| Show EUROPE re FAGES DIRE FOOD ANO AND FUEL SHORTAGE inadequate supply of heat expected exacted to cause much suffering HOW THE ENEMY STANDS people mave have less to eat this winter than bastis La last stIs as belief two fodder disaffection IW in austria london europe Is going to lead the simple life this winter and tor for a long alne thereafter there Is not a country that does not inot now realize the real danger of extreme food shortage but food shortage Is not the only or in most cases the worst of the menaces the nations toce face and realize as never before the exhaustion of all necessary supplies although food will be scarce in all coun countries trie whether belligerent erent or neutral it Is doubtful whether that will impose as muck much hardship on people as the shortage of guel fuel writes judson C williver in the new york bun in Eu ropes climate food Is reel rael to the body quite as much as it Is I 1 nourishment ish ment sharply restricted supplies of food and that of ii a doubtful quality and poor variety might bi be endured if there were plenty of fuel it Is when the supply of fuel both outside and inside falls below the necessities of physical effort that people begin to suffer europe has neither carbon for lt ita food nor carbon tor for its fireplaces and in some respects the northern neutrals are even worse oft off than the belligerents rations of important food necessaries es have been reduced by some of them even below the amounts allowed in germany england Is by tar far the best supplied country in the matter of 0 food and the authorities are making desperate efforts to make the population realize that rationing will soon be e compulsory unless food consumption Is considerably reduced the food author authorities lites have announced a policy of accumulating sufficient clent reserve to feed the country for three months even it if no imports shall be received during this time question of shipping in the case of england it Is entirely a question of shipping big stocks of food have been gathered in australia new zealand canada and elsewhere but there are no ships to bring them here england Is probably better situated in the matter of coal supplies Bupp lles than any other country but must dt divide with its allies franco france and italy and so far as possible some of the neutrals hope to be taken core care of from the english mines the german food situation Is puzzling apparently the authorities are not nearly so confident about it as they would like the public to believe the year years is harvest turned out more satisfactory is than seemed probable during the period of droughts and hall storms lu in midsummer but on the other hand reserves were heavily drawn upon before the harvest of 1917 was gathered gatli ered reserves indeed may fairly bo be said to have disappeared the carefully cultivated official understanding der standing in germany Is that there will be a better food supply this winter than last the specific statements justifying this expectation are highly unsatisfactory the munich medical union has declared that there will be less food except potatoes this winter than last throughout germany there is apparently a pretty general belief belet that this Is true and wide demand Is voiced tor for an increase in the allowance of potatoes in germany as in ID england the immediate in result of the harvest was a great increase in the marketing of potatoes with the consequence that in many places there were not storage facilities to take care of them the tear fear Is expressed that a not inconsiderable portion of the potato yield will be wasted partly because of in the agricultural areas and partly from inadequacy of storage facilities so from many german authorities conics the warning that despite a big yield of tubers the coming winter Is likely to see conditions quite as bad 1 regarding them and worse as to many other things than last winter ominous suggestion the ominous suggestion Is mode made by some of the german food authorities that hat it will not do to be too free with potatoes because later it will be necessary to mix mis more potato flour alth cereal hour flour to stretch the supply also as there was a short crop of fodder throughout the country potatoes are likely to be ba required to teed feed domestic animals the fear of such an event has caused widespread demand that more hogs bogs be slaughtered that they may not require to be fed with potatoes that the people will need the number of hogs in the country has been increasing this year and the tact fact gives elves concern because the pig Is an active competitor of a worker or anybody else in the matter of food requirements german authorities have determined that beyond providing a moderate meat ration the transmutation of vegetable into food Is a dangerously wasteful process so there Is an effort to induce farmers anti village dwellers to restrict the number of hues liggs aind ind cati cattle tle to the point where it will ilu be just possible to raise the abs irately necessary meat ration the relation of the general economic breakdown to agriculture Is indicated in both england and germany by matters affecting ali the supply ol of agricultural machinery InC Germany ermany there la Is a Int anost serious sh shortage stage of all kinds of agricultural tools and machines q because the old ones have worn out and there Is neither metal nor manufacturing capacity to provide new ones in england tile the complaint particularly concerns the supply of motor plows the government long ago promised that thousands of these would be furnished in time to put a greatly increased acreage in cereals under cultivation in 1918 now when the fall plowing season Is on it develops that want of shipping or other reasons have prevented the delivery of anything like an adequate number of these machines A dresden physician who Is quoted as on an authority has recently discussed the german food situation as regards the requirements and supplies of various classes of consumers he finds that children up to eight years of age are arc receiving a reasonably satisfactory ration but the amount allowed to those from eight to eighteen Is utterly insufficient and that the shortage seriously threatens the physical vitality of the next neit generation some of the german jurisdictions have recently announced that newly married couples will be granted a double food allowance for the first six weeks of their married eifel elsewhere provision has been made to double the food allowances of nursing and expectant mothers the effort to find fodder for animals has started the professors on many investigations and inquiries doctor degen director of the seed testing station in budapest claims to have discovered two valuable articles of fodder he writes the mart vi as known as regards the part above ground as a fodder equal in value to straw recent experiments have however shown that tile the tubers growing on the hie roots underground are tar far more valuable they come very near to the horse chestnut in the amount of raw protein raw fat find and starch contents without tile the bitterness it if they are arc used for the manufacture of spirits the wash either wet or dried can also be used for fodder the pond lacu also contains a valuable underground organ the horizontal roots containing a great quantity of starch form a good concentrated fodder it if used in distilleries tile wash Is not so valuable as that from the scar ush cut but in a time of need it Is a raw material that can be used tor for various purposes milk famine confronts all europe the situation has long been bad and grows steadily worse everywhere there Is constant and increasing conflict between the various state and M municipal u authorities dealing with tile the food question throughout germany in this regard n kard the german situation Is much more coln complicated and difficult to handle than the knells english h the state slate rind municipal governments in germany ninny arc nery cry jealous of their authority in their respective jurisdictions ris and the federal authorities ire dare tot not or cannot impose universal regulations upon them in saxony arrangements range ments have been mode made to reimburse farmers who would import from other states elates cows ind and heifers heffers in calf formers farmers making such purchases hasea will receive a premium of 20 per cent of the price paid not to exceed marks this arrangement has caused violent complaint because the prices of butter and muk are already fearfully high and the consumers com complain that the farmers are making immense profits from producing them from frankfurt comes the report that hat at present milk deliveries in that city amount to about one sixth those of pence peace times receipts scarcely suffice to take enre care of the privileged custor aeri invalids nursing and expectant mothers and so BO forth A large share of what Is actually obtained Is produced by the municipal authorities from their municipal dairies and farms it has been a very expensive method yet the situation Is so bad that the town has decided to extend it still further german speaking austria has long been jealous of the comparatively favorable food situation in hungary and recently the disaffection has become acute it Is charged that hungary Is feeding herself bountifully and leaving the rest of the empire to shift as it can for whatever hungary Is willing to send into the german speaking regions outrageous prices are charged and the subject has been discussed with painful frankness in the legislative bodies of both states it was said that recently lard from hungary had been sold in austria at nearly eight times the price it would have cost in hungary the same general situation prevails as to many oth er hungarian food supplies the hungarians Hung bungart arians ans com complain plain with equal rancor that they are charged excessive prices tor for all manufactured articles produced in austria the two governments ern ments have been trying to agree upon a general policy of leveling down the prices of both but at this point they are confronted by the same aitu difficulty which has been so many times experienced in germany no system of price control will stretch cli inadequate supplies to the point of adequacy in holland the states control Is being extended to almost all food supplies P lies there are indications that the rationing system Is going to be dished before winter shall have far advanced the use of tat fat and margarine by ly bakers and confectioners confection ers and by hotels restaurants and clubs in preparing food has been prohibited the government has guaranteed prices for wheat rye oats barley etc As to crops not available for food the areas that may be planted have been strictly limited in some cases to not more than 40 or 50 per cent of the plantings of normal years A premium has been offered for increased areas of land under the plow the government Is going to requisition the entire crop of sugar beets the factories hlll aill convert them into sugar and this will be turned over to the government at a fixed price for distribution the price demanded demand eq of the public will not be increased although denmark Is in proportion to area and population one of the greatest agricultural producing and exporting countries in the tha world it Is now confronted with shortage of almost everything the count rys butter production has decreased alarmingly lind and there Is a demand for rationing the government Is undertaking to subsidize the production of butter so as to reduce prices that Is to apply to butter practically the same rule that was applied to bread in england the english government Is subsidizing bread to the extent of about a year thus making it possible to sell the english loaf of war bread for four and one halt half cents in norway the government and the local food authorities are working to perfect a rationing system in time to save the country from disaster this winter anter at a big scheme for storing reserves of food has been worked out and some 25 warehouses in various parts ot of the city are being stocked under it a law passed last may the government has estabI established shed a monopoly of the import of wheat barley oats rye beans peas and lentils and kotlic grains and meat meal used for human food except rice and potatoes |
