The Dominion. MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1917. DEFENCE EXPENDITURE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 17, 15 October 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1917. DEFENCE EXPENDITURE

Both the Prime Minister and the Minister of .Defence last week expressed their readiness to have Defence expenditure investigated. Mr. Masses' spoko of a Parliamentary Committee conducting the investigation, provided it could carry out its work in tlje brief time available before tlie close of the session, but Sir James Allen went further and invited the fullest inquiry either by a, Parliamentary Committee or by Commission. * The Minister of Defence denied very emphatically that there was any waste or extravagance in connection with Defence expenditure, and he added' that while it probably was impossible to avoid all extravagance in war exSenditure it had been avoided in r ew Zealand better than in some other countries. We are quite satisfied from past experience of Sin j James Allen's administration that so far as his personal supervision has enabled nim to safeguard against waste and extravagance the loss to the country from these sources has been reduced to a minimum. It may even be the case that he has been able to exeroise so close a. supervision that in all the various branches of the huge Department under his control proper care and economy has been practised at all times, This, however, is open to doubt, .for it must be obvious that in many matters the Minister is largely in thb hands of his Departmental officers, and where tens of millions are being expended under rush conditions there is much room for waste. The discussion of this question, which has come into some prominence of late as the result of the under-estimating of the jDefence expenditure for the latter portion of the current year, naturally has given rise to some uneasiness. It lias been made clear that tho underestimate referred to was due to unexpected increases in certain Imperial charges which apparently could not have been foreseen. It is also plain that the position has been to some extent confused by tho varying dates for which estimates have been given. The Defence Department, for instance, gave an estimate of. expenditure to the end of the financial year next March; the Minister of Finance gave an estimate to tho end of July next, and he also quoted a further estimate to tho end of September next; Out of the confusion thus occasioned the fact emerges, on the authority of the Finance Minister himself, that the estimate of the Defence Department was a good estimate at tho time it was made. _ But thfe point which chiefly concerns tho public is that tho Defence expenditure has reached the stage when it now exceeds or will shortly exceed two million pounds a month, wiich is an enormous sum for _ a country with the population possessed by New Zealand. So lai* as this expenditure is neccssary for the conduct of our share in the war, and so long as the money is well spent, very few people-indeed will be inclined to take exception to it. The Minister of Defence says the money is well spent, and he may_ be right. ! But could it, or any portion of it, be better spent 1 Is there no room for improvement ' m the methods of the'' Department by which economies could be practised and cost reduced without prejudico to the efficiency or comfort of our Forces? Past experience has shown that Government methods, whether in the Defence or other State Departments, are not always the most economical or tl\e best methods, it would be an amazing thing indeed if this enormous expenditure by the Defence Department were free from waste or extravagance, especially m view of the fact that much of the Defence Department s organisation has been improvised under the stress of war conditions, aiul matiy officers of limited experience called on to undertake duties involving transactions of a magnitude never even contemplated before the war. Tt is no reflection on the Minister of Defence to suggest that a Com-

mission of experienoed business men appointed to investigate tho business methods of tho Department would in all probability be able to suggest improvements which would result in savings and be beneficial in other respects. Sir James Allen has effected many improvements in tho Defence Department's organisation since ho set out on his great task of building up tho machinery for the enrolling, equipping, training, and transporting of Now Zealand's Forces for service overseas- no ono in the Ministry has carried so heavy a burden of work as he has "borne during the past three years, and the success that has attended "his efforts cannot bo questioned. But the very fact that ho has been weighted with this tremendous task may he taken as an evidence that he (or any other man) could not possibly have oxamined closely and consistently into the detailed organisation and working of the great machine that has been built up under his guidance. If in spite fof everything no waste or extravagance worth mentioning has grown up in Defence expenditure, then so much the better' pleased will the public be to learn of it from an mdopendent source. If on the other hand there is room for any improvement in any given direction, then an out-side Commission of business men of large experience and recognised judgment and ability would be likely to discover it, and the country would_ benefit accordingly. Tho suggestion that a Parliamentary Committee should be set up to investigate Defence expenditure this session does not deserve a moment's serious consideration. It would he a farce. But a small Comtaission of business men, headed for preference by the of the Efficiency Board, if liis services are available, undoubtedly holds out possibilities of practical and perhaps valuable results