The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-06
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i a man, who previously mad peen
Ii@71n driving one of the low-priced
6&&4&&5 American cars that sell here i'll
sucn numbers for little over $500, drove
into a suburban London garage in new
5000 motor car.
There goes man who will be sorry
when the war is over the garage keeper
said. 1T has been going less than three
months now and he has bought that car
out of his profits" The man l learned
was a manufacturer of clothing in
small way before the war, and when 1t
began he was one of the first to tender
for making uniforms and secured big
contract at prices which allowed him near
ly double the profit that he would have
made in ordinary business. This raised
at once in my mind the question: rs
there any graft in this WARP Probably
there never has been great war without
graft but my inquiries have satisfied me
that there is less graft, on England's
side at least, in this war than in any
other great struggle in modern times.
Everyone remembers the scandals which
followed the South African war, when it
was proved that food unfit for human
consumption was sent out for the British
troops, and when 1t was condemned out
there by the officers on the spot, was
shipped back to England and sold again
to the war office. Fodder that was equal
ly bad was provided for the horses, and
clothing was sent out that fell to pieces
in a week or two. The Crimean war laid
the foundation of many great fortunes,
built on the most shameless stealing from
the government. and everyone remembers
the embalmed beef and other scandals
that followed the Spanish-American war.
The Russo-Japanase war was veritable
grafters carnival.
In every one of these cases the fortunes
which were made were made by the col
fusion of public officials. who shared in
the spoils and in responsibility for the
disease and death among the soldiers
which followed. There are fortunes be-
ing made today and there is graft of
kind, but 1t is of the kind that the late
Senator Plunkett of New York once de-
scribed as honest graft" No official Is
making anything out of it, and while
some men are receiving uncommonly high
prices for goods. the government is pay
ing them with its eyes open, because it
believes that 1t is better to pay through
the nose for goods Immediately needed
than wait for supplies from more distant
sources. At the same time it is making
arrangements by which the honest graft
ers will have as short a run as pos
sible.
The biggest graft of all that we have
heard anything about so far, is the khaki
graft. When Kitchener decided to raise
and equip million extra soldiers-a num-
Der since increased to two millions-and
he was faced with the problem of putting
them In uniform at once, there wasn't
enough khaki cloth of good quality in the
country to do 1t, and 1t would have taken
months to make enough. There were
however. nearly million yards of infe-
rior khaki which had been condemned
during the South African war, and which
had fallen into the hands of SPECTATORS
These men offered 1t at the price of good
cloth, and the war Office took it and paid
the price, knowing well what it was, but
also knowing we'll that it was the only
cloth available. 1t was made up In q
hurry by contractors who skimped on
the cloth, on the sewing, and on every
thing else and was served out to the
troops who were soon loud in complaint
1t was explained, however that these uni
forms would only be used for training al
home, and that before any man was sent
to the front he would be fitted out with
sound and warm clothing. This Is now
being done A number of interruptions
contractors have made lot Of money. but
the men have been clad In uniforms OF
q kind and have not suffered any rea
Inconvenience, except perhaps to tneil
pride In their appearance.
What the war means to the regular
cloth manufacturers may be learned IRON
the fact that the government has placed
with the Yorkshire wooden manufacturer
alone, orders for 10000 miles of KHAKI
cloth with an intimation that as soor
as that order Is completed another ~
be Forthcoming and another after tna'
n the war continues
The story has not been told anywhers
e how Kitchener defeated the grea'