Evening star., 1918-02-21
Police Lieutenant Estimates
S5,OOO,O0 as Amount of
Missing Supplies.
EIGHT MANUFACTURERS
INVOLVED IN CHARGES
Two Employees and Civilian Quarter
master Clerk Face Accusation
With Former.
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, February 21.-Eight
clothing manufacturers, two employees
and a clerk in the qdartermaster's de-
partment of the Army were indicted by
the federal grand jury here today
charged with being concerned in exten-
sive Army uniform cloth frauds.
The indictments are based upon evl-
denee gathered by the federal district
attorneys Office in connection with the
arrest about two months ago of Louis
Davidson, head of the Universal cloth
shrinking and refinishing works here.
Davidson is one of those accused. to-
sether with Hyman Horwitz and his
son Benjamin, in business as Horwitz
4 Muskowitz: Barnet Tietz of B. Tietz
4 Co.. Jacob Weinstein and his son,
Abraham Pursch and Leon Levine of
Pursch & Levine. Barney Robinson and
Norris Alewitz, shipping clerks in the
employ of the New York Manufacture
ers' Company, all of this city. and Ira
L. Janowsky, civilian clerk in the
quartermaster's Office here.
Charges Against Eight.
The manufacturers are all accused
Of having received and retained Army
cloth. Robinson and Alewitz are
charged with perjury before the grand
jury, and Janowsky is alleged to have
destroyed government receipts, so as to
conceaa-thefts of cloth.
Cloth and other Army supplies. worth
approximately $5,000.o00- were stolen.
according to Lieut. George d. Barnitz
Of the New York police force, who. in
conjunction with the federal authori-
ties. Investigated the alleged frauds.
which he said included thefts in other
parts Of the country.
Plot Is Alleged.
He asserted that plot of natien-
wta4 proportions had been uncovered
ptobably would be undertaken.
frank N. Roosa, United States as
sist&nt district attorney, in charge of
the prosecution. said that. because the
inquiry was incomplete he could not
announce yet the extent of the frauds.
but that Barnitz's estimates of the
laAssS did not seem at all out of proper
ffon. inAsmuch as the frauds affect
Army contracts throughout the coun-
try. The Indictment against Davidson
CUutAiuS Sl4IceH counts ana charges MIN
specifically with stealing 1000 bolts of
Army. cloth. valued at $4,000.
Save Millions for q. S.
1t was stated the indictments today
would serve to terminate further con-
spring and save the government from
millions more in losses.
The profiteering is made possible, the
federal investigators explained. by the
methods in which the cloth is cut. From
material which the government estimated
would provide dozen uniforms. the
manufacturers would cut ten or less, ac-
cording to the authorities. and the ex-
ce1s cloth, known to the trade as clip
pings" would be resold, either to the
government itself or to other manufac-
1urer8.
Amounted to 8 Per Cent.
Some Of the defendants, Lieut.. Bar
hits said. represented to the govern
ment that their clippings" amounted
to per cent, whereas, actually due to
their methods of cloth cutting, they
amounted to per cent, the difference
representing the excess cloth alleged to
have been retained.
Owing to the alleged activity of a
civilian clerk in the Army in connec-
tion with the purported plot. it was
easy for concealment to be effected
20 DolQ were some OF the defendants
According to investigators, that bolts
OF stolen cloth were displayed openly
IN windows in the jobbing district.
clippings" were sold to manufac-
$urers in Chicago, st. Louis and Green
VILE, Ill, and large quantities of the
cloth have been recovered at those
places. it was announced. The manu-
1acturers purchased innocently and
will not be prosecuted. CIothine
houses in other western cities also have
obtained cloth, not knowing it was
stolen, the investigators said, and this