THE "FISHMONGERGENERAL."

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 173, 12 May 1916, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE "FISHMONGERGENERAL."

NEW FOOD SUPPLY FOR CANADIAN TROOPS. One of the most notable undertakings of the war (says the "Daily Express") centres round the appointment of Major Hughie Green, known to the Canadian troops as "Canada's Fishmonger-General," who has arrived in England on a special mission from Major-General Sir Sam Hughes, the Canadian Minister of Militia, to organise the entire fish, supply of the Canadian troops. The appointment is without precedent in the history of warfare, and the undertaking is of vital importance not only to Canada and the Canadian troops, but to the Empire. The man who has been responsible fo,r the introduction of a fish ration to the Canadian Army, who has not only improved the health of the men, but is saving the Dominion Government hundreds of pounds each week, is a remarkable personality. If you meet him in the street you will immediately be struck* by the appearance of a boyish-looking man •wearing a Staff officer's uniform. He stands six feet high, and: you note the clean-shaven face with the merry twinkling eyes locking out from under the row of gold maple leaves that fringe the peak of his cap. Such is "Canada's FishmongerGenera.." He has travelled all over the world, was formerly in the fish trade in Glasgow, and now, at the age of 28, holds this remarkable appointment, which will revolutionise the fish industry of Canada.

A FISH UNDER EACH ARM. This is the man who interviewed the Dominion authorities with a frozen fish under each arm. He had brought the fish two thousand miles, and so impressed Major-General Sir Sam Hughes—who had hit on the idea of supplying the Canadian troops with fish—with his proposals, that he was made a major on the spot. and despatched on his errand. The first consignment of fish — forty tons—has arrived in England, and the Canadian soldiers at a certain camp will or joy their first fish ration on Friday. Each week a further torsignmeit of forty tons of fish, cleaned and leady for cooking, will arrive. "The comes from the Canadian seas and the western lakes of Saskatchewan arul Manitoba," said Major Green to a "Dtfly Express" representative. It consists of salmon, halibut soles, cod. hake, smoked haddock, West Lake white fish, herrings. "The white fish, which are caught i.v Indians through the ice of the northern lakes, are frozen alive by nature, but they are known to revive and swim about when thrown into a pan of water of ordinary temperature. Fish curers in Aberdeen who have settled in Canada cure and smoke the haddocks. They are making a great success of this industry. "We are providing the troops with food that costs less than half the. price of beef, and which contains double the quantity of nourishment. When the war broke out many of the large fur trading posts in North Canada had to close down. The Indian workers were granted licences to fish in the lakes, with the result that at one period there was over 800 tons of white fish ready for the market. "I was in North-West Saskatchewan conducting some fish camps at the time, and this led to my visit to the authorities at Ottawa. I had many rebuffs before Sir Sam Hughes gave me my appoinment."