NO TEA RATION FOR CHILDREN

Southland Times, Issue 24874, 14 October 1942, Page 4

NO TEA RATION FOR CHILDREN

Emergency Sugar Coupons In the new rationing period which begins on November 1 there will be no tea ration for children under the age of 10 on January 1, 1943. Children of this age will be issued with a special book known as a C book. This book has no tea coupons. Emergency sugar coupons for all persons is another innovation. Under the rationing system in force in the current period, children of any age are entitled to the same amount of tea as an adult, namely, two ounces a week. This fact has caused a good deal of comment. It was argued that adults in a family in which there were young children were more favourably placed for the tea ration than were adults in a family in which there were no young children. It was also argued that it was unreasonable to allow a baby in arms two ounces of tea a week, or indeed any tea at all. A reporter of The Southland Times was shown a C book yesterday. It has 52 sugar coupons in sections of four and numbered 1 to 52 There are 26 clothing coupons equivalent to the M coupons of the current books. These are not numbered as in the present books, and another difference is that they are divided in two by a diagonal line showing where the coupon is to be cut in cases where purchases require half-coupons. There are 52 coupons designated E and 52 designated F, but the purpose of these is not stated. A note affixed to the pages of the E and F coupons states: “Do nothing with this page until told what to do.”

The emergency sugar coupons are not coupons in the ordinary sense because they do not entitle the holder of a book to extra sugar. They are not valid until an ordinary sugar coupon is attached to them. There are six emergency sugar coupons in each book, and a note alongside explains that they “should not be used except in an emergency or when on a holiday spent away from the usual place of residence.” In other words, by using the emergency coupons a person can purchase sugar from a grocer other than the one with which he or she is registered for the supply of sugar.