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Page Six
LENOIR NEWS-TOPIC, THURSDAY,
LENOIR, N. C.
GERMANY TODAY IS DESCRIBED f
BY AMERICAN EDITOR !
It was with mixed feelings of :
doubt and wonder that I crossed the j
German frontier at Bentheim, says i
Frank W. Rostock, editor of the Cin-
cinnati Post, N. E. A. correspondent
in Europe, writing fisom Berlin. Like j
others about to enter Germany, and
waiting for my passports to be visaed
'by the. German consul, I asked every 1
person whom I met, homeward bound ,
from the new republic, what condi
tions in that country were like.
Germany was pictured as a coun
try of starving men, women and chil
dren, revolutionary plots and hold
ups. It was depicted as a place to
stay out of, not one to venture into.
1 saw the first Germans at Bent
heim. They appeared to be pretty
well fed. At least they were spry on
foot, worked fast and efficiently and
were courteous. Almost instantly
those feelings of doubt and wonder
were dispelled, l'erhaps folk in the
interior might be different, but they
acted just like ordinary people here.
Germany .s not stan nc. Hut Ger
manv is hungry especially for a
change of d;et. Lack of sugar and
fats, a scarcity of wheat aim milk,
holds the average German to a diet
of heavy, dark-colored bread, coffee
made out of almost anything but cof
fee, and vegetables.
Good food is at a premium. But
those who have plenty of money can
purchase almost an thing they want.
Food cards arc issued for bread, po
tatoes and meat. Sugar and butter
are rationed. Milk is unobtainable
except for children under six and for
sick persons.
While the well-off may eat their till
in restaurant-;, sometimes as many as
live meals a day. common folks sub
sist on foods winch the ordinary
American f imily would regard as
starvation rations.
1 visited the homes of the work- i
ers and called at the smaller milk
and meat stations to get an inkling
of t'ne system of distribution. The
average worker, who i paid -murks
an hour, or L'O marks a day, ,
finds the problem of supplying food
for his family difficult, to say nothing ,
of clothing and medicines. !
I'iothing of all kinds commands I
fabulous prices. Shoes are almost
unpurchasablo. The cost of medi
cines is sky-high. New clothes are
not to bo thought of. Amusements
belong to tne past. . .
1 v, sited the family of a worker in
the Involidenstrae in Berlin. This
street is m the poor district. A
mother and two small children were j
eat. tig their noonday meal. It con- ;
sistcd of boiled potatoes, a few on
ions, coffee made out of roasted bar-
ley and some heavy, dark-colored 1
bread. For the evening meal the j
potatoes remaining over from noon
were to be warmed up, the coffee
was to be wanned over and a soup j
prepared from water, cabbage, car
rots and a small slice of sausage.
Meat was to be on the bill of fare
for the next day. They were saving
for a bit of goose to eat on Sunday.
For breakfast this family had ba
ley coffee, broad with jam and a bu
of butter. At 10 o'clock there was
the morning lunch of bread and a
little sausage.
That was the day-in and day-out
menu of the worker's family. When
he was "flush" he added a bit of
chocolate. On chocolate days the
mother or on eof the children joined
the long line before a confe 'tionery
shop.
And then ernes goose day. The
goose is the German national bird.
There was a time when this w 11-fed
bird, stuffed with food until l.e near
ly burst, was the pride of G. nanny.
Now the goose comes to the butcher's
a shallow coating of fat. The goose
grease, which all Germany spread
upon its bread and devours with a
great smacking of bps, is as scarce
as otser f its. Ami the worker, in
stead of being able to purchase a
whole goose, buys a cut, just as in
American we buy a cut of beef or
pork. ,
Goose meat o-ts what in Germany
is considered a fabulous sum. One
pound costs 1 L! marks.
Kach German over six is permitted
to purchase weekly a piece of meat j
about the size of a man's fist. For j
children under six an allowance of
half a pound is made. Until children
become a year old they are permit
ted to have a little more than a pint
of milk a day. Between 1 and 2
years ,a little less than a pint, and
between 2 Vi and 4 years, about half
a pint. Children between 4 and 6
years drink condensed milk.
The butter allowance per person
weekly measures about the size of a
hen egg. A somewhat larger allow
ance is made for "margerine." But
ter ranges in price from 20 to 30
marks a pound.
And then there Li the coal short
age. This affects everybody to a
greater extent than any of the other
shortages. I cannot say that I ever
was really warm in Germany except
when taking a bath. And from the
bathtub I generally leaped into an
atmosphere which chilled me to the
bone. This condition has made the
weekly bath unpopular in many Ger
man homes.
The coal allowance has been cut
to abou tone-sixth of what it was in
normal times. Rooms in many good
hotels are never heated. Rooma in
others are made lukewarm. Hotels
save their heat for the lobbies, din
ing rooms and kitchens. You get a
good impression when you register,
but the chills follow. In the homes
of even the wealthy persons fire of
ten burns in onl yone room. In the
homes of the Workers fire burns only
when there is absolute need for it.
The children in all cases are the
greatest sufferers. I watched tehm
in the shops and on the streets. I
' met them at the doors of the school
houses and again at the doors of
churches when they were dressed in
tehir Sunday best. Some of them
, had fairly good clothing, but the
great majority wer eilly-clad. They
wore little cotton suits, frequently
partially made of paper, flimsy-look
ing stocKings and occasionally I saw
an overcoat.
Girls wore the skimpiest of dresses
and, with the exception of Sundays)
few wore ha ts, even in the very cold
' weather. ' . - -'
And yet they played around like
our children at home, rompig over
the piles of hardened snow. They
laughed just like our children laugh.
All had become accustomed to cold
and hardships.
They never thought of eating
candy. Their folks could not afford
to buy it. Many times I watched
groups stand before the windows of
candy shops, pointing at the choco
lates" on display, but never going in
side to buy. Often 1 also onted
groups of older persons gathered be
fore the same windows. They just
stood and looked and looked and
then they went away.
But, even in these days of deso
lation, the times are not as hard as
they were during the war. 1 have
before me the records of the food
dispensaries of Hanover. The dark
est days of the war, taking the rec
ords for a basis, fell in July, 1917.
In that month food was distributed at
cost to IS. 400 persons daily in Han
nover. This dwindled to 8.329 daily
in July. 1 1 1 S, and to 4.36, daily in
May. i'Jlib At present distribution
is made to about 4,000 persons in
two weeks.
And while the average German is
struggling along w.th his weak soups, 1
his tiny allowance of meat, coffee
made from roasted barley or roots,
the "chieber" is waxing wealthy at
the expense of those who have
money and are willing to pay. The
"ch.eiier" is a product of the war.
Several were pointed out to me.
These men are food smugglers.
They purchase foods in Holland,
France or Belgium and then, through
bribery and other practices, smuggle
them into Germany, where they sell
at enormous prices to those who have
money. These same "chiebers" also
smuggle out of Germany such ar
ticles as they can purchase cheaply
and which can be sold in the "'aus
land" at a profit. Thus they get the
Germans coming and going.
It was on my way back to Holland
that I saw the stosy of Germany's
fi.od shortage presented by two sta
t.on lunch rooms, the one at Bent
heim, a German bonier city, and the
other at Oldenzaal, the first city you
reach in Holland after passing
through Bentheim.
In Bentheim there were on dis
play sandwiches made of heavy
brown bread and thin slices of what
looked like raw ham, and sections of
sausage. There also were doughnuts.
They looked appetizing, but the ap
petite vanished when one bit into
them. They were made of almost
the same ingredients that went into
the heavy bread and were an un
welcome gray in color.
And then at Oldenzaal- in Hol
land. Heaped high on immense plat
ters were foods of every description.
Sandwiches with real meat, sausage
or cheese packed between the halves
of great buns; cream puffs that
squirted a rich, delicious golden
stream when you bit into them, and
were covered with a coating of choc
olate such as you can get only in
Holland; real coffee, real beer, real
soft drinks 'neverything.
Pale Children
Need Glide's
Peto-Alangan
Unnatural for Children to Be Pale
and Thin Palenet is Sijn
of Thin, Watery Blood
Pepto-Mangan Makes Red Blood
Prepared in Liquid and Tablet Form;
Both Possess Identical Medic
inal Qualities
PRESIDENT SIGNS THE SUGAR
CONTROL BILL
President Wilson has signed the
Mc.Nary bill continuing the United
States sugar equalization board
through the year 1920. The bill con
fers discretion on the President in
the matter of purchasing sugar from
Cuba, but it is announced that Pres
ident Wilson will not exercise the
powers conferred in the bill.
In a long statement announcing
the President's decision the declara
tion is made that apparently the
available sugar supply is sufficient
for American needs, "even on the
present unnecessarily large basis of
consumption," and notice is given
that the power of price control
through the licensing system, author
ized by the bill, will be invoked if
necessary in co-oneration with the
department of justice.
Housewives are given the cheering
information by Arthur Williams,
Federal food administrator, that they
probably would not have to pay
more than 1 " cents a pound for
sugar after this month. He said by
that time the regular Cuban crop
would begin to arrive and that "a
fair price" would be fixed by the su
gar equalization board.
When a woman is outspoken a man
is apt to be out-talked.
When If
Croup Threatens
Quick felief of baby's croup often
vorestalla a serious situation when this
dreaded disease comes in the late
hours of night.
VMS
I WILL IJ SIAITI 1111. OOmiS
Mothen should ketp t ar of Brcnse'c Vtpeoet
me Mire convenient, warn croup threatens, toil
Kiiruiui mre rubbed trrii into babr'o throat.
Cheat and under the irarc. will relitre the ehokrina
break contMton, and promote rental alecp. Taitei
t-e place of nauseating drues.
Uicdeitentirrlxbyphy-
' aidant in combating
f croup, coins, pnu
nonia, etc is children
aa well aa zrowa-aa .
Mr. MeavlSl.SOtl
all drnc Buica u i i
trcvui by
Company
.(timMlKiro,K,(.
MRS. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR.
Chairman of the Educational Cam
paign Committee of the Young Wo
men's Christian Association.
J
. . . .' ,
tl FELLA
Pure Food Commis
sioner Against "Lazy
Woman's Flour"
'":''ur F. Civnimn. Colorado's
p':'i- t'onil and 1 1 r '. i ir commissioner,
in; !'i''LKWvd I he following article
f !, induction in several eastern
iu.'iL'a.iinos:
''It serins that it is the consen
sus of opinion now atnongauthori
(i that pellagra, which has been
h pre v alo lit in I he sunt born 6tati e,
u cause. 1 by some rrior of diet.
S one) food is eaten in excess, thai
I -i . I.-- tbo nrcossarv constituents
t. promote good liealth, or elm
ko no food is eaten which has hnc
iii desired elements extracted or
tlesi, -lived. Scientists are groping
blindly in the dark with as yet
1 1 y n measure of Miceess in flnd
iair what the trouble is.
"They have about concluded
that it is caused by the lack of an
element called vitamines.
THEY ARE A MYSTERY.
''Nobody knows exactly what
vitamines is. No one has been
able yet to catch one. None are
on exhibit in the national muse
ums. But, still, it is known that
they exist.
' It is pretty definitely under
stood that vitaininos do exist and
that the lack of them produces
pnllagra. In endeavoring to as
certain what particular food is
lacking peculiar substance we ar
rive at conclusions by eliminating
one food after another, and then
taking up another for considera
tion. ''At the present time, selfrising
flour is under consideration. This
flour is considerable of a fake. Its
price is out of all proportion to its
intrinsic value. It's a lazy wom
an's delight. Any woman who is
f ol enough to pay the flour trust
10 to '-'0 per cent, more for a bag
of flour because 6he is too lazy to
put, a teaspoonful of baking pow
der in a quart of flour ought to
have the pellagra. In fact, sho
ought never to be on speaking
terms with vitamines.
ORDINARY FLOUR.
"Relfrising flour Is pimply ordi
nary flour containing a certain
per cent, of phosphate of lime, or
burnt alum, or both, and bicar
bonate of soda. These are just
the ingredients that are used in
baking powder. The only differ
ence is that in baking powder the
water is dried out of all of its in
gredients and they are kept dry
m a tin can.
"When they are put in the self
rising flour, however, the flour
contains a great deal of moisture,
and in a warm climate like in the
southern states, when brought into
contact with certain elements re
Hombling nitrua acid in the flour,
caused by bleaching, the phos
phate of iime, or burnt alum, be
ing dampened and warmed by
moisture in the flour, and in the
climate, attacks the bicarbonate
of soda, decomposition takes place
and the carbonic acid gas escapes
through the flour.
"It is thought thrtt perhaps this
slow process of decomposition, cr
sweating, might result in robbing
tho flour of its vitamines and thue
producing and spreading pellagra.
Until this is satisfactorily deter
mined, we should take no chances
unless we desire to swell the cof
fers of the flour trust" Denver
Express Nov. 10, 1919.
Advertisement
It is necessary for boys and girls
to laugh, romp, piay and enjoy them
sleves, for it is at that stage of life
that the foundation is laid for future
health.
Prompt attention should be -given
to the child who seldom laughs,
whose physical condition prevents
playing like the other children, whose
appetite is poor, and who tires easily.
If the lassitude is due to poor
i blood, which is often the case, a
simple, safe, and pleasant remedy is
i within easy reach. dude's I'epto
J Mangan is just he tonic for pale, thin
children. Gude's Pepto-Mangan con
j tains the very ingredients that in
j crease and enrich the blood, enabling
it to supply the entire body with tne
sorely needed vigor, strength and vi
tality that make happy, romping chil
dren. For the convenience of the public
Pepto-Mangan is prepared in tablet
as well as liquid form. Both forms
i possess exactly the same medicinal
properties.
When you ask the druggist for
Pepto-Mangan, look for the name
"Gude's" on the package. If it is not
there it is not Pepto-Mangan. Adv.
BELGIAN POLICE DOG IS FIRST
CLASS RUM HOUND
"Bal," the Belgian police dog
owned by S. Glenn Young, special
agent of the department of justice,
j figured last week in the raid by rev
' eime officers on three illicit stills in
Palk county, near Asheville, the dog
capturing one of the operators. Sur
j rounding the spot where the stills
: had been hidden, the officers sent the
t dog in to rout out the operators. In
a few minutes he came out just be
hind one of the men, who was cap
tured by the officers, who then
rushed t'ne plant, capturing over
1.(100 gallons of beer, several gallons
of hot liquor and three complete out
tits. A tight was put up by the oper
ators in an effort to save the plants,
but they were overpowered by the
officers. This made 58 stills captured
in that section in six weeks, together
with 22 operators.
INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES FEWER
THAN IN THREE YEARS
The United tSates entered the new
year with fewer pending industrial
disputes than at any time during the
past three years, says Hugh L. Ker
win, director of conciliation of the
department of labor, after reviewing
reports from the department's con
ciliators in the thirty-five great in
dustrial centers of the country. With
the. exception of the steel strike, the
I acstual strikes throughout the coun
I try are few and of minor importance,
Mr. Kerwin declared. There now are,
he said, 101 industrial disputes be
fore the department for adjustment,
i only 21 of which have reached the
strike stage. Industrial disturbances
in the South are few and insignifi
cant, according to Kerwin's reports.
In Atlanta less than 50 men are in
volved in three lockouts. Only a few
cases of minor importance remained
unsettled in St. Louis, it was report
ed, and less than 1,000 workers are
idle as a result of industrial disputes
in Texas.
SK.VJI ! h
ANOTHER BOOST FOR H. C. OF L.
Wage increases averaging $5
weekly have been granted the ap
proximately 35,000 men's garment
workers in Chicago. About $2,50
was added to the production cost of
a suit of clothes, employers esti
mated, although the union men claim
that the cost to the wearer should
not be increased, inasmuch as the in
creases were figured into prices set
last fall for next summer's clothes.
?:ead INFLUENZA
KILL THE COLD AT
ONCE WITH
HILL'S
CASCARAferMUININI
Standard cold remedy for 20 yert
in tablet torm ate, aure, no
opiates breaks up a cold in 24
vjrs relieves grip in 3 day.
Mcnev bick if it fails. The
genuine box has a Kea
too with Mr. Hill's
m . Aft r c.
l1, .'iff 41 ( I LTHf aCWrw
FRANCE TO PERMIT AMERICA
TO REMOVE SOME BODIES
The French government has grant
ed permission fo rthe removal of the
bodies of 20.000 American soldiers
buried in France to the United
States. The bodies to he removed
are those buried in cemeteries out
side the zone of the army and does
not includ ethose buried in the big
American cemeteries inside the war
zone.
" !,...!
ARMY'S NEW YEAR GREETING
Here is the United States army's
New Year greeting to the American
people :
"To Our People: The New Year
resolution of the men of your army
has ever been and will always remain
the same. It is this: To above all,
love America; to insure your safety
and peace; to so worthily serve you
that each of you will constantly
think of each of us as your personal
representative in the business of in
suring to you the blessings of free
America."
Well, mum, I 'aven't done any
singgin' to speak of for years, but
as vou insists upon it vou can put
me down for "The 'Oly City." Lon
don Passing Show.
LX Ulftrt"
TURKEY RETIRES
(Charlotte Observer)
It appears that Constantinople has
been lost to the Turks for good. That
tremendously important center, along
with the Straits of the Dardanelles,
is to be internationalized, while the
Turks will transfer their seat of gov
ernment to Asia, Minor. It is more
comforting to know that the plans
under which internationalization is
to be established do not include man
datory position by the United States,
as was at one time so urgently press
ed by the allies.
MOT Dl
liiF'MiyeOIES
Yet, There h Gentle, Better
Way
When i'10 body clogs don't try to
c! r, o-;t the acemmilated poisons by
using strong pnvsics that r-nd then
way through the tender intestinal
t'- s I ! o ,;o nuuh dynamite.
I ' Sloan's Relief Tiiblets. They're
t'ori'j . as nature and yet do the wrk
':,..iii:v. lvxly gripe, and pains
1. a -i-.impan;.- tiu use .f physics
;.f ' - "i-:n"iii " class, a-o never
f ! vla-n' Sloan's Relief Tablets are
I
Hi sides, thev cause no habit. In
ei, t.iev w.il release any one now in
. I ,.s ..; a ha., i forming physic
! ( i.;!! l av .::ui use Si. mu's Relief
I lis'ributed 1 y '1 ho Sloar Products
'.. IS Fi'.-'ory Street, Derby, Conn.
Buy Your Fordson
Tractor Now
flaw i !S '" ' -
?fJO i4f in x 't-iVx M f
EFFICIENCY IN LAYING FINES
(Crhistian Science Monitor
The head of a large store recently
confessed that when a certain class
of goods did not sell well his best
remedy was to increase the price. It
was also remarked iby an authority a
short -time ago that if the public
would stop buying expensive goods,
even for a day or two, the prices
would come tumbling down. An
other method, which proved quite ef
fective, wag recently adopted in the
south of England, when a lady dairy
farmer, summoned on 18 charges of
selling butter above the maximum
price fixed by the food controller,
was found guilty and fined 10 pounds
for eahc offense. At the same time
eight customerswho had bought her
butter at the excessive price, were
fined 2 pounds each. If a few more
examples like this were made less
might be heard about profiteering.
7k
IW8
Now is the logical and safe time to buy your Fordson Tractor. Farm
tractor manufacturers know that more machines will be wanted during
this coming year year than can be supplied. This is particularly true in
regard to the Fordson. Its popularity has created a demand that makes
it certain that some farm owners, desirous of obtaining the Fordson,
must be disappointed.
Get your order in now. Make sure of getting the Fordson on your
farm quickly so that you may become thoroughly familiar with its
operation and be able to use it to the best advantage right at the be
ginning of your Spring work.
We advise you to buy now let the FORDSON help you with the
Winter's work. On account of the heavy demand for the FORDSON
you should place your order now.
80,000 Fordsons Now in Use
The following is a list of prominent and progressive farmers in
Caldwell county who are SATISFIED FORDSON owners. We refer
you to them :
H. M. Kent, Lenoir, N. C.
R. H. Prestwood, R. F. D. No. 3, Lenoir.
J. B. Steele, Yadkin Valley.
J. W. Watts, Patterson.
Hugh A. Dobbin, Principal Patterson School,
Legerwood.
Caldwell County Road Commission, G. F. Har-
per, Chairman, Lenoir.
E. P. McRary, R. F. D. No. 2, Lenoir.
MJFU L. WYN
LENOIR, N. C.
ft