The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1920-11-10
GRAFT CHARGED TO SHIPPING
BY INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE
OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Employees Submit Report on
Problem Which Continued
for Several Months
P0LITICA P L PULL USED
Find That Some Pay-rolls Were
Padded by Firms Which Re-
paired Vessels

paired Vessels
New York. Nov. 1O.-Indiyiduals
and corporations OF no financial
responsibility have been allocated
United States shipping board
yesSeleS for operation, j. F.
Richard0sn testified today when
tie Walsh committee resumed
! its investigation.
Washington, Nov. 1O.-Charg-
es that the action of the ship
ping board has resulted in an
enormous waste Of government
funds is contained in a report
submitted to the house commit
tee on shipping operations, by
A. M. Fisher and J. F. Richard
son, who for more than a year
have conducted an investigation
for the committee.
! The report, released for publication
today by the committee of which Rep
resentative Walsh, Republican, of Mas
sachusetts, is chairman, says that the
investigators found evidence of graft
IN purchasing supplies for the shin.
ping board operations, of corruption
in officials of the shipping board
emergency fleet corporation and of the
use OF political and other Influence in
the negotiation Of contracts for the
construction and allocating of the gov
ernment-owned vessels.
Group Results
The investigators grouped their in
vestigatiOn under several general
heads, representing various phases OF
the boards activities. They declare
that improperly drawn contracts had
cost the government large sum, that
some divisions of the board had failed
to cooperate efficiently and that 9TH
ers had failed completely to function
properly. .HE 1-..s
The report charged that pay-rolls
had been padded by some Of the firms
(which repaired government-owned
vessels and that there had been I
heavy loss to the government in the
theft Of equipment from government.
owned vessels and equipment
Going into the matter Of salvage of
snip Building plants, uncompleted
hrlls and materials and stores, the re-
port alleged that it was asserted by
persons in position to know" that the
sale Of the millions of dollars worth
Of materials owned by the fleet cor
1oration had netted no more than 1872
cents on the dollar.
TRIES TO BUY STORES
The report said that the "Barde
company" was trying to purchase un-
der a blanket contract all supplies
and stores Of the fleet corporation and
charged that one of the officials OF
this company was also "an advisor to
the shipping boards cancellation and
claim board"
1t was alleged in the report that
repair work on shipping board vessels
was done on basis of pay for work
men on the job at current wages plus
SO per cent. for overhead and profit,
plus 10 per cent. Of material cost to
cover cost of purchase and profit to
the contractors.
"Overcharges Immediately became
GIu COIIlHuC W NC
this form of agreement" said the re-
port. ut is to the advantage Of the con-
tractor to pad, payrolls, slight work,
put too many men on the job, encOur-
age loafing on the job, corrupt in
spectors and time keepers, use help
ers and charge for first class work.
ers, use common labor and charge for
skilled workmen, drag the work to
make it last longer, find additional
work to do, and get it specified, etc.
corruption of United States ship
ping board emergency fleet corpora
lion employees and officials became the
tendency under this practice '=
MEN DRIVEN FROM, JOB "i91..
1t was charged that good men,
we're "heckled, insulted or even fright
,ned off the work where they will not
prove susceptible to the corruption"
The report deals at length with the
OF fuel and supplies to
board vessels, declaring that
he expenditures of millions Of dol
ars was left in the hands OF masters,
thief engineers and Stewards"
The report charges that ships Of
lcSES were ClldDlCu Wy IiS iuSA NAAo'
lnces made for each voyage to finish
With excess fuel, that they recelpted
or full supply on rebunkering and
then get rebate from the bunkerlng
to the extent Of the excess.
It was charged that through polltl-
al influence, ships had been assigned
O companies in which officials OF the
hipping board who had "the financial
responsibility to insure safe and pro-
,er management and operation got
IL tonnage applied for by that means.
While many of the government ships
re making profit, the report said,
thers are operating at loss.
CONTRACTOR COUNSEL
Reviewing ship building contracts
nd settlements the report charged
hat valuable and, expensive ship
uilding plants" erected on LANDS
wned or leased by the contracts IN
everal cases." were not properly SAFE
uarded as to title.
The report also charged that IN
ONE cases, attorneys who represented
he fleet corporation in drawing the
ontracts later engaged with the con-
FACTORS as counsel ''to assist them IN
or in breaking or IN at
ampting to break the contracts
1t also was alleged that some com
anies to which the corporation had