New-York tribune., 1919-01-09

anc | guaranteed Mr.. Ende that ]
could prove all my statements and
reports 20 him or any other engineer
or craftsman in short order.
/ also told Mr.. Emdo that The good
name of Mr.. Henry Ford was at
s'aHc--that those boats. as ,hey were
oesigned and were being built, were
death traps and would ruin Mr..
ford's good name forever; that
admired Mr.. Ford and that did
not think Mr.. Ford was aware OF the
conditions or be would stop them
instantly; that | was unable to get
INTO personal touch with Mr.. Henry
ford, for he was so surrounded by
red tape and system that it would
be easier for me to get an interview
with King George of England than
Mr.. Henry Ford. The in>Nrvicw with
Mr.. Emde was held about the if-
tccnth OF last December. Have never
heard a word from him or the COM
panI since. and have stopped send
ing the company any more reports
or recommendations. That is the
way the matter now stands.
Willing to Sacrifice Job
II have stepson in the navy, and
do not wans him ever to be as
signed to make single trip on
Ford Eagle neither do | want any
other mems sons to sail on them and
endanger their lives. | do not know
who is to blame for the defects in
the design, etc, but will say this,
and am prepared to prove it before
any court or jury, that if the Kaiser
of Germany had selected drafts
man to do his dirty work he could
not have stabbed the Eagle boats
in more devilish way, nor picked
out more vulnerable parts Of the
ship to leave out so that a load of
TINT dropped over the stern of the
boat would mean suicide for the
Eagle which dropped the bomb
Il VIII. in all probability, lose my
position here with this company, and
| need the work and money | earn,
put my conscience as a man and my
duty to my fellow man compel me
to give publicity to this matter
Let me hear from you at your
pleasure. I stand ready to prove
every statement | have made to you
and to the officers of the Ford Eagle
shipyard. Yours truly,
Many Foreigners Employed
Harry Leroy is citizen Of Saginaw,
Mich, where for years he was en-
gagged in the construction of steel yes
sells. He is ifty-two years old. When
interviewed to-day by Tribune CORE
spondent he said:
Things have been going wrong sat
the Ford Eagle plant. There are no
practical boat builders or marine engi-
neers in charge of bureaus or divisions.
The staff of boat builders. almost
without exception, is composed Of auto
>o,Oh1lO colo orI re y,ti1o ~
palmer employees are anything that
could be obtained to man tho works.
A very large percentage OF the men,
while willing to learn, are foreigners
unable to speak or understand the Eng
lish language.
Il was engaged by the Ford people
as an instructor, but they never got
to the matter of giving me chance to
instruct the men in classes. Ny in
struction was given. when given at all,
IN hit or miss fashion, as discovered
faulty methods or slovenly work.
Calls Eagles Worthless
"The Eagles are worthless for work
IN salt water or any rough water in
{. sea way, as shall be able to demon
strate instantly to competent engineers.
There arc still more than twenty Of
the Eagles to be built. By radically
reforming the existing methods the
new boats can be constructed satisfac-
torily. Those already built should
never be allowed to 60 to sea. Nor
one Of them; it would be suicide.
The Tribune correspondent was di
rected to William Knudson, in general
charge of the Ford administration, CO.
ope rating with Edsel Ford, Henry
Fcrd's son, who has just been placed
at the head OF the company. Mr.. Knud
son read the letters from Mr.. Leroy
10 Henry Ford and Senator Lodge and
;hen went into conference with Edsel
Ford and with government officials de-
tailed to inspect construction work on
the Eagles. After half an hours de-
liberation he said that he regretted
that the only one in official position to
discuss the Leroy charges was Admiral
d. w. Taylor, of the Bureau of Con-
struction and Repairs, Washington
Leroy Wrong, Knudson Says
"All that | can say at this time is
that Leroy is wrong in all his main
contentious" said MIR. Knudson.
From another Ford official who, for
obvious reasons, did not wish to be
quoted. the following statement was
obtained:
"Leroy is wrong in his allegations
about faulty construction of the
Eagles Technically. all the defence
that the Ford Company needs to set
up is that the company is building the
boats as the government wants them
built. We cannot do otherwise. 1t may
be of interest to say that several Of
the boats are now at New London. and
that Captain Anderson, who took Eagle
No. g through the lakes and around
Nova Scotia and down the coast en-
countered seventy-fv mile an hour
gale and heavy sea, and he reported
this week to us that the boat behaved