The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-06-26
Manufacturers Get
Pay for Special Machin
( cry Several Times
CHARGE 1T TO
SEVERAL DIVISIONS
No Coordination in Placing Orders and
Divisions Are Ignorant of What
Exposed in Investigation.


WASHINGTON, June 26-Investiga
Jions into the expenditures of the war de-
partment by the Graham committee of
the house Will take on an aspect Of more
immediate interest soon when witnesses
who will be called to testify, reveal the
facts about the enormous waste of pub
lie money that is going ON in connection
with the cancellation of army contracts
There has been absolutely no coordina-
| ton Of the various divisions of the army
with respect to these cancellations Each
division acts entirely independently and
| without consulting the heads OF other
| divisions to see wherein there may be
| overlapping contracts Many instances
have come to light, purely by accident,
| which show that vast sums of money are
| being paid to those holding contracts
| with the government, to which the re-
| eipients are not entitled, and this is. all
| due to the fact that the war department
| has no central office through which these
contract cancellations must pass.
\ rule was adopted by the war depart
| ment after the signing of the armistice,
| when it became necessary to cancel con-
| tracts for billions of dollars of war mu-
uitons and other material which could not
be used. that the manufacturer should be
paid for the raw material which he had
purchased in order to oil the contract,
and for the labor that had actually been
expended in fabrication Of the material
up to the time the contract was can
celed.
| OF course there were some offsets, to
take care of the salvage on such material
as could be utilized for some other pur-
pose outside of that for which 1t was
originally intended,
1t was also specified in the rule regard
ing cancellations, that where 4 manutac-
turer had put III special machinery for
the purpose of manufacturing the materi-
al or munitions called for in the contract
he was To lie paid certain proportion OF
the cost of such machinery. The amount
varied according to the use to which that
machinery could he put IN the tsta'flisli-
mcnt in future fabrication, hut i'll most
instances the manufacturers have claimed
that the machinery had no value except
the junk value
In several instances which have come
to light by accident, it has been discov
cred that manufacturers had contracts
with various denartments OF the army
md navy. for different material. Tn sew
eral instances it has been shown that the
manufacturers have put in new machinery
especially for manufacturing the article,
caIlcd for in the various contracts, but
that this machinery had been used inter
changeahly on the various contract ma
terials 1t IS shown that when tho ord
| i,Fri q
contract for guns or munitions, it ha,
paid to the manufacturer Il sum to cover
the cost OF the new machinery Unstable,
for the purpose OF manufacturing this
equipment
These same manufacturers have also haC
contracts with the motor transport divi
SION and the airerlst division and pos
sibly with other divisions, for which they
have been turning out material In can
ceiling the contracts with each of thes,
other departments OF the army, it ha
developed that the manufacturers in Gael
instance included the cost of this sam,
machinery as part OF the sum expended
under the contract for which they de
mand reimbursement As there is. no co
ordination between the departments. tn
various divisions OF the army do not know
that the manufacturers have already re
ccived payment for this machinery, s.
that this sum is included in each sepa
rate settlement, the consequence bein
that the manufacturer receives from tn
government a sum several times large
than the original cost OF the machinery
and still has the machines.
An instance occurred not long ago
where telegram was sent to a big tir
manufacturer in Akron, O., cancelIing
certain informal order for tires amount
ing to something ever 81, $4,000 The Sc
rial number of the order was given in tn
telegram OF cancellation. The manufat