DEFENCE AFFAIRS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 190, 1 May 1918, Page 7

DEFENCE AFFAIRS

WORK DONE()N TRANSPORTS CHECKS ON EXPENSE M R- A. CAMPBELL GIVES EVIDENCE DISTRICT EXPENDITURE ' STRONG COMMENTS BY CHAIRMAN . Tho Dpfenco Expenditure Commission continued ile sittings in Wellington yesterday. The chairman• .Brigadier-General bve Robert Anderson.) presided, and Mr. Uariea Rhodes sat with him. ' Alexander Campbell, of the firm of Lampbell- and Burke, conlractn , " ,, mvo evidence. ' Tho chairman: What we .sho-uld like to know is eomothing of tho method . under which you obtained the work, tho System of; cheek employed by yoiirsolf and tho paying party, and also anything you vris\ to say about how (he work is fiiven out.' For , instance, do yon do ail .the work or do other firms do some of it? The Early Rush. 'Witness said that his-first work was' Wio fitting out of one'of the Main Body's 'Ships in ISM. Hβ had then to fit a cargo steamer to carry 1500 m»n and 550 horses. Captain Hvaiis, Superintendent for Shaw-Savill, referred him to tho captain of the shjp as to wh.it would have .to be dono, and they had a. general' survey on Biinday morning—the day after he was approached on the matter. On. Monday morning work was commenced.' By this fimo work was advanced e.omc war on all the other vessels, i'or .the job there wore no quantity surveyor and no Hpecifications. The captain of tho ship, Captain Evans, and himself drew out a rough plan of the work that Would have to be done,. l>ut this had to bo altered often as the work progressed; To expedite work and to save cost of hand- . dressing .Hniber, ho'brought machines from his factory and Get them up in tho ■ship. So many hovse-s and men woro to lo put on board the ship that all tho fipace was occupied, and when General Godley saw the' ship Jie at once asked where the men wero to exercise. No plaoe was provided for, and General Gocir ley gave instructions to. have tho well of the after part of the ship decked over. Heavy timbers had to be used to withstand weather, and the dimensions of this deck were 150 ft. by IGOft. When he went into the eliip fhe was an. empty cargo steamer, having berths for only four passengers. He had to build •cabins for officers, bunks for the men, a hospital, lavatory i accommodation, and everything else necessny ior <i Jargo number of men and horses. The work on this ship was one of tho mo.sl expensive jobs that Lad ever been done here. In no other ship had anything like so much vork to l>e done in such short time. . All the work was done in eighteen days, part of which time was occupied in'travelling., up the coast from "Wellington to Auckland. Payment was made by Shaw, Savill on behalf of the Government, but the Government demanded, and took all discounts allowed for timber and supplies going into tho job. Tlio price paid was .-£9116, "and he received the last of it within six weeks of the completion of the job. No question, -was raised as to the large amoTint of the charge. Methods of Check. The chairman: How - was the work checked? Witness: It was checked by the. chief Officer of ths ship. -. : Tho chairman: -What sort of check did he keep? Witness: He kept tho same cheek as anyone else would, have kept of tho nmount of material used, and the time ■worked. Ho certainly did not measure all tho loads of timber as they arrived. -.The chairman: But a quantity aur■veyor could do that afterwards? Wincss: That could have been done, but it Iras not done. Everything was rushed. And as far as measuring timber is concerned, that is % thing we have never done. I had about 200 men there •and about 20 of 30 wharf labourers handling the stuff, and. wo could not have the carts held up while timber was measured. There was no opportunity for a quantity surveyor to do it afterwards. Tho ship was actually completed in Auckland, thr.ee day 3 before troop? camo aboard, and some of the work could not B« done until certain, to&det and other things for men and horses had been stowed. Other Ships. Witness- said that ho did not-fit another ship until March, IMS, whon the Transport Board called public tenders. He tendered at 13s. per day per man employed, materials at current rates, and 50s. par day i'or supervision. The specification stated that the contractors wero to get profit on the labour only, goods ■ware to be supplied to tho Government a-6 exactly the pripe- charged to the contractor. Tho Government took all trade . and cash discounts. In this caso the firm made a profit of about 8 per cent, on Uie la-

bolir, and no more under any other head. Tu,o award wage for carpenters then was 12s. per day. Ou that job materiaKand time woio cheeked by Captain Bilton's Staff. The chairman: Did they put a quantity surveydr on to clieek it up after the work was done? fitness; I'can't say. That could havo been done at any time afterwards. The chairman: Of courso that would liavo been a perfect check. "Witness said that in this ship they had. to buikl a freezing chamber to carry meat and other perishablo food for the troops on the voyage. Tho price of the whole'work on tho ship wan i'sßi)o, and for this-in an empty sbip Without any acconimodalion whatever, quarters had to bo built lor Mu men and 400 horses. Witness (jure .un account of a ho accepted to refit a ship Tor tho Union Ktonm Ship Company to curry troops, and ihe contract was on the same terms and conditions as for tho previous ship! On this job the time also was checked lor the Uovornment by Captain Bilton. He used to supply the board every week ivil.li a statement of tho number of men employed and tho timo worked, and when the firm sent a statement to' tho board it had to agree with Captain Bilton's tally. His prico for the supply .of white pino timber, which was largely used in this work, was lis. Gd. a ; hundred feet, whereas tho ruling rate at; tho time was 12a. 6d. a hundred feet, He was able to supply tho timber at the cheaper rttto because he had at fho timo-taken tho whole output .of a mill. The iron work, plumbing, and. painting were all done by different firms | direct lor tho board, without any diroc- J lion by witness of responsibility to him. ■ Tub profit on the Main' Body ship was j 10 per cent, on the value of tho work, | Iho same that was allowed on all other i Main Body ships, but the Government took tho discounts on all material, Why His Firm Succeeded. One of the reasons why the board had employed bis firm was that all the jobs he had been asked to do were rush jobs, : and his firm had a body of men em-: ployed, and so could do the ivork speed- I ily. He mentioned the case of another j ship commandeered on Christmas Eve, a., timo when all the building trades and j all sawmills were closed down. Tho work on this ship had to be doiio in seventeen days, while tho ship was going ; round tho coast. Th.oro was ,£3OO a day i demurrage on the 6hip, so that the work \ had. to \>s done- ou time. -Tho hoat dul" j get away ou time. Ho had to make ar- ! rangements for provisioning and qaarter- | ins &e men working- on tho sJiip. Tho I price of that job was JE6BSA, which in- ; eluded all costs. Two days later ho had ito begin with another rush Job. Thero i was no time, to call tenders. Services Appreciated. Witness read? the following letter .from Major Ilobiuson, ohairman of, the Transport Board, to his firm, Campbell and Burke:— "Tha General, Officer Commanding tho New Zealand Military Forces desires mo to convey to yo\x his high, appreciation of the'valuable assistance which you havo rendered tho military authorities in connection with transport work. The fitting out and prompt dispatch of ships is of vital impdrtanco 'in maintaining the fightin? efficiency of troops at the front, nnd although a very natural satisfaction must lie yours in the ]nioit'lc(l?fi o! work well done, still tho Commandant wishes to place on record his thanks for the prompt and willing manner in which therequirements of the service have been met by you. "The Commandant further desires that this message of appreciation be conveyed* to your staff and employees who, hy their diligence and willingness to -viofk at all Wits, havo so materially assisted the cause'in this «'.,'T.;ency." Government Not a Good Employer. Witness said he did one other ship for tho board, and none other since then. His next job was for the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company, who wero then acting as agents for tho New Zealand Gov ernment. The rate at which ho tendered was the same in every caso at "time and line." The chairman: Which would you rather work for—Shaw.-Sa.vill or the Government ? Witness: Shaw-Savill, sir. j Tho chairman-. Why? Witness: Becauso wo could get finality sooner. Wo had more trouble about payments with taa Government. Witness wont on to tell of other ships which lie had fitted out for Shaw-Savill, giving an overall prico for every ship. , Of course, ho had learned a good deal about the work to be done.in the meantime. While, all theso contracts were going on his firm had building contracts in the city, nnd had a staff always at call. It would never havo paid him to allow his men to "go slow" on tho "timo and line" iohs on ships, hectmse thoy would have done the same on Wilding jobs afterwards. * Rush Jobs Ashore. Witness said that ho built a hospital at Trentham Camp in fourteen days. The authorities tried other builders to get tho work done in tie time, but without success, and had come to him. He took the job, and it was completed on time. , The chairman: Jolly good work! Witness said that on tho strength of the Trentham job ho was given the cantrust for tho Eotorua Hospital. Both of theso works were- on "time and jine." Mr. Campbell said that his firm had used machines for; the dressing of timber on every shin ioh ho. had taken.

This had meant a considerable (wring to the Government. Ho had done no work for (ho Government in tho past eighteen months. About Aether Witness, Joseph Dwyer, proprietor of the Midland Hotel, was ;.sked by tho chairman to state what his expenenco had been with M'LciUi, a previous witness, who had built tho hotel ami who had mailo charges against Campbell and Burke. Mr. Dwyer said that his experience had not been satisfactory. Witness had great trouble with him at the expiry of tho contract to. get a settlement. M'Lcan put in an outrageous' bill for extras of sonie .£2300, which ho reduced after months of wrangling to ,£IBOO. From this standpoint M-J.eah -was unsatisfactory. M'Lean had been unsatisfactory in another respect—he had delayed the work. After promising to do it in 'nleven month* ho took .twenty months. When witness" asked him why he did not put on morn men ho said lie could no!< net any. If. the Governmont had the same experience with Al'Lean us witness had. it did not seem likely that he would savo the Government much, money. Control of Exjionditure. Major H. C. Nutsford, Director of Movements and yuortcripg, and chairman of the Transport Beard, gave evidence. By reference to the regulations ho pointed out to. llm Commission that 0.0. .Districts had amnio power to spend as niuoh as 0C25 for unforeseen urgent | works and repairs, provided the District j Office supplied full details of such urgent work. Ho admitted that the regulations I needed condensation rnd codification, but j ho .would not agree that O.C. Districts, | w'jo in these days were not always experienced, trained officers, should havo | uncontrolled power to spend even such i modest sums of monov. : Tho chairman fraid that powers were |so hedged that no officer would dare to i use them; He fiuggested that the O.C. j Districts, even if appointed at the cut- ; break of war,-.ought not now to ba in- ; experienced. ! Witness: "They an, sir," He .staled j also that officers in districts did not give | sufficient attention to regulations, and j sometimes did .not even read them, .tie I approved of. the regulations strongly, lie ; lißiiev.-d they were very necessary, j The chairman (-aid that district officers would take no risks by spending money !on these unforeseen works. They had no j initiative. They we're strongly impressi eel with tho.idea that ail initiative 'would '• bo banned, asd that they could.hold j down their iot>s saieiy \>y simply "carryI inpr on." I Witness: I am absolutely surprised. [ Tho whole organisation aims at ihe encouragement of ir.itiatu'o in ..ffioers in the administration and control of district.?. I | Tho chairman asked how an officer I would get promotion, j Witness repliod that the officer who I would denurvi? promotion would be he .• who was earnest and diligent iii the j currying out of his duties, <nd able to i appreciate and deal with a tituation. ! '1 he chairman: "Earnest in tho carry- \ ing out of Ms duties." Surely you could: 1 -ay that of the most commonplace man 1 . It is about t.uual to "a worthy man,'' and that is about tho rottonest thing you can say about a good man, isn't it? i Vexatious Details. j Questions wore asked about repairs to i water supply ami dwmge—repairs in Auckland district. Witness said that request was made to Headquarters for authority, to have tho repairs effected. This wus made without doluils being supplied, and lio hail written for details. It happened that the matters were trivial, and tho works should havo been j done as urgent without leferonce to wit-1 ness at all. His request for details would not Vavt) V>eeu necessary if the District Office had followed regulations. Tho chairman: I hato to 6ay those things, really I do. I hare a great re-- • spect for your Defenco Department, but these instances are pathetic. Major Nutsford showed that there was no reason for delaying the works. Hepairs such as those mentioned might have meant much or little. Tho drainage might have been considerable, and he asked for information to discoror what tho cost was likely to bo before he approved it. The officer making application should havo effected the repairs without reference to Headquarters, but when he- choso to auuly to Headquarters lie attouiid liave given details. - Tho chairman was unconvinced. "You mustn't enppmn. iro like to say these things," he said. "Wo would rather say that everything in the garden is lovely. We lave been all round tho districts, and we havo.found officers all unwilling to show any initiative at all, or to_ do anything without referonco to Wellington. ... We thought it was shocking at first, and in tho end wo thought an officer would be a foot to do anything else." There was another aigumcut between ■Major and ttie clinirinau about an item of £i 10s. asked for to repair a pump for a camp water ttipply. Major Nutsford said that the work was not urgent, and he should havo had particulars beforo urgency arose. Tho chairman said: "You bhould go down and work under your oini Regulations and see how you like it. You should change places with one of theso officers for a. spell." He said that tho matters wero petty, but even petty niat-. ters gave rise to irritation, which interfered with tho smooth working of. tho Department. "You might bo dealing with a -lot of pupil teachers," he continued. 'Yon aro not; you are dealing ■with. rdsMy-yKud officers." Hire and Repair of Ships, .

Witafss pissed on to giro evidence about tho liiro and repair of transports. Ho said that tho hire conditions horo were good, and the arrangement:) for repairs, in New Zealand also satisfactory —even specially advantageous to this Government. At .Home repairs or alteration;! we're undertaken nt tho direction of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, but it did not appear that economy was studied in England as in New Zealand. Accounts for servicos rendosjbd in tho United Kingdom were paid by tho High Commissioner, without reference to New Zealand. Ho could not suggest any improvement in conditions ot the iitting and icpafr of ships in New Zealand, liut arrangements in tlie United Kingdom were not satisfactory. He would suggest that a special ai&eor should bo sent toEnglund to look after these matters. At present it was not clear always who was responsible- for action t< ken in England. It had hnppened on occasions that transports had come back to New Zealand empty while invalided troops woro returned by passenger liners at expense to the New .Zealand Government. The appointment of a transport officer for New Zealand in England would obviate tins difficulty.. The cost of passages from England had been pome .£'70,000, but some of these charges wero unavoidable. Vor a time our troops went to yjgyiA - , and wounded imd sick men. \v\\o had been sent to England had to bo sent hack lo New Zealand by passoiijcr liners. If the Government had paid tho shipping companies to carry nil cur horses mid men, supposing this hiid buon ])ossil.)le, tho cost per man would ;>t the rates cimrgod until recently have hetm ahout JC2 10s. loss than the actual cost of carrying the mui i" hiicd transports. The naynient per head to liners before tho British Government took over the ships was .02!! 10s.—now .''educed to .£2O —and tho cost per man of carriage on tho most expensive of the ships hired by the New Zealand Government wns .£25 Bs. Tho Commission sits i ?nin to-day at 10 a.m. N