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Show GE1! FOOD SUPPLY IS IT S LOW EBB Newspapers Abandon Pre-tense Pre-tense and Discuss Seriousness Serious-ness of the Situation. WILL REDUCE RATIONS Three-fourths of Population Are Said to Be Evading Conservation Plans. AMSTERDAM, Dec' 20. (Correspondence (Corre-spondence of the Associated Press.)- The month of November marked probably prob-ably the blackest period iu the history of the German food supply, not indeed in-deed in the actual supply, but in the outlook for the winter and spring. The public had already become aware that the breadstuffs harvest was poor and the fodder harvest bad, but further revelations came rapidly during the mouth which must have an all but catastrophic ca-tastrophic effect ou thinking people in Germany. The supply, of vegetables, it became known, is very inadequate everywhere, there is hardly any prospect pros-pect of help from the fish trade, and an alarming drop is shown in the prospects pros-pects of the already scanty supplies of milk, butter and fat. Finally, on top of all this, it became clear during November that the potato "larvest is disappointing in the extreme. The quantity shown in the official returns re-turns is indeed so disappointing that the authorities refuse to accept the revised re-vised estimates, declare the farmers liars, and propose to call in the military to requisition stocks. Moreover, the quality in different parts of the empire is reported as extremely poor, so that an unusual percentage of loss can be counted on with certainty. Must Reduce Rations. It is now regarded as certain that both the meat and bread rations will have to be reduced in the early spring, despite a desperate effort to gather j up all the remaining foodstuffs in the occupied territories. This latter move- j ment is likely to be extended to extreme ex-treme limits during the winter, with the result that the- inhabitants of all occupied territories . face the prospect of absolute starvation for Germany 's benefit. J In an effort to stretch further the ; supplies of breadstuffs, orders have been given for a wider use of potato flour, but this movement, is found difficult dif-ficult owing to scarcity of potato flour. To obtain more afc this lime is1 not easy, for it is necessary to dry and mill the potatoes, which takes time, and just now more than I he usual i time owing to shortage of labor, coal j and other requisites. Hence, uutil ' February, bread must be stretched with j fresh potatoes, a measure of doubtful! expediency. ! Hay and Fodder Scarce. ' ' The failure of the fodder harvest coincides co-incides with a generally unsatisfactory ; hay crop. This is leading to increased1 slaughter of pigs, a falling off in the weight of cattle slaughtered, and a steady diminution in, milk and milk products. The place of meat cannot be taken to any extent by fish, for tho supply of fish is. very poor, and the authorities hold out no hope of any improvement: The obvious emergency food is vegetables, vege-tables, but there has been a failure of the market garden crop in many districts, dis-tricts, and the wholesale evasions of regulations as to illicit sales have apparently ap-parently left tho markets almost bare. As late as October there were good hopes of a satisfactory potato crop, and many people described the coming harvest as ' ' almost bumper. M Early in November the estimates grew more sober, and during fehe- latter part of I h e month the t ru t h came out. The harvest is almost a total failure. Of course, the authorities declare that the revised estimates ''cannot be correct' the harvest must and shall be at least a medium one; the farmers are lying, the military- will be called upon to uncover un-cover the "hoarded stocks, the farming districts will be compelled to deliver the quotas which they were assessed in expectation of u normal harvest. Pretense Abandoned. The German newspapers have abandoned aban-doned the pretense that "thing will be easier this winter than last, ' ' but they stiil cling to the hope that prospects pros-pects may be changed by some miracle in Russia or Italy. The Berlin correspondent cor-respondent of the Cologne Yolkszei-tung, Yolkszei-tung, discussing the prospects of the winter, says: !t will be the hardest yet. Kvery household will feci its ,ha rdshi ps in ore because all the miihiI stocks in storerooms and cellars have been used up. The harvest lias not turned out well. Nevertheless, the nation can hold out if three conditions condi-tions are fulfilled. Every possible surplus should be brought in from Rumania, Belgium and France. All grain must b" sei M for the common com-mon store. Potatoes must be nM'd for stretching the breadstuffs. Much Illicit Trading. The increase of illicit trading is the' subject of a fiery editorial in the i Brunwich Volksfreund, which says: A soon as an order is issued, three -fourths of the population seek how thev may evade it. They have loet faith in official prem-i?e. prem-i?e. and the fear of starvation lias them in its grip. For ham, egs. 1 ait tor an1 honey, senseless i price? are hein paid, and the rich a';one .-an get them. Barter i aiso plavinz" a iarge part in procuring i provisions. |