272 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR
orders from the Government and allocated them among the zemstvos
and municipalities; it also received the articles provided on the vari-
ous orders and delivered them to the Ministry of War. Another
function was to administer all funds furnished by the Government
for supplies. It also had to arrange, when necessary, for the con-
struction of factories and works. In addition to the usual executive
machinery, departments of the Central Committee of the Zemgor
were created to deal with the following matters: military-techni-
cal, orders, raw materials, production, communications and trans-
port, and munitions. The largest of these departments was the
military-technical, which was subdivided into the following sections:
shells, armaments, trench instruments, electro-technical, chemical,
automobiles, and technical information. This department also main-
:ained a permanent exhibition of samples, besides a drawing office.
Following the example of the Zemstvo Union, provincial and dis-
trict committees of the Zemgor were established, having among their
members scientists and experts, representatives of merchants, manu-
tacturers, and of other groups. The membership was not definitely
prescribed, but varied according to local conditions. The provincial
committee functioned as the directing and codrdinating organ for
the district committees. It received orders from the central commit-
tees, allocated them among the districts, made advance payments on
such orders to the district committees, supervised the prompt execu-
tion of the orders, and assumed general responsibility for them.
The Central Committee of the Zemgor had four principal func-
tions: (1) It placed the orders of the Ministry of War and assisted
in their execution. (2) It assisted in the evacuation of industrial
astablishments from areas threatened by enemy invasion. (3) It or-
ganized factories and other industrial enterprises. (4) It supplied
the needs of the front directly.
Army Orders.
Orders had to be distributed with due consideration to technical
possibilities in each locality and with a view to the greatest possible
economy. Economy, however, could not always be attained, since the
urgency of orders often made it necessary to place them, not where
they might be executed on the most favorable terms, but wherever
they could be executed promptly, even though at a much higher
