Evening star., 1943-05-23

the Netherlands.
the whole packet Of papers was dumped
on top of him in the water while his
assailants laughed: There, all your
people and country are coming to your
rescue Since this experience the Nazi
is hawking his papers in front of the
prison, where he is under the protection
of the guard. He is already trying to
get used to those environments is now
the general comment"
Rhetoric Which Backfired
Woudenberg, Nazi leader, addressing
factory workers in Holland, is resorting
to rhetoric to obtain the sympathy of
the masses.
At one meeting he said dramatically:
Where are the Indies? Gone! Where
is Curacao? Gone!'
Whereupon voice from the crowd in
terrupted Where is my bicycle?" and
the entire audience delightedly shouted
in unison: "Gonep
"A Dutch Nazi wounded at the Rus
sian front, was sent back to Amsterdam
where he went to a German hospital for
treatment. At the entrance were two
doors, one marked Officers the other
other ranks He opened the other
ranks door and came into a corridor at
the end of which he saw two doors
marked seriously wounded and Slightly
wounded Opening the second door, he
found himself in another corridor, at the
end 0f Uhich f1oro
marked Germans and Allies When
he opened the Allies door he found him
self In the street. Were you treated
Well?' inquired his wife, when he came
home Not at ALL the Dutch Nazi re-
piled, but the Germans do have a
marvellous system Of organization in the
hospital"
when Dutch Nazi stretches his arm
In the Nazi salute there is always some
body saying that's the way to the Eng
lish Channel"
Economic Situation Grim.
Between the diminutive psychopath
Mussert and the limping society bandit.
Slx-ln-a-quart-with the efficient, mill
tarily correct Christianson demanding
greater and greater labor drafts-the
economic system OF the Dutch is grim
indeed
Holland used to be literally Europe's
land OF milk and honey. One needed a
good appetite indeed to finish an ordi-
nary Dutch meal. Today, it is true, the
1ood situation is far from as bad as in
Belgium. The Netherlands was more of
a farmer country and food production
still goes on. But a great deal of the
produce is requisitioned for Germany
and there is a woeful lack of farm labor.
Rations are barely adequate to keep folks
alive
There is fairly active black market.
Here are some of the latest price quota
tions, brought to England by refugees in
the last few weeks:
Fifty cigarettes, s12; toothbrush, SO;
cake OF soap, $1.6O; two bicycle tires,
$1.40; secondhand motorcycle, $1,000;
secondhand sewing machine, $3.50: loaf
of bread, s1.1o; pound of butter Sc;
bushel of potatoes, Sc; pair OF shoes, s22
minimum.
This "black market" according to evi-
dence now accumulating in London, ac-
tually is not "black market" at all, but
deliberate German business enterprise
controlled by Hermann Goering to milk
the occupied countries of any loose cash.
The general has declared himself super
controller of all the black markets and
has so informed the German military
and civil authorities. A certain 1t. COL
Veltgens has been given the job of Or
ganizing them, with German central
Office.
The Dutchman who pays Sc for
pound of butter is putting at least $3.50
into Hitler's treasury-or perhaps into
the pockets of Goering and his asso-
ciates.
Dutch industry has been taken over
in its entirety and Dutch agriculture
fat black -andwhite cattle grazing in
lush green fields cut by geometric bitches
and picturesque with windmills were a
conspicuous feature of the country's
landscape before the war-not only has
been ruined for the time being but prob
ably for generation. The last prewar
census recorded about 100000 mich
cows and million calves, heifers and
bulls Half of these have been requisi-
toned by the invaders for slaughter.
There also has been a bad epidemic of
foot-and-mouth disease. Replacement
of million cattle is a job the magnitude
of which staggers the Imagination.
One of the biggest prewar enterprises
in Holland was shipping. Great luxury
liners flying the Dutch flag went to the
ends Of the earth. Dutch freighters were
in every port. Much of this shipping
still serves Great Britain and America
but it is becoming antiquated and the
shipyards have been destroyed. Dutch
here worry if they can ever catch up with
their rivals after the war. Some feel the
shipping business is gone forever.
Perhaps the country's best-known in
dustry was tulip growing. Tulip time Is
Just about over. The fields, such as re-
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