§ 63. Sir WALTER ESSEXasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the cost of Army boobs this year as compared with the cost last year represents a saving of 2s.; whether this sum is per pair or per boot; and whether such saving adds a still larger sum to the cost of civilian footwear?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the WAR OFFICE (Mr. Forster)As a result of a long series of investigations into the costs of manufacture of Army boots in the autumn of 1917, contractors' prices, submitted through their local committees, were reduced, on the average, by 2s. per pair. Prices have been increased in the subsequent quarterly adjustments to the exact extent of the increases in the costs of materials, labour, etc. It cannot, therefore, be said that the present price is 2s. per pair less than that of last year, but the economy of 2s. secured in the autumn of 1917 has, nevertheless, been maintained. The saving had not the effect of increasing the price of civilian footwear.