St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-08-24
FRAUDS ARE PROVEN.
Armor Plate Investigating
Committee Makes a
Report.
CARNEGIE COMPANY SCORED
Severely for It's Methods Of
Manipulating Defective
Material.
CARNEGIE COMPANY SCORED
PLATES TO BE RETEsTED
A Thorough Trial of Armor
on the Big Battle Ships
Recommended.


tive Amos j. Cummings, chairman Of
the house committee on naval affairs,
presented to the house today the pre-
liminary report upon the investigation
af the armOr plates and billets furnished
to the government by the Carnegie COM
pany. The investigation has been in
progress for weeks, and during its
course testimony has been given by the
principal officers Of the Carnegie com.
pany. by workmen and by government
officials. The report is remarkably
complete and good review of the case.
The committee finds that charges of
fraud have been sustained, scores the
company severely, and recommends, as
has been stated in these dispatches. that
fifty-nine suspected plates in use
Shonld be tested, as the only method of
proving their fitness or unftness. 1t
only finds that the government inspec.
tlon was negligent, but no charge of
dishonesty rests upon the inspectors.
The charges against the company were
that the plates and bolts did not receive
the treatment required by the contracts;
that false reports were made to govern
ment inspectors; that plates for testing
were retreated before being submitted;
that the testing machine was fraudu-
lently manipulated; that substitution
was made in the case of plate de-
signed for ballistic test, and that the
government stamp was either duplicated
or stolen, and used without knowledge
of the government inspectors. The re-
port states that the number of furnaces
used was inadequate to fulfill the con-
tract on the amount of armor plate
turned out. After the first investiga-
ton Of frauds, the number Of furnaces
gard 10 the ''jockeying" of the testing
machines, 1t is asserted that the COM
panY made private tests of materiaf,and
if it was below the standard manipu-
lated the machine at the test so that it
showed the required tensile strength.
The charges of retreating and substi-
tuting plates for ballistic tests the CON-
mittee is satisfied. are true. The charge
of using duplicate or stolen govern
ment stamp is not sustained. The report
says the government
Inspection Was Negligent
and defective, but this Is attributed to
the fact there were not nearly enough
inspectors to do the work. 1t is asserted
that the fraud has been traced home to
the general superintendent, who is a
stockholder in the Carnegie company.
Of the feature of criminality involved,
Chairman Cummings says:
1.-The frauds which your committee
has found are worthy to be called
crimes. The servants of the Carnegie
company (whether with or without the
knowledge of the company, to increase
their gains, deliberately continued for
many months to commit acts whose
natural and probable consequences
would be a terrific loss of money in
time of war, and perhaps the defeat of
the nation. No mere fine or money
consideration is an adequate atonement
for such wrongs. Your committee do
not consider 1t within their province to
draft criminal statute, but they do
feel under obligations to call the atten-
tion of the house to the Importance of
protecting the lives Of our s9amen anu
the safety of the nation by appropriate
legislation. denouncing as crimes all
such acts as the frauds practiced upon
the government In connection with the
armor plate and other material of war,
and making such acts punishable in all
persons who commit them, or aid in
their commission"
In recommending test of plates, the
tr,it 70 n linn oil
the admissions made by the superin-
tendent employed by the Carnegie
company. they claim that all the plales
paid for by the government are up to
specifications of the contracts.
''Fhe contract of Feb. 2S, 1893, states
that the obligation is imposed upon the
contractors to satisfy the Inspector that
everything has been done in strict ac-
cordance with the terms of the contract.
Ithas been conclusively shown that the
inspectors have been satisfied and the
armor plates passed by the most
Notorious Frauds.
"Fhe efforts of the company ard all
its superintendent, Cline, Corey and
Schwab, have been to satisfy your CON-
mittee that armOr is up to the reguire-
mentS of the contract, notwithstanding
false reports to inspectors, doctoring of
specimens. plugging of plates, fraudu-
liant retreating OF the plates and Jock
eying" of the testing machine. The ull.
blushing character of the frauds to
which these men have been parties and
the disregard of truth and honesty
which they have shown in testifying
before your committee render them un-
worthy of credence.
land everything bears against their
contention. IT Is not to be supposed
that such manifold frauds were contin-
ued for so long a time without an impor-
tant object to be gained. AS to individual
plates and the groups of plates passed
In many cases by fraud, the fair con.
clusion is that Without the frauds they
would not have passed.
1.-TWO questions remain, however; first,
whether, Notwithstanding the frauds
aud the failure to attain the high stand
ard required by the contracts, the
armor is not good steel and fair afmor;
second, the extent to which the govern
ment has been damaged by the frauds
and Irregularities practiced upon it.
The terms of the resolution under
which your committee is acting re
Quire them ~ ascertain the amount Of