The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-02-08

Directed by Bureau.
The actual construction of the
plant was by the Air Nitrates COM
pany, of New York, corporation
said to have been formed for the pur-
pose and controlled by the Cyanimid
company, owners of the patented
process of producing ammonium nj
trate by fixation methods. The work
was under the direction of the bu-
reau of ordnance of the war depart
ment until last July, when Secretary
Baker ordered that all bureau con-
| struction be placed under the super
vision of the construction division OF
the quarermaster's department, which
! has evolved q system of checks on
expenditures that is declared by ex-
| perts to be almost perfect and Under
which Irregularities are almost i'm
possible.
1t is understood that friction was
caused by the transfer, the construct
ing company rejecting the change in
the system Of supervision which was
inaugurated by the construction divi-
| sion.
Two months later the attention OF
' the department of justice was called
to the project and it was learned to-
| day an investigation was ordered on
Sept. IS.
Initiation Of Probe.
| Department of justice officials say
f, they initiated the inquiry, but somc
war department officials recollection
of the matter is that the department
| of Justice was asked to employ its
agents by the bureau of ordnance TO
continue an inquiry along the lN1s
! of that of the military intelligence
| a -.s4x
| lieved, to civilian Irregularities.
Benedict Crowell, assistant secre-
| tary of war, who was director of
munitions, is at Pinehurst, N. c.,
where he declined to comment upon
the case, but 1t is understood Mr..
! Crowell's recollection is that the de-
! partment Of justice was asked by
Secretary Baker to take a hand in
| the matter.
Claude r. Porter, assistant attor-
y-general, who conducted the in
| duiry into the charges of extrava-
| gance at the Hog Island shipyard II
is known, has had charge OF he Mus
| Gle Shoals investigation, but declined
TO comment upon assertions thar in =
| dictments undoubtedly will be, at led
against persons connected with the
construction of the plant
| Whether criminal charges will be
| confined to petty cases, which are adj
mitted by war department officials,
or will be extended to men higher up.
with possibly conspiracy charges. de-
| partment Of justice officials declined
| to reveal
when It was decided to build the
| plant, in order to make the United
| States Independent for it's nitrate
supply" explained a high official to-
day, "our wartime requirements of
nitrate was 10000 tons per year.
Our only source of supply was from
| Chile. and there was grave danger
of falling because of lack of tonnage
we were then entering upon our
program of sending men overseas.
| Germany was independent because
I of her ability to get nitrate from the
air. We determined to obtain our
supply from the same source and the
| project at Muscle Shoals was started.
| Construction Of the plant proper was
started in October. 1917, and produc-
| tion was reached in November, 1918.
which clearly determined our ability
to produce from this plant alone no.
600 tons a year of ammonium nitrate
which is used for filling shells.
I'VE think it is a great record and
If there was a waste, extravaganza,
of even petty graft in connection
with the filling of this big order they
were inseparable from the urgency Of
| the occasion where speed and pro-
duction. not economy, were the OBJ
\ IN, t~tat