The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1917-09-28
CONGRESS KNOCKS
U. S. CONTRACTORS
SAYS GOVERNMENT Is BEING
CHEATED IN ALL WAR
CONTRACTS.

Washington, Sept. 22.-1n the last
few days rife contracts, shoe con-
tracts, clothing contracts and can
torment contracts entered into by
the War Department have been vio-
lently criticized.
There seems to be a feeling among
6 few members Of Congress that I'm
Gle Sam is being cheated somewhere
along the line in this war work.
Warned before hand to expect graft
and corruption against the Govern
ment during wartime, these men are
making the best showing they can
on the strength Of the evidence they
are able to gather.
or course most any business man
in Kentucky would be tickled to get
a great big contract on this basis:
Six per cent allowance for invest
ncnt in plant; six per cent for de-
terioration in plant; ten per cent
profit based on cost.
The net profit to the manufacturer
for a year in this ease would be lin
tied only to the number of times he
could turn his money over. The two
six per cent allowances would be
fixed and would run for a year based
on the capital invested.
Impossible To Lose.
There are great many shrewd
business men in Kentucky and yet it
is safe to say that few of them ever
get such contracts, where it is impos-
sible to lose; where the buyer pays
the overhead, the labor, for the ma
terials and everything else, and
where the manufacturer provides on
ly plant on which he gets six per
cent as a starter and later a fat bo-
nus OF ten per cent on manufactur-
ing cost.
Yet this is the form in which the
Government let its contracts to three
large rife companies, early this sum-
mer. when il became apparent that
the Government was going to have to
use rechambered Enfield rifles in
stead of the>superior Springfield. On
ly three companies in the United
States, at that time, were making
rifles-the Winchester Repeating
Arms Company, the Remington Arms
Company and the Remington Union
Metallic Cartridge Company. The!
had been making Enfelds in large
quantities for the British govern
ment and all that was necessary was
for them to put new chambers in the
rifles then being made, so that they
would shoot American ammunition.
The Springfield arsenal, where the
United States ordinarily manufac-
lures its ammunition. was hopelessly
out of it. Since the European war
began in 1914 this armory manufac-
tured only 1900 rifles. altho it had
total capacity of $4,000 rifles
day. The Ordnance Bureau had fail
ed to provide rifles against a posi-
BILE entrance into the war by the
United States and the situation look
ed bad, indeed. After much delay
contracts were signed on July IL,
three months after the war broke
out, for Americas supply of rifles.
% L. y. Gets Worst OF IL.
The result was, of course, that the
Government got the worst of it and
made rather bad bargain. And
vet what could the Government do?
1t had to have rifles. They could
only be bought from these three con-
Germs. The Government could not
afford to pay the price which the
manufacturers said they would be
forced to ask for their rifles to in
sure them a profit in times OF labor
and material shortages and possible
long delays. The result was that the
Government made the "cost-plus"
contract, under which the Govern
ment probably will pay no more for
the rifles than it would have paid if
the original rifle price had been met.
Yet the Government knows exactly
what it is paying for and it knows
that it is not paying an exorbitant
price for rifles, even tho 1t is paying
n uar nripa