Evening star., 1919-04-27

AmcTiCh ds Juhh IL Iney
can sell 1t over here for
anything else. 1 would like to know
it," r".' r~ -"
Thus, one general put it, with rhe-
torical exaggeration. let us hope. He
is a man of material and experience,
knowing prices, and considers him
self we'll out of it because the pub
lic is bound to misunderstand. not
airplanes. but the whole business.
On the other hand. Maj. Gen. Har-
bord. commanding the s. o. S., has
just take Viscount Peel. under
secretary for war; Sir John Cowans,
British auartermaster general; Brig.
tary mission. and Col. Griscom, with
the British war office. accompanied by
Lord Burnham. editor of the Daily
Telegraph, and others on special
train tour, showing goods. ~ S.,
So. great nations and small send
est job lot sale in the worlds history.
Do you want to- buy 2.400 barrels of
structural steel paint? ..H
Or 100000 feet of guy cable?
Or 5.45O.0o0 feet Of new iron pipe in
stock? Or s.s00.0o0 feet of salvage
able used pipe. to be taken apart or
dug up? Or 100 first class concrete
mixers, 200 others being somewhat
damaged? Or $40 second hand cleo
trio motors? There are so new ones in
stock. Or 330 road rollers that have
seen service? Or $50 engineers trac-
tors in good. condition? It's very
small lot
Scattered over all France, the mate
rial OF American victory lies awaiting
bidders. We cannot take it home
ship space Is scarce for the buddies.
We would hate to scrap it-stock and
fixtures of our ideals. On the other
hand, the Europeans know that we
must SELL So in Washington they
have organized United States
liquidation commission of the War
Department.
The liquidation commission has just
arrived in Paris. 1t will organize and
get rid Of this vast material. THE
whole work is up to them"
There's job lot of $50 brand new
gasoline engines. but what will We
get for 450 others that have seen serv-
ice? 1t is greatly to the credit Of our
war chiefs that they stopped orders
so promptly after the armistice
famous G. o. No. "a. S. o. s. and
got caught with such a moderate pro-
portion Of new stock on hand. Out of
. 1900 electric generators only 325 are
new, in stock; out of 50 steam shovels,
only IL; out of lot of 35 pile drivers
only s, But they got caught on der
ricks. ESQ new derricks to so in USE
And power-pumps-600 in use against
1000 in stock. Who wants 10000
hand and trench pumps. less than half
having seen service? But of $50 air
compressers, only 80 are new stock.
All trifes.
Even those American built airplanes
in France. which they talk about scrap
ping, are not numerous. In all, we
SchI lsVoo plahcS " thc AiOhe VOC
everybody knows. the boys used
French planes enormously. Up to
November 6. we had delivered to base
ports less than 1900 de Haviland As
and no others made in America except
samples. And 2.209 liberty motors.
Probably all could be sold at retail.
But there's the hitch--isn't 1t beneath
the dignity Of liauidating commits
sion to sell retail?
X
Real popular interest in France con-
Germs the American motor vehicles.
When 1 was at Tours, hobnobbing
with generals. many citizens ap-
preached me conhdentially. How oculd
they pick up for song one of those
fine American touring cars or a handy
two-ton truck? And more than one
honest American in France dreamed
of quick turnover, 1850 francs
proht and all worries liquidated.
Nothing doing. Already a French
syndicate. optimistic as to home tar
in barriers, had bid for the entire A.
E. F. stock Of motor vehicles. a rich
u>a.