File 788/1919 Pt 4 ‘MESOPOTAMIA DISPOSAL OF RIVERCRAFT’ [‎44r] (83/240)

Ferrous Material. Ferrous Scrap, and Warlike Stores.
25. The difficulty o£ disposing of special machinery used for making guns, ammunition, etc.
has been considerable, but on the whole the sales have been satisfactory.
26. In the case of machine tools, large quantities have been sold to buyers abroad.
Railway Material.
/V\ ? 7 ; The dls P osal o£ Railway material in situ in the United Kingdom has been complicated by the
Control Agreement with the Railways, and by the terms on which the land for sidings, etc., had to he
taken under the Acquisition of Land Act, 1916. An Inter-Departmental Committee was formed to
consider the whole question and its report is expected shortly. Locomotives and rolling stock
the property of the Government, which were suitable for use on the British railways, have been
on then’ return from overseas, put into the “ Railway Pool” which has been instituted by the Ministry
ot Iransport. The Disposal Board is receiving payment from the Ministry of Transport for this rolling
b LOCK.
Aircraft.
2 b. Special difficulties attended the disposal of aircraft, engines and spare parts. These were
thrown up from time to time in large quantities, and the material as a whole is expensive to store and
look after. The home market was quite incapable of absorbing anything more than a small proportion
of the surpluses, and any extensive sale in suitable foreign markets, such as those in America, would have
involved heavy expense for the establishment of Agencies and the demonstration of machines. Other
allied Governments, particularly I ranee and Italy, had large quantities of surplus machines for disposal.
Added to this was the fact that a considerable portion of the material was liable, owing to improvements
in pattern and design, to become obsolete in a comparatively short time.
29. After full consideration of the matter in all its aspects it became clear in the Autumn of 1919
that the policy which had up to then been followed of the gradual disposal of aircraft to a number of
purchasers was subject to grave disadvantages. Negotiations on the basis of a block deal on a profit
sharing basis were then entered into. As the Air Ministry were not in a position to declare what aircraft
and material would be surplus to their ultimate requirements, it was impracticable to sell merely the
declared surpluses at the date of the negotiations. On the one hand, no prudent purchaser would be
prepared to pay anything like an acceptable price for existing surpluses with the risk of having his
market destroyed by a subsequent sale by the Government of the vast mass of material which it was
known would become surplus at a future time. On the other hand, it would have placed the Government
in an extremely difficult position in the matter of storage and handling if future surpluses had not been
included in the sale. Such a course would have involved the joint use of the storage depots by the
Government and the purchasers, and this, apart from the difficulties of administration, would have
entailed both on the Government and the purchasers considerable extra expense for handling and
administration as compared with the cost of dealing with the material in the mass. It was accordingly
decided, with the concurrence of the Air Ministry and the other Service Departments concerned, to sell
on a profit-sharing basis in a block deal the existing surplus material and all surpluses to be declared
for a period of two years. The negotiations, which were prolonged, were not completed until March,
1920, and the agreement was signed on the 12 th March, the purchase price being £1,000,000, plus
50 per cent, of any profit which might be realised by the re-sale or other dealing with the material.
Ferrous Material, Ferrous Scrap, and Warlike Stores.
30. The chief difficulty with regard to the disposal of these materials arose from the very large
stocks which had to be liquidated—stocks far in excess of any immediate demand. The approximate
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entailed both on the Government and the purchasers considerable extra expense for handling and
administration as compared with the cost of dealing with the material in the mass. It was accordingly
decided, with the concurrence of the Air Ministry and the other Service Departments concerned, to sell
on a profit-sharing basis in a block deal the existing surplus material and all surpluses to be declared
for a period of two years. The negotiations, which were prolonged, were not completed until March,
1920, and the agreement was signed on the 12 th March, the purchase price being £1,000,000, plus
50 per cent, of any profit which might be realised by the re-sale or other dealing with the material.
Ferrous Material, Ferrous Scrap, and Warlike Stores.
30. The chief difficulty with regard to the disposal of these materials arose from the very large
stocks which had to be liquidated—stocks far in excess of any immediate demand. The approximate
r cxiAWt.- Oxivy ' XA A A A CA O V; L O ^ CAAACA CTAAAOj ‘ tXjACA/X U A_ X vyiAA OAAYy YAAAAAV^U.AL-AC'O V 7 JL CiLAlllUllOLI CHIKJI L ^ VY U LL 1 UI 11 d V Ky
entailed both on the Government and the purchasers considerable extra expense for handling and
administration as compared with the cost of dealing with the material in the mass. It was accordingly
decided, with the concurrence of the Air Ministry and the other Service Departments concerned, to sell
on a profit-sharing basis in a block deal the existing surplus material and all surpluses to be declared
for a period of two years. The negotiations, which were prolonged, were not completed until March,
1920, and the agreement was signed on the 12 th March, the purchase price being £1,000,000, plus
50 per cent, of any profit which might be realised by the re-sale or other dealing with the material.
Ferrous Material, Ferrous Scrap, and Warlike Stores.
30. The chief difficulty with regard to the disposal of these materials arose from the very large
stocks which had to be liquidated—stocks far in excess of any immediate demand. The approximate
r CAiAWt.- Oxxvy - u. A ATAXIA O} CAAACA OAX A O j ‘ tX X U A_ X vyiAA OAAYy Y. 1 A AAAL^ LAI LAYyO AX A CL AllAAllllD 01 d L± AX 1 L , VV UU 1 U. 11(1 V Ky
entailed both on the Government and the purchasers considerable extra expense for handling and
administration as compared with the cost of dealing with the material in the mass. It was accordingly
decided, with the concurrence of the Air Ministry and the other Service Departments concerned, to sell
on a profit-sharing basis in a block deal the existing surplus material and all surpluses to be declared
for a period of two years. The negotiations, which were prolonged, were not completed until March,
1920, and the agreement was signed on the 12 th March, the purchase price being £1,000,000, plus
50 per cent, of any profit which might be realised by the re-sale or other dealing with the material.