-2- 5. Having considered the matter and bearing in mind that carefully the basic ration has remained unchanged since the outbreak of war, I recommend that it should be reduced by 50% for the month of August. A cut for July would not, I think, be advisable since it would be felt as a grievance by those whose supplementary allowances have been cut for this month. The cut proposed would be repeated at least once a quarter, and no guarantee could be given that in the future more than one month in the quarterly period would not be cut.