Imperial Valley press., 1941-06-04

WASHINGTON. June 4 - Every
professional ranter in Congress
could very we'll take a lesson in
economy and how TO find out
what's wrong with the country and
the defense effort from Congress
man Albert j. Engel of Muskegon,
Mich. the one-man gang who has
done more to expose waste and eX-
travagancc in the armys camp
construction program than all the
Eigh-priced. formal and somewhat
futile investigating committees put
together.
This Engel is quite a character
He looks about as much like a
statesman as Fiorello H. La Guar
Ola. He is short and he runs to
the roly poly. His thick. gray hair
stands straight on end as though it
were drawn up by static electricity.
His eyes snap and he talks thru
lis teeth, punctuating sentences
with clipped expletive: See! I
was a captain in the war, myself
See! l was % months in France
and Germany and I know what the
army is up against when they've
got to get things done in a hurry
But this thing didn't look right
and I wanted to get out and find
out what was wrong myself. See
Without anybody knowing what
was doing See!
Engel has already given six re-
ports to the House on what he found
wrong at eight eastern army camps
A TALE OF TERMITES
Exposure of the muck site below
lake level at Camp Blanding, Fla;
the expensive termite proofing al
1rdiantown Gap. Pa. where there
hadn't been a termlte since the
coal age; the extravagant plan
ming at Fort Meade, Md, where the
best land was not used, to save a
golf course land the woeful waste
of all cost-plus-fee contracts. Those
are just a few of his charges.
It's the way Engel gets his fig
ures that makes the most interest
ing part of his story. He is, to be-
gin with, a member of the War
Department subcommittee of the
House Committee on Appropria-
tions. When he found out last
January that the army had under
estimated the costs Of its first
S466 million camp construction pro-
gram by 1898 million. he decided tc
find out what was wrong. He made
two trips, one south, one north.
On the northern trip, he left
Washington at am Driving ovei
icy roads he reached WatertoWn
N. Y, at l am. He was up at $50
and drove out to Camp Pine. He
drove around all morning, "coun-
ting knotholes" in the green lum-
ber taking pictures, talking to
wa tchmen and carpenters, seeing
what was wrong.
NO PUBLICITY, PLEASE
At 1890 he went to the camp
commanders headquarters, identi-
fled himself, and asked for three
things: First, call the camp public
relations officer and tell him that
Congressman Engel wasn't there.
Secand, call the construction quar-
termaster and arrange for a con-
ference with the contractor and
the engineer. Third, send him a
bottle of milk and two sandwiches
at noon.
For four or five hours he pored
over construction records, estimates
and costs. He went into the prob
lens of land acquisition, who pick
&c the site and why. Materials,
why the cost of lumber had gone
up S. a thousand feet. Equipment.
how much the contractors had
charged each other for truck ana
hulldozer hire. Labor, why the gen.
eral contractor had sublet parts
OF the JOB SO as TO charge in as
costs the overtime above the pre-
vailing wage rate set by the gov
eminent. Utilities, why it cost So
q foot to string wires.
Engel was driven around the
camp, and the difficulties of its
construction were explained. Then
nc drove on to the next camp, so
as to be there in time TO go in
with the workmen next morning.
He slept in tourist homes TO avoid
hotels where a congressman name
might be noted by local newspapers.
He spent his evenings in pool rooms
where the camp workmen gossiped
about what Was wrong. AZ Port