The Sentinel=record., 1918-07-23
DIRECT BRIBERY OF
 ARMY OFFICERS CHARGED
In Some Cases Manufacturers intim- dated Inspectors of Raincoats by Threatening to Use Influence at Washington to Obtain Their Dis. misss, # They Did Not Approve the Coats Manufactured

COlSplidCIeS lnNOlNInS DfHery anu graft in connection with army con tracts for rubber raincoats sent toI soldiers in France were disclosed to- night by department of justice off cials simultaneously with the arrest ofA seventeen officers and employees of fifteen manufacturing companies in New York and Brooklyn on charge of briL cry. fraud or con sriracy
 Army officers of the quartermas- ter's office involved in the graft are now under surveillance and probably will be arrested soon in Wa shington or in othe. cities where their duties as purchasing agents or inspectors take them
 Hundr 'ds of thousands Of dollars of raincoat contracts are tainted with fraud already uncovered by depart ment of justice agents and other dis closures affecting army orders for clothing, soldiers equipment, ma chinery and supplies and involving arrests on criminal charges may be made soon Most of the army off cers at whom the finger of suspicion points are of lower ranks, but few of the ranks of major and colonel are said to be under investigation Department of justice officials to- night declined to indicate whether they believed any great proportion of army contracts were obtained by bribery or other fraud but they de- cared many millions of dollars worth of goods have been delivered on suspicious contracts
 Direct bribery of unnamed army officers who had charge of letting of contracts, or inspecting goods is charged against a number of those arrested tonight
 It was announced that in some cases manufa cturers intimidated mil itary or civilian inspectors of rain coats by threatening to use influ- ence in Washington to obtain their dismissal if they did not approve the coats manufactured Others prac- ticed fraud by secretly shifting re- jected goods to other plants to which inexperienced inspectors. or inspect ors who would play the game" were assigned
 Those arrested were: Felix Goueld, a wealthy clothing manufacturer, who is charged with acting as go- between for other contractors and with seeking to solicit contracts un- der the illegal contingent fee sys- tenn Joseph Sydeman, William Sydeman and Joseph Wood, of the Sydeman Rubber company; Ralph Cohen, of the Yorkshire Manufactur-
 ing company: Ralph Rosenthal, of Hanenr & Rosenthal: Alfred Zittel of the Automobile Raincoat company Inc. Louis Fried. s. Halpern of the lnterf orough Raincoat company, Polly Clamons. of the Manchester Waterproof Coat company | M. lalpern Of the National Cement company: Simon Harris of the Har- ris Raincoat house: Morris Lesser, of Lesser & Stenge. Joseph Pines, of the Pines Rubber company; l.. H. Yellem, of Eureka Rubber Manufae- turing company
 The roundup follows weeks of in- vestleation by the department Of jus tce and the war and navy depart ment directed Sy assistant attorney generals
 The arrests are an outgrOwth of the governments campaign against the illegal system by which scores of agents have obtained army contracts on a contingent fees basil Significance is attached to the similarity of stories told contractors by several contingent fec agents np- erating independently. inasmuch as each named the same officer or off cers in Washington as Icing SIS csp' lle to money gifts.
 Quite uniformly it was the experi- ence of a group of contractors act ing in good faith to fail to obtain raineoat contracts. which went to higher bidders. and later to receive telephone calls from men who guar anteed to obtain contracts on pay neai Of retainer fees
 In running down evidence the gov