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Show LORD RHONDDA, British food controller, who announces an-nounces that rationing is on the way. i f f f lli j . , 3 I "t f". I PEOPLE OF EiOLlO MUST TIGHTEN BELTS Food Controller Declares the Time for Rationing Has Arrived. LONDON, Jan. 3. Compulsory rationing ra-tioning is to be put into effect in England En-gland at an early date, according to Lord Rhondda, the food controller, 'speaking at Silverton today. He prefaced pref-aced this announcement by saying that he was afraid that compulsory rationing ration-ing would have to come, and that it i was on its way, and then declared that his department has completed a scheme and that as soon as the sanction of ! the cabinet had been received it would j be carried out. J Lord Rhondda warned -his bearers that there would continue to be a short- j age,1 though the conditions would im- 1 prove steadily. j il There is nothing alarming in the situation, he said. You have only to tighten your belt. The people of this country are undergoing nothing like the privations in Germany. There they have less than a pound of meat a week The food controller pointed out. that the Import of butter in November and December, 1917, amounted to only 3000 tons, as compared with So.noo tons in November and December, 1915. However, How-ever, there had been mi enormous increase in-crease in the production of margarine in England, and by June the capacity of the factories would be four times what it was In 1915. Referring to the meat shortage, Lord Rhondda said he did not want to threaten, threat-en, he did not want to commandeer cattle, cat-tle, but the machinery would he there to carry the cattle to market when the time came. There was poing to be a great shortage of meat during the next couple of weeks, but after that he hoped the. position posi-tion would improve considerably. Before the war 40 per cent of the meat consumed by civilians was Imported; today to-day a lai'Kc part of the imported meat went to the army, leaving less than 10 per cent for civilians. There was, however, how-ever, no great depletion in cattle in the country. "Food," said Lord Rhondda, "in my opinion should have priority of tonnage and finance. There has been an enormous enor-mous Increase in wages, aggregating 1,000,000 a year, and this increases the difficulty of getting down the price of food." The food controller strongly supported communal kitchens and said that government govern-ment grants would he made where necessary neces-sary to establish them. He incidentally disclosed the fact that Lady Rhondda obta ined the Christ mas dinner for her family from one of t hese kitchens and added : "What is good enough for my old woman is quite good enough for anyone." LONDON", Jan. 3. The director of meat supplies announced that Tuesday will be the meatless day in London -and Wednesday Wednes-day in the provinces. |