The Bismarck tribune., 1919-04-12
YANKEE THRIFT
SHOWN BY UNCLE.
SANS BARGAINS
If Anyone Tells You That He's
Giving Away Good War Ma
terial, He's Gibbing
GETS REASONABLE PRICES
Figures Out Cost and Deprecia'
ton and Sets Standard
and Sticks to 1t
BY A. e. GELDHOF.
.E. A. Washinqton Bureau.


Washington, D. c., April 12.-You'v'
all heard reports like these:
The war departments selling mo
tor cars it doesn't need for $lG(
apiece"
You cansbuy an airplane from thu
government for $500 now"
"The army is selling army blankets
for little~or nothing
THEY'RE ALL FALSE.
1t is true that the army has a lol
of war material to sell, but it isn't
letting go of it at such heavy loss.
Nor is it tue tha~ thousands Of
dollars worth OF ammunition and high
explosives have been destroyed. The
The only ammunition the army has
detroyed is captured German shells
which were piled on the deserted bat
tlefields of france and blown up.
One modern weapon which has been
destroyed is poison gas. Tone OF 1T
have been dropped into the ocean, for
the war department believes that new
or again will poison gas be used IN
warfare. The United States, at least,
will not be the first to use it again.
But nearly everything else owned
by the war department is being put in
storage or sold at market prices.
TINT hurned to
Reclamation Work
Recently $10,000,O0O worth ofNTNT
which was on hand in various east
ern munition plants was turned over
OF the interior department for use in
reclamation work, Alaska engineering
work, the national parks and othes
places where blasting is necessary.
The war department had planned to
send this dangerous accumulation OF
explosives into the sea after the pols-
on gas, but Secretary Lane rescued it
and said it would save his department
a lot Of the money it has been spend
ing for dynamite.
For the disposal of other war mater
ial, sue has lumber, steel, copper, mo.
tor cars and chemicals, the war de-
partment has organized a sales di-
vision, to which everything, mo long
er needed for the army is being turn
cd over.
None of this material will DE sold
at bargain prices, because to do so
would disrupt the commercial mar
= yhCLS duut IdlSC AOWl LIOlll 4Alu uotl :
The sales division has reached an
agreement with the copper producers
Of the country, for instance, under
which l00,000,000 pounds Of copper
now in the hands of the army will be
placed on sale for a period OF Is
months. 1t will be sold at market
prices, and. a company has been or
s,ganized to dispose OF it. .
r In handling its surplus lumber a
similar arrangement was made, and
a firm which represents the majority
Of the American lumber associations
was organized to purchase the sur
plus lumber, SELL it at the current
market price, and pay the proceeds
to the war department. les the ex-
pens ,eof handling.
Uncle Sam Holds
No Bargain Sales.
BY this method the government
avoids dumping its urplus material
back on the market to injure the in
dustries which tripled and quadrupled
their production during the war tc
meet the needs Of the army.
In cases where it is not feasible tC
dispose of the material in this way
the department., through its fielt
clerks catered over the country, is
selling it at public sale. advertised il
the newspapers. This sort of sale in
cludes typewriters, desk and office
supplies which are no longer needed
But these are not being sacrificed
either. They are marked at price
which allows for depreciation, ant
sold the same as any other secon(
hand furniture
Many Of the army's motor trucks O
which at one time the war depart
ment owned nearly 100000, have beer
turned over to the postoffice depart
ment, while part of its 10000 motol
cars have been given to the public
health service and other government
departments. Airplanes have beer
turned over to the postoffice depart
ment for use on the air mail routes.
One excellent example of swords
beate ninto plowshares' is the dispo
sition of 100000 tons, on nitrate o
soda which was to have been used il
making high explosive shells. 1t ha
been turned over to the bureau o
markets ~of the department of Agri
culture, and will be used is fertilize4
In the matter of surplus clothing tn
war departments given to worry
n0@