The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-10-25

hold worker could want boarded there
despite the fact that the scarcity and
cost of these same things on the general
market are such that it is reflected IN
the cost of all household repairs and inn
provements.
Employees in these buildings say that
if you walk through every floor you will
have walked u miles, and the visitor
does not doubt their word, yet floor after
floor is crammed from end to end with
just the things that the public needs to
meet the conditions thrust upon it by
the war.
The food departments contain canned
goods of every description in superabund-
ance and tons upon tons of coffee are
lying about out of reach of the con-
sumner. In fact, according to one person
who made a thorough tour of these places
few days ago, it would be hard to think
of Il single necessary article than can
not be found there lying in waste with
small likelihood of it ever being used by
the army and in many cases no posi-
bility of it ever being used.
There are uniforms in these ware
houses in great quantities, and employ
ees say there are enough in stock to
supply peace time army for some time
to come. Despite this, the depot quar-
! termaster's office at 461 Eight avenue
on September 20 of this year received
sealed proposals for the delivery of 150,-
600 pairs of o. d. wooden breeches.
At the Brooklyn army supply base
upward of 100000 tubes of chloride
of lime were burned last month because
they were no longer of any use to the
! department. and there still remains on
| hand a large surplus.
Surgical Instruments in great variety
are being stored here and at other army
! posts throughout the country, and in
many instances they are said to have
deteriOated through exposure to moist
/ ure. 1t is said on good authority that
| in at least one instance a large quantity
of dental material was declared to be
surplus before it was received from the
manufacturer, yet this purchase contin-
ues in spite of the stock on hand.
Among the surplus stores are great
| supplies of towels, sheets, pillow cases,
hardware, mattresses, cooking utensils.
be welcomed in any household, but
which must remain in the dusty cases in
! the government storehOuse. The base
also is receiving back much equipment
in the way of stoves, ranges, heaters and
all parts of such contrivances, and it has
large stocks on hand and packed away
with surplus" goods.
One item of the local army base shows
!! that 1920 undershirts were received
from the Elmira Knitting mills on Sep
TENDER last, while during the same
month a large quantity of Refs under
NCai W as SOII DH the government. Nearly
every one has seen the great quantities
of army underwear which are offered
for sale by merchants who are now re.
failing to the public goods that the gov
eminent disposed of for a song but the
government continues to purchase more
i An Illuminating transaction is one en-.
tered into between the Salvage Division
/, in Long Island City and a Long Is
land City merchant whose name does
not even appear in the telephone dircc
tory. On Nav g. 1920, this man oh
tanned an order directing the officer in
, charge of the refrigerator at seventeenth
street and Tenth avenue, New York
h. City. to deliver to him 5O7 pounds oil
+ beef. 400 pounds of pruneS, 425 pounds
OF graduated sugar, 30 pounds of cot
fee. IS half gallon cans of syrup. p
boxes of cigars. > cases of tooth brushes
and 14S five pound cans of cheese. fol
all of which he paid only 800. Dplfv.
, cry, according to official records seen by
a representative of The New York Her
aid, was mode and payment received
, on the same day. Almost any one Of the
items on the bill might have been ex
pccted to bring more than the price paiC
The same merchant made another pur
chase through the same channels or
J May 6, of 143 pounds of beef marked
{ fresh deteriOate' receiving 143 pound.
: for S2.6S. 1t would appear that despt'
q its deterioration some of this was fit fOl
food for in the item of another sale L
, an incincrating concern which purchase
/ S04 pounds of beef for S1G.0S appear,
f the notation unfit for food"
: One feature of the handling of supplies
in the army at present is the continuous
: shipping and rcshipping. A shipment o
tools will be sent from this city to an
. other city. and on the same day another
shipment of the same kind of tools viii
be sent from that city to New York.
= Owing to the reduction of the labor
: ing forces at the army supply bases tn
: working force is now in many instance
= too small to handle the enormous ship
g ments coming in. and which will prob
. ably continue to come in and pile n
/ and go to waste until there is a chang
and things are put upon a sane, IevC