ECONOMICS OF WAR.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16168, 23 March 1918, Page 11

ECONOMICS OF WAR.

SAVING FOR THE STATE,

MONET FROM "WASTE

Cfkoii our. own coiuu.~roNHK.NT.) LONDON, January 22. Facts of considerable interest- have been given by Mr Bonar Law concerning the utilisation by the Salvage Commission of waste Army materials. A branch of the organisation lias been established in England, and steps are being taken to co-operate in the col- J lection and disposal of civil waste. From waste fats collected from Army camps alone have ijeen produced tallow sufficient to provide soap for the eatire needs of the Army, Navy, and Government Departments, with a surplus for public use. producing an actual revenue of about £960.000 per annum; and also ISOO tons of glycerine for ammunition—sufficient to provide the propellaut for 1b,000.000 ISpv. shells. The glycerine so recovered costs the Government i-oD 10s per tou as cpmpnred with £300 per ton, the price of the imported glycerine. "\\ ell over £1,000,000 worth of military rags have been recovered and used in the manufacture oi new cloth and blankets for the Army. Many thousands of pounds of cuttings from cotton textiles have also been recovered a ' 1( l utilised in connexion with munition j and aeroplane requirements. Some : hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of condemned boots have, after the expenditure of some labour in sorting and minor rep.airs at very small cost, been sold for distribution among the labouring classes, agricultural and industrial. The Chancellor I of the Exchequer is of opinion th.it the most crt'eotive way oi' secii'-'tng economies in the largo spending departments is to appoint in each an efficient head oi. supply services, with large powers. litis policy has been carried out in the "War Office by the appointment of Mr A. Weir as Sur-veyor-General of Supply, and in '.lie Admiralty bv the appointment of Sir H. Livesey,' K.8.E., as Director of | Contracts.

ABOUT LINOLEUM. ] The Oil and Fats Department of t.io Food Ministry has decided not to release linseed cil for other than national purposes. All this oil available is needed to make oilskins and tarpaulins at the front and in ships, finer for paints and varnishes in _ shipyards. The Department reouisitioned the stocks as from January Ist in all branches of the trade, buj; the 'inoleum makers placed rheir ease before the AVar Cabinet and secured permission to retain their linseed oil stocks, which will last some weeks. When a deputation niet the President of Ihe Board of Trade the other day, this arrangement was ratified, but no hope was held out of further supplies.

QUICK PRODUCTION. Pigs are fewer, and to increase t u .e number in this country Sir Charles Bat-hurst suggests that War Agricultural Executive Committees should I e allowed to order certain areas of newly-ploughed grass land, to be used for potatoes for pig food, as meat can be more rapidly produced by the Dig than by any other animal. APPEAL TO WAGE-EARNERS. Lord Rhondda tells the public that in peace time two-thirds of the general food supply of this country comes fr-iin abroad. Consequently "through lack of tonnage, we only secure half of what is required, and two tons of food have to do the work that three did before the war. "Instead of Ihe 40 per cent, of meat received from abroad for the civil population before the war a very small percentage indeed is available now. I have. t-> make 31b do the work of olb. it is 1 he-same with.bacon, butter, and margarine, and. in fact, with all fats. V e have to reduce the quantity of meat we eat in the next few months considerably. As to bread, while 1 regard the future with anxiety, there is no immediate cause for alarm. We have had to rase the percentage of milling to 90 per cent.. and thai means that bread will be darker, but for every man or woman in normal health it will be perfectly healthy and will contain just as much food value as now. Not only do we want potatoes eaten instead of bread, but also used in the manufacture of bread, and it is quite possible that we shall v have to prohibit the use of wheat in cakes, pastry, and fancy biscuits. I believe that what are known as the i.cli middle-class and the rich have jcsponded to a far larger extent to the appeal for food economy than have the mass of the wage-earning people. This is partly due to -the fact that tne wage-earning class do not think that the appeal is made so directly to them, but as thev claim to constitute three-fourths of the population, unless they make sacrifices and reduce their consumption the reduced consumption of the wealthier classes, >vno are comparatively few, will be of very little ?.vail."

GOAT SKINS FOR "WAR TIME" BOOTS. In connexion with the supply of leather lor the manufacture of xhe "war time" boot, the Army Council state that they have found it necessary to control the importation of raw goat skins and their distribution in this country. Orders have accordingly been issued requisitioning all stocks of raw goat skins in the country and. subsequently to arrive, and fixing the prices at which these can be taken over and distributed for the manufacture of leather. BIG OPPORTUNITY FOR STATE ENTERPRISE. Sir E. Morris (Newfoundland) told the Empire Resources Development I Committee that by prompt action on the part of the State the consumption of fresh fish in this country might easily be increased five-fold, and at tlio same time yield a large revenue in relief of taxation. But a condition essential to success is that the business should bo undertaken by the Government on a largo 6cale, and not left to individuals or organisations of a private or quasiprivato character. And it should be ip-to-dato in daaractcr. The annual catch of Newfoundland is salted and curcd hard and sent to Brazil, the West Indies, Italy, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. Last season it totalled 90,000 tons, ancl every ounce of it was taken by hand-hook and line, by bultows,or floating trawls, and by traps. Although the fish resources of Newfoundland are inexhaustible, the British Government has done nothing towards their development on a big scale. The cod is so prolific that artificial cultivation has never been necessary. Some 800 or 900 small schooners of from 60 to 80 tons, begin to leave about tho middle of June for the Labrador c-oast, which stretches to tho north a 1000 miles or so; the journey is not more than a couple of days' sail from home, and the men return in about two months, having caught, even with their primitive methods, enough to keep them for the rest of the year. Up to the present scarcely a Labrador fisherman has fished. 10 miles from the coasts, whereas millions of quintals (1121b) could be got from the grounds and shoals and banks all along that 1000-mile coast, lying from 15 to 50 miles from shore. ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS. The Chancellor of the Exchequer says that the Treasury has appointed a committee to enquire into the steps which have been taken by the Admiralty, the War Office, and the Minister of Munitions to control contract prices and to

limit profits; and to consider in what respects the practice of these departments can be co-ordinated and improved. The Treasury has also appointed a committee, witn Sir John Bad bury K.C.8., as chairman, to. enquire into the numbers and organisations of the clerical staffs employed in the new Ministries, and in other Departments in which large additions to the staffs nave been made since the beginning of the war, the method of recruitment, ana the rates of remuneration, and to report what measures should be taken to secure better co-ordination in respect both to recruitment and organisation, to effect economies in numbers and cost, and to prevent overlapping.

LOOKING AItEAD. To encourage farmers to break up more ground for potatoes this year tae Food Controller lias fixed prices for potatoes grown on acreage in excess ot that of 1916. The prices for English grown are £6 per ton for delivery between November and January, £<5 lUs in February and March, and £7 .from Mav to the end of. the season. On November Ist the Food Controller will purchase all the rest of the crop or Great Britain cxcept where there is less than one acre. The prices, to befixed later on the size and quality of thecrop, will not. be less than £o per ton in November, rising to £6 10s in May. The November price for new acreage potatoes is the same as the minimum I guaranteed fixed- price last year. o\\ mg to the prolific crop this was dropped recently and farmers allowed to 6ell at a less price, the State making, up the difference. The base price now ranges from £6 to £5 per ton, according to variety. It is understood that Lord Rhondda's object is to obtain sufficient supplies to enable a general use of potatoes in bread-making, and bakers already are urged to use potatoes and to save wheat.