NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16119, 25 January 1918, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

! « THE FOOD SMUGGLERS OF VIENNA. The present distracted position in | Austria-Hungary is somewhat complicated by the fact that while both countries are resentful against Germany, Hungary has a violent grievance against Austria, on account of what are termed the "locusts," or "eating tourists," who swarm from Vienna into Hungary, and increase the food shortage there. A correspondent of the "Daily Chronicle," who was recently in Hungary, asserts that these tourists work in two ways. "One ivay is to come in great crowds, 'like locusts,' and settle down upon every hotel and restaurant, devouring ail they can lay hands upon, sometimes staying for a day or a weekend. and at other times taking apartments and staying for a considerable period. The second way is to. buy up and carry away great quantities of foodstuffs. "As the export of food has been severely restricted of late, the Vienna visitors have developed quite an elaborate system of smuggling. Some of the dodges of these amateur smugglers are amusing. The authorities now havo quite a largo collection of confiscated double-bottomed boxes, trunks, aud portmanteaux, in the' secret recesses of wliieh a. considerable quantity of lard, butter, honey, jam, fruit, or green vegetables havo'been, smuggled out from the country. At a time when lard was very scarco milk was fairly plentiful, so lard was melted and poured into large milk-cans, and when it was set a small quantity of milk was poured over it just to cover tho lard, so thafc the officials should not see it.

"The high crowns of ladies' hats turned out to be hollow cardboard boxes containing eggs. Several times babies in arms were carried most carefully and lovingly while the 'mothers' passed the officials, the littlo heads daintily covered witli lace veils in order to conceal the fact that tho head was only that of a large wax doll, while the long clothes covered a hare, a leg of mutton, a plucked and trussed goose or duck, etc." THE EATING TOURISTS. Of the "locusts" or eating tourists, tho burgomaster of the town of Pozsony told a newspaper correspondent that some of them rushed down from Vienna by tho electric tram, ate a substantial meal, enough for a whole day, and then rushed back again. Pozsony is only a short journey from Vienna, with which it is connected by an electric tramway. Still more persistent aro those who took rooms for a month or two simply with the aim of eating more heartily than they could in A 7 ienna, where food was bad and scarce. The burgomaster ordered those who desired-to make a stay in the town to bring their own provisions. The number of visitors diminished at once. Then it had to bo ordered that coffee, milk, and tea should only bo served at certain hours, because many of the Viennese families used to migrate from ono cafe to another, making as many as four breakfasts, after which they would begin a systematic raid on the luncheon places. This meant that the Hungarians, when they went to the restaurants and cafes in _ the evening, found that there was nothing to be had, tlio Austrian invaders having clcared off all the provisions. Even Budapest suffered from the evil, and had to expel both Germans, and Austrians from its midst. FURTHER BRITISH FOOD RESTRICTIONS. The issue of two more food regulations at Homo, affecting meals in hotels, restaurants, and teashops, is mentioned in to-day's cables. There aTo now to be two meatless days each week, and no milk is to be served except for consumption with tea, coffee, or cocoa. These regulations indicate that tne anticipations of an increased scarcity of meat and milk in January and February have been realised. The Metropolitan Dairymen's Societv, early in December, appealed to the adult public, in view of the prior claims of children, invalids, and wounded soldiers, voluntarily to forego the use of milk to the utmost extent for tho ensuing five months, especially in this month and the next. The primary cause of the diminished milk

supply is said to have been the slaughter of milch cows for butcher's meat, but the immediate cause of the existing shortage, said a director of one of the big dairy companies, was that the cows were suffering from the inclement weather, and were also in poor condition owing to the failure of their food,, caused by the bad hay harvest of a wet summer. "In other years."' lie added, "the dairies have relied on the surplus milk from the months of May, June, and •July, transformed into milk powder, condensed milk, preserved cream and cheese, to make up for the deficiency cf the winter months. This year we have no milk in reserve, and we have a demand for every drop we can get." Incidentally, the Irish Agricultural Department has prohibited the export of milch cows from Ireland. Also, the Torquay Food Control Committee. in a laudably self-sacrificing spirit, have come to the conclusion that Devonshire clotted cream is a luxury fas it undoubtedly is), and have advised the Food Controller to restrict its nianufactiuo. VOLUNTARY AND COMPULSORY RATIONING. A somewhat curious position exists just new cit Uoroo. Lord Khondda, the j«'ood Controller, if not actually m favour of compulsory rationing all round, is convinced that it will beneces.sary. He lias been so sure of. it that months ago he bad the whole scheme worked out, readv to be put into practice. Sir Arthur *Yapp,_ Lord Rhondda's chief lientenant, pins liis faith to voluntary rationing, and has so far had hi 3 way. so far as meals in private houses are concerned —Lord Rhondda is compulsorilv rationing all public places of eating. Sir Arthur Yanp is convinced that compulsory rationing will be a thoroughly bad thing for the country if it has to come. During a recent conference he pointed out that any general system of food tickets would Involvo a grave disturbance of labour by the creation of an immense army of officials. (In Munich alone there are 700 food control officials and 1€() different kinds of tickets are in

\ise.) Do nothing to cure shortages due to difficulties of transport. Lead to more instead of fewer "> oc * queues, with a "back door' to every queue. Favour the rich as against the poor, unless all foods were rationed —a prodigious task. He also, on another occasion, quoted as an argument against compulsory rationing tho fact tliat in Berlin no fewer than six million food tickets were forged.

THE LATEST RATIONS. Sir Arthur's new scale of voluntary jjitibniug,- announced on November 12th, may be of interest to New Zea-landei-ji. The following are quantities j.ei' head per week: — Bread —r'or men on heavy industrial work, or agricultural work, 81b; men en ordinary industrial or other manual work, 71b; men unoccupied, or on sedentary work, 4J-lb. _ For women in tho three classes mentioned the quantities would be olb, 41b, and 3.J-lb. Cereals, other than bread, 12oz; meat, 21b; butter, jnargarine, lard, oils, and fats, lOoz; sugar, Boz. For children from 13 to 18 years of age, the bread allowance was olb weekly, other cereals lOoz, the other foods being the same as in the scale for adults, younger children receiving proportionately smaller quantities. A pint and a half of milk lias been allowed to each child daily. The "bread" rations include all flour, whether used for bread or for cooking. Flour may be taken instead of bread at the rate of Jib of flour for every j>ound of bread. The "other cereal" rations include oatmeal, rice, tapioca, sago, barloy meal, cornflour, maize meal, dried peas, beans and lentils, and all cereal products except bread and flour. If the full bread ration is not, used, the amount saved can be taken in other cereals at the rate of Jib of cereals for every pound of bread saved. The "meat" rations include the average amount of bone, which ma; bo taken as one-quarter of tho weight of the actual meat. Any parts of meat (such as rump steak, bacon, or suet) which are bought without bone, must count for one-quarter more than their actual weight. On the other hand, any bono in excess of a quarter of the actual meat bought may be deducted. Poultry and rabbits may bo counted at half their actual weight. The meat rations includc suet.

Sir Arthur Yapp pointed out that the new rations were far more satisfactory than those of the Germans. The- weekly German rations were:— Broad (nothing like so palatable as ours), 41b to 61b; other cereals, 8 l-3rd oz; meat (including bono), 8 4-sth oz; butter, margarine, and other fats, 3oz to 5 2-3 rd oz; sugar, 6oz. No" milk was available except for children, no meal, tea or coffee, and very little cocoa. X There is, no doubt, a good deal of evasion of these voluntary restrictions at Home, but, on the other band, there is an enormous number of people who honestly do their best to abide by them, remembering that by so doing they are freeing shins for the transport of American troops to France, where they are so urgently needed.