Evening star., 1939-10-31
Rationing Of Food
Expected 10 Begin
Soon in Britain
Care Taken Against
Shortage in One Area and
OversuppIy in Another
By H. ]. ]. SARGENT.

LONDON, Oct. 81 CN.A.N A).-
Now that the work of national reg
istration has been completed, the
process of getting ready the issue
Of ration cards to every man, woman
and child in this country is being
pushed with all speed. but it is not
expected that rationing will start
until next month at date not yet
fixed
Some delay in completing the ra-
tioning machinery has been occa-
stoned by the sloWness of the returns
in some districts of the registration
papers distributed to householders.
1t is obvious that, before the whole
work of enumeration was finished
1t would have been impossible to
distribute ration cards. as that
would have meant the beginning of
rationing in one section of the
country and not in another.
Before the actual rationing orders
are issued the food ministry will
have to undertake the big job of
sharing the supply of commodities
among the different sections of
Britain so as to make sure that
there should be no shortage in one
area and a glut of provisions in
another.
Cost Of Living Rises.
Meanwhile. as was to be expected,
a rise in the cost of living has
taken place since the outbreak Of
the war. The actual cost of living
index figure is 10 per cent over
what it was at the end of August,
while the food index figure alone is
per cent up. The most striking
rise has been in such things as
granulated sugar, where the cost
has gone up At per cent, and fish,
which has risen % per cent. Meat
shows a relatively small increase
ranging from per cent for beef to
10 per cent for sueaky bacon.
Serious attention is being given
to the improvement of the coun-
trys fish supply, which is admit
tedly much below the average. This
we are told is due in no way to
enemy action but has been caused
by the chartering by the admiralty
of many fishing vessels for service
with the fleet and by the closing
OF many sea areas to traWlers. The
North Sea, with its mine fields, is
scarcely a healthy place in which
to traWl for fish nowadays.
Frozen Fish Plans Made.
Plans are being elaborated for
greatly increasing the supply of
frozen fish in England. This fish
comes mostly from Icelandic wa
ters. British trawlers go to those
northern regions for catches which
are filleted and frozen before they
are brought to England.
Taking the situation all in all,
the British citizen can afford to
consider the coming rationing of his
food with eQuanimity. There is no
reason to think that there will be
any serious shortage of any COM
modify unless shipping conditions
should take turn for the worse,
which is not anticipated. The re-
cent statement by winston Church
i'll, first lord Of the admiralty,
that the British mercantile marine
remains practically unaffected by
the U-boat warfare would seem to
bear out this view. Churchill. it
will be recalled, said the British had
2l,000000 tons of shipping. of which
l74.000 tons had been lost by enemy
action, but that since the war the
British had captured 10000 tons of
enemy shipping and had put afoat
100000 tons of new shipping.
There may be small increase in
the price of bread, owing to the
higher cost of flour and the increase
In the wages in the bakery trade,
but so far as can be seen at pres
ent this should not amount to a
great deal.