FAMINE IN GERMANY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16577, 28 December 1915, Page 8

FAMINE IN GERMANY

IS THE PINCH FELT? (From Oue Own Cobbespondiht.) LONDON, ,November 5. " I do not- think our position compares unfavourably with that ot the Governments who are opposed to us. The consumption of the German Government and the German nation has been far in excess of what they have been able to produce or import and their stock of available commodities is, from all we hear, rapidly diminishing and dwindling. Further, the standard of life of tho greater part of the population of Germany has been depressed to a point at which thert is little or no margin of reserve. We in these respects no doubt apparently and .ostensibly stand in a better position. But 1 would once more say, with all the emphasis of which I am capable, that we cannot sustain the burden which this great war haa laid upon us unless as individuals, as a community, and as a Government, we make, and are prepared to make, far greater sacri* fices than we have - hitherto done in the direction of retrenchment and economy." This statement has been made by Mr Asquith. The joyful. anticipations of an early strangulation of Germany by starvation have been rudely disappointed, and successive attempts to prove that the Germans are on the threshold of famine have failed. Yet there are good reasons for believing that Mr Asquith has faithfully reflected the economical position of Germany to-day. In mere corn and potatoes the Fatherland is not likely to have a famine, but there are reliable indications of a serious shortage of fatty foods, which must seriously affect the stay- ■ ing power of the German people. The Federal Council has decreed days of abstinence from meat. On Tuesdays and Fridays no raw or cooked moat may be sold by butchers. On Mondays and Thursdays restaurants are forbidden to place on the bill of fare or sell dishes prepared from meat, venison, poultry, or iish, or dishes baked or cooked in lard, bacon, or dripping. On Saturdays oo pork may be sold. No prohibition to cook meat dishes 0"n the days on which it was decreed that no meat shall be consumed has been published, as the council expects that well-to-do people will do their duty towards the Fatherland in order to facilitate a more regular distribution of foodstuffs containing fat. Luise Zietz, the well-known Socialist, ■writes in the'Yorwarts: —"All the marvel- i lous industry of the women of Germany, all their noble sacrifices, have been insufficient, in face of the frightful rise m the price of food, to guard the families against bitter distress. Meat is so incredibly dear that even on- Sundays it is no more to be seen on the tables of the middle and working classes. All the while tho producers, the dealers, and the great meat and sausage manufacturers are pocketing fornlidable profits, and while vast quantities of meat, sausage, and preserves are A rotting, and have to be employed for technical purposes, the poor are starving. When we turn to the fish supply exactly the same conditions stare us in the face. We were nearly smothered under the weight of the colossal potato crop, but producers and dealers held ■ back their stocks to force up prices still higher. Fruit and cereals are similarly unobtainable. Fats are growing even more scarce, and the sugar, of which we have an abundance, and which could replace these fats very largely, is not to be chased except at veritable siege prices. The charges for margarine, butter, vegetable fate, tallow, bacon, etc., are fantastically high. No person of commonsense can comprehend that in these days, when every individual life is particularly valuable to the state, milk prices should be permitted to rise to such an extent as s to be the direct cause of a most serious increase in infant mortality." . _ ' At Berent, West Prussia, 76 sides of bacon wore seized Jsy the authorities at a local dealer's. This food is to be sold at reduced rates to such of the poor as can-prove that they have been unable to buy • either meat or sausage for the past month. t CONSERVING RESOURCES. The Chancellor has held a conference in Berlin to discuss the question of the food supply, and the official' statement i ssued said that there was a sufficiency of food. German agents are busy in all neutral countries attempting to buy foodstuffs as well as fats and soaf> of all descriptions. Most neutral countries' have little to 6e11.. In Denmark the lists of articles whose export is prohibited, is growing daily. Sweden has just prohibited the export of soap and resin, and the export of pork and bacon is expected to cease by order on December 1. The Government Commission at Ghristiania requests the proof the export of soap from Nor- . way. , Following are some newspaper cuttings which may only indicate local precautions:— Frankfurter Zeitung: "It has been dei cided to employ as food for. cattle the water i remaining after the manufacture of celluloid, which yields a syrup containing from 10 to 12 per cent, of sugar." Berliner Tageblatt: ''The scraps of copper or brass and the pins that lie about m most houses should be collected by school ■ children. In this way 10 or 12 pounds of good metal may sometimes be gathered in a few days. The lot, on being sold, ought to realise enough money to purchase a present for the dear ones at the front or to procure I a few dainties for a delicate member of the family. The Federal Council has forbidden i the use of milk or cream in the making of i bread or cakes. There has been too much wastefulness in the consumption of milk, anarticle which in these difficult days should / be left for the use only of the sick and. of infants. Adults can well take their coffee Lokal Anzeiger : "By order of the authorities acorns, beech nuts, chestnuts, lime, and maple seeds are being collected in many parts. These products are of \considerable value as fodder, and they may ; oven be used with advantage in the preparation of oils to replace butter and other expensive vegetable and animal fats in cook" ing. The school authorities of the Berlin district are empowered to grant school holidays to a select number of children in order 1 that they may have time to gather tnese nuts and seeds. The German Farmers Union will pay as much as -44s to 98s for every 2301b of acorns." Dautsohe Tages Zeitung: "We have been ' requested by tile police authorities to pub* 1 lish the following: —' In order to Avoid the waste of grease and expensive oils> the fact 1 is brought to the notice of. the public that an emulsion of blacfclead and cheap oil j makes a very good lubricant. Lighter oils : can also be used for that purpose if 50 per I cent, of blacklead is added to them. ' Lin--1 seed oil or white lead may be used only by * special police authorisation, and it is for- ! bidden to paint the outside of houses, sheds, or structures of any kirid with paints con-' ! taining such products.'" Norddeutsche Algemeine Zeitung: At 1 tho exhibition of economical inventions for i household use in Berlin visitors will find I many substitutes for rubber, as well as - several new varieties of paper collars, cuffs, handkerchiefs, towels, and serviettes. These paper objects when soiled can be thrown 5 away. In this way which is so dear ' at psesent. will bo saved.' ; METAL REQUISITIONS. ' A correspondent, in Holland says that tho '. Germans in Belgium are commandeering all copper money for their military needs. Quito recently the Dutch Government found it necessary to forbid the export of copper > coins. Germans were carrying off all the i one and two cent pieces from places near > the frontier. They paid as much as 11 * florins for 10 florins' worth of copper coins, t and did not hesitate ,to carry on their business in some of the central towns of Hol- - land, such as Tho Hague and Utrecht. 1 Renters of chairs in the churches were approached by German agents for this pur--3 pose Through tho Cardinal Archbishop of * Budapest the Roman Catholic Church in 1 , Hungary formally announces its readiness ■ to surrender the church bells for military . purposes without waiting for any official re- > quisition. Inventories of the bells have J already been taken. It is proposed to hand f over those from the larger cities and towns first, and later, if necessary, the bells from the village churches will also be taken. For tho present one boll at least will be left in each tower, and it is not proposed to take any bells which have a spocial or historic value. These arc all hopeful signs, but they can only be safely interpreted in the light of the f wonderful German faculty of provisionary f organisation. '