220 



NATURE 



[October 21, 1915 



of all kinds of feeding-stuffs for animals. Many kinds 

 of food-stuffs were at once included, and later addi- 

 tions were made, so that for a long time past nearly 

 all kinds of food have been included, though in some 

 cases the prohibition does not apply to the British 

 Empire or to our Allies. The exportation of ferti- 

 lisers, agricultural seeds, binder twine, and certain 

 other commodities more or less directly connected with 

 the conservation of our food supplies, was also pro- 

 hibited, so that generally it may be said that the 

 outlet for any food in the country was under effective 

 control. This is not the time or place to discuss the 

 reasons why in some instances limited quantities of 

 certain articles were allowed to escape under licence. 

 It is only necessary to remark that in all such cases 

 there were cogent reasons in the national interest for 

 the action taken. 



Direct Government intervention in regard to food 

 supplies was limited to three commodities — sugar, 

 meat, and wheat. In the case of sugar the whole 

 business of supply was taken over by the Government 

 — a huge undertaking, but administratively a com- 

 paratively simple one, owing to the fact that there are 

 no home-grown supplies. Intervention in the meat 

 trade was necessitated by the fact that the enormous 

 demands of the Allied armies had to be met by drafts 

 upon one particular kind of meat and mainly from 

 one particular source. The Board of Trade co- 

 operated with the War Office, and a scheme was 

 evolved whereby a very large part of the output of 

 meat from South America and Australia comes under 

 Government control. 



As regards wheat, the intervention of the Government 

 took two forms. The scheme whereby the importa- 

 tion of wheat from India was undertaken by the 

 British Government, in co-operation with the Indian 

 Government, arose primarily from conditions in India 

 rather than from conditions in the United Kingdom, 

 although it is hoped and believed that the results will 

 prove to be mutually advantageous. Other than this 

 the intervention of the Government in regard to wheat 

 was devised as an insurance against the risk of inter- 

 ruption of normal supplies, its main object being to 

 prevent the stocks of wheat in the country from falling 

 to a dangerous level at a time when the home crop 

 would be practically exhausted. When the home crop 

 is just harvested there are ample reserves in the 

 country for some months, and, as the United States 

 and Canada are at the same time selling freely, stocks 

 held by the trade are usually high. While home- 

 grown wheat remains on the farms it is practically 

 an additional reserve supplementary to the commer- 

 cial reserves. When it leaves the farmer's hands, 

 even although it may not actually go into consump- 

 tion, it JDecomes part of the commercial reserve. This 

 reserve in the nature of business tends to be constant, 

 but fluctuates within rather wide limits under the 

 influence of market conditions. If the price of wheat 

 rises substantially and the capital represented bv a 

 given quantity increases, there is a natural tendencv 

 to reduce stocks. If also there is any indication of a 

 falling market ahead, whether from favourable crop 

 prospects or the release of supplies now held off the 

 m.arket for any reason, a prudent trader reduces his 

 stocks to the smallest quantity on which he can keep 

 his business running. So long as shipments reach 

 this country, as in normal times thev do, with, as a 

 member of the Baltic once expressed it to me, " the 

 regularity of 'buses running down Cheapside," the 

 country may safely rely on receiving its daily bread 

 automatically. But if any interruption occurred at a 

 time when the trade, for the reasons just indicated, 

 happened to be running on low stocks, the margin 

 for contingencies might be insufficient. I am, of 

 NO. 2399, VOL. 96] 



1913-14 incr»ase + 



Thousands or Decrease - 



ofcwt. percent. 



course, debarred from discussing the method adopted 

 or the manner in which the scheme was carried out, 

 but, as the cereal year for which it was devised is 

 over, it is permissible to state that the object in view 

 was successfully achieved. 



Of the 47,000,000 people who form the population 

 of the United Kingdom the large majority are abso- 

 lutely dependent for their daily food on the organisa- 

 tion and regular distribution of supplies. The country- 

 man, even if he possesses no more than a pig and a 

 garden, might exist for a short time, but the town- 

 dweller would speedily starve if the organisation of 

 supplies broke down. He does not, perhaps, suffi- 

 ciently realise the intricacy of the commercial arrange- 

 ments which make up that organisation, or the 

 obstacles which arise when the whole economic basis 

 of the community is disturbed by a cataclysm such as 

 that which came upon us thirteen months ago. The 

 sorry catchword, "Business as usual," must have 

 sounded very ironically in the ears of many business 

 men confronted with unforeseen and unprecedented 

 difficulties on every side. The indomitable spirit with 

 which they were met, the energy and determination 

 with which they were overcome, afford further evidence 

 of that which has been so gloriously demonstrated 

 on land and sea, that the traditional courage and 

 grit of the British race have not been lost. 



To the question how have our oversea food supplies 

 been maintained during the first year of the war, the 

 best answer can be given in figures. 



Imports of the principal kinds of food during the 

 first twelve months of the war were as under, the 

 figures for the corresponding period of 1913-14 being 

 shown for comparison : — 



1914-15 



Thoiisands 

 of cwt. 



Wheat (including 



flour) 113.797 115.398 - 1-39 



Meat 15,868 18,026 -11-97 



Bacon and hams... 7»452 5»975 +2472 



Cheese 2,766 2,386 +15-93 



Butter (including 



margarine) ... 5,376 ' 5,748 - 647 



Fruit 18,830 17.512 + 7-53 



Rice 9.573 4.840 +9779 



Sugar 35.029 38,356 - 8-67 



In total weight of these food-stuffs, the quantity 

 brought to our shores was rather larger in time of 

 war than in time of peace. Yet one still occasionally 

 meets a purblind pessimist who plaintively asks what 

 the Navy is doing. This is a part of the answer. 

 It is also a measure of the success of the much- 

 advertised German "blockade" for the starvation of 

 England. So absolute a triumph of sea-power in the 

 first year of war would have been treated as a wild 

 dream by the most confirmed optimist two years ago. 

 The debt which the nation owes to our sailor-men is 

 already immeasurable. That before the enemy is 

 crushed the debt will be increased we may be assured. 

 The crisis of our fate has not yet passed, and we may 

 be called upon to meet worse trials than have yet 

 befallen us. But in the Navy is our sure and certain 

 hope. 



"That which they have done is but earnest of the 

 things that they shall do." 



Under the protection of that silent shield the land 

 may yield its Increase untrodden by the invading foot, 

 the trader may pursue his business undismayed by the 

 threats of a thwarted foe, and the nation may rely 

 that, while common prudence enjoins strict economy 

 in husbanding our resources, sufficient supplies of 

 food will be forthcoming for all the reasonable needs 

 of the people. 



