The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-12-28
UNCOVER GREAT THEFT OF .lRMY
 UNIFORM CLOTH

New York, Dec. 28.-Thefts of olive drab cloth, intended for uniforms for soldiers of the United States Army, were unearthed here yesterday and. according to detectives of the bomb squad, the sum involved may reach 00,000.
 One man is under arrest and in the Tombs It is said that he alone is re- sponstble for discrepancy of $45,O00 and that several employees of the Quartermaster's Department, United States Army, made it possible for him to steal cloth at time when many of Uncle Sans soldiers were without overcoats.
 Frank M. Roosa, Assistant United States District Attorney, said yester- day that at least five arrests will fol- low today and that this number may be doubled. According to MT. Roosa, scores of cloth sponging houses of New York are implicated in the con spiracy. Falsification of the books of the Quartermaster's Department alone made the thefts possible. Two audi CUTS Ol II1lS 0cpd1 O1lC SLSLLAOlAC0 in the Army building in Whitehall street and the other in the supply depot, are under surveillance and their arrest, according to Roosa. may be looked for today. together with many spongers implicateds in the wholesale plot to rob the government and freeze the soldiers
 On November the army fntelli- gence bureau reported to the bomb squad that the Quartermaster's De- partment of the army was being robbed of cloth which he'd been sent to sponging houses in New York for shrinking. All this cloth was woven in Philadelphia mills and much of it was shipped direct from the mills to the sponeing houses. Some of 1t was shipped to the army stores and from them transferred to the sponging con cerns.
 sponging Houses shadowed.
 Detectives George Barnitz and James Coy were assigned to the cases and they at once planted fellow de- tectives in sponging houses and in the factories where the cloth was being manufactured into uniforms The
 first lead came from the Universal Cloth Sponging Co.,, 147 West 22nd street, of which Louis Davidson is the head. The detectives informed the federal authorities that Davidson s concern was in reality the clearing house for the alleged conspirators and that by watching the output of cloth from this house the thefts could be traced.
 Later it was learned that quantities of cloth sent by the government to Davidson were being transferred to the Reliable Sponging O., sometimes known as the Grown Woollen Co.,, 6S East 11th street The detectives said that this concern or it's agents, wouE market the cloth. Several of itA salesmen attempted to sell in in good faith.
 The government in the first instance paid all the way from $2.25 to $3 yard for the cloth. The salesmen were told, the detectives said, to sell it at the best price obtainable. One of these salesmen offered 300 bolts of about SO yards each to the govern
 ment buyer for s2.25 yard. The lot offered was one for which the govern
 ment already had paid $S yard l When this lot of cloth was offered to
 the army buyers they got in touch at once with the detectives, and Day. idson to whom the cloth was traced was arrested.
 Davidson did not seem worried by his arrest last night. When the hand cuffs were clasped about his wrist he
 laughed and joked with the deputy marshal.
 Inquiry to Be Continued.
 Major Nixon and Capt. R. R. Loen- ing of the Quartermaster's Depart mont, assisted MT. Roosa, in working up the case. Capt. Looming was ar
 Assistant District Attorney under
 Gov. Whitman. They said that SC far as $50 bolts of cloth, valued al 1 s45, ,000,t are missing from the lott
 shipped to Davidson .and that they
 hope to trace other lots of ever
 greater value before their inyestiga- ton ends.
 Several persons supposed to know about the plot were before the Fed, eral authorities yesterday, and 1t wal
 said last night that arrests will bs
 made today.
 The detectives were greatly aided 1T their work by the facility with which the mills that manufactured the stol en cloth Identified their respective products. Were it not for these
 identihcations 1t was said. their task
 would have been much more difficult By similar means they say they wil
 be able to trace every yard Of cloth that has been shipped to this city since the contracts for uniforms first were let.
 These spongers, with the aid of the auditors who were falsifying the
 books of the Quartermaster's De partment,t were able to get away with