Page:The Destruction of Poland - Toynbee - 1916.djvu/29

 artisans, has gone up 400-500 per cent. Even the handfuls of bread, meat, and flour, which the artisans who have taken work in the fields bring back with them, are confiscated at the city-gates, on the plea of contraband.

"It was oppressive measures of the same kind which brought about the 'riots of Lodz.' In the course of September, the municipality cut off the relief which had hitherto been paid to the wives of Russian reservists. The women, to the number of nearly 15,000, rioted, and the authorities were compelled to renew the grants, setting aside 3 million marks for the purpose.

"As for landed property, the German authorities have piled such heavy taxes upon it that even the German landlords, of whom there are a good many, have risen in revolt and are joining the Poles in deputations to Warsaw and Berlin.

"Under these circumstances, can it be wondered that 'indignation against the proceedings of the German authorities is growing from day to day and that, especially among the working classes, it is now passing into open hostility.'"

This terrible account of the situation is confirmed and supplemented by evidence from other quarters. Here, for instance, is a quotation from the "Nowa Reforma," of November 20th, which exposes the full iniquity of the Posen "Import Company, Ltd,":—

"A communication from Lodz, dated November 1Bth, describes the unfathomable distress of the city. Prices are higher than the highest known anywhere else. According to the "Nowy Kuryer Lodzki": "At a sitting of the Town