New-York tribune., 1918-07-25
Officials Of c. Kenyon Co.
Accused of Selling u.
S. Defective Goods
Brib cry Is Alleged
Inspectors Given Cheerful
Room to "Sleep" in While
Others Did Their Work

The scope Of the investigation of
fraud and profiteering on the part Of
manufacturers and merchants having
government contracts for war supplies
VIII be broadened and, according to a
federal official, will reveal startling
conditions due to bribery and the op-
GRAFTON of contingent fee" agents.
Sidney Pfeifer, agent Of the Depart
ment of Justice, yesterday took in Gus
tody four employees of the c. Kenyon
Company. of Brooklyn, the largest
raincoat concern in the United States,
and arraigncd them before United
States Commissioner Reifschneider on
charges of conspiring to defraud the
United States
The men arrested are Ben Wolf,
manager and general superintendent;
Lewis Friend, manager of the firm S
plant at the Bush Terminal; Henry
Hede, shipping clerk, and Jacob Smo-
lanski, foreman. Wolf was held in
$4,000 bail and the others in $4,000
each for a hearing on July 81
Uninspected Coats Found
Officials of the Department of Jus
tice said last night that the Kenyon
concern was one of the principal
offenders in secretly removing coats
that had been turned over from one
plant to another for examination by
"friendly' inspectors. Chief De
Woody's men found a large part of
the rejected and uninspected coats in
the quartermaster's depot mixed in
with accepted coats ready for shipment
to General Pershing.
The firm is at present working on
three contracts aggregating ,045, 900
raincoats. On two Of these the time
for delivery has expired. In addition
to these contracts the Kenyon Com
rany has received seven orders from
the quartermaster's department, aggre-
eating 100000, upon which deliveries
have been completed, making in all l.
So5,0o0 raincoats, for which it has
received contracts since the war began.
Tabulated records from the Phila-
delphia quartermaster's depot show
that c. Kenyon & Co. and the firm of
Slgmund Eisner Company, of Red Bank,
n. j., with whom they had a working
arrangement for government contracts
much like limited partnership, have
mad IN addition government contracts
for 1900 600 wool and cotton breeches,
100000 wool and cotton coats. and hun
dreds of thousands of overcoats, winter
and summer drawers, mosquito bars,
sweaters and flannel shrting about
as per cent Of all contracts in these
lines which have been awarded by the
Philadelphia depot for ten-year
period.
To Use "PitileSS puhIicify"
Much valuable information has come
into the hands of Huston Thompson, as
slstant to Attorney General Gregory
since the arrest Of eighteen contractors
Monday. Where conclusive proof is
lacking the government will give wide
publicity to the practices without tax
ing criminal action
Mr. Thompson went to Washington
to report TO Attorney General Gregory
last night, and left his assista ats,
Charles B. Brewer and William d.
fakln, in charge of the situation in
New York. 1t is known that he will
recommend that all the plants under
suspicion be seized and operated by the
government.
he authorities have learned that
some of the manufacturers have fur
nlshed rooms in their plants where in
spectors might take sleep in the
afternoon if they would loan their
stamps to the shop foreman.