The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-08-20
STEAL CASTINGS ?
Contradictory statements as
to the Atha and Hing
worth Arrests.
ISAAC RoMAINE'S WARRANTS
The Meadow Founders Astonisled
at Their Prosecution by
the Government.
ISAAC ROMAINE'S WARRANTS

tary Abram C. Denman of the Benjamin
Atha and Illingworth Steel Works at
Harrison, were arrested Saturday and
a~rraigned before United States Commits
sioner Isaac Romano In this city. They
were released on 81, 900 bail and will have
a hearing on Tuesday. They were eharg-
ed with conspiracy to defraud the Gov
eminent by furnishing castings for the
Navy Department that contained blow
holes which were plugged.
The charges are very similar to those
against the Carnegie Steel Company IN
the manufacture of armor plate, which
We're investigated by a Congressional
committee at Pittsburg and with when
our readers are familiar.
The warrant on which the arrests were
made was issued on August 10, on am
davit of Theodore F. Jewell, superintend-
ent of the naval gun factory in Wash
ington. He charged that during the
months of March, May and June, 1884,
in Newark, the defendants did "unlaW-
fully and fraudulently conspire to de-
fraud the United States under and by
virtue of a certain contract in furnish
ing certain castings, -four of which were
imperfect and defective in that the said
SdSlLiSo Aoo
been plugged"
The contract referred to was not a
large one, and, although the members of
the firm and Commissioner Romaine de-
clined to give the figures. II did not eH-
coed $50, 200. The contract bears the date
of September rs, 1898, and calls for sew
enty-two pieces of casting of class Is,
to fulfil all the requirements of the ord
nance Department.
Among the castings called for were g
number of castings for elevator pistons,
and these were to be sound and free
from defects and imperfections, such as
bIowholes, s~hrinkage, packs, cavities,
ETC." In the complaint it is said that the
plugged castings were delivered to the
Government March s May q and June
4, 1894.
THE COMPLAINT.
The AFFIDAVIT and complaint were sub
mitted by Commander Jewell to Pay
master Edwin Stewart and by hin sent
to Secretary Herbert, who, on August b,
after investigation, forwarded the papers
to Henry S. White, United States Dis
trict Attorney for New Jersey. Commits
sioner Romano received the papers from
Mr.. White a week ago, and the warrant
was placed in the hands of Deputy United
States Marshal Peter H. Daily Thursday
and served Saturday.
Going to the Harrison establishment,
the officer found only Mr.. John III
worth. The service of the paper max
ing the charges was the first knowledge
the latter had of the fact that the cor
poration had come into conflict with the
United States in a matter similar to
that in which the Carnegie Company
and the Chester Iron Company had re-
Gently been involved. He at once COM
municated with the works of the concern
in Chapel street, this city, and it was
decided that he and Secretary Denman
should the officer to Jersey
City, where, in accordance with instruc-
tons received from the Secretary of the
Navy some days ago. they were ar
raigned about two o'clock before Com
missioner Romano. in his office in the
Weldon building. District Attorney
Henry S. White, who has charge of the
case for the Government, was unable to
be present, but in accordance with an
understanding previously had, bail was
fixed in the nominal sum of one thousand
dollars, and Messrs. Illingworth and
emma were dCCGplGu DIS lAClA OWA
bondsmen.
BENJAMIN ATLAS STATEMENT.
Mr.. Benjamin Atha, the head of the
company, in speaking of the matter,
said:-"I was astonished beyond meas
ure when Mr.. Illingworth telephoned me
that papers had been served on him in
8 criminal suit. The complaint is made
in reference to the evato pistons, a
part of the gun carriage, l believe. The
matter is perfectly familiar to me, be-
cause it has been the subject of some
correspondence with the Nava author
tiles at Washington, but l supposed it
had all been settled. We have been
making these castings for about two
years, l think. and some months ago
we received a very severe letter from
the Navy Department in regard to de-
fects in certain elevator pistons. The
letter was so unusual that my son was
sent to Washington at once, and he saw
Captain Sampson in regard to the COM
plant. The castings were returned,
and we made new ones at once, and they
were forwarded and accepted. The ones
which had been rejected were examined,
and the cavity which had been plugged
was found to be at o1se end. 1t was a
small hole, and as the casting is con-
siderably larger in the rough than when
finished, measurements showed that in
finishing the cavities would a en-
tirely disappeared, that the carting would
have been cut down below the cavity.
If we had known this before the new
castings had been made, we should have
asked the department to accept the or
iginal castings as being according to
contract. The castings were, in short,
all that was required, and even if they
were not. we have replaced them. The
plugging was probably done to give the
casting a smooth surface. There was,
of course. no attempt at fraud, and the
error, if there was any, was no more
than might be made in any delivery OF
goods by a manufacturer to a customer,
and was fully considered and corrected
at the time.
ONLY 5000 INVOLVED.
"The castings are worth, all told, about
5000, and we are charged with conspiracy
to defraud the Government on this petty
piece of work. Do you wonder that it as
tonishes me beyond measure?
.sSince the payment of large rewards
for the discovery of imperfections in Gov
work at the Carnegie works
there has been a great lea SAID in every
foundry which does Government work
about the rchance for making money by
exposing defects. Whether this case origi
mated in somebody's desire to get another
reward or not 1 can only guess; but it