In the auditorium of the University of Berlin, three doctors recently spoke about the health needs of the German people along with men from science, authorities and parliamentarians.

The speeches are now available verbatim in the “Klinische Wochenschrift” (published by J. Springer and JJ Bergmann in Berlin).

With the permission of the publisher we have taken some passages from them.

Anyone who eats German bread knows that the conditions described have not improved since the evening on which the speeches were held, but have in fact worsened considerably.

It will not be difficult for the German people as a whole to comply with the decree against gluttony.

The layer that can still feast is getting thinner every day.

That the laws now seize these gentlemen and ration their pleasures,

is a matter of course in view of the German misery.

(The editorial office).

Secret Advice Prof. W. His: “Some numbers and facts speak louder than words can: The 1922 harvest, which under current circumstances is even more important for the population than before the war, was satisfactory in terms of potatoes with 39 million tons approaching the 44 million of 1913 and in relation to sugar beets which with 10 million tons are not too far behind the 14 million of 1913.

On the other hand, the yield of the important types of grain, wheat, rye and barley, at 8.7 million tons, was far behind the 17.6 in 1913, as was oats, at 4.1 million tons, behind the 8.6 tons in 1913 for these four grains, a loss of 13.3 million tons;

that is almost half of the 1913 harvest.

The loss would have to be offset by imports if nutrition were to remain at the same level.

However, the import of the four types of grain from May 1921 to April 1922 - the statistics only go that far - was only 2.3 million tons compared to 6.6 in 1913, while the price rose from 944 million marks in 1913 to 13.7 billion marks had risen.

That was when the dollar was still around 200 marks!

The roughage harvest was quite insufficient.

The loss would have to be covered by imports.

Even in peacetime, the production of meat, milk and fat was only possible by importing foreign concentrates.

This is now only possible to a limited extent.

The result is a reduction in livestock and slaughter.

As a result, the cattle population in the German Reich fell by 10 percent around 1913, and the pig population by 30 percent.

The amount of milk that a cow produces annually was estimated at 2,200 to 2,450 liters in 1913, now it is at most 1,500 liters.

Total German milk production in 1913 was calculated at 26 billion liters.

In 1920 it dropped to about 10 billion and has dropped ever since.

In peacetime, Berlin received about 1.2 million liters a day and needed about 600,000 liters to feed the children, nursing mothers and the sick.

400,000 liters are now being imported;

but of these 400,000 liters only two thirds are sold, the rest is turned into butter in the city.

Why?

Because the population is unable to pay the price.

Everywhere in schools and welfare centers children are found who do not receive a drop of milk, but instead receive surrogates, flour soup, rye coffee and the like.

What this means for the thriving of youth does not need to be explained in detail.