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question and American imports. A lengthy
satirical article in the Frankenpost said in
part: "To get people to spread rumors is as
tdifficult as persuading a monkey to accept
a banana -  namely, not at all . . . Every
rumor spreads with the speed of wind. By
its very speed you can recognize a rumor as
such . . . Customers of Fact do not multiply
at all... The masses boycott the truth
instinctively. They feel on the other hand a
constant vague longing for nonsense. The
hot passion of the German for sloppy thinking
made Hitlerism  possible. Today, it fosters
the rumor-factories."
Berlin Food Supply
In its own report, the US licensed Tages-
spiegel in Berlin quoted foodstuff figures
released by the Food and Agriculture Section,
OMGBD, citing the fact that 138,663 tons
of potatoes have been imported into Berlin,
two-thirds of it from the United States. The
report also observed that the United States
has sent 3,066 tons of canned vegetables,
849 tons of fruit juices and 371 tons of can-
ned and dried fruits from America.
In accordance with recent Allied Komman-
datura decision, plans are now being iiade
to import fresh vegetables directly from the
American Zone to Berlin, "despite the fact
that before the war only one-half of one per-
cent of Berlin's vegetables came from the
US Zone," continued the report.
In concluding the dispatch cited Magistrat
figures which point out that about 50 percent
of the fresh vegetables for Berlin in 1938
came from areas now occupied by the Soviet,
22 percent from Holstein, three percent from
the Rhineland in the British Zone, and
25 percent from foreign nations.
*    *    *
The Telegraf, published in the British
Sector of Berlin, printed articles which point-
ed up the British food contributions to the
city and compared them to the recent Soviet
vegetable figures in the Soviet-sponsored
press.
The Telegraf first observed that it has re-
cently been revealed that the Soviet Zone and
Sector have produced for distribution all
overi Berlin 20,586 tons of vegetables in 1946.
The paper then observed that British author-
ities have also imported and distributed va-
rious kinds of food all over the city.
"It is interesting to compare the efforts of
both groups in reference to calories," declar-
ed the Telegraf, thereupon pointing out that
the supplies from the Soviets amounted to
3,088 million calories, while the British sup-
plies amounted to 4,601 million calories.
"This shows that the supplies of the Brit-
ish authorities exceed those of the Soviets by
1,513 million calories," declared the paper.
"One must also remember that a great part
of these supplies come from England and
have been transported to Germany over hun-
dreds of kilometres."
Totalitarian Issue
Referring to a recent Tagesspiegel charge
that the Berlin Magistrat is totalitarian, the
Neues Deutschland, organ of the Social Unity
Party, declared the Magistrat has been re-
sponsible for the achievements of the city
since the collapse.
The Neues Deutschland said the Magistrat's
annual report will be annouced shortly with
an explanation for the alleged over-abun-
dance of Magistrat power and personnel. The
paper also said all former Reich and state
authorities had to be taken over by the Ma-
gistrat, and, in reality, the administrative
apparatus for the city is smaller than
formerly.
In attempting to disprove the Tagesspiegel
assertions that work is done behind closed
doors and people are presented with com-
pleted deeds, the paper stated that in various
Berlin districts there are so called prelim-
inary district assemblies in which the polit-
ical parties and the population are given the
chance to check the community policy of their
district. In other districts the mayor holds
open office hours when people may contact
him, while in some districts suggestion boxes
are available. The paper further pointed out
that every day the Magistrat supplies the
press with information.
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