Norwich bulletin., 1918-07-23
EXTENSIVE coNsPlRAciEs
 IN ARMY CONT TRAcTs
Have Been Disclosed by Department of Justice Officials.

New York. July 22.-Extensive con- spiracies inyolying bribery and graft in connection with army contracts for rubber rafncoats sent to soldiers in France were disclosed tonight by de- partment of justice officials simulta- neously with the arrest of seventeen officers and employees of fifteen manu- featuring companies in New York and Brooklyn on charges Of bribery, fraud or conspiracy.
 Army officers of the quartermaster's corps involved in the graft now are under surveillance and probably will be arrested soon in Washington or other cities where their duties as pur- chasing agents or inspectors take them
 Hundreds Of thousands of dollars of raincoats contracts are tainted with fraud already uncovered by depart ment of justice agents, and other dis closures affecting army orders for clothing, soldiers equipment, machin- cry ard supplies and involving arrests on criminal charges may be made soon, it was learned.
 Most army officers at whom the fin ger of suspicion points are of the low CT ranks but few of the ranks of major and colonel are said to be un- der investigation. Department of jus tice officials tonight declared many millions of dollars worth of goods have been delivered on suspicious con tracts.
 Direct bribery of unnamed army of | f1cers who had charge of letting con- tracts or inspecting goods is charged l against number of those arrested i tonight. It was, announced that in some cases manufacturers intimidated l military or civilian inspectors of raincoats by threatening to use in- | fiuence in Washington to obtain their 1 dismissal if they did not approve the coats manufactured. Others practiccd ] fraud by secretly shifting rejected 1 goods to other plants to which inex- perienced inspectors or inspectors who play the game" were assigned by the war department
 Those arrested were: Felix Gouled a wealthy clothing manufacturer, who l is charged with acting as Ego between | for other contractors and with seek. 1 ing to solicit contracts under the il. | legal contingent fee system: Josepf ! Sydeman, William Sydeman and 10. seph Wood of the Sydeman Rubber | Company: Ralph Cohen of the York. shire Manufacturing Company: | Charles Plottel and Benjamin Plotte 1 or the Plottel Ralncoat Company
 Ralph Rosenthal of Haneuer and Ros enthal: Alfred Zittel of the Autonobil, | Raincoat Company, Inc. Louis Fried
 S. .Halpern of the Interborough Rain
 coat Company: Polly Clamon of tht
 Manchester Waterproof Coat Com pany; I. M. Halpern of the Nationa
 Cement Company; Simon Harris o
 the Harris Raincoat House; Morri
 Lesser of Lesser and Stenge: Josepl
 Pines of the Pines Rubber Company I and l.. L. H. Yel1im of the Eurekt
 Rubber Manufacturing Company
 The roundup follows weeks of in
 vestigation of agents of the depart
 ment of justice and war and navy de
 partments. directed by Assistant At
 tornev General Huston Thompson an, Willard D. Eakin and Charles
 Brewer, his. deputies. Army officer and contractors are believed to hay
 been used as decoys.
 The arrests are an outgrowth 0
 the governments campaign agains
 the illegal system by which scores c agents have obtained army contract
 on a contingent fee basis.