Bisbee daily review., 1918-06-18
INDICTMENTS ARE FOUND AGAINST
 MANUFACTURERS
Nation Wide Conspiracy to Defraud Government on Contracts Disclosed by De- partment of Justice Agents
By Review Leased wlre)

WASHINGTON, June 11.-A nation wide conspiracy between manufac- turers and contractors agents in Washington to solicit government war orders under an agreement to pay commissions illegally to the agents was disclosed today by the department of justice.
 Simultaneously with the announce ment. raids were made on hundreds of manufacturers business offices throughout the United States in search of papers showing the scope of the il- legal practice, and four Boston busi- ness men were indicted in Washing ton on charges of acting as contingent fee agents.
 Even before the results of the raid were fully reported here tonight, of ficials indicated they had evidence that scores, perhaps hundreds of con tracts have been made with manufac- turers who were under pledge to turn over to contract commission agents in Washington, New York and elsewhere a percentage of their profits.
 Officials said the manufacturers were led to enter into the agreements by assurances of the agents that they had special influence with army of ficers in charge of letting contracts and under threat to use that influence against the manufacturers. Evidence was said to have been secured that some of the agents already have made thousands in commission fees.
 This development led to investi- gation of the relations between certain army officers and these agents and although there is no definite indica- tions that these officers are knowing ly involved in the conspiracy, Secre- tary Baker is making a thorough in- yestigation in cooperation with the. de- partment of justice and tonight auth orized the statement that he would go to the bottom of any suspicious cases. Secretary Daniels is seeking in close touch with the investigation.
 Ramifieations of the plot may lead shortly to other disclosures as sensa- tional as those of today. These may developed as reports trickled in from the dramatic raids prepared Cor 4 o'clock this afternon, eastern time, when agents of the department of justices bureau of investigation in more than seventy cities entered of- flee of several hundred business firms, showed their badges of authority and spent several hours going through let ter files, searching for documents which might shed light on contingent fee contracts Eleven offices in Washington were raided at the same time, and a great mass of papers Of contract agents was carried away.
 Other cities in which raids were made include, New York, Boston. Chicago, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Jer- sey City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, Ohio.
 At almost the same hour the raids were made a federal grand jury in Washington returned indictments charging conspiracy to obtain con tract under illegal contingent fee plan against John Fleming, former water commissioner of Boston; John T. Cava- naugh, Eugene Sullivan and Joseph Kohn, all of Boston. These men, it is charged, worked together in a mys- terious manner, persuading manufac- turers to pay them commissions on contracts they obtained, representing that they had special influence with certain unnamed army officers and in
 (Conttnued oD Paqe T>vvo1