Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1915-08-13
SEES HUGE GRAFT
IN HORSE BUYING
ENGLISH MEMBER OF PARLlA
MENT CALLS ATTENTION TO
ENORMOUS WASTE.
WAR OFFICE is THE WORST
Says System Of Organization Is Left
to Under-Paid Officials
Every Tap Is Run
ming to Waste.

London, Aug. Cone of the first
witnesses who will ask for a hearing
before Premier Asquith's new commit
tee to inquire into the possibility Of
effecting economies in the manage
ment of the British governments af-
fairs, is Sir A. b. Markham, member of
parliament for Nottinghamshire. For
several years, both in and out of the
house of commons, he has advocated
the necessity of a thorough super
vision of the expenditures of every
branch of government activity. Here
is what he will tell the committee, as
outlined in an interview:
There is fearful waste going on in
almost every department of the gov
eminent, but most of all, | think, is the
war office. The waste there is pri-
marily due to the system of leaving
our great war organization in the
hands of half-pay officers. We do not
encourage young men; they are sub
dued by their older superiors whenever
they suggest new business PROPOSE
ton, and all their initiative is killed.
Every tap is running to waste, for
in almost every case the wrong man
the spending departments were given
over to business men at the beginning
of the war. We ought to have done
the same. We have tried to work with
system which may have done well
enough for peace time, but which is
useless now. Instead of putting the
colossal arrangements into the hands
of experienced business men, the war
office called up retired officers from
all parts of the country-men who,
however keen, could not possibly be
expected to understand the intricacies
of the various organizations necessary.
1T is simply a scandal the way food
is being wasted. Take meat. A man
is allowed one and a quarter pounds of
meat daily. 1t is impossible to eat
so much meat. The result is a guam
tity thrown away or sold.
Another shameful waste of money
is taking place in billeting. Hundreds
of huts, to my knowledge, have been
empty for several months because they
are not fit to live in. This means that
thousands of men are billeted at It's Cd
per week when they ough to be liv-
ing in huts for which we paid to be
comfortable and draft and rain proof.
"The greatest scandal of the whole
lot has been taking place in the buy
ing of horses. l know of cases where
horses have been bought by the war
,fftn., tA N 70.
jected as unfit. They were then sold
at an auction. bought again by deal
ers, sent to the country and bought
again by the war office authorities A
brand is now being used, | am told, on
the quarters of the horses, but hither-
to the horses were branded on the
hoofs. l believe, at any rate, some
where where the dealers could simply
rasp the brand off.
Take the railways as an instance
They certainly are under government
control. but tn y are managed by bust
ness men who meet, | understand
every day.
81 know for a fact that if you want
sixpenny rubber stamp in a certain
government military office you have tc
get the initials of men in eight differ
ent departments.
Another great waste of the peoples
money is in coal. Our great railway
companies alone consume 10000 tons
per day. They are paying something
like 30s ton. The government hav
ing guaranteed the dividends of the
railway companies, the money of this
extra cost comes out of the peoples
pockets"