The Daily News. THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1917. BRITAIN'S FOOD PROBLEM.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 January 1917, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1917. BRITAIN'S FOOD PROBLEM.

Scarcely a da} has passed of late when the cable messages from London have not contained one or move references to the food problem and the measures being adopted by the Food Controller to cope with the questions of shortage and inflated prices. It has to be remembered that the Homeland is now in midwinter, therefore the acute position concrrning food supplies is greatly emphasised; but there is no question that the trouble has arisen through the remissness of tlu Government in not having firmly tackled this most important problem as soon as it became apparent that the war must be of considerable duration. This grave omission and subsequent inaction have caused an overincreasing aggravation of a trouble that might and should have been kept within reasonable bounds. Reference to London exchanges aB recently as the middle of November lfist gives an insight into the serious state of affairs then existing. For instance, one London daily stated: "Pessimists teil lis that during the. next few weeks bread will be a shilling the four-pound loaf, and potatoes Jirecpence a pound. By March, if we are to believe them, potatoes will be practically unpurchaseable. At the present moment a large number of householders who never before bought more'than a bushel of potatoes at a tinje are now laying in supplies by the quarter and half-ton. The rise in prices still continues to arouse much justifiable anxiety. The chief rise haß come in wheat, which has jumped up within a few weeks beyond 80s, and threatens in the immediate future to leave all known records behind. It is generally felt that this rice in the price of wheat is mainly due to artificial manipulation on the Chicago market. It is somewhat unfortunate that our authorities allowed it to be known some weeks ago that they were determined to secure supplies. The big advertisement given to the Australian purchase had the ofi'ect of making Chicago think that foi a"" few >veekß it hail Ergland at its mercy. The speculators plunged with redoubled zeal into the game of forcing up prices, and the poor man in England haß to pay." This process of exploitation, especially on behalf of American speculators, has been in evidence from the outset of the war, and yet no move was made by the Home authorities to accumulate ado l qi'ate stocks of the staple necessaries of life, in addition to which there has been a culpable wastage that, of itself, I M ould have gone far to remedy the evii.

It is on the struggling masses that tlio pinch of the screw presses most painfully, and thej have naturally resented having to suffer hardships which might have been greatly mitigated, if not almost entirely avoided. 'J'hey l;no,\v well that while ihere is a justification for :t certain rise, there is no excuse for the exorbitant figures which many articles have reached. There was the trouble. What was the remedy? This was the serious problem the Food Controller had tn face. The two main factors in dealing with the trouble were skilled buying and economical distribution. The bnyir.g problem is naturally beset with diflici.ltics at the present time, as it is practically confined within the Empire,'but the two industries which havo suffered l'.ost were wheat and sugar and in .both these there were iiiflutmecs at work to inflate prices. So far as home produce was concerned the Government could commandeer and fix prices, but all overseas produce had to be the subject of bargaining, even in the Dominions, for the disposition to make hay during the sunshine appears to bt universal. The distribution problem is also beset by difficulties, but the Commission for ~B.clief in Belgium in some measure solved the problem by. shipping its stocks in its own vessels, to its own warehouses, and so on by its own barges to the mills, main difficulty is that of obtaining regular nnd adequate supplies, and the newly appointed food controller is exhibiting commendable activity in this ili? cction. The Government has taken o\er all supplies of maize in Britair., il.e prices of oats, wheat, and potatoes have been fixed; there is shortly to bo enforced a further dilution of flour and a reduction of sugar in mineral waters and confectionery, and the use of milk in chocolate is prohibited. Apparently an energetic policy is now being adopted that should bear good fruit. Th; Wheat Commission is rapidly getting oi er the initial difficulties of its task and creating the machinery of control. Large purchases of wheat have been made in Australia, America and elsewhere, so that prices should be steadied: but there still remains the important matter of distribution, and it may yet be found necessary to distribute' certain staple lines from communal shops in order to give them at the lowest price t ; > the piople. The longer the war lasts the more acute will be the food problem, which presses with far greater force on enemy countries than on the Allies, a pc;ition which is due to the invaluable services of the British Navy. If the producers of the overseas' Dominions were so disposed they could have relieved the pressure on the people of the Homehwl very materially. They have done much, but it would have been possible to have made even greatei sacrifices without hardship heing entailed. It is, however gratifying to note that Britain is at last getting-into her stride, and I that of itself should indicate that the lend of the war is not far off.