The Berlin correspondent of the :Daily Telegraph gives in Thursday's
paper an extraordinary account of how the naval officials at Kiel have wasted public money by their ignorance and negligence. The sales of surplus stock have been the occasion for certain commercial firms regularly to enrich themselves at the public expense. "Bronze and brass were Bung on to a common scrap-heap, :though one was worth twice as much as the other. The contractors' workmen picked out the more valuable metal and left the other lying. The iron-heap was a positive treasure-trove. For instance, chain worth 14s. was sold for 4s. 6d." So the account goes on. The Superintendent of Stores is said to have asked the opinion of the contractors as to the prices. Competition has been precluded in naval work because only large firms could afford to pay the required deposits. Again, as all the purchasers of stores were required to come at the same time, they formed a ring and kept the prices down. The existence of this ring was known to the whole commercial world. All this is surely as good a comment as one could find on the peculiar delusion which lies behind all Socialistic legislation that the State can manage business better than private persons. Of course the Navy and Army can be managed only by the State, but the more every form of com- mercial enterprise is undertaken by the Government the greater will be the loss of public money.
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