not wonderful organisers. The rationing was done about as
badly as it could be done. It was arranged in such a fashion as to
produce plenty in some places and dearth in others. It was done so
that wealthy men made fortunes and poor men were made still poorer.
The inordinate greed and lack of real patriotism on the part of
influential parties in both Germany and Austria-Hungary have added
to the bad state of affairs. As if to make matters worse, the
whole vast machine of rationing by ticket was based on the
expectation of a comparatively quick and decisive victory for
Germany. This led to reckless consumption and a great rise in
prices. The fight that is now going on between the masses in the
towns and the wealthy land-owning farmers has been denounced in
public by food dictator Batocki (pronounced Batoski), who, in words
almost of despair, complained of the selfish landed proprietor, who
would only disgorge to the suffering millions in the great
manufacturing centres at a price greatly exceeding that fixed by
the food authorities.

All manner of earnest public men are endeavouring to cope with the
coming distress, and at this point I can do no better than quote
from an interview given me by Dr. Sudekum, Social Democratic member
of the Reichstag for Nuremberg, Bavaria. He is a sincere patriot,
and a prominent worker in food organisation.

"More than a year ago," he explained, "I worked out a plan for the
distribution of food, which provided for uniform food-cards
throughout the entire empire. For example, everyone, whether he
lived in a Bavarian village or in a Prussian city, would receive,
say, half a pound of meat a week. I presented my plan to the
Government, with whose approval it met. Nevertheless, they did not
see fit to adopt it for three reasons. In the first place because
they believed that the people might become unnecessarily alarmed.
Secondly, because our enemies might make capital out of such
measures. _Thirdly, because our leaders at that time believed that
the war might be over before the end of 1915_.

"But the war dragged on, and we were somewhat extravagant with our
supplies--I except bread, for which we introduced cards in
February, 1915--and instead of the whole Empire husbanding the
distribution of meat, for example, various sections here and there
introduced purely local measures, with the inevitable resulting
confusion.

"Hunger has been a cause of revolution in the past," Dr. Sud