GERMAN RICH R0B POOR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11955, 14 March 1917, Page 1

GERMAN RICH ROB POOR.

! i AMERICAN WOMAN'S ACCOUNT' I OF BERLIN. ; I Miss Madeleine Doty, a lawyer aiu| | prison commissioner of iNevr York. has ! been in Germany distributing Americari I charity and gives a graphic account «ii ! the situation in tho Z\ew York " Na- ■ lion." Officii Germany." she says, " d«v i.'k-s its poor and hides t:<er..%" but & Berlin w.-.man social worker "took r.\e iro tiiO north of BerKn. There Jittle cihi d.rn >warined—dirty, ragged. barofpoctxi, and pale. This is a. uorr sto-ce yf • ;"'ifa;r.-'- l ; or Germany. K erototore ther* have always been at least potatoes ;>nd clothe a. The spirit of rebellion is ab: :>;\d in Gem-arty. Wo visited sev>;a! tenements. The- following in a 'ypkn! family : A mother, nine chn» dres. and grandmother ; two woms and a ki:..-hop.; father in the war; nneom-J '•J4 marks (about &?) a month. This i family was living on tea r.ntl potatoes. *' At orory homo I insisted on laying in supplies. But fchsro was littio to bay. .Nothing with substance—no meai. I My companion had succeeded in gefei v.on;e packages of meal from fch<& « Government. When e-he produced oiw ■ of tnasa tho family went mad with J joy. Tho tlung that is needed is food—- ' not money. | "The following items are to fc? fcad ! only with Government cards:—Bread, | meat, potatoes, but.tor, sugar, cheese, ■ nr.lk, eggs, meal, flour, soap and cheao ; eiothes. Each person has to* trade at ; thr store assigned. Working people | have to buy during noon and evening i hours. This results m long lines in • cf every shop at twelve and at ■ S!x :" I She describes a littio old woman* tveoping appeal at a butcher's empty rountcr. *' ' I must, it are some fat 1 — . sob- 1 1 haven't had meat or fat for : three creeks.' Sob, sob, sob. 4 jyiy •: stomach has turned againvt: warma- : lade ' —sou — ; i eaiv't' live on it any ; longer. " Another queue of two thon- : band people. " 1 stood and watched ; fir tnroe hours and the line never decreased. As fast as seme loft other*, arrived. Women who had worked s,H day looked ready to drop with tatsgue. . The babies in the crowd had grown i hungry: they I;ad had nothing to oat HiP"e noon." iiis;-; Doty describes the «ngn:eh ; when the word goes round that thr* . suppl'e.s of potatoes are giving ott*. • Of one ?icklv man j his wife and chiiti, • " v ' lf> '•-•'I obtained none in the previous. ; work, she asked. "What tf>J you do?'*' , " T-A-v went hungry," to the bitter j veph-. | '♦her'? «« a great. shorts go of mftk fc j a!:< 1 hhv oliered £1:!-'0 to buy goats for j miik for brdiies But " tl:c wealth.y r-rn;owner who sold the goats charged ; 10$ each. Usually the prico is £1 j Similarly ok ft rich landowners ; are sending the worst potatoes to Bw- • iin n\ a r-pirit. of revenge arctiyfid- hy :he reus sal of. the Government to allovJ. litem to double the prices. die v.'ell-ro-do, servants stand ir; the hn.'T. ■■ Besides, elaokens and bird-; ; "e to be had at high prices withoutt irke':;;." " I'he German Government-," conchie.ei, ''is headed for disaster."