The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1920-11-10
CORRUPTION AND
GRAFT IN SHIPPING
BOARD ALLEGED
Report to House Com
mittee Points Out Loss
of Millions

WASHINGTON. Nov. l0.-tor-
iuptiun ct employees and officials ~
the shipping board emergency fleet
corporation. graft IN purchasing sup
plies fut and In repairing govern
mont owned merchant ships, aud the
use Of political or other influence In
obtaining contracts Tor ship rom
structiou aud tho ALLEGATION ~ COM
plotcd vessels to operating cumpan
les are among "a maze or charges
made In a report submitted To the
luusp tummitttV ON shipping board
operations 10y \. NJ Fisaci and J. T.,
Richardson, former employees of the
board.
Chairman H.usou of the shipping
board refused to- discuss the report,
declaring that n statement he
might have to make would hc made
to the house committee which Be- now
conducting it's Investigation OF the
boards operations.
The report was made public by the
committee of which E,prosrntativ"
walsh. republican, Massachusetts,. b.
chairman. IL covers NOR, than 100
printed pages .ud deals cNhIustlvcly
with many phases OF Shipping board
operations ms observed 10y the com
mittcc's investigation over a period
Of more than u year.
Not M Points Touched.
Mr.. Fisher. who formerly was co..
noctcd with tho federal trade cum-
mission, made a survey for the ship
ping board as to- record Keeping sNs-
tens In the office OF the lumber adj
m"iuistratinu MIR. Richardson, for
20 years 70 newspaper man, was cm-
ployod for several years In The boards
department OF investigation. In PIE
scnting the report, MIR. Fisher cN-
planned that Il was designed to deal
only with problems which could be
solved wholly 10y the shipping board
itself and left Untouched fourteen
general subjects In connection with
the boards operations. Among these
were enumerated organization uf tho
board, technical errors in the con-
struction program GcrmHn-Amcrican
deals. assumption ui the diplomatic
functions 10y board officials. enforce
mcut ut the now merchant marine
act and ovasiuns Of tho H"lcctiNc
draft act.
Taking up On detail sever general
phases OF the boards activities. the
report charged gross waste ut gov
eminent sums ana failure of The
various divisions Of the board tu coo
operate effectively and the almost
complete failure Of some of the di-
visions To function properly.
Padding of payrulls hy firms rec
pairing shipping board vessels. own
rrship by companies operating gov
crumCut vessels of stock Boz Cumpau-
les furnishing supplies to thus" craft
at prices ranging anywhere from 40
T. 90 per cent above wholesale costs,
wholesale theft Of supplies and equip
ntcnt from ships and the loss OF mil
lions Of dollars through improperly
secured loans, made tn contractors
building government vessels also
ware charged.
The Investigators alleged hat In
some cases the fleet corporation
loaned money To- contractors ana ac-
Cuitcd. as security, bonds issued ny
companies incorporated by the con-
tractors, (which bonds have since
been found to be worthless The
chlrgc also was made that In many
onuus shipbuildiuE plants which are
gong concerns are turned back to
contractors as salvage propositions
ami the contractors thus reap larg"
profits at the expense Of the fleet
co 'poratiou.'
Government Stood Losses.
Another allegation In the report
WIS that many of the firms holding
construction contracts iuauEurutDd
liberty bond selling Crustdos I'm their
plants aud charged To ship cunstruc-
ton 10 per cent of the money h u
SECURED ms the cost FOR selling the
bonds. II was further charged that
in some cases the fleet corporation
authorized contractors from their
appropriated funds sums to pur-
chase liberty bonds and that sub
%scuucntly In some eases these bonds
were sold or Hypothetical at a loss
and the mon'y thus realized, used
FOR plant purposes
''TEcy. che cuntracturs) then put
In a claim against the United states