Trusts J H Rationing

TRUSTS. (J. H.) RATIONING, a term of military origin, indicating the ap portionment to each member of a population or of an army of his due share of the available supplies. As usually understood, the process of "rationing" is associated with the distribution of commodities in a time of shortage.

A complete and effective system of rationing involved the con trol of commodities at every stage from the source of supply to the consumer. Rationing proved to be a twofold problem, posi tive in the securing and conserving of supplies, negative in the prevention of injustice, waste and fraud. The consumer saw only a small part of a complex and far-reaching organization. The economic order of the operations is: (I) Supply; (2) distribution to localities; (3) distribution to consumers or rationing.

During the World War two distinct rationing plans were evolved, by Germany and Great Britain respectively. Other coun tries adopted one or other of these schemes, with more or less modification.

The Central European Systems.

In September, 1914, the general commanding in Brandenburg assumed control of all cere als, and, before the end of the year, bread cards had appeared in many German cities. By the early days of 1915, all bread cereals in Germany were under official management. The method adopted to deal with supplies and distribution gives the keynote for all the Central European efforts at rationing. The control of bread was quickly followed by that of practically every article of daily consumption. The German scheme was based on the local con trol of consumption, and this reposed on a supply in the main nationally controlled. Distribution and control were largely con ditioned by the existing machinery of local government, with its regular gradation from the Reich to the Commune.

Taking the control of bread cereals as an example, the system may be thus described : The consumer was provided with a card, with dated and numbered sections, and the appropriate section was cancelled by the retailer or official distributor when the ration allotted by the local authority (Kommunalverband) was pur chased. Card sections were only valid as dated and numbered.

This was to prevent fraud and sudden fluctuations in demand.

Bona fide travellers used special cards. Supplies were allotted to Kommunalverbiinde on the basis of the amounts available and the number of "men" to be fed. Manual workers received slightly more than a "man's" ration, and women and children less. The Kommunalverband got its supplies either from local producers, or from the authorities of the Kreis. These again indented on the next highest authority, and, step by step, the requisitions went on till they reached the central authority of all. This was a com pany formed, partly of business representatives, partly of Gov ernment nominees, and capitalized partly by subscription and partly by Government funds. Beyond this central company, which controlled only the supplies of its own particular group of prod ucts, was the Imperial Food Bureau, with corresponding minis tries in most of the Federal States.

The country's supplies were thus centralized, and the require ments of the various subordinate authorities were met in that degree which the national or local food policy made possible.

The central empires had to rely for their food supplies almost exclusively on home production. They had, therefore, to face the problem of obtaining the articles to be distributed from the actual producers. A special ration was allowed to "self-suppliers" (Selbstversorger), which, although small, was generally greater in amount than that allowed to other people. This was inevitably accompanied by evasion of regulations. If the self-supplier could conceal part of his output he could retain more than his official "ration," and this he usually succeeded in doing. As official rations dwindled, the practice of concealing output increased, and an extensive illicit trade (Schleich-handel) came into being. The activities of this trade completely upset the calculations of the German and Austrian food controllers, and by the middle of 1917 the rationing authorities themselves were obliged to have recourse to this efficient and wide-spread organization. The German plan for rationing food was beginning to break down.