To eat under government supervision is not pleasant. It is almost like
taking the medicine which a physician has prescribed. You go to the food
authorities of your district, prove that you are really the person you
pretend to be, and thereby establish your claim to food, and after that
you do your best to get that food.
Living at hotels, I was able to let others do the worrying. Each morning
I would find at my door--provided nobody had stolen it--my daily ration
of bread, of varying size--300 grams (10.5 ounces) in Germany, 240 grams
(8.4 ounces) in Budapest, and 210 grams (7.3 ounces) in Vienna. At the
front I fared better, for there my allowance was 400 grams (14 ounces)
and often more if I cared to take it.
For the other eatables I also let the manager worry. That worry was not
great, though, so long as the food "speak-easy" was in operation. The
hotel could afford to pay good prices, and the patrons did not mind if
the dishes were from 150 to 300 per cent. dearer than the law allowed.
The law, on the other hand, saw no reason why it should protect people
who live in hotels--until it was seen that this policy was not wise on
account of the heavy drafts it made on the scant stores. Whether a small
steak costs 8 marks or 20 makes no difference to people who can afford
to eat steak at 8 marks and lamb cutlets at 15. And to these people it
also makes no difference whether they consume their legal ration or two
such rations.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE BREAD CARDS USED IN VIENNA AND LOWER AUSTRIA
(transciption follows)]
Niederösterreich.
Tages-Ausweis über den Verbrauch von 210 _g_ Brot
Gültig nur am ---- 1915
Verkauf nur nach Gewicht gegen Vorlegung der Ausweiskarte und
Abtrennung eines entsprechenden Abschnittes zulässig.
Nicht übertragbar!
Sorgfältig aufbewahren!
Nachdruck verboten!
Strafbestimmungen. Zuwiderhandlungen werden an dem Verkäufer wie
an dem Käufer mit Geldstrafen bis zu 5000 K oder mit Arrest bis
zu 6 Monaten geahndet. Bei einer Verurteilung kann auf den
Verlust einer Gewerbeberechtigung erkannt werden. Fälschung der
Ausweiskarte wird nach dem Strafgesetze bestraft.
K. k. n. ö. Statthalterei.
Many months of war passed before that element began to feel the war at
all. But it had to come to that in the end.
Two people feeling the same degree of hunger are far better company than
two who form opposite poles in that respect. Magnetic positive and
negative never could be so repellent. Nor is this all one-sided. One
would naturally expect that in such a case the underfed would harbor
hard feelings toward the overfed. That is not always the case, however.
One day a lady belonging to Central Europe's old nobility said to me:
"Well, it is getting worse every day. First they took my automobiles.
Now they have taken my last horses. Taxis and cabs are hard to get. I
have to travel on the street-cars now. It is most annoying."
[Illustration: THE BREAD CARD ISSUED BY THE FOOD AUTHORITIES OF BERLIN
(transciption follows)]
Nicht Nicht
übertragbar übertragbar
Berlin und Nachbarorte.