The Daily News. SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1918. SHORTAGE OF FOOD IN BRITAIN.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 January 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1918. SHORTAGE OF FOOD IN BRITAIN.

The majority of the people of New Zealand lwve not anything but a vague idea of the acnteness of Britain's food problem, but those who really know the severity of the pinch can heartily sympathise with the people in the Homeland concerning the great personal sacrifices that have become' an imperative necessity. It is not a question of starvation staring the country in the face, but there are forty-six millions of mouths to supply with food every day, and though there are adequate quantities to meet strict requirements it has 'become vitally necessary to so organist the distribitti»> that all classes may equally participate. In a time of unparalleled shortage it is the poorer classes that must inevitably suffer unless they are protected by the authorities. The wealthy would otherwise have plenty and the poor next to nothing. That is the reason >vliy the distribution of foodstuffs lias had to be controlled systematically and only just - sufficient—barely sufficient—for each person doled out. The voluntary system of rationing was tried and though it produced good results it failed to attain t.ii intended object. Mot only is there a very considerable diminution in the world's production, but the great shortage of shipping facilities available lms rendered importation of foodstuffs very difficult. The position is that while there is enough food to go round there is none to waste, and it is only 'by enforcing it strict system of distribution calculated on a scientific basis as to the irreducible minimum. It is marvellous what the British Food Ministry lias accomplished in the direction of food distribution and food economy. Nothing less than tin most stringent regulations that are enforced without fear or favor would have met the case. The fines for breaches of these regulations are extremely heavy and it is only by this means, and in bnd caws by imprisonment, that a crisis has been avoided. At the same time every efi'ort has been made not only to emphasise the vital importance of tii strictest economy i u food, but also to educate the people as to the best means S of adapting themselves to the new condi- . t '°" s - ]ns P ite all that has been done t it has become necessary to apply Come pulsory rationing, due, probably, to that . individual selfishness which i s to be found largely in evidence among all communities. Among a free people there is r an inherent feeling 0 f resentment at ! , t* 0 "' but m a time of intense ' stress like the present there is no alter- , native after voluntary abstinence has 1 < beea tried and failed. The masses can- j

not lie allowed to be reduced to the point ] of starvation because the wealthier classes use their resources to satisfy their cravings for case and luxury. No scheme of distribution would be cquitab'.e where the power of wealth could operate There is but one way in which the people, of the Motherland can all he treated equally in the matter of ton;! and that is a uniform system of distribution per head. To carry out such a drastic method is by 110 means an easy labk, and it requires expert organisation and management. It is eonsitieivd .hat one of :tho reasons of the failure to control prices and facilitate distribution was that the efforts in that direction were relegated to departmental agencies instead of being placed in < barge of i.usincss experts, and the attempt wfis also impeded iiy that spirit of indifference to ihe national need wliic's lias been conspicuously in evidence. There are aiways oid'/itters and hoarders and thesn «nn oulv be reached by punitive measures of a drastic nature. It is quite conceivable that the application of compulsion in rationing is heartily detested, and that it may create as much, if not more, trouble and perplexities than would appear on the snvff.ee. The method lias all the appearance of mathematical accuracy in food allowances much the same as is to be found in the army, the navy, in prisons and in workhouses. It is only when the method has to be applied to forty or fifty, million people comprising all classes—high and low, rich, poor and middle class—that the weak links in the chain are discovered. Nor must it be forgotten that to ensure equal distribution of food under a compulsory system there must be provided an enormous staff of supervisors. 'Pitiful tales are told of people in queues wlio have patiently waited for hours for their turn to receive the much _ needed allowance only to find that before their chance came the supply was exhausted. Britain has at last found out the imperative necessity of very largely increasing the production of food in the country so as to be as much as possible independent of imported supplies. This is the real solution of the problem but, unfortunately it will take time to materialise. Meanwhile tJhe people should have 'been so aroused to the need of the utmost economy in living that they should assist all in their power in promoting the efficiency bf the compulsory scheme, inspired by the true altruistic spirit and by a fervid and practical patriotism that will see the nation through in time of trial and danger. By exhibiting the same dogged grit and courage in domestic affairs as is being shown by the armies in the field the people will emerge from t'beir part in the struggle with new experiences and a sense of brotherhood that will exalt the nation and prove of the greatest bene lit in the years to come when the war is only a memory and the blessings of peace and plenty have taken the place of suffering and sacrifice.