GERMANY IN WAR TIME.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 700, 9 May 1916, Page 7

GERMANY IN WAR TIME.

RULING CONDITIONS IN HAMBURG AND BERLIN CONFIDENCE IN DEFEAT OF THE ALLIES. "Times" and "Sydney Sun" Services. (Received May !), 8 a.m.) LONDON, May 8. The following description by a neutral of the Berlin and Hamburg districts is said 1o he absolutely accurate. The writer says:— .Money is abundant, and there is work for all, but the whole population is on short rations regarding many necessaries. This is causing infinite grumbling among the poor, who arc heartily sick of the war. They have no voice in determining the policy of the country. The upper and middle classes are not suffering. The British blockade is now beginning to have some effect, and the Germans admit great anxiety concerning the next two months. The Government urges the people to hold out until duly, when the harvest will be gathered. Prospects are that the harvests will be very great, but in general the crops have suffered through the lack of fertilisers. There is no sign of distress in Berlin, but below the surface several significant things are noticeable. Soup kitchens are being opened on a large scale. The poorest quality soup, chiefly made from potatoes, is sold. The diet of the people consists large of substitutes —saccharine for sugar, imitation coffee, etc. Even beer is adulterated. The Bavarians especially are grumbling at the shortage of hops for brewing purposes. The authorities are. issuing washing soda cards and are preparing soup cards. There is plenty of gaiety in Berlin. Officers fill the theatres, and the women are well dressed in Paris fashions. Attempts to introduce German fashions absolutely failed. Numerous wounded soldiers throng the public places. A novelty at the Easter Races was the great display of Zeppelins and Taubes over the racecourse-. The Shakespeare tercentenary celebrations have been in full swing. The people of Berlin dread trouble with America. The movements of troops are largely to the west. The Germans have not the slightest fear of the Russians now. They admit that Turkey is bitter and in a half-starved condition. All the soldiers met seemed to be absolutely confident that Germany had won the war. Hamburg is a desert. The good people of Hamburg and Bremen consistently oppose the retention of Antwerp, fearing injury to German ports. Prices in Hamburg are higher than in .Berlin. The well-known Hamburg geese are selling at £2 each; sugar is .">/- a pound, and coffee is the same price. Best cuts of beef cost (>/- a pound in Berlin. The passport regulations stringently restrict the departure of rich Germans to Denmark or Switzerland. Three things prevent a national protest against the war—the Germans' extreme vacillation, the absence of men at the front making the organisation of a protest difficult, and the belief that the Allies are everywhere on the defensive. THE LATEST GERMAN FALSEHOOD. SERBIAN TROOPS ON HOSPITAL SHIPS. ADMIRALTY SAYS STORY IS AN ABSOLUTE FABRICATION. By Culie. — Press Assoeiation. — Cupyright. (Received May 9, 11.45 a.m.) LONDON, May 8. The Admiralty describes as an absolute fabrication a wireless message sent to the German Embassy at Washington stating that Athens reports that the British and French are violating the Geneva Flag by transporting Serbians on hospital ships. CANADIAN NAVY ENTERS THE WAR. RAINBOW CAPTURES TWO AUXILIARY SCHOONERS. SUSPECTED TO BE OWNED BY GERMANS. (Received May 9, 9.10 a.m.) VANCOUVER, May 8. A wireless message from San Diego, California, announced the first entry of the Canadian Navy into the war. The cruiser Rainbow captured two prizes in the Pacific —the auxiliary schooners Leonore and Oregon. German ownership is suspected in each case. The Rainbow is the second largest vessel in the Royal Canadian Navy. She is a cruiser oi ;t(>00 tons displacement, and carries two 6-hu-h guns and six 4.7-inch guns, with smaller guns and four torpedo tubes. She has a speed of 15 to KJ knots. She belongs to the Apollo class of cruisers, and ■was built in 1891. She was bought by Canada from the Royal Navy in 1909.