Bisbee daily review., 1918-06-19
STALEY BREAKS. DOWN, MAKES. CONFESSION
Probers Find Many Attorneys and Several Secretaries of Congressmen Involved in Illegal Profiteering
CRv Review I.eased Wlrel

(By Review Leased Wire)
 WASHINGTON, June 1S.-The
 trail of the governments pursuit
 of illegal profteers on war con
 tracts led to the arrest in New
 York of Lieut. James C. Staley, a
 reserve army officer, on a charge
 of accepting money from the True
 fit Raincoat company of New
 promised to secure.
 The arrest was made by depart
 ment of justice officials who had
 followed the officer during his in-
 spection of the plant of the rain
 coat company whose proprietor
 acted cooperation with the gov
 ernment to detect the fraud.
 After being arersted today Lieuten- ant Staley made a complete confession of his part in the transaction, depart ment of justice agents said, and gave much valuable information which may lead to the detection of other cases of fraud He will be tried by court martial.
 The secret service agents arrested him immediately after he was said to have received a sum of money from Joshua Rosenthal and Louis Wener. prcprietors of the plant. It was charged that he had told them he would expect more money as soon as they got the contracts which they sought for 5O,00O raincoats costing nearly $25O,00O.
 Lieutenant Staley is about 50 years old and came originally from Iowa. He entered training camp last summer and was commissioned in August. Last December he was appointed an inspec- tor in the quartermaster's department for raincoats and other army rubber goods. He has been stationed in New York most of the time since
 The shadow of complicity in the ex- tensive scheme by which commission agents made millions out of govern ment war orders by acting as middle men in obtaining contracts for man. ufacturers. today extended to scores of business men and attorneys in Washington, New York, Boston and other cities. and even to a few secre- taries of members of congress.
 A large proportion of these cases; disclosed by correspondence and other documents seized in the simultaneous raids yesterday by an officer of sev- eral hundred manufacturing plants and forwarded today to the depart ment of justice were not prompted by sinister motives, officials believe, and prosecutions will not follow. Many others, however. appear the result of carefully planned plots to squeeze mil lions from contractors who in turn were to add the contingent fees to prices which the government was re- quired to pay.
 Attorney General Gregory took the latest information on the raids to the cabinet meeting.
 AnalyZing reports on yesterdays raids proved a task which will take more than a week, particularly since some of the evidence was gathered as far west as San Francisco.
 No names of either manufacturing concerns or suspected commission agents were given out, although it was learned that the identity of the raided firms leaked out in many localities.
 Bernard Baruch chairman of the war industries board, promised his cooperation today in ferreting out any cases of fraud or improper con- duct by any officials in his depart ment having charge of arranging con- tacts between the war and navy depart ments and producers.
 Letters and telegrams poured into the departments of justice from manu- lecturers who had been solicited by commission agent Some manufac- turers gave valuaDie information, while virtually all condemned the work of the department, saying they had been annoyed by the solicitations of the commission agents.
 Members O: congress today comment ed that one contributing class of the contingent fee system is that pro- ducers, particularly those with small plants which cannot afford to maintain permanent representatives in Wash ington find difficulty in making con- nectciOn with the right government officers in charge of contracting for articles they manufacture To remedy this confused situation in Washington, a number Of chambers Of commerce or manufacturers interests have main tained common agents in Washington to keep them informed of war needs. and to facilitate the presentation of their bids. This system is considered entirely proper officials explained.
 In congressional circles it was charged today that the war depart ments system of secret contracts might be largely responsible for the situation now developed.