Milford chronicle., 1931-07-24
POLITICAL OWNERSHIP
By George B. Lockwood

The New York Sun prints an ac-
count of Uncle Sans venture into
the manufacture of armor plate
which proves that politics and bus
mess will not mix successfully. Sen
ator Tillman put a bill through Con-
gress in 1917 to erect a government
armor plate factory on the plea that
private companies were charging
too much. The government bought a
site at Charleston, w. Va. The citi-
zens of Charleston gave 205 acres
for site, paying $1,4OO an acre;
the government condemned more
land adjacent and got it for $4,000
an acre. Congress authorized the
erection there also of projectile
plant capable of turning out small
caliber gun forgings; later it was
decided to erect gun forging plant
capable of manufacturing 2O-inch
guns. The three plants were group
ed under the name of a naval ord
nance plant ,and no effort was then
made to segregate costs so as to
know what the separate plants were
costing.
The government began construc-
tion on a truly magnificent scale.
All sorts of buildings, including
houses, amusement halls and fac
tory buildings were built at tre-
mendous cost. Stucco houses for
employees cost $4,000 each. What
happened there is revealed in the
sworn testimony taken before. the
Graham investigating committee.
Carloads of material were dumped
into the Kanawha River. Ripening
corn fields were burned as horses
were arriving to be fed. New auto
mobiles and motor trucks were bur-
led by steam shovels making eXca-
vations, and never dug out. Hun
dreds of men were employed for two
days in carrying lumber off the one
spot on the big site thought to be
suitable for use by Secretary of War
Baker in making a speech, and the
same men were then employed in
carrying the lumber back to it's first
position. 1t was cost plus con-
tract land the more cost the more
plus. The story of this and other
government enterprises has never
been told; the waste ran into the
billions; what went on at Charles
ton and other points where govern
ment war enterprises were carried
on is the most hair-raising financial
thriller in human history. 1t escap-
ed notice in the war excitement, and
President Harding's charitableness
In covering it up resulted in draw
ing to Washington new swarm of
grafters who had seen the |
Did ones get away with it, and his
were the result.
When the first sheet of steel was
'un at South Charleston only two of
he workmen present had ever seen
jteeI run before. The projectile plant
lad a theoretical capacity of $50 16-
nch armor piercing projectiles
month. When the factory closed in
922 it had produced in all 242 such
,rojectiles. They cost the govern
nent 1890 apiece in labor and ma
erials alone-about what they could
lave been bought for in the open
market without such a vast invest
nent being made.
The principal output of the plant
uring the three and one-half years
# activity was 100 sets of 6-inch
.un forgings, 10 per cent of which
we're defective, costing the govern
lent in material and labor alone 80
ents a pound, whereas they could
ave been bought in the open mar
ct at the time at 80 cents per
ound. The armor plate factory was
o slow in starting that the govern
lent had to order it's armor plate
by the Slime the plant
Tas ready to produce its first armor
late the Washington Naval Treaty
yas signed and the plant closed, t,
lrowing 2,10O men out of work. For
time the government spent $780, J
DO a year to keep watch over the
liant ;then it was abandoned entire
:, and the machinery is going to
lst. The entire ordnance plant
ost $S2,OOO,OOO. I
1t stands rotting on the banks of
lie Kanawha as monument to the
lily of politicalized industry.