Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1920-11-10
Corporation of Employees
and Officers Of Ship Board
Section Charged
:TANTLING EXAMPLES
Maze Of Sensational Instances. Are
Quoted in Report TO House ommlt.
tee Alleged Millions Wasted.

Washington, =. c., Nov. 10.--Cor-
.uptiua Of employees and officials OF
he Shipping Board Emergency
Elect Corporation, graft III purchas-
n@. supplies for and IN repairing
,;;overnment-own..d merchant ships,
md uSr of pc!it:ca! or other intin-
arrn ir obtaining contracts Tor ship
construction and &l.ocar.nn Of com
,leted vessels to operating cnmpa-
1:eS, ,\.arr among maze al charges
made n a report submitted To the
Hos. Committee on shipping
Board Operations hy \. NJ. Fisher
hid j. +. Richardson. former en-
nIovr-s e. the board:
Chairman Benson, Of the Shipping
ooard. r. fused last night to discuss
10 report. declaring that any state
rent J." might have 10 make would
~ made to the House committee
yhi"h ncw is continuing its lnveSti-
ration Of the boards operation.
Th.. -.port was made public last
night hv The committee. of which
Represrntarive Walsh. Republican,
Massachusetts,, is chairman. lt
overs more than 100 printed pages,
nd d.al$ exhaustively with many
chase. Of Shipping Board operations
i eh.c-vca by the committees in
,cstigs.or over q period Of more
han wear.
rsshe~. who formerly was con-
,e.to1 wi the F'aierat TRADE Conn
mission. made survey f"r the
chippin- Board as to record-keep-
'nr systems in the uff,re of the
'un,hnr administration, Richardson,
ror % Years q newspaper man, was
.mnInved for several years IN the
5oarcrs department Of !nyeSttsa-
tor.
IN presenting The renori, Richard
=on saii@,t was designed to deal only
with problems which could be solved
wholIr hv the Sh:pnin.- Board itself,
md 'l2ft untouched Il general sub
iects IN connection wish the boards
operations. Among these we're
.a2e.l,pyat"d organization of the
BOARD. s-ehnicaI errors in the con-
,truct;on program. G""man-AmEri-
AN deals, assumption of diplomatic
'r,n.tors ay board "tf.:i"'<. en-.
"orresr"r. of the new merchant ma
inc net aud cvasipnS OF the sclec-
tive s"r,::e acF.
Taking un in detaii seven general
rhaScs of the tcard;s activities, the
"cport CHARGED gross waste Of Gov
rrnmnnt funds, i'm properly drAwh
.ortrarts which cost the Government
large sums. faiuce OF The various
l;y:S:rrs .nf thr board to cooperate
.ffiricrtly ard almost complete fail
IRE or SOM of n" divisions to tunc-
eion properly.
paddirr Of ravro!!s bv firms re-
!. caring Shipping Board ressels,
,wncr'i,ip by companies oneratIng
;ovrrnm.nt vessels of stock in r"nl-
pan:r< furnishing sypulies 10 those
"raf: at nrreS ranging anywhere
from 10 70 30 per cent. above whole
salo COSTS. wholesale theft of sup
pl;rS end ruuipncni from ships. and
oss of millions OF dollars through
;mprcperlv secured lnan- made to
.n,t,ac.o-g huiId'pg Governments
vessels. also were charged
The iNr"ct;ea tors alleged thai in
.nme. gases the Fleet Corporation
loaned money to contractors and ac-
.ented ~ security bonds issued by
.on,nani.. ncnrnnrated hy the con
ra".a~&. "wh:h honGS nave since
hon rnu.,I IL he WORTHLESS. The
h2rro a'so "a< made that in many
...ses shiphn:iding n!ar + with ma
.eriaIs. "mhich are going concerns,
are turned back 10 contractors as
salvage propositions. and the con-
! Continued on Page Six
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