August 3, I9i(> 
LAND & WATER 
13 
Effects of the Blockade 
WHILE it would be idle to count on the economic 
conditions prevailing in enemy countries 
as likely to exercise any decisive effect, yet 
reliable evidence is forthcoming that these 
conditions are contributing, after two years of steadily 
increasing pressure, toward that complete victory of the 
Allies with which alone the war can end. 
Economic pressure can only be regarded as an auxi- 
liary means of shortening the war. That there is real dis- 
content, and that there is no possibility of complaints of 
food shortage having been engineered by the German 
Government for the sake of arousing neutral S3'mpathy, 
or for any other reason, is evident from the \ery wide- 
spread nature of the riots that occur with increasing 
frequency. Such riots have taken place in Berlin, Bruns- 
wick, Breslau, Charlottenburg, Chemnitz, Cologne, Cob- 
lentz, Dresden, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Essen, Leipzig, 
^lagdeburg, Munich, Nuremberg, Aix-la-Chapelle, and Kiel 
■ — these for certainties, although the German censorship has 
been most careful to suppress news of these disturbances 
whenever possible. Even the official report of the Munich 
riots on June 17th last admitted that soldiers in uniform 
took part, and the temper of the rioters is such toward the 
end of this second year of war that machine guns have 
been turned on the crowds. 
The first task to which Herr von Batocki set his hand 
as Imperial Food Minister was that of breaking down 
the barriers existing between the various German states, 
and securing uniform distribution of food throughout the 
empire. In this task Bavaria, where the export restric- 
tions are still in force, proved an insuperable obstacle. 
This attitude on the part of agricultural Bavaria is bitterly 
resented by the industrial regions of the empire, which 
see in it- — and with justice — evidence of disunion. But 
the main cause of von Batocki's failure is not that he has 
not secured efficient distribution of food, but that there is 
not enough to distribute. 
In Berlin the meat ration is now reduced to a half pbund 
weekly per inhabitant, and in some towns it is less than 
this, while a protest by the " Medical Committee of 
Greater Berlin " has been sent to the press on the subject 
of an inadequate supply of nourishing food for invalids 
and infirm people. Letters found on German prisoners 
of war complaining of the lack of food are too numerous 
for comment, and a reduction in the meat ration of the 
army has been officially admitted. First-line troops 
appear to be well-fed, and it is the troops in reserve that 
have their rations curtailed, in the main. 
Reports on the prospects of the harvest for this year 
point to a very poor rye crop— which means considerable 
dimunition of one of the chief sources of ood for the 
lower classes ; the wheat crop prospects range from 
middling to very bad, owing to excessive rains and the 
lack of imported fertilisers, while the crops of barley 
and potatoes appear to be beloA' the average. But, 
even admitting the worst in respect to the harvest, 
nearly six months supply of cereals will be assured to the 
population if that harvest can be garnered in reasonably 
good condition. The lack of cereals is not what is 
troubling civilian Germany and von Batocki's administra- 
tion at the present time, for the main problem is the 
shortage of meat and fats, in which respects the prospects 
become more and more depressing. 
So long as civilian Germany retains its faith in ultimate 
victory, even such an evil as this will be patiently borne 
in the hope of full recompense at the end. When — as 
must eventually happen — to present privation, is added 
the knowledge of Russian successes, the Allied Offensive 
in the west, the failure at Verdun, and the equally serious 
Austrian failure before Trent, then the moral endurance 
of the nation, already weakened, will be perilously near 
breaking point, apart from what further may happen in 
the field. But the privations imposed on Germany can 
only be considered as an accessory to the military victory 
of the Allies. 
With regard to trade conditions, those industries either 
directly or indirectly connected with the war give little 
cause of complaint to their shareholders ; coal, iron, and 
steel businesses show increase rather than decrease— it is 
worthy of note that there is a famine in tin. all of which 
is commandeered for public purposes. Soap, owing to the 
shortage of fats, has advanced to ten times its normal 
price ; the textile trades are reduced to great straits, 
notably the cotton industry, in which there is severe 
depression and growing unemployment — the cost of 
cotton yarn has advanced from 70 pfennigs per English 
pound to 9.30 marks. In the manufacture of woollen 
goods many factories are kept going only at a loss. 
The shortage of leather, owing to restricted imports and 
the great needs of the army, has grown serious, and legis- 
lation has been introduced to reduce the working hours 
in boot factories, so as to keep as many employees as 
possible at work. The shortage of rubber is one of the 
most serious problems of all, and the public are com- 
pelled to surrender even the smallest quantities to the 
Rubber Clearing House established by the Government. 
In the matter of paper, prices have practically doubled, 
and though the Government has come to the assistance , 
of various journals, newspapers are run at a loss, while 
many of the smaller periodicals have ceased publication. 
The building trades are at a standstill. 
Means of estimating the conditions prevailing in 
Austria-Hungary are far more limited than in the case of 
Germany, but reliable evidence shows that conditions 
in the dual kingdom are worse than in Germany, mainly 
through the shortage of labour. It has been beyond 
dispute for some time that a third revision of the medical 
examination for military service has been ordered, and 
that, owing to the calling up for service of all men up to 
55 years of age, the shortage of labour in the agricultural 
districts will have serious results for the coming harvest. 
In Hungary, there is intense bitterness over the conduct 
of the war and the incapacity of Austrian generals; in 
the vicinity of the Italian theatre of war, a state not far 
removed from that of famine already exists, and through- 
out the whole of Austria-Hungary only importation (im- 
possible for the duration of the war) can relieve the scarcity 
of meat and fat foods. In Moravia and Austrian Silesia 
most of the cattle have already been slaughtered for 
food ; in Prague the conditions approximate to famine 
with regard to all foodstuffs, and in Vienna prices have 
increased 500 to 900 per cent, on the normal for all 
kinds of foodstuffs, more especially in the case of meat 
foods ; Buda Pesth is even worse off in the matter of 
provisions, and as the Russian occupation of Galicia 
advances conditions grow steadily more discouraging. 
Yet here, as in the case of Germany, economic pressure 
is a factor in the situation of the Central Empires, but 
the main factor is still that of military decision. 
Two Years of War 
THE next issue of Land & Water, published on 
Thursday, August 10th, will be a special Double 
Number, price' One Shilling, reviewing the past Two 
Years of War from a military, naval, and national 
standpoint. Among the principal features are: 
The Second Year of the War : A Military Analysis. 
By HILAIRE BELLOC. 
Naval Events Reviewed. By Arthur Pollen 
Legends of the Marne. By Colonel Feyler. 
The Future and the Women. By Lady Frances Balfour. 
Literature since 1914. By W. L. Courtney 
(Editor of The Fortnightly Review). 
Human Nature and the War. By Principal L. P. Jacks 
(Editor ol The Hibbcrt Journal). 
The Men-at-Arms. By Professor J. H. Morgan. 
The Old and New Tables. By G. K. Chesterton. 
A Poem. By Gilbert Frankau. 
Two Years Ago. By an Englishwoman in Paris. 
Greenmanfle, Chapters VIL and VIII. By John Buchan. 
Etc., Etc., Etc. 
In view of the large demand which is anticipated it is 
advisable to place an order at once for this double number 
of Land ^. Watkr, 
