interference with the customer's free choice. Again, plentiful foods against which inexplicable prejudices exist among particular classes (the herring is a notable example) can be gradually brought into favour; and in the same way soup or stew, which after all makes the very best of meals in time of food difficulties, can be popularised to almost any extent. The demand for soups and stews-for anything, in fact, which can be carried in a basin-will be found to be very large; but, if that demand is to be encouraged, it is indispensable that there should be a free choice. Again, the popular taste for fried fish can easily be converted into a taste for boiled fish dishes of all kinds (which the poorer housewife has neither time nor appliances to prepare), if there is no attempt at dictation. The one essential is that the kitchen should be prepared at the outset to supply the dishes to which the people are accustomed. The cut from the joint' and the meat pudding must be on the menu. As favour is obtained and confidence gained, less usual dishes can be gradually added and will find favour.

It may be remarked incidentally that, where a kitchen is established near a large elementary school, a separate department providing cheap and satisfying meals for children will be a desirable adjunct. It is only the very necessitous who are fed by the schools; and the majority bring with them a few coppers to buy the midday meal or return home to such provision as can be left by a mother who has gone out to work.

Although it is not intended that the kitchens shall make a profit, the Food Controller has made it clear that they should, so far as possible, be self-supporting. The sums necessary for establishing the kitchens will be advanced by the local authorities, sanction having been given by the Local Government Board to expenditure for such purpose out of the rates. It is expected that, with proper management, the takings of the kitchens will be sufficient not only to cover the food bills and the wages sheet and to meet establishment and fixed charges, but also to provide a margin for reserve and for the repayment of the cost of equipment, so that the moneys advanced by the local authorities will be recoverable out

of the working of the kitchens. If so, they will indeed justify themselves; but the inverse proposition—that, if a kitchen should not pay its way, it will have failed to justify itself—is not necessarily true; and it should not be enjoined that no kitchen is to be opened unless there is good reason to believe that it will pay its way. Apparently the Food Controller accepts this view; and it is understood that, in order to encourage the establishment of kitchens, authority will be obtained from the Treasury to make substantial grants towards the equipment of public kitchens in approved areas.

As already suggested, the economy in food and fuel and the release of services expected to result from the establishment of kitchens might make a commercial loss consistent with a national gain. The objection that the kitchens, if subsidised, would not be free from the taint of charity,' and that 'false pride' would keep people from patronising them, can hardly carry much force, considering that the food supply is already being subsidised in various ways. Indeed, the question of charity does not arise, unless the use of the kitchens is to be made conditional on proof of poverty, which is not for a moment contemplated. The relation between takings and expenses is an important factor in determining whether a public kitchen should be started or continued ; but it is only a factor, not a final criterion.

It is of interest to note that in Germany all idea of making the kitchens pay their way in a commercial sense has been set aside. The initial cost of establishing public kitchens has usually been borne outright by the municipality, which has made a grant for the purpose Thus the Berlin Town Council voted 100,000l. for the establishment of the Berlin municipal kitchens; and at Düsseldorf the installation of the central kitchens with their annexes cost the local authority 20,000l. The municipalities have also, for the most part, heavily subsidised the kitchens. The figures for Düsseldorf may be quoted. The meals sold at the thirty-two distributing centres numbered last winter about 26,000 daily. The installation of the central kitchens with their annexes cost 19,000l. The working expenses in the first seven months of their existence were 12,000l. The ordinary price of one meal, consisting of nine-tenths of a litre, was 3d.

The total cost of providing such a portion was 44d., of which 4d. represented the cost of food and fd. working expenses. The net loss was therefore 14d. per portion, or 1627. 10s. per day.

A serious objection to the subsidising of public kitchens out of public funds arises out of the fact that the kitchen will come into competition with existing catering establishments. This consideration could hardly be allowed to stand in the way of assistance being given to enable kitchens to be started and run to meet a real public need, but it points to the desirability of taking account beforehand of existing private concerns and providing for some sort of equitable and serviceable coordination between them and the new establishments. It will also be necessary to avoid overlapping or conflict with existing communal kitchens started by voluntary groups, and with canteens attached to industrial establishments and any arrangements that may be in force for the feeding of school children. A good deal of friction and waste will be avoided if, in framing their schemes, local committees will take stock of all catering facilities in the area, consult the proprietors or principals, and agree with them upon a plan whereby all the establishments in the neighbourhood can, as the need arises, be linked up into a comprehensive system.

The responsibility for making a survey of the district to be served, planning the system to be adopted, determining the policy to be followed, securing the right premises, and providing the proper equipment, must rest upon the Food Economy Committees in each area, acting in consultation with the central Public Kitchens department. It will also devolve upon the Food Economy Committee to superintend the running of the kitchens, make provision for the purchasing of supplies, and control the finances. Much will depend upon the ability with which these duties are carried out; but, when all is done, still more will depend upon the person placed in charge of the kitchen and the staff under her. It may be hoped that no committee will fall under the delusion that any well-meaning person can run a public kitchen. It is not true, as experience has amply testified. The successful conduct of a public kitchen demands not only those qualities which make for success in any sphere of

activity, but also a considerable degree of special skill and training. The calculation of quantities, costs, and food values, which is a part of daily routine, calls of itself for rather more than ordinary ability and knowledge. The watching of the markets for the ebb and flow of supplies and the rise and fall of prices, the composition of the menu so as to make full use of the more plentiful foods and at the same time to please customers and provide well-balanced meals, the ordering of the cooking and serving, all require that breadth of judgment and degree of resource which comes only from a specialised training. The number of women possessing these qualifications is unhappily not large, but the domestic science colleges and cookery schools throughout the country are doing a great deal to supply the deficiency, while the kitchens already at work can be and are being used for the training under expert superintendents of women who will become superintendents in turn.

It is particularly necessary that superintendents shall possess, in addition to expert knowledge of cookery and food values, a knowledge of local conditions and requirements, and the virtues of tact and discretion. Any appearance of patronage or dictation will destroy the popularity of the kitchen; and ignorance of local conditions will destroy half its value. The experience and advice of Care Committee workers, and any others well acquainted with the people and their circumstances, should be obtained to the fullest possible extent; and there should be no attempt to institute a uniform system or menu for all localities.

It ought not to be necessary to insist that superintendents, cooks, and helpers should be paid workers, receiving salaries befitting their qualifications, abilities, and services; but many people still harbour the curious belief that any undertaking which can claim to be for the common good can and ought to be run by unpaid or illpaid workers. That idea has spelt the doom of many a promising communal enterprise, and, if it is to creep into the organisation of public kitchens, will lead to failure. Unless an adequate remuneration is offered, the right type of woman will not be obtainable for the more responsible posts, and the supply of such trained women will be cut off at its source. Even as regards the subordinate

positions the practically universal experience of the war period is that voluntary helpers are 'more bother than they are worth.' They do not stick it out,' they do not readily submit to discipline, they are often irregular in attendance, and they are apt to give an impression of condescension and patronage. This is the general experience. There are, of course, splendid exceptions, but a movement of national scope cannot be run on a hope that exceptions will prove the rule. Where in particular cases it is deemed desirable to use voluntary help, it is suggested that such help should be under corporate discipline, such as that afforded by the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.'

Hitherto the great majority of kitchens have opened only for certain hours in the day, usually confining themselves to the provision of the midday meal. In due course some kitchen may find that there is a demand for evening meals, and even for breakfast portions, sufficient to justify their opening at other hours. Very few of those most likely to patronise the public kitchens make a heavy meal in the evening, but there might be a demand at a very early hour-say five or six in the morning-for cold lunches which the workman could take with him to his place of employment. The demand, however, is likely to be modified by the establishment of kitchens in factory districts, or of canteens at the works; and, as a general rule, the midday opening will suffice. It is a matter for judgment and experiment in each case, as is also the question whether the kitchens should open on Sundays. The usual experience is that, while some people buy on the Saturday enough for the Sunday meal, many more prefer to have the Sunday dinner cooked at home, the effect of which is seen in a lessened demand on the Monday, when the residue of the Sunday meal is eaten. The practice of the German and Austrian municipal kitchens is very varied in this respect. The commonest practice appears to be to serve only one meal per day, generally the midday meal; but there are exceptions to the rule. At Vienna the kitchens open at 5.30 and 6 o'clock in the morning to serve breakfasts of coffee and flour soup, and again at noon to serve the midday broth. At one time they were again opened for