MONEY-MAKING SOLDIERS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16308, 4 September 1918, Page 8

MONEY-MAKING SOLDIERS.

♦ A simple little experiment in economy earned oui> by one small unit of the British Army led to a scheme vmicir lias already saved the country some hundreds of pounds (says a London, paper). 7 . ... In order to augment their dwindling regimental funds the "brains" of one of our infantry battalions determined to recover the solder from their used bully-beef tins and turn it into hard cash. To this end they improvised a furnace—an old piece of sheet-iron bent into a cone shape —and collected their camp refuse, ordinarily burned in an incinerator, to serve as fuel. Then, by means of a primitive process, they were able to manufacture small bars of solder, which they put. on the market and sold at 4s a pound. The succcss of this little scheme reached the ears of "Q" through '.he usual channels, within a few weeks the entire corps area was being circularised on the subject. What one unit could accomplish along these lines another could. It was calculated that the average number of tins received by a battalion each day was 350, and from such a number about 4-j pounds of solder could be obtained at a minirflim cost; that if in one corps of four infantry divisions all the solder from the daily issuei of tins was secured by the means of the a sum of £50 might be realised. The project offered great possibilities. Why not establish a large improvised furnace in every area and sub-area and conduct the recovery if the solder as a regular business proposition? It was agreed to experiment on the larger scale, and it was further : suggested that the heat generated by burning refuse in the furnaces might be used for obtaining steam for the divisional laundries. Experiments were again successful and area furnaces established under the supervision of town-majors and sub-area commandants, who were held responsible for the month's solder output. The means employed is the simplest form of kiln. The tins are fed in through a lid at the top, beated to a moderate temperature, and raked Dut through 'a door at the bottom as soon as the solder has had time to melt and ran off on to a small concrete floor. Care has to be taken that the tins do not become red-hot. and ingenious svstems of recmlatina; a draught in the furnace are adopted. When the *nll amount of solder has been obtained the 6runt tins are cleared away, allowed to cool, and later n«ed in the metalling of onr roads behind the firintr-line. Exnerience soon tanrrht that the smallest tin used in the nrocess prodnced lOoz of solder per 100 tins, the larcrer varieties about 16oz per ICO tins.