The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-07-08
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFO R M ALTON
Blu RE AU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN, Director.
Washington. D. c.
THE ALLIED FOOD SUPPLY.
England

essential foodstuffs from the United |
States. Much of this food goes to |
France. to feed the civilian population |
there. and an even larger quantity
finds its way to the armies at the front. |
Within a few weeks the larger per-
centage of the men in England be-
tween the ages of 40 and SO, called to
| the colors under the provisions of the
new man power act, will increase the
! quantity of military rations needed.
In the meantime England is cult
| waiting every tillable foot of soil, her
| population is INDUCING in the most
rigid and thoro going economy. For
| many months now she has barely been
| able to feed her population. The de-
mand of the moment has been met
| but at no time has a reserve stock of
| foodstuffs of sufficient Quantity been
| on hand to tide the population over for
| a month if importations were sud
denly shut off. Conservation in Ameri-
| ca has alone made possible the vast
stores of food which have been sent
across the seas from our shores. Only
| a few days ago it was announced by
the British ministry of food that owing
to the cooperation of American Great
| Britain would have a sufficient supply
of food to last until the next harvest.
| We in America, altho we have fore
| gone many of the gustatory pleasures
which we were formerly wont to in
duIge in, have not been compelled yet
to make the sacrifices that every man,
woman and child in England is max
| ing today.
Public dining in England is today
rather more of a formality, a habit
attended by little pleasure. than the
! joy it used to be. The stranger reach
| ing English shores has rather the bet
ter of it-that is, for several days-for
upon registering at a hotel he is al
| lowed four days in which to procure a
| food card. During this interval. he
can. by filling out the proper applica-
| ton and going thru numerous formali-
I ties, obtain meat each of the four days
and at each meal except breakfast. In
| other words in four days he can have
eight meat meals, whereas only four
| meals a week under the regula tons
| of the ministry of food carry with
| them the permission of the meat lux
| ury. The stranger does better to
| await the expiration of his four days
of grace rather than to obtain his
| card on the day of his arrival. How
| ever. to obtain the so-called temporary
cards at any hotel, one must carefully
fill out long application setting forth
his profession, nationality, country last
visited. reasons for visiting England,
profession of father, first name of
father and mother, parents birth
place, whether he has been in Eng
land before; how long he expects to
stay; whether he has eaten meat in
| England before. and when he expects
After remaining at a hotel for four
days. one is allowed a daily allotment
of sugar, a quantity sufficient to
sweeten cup of coffee. 1t is sup
| posed to last thru the three meals,
| including tea, and is done up in a
tiny envelope. like a sample packet of
| Milady's favorite tale.
Sitting down to dine in the London
cafe. one scans the bill-of-fare with
rapidly growing disappointment. Some
Of n asr<n 10 nE nv vow
days and contain names of tasty
viands which have long since been
showed into oblivion by the edict of
the food controller.
The up-to-date menus contrast WV
idly with those of antiquity in that
they contain about a tenth of the
dishes found on the old ones. Proba-
bly, the reStaurateur keeps the old ones
to show the guest what his place once
was.
Roast beef. steak, lamb chops,
stewed chicken, one reads-then un-
derneath-four ounces per person.
However, on filling in an order con-
| tanning one of the above mentioned the
waiter will say: "Give me your meat
card, please" If you have none,
Sorry, sir. but no meat without the
card" If you chance to be fortunate
enough to possess a meat card. the
| servitor will dstach one coupon and
presently will set before you a portion
of meat. the only function of which
could be to serve as an appetizer for
some dish which is not forthcoming
Fish and eggs are the principal cubsti-
tutes for meat. Eggs cooked in count
less ways, fish fried. broiled. shirred
baked and done in ways new to those
unlnitiated in the mystery of modern
| cuisine as affected by war conditions
Each person is allowed one piece of
black or brown bread. or very hard
roll. The bread is usually made of
potato flour. Last year the ministry
of food waged an intensive campaign
aimed at increasing the production of
| potatoes with such success that more
potatoes were raised than could be
used Consequently Lord Rhondda
urged the bakers of the land to use
potatoes in making bread. If you pos
sesS sugar card you can obtain
small quantity of sugar which you
must carry about with you-that is. if
you are a frequenter of public eating
houses. The trouble encountered in
procuring sugar is so great, and the
pains taken are rewarded with such
small quantity of the sweet stuff that
many persons prefer to do without. A
Brttisher recently arrived in the
United States declared he had not
tasted sugar for over a year. 1t is
| forbidden to serve it In public eating
houses. A guest invited to the country
for the weekend is usually fore
warned by the hostess to bring his
| own sugar. AS a substitute, a little
saccharine pill Is offered. Butter can
= be obtained at breakfast only, and in
nine cases out of ten the butter &c not
butter but margarine, and worst IF all
1t is not what one commonly supposes
margarine to be, but white, pasty SUB
stance, the size of the ordinary butter
chip and of the thickness-or thin
ness-of a knife blade.
So-called coffee is in many cases
made of chicory. Even the tea is very
poor, and in England this is the cuI-
minating disaster, for what would
England be without her afternoon tea,
custom for which she is famous +?
Milk or cream? The Britisher can
hardly recall the taste of the two lat
/ ter Never under any circumstances