Exchange Article

Malnutrition in Great Britain

In a Health Survey Report which is now famous, Sir John Boyd Orr revealed that in Great Britain before the war there were 4½ million people whose diet was grossly deficient in Every Constituent: 9 million others who lacked All the necessary vitamins and minerals: and 9 million more lacking some of the protective elements: in all, 22½ million people living on less than the Minimum standard of nutrition necessary for mere health, let alone full efficiency—and that this appalling malnutrition was due not to ignorance, nor scarcity, but to poverty.

Furthermore the facts are that in the year ending September, 1934, recruits to the number of 80,203 offered themselves to the army for enlistment. Of these men 54,639—that is over 50%—were rejected as unfit, chiefly on medical grounds. Yet, England before the war, literally condemned to death 30.000 people in order to save £54,000,000 of its annual government expenditure on food relief; and soon afterwards the Government was preparing to spend £1,500,000,000 in three years on armaments.

To come nearer home we find the following report from Australia: "30% of applicants for the Australian Interim Army have been rejected on medical and other grounds," the Army Minister (Mr. Forde) said. "General response in all states is good, but the percentage of those who do not measure up to the medical standard set is high."

These facts were obtained from "Honi Soit," the paper of Sydney University, In the same paper we find on another page a report from the Liberal Club (the Liberals being the Conservative Party of Australia) who had just had a discussion on "Communism in theory and practice." Beneath is quoted one paragraph from a Mr. Snashall's speech which was directed at Communism. "The speaker conceded only that the average Russian worker earns enough to keep his family and himself in health, and little else."

It seems therefore that the Russian worker is far better off than his English or Australian counterpart as he at least is in a position to keep himself and his family in health.