Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1920-11-10
Grating Galore

Grating Galore
CONTINUES from eass ohS)
failure of some of the divisions to
function properly.
Payrelis Padded
Padding Of pAyroils by firms repair
ing Shipping Board vessels; ownership
by companies operating government
vessels. of stock in companies fur
nishing supplies to those craft at
| prices ranging anywhere from 40 to
so per cent. above wholesale costs,
wholesale theft OF supplies and equip
ment from ships and the loss of mil
lions Of dollars through improperly
secured loans made to contractors
| building government vessels also were
| charged
| The investigators alleged that in
| some cases the feet corporation loan
ed money to contractors and accepted
as, security bonds issued by compa-
MES incorporated by this contractors.
which bonds have since been found
to be worthless" The charge also
was made that in many cases ship
pfdHtS WIN IHdtSTidiS WHtCfi
are going concerns are turned back to
| contractors as salvage propositions
and the contractors thus reap large
FRONTS at the expense Of the feet cor
| poration." =.
Charged for Liberty Bond Campaign
Another allegation in the report wa ;
that many firms holding construction
contracts inaugurated Liberty bond
selling crusades in their plants and
charged to ship construction 10 per
cent of the money thus secured as
the cost for selling the bonds. 1t
vas further charged that in some
cases the fleet corporation authorized
| contractors to take from their ap-
propriated funds" sufficient funds to
purchase Liberty bonds and that sub
sequently in some cases these bonds
| were sold or hypothecated at h loss
and the money thus realized used for
Liant purposes
| They Che contradictory then put in
claim against the United States
! Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Cor
poration for the losses thus incurred, ;
declared the report.
} SdsS Ot waterfall
| Going into the matter of salvaged
/ snlpbullding plants. uncompleted hulls
and material and stores. the report al
legged that it was asserted by persons
IN position to know that the sale Of
| the millions of dollars worth of ma
| terials" owned by the Fleet corpora
| ton had Melted no more than 1874 cents
on the dollar at a time when the Ship
ping Board at other points was pur-
CHASING the same materials in the
open market at prices in advance of
the original cost prices of the mate
rials sold.
However" said the report. "tbe
question seems to be one of maIad-
mlnistration rather than one Of fund
amentai conditions. insofar as the linn
tied returns from the sale of these ma
| terials is concerned"
The report said that "the Bardee
Company was trying to purchase nm
der blanket contract all supplies ana
stores of the Fleet Corporation and
charged one of the officials Of this com.
pany was ALSO an adviser to the
Shipping Boards cancellation and
Claims board"
Inc Shipping Board announced last
night the sale of surplus materials Of
the Pacific Coast valued at about SIS
100000 to "Barde Brothers, Inc" Of
New York. -
AS to contract cancellations and
nun removals, the report asserted
that the Shipping Board entered into
a contract with Geo. F. Rogers to re :
move bulls which were on the ways
IN an unfinished state at the time
the contract was signed or to secure
rom the builders or the owners of
the land upon which the bulls and
ways rested a release from further
liability.
For some reason" said the renort.
the United States Shipping Board
ga" Mt to make contract with ROY
ers to pay him $4,000 per hull for En- oh
null thus handled by him. -. :
The result has been that in MANY
cases the Shipping Board has paid
an additional $1,000 per hull to haye
Rogers sell the hull or give it away
in many cases the cost of the mi,
representing several hundred thou
SAND dollars. Rogers has found no
dimcuity in selling these bulls :
at very fair price, which revenues
revert to Rogers in addition to which
ne collected from the United States
shipping Board Emergency Fleet
Corporation $1,000 per huh fee"
Inc report said the contract enter.
ed into with the American Lumber
Sales Company should be gone into
py this committee because it presents
some features that are ouestions NJ.
10 say the least" The report then
goes on to charge that the GONNA nv
was to some extent composed of per-
sons previously engaged with tbA
Fleet corporation; that it purcha sed
materials from the corporation. At .
stipulated price and sold these ma -
terials where is, as is" at an adva rne
sometimes OF more than 100 per cent.
over the purchase price and that in
many cases it appeared that the com
pany used fleet corporation plants "a
equipment Ito reap enormous prof,ts
from the sale of materials which q
had purchased" from the feet corno,.
alton.
The contract with the Sonthern
scrap Materials Company, which, It
was stated. had been abrogated. aIso
was criticised. 1t was CHARGED that
the contract was made by an agent
OF the Board at New Orleans with
out the knowledge Of his home ONCE
and that materials in many cases not
declared surplus were sold to the
company at prices far below the mar
ket quotations at the time of the