[From The Luton News: Thursday, February 7th, 1918]

In the history of the Luton Corporation the Town Council have never been confronted with such a problem as on Tuesday night. The events of the last ten days became centralised. It was the most nervous meeting of the Council in recent years. There was mercury in the air when the Council met, and it remained for three hours.

Our readers are fully conversant with the demonstration of last week, and the position then amounted to this:

Important industries were suspended while the workers demonstrated against the Food Committee. They offered that committee the alternative of witnessing a continuation of this suspension and the consequent damage to the national and international interests, or the inclusion of four Labour members out of 12 on the Food Committee, and no deliveries of meat.

The Committee came to the conclusion the only safe course in the national and municipal interests was to concede the demands and, with the knowledge that the personnel of the Committee would stand in good stead, the Deputy Mayor [Alderman J. H. Staddon], as Chairman of the Committee, pledged the Council to adopt this course. It was somewhat of an arrogation of authority, but it was am occasion warranting the minimised risk of being discredited by his colleagues on the Council, and to balance his anxiety concerning the possibilities of a reverse on Tuesday night, there was the satisfaction of seeing some six or seven thousand people at work.

As events turned out, the Council redeemed the pledge absolutely, and under these circumstances the situation in Luton today, and the general prospects from the administrative point of view, are happier than ever they have been since the Food Committee was chosen.

The Deputy Mayor evidently realised his position when he rose to sponsor the recommendations. He immediately adopted the sane and safe line of eschewing recriminations. He pointed out that the position was most critical, and it was the duty of the Committee to meet it quickly. The Trades and Labour Council's advances were in the nature of demands, because applications had failed.

After pointing out that the meetings of the Committee were open to the Press, and the public could be conversant with what was proceeding, the Deputy Mayor said as there was no reply to the Council's refusal to appoint Labour representatives at the last meeting of the Council, it was taken that there was acquiescence, and therefore the Committee were faced with an alarming situation and had to get out of it. The deputation accepted the suggestions of the Committee and the trouble was overcome.

It was useless to talk about what had been done or had not been done, what had been said or what had not been said. He recognised tat this was a huge working class constituency, and whether a mistake had been made or not, it was considered best in the interests of all to offer to the Labour Party three seats instead of four, and on that understanding the matter was settled.

Alderman Staddon then referred to the meeting on the Moor and the fair hearing he had received., and said that what he did was done in the best interests of the Committee and Council. He was sorry his colleagues were not present to hear what was said at that Moor meeting.

At all gatherings there were certain sections who clamoured for something more than they were entitled to, and the leaders of the deputation were subjected to a considerable amount off heckling, and amendment after amendment moved, but he was pleased to say that through the influence of Messrs Mair, Mabley and Knight, the recommendations were accepted by the crowd.

It was no use the Labour Party thinking they had won a victory or the Town Council thinking they had been defeated. The question was to meet the situation as it stood, to examine the requirements, and if it was their duty and the right thing, to meet those requirements.

This was not a time for heckling. The situation was at one time very critical, but he was glad to say that the day passed in perfect order and was to the credit of everybody, but especially the men's leaders.

The resolution of the Luton Tradesmen's Association asking that their two representatives should be retained in the event of reconstruction of the Food Committee, and a letter from the Luton Liberal Women's Association, nominating Mrs J. T. Needham in the event of ladies being elected the the Committee, were read, and then came the Trades and Labour Council's nominations. Those nominations should have included one woman, but a change had been made and three gentlemen named were Messrs Thomas Knight, W. J. Mabley and Thomas Skelton.

The Deputy Mayor moved and Councillor Escott seconded the adoption of the recommendations of the Committee.

There was a prompt note of difference from Alderman Cain, but he spoke so kindly and fairly that there was no sting of criticism. He sympathised with the Deputy Mayor on the difficulties of the situation and the task which faced the Food Committee.

He reminded them of the decision at their last meeting not to increase the Committee to 15 members, but since then Lord Rhondda had recommended such an increase when Labour representation was not considered strong enough, and he thought there was an opening for a settlement.

He suggested that if there were three Labour representatives they would be able to do good work on the Committee, and he digressed a little to show that the concessions to the Labour Party had not improved the situation. They had suggested that everybody should go into the queues. It did not matter who or how long so long as everybody did it, with the result that things were ten times worse.

He had noticed that some of the queues outside the butchers' shops had been lengthened ten times. He always understood democracy as meaning the greatest good for the greatest number, but under the new conditions it did not appear to matter how many suffered so long as all suffered.

If it was possible to ration every family for meat and other things according to supply and no one to have more than a proper share there would be no necessity for queues. If a tradesman was not to look after his customers, what was he for?

He did not wish to say anything unkind, but he distinctly objected to any deputation, representing any body of men, saying to the Council that they should get rid of two of the present Committee to make room for two whom they (the deputation) thought should be on. Who was going to be sacrificed? All the Committee were elected for the good of the town. Who was to be thrown off?

He noticed that the Deputy Mayor remarked that "Alderman Oakley must go". Alderman Oakley, who could speak for himself, did not wish to go on the Committee, but went on by reason of the presence of the members of the Committee. They had heard the Chairman and the Executive Officer of the Food Committee [Town Clerk Mr William Smith] say, notwithstanding outside criticism, that Alderman Oakley was the most useful member of the Committee, and he moved that the Trades and Labour Council be asked to send two nominations, and the Tradesmen's Association two.

Councillor Escott pointed out that the word of the Council had been pledged, and added: "Surely we cannot run away. We have to support our fellow member. He has given his word, and we ought to stand by it. They have accepted it on those lines."

The Deputy Mayor said that after his statement in regard to Alderman Oakley was that after the remarks and attacks made on Alderman Oakley it was not possible for him to continue on the Committee for the sake of his own dignity.

"With all respect to Alderman Cain," said Alderman Oakley, "it would be injudicious if his amendment was carried." He added that as he was one of, if not the principal, bones of contention on he Committee, it was just as well he should say a few words to clear the air and make possible a settlement without in any way departing from what the Deputy Mayor had done, and done with tghe best intentions.

He did not think it would be well to enlarge the Committee. Twelve members could carry out the work as well as 24, as the new members would find out. Nothing would give him greater pleasure than to retired from the committee. He had no wish to go on, and only did so by the pressure and wish of the Council when it was formed, and three months ago he expressed a wish to come off because he saw that throughout the country members of the trade he was in were being requested by certain bodies to give up the different committees.

He thought the Council and the best portion of the townspeople would give him the credit of not being on the Committee to serve his own purposes. He would not stay on the Committee after that, but he hoped the men to be put on the Committee would be stronger than the first men the Labour Party sent before.

Alderman Oakley went on to say that he and his firm declined to have any interference with their business from men outside. He declined to have his personality brushed out of his business and he was not going to be dictated to by them. Coming off the Food Committee gave him greater pleasure than going on.

There being no seconder to Alderman Cain's amendment, it fell through. Councillor Henry Impey then proposed an amendment that the Food Controller be asked to sanction an increase in the Committee to 15 in order to include Labour representatives.

Councillor Impey asked that if the Committee was to be limited to 12 members, who were to be the Jonahs to be thrown overboard? Increasing the number would retain the existing members while offering three places to Labour.

Councillor Chapman seconded an enlargement, said that a decision two week earlier not to do so had "given out friends, the Labour Party, a peg on which to hand a grievance. These gentlemen have been getting a machine together, and when they get a new machine they naturally want to try it. You have given them the very best chance they could have had."

Councillor Briggs, who voted against an increase, said: "It is time this dictatorship finished. Alderman Staddon definitely promised the Labour deputation three members. I don't like that, and I don't want to come here and think I am in anybody's pocket or that anybody can definitely promise what I am going to do." A mistake was made from the beginning when they should have given Labour proper representation.

He reminded the Council that they passed a resolution at their last meeting not to restructure the Food Committee. "Since then somebody got up with a big stick and said 'You have got to do this'," he said. "Well, we have got to do it. Not that I am against Labour representation, but I shall vote against the increase to 15."

Former Mayor Councillor W. J. Primett said as far as he was concerned the Council could have his resignation from the Food Committee because it had been a thankless task, and one became sick of the insinuations and lied that flowed about the town with regard to members of the Committee.

The amendment was finally defeated by 13 votes to six, and, after a silence, the Mayor said it was up to someone on the Committee to send in his resignation. A solution to a strained deadlock came from Councillor Merchant, who suggested that all members of the Committee should retire and be voted on again.

The Town Clerk suggested that a public record to removed all the members of the Food Committee from office would read very badly. The alternative, he hinted, was that the Committee should all resign so that it might be recorded that their resignation was solely for the purpose of reconstituting the Committee.

Finally, Councillor Bone said he was going to save the Council from humiliation and unreservedly offer his resignation. With the resignation of Alderman Oakley, that allowed the election of three Labour nominees (two to fill the vacated seats and one they had already been offered). Messrs Knight, Mabley and Skelton were elected.