The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-03-29
American Naval Architect
Charged With Fault
BUREAUCRATIC SCANDAL
Large Contracts Are Said to Be Made
and Money Paid to lrresponsl-
BILE Contractors-Czar's
Helplessness.
BY MALCOLM CLARKE.

Berlin, March 2S.-That the America
naval Architect Lewis Nixon received sew
lal million roubles from the Russian gov
cInment for torpedo boats which vera
absolutely useless is tho statement made
il secret report of the controller Of
tie Russian Empire, which has just been
published in the Berlin Tageblatt.
The paper, which cannot by any means
DC classified as a sensational journal, says
In regard to the published report that It
has every reason to believe it genuine
and adds that in his inability to put an
end to The theft of a hopeless corrupt
bureaucracy the reason for the Gar 5
Lack OF interest in anything may DO
found
The report indeed shows how utterly
tIpless is Gar Nicholas to deal with tho
problems of cleaning the Russian Augean
Stable which more than anything else waa
the cause of the defeats of the empira
during the Japanese war.
The report shows many incidents of
swindling in the various government de-
artments and in each instance gives
lame and figures which have every ap-
paarance of being genuine.
On the naval budget there appears reg
ularly enormous expenses for experiments
with apparatus which has long ago been
found useless by all other powers. The
fact that the experiments are never made,
the money simply goes into the pockets
Of officials from grand dukes down to
heads of departments. The naval depots
are always full of worthless materials
while there is always less on hand of
zeal necessary materials than official re-
ports show.
The report mentions one incident which
is of special interest to Americans: In
1904 the Russian government ordered from
| ne American naval constructor, Lewis
Nixon, ten torpedo boats intendedfor the
Russian Pacific coast. Before the con-
uact was signed the American received 4
large part of the contract price, and
long before the torpedo boats had been
| finished he was paid three-fourths of the
whole amount, about 2,6O00O0 marks.
Afterward the naval construction bu-
reau declared the torpedo boats abso-
iutely unfit for use, but in spite of the
protests of the Imperial controller and
Major General Tijulew, chief of the tech
neal bureau of the navy, the boats were
accepted and the full price paid to Nixon.
Even more interesting is an incident
dealing with order for French armor.
On February "a, 1904, the minister of war
convinced the Car of the necessity OF
buying 100000 armors for the Manchurian
army from the French firm, Simouet,
Gesluin & Gle. But on February %, the
uay before Sacharow had signed the con-
tract with the firm for 100000 marks,
Colonel Saljubousky, who was sent ~
France by the personal command of the
Car to supervise the work on the con
tract, Immediately discovered that the
whole affair was a swindle, and that the
factory where the armor was to be mad
did not exist. Nevertheless the members
OF the firm demanded that 100000 mark
be paid to them by the Russian govern
ment before they would start the work.
On April 10. Minister of War Sacharow
i>new from the reports of Colonel Salju-
b, uslIy that the firm had no IDEA of MAX
ing any delivery. He also knew from the
reports of the fiscal agent of the Rus
sion government at Paus, NJ. Raffalo-
witsch, that NJ. Simoet did not own any
factory and that his own capital was
OILY between two and three hundred
thousand francs, but nevertheless the
minister paid out the whole amount of
the contract b the French firm and not
one single armor was ever delivered to
the government, but nothing was said
anout it.
Before leaving for his vacation the
Kaiser promised his daugnter-in-law
Crown Princess Cecilie, the highest dis
tinctlon he ever confers upon a woman.
During the summer the Crown Prince
|, and his young wife are to visit the west
ern provinces OF the kingdom of Prussi,l
and the Crown Princess is then solemnly
to be made an honorary colonel of the
Eleventh regiment of Hussars, which Is
stationed at I<refeld.
1t was this regiment which was trans
ierred to the above-named city after q
delegation of young girls had complained
to the Kaiser that they did not get op-
rortunty enough to dance because there
was no military garrison in the city. y
month later the regiment arrived.
story which shows the terrible ignor-
ance and Unborn ferocity of the Russian
leasants comes from the city of Minsk.
A patient who had escaped from an in
sane asylum sought refuge in a peasant S
house, but because of his strange actions
and incoherent speech the peasant took
HIM to be spy. After trying to make
him confess he tied him naked to tho
tail of a horse and dragged him twenty
four miles to the next village, where he
was buried alive.
In this instance Russian justice was
swift however, and the ignorant peasant,
who still believes that he did a patriotic
Get, was sentenced to eight years in
states prison.
WIRELESS THEFTS.