1. Brigadier Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that the present method of delivering and selling coal without weighing it to Army families living in married quarters is out-of-date 978 and would make a civilian contractor doing the same thing subject to prosecution; and if he will remedy this practice.
§ The Secretary of State for War (Mr. Strachey)Coal is usually delivered in 80 lb. tubs; and Army families are charged for only 70 lbs., moreover, they are charged at cost to the War Department, which is usually lower than the retail price. At present I see no reason to alter this practice.
Brigadier ClarkeDoes the Secretary of State realise that this system is a relic of the days when men got a free issue of coal, and that then the amount they got was not so important, but that now that a man has to pay for his coal, with taxed allowances, he should get the proper weight? Under the existing system a man cannot tell whether he is getting 80 lbs. or 180 lbs.—or 40 lbs., which is more usual,
§ Mr. StracheyI am advised that the 80 lb. tub contains on an average 80 lbs. of coal. The man is charged for only 70 lbs., so I should have thought that he did fairly well.