The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-07-03

put England and most of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain on rations and
won the gratitude even OF the people
whose food supply he regulated. Before
achieved the task it was generally re-
garded as all but impossible.
Food was running short in the Unit
ed Kingdom in June, 1917, when the
Baron Rhondda was appointed food con
troller of Great Britain. The German
U-boats were sending ships to the bot
tom of the ocean and Great Britain was
supporting tremendous army in France.
The civilians at home were beginning to
feel the pinch. Long queues of men,
women and children stood for hours at
the food stores in scores of British cit
les and there was loud grumble from
the public.
The man who as David A. Thomas had
been managing director Of the great
Cambrian coal combine, apparently m-
dertook his task with many misgivings
81 have suspicion" he told his Welsh
friends, shat Lloyd George conscripted
me for this almost impossible job be-
cause he knew / had the hide of a
rhnoceros.
II am going there" he added, "as
guardian and trustee Of the consumer
and particularly the poor consumer" He
declared that he was determined to stop
profteering and speculation in food.
"If it is necessary to put the whole
country on compulsory rations I will do
it without conjunction" he gave warn
ing. Then followed series of orders
and regulations that year or two be-
fore would have reused the Briton to
wrath. The new food controller took
over control of all the crops for 1917
and within few months announced the
formation OF an inter-a food council
to purchase in the United, States food
supplies for Great Britain, France and
Italy in cooperation with Herbert Hooy-
er, the American food administrator. The
purpose was TO eliminate competition
and stop speculative advances in the
prices of food.
By fixing the prices, he put into effect
policy Of controlling the profits of food
dealers from the producer down to the
retailer.
Transportation in America was snow
bound for weeks during the winter of
1917 and America failed to deliver to
England the food she had promised.
Rhondda met the crisis by fixing the
amount of food to be served every per
son in hotels, restaurants and boarding
houses down to the minute fraction. II
carried England over the crisis and re.
suited in his elevation to viscount.
But the new viscount seemed to have
fallen victim Of over devotion to his
own theories. He had boosted that he
was living on a far smaller ration than
he had imposed upon the British pub
lie but in April, 1918, suffered a physical
collapse that was attributed to his short
ration regimen.
The queues had disappeared from the
British food stores. Prices were es.
tabished and, while stories Of the suf-
ferings of Germany and Austria leaked
past the censors, the Briton smiled and
boosted of what Rhondda had accom-
plished for him. There was food enough
and each obtained his share; the coal
king had won the fight and the applause
of his countrymen.
Before undertaking that task, Rhond-
da had in 1915 organized the British
munitions buying in the United States
and Canada and put it on business
basis.
Born at Adare, Wales, March 26, 1856,
David A Thomas was the son of a col.
lier owner. Succeeding to his fathers
business, he became head of the great
Cambrian combine which controlled
many mines producing steam coal used
by the British navy He was elected to
Parliament from Cardiff and twice re-
fused to be made peer. Long before
he began to figure in public life he was
widely known in America as the British
Coal King" His favorite recreation was
in farming.
In 1882 he married Sybil Haig of Pen
ithon and they had one daughter.