The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-05-31


 is short and he runs to the roly- poly. His thick, gray hair stands straight on end as though 1t were drawn up by static electricity.
 Ills eyes snap and he talks through his teeth, purictuating sen- tences with 6 clipped expletiv0: See! was a captain in the war myself. Seel I was g months in France and Germany and know what tho army is Up against when they've got to get things done in q hurry. But this thing didn't look right and I wanted to get out and find out what was wrong myself. seel without anybody knowing what was doing. Seel
 Engel has already given six reports to the House on what he found wrong at eight eastern army camps. A YALE OF TERMITES
 Exposure Of the muck site below l6... .,yel at Camp Blanding, Fla; the expensive terTnitc pFoofing at 1ndiantown Gap, Pa, where there hadn't been 6 termite since the coal age; the extravagent planning at Fort Meade, Md, where the best land was not used, to save golf course; and the woeful waste Of all cost st-plus-fee contracts. Those are just q few of his charges.
 It's the way Engel got his figures that makes the most interesting part of his sory. He is, to begin with, Q member of the War Department subcommittee of the House Com. mittee on Appropriations. When he found out last January that the army had underestimated the costs of It's first $466 million camp con- Struction program by S388 million, he decided to find out what was wrong. He made two trips, one south, one north.
 On the northern trip, he left Washington at 3 Q, m. Driving over icy roads he reached WatertoWn, N. r., ft a. m. He was up at 8:30 and tINUvo out to Camp Pine. He drove all morning counting knothoieS," In the green lumber, taking pictures talking to watchmen and carpenters, seeing what was wrong.
 NO PUBLICITY, PLEASE
 At lo:30, hc went to the camp commanders headquarters, 1den- tified himself, and asked for three things: First, call the camp public relations officer and tell him that Congressman Engel wasn't there. Second call the construction quarter master and arrange for A conference with the contractor and the engin- ger. Third, send him Q bottle of milk and two sandwiches ct noon.
 For four or five hours he pored over construction records, estimates and costs. He went Into the problems Of land acquisition, who picked the site and why. Materials, why the cost of lumber had gone Up s c thousand feet. Equipment, how much the contractors had charged each other for truck and bulldozer hire. Labor, why the general con- tractor had sub-let parts of the job so as to charge in as costs the over. time above the prevailing wage rate set by the government. Utilities, why it cost $2 . foot to string wires.
 Engel was driven around he camp, and the difficulties of It's construc- ton were explained. Then he drove on to the next camp, so as to be there in time to go in with the workmen in the morning. He slept in tourist homes to avoid hotels where 6 Congressmans name might be noted by local newspapers. He spent his evenings in poolroonis where the camp workmen gossiped about what was wrong. At Fort Bragg, N. O., he sat up most of the night to watch 6 check on equip ment.
 When Congressman Engel got back to Washington he had driven some 4500 miles. He turned in his expense account and 1t added up to $248.67. For that sum, he had shown up waste running into the tens of millions of dollars.
 It shows what e Congressman could do if, instead of voting these millions of dollars and then sitting back and looking wise, he got out to find where the money went and how 1t was spent.