The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-25
INGENIOUS YANKEES
 CONTINUE ID SECURk ALLIED WAR ORDERS
Lucrative War Contracts Lure Americans to For
 eign Capitals
RATION CANS USED
 AS HAND GRENADES
The Hustling War Contractor Replaces The Tourist in England and France--Irish Stew Is Used
 As War Ration

|
 Paris. October .--(Correspondence of
 the Associated Press)-The American
 agent. drawn by the lure of war con
 tracts and the exceptional demand for
 American goods in all lines. is becom-
 Ing one of tho most familiar figures of
 London, Paris and the other war capi-
 tals of Europe. He is taking the place of the American pleasure tourist. who
 has almost disappeared from the scene. and the channel boats. the great hotels and the boulevards now have q goodlv | quota of Americans telling their stories and relating their latest experiences i'm | dealing with officials over war supplIes They are of the audacious and ad- venturous type and prepared on short no tice to talk in round millions on a con- tract for horses guns. munitions, or sup plies of any kind
 War Contract Business Two of the new type of war contractors chanced to meet at the Grand hotel tho other day. and after the usual greetings and inquiries about home. one of them | asked the other:
 What Is your line?" Canned goods Doing any business?'' Fine; just closed big contract with the military people for a war ration.'' What kind of q war ration?" Well. we call it Irish stew in Amer ica. but over here. since the war began. am calling it a war ration, and it has caught on fine. We take q certain DOT Hon of meat-good. first class meat and no poor stuff-and add a portion of rice. portion of onions portion of car rots' with seasoning, that you see makes line Irish stew. but as I say over l here we call it a war ration''
 And what do you thinlS?" he went on. We put up that stew in one-pound tin cans. and after they eat the Irish stew they're going to use the tin cans for hand grenades Now thassA a fact. ana that's where our goods appealed to these military people the most--the double use they could get out of them-first as a war ration and then as a hand rre- made, and that's what closed the con tract"
 This was told In all seriousness and was not story of ''the road so that there Is every reason to expect that Irish stew made in America will soon be nourshing allied troops and afterward serving them as a receptacle for explo- sives to offset liquid fire, asphyxiatinr gas and other deadly contrivanees.
 Ingenious Device
 rl.
 had considerably enlarged while this talk was going on, and one of the newcom- CTS remarked:
 I've got something that beats your irish stew, but those people at the Lon don war office wouldn't adopt it."
 He drew from his pocket a wad of piiable metal that gradually unfolded it. self into the form of d perfect glove. It was made of minute links of steel. much as ladies' link purse is made 80 that the linked steel glove fitted to the hand and was flexible to all it's move- ments
 Have you noticed he explained. that the wounded India troops In the streets Of London invariably have their right hand in a sling. That Is because the In- dian fighter, when he rushes a German trench. grabs the German bayonets as they're thrust at him, and when the bayonet is jerked back 1t cuts an uglv double edged wound in the Indians hand That's why half the Indian troops are in hospital with wounded hands
 Now 1t was to meet just such a con- dition and keep the Indian on the firing line that we got up this steel linked glove. With that on hts hand an Indian can jump In trench and grab a bayo- net With no danger of a wounded hand But somehow those war office people wouldn't see 1t; they're standing fin their own light, for every one of those gloves
  front"
 Red Tape In Europe
 1t appears to be the consensus of opfn- lon among the commercial men that it ia very hard to do business with the aver age European official.
 First the bureau systems make an endless amount of circumlocution and rcd tape. and if Is difficult to find out who Is the official who has the real decision. And after that the travellers say that hdebound conservatism stands In the way of the adoption of anything outside of old, we'll understood models. many of which are out of date They tell many strange experiences in their efforts to reach the right people.
 Introductions Advertised
 q was told" said one of the trav- slers, that an introduction from prom nent people was necessary to get you my attention. One firm advertised i'm London that they could furnish the right kind of introductions. I looked hem up and found they were house agents. Then I heard that the Duke If -- could give the sort of let er required So l managed to see him md told him that In America we were lble to tell a customer when we saw me. and l was so anxious to see what British customer looked like that would be willing to spend thousand lollars to have one introduced to me. The duke said he would be glad to introduce the very man who had the inal signing of contracts for my line if goods. and he would bring him to ne in two days waited anxiously he second day. but he did not come. md have been waiting ever since. But the duke can do it if he wanta O. there is no doubt"
 Another representative of an exton- 4 i've American industry related the fol- owing experiences:
 Contracts Relet
 "An artillery harness for six hor,en E being furnished to one of tho bSY< < lgerent governments for S35s. Tkn ontract was first let as whole to Fl Amerlcan agent at that net price. Buo H
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