The sun., 1919-01-04
ORD.CONTRACT
INQUIRY ASKED
Senator Lodge Calls for InveS-
tigatiOn of the Eagle
Boats.
ONLY SEVEN, DELIVERED
Waste and Opportunity for
PrOfiteering Charged in
Published Article.
ONLY SEVEN, DELIVERED
Special Dcspotch TO TIE Sun.

WASHINGTON. Jan. 3.-Henry Ford's
Eagle boats to cost approximately
$50 600. 900 and the reason why. when
tho deivagy of ninety-threc OF tho
craft was to have been accomplished
on December 15 last. only seven had
Leen completed at that time. will be
investigated by the Senate Naval .Af-
fairs Committee II II adopts a resolu-
ton by Senator Lodge (MassD. which
he introduced to-day. The !rvesAi-
CATION Is regarded as a certainty
The Lodge resolution follows
Resolved, That the Committee on
/ Naval Affairs be and Is hereby di-
/ rected TO make an investigation OF
/ the so-called Eagle boats, OF the
contracts made for the said boats
' with the Ford Motor Company, and
! OF the character and construction
! of such boats.
Designed by Ford.
The Eagle boat ia a type Of light sub
marine chaser designed and built by Mr.
Ford Eagle l.. the first OF these craft
to be put into commission, went into the
water at Detroit October IS, 1918. 1t
was in reality a motor fiivver OF light
and inexpensive type, propelled by a
gasolene motor and designed for higa
speed and little draft
Mr.. Ford announced at the completion
OF the first test that he could turn out
three OF the boats a day. 1t mounted
machine gun fore and aft, and the ul-
innate plans carried with them tho car
rying OF an automobile torpedo. Whether
or not this latter attribute wa, brought
to corpetlon is not known. but the
types that were In evidence during the
war were of the small scout cruiser
class Of motor boat with merely light
guns
Senator Lodge introduced yesterday
into the Record extracts from the series
OF articles now current in tho Doilu Iron
I Trade. a publication devoted to iron
and steel industries OF the great lakes
region. IN which the deliberate charge
was made that the Ford contract to
build the Eagle boats was wasteful TO
the last degree. that the need for boats
had long passed and that opportunity
fo- pronteer1ng to hitherto unsus-
pected limit reposed in the exceedingly
favorable contract which Mr.. Ford holds
with the Government.
Basis for the Demand.
The article which Senator Lodge used
al the basis for his demand for the In
vestigatlou was in part as follows:
Tile cost OF the Eagle boats originally
was placed al $4,000. or $3.50 a ton
without guns. The estimate cost now
Is 100000 or $500 ton. The cost OF
ordnance comes 10 $4,000 boat
Under the contract agreement the Ford
Motor Company is to be paid $4,000
ever the actual cost IL the cost OF the
. hull and machinery exceeds $275 900
, Twenty-Five per cent. of any saving
under S275.00O is to be paid the Ford
! Motor Company in addition to the
$4,000.
THE contract reads, The contractors
shall use every endeavor to deliver the
> FIRST Of said vessels within five months
from the date OF this contract, March
/. 1918. ten boats within one month
, thereafter, twenty boats within the next
following month and twenty-five boats
a month thereafter
The article which Senator Lodge in.
, troduced into the Record draws the
deadly parallel between this highly ad.
\ want aReOuS contract ana the pacifs'
utterances OF Henry Ford In which hs
said he would not accept a cent OF proit
. out OF his war contracts The article
continued
Had the late candidate for the
Senate lived up 70 his contract ninety,
three Eagles would have been completed
and In commiss by December IS. 4,
a matter Of fact exactly seven had bee
completed by that date, three being r
New London, Conn, and four some
where between Detroit and New London
and of these seven six were rushed L
the coast leaking and generally incom
plete to get them out before the freez,
(of Lake Erie),"
The article declares that the frs
Eagle leaked badly and not until sh'
was electrically welded did she becom,
water tight" The first Eagle wa
launched July II, 1918. but could no
, stsrt FOR the Atlantic coast until No
vember L..