DEFENCE STORES

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10688, 7 September 1920, Page 5

DEFENCE STORES

THEIR DISPOSAL ADVOCATED. An officer who was prominently connected with the Defence Department during the war informed a ''Times" reporter yesterday that the department was possessed of large quantities of stores which wero being held for no satisfactory reason. "There are thousands of towels in store," ho said, "which,- if placed on the matrket, would prove of great to citizens during the present time of shortage. The department would make a good profit by the sale t and a£ the same time be able to retain a sufficient quantity to meet all requirements from a military point of view for a long time to come. Was it a wise business proposition," added tho officer, "for goods which aro urgently required by civilians to be stored away, with the prospect of a big fall •in i values taking place in the near future- By disposing of the articles while the market is at its highest point would give the department a handsome return, fill tho immediate requirements of at least hundreds of citizens, and if the time should arrive when stocks had to be built up again, the articles could bo purchased at a very much lower figure than they could bo sold for to-day."