INFERNAL GERMANY

Hokitika Guardian, 26 February 1917, Page 2

INFERNAL GERMANY

Captured Mail Tales

(Australian & N.Z. Cable Association - and Reuter.)

London, Feb 21

Letters of guaranteed authenticity taken from German prisoners captur* ed on the. Somme in the last two weeks, reveal actual conditions in Germany brought on by the food shortage. The following was - written from Hanover :

“Here in Hanover the people are gradually becoming thinner, always thinner. Nobody ever grows any fatter. Anyone desiring to obtain food must obtain nothing. Isn’t this awful.

A letter from Hamburg found on a German said : “Hero in Hamburg there has been a fearful riot. To. night ia Hofweg, and other streets, women and children broke into shops aud robbed them. What is going to happen ? The people have nothing to eat ; there are no potatoes; grease and bread are scarce.” Another letter from Hamburg says : “Yesterday, it was war here, too, There were soldiers with bayonets at our backs. AU the bread and butter shops and some grocers’ shops were wrecked. Then mounted soldiers appeared. What a life! They were after us with their sabres right up to our dootstep?. This is a fine state of affaire.”

A third letter from Hamburg: “ There has been a frightful commotion here. The shops of Tielz and Hoilbutt have been broken into and everything from the bakers. The green-grocers Lad to sell all their potatoes without tickets. “It gets worse every day. A hundred women marched through the streets. They all wanted more to eat. For a fortnight we have seen no butter. Times are continually getting worse. I don’t know what the end will be.”

A Grossberg woman writes to her soldier son as follows; “I feel it very much that I cannot send you anything, but times are hard. Often I have to go out in the morning without a crust of bread in my soup. “ Money is scarce, too, We get eo little flour that only a little bak’mg is possible. There is much work to be done with all these cards. We have bread cards, meat cards, soup cards, butter card?, rice cards, oil cards. If I could only send you something I would do it gladly, but things are eo dear. It is high time we had peace/’

King George’s Appreciation.

(Received Feb 26, at 9.5 a.m.) . London, Feb 25 Tbe King and Queen opened a school for oriental studies at Finsbury Circus. The Kins' emphasised that the school wculd help to develop the sympathy so happily existing with my far eastern Ally, Japan. He said the Dominions had vied with each other for over two years in offering their blood and treasure in a righteous war.

Perhaps Next Year

London, Feb 25 Lord Oheylesmore, presiding at the National Rifle Association said he hoped the Bisley meeting would be resumed in 1918.

A French Capture,

London; Feb 25 The Daily Chronicle's Paris correspondent states the French authorities have arrested on the frontier three men accompanying Mr Gerard, professing to belong to his snit°, Mr Gerard denied all knowledge of them. All carried forged papers. Deported. London, Feb 25 Twelve o'the Irish arrestees have been deported to England. Sir Roger Casement left £ios. He bequeaths everything to his cousin, Mrs Parry,