The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-01-03
WEEKS DECLARE
KAPLAN is MOST
IMPUDENT0 OF MEN
Witnesses Before Senate Investi-
cation in Lively Tilt with
Members.
CONTRACT WITH THEMSELVES
AS Good or Better Garments"
From Shoddy as From Wool,
Eisenman Says.


supply contracts given through the
supplies committee Of the Council OF
National Defense to concerns in which
committee members are interested
were Investigated Wednesday by the
senate military committee
Charles Eisenman, vice chairman OF
the supplies committee ard retired
clothing manufactures Of Cleveland
and Samuel NJ. Naplan OF New York
one of the dollar year volunteer
members, were the principal witness
es. The latter's testimony was con
fined almost entirely to. contract
with the Base Sorting Plant, Inc, OF
New York, In which his brother, Ira
I. Kaplan, has a third interest, for
sorting army clothing scraps, which
was said to promise profits Of 100000
annually. The contract recently was
cancelled. .... ..,.
Work Highly Praised.
Work of the supplies committee was
highly praised by Mr.. Eisenman, who
said it had negotiated orders for sup
plies worth $500, 100000 for the quar-.
termaster generals office. He defend
ed the committees practice of approx.
ing contracts with firms Of members
explaining that in such cases interest.
ed committeeman were excluded from
the negotiations.
Senator Mcclellan wanted to know if
this was not an evasion Of the law
but Mr.. Eisenman insisted that the
committees practice was followed to
conform to the law. The committee
members, Eisenman stated, were Sc.
lected from men in the business who
had proved successful and that con.
tracts with their firms were made be.
cause of the full use Of the country's
manufacturing facilities was necess.
airy. .-,.-
Clash With Members.
Both Eisenman and Kaplan had
lively clashes with committee mem
bers. Senator Mcclellan admonished
the latter, who emphatically resented
having his motives impugned, to speak
respectfully, and Senator Weeks heat.
eddy declared he was "about as i'm.
pudent a man" as he had ever seen.
Statements Of Quartermaster Gen
eral Sharpe regarding shortages of
army clothing, and failure to receive
cloth ordered through the supplies
committee were contradicted by Eisen.
man. He asserted that supplies of
cloth were delivered on time and fas-
ter than it could be manufactured by
the factories under General Sharpe.
Shoddy for Wool.
Eisenman told the committee he
had Recommended and the quarter
master-general had approved reduc-
ing the wool content in overcoats,
blankets and other clothing and sub
stitution of wool institutes, or
"shoddy," saying the quality was not
impaired and that as good or better
garments were secured.
The scrap sorting contract, both
Eisenman and Kaplan asserted was
intended to give the contractors a
profit bf only half cent a pound, ell
over that to be returned to the gov.
eminent. He protested against its re-
cent annulment by General Sharpe,
who said the price of six cents a
pound for sorting was excessive.
Eisenman, Kaplan and other mem
bers OF the supplies committee will
be recalled later. Tomorrow the COM
mittee will hear Michael z. Driscoll,
superintendent of the Raritan New
Jersey Wooden mills, regarding cloth
contract negotiations with the COM
mittee: go,