demanding election reforms during the war. The National Liberals were intriguing for a Reichstag Committee to have equal authority with the Foreign Office in dealing with all matters of international affairs. The landowners, who were losing money because the Government was confiscating so much food, were not only criticising von Bethmann-Hollweg but holding back as much food as they could for higher prices. The industrial leaders, who had been losing money because von Falkenhayn had decreased ammunition orders, were only partially satisfied by von Hindenburg's step because they realised that unless the war was intensified the Government would not need such supplies indefinitely. They saw, too, that the attitude of President Wilson had so injured what little standing they still had in the neutral world that unless Germany won the war in a decisive way, their world connections would disappear forever and they would be forced to begin all over after the war. Faced by this predicament, they demanded a ruthless submarine warfare against all shipping in order that not only England but every other power should suffer, because the more ships and property of the enemies destroyed the more their chances with the rest of the world would be equalised when the war was over. Food conditions were becoming worse, the people were becoming more dissatisfied; losses on the battlefields were touching nearly every family. Depres

sion was growing. Every one felt that something had to be done and done immediately.

The press referred to these months of turmoil as a period of "new orientation." It was a time of readjustment which did not reach a climax until December twelfth when the Chancellor proposed peace conferences to the Allies.

WHAT YOU MAY EAT

FOOD OBTAINABLE ONLY BY CARDS

1. Bread, 1,900 grams per week per person.

2. Meat, 250 grams (1⁄2 pound) per week per head.

3. Eggs, 1 per person every two weeks.

4. Butter, 90 grams per week per person.

5. Milk, 1 quart daily only for children under ten and invalids.

6. Potatoes, formerly 9 pounds per week; lately in many parts of Germany no potatoes were available.

7. Sugar, formerly 2 pounds per month, now 4 pounds, but this will not continue long.

8. Marmalade, or jam, 1⁄4 of a pound every month.

9. Noodles, 1⁄2 a pound per person a month.

10. Sardines, or canned fish, small box per month.

11. Saccharine (a coal tar product substitute for sugar), about 25 small tablets a month.

12. Oatmeal, 1⁄2 of a pound per month for adults or 1 pound per month for children under twelve years.

WHAT YOU CAN EAT

FOODS WHICH EVERY ONE WITH MONEY CAN BUY

1. Geese, costing 8 to 10 marks per pound ($1.60 to $2 per pound).

2. Wild game, rabbits, ducks, deer, etc.

3. Smuggled meat, such as ham and bacon, for $2.50 per pound.

4. Vegetables, carrots, spinach, onions, cabbage, beets.

5. Apples, lemons, oranges.

6. Bottled oil made from seeds and roots for cooking purposes, costing $5 per pound.

7. Vinegar.

8. Fresh fish.

9. Fish sausage.

10. Pickles.

11. Duck, chicken and geese heads, feet and wings.

12. Black crows.

THE FOOD SITUATION AT A GLANCE

CHAPTER VII

W

THE BUBBLING ECONOMIC VOLCANO

HEN I entered Germany in 1915 there was plenty of food everywhere and prices

were normal. But a year later the situation had changed so that the number of food cards -Germany's economic barometer-had increased eight times. March and April of 1916 were the worst months in the year and a great many people had difficulty in getting enough food to eat. There was growing dissatisfaction with the way the Government was handling the food problem but the people's hope was centred upon the next harvest. In April and May the submarine issue and the American crisis turned public attention from food to politics. From July to October the Somme battles kept the people's minds centred upon military operations. While the scarcity of food became greater the Government, through inspired articles in the press, informed the people that the harvest was so big that there would be no more food difficulties.

Germany began to pay serious attention to the food situation, when early in the year, Adolph von

Batocki, the president of East Prussia and a big land owner, was made food dictator. At the same time there were organised various government food departments. There was an Imperial Bureau for collecting fats; another to take charge of the meat supply; another to control the milk and another in charge of the vegetables and fruit. Germany became practically a socialistic state and in this way the Government kept abreast of the growth of Socialism among the people. The most important step the Government took was to organise the Zentral Einkaufgesellschaft, popularly known as the "Z. E. G." The first object of this organisation was to purchase food in neutral countries. Previously German merchants had been going to Holland, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries to buy supplies. These merchants had been bidding against each other in order to get products for their concerns. In this way food was made much more expensive than it would have been had one purchaser gone outside of Germany. So the Government prohibited all firms from buying food abroad. Travelling agents of the "Z. E. G." went to these countries and bought all of the supplies available at a fixed price. Then these resold to German dealers at cost.

Such drastic measures were necessitated by the public demand that every one share alike. The Government found it extremely difficult to control the food. Farmers and rich landowners insisted