SOLDIERS' RATIONS AND THE FOOD SHORTAGE. (To ins Eorroa or
me "SPECTATOR.")
Ste,—I am surrounded here by troops, and consequently find it impossible to convince any village neighbours of the necessity for eonforming to the new scale of rations laid down for civilians. The villagers are of coarse well acquainted with the scale of Army rations, and cannot understand why they should eat so much less than soldiers. It might be possible to convince them that men at the front, or men undergoing hard training for the front, may require more food than they do; but it is quite impossible to con- vince agricultural labourers, or, it seems to me, any one else, that the great mass of soldiers in this country, who, compared with the bulk of the civilian population, are not doing hard work, should require fourteen ounces of meat daily, while two pounds weekly is considered an adequate ration for any civilian, however lard his work. Again, every facility and encouragement is given no soldiers to supplement their rations at buffets, Army canteens, Y.M.C.A. huts, de., de. This hardly seems logical, and all helps to make the civilian population doubtful as to the reality of a food
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