Kovembcr 
igi6 
LAND & WATER 
LAND & WATER 
OLD SERJEANTS' INN, LONDON, W.C. 
Telephone HOLBORN 2828. 
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23. 1916 
CONTENTS 
PAGI 
The Old and the New Hammer. By Louis Raemaekers i 
The Munitions of Life. (Leader) ;, 
Monastir. By Hilaire Bclloc 4 
The Gentle Inquisitors. By Arthur Pollen 10 
Living Wage for Land Workers. By C. Turnor 12 
An Historical Parallel. By Colonel Feyler 13 
La Brabancjonnc (1916). (A Poem). By Emilc 
Cammaerts 14 
Books to Read. By Lucian Oldershaw 15 
Among British Crags. By \\'illiam T. Palmer 16 
The Golden Triangle. Bv Maurice Leblanc 17 
Work of the Y.M.CA. By the Editor 24 
The West End 26 
Town and Country xvi 
Kit and Equipment j xix 
THE MUNITIONS OF LIfE 
No more useful debate has taken place in the 
House of Commons since the war began than 
that on the Food Supply Problem. It is a 
problem within the intelligence of every citizen 
male and female of the British Isles, and it is one in 
which each one is personally concerned and can help to 
solve. Mr. \\'inston Churchill delivered an excellent 
speech on this occasion, and his criticisms were to ,the 
point, being sharpened by his previous Cabinet ex- 
periences. Nor can fault rightly be found with them on 
this score. If we remember correctly, it was thie American 
Autocrat of the Breakfast-table who advised : "Be 
not consistent, simply be true " ; it is good advice at this 
time, not only for statesmen and politicians, but for the 
man in the street and the woman in the home, Avhen cir- 
cumstances change rapidly and adaptatipn is demanded of 
everyone. No matter what in days of peace we advo- 
cated, we have all to be true to the single purpose of 
winning the war, and to use Mr. Churchill's tine phrase, 
" we should have a great organisation for producing the 
munitions of life, just as we had a great organisation for 
preparing the munitions of death." This organisation 
must embrace the whole nation ; every Individual must 
be a willing member of it. 
The war has jolted us roughly out of the ruts of peace 
and perhaps it was just as well for the British race that 
it came when it did. We had grown lazy and had become 
so accustomed to cheap food, easily obtained by purchase, 
without thought or care where or how it was produced, 
that we had allowed our nati\'e resources to fall into 
neglect. Now we are forced to study the question of 
food supplies ; we are compelled to realise that the home 
land is only partially tilled because agriculture has been 
unorganised and the urban population has declined to 
pay a rational price for home products, and under prac- 
tically every roof tree in the country the cooking and 
preparing of meals has to be considered attentively and 
intelligently, in a manner hitherto foreign to England, 
but which is second nature on the Continent, where 
cheaj) food, in the sense we understand the phrase, has 
never existed. All this is to tlie good, because for a 
nation to survive even in the ordinary struggle for 
existence, apart from the .stress of war, these questions, 
sooner or later, wimld ha\e had to he taken seriously into 
account, for a ijcopie, hke an individual, cannot subsist 
for an indehnite period on its caj)ital in the way we have 
been doing in the past. 
A result of the munitions of life being a matter of 
concern equally to all is that every nmn regards himself 
competent to settle the question olfhand, and an almost 
unanimous desire is prevalent " to compovmd for sins wc 
are inclined to by damning those we have no mind to," 
in the matter of meat and drink. The President of the 
Board of Trade has not been given the credit rightly 
due to him for foresight and capability in the management 
of a difficult problem. The rise in the price of wheat, as 
Mr. Runciman pointed out, is due not to submarines, but 
to failure of crops in the United States and to the neces- 
sity of bringing our supplies from the Antipodes which, 
owing to the longer voyage, requires three times the 
number of vessels. A h'ood Dictator is now absolutely 
necessary. The task before him will be no sinecure, for 
the problem is an exceedingly complicated one, and in 
many directions it is easier to do more harm than good 
by ill-advised or hasty action. A man is required of 
outstanding capacities. We welcome the suggestion 
that the first Minister of Munitions should undertake 
the creation of this equally important new organisation. 
Mr. Lloyd George has not only driving force, but that 
high gift of eloquence and lucid exposition which would 
be invaluable in this most responsible post. 
The world in modern times has in a manner of speaking 
shrunk so small that the tables of Britain are to-day 
more dependent on the markets of the Antipodes and of 
the Western States or Southern Republics of America 
than they were a century ago on the markets of a distant 
shire within these islands. Much, too, has to be taught 
and explained about food management in the home The 
waste arising through ignorance in private houses of all 
classes of the community is deplorable. County Councils 
had begun to bestir themselves to enlighten this darkness 
before the war, but small progress had been made. Now 
is the time to advance. Practical education is already in 
operation in the canteens of Munition Works, where 
meals are being served of a quality and price which are 
almost inconceivable under former methods. 'There is 
no reason why such meals should not be the rule in 
every home ; they are simple and palatable and are 
based on an accurate knowledge of nutrient values. It 
is folly to suppose the poorer classes deliberately prefer 
an extravagant and uneconomical style of living. Only 
they must be honestly convinced that a newer way is 
really better, pleasanter and cheaper. For generations 
they have been given sentimental suggestions and foolish 
advice, so it is onlj' human nature they should regard 
with suspicion any further attempts to interfere in their 
kitchens. At the beginning of the war lectures were 
arranged on this \-ery subject of food preparation which 
were brought to an abrupt ending by the nonsense 
that was talked on the platforms. 
The organisation of the munitions of Hfe has a deeper 
significance than domestic and local changes. It is new 
testimony for the German High Command that there 
exists no custom, habit or prejudice in these islands which 
the people are not prepared to scrap, directly they are 
told by the Government it is necessary in the cause 
of victory. We are out to win the war, and in the popular 
mind everything else is of secondary importance. So 
far from resenting a Food Dictator, whose duties must 
necessarily conflict with British preconceived ideas of 
personal liberty, his appointment has been welcomed, 
and a readiness to meet proposals half way is manifest 
on all sides. On the Somme Germany has learnt what 
this country is capable of, once it bestirs itself in organis- 
ing munitions of destruction, and before the winter is 
over she will have been taught that the same powers of 
organisation will be equally effective over the munitions 
of life. The secret of success in both instances is that 
the inseparable toil, trouble and discomfort are inider- 
taken in a willing spirit ; the people have only to be 
told what is expected of them in order to fall into line. 
