NAVAL AND MILITARY CONTRACTS: A SUGGESTION.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR:1
Sut,—I am one of those Members of Parliament who have no fault whatever to find with the general policy of the Unionist Government which we have been sent to Westminster to support. I believe, however, and I think the belief will be s*.iared by every business man who is a Member of the House of Commons, that the business of the country is not carried on well, and in particular that we do not receive value for the money we spend. Take, for instance, the chartering of steamers in connection with the present war. Every ship- owner in the kingdom knows that we have spent for these steamers millions more than we ought to have spent, simply because those who had charge of that department knew nothing about the freight market, and did not understand the relative values of the different steamers which they chartered. It is the general belief also that in all the spending establishments of the Government the same waste is continually going on, and for the same reason. What is the remedy ? It will not be found in those Committees of Inquiry appointed from time to time which make recommendations, which are sometimes useful, but which not unfrequently do more harm than good. A good system is a great deal, but it is not everything. A great business is established and the man who founded it dies. The system which he had originated still continues, but unless he leaves behind him some one with a capacity similar to his own the business falls to pieces. What is needed is not systems, but men. I do not at all agree with the idea of Lord Rosebery that we should have a Cabinet of business men. We require at the head of our Government men of a far higher intellect than is necessary for the equipment of the most successful of business men, and I would be very sorry to see the Government of our country in the hands of any of the gentlemen mentioned by
Lord Rosebery. The remedy which I suggest is much less hero.c, but it would, I think, be very effective. Among the supporters of the Government in the House of Commons are a great number of men who have been engaged in business all their lives, and who are Members of the House because they have conducted their businesses so successfully. These men know, if they know nothing else, how to buy to the best advantage, and surely it would be wise to make some use of their ability; to select from their number, to begin with, two gentlemen; to make them members of the Govern- ment, and placing one at the Admiralty and the other at the War Office, to give them absolute control over all contracts made by those Departments. Of course such a proposal would probably be bitterly opposed by the permanent officials, but it would not be the less necessary on that account. The essence of a business training is the know- ledge that if a business man makes a mistake he pays for it in a diminished income, and that is precisely the training which a Government official never can have. The plan I suggest, if adopted, would, in my opinion, not only save the country a great deal of money, but it would introduce into the Government a new element which would be very valuable.
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