Why Germany is Starving.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 278, 25 May 1917, Page 1 (Supplement)

Why Germany is Starving.

NEARINQ THE END OF THEIR RESOURCES. A FAMINE ALLOWANCE.

(In this article the writer, who has an intimate knowledge of internal conditions in Germany, gives interesting faote to show that the enemy country is rapidly approaching a> .state of famine.)

Germans have lx>oii called ' •*• sausage-eaters and black-bread-eaters. However, it is a mistake to believe that they live chiefly on either. Tho principal German rooa is potatoes. Normally Germany produces 50 million tons of potatoes, while the United" Kngdom raises only 6 million or 7 million tons per year. The whole British potato crop would barely suffice to supply GermanyvWith seed potatoes. The Germans use their gigant'o potato crop partly for human food, whilo part goes to feed animals. To tho Germans potatoes are as important as rice is to me Chinese. To their misfortune, the last potato crop has apparently been a disastrous failure. Official statements have appeared according to which the potato crop lia.s como only to twenty mill'on tons. There has, therefore, been a shortage in potatoes alone of 3U million tons, in addition to tno absence cf imported foodstuffs. In ordinarytimes Germany imports on balance about 15 million tons of food for man and boast, and tho larger quantity of tho foodstuff imported consists of feed for cattle, and pigs. Germany has therefore a shortage of 45 million tons m her food supply, and as there are » Germany about 70,000,0'J0 people the deficiency per head of population is equal to about three-quarters of a ton per year. It is dffictilt to understand how,* under these circumstances, Germany manage." to subsist. Germany s attack upon Roumania was made, no doubt, not so much in the nope of obtaiUng a victory as in the hope of obtaining food. Germany's potato shortago must be terrible. The potato ration per head had recently been fixea at ton pounds per week. However, it was rapidly reduced to seven pounds, then to five pounds, and at last to three pounds i>er week. Now tho fact that a ration of three pounds per week has l>een arranged for does by no means mean that every German will bo given three pounds of potatoes. It simply means tnat he is entitled as a maximum to three pounds of potatoes. Ho will get them only if they are available, ana "it he gets or if he gets rotten potatoes instead of sound ones, he cannot complain. SHORTAGE OF ALL FOODS. \ Three pounds of potatoes per weoK aro equal to hali-a-pound of potatoes a day. Now a B'ngle. medium size potato weighs halt'-a-pound. How small that allowance is is clear when we remember that the German soldiers receive normally i>er day three pounds of potatoes, three-quarters of a pound f meat, tnree-quarters of a pound of bread, etc. Of course the potato deficiency would not matter ver much n there were an abundance of other foods, such as bread, meat eggs, cheese, milk, butter, etc. However, the.'-o is a great deficiency in all these. We know that there is a snorta-gc of bread, fc-r Germany was before the war n very larjio importer of wheat. As there is a tremendous shortage of potatoes and as the vast quantities of cattle feed which wero formerly imported are now kept out by the blockade, the bulk of Germany'M live stock has been eaten up. As very few cattle and pigs aro left, there is of course, not only a great shortage of meat, but also milk, butter and cheese. Only small children can get milk in Germany. Eggs are practically unobtainable, and meat, butter and fat can be pot only m the smallest dose's. Germany das a tremendous shortage, not only of potatoes, but of food of every kind, and, unfortunately for the Germans, a iar<:e portion of the food raised in the country is converted into munitions of war. Before the war

Germany imported 1,500,000 tons of oil nuts ami vast quantities of oil. As these are lacking, Initter, lard, suet, etc., have to be sei.t m vast quantities to thu munitions factories. The scanty store of potatoes also cannot l>e used entirely for human and animal food, for tho war has vastly increased the demand for spirit, for the chemical works arc more active titan ever —besides, potato spirit is required for driving many engines. Tho Germans have l>ecn able to hold out so far for various reasons. Tho harvest of 1913 was by far tho largest on record. They liegan the war, as they began nearly every war, in early alittimn when the crop was ready to lie cut. The 1014 crop, which was almost ripe at the beginning of August, was a very good one. Germany therefore entered upon tho war w'tli a good crop standing and with largo reserves of foodstuffs of the 1913 crop. In aodit'on there wero huge military food stores in existence. j SOURCES OF SUPPLY CUT OFF. At tho beginning of the war, Germany's food position was brillnant. Germany had not only vast supplies in hand and was reaping an excellent harvest, but sbo succeeded m seizing millions cf tons of food in Belgium, in i France, in Poland, and in Western Rus- I sia. Las<t, but not least, she received , during many months of the war millions | of tons of food by way of Italy, Holland, Denmark. Norway and Sweden, and, in addition, she bought largo quantities of grain and wheat from Roumania. Some of tliese sources of supply have been cut off. The districts conquered by Germany aro among the most densely populated portion-i of tho Continent. They cannot feed themselves, and have nothing to spare. Germany has a most intensive agriculture. Now, the more intensive agriculture is, tho more severely it suffers through neglect. A neglected hot-hcuse suffers more severely than a neglected meadow All the able-bodied agriculturists of Germany have been drafted into the Army and their horses hava.gone witli theni. As a rule, Germany imports everv year two hundred thousand horses for agricultural purposes. There can be cnlv a. few old crooks of horses in the rural districts of Germany. Old men. women and children, raid halfstarved prisoners cannot, of course, carry on Germany's agriculture with satisfactory results. As for lack ot feed the bulk of tho animals had to bo slaughtered and eaten, there * a- great deficiency in Germany not only ct hor-es but of cattle. Hence ploughing has been abandoned in many parts ot the country, and .as the spade is insufficiently effective Germany's agrculture hrs declined. Germany suffers not only from lac. of agricultural workers and of horses and cattle, but also of fertilisers-. As the bulk of the '-attic and p:gs have l»een killed there is I'ttle animal manure. I he vast imports of fertilisers have come to an end through the blockade, and the chemical wcrk.i of Germany are undoubtedly too busy With war work to turn out fertilisers. Th.o outlook foi Germany's agriculture is extremely -r'oomv At present, the German people receive half a pound of potatoes per head per dav s:s a maximum. Tney receive a little bread, and merely an oceashnal taste of meat, fat butter ' f .] loPfio P «r<rs, ete. If such if their posifon in January-ii short time after the autumn harvest—what then, will 1, 0 their position several months hence. Thev had bettor surrender at once, tor otherwise they w'! l experience all the horrors of famine.