The Starkville news. (Starkville, Miss.) 1902-1960, 1919-01-03

che GU poIdtion, Whlch we were told
was organized for patriotic purposes,
that the building might be facilitated
bv sublettiDg contracts at fixed fee OF
per cent upon the estimated cost of
the work.
| Some OF the contr actors, il appeared
| from the testimony. had stock In the
parent corporation with which the Gov
ernment contracted TO build the plant
without fees. Everyone knows, who
has paid any attention TO the investiga.
tlon Of this enterprise. that in the be.
ginning OF the building OF the plant the
grossest extravagance In the payment
OF wages, the most garing incompe.
tency was shown in the purchase Of ma
| terlal, and in the general management
OF the company. Every Iuan called to
the service of this corporation had his
wages doubled and, IN some instance.
quadrupled The head man, who had
| been the directing head OF the contract.
Ing firm of Stone & Webster, who re-
ceived OF Stone & Webster Sle 900 per
year while serving them, was put at the
head of the shipbuiIding corporation
with salary OF $25 900 per year. For
everything that was done of similar
nature the United States Government
WAS charged and plundered according,
lnglv.
1t Will also be remem Dered that when
this corporation undertook the con-
strnction of the Hog Island shipping
plant it tried to induce the Government
to fix it's commission for the work it was
TO perform at 10 per cent, but ii was
finally forced down to, / think, > per
cent. When asked by memb bers of the
committee to state what the construct.
Ing corporation had done or was TO do
to justify it in asking the Government
to pay 1t percent on the ships to be
built In the Hog Island yard, we were
told that 1t was the "know how" which
they were furnishing the Government;
and. Mr.. President, want to say lust
here that, after looking over the matter
carefully, AIN in the bounds of con-
servatism when say that there was not
a member OF that corporation who
knew any more about ship building
| than the Democratic emblem does about
the nebular hypothesis or prairie dog
knows about the political economy of
the planet Mars, 1t was just piece OF
graft, pure and simple, but they insti-
fed their extraordinary demand by saw
ing that, II the members OF the corpor.
| alton did not themselves know ANYTHING
about shipbullding, the corporation fur
nished the Government Of the United
States men who did know how. With
the salaries that were paid the men.
certainly the United States Government
did not need this corporation to act as
Its labor agent in securing capable men
to do Government work. especially
when yon consider the fact that the
government paid twice and three times
as much for their services as they could
have Cotton from private employers in
the labor markets of the country.
want the United States Government
to deal fairly and justly with It's citi-
zens, but | think that every dollar the
Gov ernment pays to this corporation as
commission on ships built by the ship
building plant at Hog Island will be
nothing less than robbery of the Public
Treasury.
Mr.. President, l was about To over
look the fact that the plant which these
patriots for pelf were to construct at an
estimated cost Of SCI 900, 900, am told,
has cost over $50, 900, 900; and | think 1t
has completed but one ship or course,
| want TO be fair with them. | am sure
they have good many ships on the
ways | will ask the chairman of the
Committee on Commerce to correct me
II am mistaken. | think the corpor-
alton has completed but one ship. Am
correct about that?
Mr. Fletcher. | think, Mr.. President
there has been one ship delivered, ac-
cepted, and put in the service; but there
are other ships, ! do not know how
many more, that are launched. | un-
derstand that there are other ships on
the wavs; IN fact, a ship under CON
struction Oh each Of the 50 ways.
- Mr.. VARDAMAN. II they are
building ships, in the language of
Robert Burns--in the pIowman's phrase
God send them speed, do not want
to misrepresent them.