Page:Mr. Punch's history of the Great War, Graves, 1919.djvu/177

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Shortening the Staff of Life


May, 1917.

IN England, once but no longer merry though not downhearted, in this once merry month of May, the question of Food and Food Production now dominates all others. It is the one subject that the House of Commons seems to care about. John Bull, who has invested a mint of money in other lands, realises that it is high time that he put something into his own—in the shape of Corn Bounties. Mr. Prothero, in moving the second reading of the Corn Production Bill, while admitting that he had originally been opposed to State interference with agriculture, showed all the zeal of the convert—to the dismay of the hard-shell Free Traders.

The Food Controller asks us to curtail our consumption of bread by one-fourth. Here, at least, non-combatants have an opportunity of showing themselves to be as good patriots as

Mr. Punch's history of the Great War p177
Mr. Punch's history of the Great War p177

"No, dear, I'm afraid we shan't be at the dance to-night. Poor Herbert has got a touch of allotment feet."

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