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Show i LULil.'iL Ufioll Hit J MiimLd IN SMiPYARDS Head of Seattle Company Is Given $10,000 to "Keep Quiet" and to Help Out Officials. ADMIRAL BOWLES GIVES TESTIMONY Expert Gives His Opinion in Favor of Construction of Steel Ships by Government. WASHINGTON-, dan. 2. Ecar Ad-n.iral Ad-n.iral Bow les of the emergency fleet corporation today told the senate investigating in-vestigating committee the government was paying all salaries in the American Ameri-can international shipbuilding corporation corpora-tion under its contract, excepting some, aggregating about $15o,U00 a year. The admiral cited the Sloan Shipbuilding corporation of Seattle, Wash., as an instance of wdiere the government had taken com plote control. The yontraet, he said, had eliminated Sloan from the company, but continued to pay him $10,-00U $10,-00U a year, instead of $20,000, formerly paid by the compauy. "Still drawing $10,000 and yet nothing noth-ing to do with the company," suggested sug-gested Senator Xelson. "Yes," responded the admiral, "just to keep him quiet and help keep us in order. I '11 admit it looks like too much, but it was driving a bargain in which we had no absolute rights." Yard Conditions Outlined. The .Sloan yard, the admiral testified, testi-fied, has $7,840,UU0 contract for sixteen six-teen wooden ships and '6 per cent completed, com-pleted, and the government already has advanced $1,700,U00. The government, he said, insisted on a reorganization of the company in August and forced new accounting methods. The admiral said the government gov-ernment had taken a $750,000 mortgage on the Sloan plant. Senator Nelson suspected a possible connection of the steel corporation with the Sloan contract. He asked if Joseph Jo-seph 1j. Cotton, who had helped General Gen-eral Goethals negotiate the original contract with the Sloan company, was not the same Cotton whom he recalled as haying been in Wisconsin as counsel coun-sel for the steel corporation and who laief on had moved to New York. Admiral Ad-miral Bowles said he did not know. Later Senator Johnson said he had been told it was not. Admiral Bowles said Joseph B. Cotton Cot-ton was counsel for the emergency lleet corporation. 1 Admiral Gives Facts. Admiral Bowles testified that Sloan told him that the company paid the Clinchfield Navigation company $400,-000 $400,-000 as a brokerage commission for seeming se-eming the contract. The admiral also said that his records rec-ords showed that a Mr. Ferris, a construction con-struction official of the fleet corporation, corpora-tion, had given to a Mr. Barneft of the C 1 i n e h f i e 1 d Nay i ga t i on company a letter of introduction to General Ooe-thslr.. Ooe-thslr.. "The record' shows," the admiral went on, in response to inquiry, "that the Clinchfield company is a client of Mr. rris. " George S. Radford, manager of the contract division- of the. emergency fleet corporation, said the cost of the wooden ships in the fleet corporation's programme approximates $140 a ton, and of steel ships $160 a ton or higher on the east coast, and $170 on the west coast. "In view of these relative figures, don't you think it better to build steel ships'? : ' asked Senator Nelson. ' ' I know nothing of wooden ships, but generally I would answer yes to thai" question. ' ' Wooden Ship Problem. Mr. Radford said- the corporation was planning to place contracts for a few wooden ships on the Pacific coast, utilizing, however, only the present facilities, fa-cilities, without encouraging the creation crea-tion of additional shipyards. He added that the corporation would not be warranted war-ranted in building many more wooden ships on the east coast, because of transportation and labor problems. Mover BJoomfield of Boston, in charge of the industrial service department depart-ment of the corporation, said labor had assumed its share of responsibility and that there have been no organized efforts ef-forts of labor to profiteer. Replying tc questions, he said he had seen no evidence of enemy activity in the ranks of labor. "So far a? this wage problem is concerned," Mr. Bloomf ield said "some profiteers are beating us to it.' "Do these conditions prevail on the Pacific coast?" asked Senator Johnson. John-son. "On the Pacific coast," he replied, "as a whole, I think the situation is pretty well taken care of." The inquiry will be resumed tomorrow. |