Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1920-06-19
War Unscramb|ing Almost Fin
ished, Technical Committee
Will Be Dissolved.
FROM POWER TO CASTOR OIL
incidentally tho Committee Adjusted
the Great Kansas Rabbit Meat
Claim Along With Some 2OO,-
600 Others.

600 Others.
WashingtOn.-Afte assisting In saw
Ing the country several millions Of dol
lars through adjusting more than a.
900 war contracts which were abrupt
ly terminated by the armistice, the
technical advisory committee of the
war claims board of the war depart
ment is about to be dissolved, accord
ing to Campbell Scott, who organized
the committee under the direction OF
Benedict Crowell, assistant secretary
of war and director of munitions. The
committee, which was composed of eX-
perts in practically every branch of
engineering and manufacturing, was
| organized to meet the critical situa-
ton which developed as soon as the
war claims board attempted to settle
the 10000 contracts in existence at the
close of the war.
The greater number of these con-
tracts involved questions Of highly
technical nature, and 1t was to settle
these that the technical committee was
organized. Many of the contracts in
volved had been let on basis Of the
war lasting four or five years more /;
the great majority had been eTteed
during the last six months of the Con-
fict. An idea of their scope is OBJ
| tanned when it is understood that there
who, in turn, had let sub-contracts to
more than 100000 others. In fact, to
have finished the war contracts for
munitions and supplies of every con-
ceivable nature which were in exist
ence on Armistice day would have
meant the tying up Of practically go
per cent of the manufacturing re-
sources of this country.
An outstanding feature of the great
work of the Investigations which were
completed by the technical committee
Is the fact. contrary to general belief.
more than 90 per cent of the contrac-
tors were found to be scrupulously
honest In their dealings with Uncle
Sam.
| eve found that the great majority
OF the contractors" said Chairman
Scott yesterday, "had undertaken their
their country In time of peril. While
| they did not forget that business Is
business, many of them might have
made much more money than they did.
| "Of course. It Is true that the small
minority took the viewpoint that the
| ho1 do p6
therefore should be made to pay for IT.
hut when 1t came to adjusting their
| claims even these We're found to be
| fair and reasonable indicative of the
good spirit which prevailed. Only 20
| out of $4,000 contractors have ap-
pealed to the court of claims from
| the awards made to them. This
shows the painstaking work done by
the technical committee of the war
| claims board"
Claims Big and Little.
Some of the claims adjusted we're
| distinctly of an extraordinary nature.
| They ranged from the adjustment of
| the great power contracts in the Pitts
burgh district. which involved 1,90O.-
| 100000 horse power. to the re-arrange-
ment of the rabbit meat industry
which had sprung up in Kansas. In
cidentally, the castor oil contracts
| the oil to be used for Liberty motors
have come UP before the technical
| committee. The fact that the entire
amount of more than $500, 1000 O00
worth of war contracts was settled ar
l. per cent of their total face value
shows that real Americanism peryades
| the industries of this country.
sit is the biggest job of arbitration
the world has ever known" is the
way in which prominent member o.
the administration characterized tn.
work of ''unscrambling the war"
One of the most highly technical
contracts. and one which required
deep investigation, was that affecting
the power supply of the Pittsburgh
district. This district. the chief prod
ucts of which were munitions and
steel of every kind was practically
| tied up in government work during the
last year of the war. Additions wera
| built to plants, thousands of new em-
| oloyees were added. and as soon as