The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1894-08-30
SPECIAL COMMITTEE,
investigating Che Reliability OF tho
Material for the New Vessels
bv INC carnegie Co. Finds That tho Cho-a..
arc superintendent Of the wor,sa
ana STOCKHOLDERS Held ResponsibIe
-kho Z. ). Inspectors Criticised.

Az - % inspectors erlt!rlscd
"AsTlINdToN, Aug. o4.-The special
committee of the house which has bcen
investigating the charges affect;nr tho
reliability of the material for the no,v
ships furnished by the Carneyie Co 20
pittsburgh, laid their report before tho
house Thursday.
The report shows that the contract
with the company covered a nc,.iod -
TWO years and three months, from No.
vcmber' 1890. to February, 1892. The
amount of ariror plate contracted for
was S97S tons, costing S5.44l.4e
III opening the report Mr.. CUMMINGS
inc chalrman OF the committee. giycs
the eleven CHARGES made AGAINST tho
company and follows it with the ad,ois-
sion made under each charge.
Mr. Schwab admits under the first
charge that the plates did not receive
uniform treatment. explaining this bv
saying that uniform results alone wore
required. The committee cOnstrucs
the specifications to mean uniformity
before treatment when practically uni
form results will necessarily follow. If
uniform result, alone were meant. there
would have been no necessity for re-
quircmentS as 70 process.
The second charge. that false reports
OF plates were Systematically made.
the committee holds, is proven bv the
rough records of the company itself of
over seven hundred plates and lots OF
bolts which came into the hands of The
navy department. In this connection
the records examined show that tho
figures in the reports were almost in
variably changed and in some cases en-
tircly new reports were returned.
There were fake" reports of treat
ncnt of plates that received no treat
mcnt whatever. says the report. and
over % per cent. of the records show
similar changes. which were evidently
made for the purpose Of dccciving gov
crnmcnt inspectors. The reports were
made to make i appear plates had re-
ceivcd the uniform aud efficient treat
ment required by the contract
1t is evident to the committee. the
report continues. that there were not
enough furnaces to turn ont the work
required il plates were treated accord
ing 70 contract specifications. At first
there were but three furnaces, which
did all WORK up to August l. 1898, when
a fourth was added. After the charges
Of fraud We're raadc and a penalty had
been cxactcd by President Cleveland
other furnaces were added until to-day
they have ten.
The charge that specimens taken
from the plates both before and after
treatment, to ascertain the tensile
strength OF each plate, were stretched
without the knowledge Of tlu govern
mcnt inspectors, So as to increase their
apparent tensile strength is admitted
by superintendent Corey, as is practi-
callv the allegation that false spcci-
mems taken from other plates were sub
stitutcd fer the specimens selected by
the government inspectors.
He also practically admits tie charge
that the testing machine wGs Jock
eyed" with the intention to deceive in
spectors. Supt. Corey admits that the
plates selected for ballastic test by
government inspectors were re-
treated without knowledge of the
inspectors, but confines his admission
to three plates, viz: A46S, A53l and
A61O.
The report severely criticises both
the United States inspectors and the
contractors. The inspectors, 1t says
were not corrupt. but the work of IN
spection was negligent and defective.
The inspectors assumed that the COM
papy was watching its superintendent
and employees The company on the
other hand relied upon the inspectors
asking in this connection, What were
they appointed for?' Both company ana
inspectors. The report says, were cal
pablo. The report says the company
was bound to fulfill the contract III
every particular and the inspectors
were there to see that they were SO 1ul-
filled. The failure Of either to perform
his duty was no excuse for the other
The company can not shelter them
selves behind the government 1nSPec'-
o,.s Moreover. the fraud has pceh
traced home to their general surcrln-
teudent. himself stocknoioer III VIZ
.ou,coDV