Grave Crisis In Ruhr

Northern Advocate, 6 November 1946, Page 5

Grave Crisis In Ruhr

(Rec. 2 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 5. The British zone in Germany, particularly the Ruhr, is facing a grave food crisis due primarily to the non-arri-val of the October grain shipments because of the American shipping strike, says the Dusseldorf correspondent of The Times.

Unless grain-ships are immediately diverted to Germany bread supplies are expected to break down completely by the middle of ifovember.

Germans, already undernourished will face starvation.

The arrival of 36,000 tons of grain and flour in the past fortnight, together With the diversion to the Ruhr of grain ,from those parts of the zone with a surplus, staved off a crisis, but the bread supply is most irregular.

An undisclosed reserve of stocks of grain and flour until recen'tly met the periodic.crisis, but they are now completely exhausted.

British officials do not hesitate to confess now that this is the most serious situation yet faced. Two vessels carrying 9000 tons of grain are expected by the middle of November, when, there will be a deficiency of 2000 tons, after which no vessels are scheduled for arrival. LITTLE ENOUGH Deficiencies of 13,000 and 22,000 tons are foreseen for the middle and end of December respectively. British officials regard as a mistake the raising of the ration last month from 1335 calories daily to 1550, but even the increased scale is little enough on which to maintain life. It works out for each individual daily at:— Potatoes, lOioz.; bread, 130 z.; cereals, 2Joz.; meat, Joz.; fish, loz.; sugar, loz.; cheese, l-140z.; and skimmed milk, 4Joz. ' The correspondent adds that the normal day’s food in a working home consists of:

Breakfast: Dry bread and ersatz coffee. Potato soup. Supper: Potato soup. Workers already are on the verge of starvation.

■ The increased rations for miners’ canteens are doing little psychological good because the miner is depressed when he contrasts the rations he gets with those his family is eating at home.