New-York tribune., 1920-10-13

The cost-pius system, which the gov
ernmert adopted in the erection of war
camps and war plants, was responsible
for enormous expenditure and waste.
By this system the government fur
nished everything and paid all costs,
depending upon the contractor to do
tho work efficiently and expeditiously
aup with as much economy as possible.
The system was adopted because Of the
necessity for haste in the construction
of war establishments and because of
Huctuating cost Of materials and labor,
which would have made contractors
reluctant to assume obligations involv-
ing millions Of dollars on their own
responsibility
Records of Congressional committee
Investigations show that the cost-plus
system resulted in tremendous graft,
DELAY and confusion Contractors prof
its above the cost Of the project came
to enormous sums. In many instances
waste and delay appeared to result
from systematic efforts on the part of
contractors to make their jobs cost
more and last longer in order to in
crease their own percentages of profit.
Goethals Condemned Plan
General Goethals, one of the greatest
of American engineers, condemned the
cest-plus system in his testimony be-
fore Congressional committee. He
suggested that greater speed could have
been attained by intrusting the work
to government constructing engineers
instead of to independent contractors
Army training camps cost the gov
ornment $1,000 100000. Contractors
net profits were about S22 100000.
Sworn testimony after the armistice
elected, for example, at Camp Grant,
Chicago, that there was reckless cost
plus" construction. Four thousand car
penters were hired where 1000 would
have sufficed and would have completed
the work possibly in less time at less
cost. Laborers. were paid so cents an
hour. and when discharged as inetfi-
clent were rehred as carpenters at
$3.50 day. Cement and nails were
lulred in great quantity by weather.
Workmen loafed and at the end Of the
day would throw their tools in the mud,
receiving new tools on request.
At Camp Sherman, Chilicothe, Ohio,
evidence ELECTED that hospital plumbers
loafed and gambled through weather
% degrees below zero, while soldiers
contracted pneumonia and died in great
numbers. Joseph E. Poole, who had
been employed at Camp Sherman, tes-
titled that nurses and doctors clad in
sheepskln and fur coats attended sick
soldiers lying in frigid buildings be-
cause the steamtitters refused to work
on the heating system, and loafed in
order to make the job last longer and
the pay greater.
Other witnesses testified as to roof
ing material, piled like cordwood, so
that twothirds of it became useless be-
cause it would not unroll; tons of nails
thrown on the ground and wasted;
dump fires fed with costly lumber;
large gangs of men uselessly employed;
boys. listed as journeymen carpenters,
drawing big wages.
w. e. Gunther, of Chilliccthe, tes-
tilted: "The waste in lumber was enor-
NOUS mountains of it piled up and
burning; waste of nails in the same
proportion. | have salvaged enough
nails myself from building to build
another one"
Waste at Camp Sherman
Gunther told the investigating COM
mlttee that the men were admonished d
by foremen not to work too hard or
they would lose their jobs. Il think [
am safe IN saying that it could have
been done in two thirds Of the time
one-third was wasted ] said there
was waste, waste enough, in my hum
Bile opinion, to build another camp"
Gunther is contracting carpenter of
twenty years experience
Camp Sherman cost the government
$4,000, 2,535.18.
Not only the erection of war estab-
lishments on the cost-plus system, but
the disposal OF them after the armis-
tice, exhibits tremendous loss.
The records show that the Old Hick-