The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-03-12
FOOD PROBLEM
in ENGLAND
Greatest Trouble Is That Government
Has Not Vet Realized
That Nation 10 at
War.
by Lowell Mellett, United Press
Staff Correspondent

stan correspondent
LONDON, Jan. S.-(By mail. .
There was margarine queue IN
Kings Road as came downtown this
morning. The snow of last night had
become slush, the sidewalks were wet
and some Of those in the queue,
crowded off the sidewalk, stood in
slush of the street. An icy wind was
blowing.
The noon editions of the afternoon
newspapers reported margarine and
meat queues lin many other parts of
the city, in most every part, in fact,
where there was margarine on sale.
A short time ago the prime minis
ter, speaking on the food situation,
remarked significantly, There are
no food queues outside the co-opera-
tive stores" So l went down into
Aldersgate this afternoon to ask the
co-operators why. In the depot OF
the cooperative wholesale societies
as big a wholesale house as I'd ever
seen in America was referred to
B. Williams, head Of the Cooperative
union whose Office had been crowded
by the growth of business into one
of the overflow buildings in nearby
street.
1.-The trouble said B. Williams,
"is that the government has not yet
realized that we are at war, or 1t has
not carried the realization into our
commercial life. The plain fact Is
that the function Of controlling the
peoples food never should have been
put into the hands of any man whose
Entertaining has been profit-mak1ng.
His experience in life has been such
as to totally unfit him for such
post"
Several months ago when Lord
Davenport, himself commission
merchant, was retiring from the job
of food controller, Williams was sug-
gested as possible successor. The
suggestion apparently did not get
very far. Trying to visualize him In
the role l fell to wondering why he
looked so familiar and where l could
have seen him before. Suddenly 1t
came to me that it wasn't any single
person he reminded me of, but sort
of composite person. He had the
look about him of those various clerks
in different stores that my mother
always used to ask for when she
wanted to be sure of what she was
getting. He looked reliable and gave
the impression Of wishing to serve,
rather than to sell.
He would look quite at home today
behind the counter Of one OF my
mothers favorite stores and yet here
he is head Of the Cooperative union.
To make this mean something, 1t
might be mentioned that the cooper
ators have the largest flour mills In
the world and one of the largest shoe
factories; that there are 100000 OF
them: that the immense building
around the corner is only one OF
many and not by any means the
largest; that their own bank in the
last quarter did business Of $685.
100000.
1.-THE control of food supplies"
said Williams, should have been
entrusted to board, who have had
experience in cooperation. All the
talk just now is of unity and coord1-
nation, but they don't apply 1t to the
crying need of the food situation.
Such board of control should have
had wide administrative and execu-
tive powers It's sole object for exist
ence should have been to see that all
available foodstuffs were bought at
the most reasonable prices and equ1t-
ably distributed at the most econom1-
cal cost.
"The trouble from which the people
have suffered most during the last
three and a half years has been the
impossibility Of getting Mr.. Lloyd
George and his fantastic caravan OF
assorted antiques to realize the ma
ton is at war Before the food stu
alton grows too serious for salvation
there ought to be bold and perema-
tory demand for the dismissal OF the
present army of incompetents from
the numerous food departments anu
the installation Of capable bodies or
committeeman and managers
where are you going to find all
this talent?" l asked.
well, we've always found 1t.
"You must pay pretty good price
for it."
B. Williams laughed. 1.-THE men,
bers of our board of managers get
Just $4,000 a year each"
How do you keep them?
Most of them have grown up in
the cooperative movement and
thoroughly believe in it. They prefer
the service they are rendering to the