The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-06-18
BRIDGEPORT SHOPS
NAMED IN CHARGES
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A nationwide conspiracy between
manufacturers and contractors agents
in Washington to solicit government
war orders under an agreement to
pay commissions Illegally to the
agents was disclosed yesterday by the
department of justice.
simultaneously with the announce
ment, raids were made on hundreds
of f manufacturers business offices
throughout the United States in
search of papers showing the scope
of the illegal practice and four Bos-
ton business men were indicted in
| Washington on charges of acting as
contingent fee agents.
Even before the results of the raid
were fully reported here, officials in
Dictated they had evidence that scores,
perhaps hundreds of contracts have
| been made with manufacturers who
were under pledge to turn over to
contract commission agents in Wash
ington, New York and elsewhere a
percentage of their profits. Officials
said the manufacturers were led to
enter into the agreements by assur-
ances of the agents that they had
special influence with army officers or
others 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 fee
Cities in which raids were made in
clude, New York, Boston, Washington,
VII III, IT,
Jersey City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
st. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, To-
ledo, Columbus, O., Detroit, Milwau-
kee, Minneapolis, Providence, Buffalo,
Hartford, Conn, New Britain, Conn,
Niagara Falls, Portland, Me-, Roches-
ter, Worcester, Mass, Akron, O., Al
bany, N. Y, Alexandra Va, Ann Ar
Dor, Mich, Bordentown, N. J., Brazil,
Ind, Bridgeport, Conn, Burlington,
VT, Camden, N. j., Canton, O.,
Chicopee, Mass, Concord, n. H, Dan
bury Conn, South Easton, Mass, East
Rochester, N. Y, Euclaire, Wis,
Farmingdale, N. J., Flint Mich,
Freedom, Pa, Fullerton, Pa, Hag-
erstown, Md, Harrison, N. J., Hol-
yoke, Mass, Jackson, Mich, Kings
ton, N. Y, Lancaster, O., Lockport,
Ill, Meriden, Conn. Middletown,
Conn, Middletown, Pa, Monroe,
Mich, Nashua, N. H, Newtonville
,, Mass, Norfolk, Parkersburg, W. Va,
Picking, Ill, Pensacola, Perua. Ind
Saratoga, N. Y, Savannah, Spring
field, Mass, Waltham, Mass, and
Windsor, VT
Although it was announced in dis.
patches from Washington that some OF
the factories in Bridgeport were asked
to turn their correspondence over to
the Department of Justice, Charles H
Lane, agent for the department in this
! city, today declined to make any an
, nouncement. He said it would be
, very unfair to tell what factories were
involved before definite accusations
+ are made and no accusations of wrone
doing have yet been made at Wash.
, ington.
$ Lane said he had been in conmuni.
4 cation today with the authorities in
: Washington, and has been forbidden
f to make any statement regarding the
u Bridgeport end of the case.
v Dispatches said that several Bridge
port factories were "raided," which i.
r probably an over statement. Some
d were asked to furnish copies of thei1
correspondence in connection with tn,
= general investigation.
d Lane said the entire matter is still