Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-09-20
ENGLAND PREVENTS
BOOSTING Of PRICES
Parliament Enacts Social
Measures That Care for
the Consumer.
DEALERS REFUSE LARGE
SUPPLIES TO THE RICH
Corners Prohibited and Care fol-
Needs Of the Poor Is Provided
by Drastic Laws.

A description of how the English
parliament has dealt with questions of
food supply, Unemployment and hous-
ing which have arisen in Great Brit
tain in consequence of the war has
been written by Graham Taylor for
The Survey.
Mr. Taylor characterizes these So
cial measures prompted by the war as
silver Innings to the clouds that
hover over Europe, and considers that
they throw CLINT of hope into the
future"
Mr.. TayIor's article is as follows:
Under the necessity, urged by over
towering emergency, advanced relief
laws and measures have been enacted,
especially in England, with unprec-
edented rapidity and unanim1ty.
"England's recent experience with
her social legislation has sufficiently
demonstrated both it's practlcablllty
| and necessity, so as to sweep all op-
| position. into cooperation with the war
relief measures. They extend the or
| Grafton of some Of these advanced laws
and enact new ones far more radical
than any legislation hitherto proposed
| or passed
Humane Items in War Budgets.
First and most comprehensive of
| them all was the vote Of credit author
izing the expenditure of $5O0,OO0.000 to
be available as specified by the prime
| minister. not only for all expenses
arising out of the existence of state
OF war; but for assisting the food sup
ply, for promoting a continuance OF
| trade, industry and business communi-
cations, whether by means of insurance
or indemnity against risk or otherwise,
and FOR the relief of Distress
NO sooner had the war scare
prompted the boarding of foodstuffs
and the raising of prices than the
cabinet appointed 8. committee on food
supplies. Various traders organiza-
| tions at once began to cooperate with
| it in reporting and publishing maxi
mum retail cash prices which ought not
to be exceeded for three days in adj
vance. Parliament supported the gov
eminent in assuming control OF the
exemption of farm horses from re-
| QUESTION for military purposes, and by
| a one-clause bill, bearing the title OF
the unreasonable Withholding of food
| supplies invested the board of trade
with the same powers for requisition-
ing foodstuffs as the naval and mill
| tary authorities exercise.
E1RQLluS EOOu IOTuc1.
"This act is depended upon to antici-
pate or check any attempt to cor
ner," or to speculate with or arbi-
trarily raise the price of food. There
was an additional suggestion that the
government should consider the desira-
bility of preventing well-to-do people
buying up large stocks of provisions.
Lord Cecil branded this practice as a
scandal and hoped the government
would take measures to strengthen the
criminal law against it. Leading deal
ers assured the government that in no
case would they supply customers,
however well-to-do, with more than
normal supplies. The possibility of
an equitable distribution of foodstuffs
throughout the kingdom at fixed prices
by government agency is intimated.
The national board of education re-
quested the local school boards to pro-
vide for the feeding of school children.
To this and other ends the schools were
reopened before the summer vacation
ended BY order of the king and queen
plain and simple living is the daily rule
at the royal table. The cooperative
stores, which handle a large percentage
of the retail trade in England, have so
far managed to undersell other pro-
vision merchants by protecting their
members from the somewhat higher
prices prevailing elsewhere. The Roch-
dale Cooperative Society formally dis
avowed. all intention of sharing any
profit from rising prices.
ITO prevent financial panic and bank