Food and Agriculture, the reason why ration~ ing has had to be introduced into Belgium, is because the Yritish prevented the importation of wheat Into the country. It will be remembered that when Mr. Cudahy, former U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, made his state ment in London, after leaving his post,, that Belgium was: faced with famine this winter, as were all the other occupied countries, it was pointed out by oflcials of the British Government that there were enough foodstuffs in occupied Europe to.feed the popula~ tions of the various countries, provided the Germans were able to devise, and maintain an. efficient system of distribution. That indeed was admitted by the Germans them~ selves who boasted that there was sufficient food in Europe to meet the requirements of all, They alleged that with their own food reserves and the harvests of last year they had sufficient for their own people and did draw upon the occupied ter-
That it was an empty boast is proved by what has happened since, Denmark has practically been denuded of the cattle which formed so great a part of the dairy industry. into. Germany.
Millions of pigs followed sult as did also fowls.
The same was true of Holland which was cleaned almost bare, find today in another column is a message Aetalling to what lengths substitutes for grain fare being used in the making of bread and the scurvy which Is aMicting those compelled to ent it. The same was true In Belgium and in France where the cattle and the crops occupied France wore confiscated and exr~ led off Into Germany. It follows then that the distress which is already to be noticed {n the lands unfortunate enough to fall under the German heel is directly attributable to the conquerors who, regardless of the suffor= ing their actions might cause, entered upon a polley of spoliation in accordance with the ber. traditions of ruthlessness. In this con: nection It has to be remembered that German officials are responsible for the statement that it was no part of the duty of the conquerors to feed the vanquished.
'That Great Britain has taken a more humani view is witnessed by the fact that she is permitting a shipload of food concentrates, to pass through the blockade to France for the' purpose of supplementing the nourish~ ment of the children. It may be possible to do something of the same sort of thing for other occupied territories, but the manifest bad faith of the Nazis, their fraud and lying, make even this a risky. procedure, for no matter what safeguards may be provided there is always the danger that the Germans will disregard them. It is unfortunately a probability that, if any great quantity of Tod. were allowed to pass through the blockade, the Germans, while possibly re~ training from actually seizing, it, would grab other foodstuffs which might otherwise be ott. for the populations of the occupied territories. Tt can be no part of the German scheme to desire the decimation of "populations destined by them if successful for an' unholy serfdom,—for dead slaves have rio "value to them,—but anything over and above the bare necessaries for the "maintenance of life are still likely to be "gelzed, where they are the natural products
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.