MAKING MILLIONS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIV, Issue LIV, 16 October 1920, Page 7

MAKING MILLIONS

A ROMANCE OF WAR Most of the White Papers and other literature touching upon tho cost of Governmental intrusion into realms of business during the ■war do not make pleasant reading for the British taxpayer. Generally speaking, the “business transactions” of departments have shown percentages of charges to turnover, which were calculated to give the business man something of the sensation _ produced by a spinal douch of ice-cold water. A White Paper was issued this week (wrote the London correspondent of the Auckland Star on July ■wherein is set forth tho recorcl of the operations in raw materials for which Lord Inverforth was responsible, first as Sprveyor-Gene-ral of Supply at the War Office, and afterwards at the Ministry of munitions. In its way this White Paper contains a real ‘‘romance of war.” The .sheer magnitude of the dealings described dwarfs the hugest transactions of ordinary commerce ; but what is really* remarkable is the degree of skill and economy with which they were uniformly carried out. It was not the department's object to make large profits during the war. Its policy was to buy cheaply and sell cheaply, and to keep administrative expenses down to a minimum. In the last respect its success is so great that on a turnover of over 500 millions sterling it kept the expenses below Os per cent. —in any view a very conspicuous business feat. It •was constantly able to purchase at lower prices than those paid upbn the open market, and nearly

[all its purchases proved good' lvalue. In selling it had to pro-! vide against submarine .losses, 'enemy captures, and other risks in; addition to the normal, and it cal -1 ciliated the necessary margins with great foresight. Its success i in preventing the “rigging” of ■ prices against, this country and its i Allies has, been thrown into relief i by what has happened since the i removal of its various controls .In ' short, at no cost to the country. invaluable economic, services were ; rendered on a scale eclipsing all ' trade precedents. , These gains did not come about i automatically. They were the j fruit of skill and experience, and ' were obtained by employing prac- 1 tical men. Lord Inverforth has 1 been bitterly criticised in some ; quarters, but this White Taper is his very apiple vindication and 1 something more. Down to March , :U. 1019, the cash benefits which , he earned from the Exchequer , totalled 3!., millions sterling. _ But •- that amount,, gigantic though it be i is a mere fraction of the value of - the immense sums which he saved to the nation and to our Allies by j keeping down the prices of the raw materials of Army supplies, j The direct saving thus secured ( cannot be correctly estimated, but , it could not have been less than - 50 million pounds, and some ex- < perts estimate, it as high as 200 i millions. ■ ‘