On inquiry at the Albert Hall (recently taken over as offices by the
Literature Control Committee), our representative was emphatically
assured that, should the system of voluntary romance-rationing prove
unsatisfactory, some form of compulsion will become inevitable. It was
pointed out that the indicated maximum of one novel or magazine per
head weekly is amply sufficient for all reasonable requirements. The
attention of the public is further called to the need of making the
fullest and most economical use of the allowance, and not wasting
the advertisement pages, which contain much readable and stimulating
matter, the patent medicine paragraphs especially being rich in the
finest imaginative fiction.
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE NEED OF MEN.
MR. PUNCH (_to the Comber-out_). "MORE POWER TO YOUR ELBOW, SIR. BUT
WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO FILL UP THAT SILLY GAP?"