OCR Text |
Show butter SCARCITY IN BMCTIU. FELT Adults Are Permitted to Purchase Only Quarter of Pound a Week. IS BOUGHT BY CARD Lack of Fats Makes the p Situation All the More Difficult. By E. NORGEOVE COX. Special Cable to The Tribune. THE II AGUE, April 29. How to get a quarter of a pound of butter is a problem which every Berliner has had to study. Lack of butter has been one of the most difficult of the many problems prob-lems in connection with food with which the Berliners have been confronted. A young lady who served in a butter phop was a power to be reckoned with. A 1 customer would approach her with nTMngratiating smile and greet her as "My Dear Fraulein" or yet more softly soft-ly as "Frauleinchen, and then speak sweetly about the purchase of marmalade, honey cheese or other articles ar-ticles of which the shop was full, and, after buying many things which were hardly wanted, would disappear, only to return next day with a little present and more smiles, and then at the critical moment: "Can you please reserve for me a ?uarter of a pound of butter, my dear rauleinf " Flirting Resorted To. Young men declared that the only way to get butter was to be the sweetheart sweet-heart or a butter fraulein. It is even said that married women urged their , husbands to the same plan for the Bame ind. Butter -scarcity reigned In the German Ger-man capital for three months. Lines of people stood for hoars, often only to find the supply exhausted before their turn came. Confectioners who also dealt in butter would only sell to their regular regu-lar clients. New clients introduced themselves ceremoniously and stated lthat they had been recommended. As an indication of their good intention they would purchase this, that and the other, without asking prices and pay cash. But now this reign of terror is to end. Butter cards have come. The authorities au-thorities are to try and provide a weekly week-ly ration for each person, which the public will be able to get without the sugar-Bweet smiles and expensive tricks of the past. An adult is entitled to a quarter pound of butter per week. A child from 2 to 14 years, a quarter of a pound in two weeks. Fats Also Lacking. This is little enough, and is all the mfijre serious when we remember that iutt of all kinds are lacking. But the Germans have opened on all sides cooking cook-ing schools to teach the housewives how to do without fat and butter. The authorities au-thorities have also taken in hand the task of turning the flat dweller into a market gardener. Every flat has a balcony, bal-cony, and on that precious ground radishes, rad-ishes, tomatoes, cauliflower and carrots are being grown. There are big competitions com-petitions among Berlin women to see who can grow the most on the little home balconies. Meantime, the potato question has been more or leas regulated. Everyone has a potato card, which gives him a right to ton pounds in twelve days. It it reckoned that there is a supply of one pound a day a person, but for safety's safe-ty's sake two pounds in the twelve "days are to be held back. es in Demand. Every German in the cities has a pocketful of cards nowadays bread, milk, butter and potato cards with, in some cases, rice and egg cards. If we add to this the usual season card on the street railway and one for the barber, and the indispeusable police card, we mvo quito a respectable pack. The sweet cakes, of which the Ber-liners Ber-liners are so fondt are wonderful productions pro-ductions today. First, it was ordained that no flour was to be used unless mixed with potato maize or rtce flour, and then only in limitod quantity. Then it was desired that no milk should be used and no cream. Fat and butter could bo had only in tho most limited quantities. ytill the sweet cakes appeared and, though the difference was noticeable, they were still quite tasty. Fiually, Goueral von Kessel forbade for one week tho use of any wheat in these cakes. You would have thought that would have been the end of them, but the bakers worked awav with maize and rice meal, with frnif and almonds and, although tho choice was limited, the cakes were still there. |