now / say that
| had good meals. That does not mean
that there was dessert or luxuries.
These things are not to be had even
for money. Of course, a few people
who go to Berlin to the big hotels do
get certain luxuries but these are not
possible to an average American even
of my type, who has dollars in his
pocket, to say nothing of the middle
class German citizen.
Now in Hanover there was no dis
play of luxury anywhere. There are
not great many automobiles in the
streets, although see newspaper
writer's to American papers are con-
stantly giving the other impression
From Hanover | went out to a small
village and spent a week in the hotel,
visiting the schools.
My first nights experience in the
hotel was as follows: l was assigned
a room, neat, patched sheets again.
| mention these facts to show that de-
spite the poverty of the Germans they
are still keeping clean. The proprie-
tors of the hotel gave me for my eve
ming dinner two fried eggs, some black
bread, not half bad, goat butter that
one could eat, but nothing to get ex-
cited over, little milk and coffee and
teaspoonful of sugar. Sugar is still
very hard to get. Also had small
plate of red cabbage.
For breakfast / had some of the
same coffee, little milk, too, a ra-
tion of sugar, two slices of black bread
and butter. Now this was a prosper
is a hardworking community even
now. / asked the landlady for my
bill, for dinner in the evening, nights
lodging and breakfast in the morning.
She charged me IL cents. I had not
the heart to pay her such a small sum
and so | gave her so marks which, at
the then rate of exchange, was "a
cents, nearly three times what she
asked.
| visited the schools in that section
at various places. School legislation
since the war has increased the school
attendance requirements. In all the
southern states of German school at
! tendance is required from 12 to "a
hours each week for all boys and girls
between the ages of IA and 18, and
the law is strictly carried out.
Schools have changed a great deal
from what, they were 10 years ago,
when l used to visit them. The
kaiser's portraits and all other
forms of militarism have been taken
down from the walls. The order of
the government forbids the printing
of any books that contain cannon or
any other instrument of war.
About three-fourths of all German
university professors are against the
republic. On the contrary more than
three-fourths of all the elementary
school teachers are for it.
There are three men who seem to
be hated everywhere-Von Bethmann-
Hollweg, the crown prince and ex-
President Wilson. / could find no one
in Germany who had kind word to
say for these three.
Mnnlsocr &c E:so Hh:oFo