Collecting Cherry Stones for Making Oil.
The first collection of material in Germany was a metal collection, and it took place in the fall of 1915, just after I came to Berlin. This collection extended all over Germany and took place in different parts at different times. Every family received a printed notice of the things that must be given up to the State. It was a long list, but the main thing on it was the brass ovendoors. As nearly every room in Germany has a stove with two of these doors about a foot wide and three quarters of a foot high you can get some idea of how much material this collection brought. Since this collection the doors have been replaced by iron ones that are not nearly so pretty. All kinds of brass pots and kettles were collected, but with special permits people were allowed to keep their heirlooms. Everything was paid for by the weight, artistic value counted for naught. Vacant stores were rented for storing this collection and the people had to bring the things there.
In some cities the people willingly gave up the copper roofs of their public buildings. Copper roofs have always been very popular in Germany. In Berlin the roof of the palace, the cathedral and the Reichstag building are of copper, and in Dresden the roofs of all the royal buildings are of copper.
A friend of mine who is a Catholic went to church one Sunday just before I left Berlin. Before the service opened and just as the priest mounted the pulpit the church bells began to ring. When they had stopped the priest announced that this was the last time the bells would ever ring, for they were to be given to the metal collection. The people began to cry as the priest went on, and before he had finished, many were sobbing out loud. Even the men wept. My friend said that it was the most impressive thing that she had ever witnessed.
In that first copper collection they got enough metal to last several years, but if a second collection is necessary they can take the brass door knobs which are very large and heavy. All the door knobs in Germany are made of brass and this would make a vast amount of metal.
Women Collecting Old Papers.
In April, 1917, they took an inventory of all the aluminum in the empire. People had to send in lists of what they had. The ware was not collected but it was to be given up at any time the government wanted it. The aluminum is to be used in making money. For a long time they have had iron 5- and 10-pfennig pieces, and now they have 1-pfennig pieces made out of aluminum. In Leipsic and Dresden they have 50-pfennig pieces made out of paper, and Berlin will soon have them too. Before the iron money was made in the winter of 1915, small change was very scarce. The store-keepers would rather you would not buy than give you all their small change. At that time in Turkey also small change was so scarce that the people stood in line by the hour to get it. The reason for the scarcity in Germany is that the German soldiers have carried it away to the conquered lands where German money is used as well as native money. In Germany we used, and they still use, postage stamps for small change, but this is very unsatisfactory as they get very dirty in the handling.
