1938-04-29 — Page 13

CHINA FAIL, APRIL 1988

FOOD CONTROL AND RATIONING AT OUTSET OF ANY NEW WAR

London, To-day. A broad outline of the preparations being made for feeding the nation in time of war is given in a report issued by the Food Defence Plans De- partment of the Board of Trade.

Report points out that to ensure that all types of the country will be able to buy the food they require in a major emergency it is essential that food control, comprising the organisation -of supplies and the regulation of consumers' demands should be imposed immediately after the outbreak of hostilities and if this is to be done, plans must be made well in advance.

It would not be in the national transport and-distribution have interest to disclose what is being arisen.. Plans for dealing with done in certain branches of the these problems are not yet com- Department's work and, therefore, plete but substantial progress has the Report must not be regarded as been made with the schemes covering all the activities of the including plans for a widespread Department. .

dispersal of stocks which are

The aim of the department is to being worked out in conjunction anticipate every important pro-with the Ministry of Transport, blem with which the future Food the Mercantile Marine Department Controller might be called upon to of the Board of Trade-and. Port the help of the deal, with a bearing say on the first Authorities, with six months, and to prepare plans trade interests concerned. for each problem which

RATIONING PLANS It is practically certain that put into operation with the mini- mum of delay and with the maxirationing would form an essential mum of goodwill on the part of the part of any future system of food food trades concerned.

could

bei

control and that certain important TRADERS MACHINERY

foods, such as meat, would be The Department considers the rationed from the outset. Whether certain other commodities, such as machinery of control should be operated, so far as practicable, bytes, would also have to be rationed the food traders themselves and i would depend on the nature of the taking steps to ensure that each emergency British Wireless. plan is understood and regarded as workable by the trades concerned The main objects of food contro would be to ensure that adequatc bulk supplies of food were avail able as required, that these sup- plies were distributed to place where they would be wanted, and that every member of the public would be able to obtain enough off the national food supply at a rea- sonable price.

To achieve these ends, detailed!

HEAVY JAP.

BOMBING RAID ON HSUCHOW

Shanghai, To-day. Following the appearance of one plans are being worked out befor lone Japanese plane over Hsu- hand, both for obtaining adequate chowfu yesterday morning, 32 supplies of foodstuffs and for re- Japanese bombers and fighters gulating their distribution to con-

raided the city later in the day. concentrating on the railway.

sumers.

THREE ASPECTS From the consumers' standpoint food control has three aspects in which he is vitally concerned—

Guarantee of regular supplies Limitation of prices and profit:

and

Equality of sacrifice in the event of shortage.

The Department's plans are be ing prepared along lines which would enable them to come into operation without delay, on the out- break of war so as to prevent any temporary or local shortage of food, to regulate the price of all important food products and te prevent the formation of food) queues.

Over 100 bombs, including many of an incendiary nature, were dropped, killing over 60 civilians and setting fire to more than 40 buildings.

The raid lasted about half-an- hour-Our Own Correspondent.

DENMARK TO BUY MORE BRITISH GOODS

London, To-day. Denmark has agreed to make in- The Food Controller would azrangcreased purchases of United King- without delay for the purchase of dom goods. foodstuffs overseas and would ap The Secretary of the Depart- point a Director of Supplies and ment of Overseas Trade informed an expert committee to manage the Commons that certain trade purchases of each commodity or matters had recently been the sub. ject of discussion with the com- group of commodities.

COMMODITY SCHEMES petent Danish authorities. The Report outlines & few The Danish Government had now typical commodity schemes which made an offer which had been ac are în an advanced stage of pre-cepted by His Majesty's, Gover paration, dealing with cereals, ment to provide facilities for in- four, bread, butcher's meat, bacon creasing by about Kraner 20,000,- and ham, sugar, edible fats and 000 imports of a wide range of United Kingdom goods, including tea.

British Wire- coal and tex less.

In view of the possible results of air attack, many new problems of