OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 October 1941, Page 6

OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

MUTTON OR BEER? (To the Editor.) Sir,-—The following is an extract from a letter I have received from one of my grandsons who is at the war: “It is a pity that sheep are so cheap in New Zealand, and we haven’t tasted mutton since we left home. You would think that the Government would send some over here in place of the beer which they are forwarding. There are more soldiers over here who would prefer mutton to beer.” I have before me a table by a public analyst (Mr F. W Richardson) concerning draught beer. He states that milk contains 14 times more protein than beer, and that 3| pints of milk would suffice for a day’s ration. Now is it not heartbreaking to think that we have fallen so low? The Government can find shipping room for beer, but not for mutton. I should say that if the leg bones and neck were taken off, and the sheep cut down, there would be a lot of shipping space saved. In any case, the sheep has to be cut down sooner or later. If saws were provided at the works, the sheep could be dealt with very cheaply. I heard a sermon over the wireless a few weeks ago in which I am almost certain that the minister said that more than 40,000 gallons of beer had been sent to our troops.—l am etc., WILLIAM RAYNER. The Cliffs, Masterton, Oct. 14.