SUPPLIES FOR OUR CAMPS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2663, 7 January 1916, Page 6

SUPPLIES FOR OUR CAMPS

' MINISTER SUPPLIES SOME FIGURES. ffly Telegraph—iresa .Association.) Auckland) January 6. Some interesting details of the work of the Munitions and Supplies Department were given by the Hon. A. M. Myers to-night. The magnitude of the business invested in tho maintenance of troops in eatables_ such as meat, bread, potatoes, etc., said Mr. Myers, can be gauged from the fact that the ration in NewZealand consists of a daily supply of the following articles: —Fresh meat, bread, butter, potatoes, cheese; Jam, flour, oatmeal, onions, sugar, salt, tea, and fresh milk. Taking an army of 30,000 men, the number that' will go into camp during this year, '15,0001b. of meat, 37,0001b. of bread, 75001b. of 'butter, and 30,0001b.'.0f potatoes will be required per day, or 4,106,2501b. of meat, 3,421,8751b. of bread, 674,3751b. of butter, and 2,737,5001b. of potatoes for three months. To . give some idea of the activity of tho Department in its buying operations in this connection, it may be stated that during tho last six . months it has, among 'other items for consumption, purchased the following:—Fresh meat, 2,065,0481b.; preserved meat, 228,4601b.; butter, 390,4501b.; jam, 530,0791b.; bacon, 38,9201b.; cheese, 255,5191b.; potatoes, 1,243,0221b.; bread, 1,022,8831b. Then, to illustrate the scope of; supplies required from the ■woollen mills, I may quote the following figures:—Over half, a million yards of khaki clotn for uniform clothing, 156,720 grey blankets, 156,000 pairs socks, 110,490 undershirts, 110,490 underpants, 60,000 cholera belts, 62,000 puttees, 40,000 khaki jerseys, and 100,000 pairs boots. It became evident in August and September last that the combined capacity of the woollen mills of New .Zealand was inadequate for meeting the demands of both ordinary and military consumption at the .same time. When large supplies of material were required by the Defence Department they were short-tendered for, and as there was; moreover, not'time for the mills to produce the fabrics required it became necessary to supply immediate needs from stocks held. This change of system occasioned a deviation from the sealed samples of the Department, and made it' essential that the acquisition of supplies required should be carried out by expert men." Two successful Wellington business men not connected in a wholesale way with the sale of New Zealand-produced articles, Mr. Sydney Kirkcaldie, of Kirkcaldie and Stains, and Mr. J. L. Morrison, representative in New Zealand of I. and R. Morley, of England, were generous enough to their services gratuously at the Government's disposal. Orders were then placed direct with the wbollen mills for tho production of woollen articles required jtip to tho end of 1915. As a result of careful handling the requisite supplies were arranged for satisfactorily- despite a difficulty at the time of obtaining raw wool at reasonable prices. '