THE FINANCIAL SERVICES.
The generosity of the British People--G.H.Q. was not a spendthrift--The
Pay system--Curiosities of banking in the field--Claims of the civilian
inhabitants--The looted rabbit.
The financial side of the B.E.F. was one of the triumphs of G.H.Q. "Yes,
in spending money," someone may remark, thinking gloomily over his
Income Tax assessment. But the triumph I refer to is in the dealing with
vast sums with so little loss from peculation or from mistake.
An Army in the Field should not be pinched for money if it is to work
with confidence and economy of life. Very often in the history of war a
"ragged Army" has done wonders, and the praise of those wonders has led
to some minds confusing raggedness with heroism, thinking that desperate
impoverishment is a good thing for an Army. It might have been sometimes
in the old days, when the sack of the enemy's country was the reward of
victory and it was a case of fight or perish. In modern times it is a
sound principle of warfare that the better an Army is supplied with the
means of warfare the less will be the cost of life in achieving its
purpose.
The soldiers of the British Army in France have reason to feel grateful
to the people of Great Britain that there was never any sparing of money
at the expense of their comfort and safety. No Army at any known period
of the world's history was more lavishly provided for in food, clothing,
munitions and pay. To illustrate on one point only, that of munitions.
In the British Army 100,000 men in a day used 410 tons of munitions, in
the French Army the same number of men in a day used 246 tons. Part of
the disparity might be accounted for by superior economy on the part of
the French. Most of it was due to the fact that the British people were
able to supply, and did supply, their troops with far greater quantities
of shell, etc., so as to take as much of the burden of war as possible
off the flesh and blood of the soldier.
The taxpayer for his part can be comforted with the knowledge that, so
far as the Army in the Field was concerned, there was an honest effort
to guard against waste. Of course war is a wasteful business,
essentially, and no possible precaution can guard against some losses.
Often the position is that a great amount of material has to be devoted
to a certain purpose though it is very likely to be wasted, because the
alternative is to incur a greater risk of life. It was always the
British system, a system which Parliament insisted upon equally with the
Generals in the Field, that any sacrifice of money and material was to
be preferred to a useless sacrifice of life.
In peace times the Finance Branch of the War Office had a long-standing
reputation for artful meanness. It was accused of working on the
principle that an officer in the Army was always possessed of abundant
private means and therefore never really wanted any Army money, and that
a private soldier was clearly a fool and a failure for being in the Army
at all and therefore deserved little or no consideration. If he were
allowed money to spare he would waste it on dissipation.
Certainly F. Branch War Office showed itself time and again very sharp
at construing the Pay Warrant to the benefit of the Treasury, but it was
never quite as bad as that. In the Field the spirit of economy had to
give place to the spirit of efficiency and of _morale_. Nevertheless, a
very tight check was kept on the money-bags to prevent dishonesty or
extravagance. The Financial Adviser at G.H.Q. was a potentate of great
ability and of enormous authority. No order which involved the spending
of money could go out without being referred to him and winning his
approval. He had the right of access to the Commander-in-Chief at all
times. It was said that since as a civilian he did not get prompt and
full respect from sentries, or from officers who did not understand his
position as Chancellor of the Army Exchequer, he was made a General in a
single day, and that when he first walked abroad as a General and
sentries presented arms to him he was greatly perturbed, thinking that
this might be the first step in an outbreak of personal violence. But
that was by way of _persiflage_. All officers who came into contact with
him recognised a man of ability and of sympathy.
It was the Army Pay Department that most closely touched the lives of
the soldiers in France. It had to pay a total of about two and a half
million people of all kinds--officers who were either affluent or
careful and gave no trouble at all; officers who were neither and whose
impecuniosity had to be guarded against; a very few officers who were
actually dishonest; "other ranks" in whose pay there were infinite
complications due to separation allowances and the like; and furthermore
the women of the various auxiliary corps, the Labour Corps of various
nationalities, civilian auxiliaries and the like. As the war progressed
"Pay" had to act as money-changer, dealing with almost all the
currencies of the world, and as a Savings Bank and as liquidator of all
kinds of claims and as a third party in those highly convenient
transactions in which an officer bought clothes and other necessities
from "Ordnance" at a price which was sometimes less than half that
charged by London stores.
The Army Pay Department in the Field was not the final paymaster. It
gave advances on account only, leaving the final adjustment to the Pay
office at Home. But during the war and up to the end of 1918 (by which
time demobilisation had broken up most of the units in France) it had
paid out nearly four thousand million francs, and its total losses from
forgeries, war losses, bad money, etc., were quite insignificant. At one
period in 1918 when an analysis was made, it was found that the bad
money passed off on to the Pay Department had averaged only eight francs
per week.
The financial arrangements of the old Regular Army had to be modified
very considerably, especially in regard to officers, as the war
continued, though at first an attempt was made to apply them in their
entirety. The Army Pay Agents soon found out that a number of the new
officers who had come into the service had little or no sense of
financial responsibility, and the Pay Department had to tighten the
reins considerably. Exceedingly liberal arrangements had been made at
the outset to meet the convenience of officers. Thus any Branch of the
Bank of France would cash an officer's cheque up to £5, and any Field
Cashier--each Division had a Field Cashier--would cash his chit to the
same amount. Also, he might draw his allowances by cheque monthly, and
this cheque was good at any Field Cashier's office.
Some early developments were startling. There is a tale of one officer
(he was in a position which gave him a wide range of movement)
collecting £125 in one day before going on leave. He had a "good leave"
presumably, but he had at the time only £3 due to him at his Army
Agent's, and it took some time for him to make up the balance on his pay
as lieutenant. To meet the case of gentlemen "raising the wind" on this
scale there was instituted an "Officer's Advance Book," the conditions
of obtaining and using which were gradually tightened, so that it was
only possible for an officer below "field" rank to obtain three advances
in a month of 125 francs each. That still left one loop-hole for
improvidence or dishonesty--cashing cheques at a Bank of France after
drawing the three advances. But not very many officers could get to a
bank except during a "leave," and a certain "overrunning of the
constable" was expected then and could be adjusted afterwards. Officers
who consistently drew beyond their means after warning were looked upon
as having dishonest intentions and were put on a "black list." They
could not draw cheques, and were deprived of their "Advance Books" until
they were in credit again.
There was no serious amount of financial delinquency. At the worst the
"black list" just crept over the 100 limit. One incorrigible
spendthrift, having been deprived of his Advance Book, tried to obtain
another from a Field Cashier in another centre on the plea that his
previous book "had been captured by the enemy."
It was very human, the Pay Department, for all its strictness, and in my
experience never refused an officer who was going on leave a "bit extra"
if he had a good financial name. One of its very kind customs was to
arrange for wounded officers evacuated to "Blighty" to be met in England
by Pay Agents who pressed on them change of a little cheque to meet
possible incidental expenses in hospital. It had, too, a nice habit of
watching the tactical situation and acting accordingly. After the great
German onrush of the Spring of 1918 many hundreds of officers were
destitute, their kits abandoned to the enemy. Pay Department promptly
relaxed all its rules to enable them to outfit again promptly; and, of
course, there was ultimately reimbursement to the officers of the value
of their kits. Up to the conclusion of the war "Pay" reimbursed nearly
20,000 officers for loss of kit.
[Illustration: Photo by J Russell & Sons
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR CLAUDE A. BRAY (Paymaster-in-chief, B.E.F.)]
"Pay" changed any sort of money into French currency; and it had to deal
with many varieties. Serbian, Egyptian, Nova Scotian, Greek, Kruger
money (from South Africa), Australian bank notes, Italian, Russian,
American, Canadian, local French "Bank of Commerce" notes (which were
monetised in some cases by the Bank of France), Mexican dollars--all
came to its counter and were duly honoured. But it turned up its nose at
American Confederate Bank notes and assignats of the First French
Republic (both useless except for wall paper).
Various currency problems had to be solved by "Pay." The Bank of France
was always in a state of worry over the huge consumption of 5 francs
notes by the British Army. These were the most favoured units for paying
the men; they seemed to disappear from currency at a quick rate, and
they were expensive to print. The situation was improved by the adoption
of the suggestion of "Pay" that a 10-francs note should be issued.
Probably the Bank of France would have been quite content if they had
thought that the 5 francs notes were destroyed. But they knew that they
were being hoarded up by the French peasants, who absorbed every bit of
silver as soon as it was put into circulation, and, after silver,
favoured for their hoards notes of small denominations. At the time of
the German advance in the Spring of 1918 "Pay" had a curious
illustration of the hoarding ways of these French peasants. That advance
let loose a flood of silver coinage. The people who lived in districts
which might have to be evacuated changed their hoarded silver for notes,
which would be more handy to carry away.
"Pay" at an early stage of the war put forward an interesting
proposal--the issue of International Army Notes in various denominations
which would be good in any one of the Allied Countries. The proposal was
never carried through, but its idea is being revived in the financial
world to-day by the proposal for an International Bank to take over some
or all of the war debts of the Allies and issue a paper currency good in
any one of the Allied Countries.
The encouragement of thrift among the soldiers was part of the work of
"Pay." In August, 1915, it secured soldier subscriptions to the War Loan
to the extent of £25,200. The next year it established Savings Banks,
and in 1918 it set up agencies at all Army Post Offices for the sale of
War Savings Certificates. But its greatest achievement in the way of
thrift was the Chinese Savings Bank, which was started in August, 1918,
and in a fortnight had deposits of 400,000 francs.
The last welcome task of "Pay" was to establish Field Cashiers in
Germany and to fix a rate of exchange for German money, which was
started at five marks=2s. 8d.
The Claims Commission (established in December, 1914) was another branch
of the financial organisation. Its business was to decide upon claims
for damage done by the British Army to the property of civilians, French
or Belgian. The British Army paid for everything, even to an orchard
tree that an Army mule had nibbled at. Claims made were sometimes
ridiculous in character and in extent. In my regimental experience I
remember a market gardener claiming 200 francs on account of damage done
by a horse which had wandered into his potato patch for a few minutes.
The claim was very amicably settled on the spot by the payment in cash
of two francs. On an average, "Claims" paid about one fourth of the
total asked for, and the civilian population did very well indeed on
that.
In the very early days of the war the civil population of France, filled
with relief and gratitude at the arrival of the British Force, of whose
coming they had almost despaired, greeted officer and soldier with the
most generous hospitality. Indeed as the "Old Contemptibles" marched
through Boulogne women stripped off their rings to give them to the
marching soldiers. Wine, fruit, and other delicacies were pressed on
everybody without payment. That generous enthusiasm could not last
through a four years' war, but to the very end the best of the French
population recognised a duty of hospitality to their British guests. It
was only natural, however, that many of the peasants and small traders,
hard hit by the war, should take advantage of their opportunities to
make profit out of our Army. This was particularly noticeable after the
coming of the Colonial troops, who were just as lavish in spirit as the
British Tommies and had a good deal more pay to spend.
[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL L. B. FRIEND (President of Claims
Commission)]
The Claims Commission, which in the later stages of the war had its
headquarters at Paris Plage and Le Touquet, did its work to the
satisfaction of everybody. At first its responsibilities were confined
to paying claims for damage done. Later it took over all the financial
adjustments in connection with the hiring and the requisition of
civilian land and property. Its tasks called for a great deal of tact
and a wide variety of resourcefulness. In the Spring of 1918 the
abandonment in evacuated areas by civilians of wine and portable
property caused trouble. The events at Amiens illustrate the position.
As soon as the city came under enemy shell fire the civil authorities
left, and with them most of the respectable inhabitants. Less
respectable people remained, and probably were guilty of some excesses.
The British Army Authorities, however, were prompt in taking over
control, and on April 3rd the city was quiet and orderly. But very
serious reports of damage by British troops were put into circulation.
On investigation by the Claims Department the actual cases resolved
themselves into two: in one house three doors had been broken down; in
the other case the British Army had stolen a rabbit "which had been
abandoned by its owners." These were the only two charges definitely
preferred. But it was, seemingly, a fact that in some villages outside
of Amiens regrettable incidents arose from the fleeing civilians
abandoning stores of wine or disposing of them to the troops at
sacrifice prices. The French Authorities were asked to assist in
forbidding the importation by civilians of intoxicants into threatened
areas.
Towards the end of the war some of the French towns which had been
sheltering large numbers of British troops raised the question of the
payment of octroi duties on the goods consumed by the troops. As I
suppose is well known, French towns have local customs duties (called
octroi because the right to collect them for local purposes was
originally a concession from the King). All food, etc., coming into the
town pays a small tax. Supplies for the British Army did not pay this
tax, and the towns complained of the loss thus caused to their municipal
revenues. G.H.Q. willingly conceded the payment of octroi. A lump sum
was allowed for the past period, and an arrangement made for the future
payment of so much per head every half year for each soldier billetted
within the town boundaries. The _per capita_ charge varied greatly. A
few French towns refused to make any claim, saying that they were well
content to make that concession to their British guests.
On the whole the financial record of the British Army in France is
something to be proud of. We paid justly--sometimes generously--for
everything, and no civilian was left with a legitimate grievance.