§ 68. Sir LEOCHIOZZA MONEYasked the Under-Secretary for War if his attention has been directed to the fact that, out of 55,000 employés of the firm of Messrs. John Brown and Company, Limited, of Sheffield, 10,000 have joined the Colours; and if he will explain to the House how it came about that the War Office permitted this injury to our national war economy while so many non-producers remained unrecruited?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for WAR (Mr. Tennant)John Brown and Company, Sheffield, are included amongst the firms exempted from recruitment. I have no information that 10,000 men have joined the Colours from this firm, and, if their total number of employés is 55,000, it might well be that a considerable number of them could be released and replaced without detriment to the national interests.
§ Sir L. CHIOZZA MONEYIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the chairman of this company has made a complaint in a public speech that these men were recruited from his employés?
§ Mr. TENNANTI cannot be aware of that without notice.
§ Sir A. MARKHAMIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that this is one of the very firms making munitions of war, and these men have been taken away from their service and marched about for months in the field when they might have been making munitions of war?
§ Mr. TENNANTAll I suggested is that out of 55,000 men some 10,000 might possibly—I do not say certainly, but they might possibly—be unskilled men.
§ Sir L. CHIOZZA MONEYIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that 10,000 men means one-seventh of the total number recruited by the officers of munitions for a whole week?