The Glenwood post., 1919-10-04
Congressman Says Wilson
Carnival Of Waste Is An.
swer to This Question
PROVES HIS CHARGES
(By . Southern Congressman.)

my district within the last two years.
such miserable extravaganza, regret
to say, is still going on there. When
] came here to attend this session of
conRfsss, the administration was ex-
pending at Nitro $25O,OOO per month
furnishing automobiles to scores of
employees, and paying hundreds Of
clerks, stenographers and typists ek-
trsvagant salaries for sitting around in
Offices Of that comparatively deserted
village looking at each other. There
was not one single thing being manu-.
facturod or produced at Nitro by the
government. The employees were doing
nothing there except unloading about
forty-five carloads of empty shells per
day. This service should not have re-
quired the labor Of more than 100 men,
yet there were on the pay roll at that
time 2,100 people receiving compensa-
tion far in excess of that now being
paid Thousands of postal clerks who
government.
There was then at Nitro $10,OOO,oo'
worth Of cotton, most Of which was
out in the fields exposed to the wealth
q, rotting, and no effort upon the part
Of the government to dispose of it.
There were 10000 tons of sulphur that
had cost the government $31 per ton
piled On the ground by the sidetracks,
and there appeared to be no effort upon
the part Of the administration to pro-
tect or dispose of it. There were
Thousands Of feet Of lumber and hun
dreds of trucks, automobiles, wagons
and dump carts scattered around over
government ground going to ruin, and
NO effort upon the part Of the admins
tration to take care or dispose of
them. Since coming here, have been
informed that thousands Of feet Of
aueh lumber have either been burned
OF dumped into the Great Kanawha
river. In addition, there were tons Of
copper wire, nails, iron, steel rails, and
hogsheads of dishes destroyed or buried
at Nitro.
A specific illustration Of administra-
ton destruction of property Is found
In this-when the government took
over tho land upon which this plant is
located, there wers 75 OF 100 acres Of
corn, and at maturity 200 men were
put to work cutting the corn and car
ryfng II and the fodder on the field,
whsn It was piled and burned; and st
the same time the administration was
shipping I'm carloads Of feed for the
subsistsnce Of the live stock It had
thseA
When horses were tired and tagged
out, instead Of giving them rest they
were taken up the branch to the cren,a-
tory, killed, and first class lumber
piled upon their carcasses and burned.
Finally, after the srmistice was signed
and construction slowed up, some Of
the horses were advertised for sale at
500 per head. Citizens offered &75 for
such horses and instead Of making the
sale the government employees Ut Nitro
killed them and burned them in the
manner above stated. Millions Of dol
lars worth of government property so
ing to waste, while hundreds Of idle
employees, at extravagant prices, sit
around and perform no service what
ever for the government.
Employees at Nitro went to Gallipo-
lis, Ohio, so miles away, got drunk,
were arrested and locked up, and
stayed away from Nitro as long ~ IA
days at a time, yet they drew compon-
satiop for the entire time they were
absent. Men who were in Gallipolis
drunk boasted that their time was go-
ing on ct government expense at Nitro.
Any man who came along with q
hammer and saw and told the COVE
ment agents he was carpenter was
put On the pay roll at carpenter
wages-I think VI per day. Any man
who came along with soldering iron
and . monkey wrench and told the gov
ernment agents that he was plumber
was put on the pay roll at plumber 8
wnges-as recall % per day, with
time and half time for overtime, Sun
days and holidays-thus increasing his
wages to 1850 per day, while West
Virginia boys from this very locality
fought in the battle trenches Of Eu-
rope st tso per month. o..,
Thousands Of dollars were spent In
putting In work at the instance OF
some incompetent engineer, only to be