Evening star., 1920-01-11
WASTE IS ALLEGED
AT NITRATE PLANT.
BUILT FOR THE us.
Witnesses Tell House Com
mittee of "Loose" Methods
at Muscle Shoals, Ala.
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. January 1O.-Allega-
building of $62,000,000 air nitrate
plant for. the government at Muscle
Shoals, Ala, were made today in tes-
timony before the House committee in
vestigating expenditures in the War De-
partment. Employees loafed on the job,
gambled and had "loose moral tone"
it was testified.
The plant was built for the govern
ment by the American Cyanamid Com
pany to produce nitrates for war ex-
plosives by the company's German proc
ess and Is now idle.
According to testimony today, the
company paid $4,000 for the distribu-
tion Of articles to newspapers describ-
ing the plant. Under it's contract with
the government the company would re-
ceive royalties if the government ever
should operate the plant, and Chair
man Graham of the committee said it
had been proposed to have the govern
ment make fertilizer there.
Found Employees Asleep.
Maj. J. j. Farley. an ordnance officer.
who was stationed at the plant during
its construction. testified of finding boil
ermakers asleep in boilers and elec-
tricians idle in a field telling stories
The quarters for some employees. he
said. were extravagant, having hard
Woou HooIs. OHce ne IouHu tnfee eie-
vators lifting wheelbarrows of concrete
four feet He told of cook being en-
ployed as a craftsman, a farmer as an
engineer and movie actor as a
mechanic
Capt. n. M. Moberly, another ord
nance officer. described his discovery
OF padded pay rolls, as result of
which the government had been de-
frauded of $1,000. The money was
restored and two men were sentenced
to two years each in prison.
Tells Of Gambling.
Gambling among employees was toll
Grated as necessary to keep them
contented. and it developed that the
police at the plant were profiting
who during the war was chief of the
civilian protection service of mill
tary intelligence, having charge of
the guarding of war plants. Leigh
said he had made complaints about
the police to Col. Mastellar, at Wash
and later the colonel received a dis
tinguished service medal.
1.-The moral tone at Muscle Shoals
was very bad" said Leigh. THE War
Department had the power to stop
these things if it wished, but it did
and wholesome"
Leigh also testified that his men
had made complaints that. teams
were idle, that carloads of lumber
vanished strangely, that automobile
service had been abused and that
employees were often idle during
working hours, but no attention was
paid to the reports.
Says Few Employees Worked.
Testimony was given by John Stress,
who was garage manager at the plant.
He said he had seen a dozen carpen-
ters who were paid $3.50 a day watch
one plank go up. Few Of the en-
ployes at the plant worked, he said.
Officials of the plant rode round in
touring cars, he said, while Army Of
ficers had to use motor trucks most
Of the time, but finally obtained one
small car A stranded actor, who
should have been drafted, StrOss said,
was made assistant garage manager.
Stross claimed that after the COM
pany learned he had given this in
worked 50 hard twenty hours, a day
that he lost thirty pounds in weight.
Convinced that he was being framed
he said, he resigned. Hundreds of
tires were wasted, he said. apd one
$40 radiator was destroyed in a joy
ride. :
Stross described nocturnal rides by
doctors and nurses whom he had
trailed in another car with lights out.
For a while he had difficulty in get
ting his meats, but when one official
learned that Stross knew of a certain
trip, the witness said. he was given
the best of food.
Capt. Stephen L Coles, who was in