The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-06
ARMOR PLATE SCANDAL
 IS BROUGHT UP AGAIN
Fifteen Years Ago It Was Found That Arnor on WarshIps Was Defective and Ordered Removed, But
 This Was Never Done.


 bureau of ordnance, has admitted that the battleship Oregon, once the pride of the United States navy, has carried since the day she was built 400 tons of defective armor plate
 In addition, the naval officials told that the coming tower of the Oregon, which, by expert testimony given nearly IS years ago, was shown to be full of blow holes, is still on this vessel which may any day be called to aid in defending the country against an enemy.
 It Is also shown that the armor manu- factured by the Carnegie Steel company up to the latter part of 1893, which Hillary A. Herbert, then Secretary of the Navy. recommended be stripped from the In- diana, New York, Massachusetts and sev- eral other smaller vessels, has never been removed.
 The investigation of the matter was prompted by the assertion in Upton Sin clair's new book, ''The Money Changers" that there are ships in our navy covered with rotten armor plate that was sold to the government for four five times what it cost"
 Referring to the investigation in 1S93- 94, which resulted in the celebrated armor plate scandal, the author says
 Nothing Done.
 Nothing much was ever done about it. The government could not afford to let the real facts get out. But, of course, the in- siders in the navy knew about 1t and the memory will last as long the ships last"
 This part of the book is a bitter attack on several well-known men who have been connected for years with the steel industry, and whose identity 1t Is easy to trace. 1t charges that at the time of the armor plate scandal they bought out the democratic party and secured the sup port of a President of the United States. Following up a reference made in the book to a Pittsburg lawyer, who gave the information upon which the govern ment investigation was placed and in plate 619, said by the book to have been manufactured for the Oregon, reporters discovered all the evidence that was laid before the Investigators.
 Inasmuch as 15 years have passed since the date of the investigation this evil dence is not more amazing than the state ment obtained, not only from the chief of the bureau of ordnance for the navy, but from the Secretary of the Navy him. self, that the defective armor plate is still on the ships on which it was placed orig inaly.
 q cannot state correctly whether the arInor in question is still on the Oregon and the other vessels which were involved in the investigation, without referring to the records of the bureau, said Admiral Mason when first interviewed. This is also information of the kind which cannot be given out without the permission of the Secretary of the Navy" he added.
 Metcalf> Knows Little.
 Secretary Metcalf was then visited. He said that he would have a confer ence with Admiral Mason during the day. In the afternoon he notified the reporter that he had instructed the chief of the ordnance bureau to show what records were in his office.
 "The navy department cannot be held responsible for the fact that the ar- nor manufactured prior to the investi- gation in 1893 is still on the ships for which it was intended" said Ad- miral Mason. Capt. W. T. Sampson then at the head of this bureau, recom- mended that it be removed and tested. Also the Cummings congressional com mittee which took the matter up in March, 1904, made similar recom- mendation. A resolution was later passed by the House of Representa- lives concurring in this, but the mat ter got through the Senate without eX- planation to provide funds for such work the armor could not have been removed. And today the entire armor equipment in commission Is obsolete. "The report of Capt. Samson, Prof. Phillip R. Alger and Lieut.. Alderman, who composed the Investigating board appointed by Secretary Herbert, was then produced. In part it is as fol- lows
 Report on Vessels.
 .'We have carefully considered tho affidavits made by several men who, either witnessed or participated in the manufacture of the groups of armor. They affirm that the armor was care lessly or wrongfully treated with tho view of increasing the output. They state that in many cases the plates were treated only at the ends, from which the test specimens were to be taken. They affirm that in at least two cases test plates were treated after they had been selected by the govern ment inspector.
 Finally, we have to state that in our belief the whole quantity of armor supplied by this company Is at least 15 per cent below in quality the best that they can furnish, and that the government has been damaged. We therefore conclude that the government has been damaged to the extent:
 q. All premiums paid to the Carnegie company, because wrongfully obtained. "2. Fifteen per cent of all armor furnish ed by them.
 "3 The value of all plates containing serious blow holes or other serious de- fects which have been concealed.
 ''The amount hich the navy experts testified would be a proper forfeiture on the part of the Carnegie company varied from $400,000 to $700, ,000 The steel men appealed. however, to Presi- dent Cleveland with the result that the total amount of the fine without other penalty was reduced by the President to $40, ,4S9.94
 Presidents Position.
 The position taken by the President is shown in this letter addressed to the secretary of the navy and now filed to the other records of the celebrated case
 '"The award of the board, although