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Show WHAT ARE CONDITIONS IN GERMANY? What are the living conditions In Germany? Are the people earnestly and honestly endeavoring to get away from militarism9 Is there hope for the future? Lately F. A. Smith, an American representative of the New York Times, has succeeded in penetrating pene-trating Germany, even entering Berlin, Ber-lin, and he gives an answer to the foregoing fore-going questions which is deeply interesting. in-teresting. He says the revolution is complete and apparently genuine, the people evidently embracing the chance to throw off the rulers and militaristic militaris-tic clr.efs. But there is a tremendous weight of responsibility of those in control as they must provide food .for the millions of returning soldiers, although al-though there is insufficient food for the civilians. At present, Hoover, the fpod administrator of the allies, does not seem to be over-eager to go lo the relief of the Germans. Yesterday In Paris, when the American delegated with the great task of warding off starvation star-vation in Europe, was informed that Baron von der Lancken and Dr. Rieth, who were prominent in the German administration ad-ministration of Belgium, had wired from Berlin that they had been appointed ap-pointed by the German government to negotiate .for food supplies, Hoover replied: re-plied: "You can describe two and a half years of arrogance toward ourselves and cruelty to the Belgians in any language lan-guage you may select, and tell the pair personally to go to hell, with my compliments. com-pliments. If I do have to deal with Germans it will not be with that pair." The Germans are making the mistake mis-take of placing their most offensive representatives on committees which are required to appeal to the allies. Still the allies have a duty to perform per-form in searching out real suffering in Germany and making a real effort to alleviate the distress. This will be done, no doubt, the moment equally j urgent appeals from Belgium, northern j France, Serbia and Rumania have been ! met and satisfied, as the allies first obligation Is to their own. i Mr. Smith declares Germany is suf-l fering grleviously from the lack of food ! in unproductive districts, la grippe causing a widespread increase in mortality mor-tality on account of the lack, of nourishing nour-ishing food, particularly among moth-! ers and babes. He says: "I have talked ! to many hundreds of Germans in trav-' eling more than 1200 miles through the country and all agree that the vital immediate need is fats and bread-stuffs. bread-stuffs. Of secondary, but still grave, importance is the scarcity of milk, eggs, clothing and shoes. "All Germans arc united in a plea to President Wilson and America to quickly relieve the food situation, thus saving them from the peril of the bol-shevists bol-shevists who from the first have been recoiving money and counsel from the leaders of the Russian terrorism. Tho Germans point out that the whole world is suffering from a shortage of ship and rail transportation, but the situation is worse here than elsewhere and seriously aggravates the food problem. prob-lem. I can now say, generally, that while conditions of law and order arc not all that is to be desired, unquestionably unques-tionably the country. is in distress because be-cause of the long enforcement of the food regulations, which Imposed slow starvation in the house, while the militaristic mili-taristic zealous played their string on the war fronts to the last, desperate shot. "I am inclined to believe there is some basis for the German claim that many lives of women and children will be sacrificed this winter unless aid comes quickly. The further argument of the German people that relief now will enable them to re-establish their industries and agricultural production, and eventually provide means to pay heavy Indemnities, which all confidently confident-ly foresee, is submitted for the con-, con-, sideratlon of expert economists, who are best able to estimate the practical . logic of such an argument." |