The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-04-18
Government
WAS ROBBED
OF VAST SUMS
Representative LiIIey Main
tains His Ground in Electric
Boat Scandal.
CONTRACTS MADE BY
POOR BUSINESS MEN
CONGRESSMAN TREATED TO 4
RELENTLESS CROSS
EXAMINATION.

Washington, April 17.-Representative
Liiley Comm, under whose resolution q
special committee Of the house has been
investigating the Electric Boat company.
reiterated his charges today before the
committee that the company has made
excessive profits on the contracts 1t has
secured from the United States govern
rnent, and the most rigid cross-examina-
ton by members OF the committee. assist
ed by Martin Littleton, attorney for the
Electric company, failed to make him re-
tract
Mr.. Howard. Mr.. Stevens and Mr.. Ohm
Sted manipulated the probe relentIessIy
and vigorously, the latter two especially
Trying 20 get the author of the charges
10 admit that the secretaries and other
OFFICIALS OF the navy department were in
eompetents and that they were fooled and
duped INTO entering into contracts with
the Electric company.
Were Poor Business Men.
Afr. Stevens devoted more ts.au an hour
20 remarkably earnest effort TO have
Mr.. Lilley charge the secretary or the
navy and mis- predecessors within the last
SIX or seven years; the chiefs of the navy
bureaus, and naval officials generally in
whose hands are the construction of YES
seis ana the letting of warship contracts,
with gross ignorance, inefficiency and
lncompetency in that they were respon-
sible for the awarding of contracts 10 the
Electric Boat company which netted that
concern, allegedly, more than & 600 900 of
excessive profit at the government cost.
Mr.. Ililey steadfastly refused to father
s..ch charge. He maintained that to
the contrary, he believed these men were
highly competent in their lines and so
far as their Information carried them"
but he insisted that they were not good
business men, that the poor bargains they
made proved that. and that 10 none 9th
hzra shr Obi hrr<f IL
De entrusted the letting of government
contracts.
Executive Nervousness"
An attempt by Mr.. Stevens to have Mr.
Lilley testify that on the shoulders of
the president should be placed the resoon-
sibillty Tor the alleged incompetency of
navy officials elicted the reply that the
secretaries Of the navy in as many years
* 8 poor policy.
In the course of mis- testimony relative
10 possible influences having TO do with
the awarding OF contracts to the Electric
Boat company, Mr. Lilley said he had
reason to know there has been a great
OF nervousness II the executive offices
and the navy and war departments" ana
that this may have persuaded the govern
ment officials that they should procure
submarines at any cost"
Regarding the production of the books
of the Electric company. Mr.. Lilley said
large sum CT money had been expended
by this company-'son1e such fund as the
yellow dog fund developed during the in
surance investigation in New York
Boat Conpany's Advantage.
Mr.. LiIley claimed that if the witnesses
had been called in the order suggested by
him they would not have had knowledge
in advance of his Information. and It
might have been possible 10 bring out
something in the officers of the Electric
Boat company.
You mean by that to say that the tes-
timony that has been delivered has been
false testimony" asked Mr.. Howard.
Il do not mean TO say anything about
H. ] think they had a chance to cut their
cloth according to my knowledge"
you think that the methods of the
examination have facilitated false swear
ing on the part of the witnesses in eyad-
ing the chargesT'
IT think il was unfortunate in my dis
closing my knowledge TO them before they
were summoned"