New-York tribune., 1918-07-05


terested in food.
There were exactly four items on
the menu of the first luncheon served to
us in England, not counting the coffee.
Those four items were roast lamb (the only
roast lamb we had while abroad, chocolate
pudding, fruit salad and anchovies.
day or so ago I sat at New York
hotel table, gazing a typical American
menu. "What would that menu look like if
we were in England" asked the friend
who was with me.
/ took pencil struck out fully four
fifths of the items and then handed it to
him. Being person of some force of
character, he recovered his pose before it
was necessary to call help.
I have with me the menus from num-
Der of banquets in England. Asking you
to bear in mind that these banquet
menus and not ordinary restaurant meals,
let me pass along idea of what high life
in London is like just now.
At banquet in the House of Commons
given by the Hon. George N. Barnes, men,
Der of Che War Cabinet, this was the entire
menu:
"Huitres natives (nativc oysters), puree
de pois verts (soup), saumon boulli (sal-
mon), concombres (cucumbers), pommes
nouveles (potatoes), fruits, Coffee
There you area good sample of most
Of the banquet board spreads around which
we gathered once and sometimes twice a
day during nearly all OF our time in Brit
aim
The General Federation of Trade Unions
in the House of Commons was able to pro-
vide hors d'euvres, pea soup, grilled cod,
eggs a la Madras, pears, cheese, butter and
coffee. They never did tell where they go.
the butter.
The Corporation of Glasgow, in official
robes and chains (whereat some one re-
marked, "Heavens, look at the avallieres!")
provided soup, boiled salmon with oyster
sauce, boiled turbot, poached eggs, tomatoes
a l'Americaine, apple tartlets, fruit jelly,
cheese and coffee. With sugar and fats
scarce as they are desserts have strange
bevo-lke character that renders them weak
and unnatural.
At the Admiralty House Of Scotland, how
ever, under naval jurisdiction, there was
real meat-aloyau de beuf-and it was
real beef. But naval and army ratons are
not like civilian rations.
At another official luncheon there was
this array OF food Hors d'nuvres, soup,
grilled turbot, eggs Chantily, sea kale, po-
tatoes, pudding. relish and coffee
dinner in Edinburgh found us partaking
of hors dGuvres, soup, salmon, potatoes,
cucumbers, a cereal dish of some kind,
eggs, pudding and coffee.
SO they went-one merry round Of soup,
fish and eggs. Always a little bread, now
and then some butter, and, later on, the
meagre meat allowance provided for by the
civilian meat ration card when we dined at
our own hotel
What all this means is that normal living
standards are upset completely in Britain
You cannot live as you are used to living
no matter how simply you have lived Va
rlety is impossible. There are just fcw
things to be had. There is enough to eat
just enough, and no lnore-of such kinds Of
food as are available. But it is not invit-
ing to contemplate eating enough of certain
unaccustomed staples over a period OF
months, with never chance at the food
you've been used to having.
In setting forth these samples of banquet
menus have desire only to show Brit
aims limitations. Her desires to be hos
pitable without limit Her spirit is
prodgal. But her food is short and that,
all there is to It,
Yes, food is an interesting subiect-yhen
the food is absent
| pass this along as the simple stqw of