Why was the Defence of the Realm Act created?

The Defence of the Realm Act was used in ww1 by the British government to control the economy and make sure that the country was ready for war on a scale never seen before. DORA allowed the government to bypass parliament and issue directives as law. the act gave the government huge powers. it could take land and buildings and industries over for the war effort and it was able to censor media. it allowed the government to introduce things such as british summer time and strict licensing laws for pubs that controlled their opening times. Beer was watered down and the price was raised so that people could not get drunk. Street lights were masked and shop windiws and advertisments could not be lit to save precious coal.