The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-09-22


 have ever enveIoped the civilized world have some silver Things which light up tho gloom a little and throw 3 glint of hop into the future Under the necessity, urged by overpowertng emergency advanced relief laws ana measures have zeen enacted, especially in England, with unprecedented rapl iGity and unanimity.
 E;ngland's recent experience with her social legislation has sufficiently de- Esnonstrated both it's practicabihty and necessity so as to sweep all oppo- sition into cooperation with the war relief measures. They extend the op-s ration of some of these advanced laws and enact new ones far more radical sTlan any legislation hitherto proposed or passed.
 Human Items In War Budget.
 First and most comprehensive of them all was the vote of credit au- thorizing the expenditure of $500, 00o,- oc0 to be available as specified by the prime minister, not only for all ex- BenseS arising out of the existence or a state of war,s' but for "a ssisting the food supply. for promoting continu- ance Of trade. industry and business communications, whether by means or Insurance or indemnity against risk or otherwise. and for the relief of dis fress.'
 No sooner had the war scare prompt ed the hoarding of food st1ffs and the raising of prices than the cabinet ap- pointed a. committee on food supplies Various traders organizations at once s1erar to co=operate with 1t in report tttn~ Ard publishing maximum retail cash rrfces which ought not to De A exceeded for three days in advance Parliament supported the government in Assuming control of the maxlnu@1n @ prices for food, urged the exemption of farm horses from reouisition TOT 5 l4niIflary purposes, and By a. one-elause f7,flI bearing. the title of the unreas> 5l enable withholdings of food supplies invested the Board Aof Trade M Win lhs same powers for requisftioning food letuffs as the naval and military au- fthorities exercise
 FigIltiae Food "Corner.''
 This act is depended upon to antici- pate or check any attempt to corner o~ to speculate with, or arbitrarily raise the price or food There was an additional suggestion that the gov ernment should consider the desira- bi1ity of preventing well-t -do-peopl buying up large stocks of provisions Lord Cecil branded this practice as a scandal and hoped the igovernrnenl ean1 would take measures to strengthen the criminal law against it. Leading deal CTS assured the government that in no case would they supply customers. however we1I-to-do with more than normal supplies The possibility Of tsan equitable distribution of food stuffs throughout the Kingdom at fixed prices . by government agency" Is 5ntimated- The national Board of Education re- ouesfed the local school boards to provide for the feeding of school chil-. dren To this and other ends the schools were reopened before the sum- rner vacation ended. By order of the king and queen plain and simple Hv- ling is the daily rule at the royal tA-. 9bIe. The co-pperative stores which I handle large percentage of the retail zItrede in England, have so far managed to undersell- other provision merchants by protecting their members from the Fl somewhat higher prices ErevaiEhg elsewhere The Rochdale sCo-opera- tive Society formally disayowed all in Htention Of sharing any profit from rds- ling prices.
 To prevent financial panic and bank ruptcy or undue pressure for debts, the 'fmoratorium 'act was passed by Parliament. This extends to October the legal term for the payment of in 4debtedness< on bills of exchange and $ certain other obligations. Among the ex enptions to which this delay does not apply are wages and salaries, Ha- Utilities not exceeding S25, the payment of rates and taxes. debts due outside tae British Isles. dividends or interest on stocks, funds securities, with st1rawals from trustee savings banks and payments due under the work mems compensation act, old age pen sion and national insurance Rents were not exempted for fear of accum- ulating burdensome indebtedness upon ffse workers. Reservists' allotments from their wages to their families were paid in advance to cover She first months rent in their absence
 To Prevent Unemployment.
 Very particular and considerate care f being taken to forefend wage-earn- CTS from unemployment and to secure the reservists and erritorials from the loss of their occupation after the war. As president of the Local Govern nlent Board, Herbert Samuel announc- ed in the House of Commons that many traders and manufacturers were periodically keeping their mills and works in operation by reducing work { ing hours instead of 7ismissing any employees; that the Road Board had a reserve of some millions of pounds s which could be spent on new work employing many laborerss that the de- ve1opment commission also had funds available for large construction work; that the government departments kWouId maintain and, where possible, increase, the number of their employees. MT. Samuel also issued a circular re- nninding all town and county coun- cflors and officials that 1t was their duty not to curtaH their undertakings and reduce their staffs, but to main tain and increase their operations
 The War Emergency Workers Com nsiitee- representing all the labor groups vigiIant1y watch the situation and offer suggeBz1cns and co-operatfor Isto rhe government. The Cabinet has appointed an advisory committee or distress which includes both John Burns and q. Ramsay Macdonald, to- gether with officials of departments most closely involved. Local com rnittees, having the same title and function, are being organized through our the country and include represen- tatiyes of the trade unions. boards oi guardians, philanthropic organizations and the local authorities It is thus hoped to promote the mobilization o1