Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1906-11-16
THREE INDICTED
IN NAVAL FRAUD.
Pittsburg Grand Jury Acts in Case of
Unsound Boiler Tubes on War
Boats.

PITTSBURG, Pa, Nov. 1O.--Franiz
L. Emmett, James Jay Dunn and
Charles L. Close, employees of the United
States Steel corporation, were indicted
Friday by the federal grand jury on
charges of conspiracy to defraud the
United States government.
The cases grow out of the allegation
that defective boiler tubes for warships
have been furnished by the Shelby Steel
Tube company, with which concern the
accused men were connected. The Shell
by company is branch of the steel cor
pora ton.
Presidents Ship Included.
The investigation by the grand jury
has disclosed strong evidence that seven
battleships and two armored cruisers,
the finest vessels in the navy, now have
in their equipment defective boiler tubes
One of the battleshins is the Louisiana,
on which President Roosevelt, with his
family and distinguished party, has
just sailed for Panama.
Others are the battleships Tennessee
and Washington, which are in the
squadron escorting the President The
remaining vessels mentioned in the in
dictments are the battleships Nebraska,
Maryland, Vermont and Minnesota and
the armored cruisers Charleston and
Pennsylvania.
Danger from Explosion.
The chief danger from the defective
tubes is said to be explosion. If one
tube on a ship should explode the entire
battery of boilers might break loose and
sink or destroy the vessel
1t is estimated that fully 10000 de-
fective seamless steel tubes have been
furnished to the government, for which
has been paid considerably more than
100000.
The indictments set forth that EN-
NETT, Dunn and Close conspired together
to furnish the defective tubes to the gov
eminent instead Of perfect ones. The
date Of the conspiracy is given as De-
cember IT, 1903, though it is alleged the
offense began in 1902 and continued at
intervals until January j, 1905.
Inspectors Are Evaded.
Emmett first drew attention to the
fact that unsOund boiler tubes were fur
nlshed the government under contract in
an effort to clear himself. Dunn was
superintendent of the Greenville plant of
the company, where the alleged defective
tubes were made, and Close was assist
ant superintendent. Emmett, at the
time of the shipment of the tubes, was
foreman of the finishing department.
Testimony before the grand jury tend
ed to show that the defective tubes were
worked past the government inspectors
in various ways. Tubes that had been
rejected on account of some surface flaw
were returned to the finishing depart
ment and there made 20 look like per-
feet tubes. after which they were slipped
past the inspector.
Department Shares Blame.
The indications are that the navy de-
partment at Washington is in part to
blame for the installation of defective
tubes in warships. When the allegation
that unsound tubes had been shipped
was first made it was made directly to
the navy department, but after a per-
functory investigation the story was de-
clared groundless and nothing further
was done.
The information Travelled all over the
United States, and eventually reached
Washington again, where it was called
to the attention of Attorney General
Moody. The attorney general conferred
with President Roosevelt, Secretary of
the Navy Bonaparte was called in, and
the President personally decided on an
investigation.