The Washington herald., 1918-01-24
BUILDERS SELL
CONTRACTS;
GAIN S22S,OOO
Joseph N. Sloan, Of Seattle,
Throws Light on Ship
ping Situation.

I Investigation was begun yesterday
| by the Senate Commerce Committee
into the FIRST charge OF q ship con-
! tract being let indirectly by the United
States to a phantom concern which,
II is alleged, was forced to pay a
! commission to receive the work.
Only prelimluaries were gone into,
but an involved tale OF contracts, sub
contracts, interlocking corporations
nd personal relationships was dis
closed.
The witness was Joseph n. Sloan,
! Of Seattle, Wash. president of the
Anacortes (wasl,D Shipbuilding Com
pany, organized last summer. He is
also a stockholdcr in the Sloan Ship
building Comp. uy. of Olympia. Wash.
of which his brother. Philip D.. Is
president. The latter concern Is a
stockholder OF the Anacortes concern.
Contracts sublet.
Sloan testified that the Sloan
Shipbuilding Co. last summer re-
ceived contracts for four wooden
ships at S490,000 each, which it
sublet to the Anacortes concern i'm
mediateIy for s4S3,ooo each. He de-
clared he understood that the Sloan
Shipbuilding Co. had paid the
CIinchfield Navigation Co. a COM
mission of 100000 for having been
given these contracts and options
on IL more ships.
Questioned more closely on this
phase. Sloan said that his brother.
and not himself. knew the details
of this transaction. The latter will
go on the stand today.
Rear Admiral Bowles, of the U.
S. Shipping Board. testifying re-
Gently before the committee. de-
nounced the whole arrangement.
and said the contracts ought to be
cancelled. Sloan appeared yester-
day to show, he said, that when the
matter was explained. II would all
straighten itself out.
Denying other statements by
Rear Admiral BOwles. Sloan said
that although his ship building
plant was a forest a few months
ago. il was now an efficient in
dustrial concern. with two ships
well under way" He blamed la
Dor troubles for not having pro-
Cresscd further in his plans. The
local representative of the shipping
board, Capt. J. F. Blaine, he charg-
ed with prosecuting him.
Sloan said that his plan OF produc-
ing ships was to build the hulls in
his yard, float them down to Olympia,
lGO miles away. where the Sloan Ship
building Company was to install the
boilers and other metal work.
What members of the committee de-
sired to know. however, was what the
CIinchfeld Navigation Company was.
e hnN nfr~1 "a
United States ships to dispense at a
commission, and who its stockhold-
ers were. Sloan promised his brother
would make all this clear at today's
hearings. Payment of such a COM
mission developed thus:
Chairman Fletcher-"Now II the
Sloan Shipbuilding Company had con-
tracts for $4,000 which 1t sublet to
your corporation at $f33, 900. 1t made an
immediate profit OF 1900 a ship. did
it not?
SIoan-"No. They had expenses"
Ship Program "Dream."
william Denman. former chair
man of the Shipping Board. declar-
ed the ship shortage still critical.
He said he considered predictions
uf 100000 tons in a year a scien-
tific dream"
Denman said England's estimates
of sinkings were inaccurate be-
cause they included only English
vessels; they were necessarily only
approximate" figures; and they did
not take into account damaged ves-
sells which limped into port and
were both lost to service and a
burden on yard facilities" tempor-
arily."
There are. he said, 20 per cent as
many vessels thus damaged as there
are sunk. Further, he said. eff
cheney of all vessels is decreased
25 to 40 per cent by circuitous
routes and slow-moving convoyage
to avoid I--IpatS