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Show Mi OFFICERS ARE WARMLYJEFENDED War Department Says Reports Re-ports of Fraud Connections Connec-tions Are Untrue. NEW YORK, July 24. Four employees of the C. Kenyon company of Brooklyn, one of the country's largest rubber manufacturers, manu-facturers, were taken into custody today charged with attempting to pass off on the government army raincoats which had been previously rejected as defective by army inspectors. The scope of the Kenyon company's government business was shown tonight with the statement that it had been awarded contracts for 1,3031000 raincoats since the war began, and during the last ten years had been awarded 46 per cent of all the clothing contracts which passed through the army quartermaster's depot . at Philadelphia. The Philadelphia business was filled in conjunction with the Sigmund Eisner company of Redbank, N. J., with which the Kenyon company had a working agreement, it was stated, and, among I other things, included 1,300,000 wool and cotton breeches, half a million wool and cotton coats, and large quantities of overcoats, over-coats, winter and summer underwear, sweaters and flannel shirts. WASHINGTON, July 24. A forma statement from the war department today denounced as entirely unfounded any inferences in-ferences tending to involve army officers in accusations of wrongdoing in connection connec-tion with the contracts for army raincoats. rain-coats. The statement follows: "Robert J. Thome, assistant to the acting quartermaster general,-after a preliminary pre-liminary investigation in regard to the raincoat inspection scandal in New York, states that any suspicion of the integrity of the army officers is apparently without with-out a shred of evidence to substantiate the statements. The entire situation has been greatly magnified to the extent that a grave injustice is being done to the reputation of the army officers. It is impossible to meet the emergency of suddenly equipping the army without a few sporadic instances" of dishonesty coming to the surface, but it is an outrage out-rage to have such instances magnified into an unjust accusation of army officers, offi-cers, but, fortunately, the integrity of the army officers is so well understood by the general public that very few people give any credence to these unfounded accusations. ac-cusations. "The investigation of the raincoat inspection in-spection system was made at the ihsti-gntion ihsti-gntion of the quartermaster corps, which realized that with thousands of new civilian ci-vilian inspectors obtained through the civi service commission, here and there a dishonest dis-honest one would te taken on. It is firmly believed by the department that the final inspection conducted at the depot will delect all raincoats not properly prop-erly fabricated." Department of justice officials in announcing an-nouncing the discovery of frauds in connection con-nection with raincoat production ind i-cated i-cated that only a few army officers wr undt-.r suspiciun of irrt;guhir conduct with COTUmctnrs. Tht'.v did imt imply corrupt ion a mo us any Urge proportion of army offK'.r.s, most of whom, it was recognized, h.ive demonstrated their honesty. Most in-sr-ectnrs involved in the corruption rlis-ciosed rlis-ciosed hy t ho depn rt r. .ont of justice m New York, are civilians. |