Evening star., 1923-06-11
GERMAN DESCRIBES.
LIFE OF PR|vAT|0NS
Il
Soaring Prices Replace Pre-
War Luxury With Long
Series of Economies.

The following extracts from let
ter recently received in washington
from a woman residing in Germanv
give graphic description of the
economies and privations of the Ger
mans of the better class, who, be-
fore the war, lived in comparative
luxury.
The writer, a native German, was
married 10 Scotch physician and
lived for thirty years in Boston.
After her husbands death she re
turned to Germany some time before
the war on visit with her two
daughters who both married Ger
man officers, and she has resided il
Germany since then.
Cares Are Harassina.
Our lives have been so hard and
cares so harassing THAI yours ana
other friends most timely help has
removed from my heart a weight thar
has worried me night and day. 1t
seems so difficult 10 find means for
decent exit out of this life, and
long as We are in the flesh we mus
eat and drink and clothe ourselves
You would freely understand if YOU
witnessed the crazy daily rise of
prices here.
My niece gave today 900 mas
for hair net. You cannot get palt
of shoes for much less than sixty u
seventy thousand marks, a sum whicu
formerly sufficed for the yearl~
maintenance Of many lady or oGr
class.
; Prfvations Are Fatal.
But j will not bore you by these
details. which form the never-endinR
care of our daily life, combined with
| a political and national misery tha
has. perhaps, never been equaled IN
history. And Yet, again. one part OF
| the people seem to dance on graves
while others are slowly sinking int
| think | snail get reckless. al}o"
myself A bit of meat twice a week
a cup OF coffee GLORIOUS. for ! hate
| these concoctions We call cone"
| white bread, but which in reality y
/ gray
| But ] shall draw a line at a bun o:
a white roll that costs 500 or 500
marks each and which actually re
! fuses TO go down my throat. | would
feel like King Midas eating gold.
Spring Brings Gladness.
! Our winter here has. indeed been
one of discomfort and the price OF
| fuel exorbitant 1t has been followed
l by a glorious summer, and ones eyes
are feastins on flowers and foliage.
| God be thanked for the ever-return-
! ing joys OF spring. The beech forests
| are at their best just now, the night
/ ingales are singing and every bloom
| ing hush is q joy. And. withal, the
\ world of men SO vile-bent on war
! and mischief. All. when is it all going
& 10 anHo What so n hernypa of
X
| In reading l have just Travelled
with Robert Peary to the north
| pole, a trip that has interested M
covered" Anthony Trollope and have
! enjoyed some of his older novels.
New literature Of any country /
| never see. Books are incredibly dear.
twenty or fifty thousand marks each.
| The paper alone is too precious. IL
you go to a shop YOU are often
charged twenty-five or thirty marks
\ for small gray paper bag that
! holds your purchases.
Charged for Bags.
| Yesterday 1 bought one-half pound
| of onions and was asked to pa
\ 20 marks for the paper bag. Of
course / refused and wrapped them
UP in my handkerchief. Shopping
bags are therefore the great need of
the German housekeepers and every
| bit of cl6 th is used for making one.
/ might write a book about the arts
4 and shifts one has to exercise daily.
God knows we learn the meaning of
1 the word economy" / have JUST
been manufacturing quite decent"
| if not elegant nightdress from a white
1 petticost Mrs. - sent me. and from
| a wonderful ancient quilted silk pet
1 ticoat lined with some black silk /
have created long black silk coat OF
which i am mighty proud and which
| might pass muster.
| 100000 Marks for a Sheet.
The worst is the want Of bed and
| table linen. A sheet costs about a
hundred thousand marks, and / had
! to pay, a few days ago, 10000 marks
1 for cotton cloth for two night
dresses. There 1 am at it againl It's
l no use-these economic conditions
are irrepressible. They creep into
| our talk and our letters against our
will.