BACK FROM AMERICA

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21979, 25 March 1946, Page 3

BACK FROM AMERICA

BRITISH FOOD MINISTER FATS RATION STATEMENT (10 a.m.) LONDON. March 24. The Minister of Food. Sir Ben Smith, who arrived from America by air. said he could not make .a statement about possible cuts in the fats ration until he bad consulted his colleagues. He hoped to make an announcement on the subject next Tuesday. ‘•Tlie Ministry of Food official made an astonishing blunder in warning the British public they must expect imminent cuts in the fats and soap rations, together with a darker loaf of bread,” said the Daily Mail. ‘'The true situation is that the Government is strenuously trying to save the rations, and it is hoped the cuts will not be necessary. "The Ministry of Food official, announcing to the press the proposed cuts, explained that the Government this time was anxious they shouldn’t be a complete surprise to the public. However, he was under the mistaken impression that a provisional assessment of cuts that might be necessary if efforts to improve the situation failed represented the actual decision.”

The Mail adds that the Government ordered urgent inquiries from other sources about fats and will not make a final decision until Sir Ben Smith has reported the result of his Washington mission.

Further cuts in the margarine ration and a still darker loaf of bread may be announced soon, says the agricultural correspondent of the Daily Telegraph. It is expected that the Minister of Food, Sir Ben Smith, will declare on his return from Washington that the food situation has deteriorated and that cuts are unavoidable.

The correspondent’s prediction is substantially supported by agricultural and food correspondents of other newspapers and news agencies. The margarine ration, at present five ounces a fortnight for adults, is expected to be cut by one ounce a week. It is also expected that the soap ration will be cut by one-seventh.