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Show UU LODZ WITHOUT FOOD OR FUEL (Correspondence of The Associated Press i Lodz, Poland, Dee. 31, by Courier to Berlin and Holland. Lodz might almost al-most bo called a city without food or Cue! The oal supplies are almost al-most exhausted and what remains has been levied upon for the use of the hospitals. The price of bread has risen to three times its normal figure. fig-ure. The factories in (his great center of the wool and cotton industry, indus-try, with its half million inhabitants, are closed and its great industrial population is idle, eold and hungry The city, which for months has been alternately in Russian and German Ger-man possession, has been cut off from normal railroad communication sinre the beginning of the war Xo coal has been brought in and only a limited quantity of food Tor the cl 11 population The American relief work which has done so much for Brussels and other Belgian cities, would be impossible here until more adequate means of communication are available. Onlv one hotel in town is heated and that is occupied as bead-Quarters bead-Quarters by the military governor and his staff. Guests in the others must shiver The streets are jammed with the idle and unemployed Lodz has always been a city of many beggars, but no they are eui ountered at ev cry step non-professiouals. it can plainly be seen, driven by real needs to appeal to German officers and soldiers sol-diers and other visitors for help A "tag daj was held a day or so ago to raise money for the most pressing press-ing needs and tags were seen on prac tl ally every uniform. Stock of Oil and Candles Depleted. There is little kerosene left In town nnd the stock of eandlf3 is exhausted. ex-hausted. Residents of means still have gas or electric light, but the poorer people either sil in darkness or burn turpentine and other substitutes substi-tutes The German authorities are devoting devot-ing full attention to this problem "We have at the frontier," said M.i-jor M.i-jor General Von Gehrlcke, mill tar: goernor of Lodz, "a trainload of sup plies intended for Lodz. Only railroad rail-road dlff unities prevent us bringing them in "The question of fuel Is acute. I visited one of the hospitals a few days ago and round it unheated The surtz' on wa unable to perform necessary neces-sary operations So I issued an order or-der to turn over all available coai to the hospitals We hope to get coal from the Russian coal fields in Poland, all of which are now in our possession We shall not have to draw on German coil supplies'" |