Official Action To Stop Queues

From the Sunday Pictorial, 23rd December 1917.

OFFICIAL ACTION TO STOP QUEUES.

Margarine Taken Over in London and Country.

SHARING THE STOCKS.

Lines of Waiting People at Meat Shops.

New steps to improve the general food situation were announced yesterday, while both in London and in the country firm action to stop shop queues was taken under Lord Rhondda's commandeering order.  The text was issued last night of the Food Controller's Order conferring upon [local] Food Control Committees powers to enforce schemes for controlling the distribution and consumption of any article of food in their areas, and thus to prevent queues.  This provides for the registration of retailers and customers, the limitation of customers dealt with by any retailer and the prohibition of sales in quantities larger than those fixed by the Food Control Committees.

Card rationing schemes, which will come under this order, have already been decided upon at Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, Northwich and Brentford.

Reports of vanishing queues yesterday were as follow:—
London.—Surplus margarine and butter in multiple shops were taken away and distributed to retailers by the Food Committees in the following districts:—Camberwell, Holborn, Wandsworth, Putney, Clapham, Balham and Tooting. At Lambeth, Islington, Lewisham, Southwark and Shoreditch inspectors were sent out to take a list of all stocksm

TAKEN AWAY IN BARROWS.

"We had a great time this morning," said Mr. G. H. Meakin, the Islington executive officer.  "I had my inspectors out at a quarter to nine, and every multiple shop was visited.
"In three cases we transferred supplies to other shops.  We loaded up the margarine on barrows and wheeled it through the street.
"The result was that all the queues were broken up and the people were able to obtain what they wanted with very little delay."
The real remedy for queues was adopted by the Hornsey Food Control Committee last night, which approved a rationing scheme for butter and margarine, lard and meat.

Stoke-on-Trent. —The Food Control Committee commandeered about five tons of margarine from a company.  Part of the stock was in the company's shop and part on the railway.  The margarine was distributed to retailers.

Hull. —The Food Control Committee met the chief wholesale butter and margarine merchants and requisitioned large supplies, which were distributed later among the smaller shops.

WORKERS' FOOD MARCH.

1,500 Leave Work to Protest Against Queues—Waiting at Dawn.

Towns where the queue evil was not relieved were—
Nottingham.—Great queues gathered at provision shops.  Supplies of butter and margarine were inadequate, and many shops closed after limited trading.

Leigh (Lancs).—Some 1,500 workers yesterday ceased work and marched to the town hall in protest against food queues.  The mayor promised to summon the Food Committee on Monday with a view to securing improved distribution.

Sheffield.—The streets yesterday were obstructed with butter, margarine and tea queues.  Long before dawn crowds had assembled waiting for shops to open.

Northwich. —Dense crowds waited for hours to buy margarine.  Several people fainted.

In London queues formed outside several butchers' shops for the first time.
More than one child fell out of the queues through exhaustion.