Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-11-10
STARTLING CHARGES OF FRAUD
I MADE BY FORMER Employees ARE
FACED BY US. SHIPPING BOARD
Evidence OF Graft In Pur-
chase OF Supplies For
Ships, Corruption On The
Part OF Employees And Of
fcials And Other Forms OF
Graft Are Reported.

81 New York, Nov 10.-Individuals
and corporations of no financial stand |
1ng and no experience in maritime af-
fairs have been allocated United
I: States shipping board vessels for OPP
y Grating, j. f. Richardson testified to-
day when the Walsh congressional
! committee resumed Investigation of
\ alleged irregularities in shipping
\ board affairs. 1 + 4
Richardson, who conducted all in
vcstigation regarding the boards
operating methods for the committee.
declared irresponsible individuals were
favored while established steamship
companies complained of inability to
secure any tonnage from the govern
ment. . .t
Such ALLEGATION, the witness as
serted, has been performed at will by
q director of they operations" under
the shipping board. who 'com7
transport lines and reallofated thems
to private companies. Ships, he said.
had been turned over to companies In
which relatives Of men connected
with the shipping board were finan-
cially interested.
ships, Mr.. Richardson stated. was in
vestigated only through facilities pro-
vided by financial agencies.
He added that those who purchased
outright vessels from the board have
complained they cannot compete
with companies financed and equip
ped by the shipping board. Others,
he said, felt they had cause for dis
satisfaction when the board took back
and reallocated vessels turned over
to them.
'The statement has been made"
he said. that out Of 200 companies
to which ships have been allocated.
there are so many irresponsible COM
panies that the list must be cut in
half"
tGrave Deficiencies.
One or the gravest deficiencies of
tho shipping boards system, Mr..
Richardson said, was the lack, Of
had made it necessary for super
cargoes on the boards vessels to go
out and solicit freight so that the
ship might not be compelled to re-
turn to its home port in ballast. -
He criticised the failure to estab-
lish reciprocal work in agreements
With other agents through which
ships might be kept busy, adding:
There. are I, instances where an
operator with cargo enough for half
dozen ships has but one or two yes
ys,s While q ethss Nssn,Sg aEsnts sb|s sas qss
Tack of cargoes." se {:
The intention of the United States
bureau Of shipping. the witness char
acterized as entirely unnecessary.
Washington, Nov TO- Charges that
the action of the shipping board had
resulted in an enormous waste of
government funds are contained in a
report submitted tonthe house COM
niittee on shipping board operations
by two former employees of the board,
A. NJ. Fisher and j. T.. Richardson,
F~s- f1Nn%N ho
Quoted an investigation for the COM
mittee. .:
The report released for publication
today by the commltteeSof which Rep
resentative Walsh, Republican, Massa-
chusetts, is chairman, states that the
in the purchase of supplies for repair
ing government owned ships, of cor
ruption on the part of officials and
employees of the shipping board
y emergency fleet corporation, and OF
4 the use of political and other influence
in the negotiating Of contracts for
Y government vessels.
They declared improperly drawn
contracts had cost the government a
H large sum, that some divisions Of the
Il I board had failed to cooperate effici.
M emily and others had failed completely
@ to function properly.
III The report charged that payrolls
@ had been padded by some of the firms
II which repaired government owned
M vessels and that there, had been 9
S heavy loss to the government as re.
SSs suit of the wholesale thefts of sup
Vi plies and equipment from ships The
E& investigators also reported to the
committee that companies operating
SM government vessels had in some, in.
N stances owned stock in companies
ssg which furnished supplies to the ships
ss at prices ranging as high as SO pei
MA 4Ssa cent above wholesale costs.
ga Discussing the ALLEGATION of ships
aaSthe report states that investigation Of
companies or applicants for assigned
Or allocated tonnage 'semes to be more
ssSor less haphazard with the UNITED
aa States shipping board" The investi
gators say that the division of assign
|RS&tnent and ALLEGATION attempted to co
with the department Of in
but, that just about "tht
SsSSatme proper I. cooperation betweer
hese two departments had been es
SSSt sSSS blished, the department of investi
sAiE ration was SO disturbed by a chang
SSHsssS4n its directing heads and its person
sSH Vel as to render it's offices useless fo
he purposes Of the division of as
sss {gnment and allpcation."
SsSyg&#s Mr.. Richardson. one Of the tnvesti
sSS Ators, was formerly connected witt
SssS Ae department of investigation MI
fisher was at one time connected witt
RRssssSRe federal trade committee. H
Sates, In presenting the report, tina
S9 'Sss sS3k was designed to be conclusive an,
ssSS helpful to the shipping board. rathe
han destructtvely critical"
sssSSS sss5SS Clement Summoned. "A
2Ssees New York, Nov. To- Commando
FIs B. Clement, assistant to Adnlira
k Benson, was summoned as one OF tn
ME- illnesses today before the congress
1H tonal COMMITTEES inyestigating, allege