Word: rationalize
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Even the Tories were happy because they could say, "I told you so." During the last election campaign, Churchill had demanded an ending of the petrol ration and been charged with "irresponsibility" by his Laborite opponents. The happiest of all, however, were the tens of thousands of Britons whose cars have been limited to a thwarting 90 miles' worth of petrol a month...
Only a few weeks ago the Labor government had held out no hope of increasing the ration. Extra petrol meant spending extra dollars, since 36% of Britain's supply must come from U.S. companies, and spending dollars meant going without timber for houses and food for lunch. The government, many Britons knew, had been busy since last November with some sort of negotiations with U.S. oil companies, but the only result seemed to be a decision to cut dollar-spending even more. Then, one day last week, Fuel Minister Philip Noel-Baker rose in the House of Commons...
During 8½ years, to be exact, Grocer Brown and his fellow food merchants in Britain had snipped their scissors at some 68 billion pesky, elusive food coupons in the ration books of Britain's housewives, stored them in little tins to send to the Food Ministry at the end of each month. Each year they had filled out 20 million official forms. At 5:02 p.m. one day last week the Ministry called a halt to the point system. Formerly, a housewife had to decide how to divide her points between canned fish and fruit, molasses, rice, jellies...
There was only one cloud to mar the horizon. The tea ration, announced Food Minister Maurice Webb, would soon be cut from 2½ to two ounces a week...
...Winnipeg, safe on relatively high ground. The city auditorium was turned into a dormitory. If the situation worsened drastically, Morton had a master plan for compulsory evacuation, under martial law, of as much as 75% of the city's 320,000 population. Food was stockpiled; emergency passes and ration cards were printed...