The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-08-06
If Machinist Mays Statements
Are to Be Believed.
SHELLS ARE MADE
Which i'm Case of War Would
Be Utterly Useless
Highup Officials Seem to Wink
at CrOOkedness.

NEW YORK, aug "a WOrlu O1SpdtCn
from Reading, Pa, says;
Wesley B. May. a machinist Of this
city. says there Is rottenness in the Car
penter Armor Piercing Projectile works
and Secretary Herbert has been making
an investigation Of the Carpenter shells
piled up in the navy yard at Washing
ton, as a result Of Mays disclosure.
May WAS formerly employed in the
works Of the Carpenter S-eel company
at North Reading. He was put in charge
0f the shell department and before he
left there he says he saw enough to
convince him That the government was
being outrageOusly swindled.
When Machinist May first went to
Washington with mis- revelations Of
fraudulent anG defective constructions
he says he was snubbed most persistent
ly. In fact, he described his reception
as chilly that less determined MAJ
would have been scared off
May went TO work for the Carpenter
Steel company Septem ber 1, 1898. His
first employment WAS in running a bor-
ing mill His work was to bore "A large
hole in the armor- piercing Projectiles
from the base up to bout the point
where ''burly" projects out like a ring
around the shell.
After working two weeks on the large
boring mill May was put to work on
lathe, turning the prOjectilcs, and "a few
"
ing department.
May had not worked in this room long
before he came across a shell that had
been warped in tempering; that il, it
was not true. When placed on the lathe
it would Wabble. A straight line drawn
directly through the axis of the shell
from the exact centre of the base would
not strike the point OF the proiectjle
known technically as the -ogive."
May trued up this shell ca his machine
lection at the head of the shell where
it began 10 taper off towards the point
"oglve.' This particular projectile ran
out Of center 50 far that May decided.
because Of his practical knowledge, that
it would not enter gun. He called his
foreman, man Of the name of Wilson,
and asked him what To do with the shell.
Mays idea was that it should be
thrown on the scrap heap. The foreman
told him to true up all the shells by the
buriy and not to mind whether the rear
end was out Of center or not. The fore
man explained that the main object
was to get true and square
band around the burly so as
not to disfgure the she'll Otherwise it
would make 4 bad impression on the
government inspector when he came,
and if he meas ured il with his dividers
he could see that something was wrong
May said he was satisfied then that all
responsibility had been removed from
MIN, ana so ne worked along with the
machine under the fOreman's order up to
May 20. 1894 He was taking the place
OF an old employe of Carpenter, who was
on the sick list for many weeks. While
May was on this machine d very large
proportion of the shells which he turned
were far from being true. but he kept no
account Of their mum ber. though he made
a quiet investig gatiOn a. to the cause. Ho
found that these defective shells had
warped during the tempering process.
May went to Washington on May %
He inquired for the office OF the secre-
tary OF the navy and was told that Mr.
Herbert was in Alabama. He learned
that the matter il which he was inter
ested was under the administration Of
Captain Sampson, chief of the ordnance
bureau. To Captain Simpsons office,
therefore, he went
Captain Sampson got May to tell him
the defect IN the shells, and May says he
was very much surprised when Captain
Sampson made this remarkable state
ment. Young man, that warping. as
you call il, does not affect the efficiency
of the shell at all. The copper bands
around the base Of the projectile will at
tend to all that and keep the parts you
speak Of from wearing away the bore of
the gun"
May obtained entrance into the navy
yard and saw the projectiles banded, and
discovered by the way in which they were
placed ln the lathe that the machinist
and presumably the spectators at the
yard, had 40 idea that the shells were not
straight
Later Jacobs and May visited Wash
ington, saw Secretary Herbert, who gave
them an order to inspect the shells at
the navy yard. They were treated as
May had been formerly, and went away
more convinced than ever that fraud
was being perpetrated. They, however,
failed 10 impress this belief upon the
Washington officials. the latter strongly
denying that any irregularity existed in
connection with the shells
Three 9EfIIiOn Gallons OF whisky.
CINcINNATI, Aug.6.-Internal Revenue |
Commissioner AilIer today ordered six
guagers from here to Pekin, H.. to re-
guage whisky which the whisky trust l
wants ~ take out Of bond. Tho guarers !
20 next 70 Peoria. The trust has ordered I
three million gallons ont of bond in this /
district, all Of which is to be regua.sed. l
Anarchists sent 10 HHn~sOwah
ROME, Aug. 6-Six anarchists were I
arrested while holding a secret confer
ence here last evening. 1t is estimated !
that 1900 anarchists who were arrested 1
in the raids of the last two months viii /
be deported. group of 80 has barn