New-York tribune., 1920-11-17

authorization to take care of valuable
machinery and equipment, to have it
removed under sheds. 1t lay there for
months
Never Knew His Exact Duties
Mr.. Macneil said that on taking up
his duties at Savannah he was not
given definite instructions as to just
what bis responsibilities were, and dur
ing his several months stay there was
never able to ascertain just what these
responsibilities were. He said what
ever instructions he ever got were
coucked in general terms, were given
verbally anu vcrc often contradictory.
Il n ever was able to find out just
what my authority was" the witness
said in reply to question by Repre-
sentative Walsh, of Massachusetts,
chairman OF the committee. Il assumed
a whole lot when ! tried to straighten
out somc OF the tangles."
Describing the lack of organization
in the Snlppng Board departments, the
witness said that the construction
yards az Savannah we're better organ
lied because the employees always got
ahead of the board
Regarding tn National Shipping
Company's contract, the witness testi
uGQ on CIpSS-tNdWiHdliUU LHdt ne idt
no knowledge that its terms had been
changed by the officials at the head
Office in Philadelphia, and added that
every time he was told TO stop track
building somebody else told him to go
on. There was at'al .imcs a conflict of
authority, he said.
MI. Wacneil also testified that he
made two Inventories OF the plant and
that five more were made by others,
g l. l1.% y
adiustT ent department. He said that
at least $4,000 must have been ex-
pended IN making these numerous in
ventories, where one should have been
sufficient. lie said he never made a
valuation of the property.
Mr.. Macneil also testified that while
complete outfit Of office furniture
wcs standing idle al the National yard
} new auditor who came to Savannah
FOR the Shipping Roard was forced to
buy office equipment in the open mar
ket because ne, Macnel, could not get
the requisite authority to turn over
any of the furniture to the auditor
Ownership of Railroad Questioned
The witness said that a Mr. Salus,
who was the agent of the Emergency
Fleet Corporation at the National yard
obtained contract from the govern
ment while in it's employ to construct
marine railway on adjoining land
obtaining loan OF 100000 from the
government to do this work. to which
the government later added another
$4,000 for expenses for sand filling
work. This property, the witness said
was completed, but the loan has never
been paid, he SAID, and ownership of
the property is still in question. 1t
vas built on land belonging to Salus,
he said, and the courts of Georgia have
decided that ait was owned by the man
who had title to the land
Macneil said that SAlus has brought
action against the government on the
Ground OF non-payment Of rentals and
IS asking as rentals sum ten times
as much as the appraised value of the
plant. The witness asserted that he
one ordered Salus off the property
after he had found dynamite placed
tAeTe by some one whose identity he
could not discover.
The witness declsred that he had
to build special track 10 comply with
an arbitrary order to ship the Will
mlngton some anchor chains which
we're on grodnd about quarter of
mile from the waterfront. He said he
informed his superiors that there was
no way Of moving them az there was
no track ovet which to get them to
the waterfront. He was .old brusquely
that his orders were To snip them
Then, said" testified Macneil
very well, ri, ship then. SO | built
4 track from the lansi where the
chains were lying and hauled them to
the waterfront. This JOB was paid for
with a special voucher about which no
one ever askco me to give an eXplana-
ton. 1t cost more to have these chains
moved than 1t would t. have bought
new ones"
William r. Morton, 1o,mcr special
lnve tgator Tor the Shipping Board
told the committee that IN his inves
tigations Of Shipping Board affairs on
the Pacific Coast he discovered that
the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock
company hai collected S623OO0 from
the government on. Il contract and that
when this concern was absorbed by
the skinner < Eddy Company the lat
Ter, through 1. mistake in the Shipping
board, again received payment on the
same contract to the same amount
hen the mistake was discovered hv
the Shipping Board and the Skinner &
Eddy company was asked to make a re-
Iund OF the Tayment the witness said
.he company refused to do so until q
olll submitted by it for S287.O0O for
overtime charges, which we're not al
lowed by the board, was paid. The
DN"tu iciUSCi 10 compromise, and so
ar as he knew the witness assorted.
the government has n4ver collected
the S623, GOO.
Change in Contract Costs Si43.0oo
Mr.. Morton testified also that an nj
legged substitution in contract with
the Seattle Construction and Drydock
Company resulted in a loss to the gov
ernment of $lA5,000 on the recond-
tloning of one SHIP. The loss, the wit
ness said, had been attested to by
auditors of the Shipping Board The
ship In question was the former
cruiser Boston, taken to the Seattle
Iards for conversion into 9 cargo boat
The alleged change in the contract, the
witness said, was discovered through
difference IN the notary's attest tation
Iestifying as to conditions in Nor
foik IN 1919, Ms. Morton mentioned the
name of the Union Iron Works as q
company which had had ifty-two men
on the job, including stenographers
and asserted that the company's ac-
counts showed in instances that it
mad iifty-elght men on the job. He
added that "the entire force probably
was paid overtime" and declared tina:
N many cases crews would be sent ou'
to work on ships at anchor, time being
SLOWED them for every hour they wer,
away.
The witness also alleged intimida-
ton of inspectors in some districts
charginr that there vera cosne of oOo,