15 FEBRUARY 1946, Page 4

For every bane there is said to exist an antidote,

and it is a curious coincidence that, just as Sir Stafford Cripps was explaining a few days ago that towels could not be supplied without coupons because if they were hotels would get them all, someone was writing to The Times to make the admirable suggestion that half-a-dozen spare coupons in one ration-book for each family (presumably the clothing- book) should be stamped D—for Domestic—to enable a housewife to buy at least one towel and one or two kitchen-cloths. This would at least be better than nothing, and it seems to meet completely Sir Stafford's difficulty about hotels. Hotels, in any case, have solved their troubles by making their guests bring towels with them.