The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1928-01-11
IRREGU LARITIES ARE laid.
TO BUREAU OF EFFICIENCY
I AG Plan It
At TA(KED
"Tag-now you are IT. Z

IAS-IOW you are H.
This seems to be the challenging
thrust hurled at the Bureau Of Eff
cheney.
The Bureau OF Efficiency today,
through Malcolm Kerlin, assistant
director. stated that M. @. Eldridge,
assistant director. OF traffic. and
some OF his friends in Congress-
meaning Representative Thomas T..
Blanton- ARE seeking to develop an
other scandal to be laid this time
at the feet OF Herbert ID. Brown and
the bureau OF which he is the
director.
The latest scandal concerns the
automobile tag making plant at the
District Workhouse at ISorton, Va,
which is managed by Capt. M. NJ.
Barnard. superintendent Of District
penal institutions.
Charges Preferred
In brief, here are the charges"
preferred:
That the plans and specifications
for the tag-making machinery were
prepared by the Bureau Of Eff.
cheney: that the bureau expert who
drew the plans drew them after q
visit to certain manufacturing plants
and with the assistance Of those
manufacturers; that a Representative
OF the Districts purchasing officer
accompanied the bureau expert on
these tours.
That the contract was awarded
to the Triune Machinery Company,
of Philadelphia, which was not the
low bidder.
That certain machinery was Sc
cured which did not conform with
the original specifications and that
such changes were made without
advertising for new bids; that enamel
paint was secured not in accordance
with Bureau Of Standards tests and
without advertisement for new bids.
'fYes-we have been expecting
this, said Malcolm Kerlin, Of the
bureau of Efficiency. Captain
Barnard called me some time ago
and said Eldridge wanted q copy OF
the specifications and asked Il 1t
was proper to furnish them. I told
1fm to go ahead. Eldridge and his
wife visited the captain at Lorton
last Christmas and Eldridge did
some looking around then. I
understand Captain Barnard did not
have a copy OF the specifications to
IufnfSn TO nlIns
KerIin said that the specifications
of the bureau. naturally with the
assistance Of the manufacturers. be-
cause we are not experts In these
matters. g
Wants 3 Hearing
I'VE want this matter to get to.
hearing" added Kerlin.. We
will be able to show that the Dis.
trict purchased its machinery from
b concern other than the one we
would have recommended. We,
likely, would liave recommended the
Nitro (W. Val manufacturer. In
fact, Mr.. Brown had John r. Wald,
the manufacturer from that place,
January IL, 1927, to explain how
tags were being made in number
of prisons. and how his company
had been furnishing many of them
with their equipment"
Captain Barnard stated today
that he visited several prisons
where tag-making machinery was
in use and was accompanied on
some OF the trips by Mr.. Bennett
They insisted, he said. on getting
the very best and. because they
needed q superintendent from the
manufacturer to assist in INSTALL
ing it, sought to get all the equip
ment from one manufacturer. The
Philadelphia company. he said, met
all the requirements and had taken
a personal interest" in the Dis.
trict's plant, hoping to use it as
an advertisement Of their work.
Above Criticism
M. G. Hargrave declared that the
whole transaction was above criti-
cism;" that the manufacturer pur-
posely changed his bid on a stamp
ing machine when he saw that the
machine specified in the specified.
tions would not meet the demands
of the District. That, Mr.. Har-
grove, said, was the only item that
might be questioned. The District,
he insists, profited by the change.