| Show Merry Round By Drew Pearson Person and Ro Robert ert S. S Allen WASHINGTON WASHINGTON This This is an attempt to tell the story of the bui building ding of 23 new cantonments to house the draft army It is not a happy story and the net result is that the taxpayer will be ou out just third one-third of a a billion dollars more than the army estimated ranking High-ranking war department officials are much distressed over the situation and frank in their self sell Particularly are they distressed distressed distressed dis dis- dis- dis over the fact that delay in c camp mp conStruction construction con con- n is holding up the housing and training of the new army anny There are arc four chief reasons for delay Rains slowness of congress in passing legislation politics politics politics poli poli- tics arid and the fact that the job was not supervised by the army army engineers How much politics polities entered into the picture I is not known as yet Some time ago the war department was rife with politics but a Republican Republican Republican lican has been secretary of war in this Democratic Democratic Democratic Demo Demo- cratic administration since before the cantonment cantonment cantonment canton canton- ment program began So far however inquiring congressmen have found that the head of the Walsh Construction company which is building Camp Edwards Mass contributed 2500 to the Democratic campaign campaign campaign cam cam- fund last June and another 2500 to a Roosevelt organization in New York in October The Walsh Construction company is located at Davenport Iowa and it is js customary to favor local contractors However the Walsh Construction Construction Construe Construe- tion company of Iowa rather than a New England England England Eng Eng- land finn firm got cot the toe contract to build Camp Edwards Edwards Edwards Ed Ed- wards Mass There is no competitive bidding on any of these camp construction contracts Worst Rain in Years Rain also had a lot to do with the delay in certain parts of the country particularly California California California Cali Cali- fornia which experienced the worst rain in 15 yea years years' and in Texas which had the worst in 50 years Inside the army however chief basic fault was that the quartermaster corps an organization tion lion skilled in buying shoes sugar coffee blankets blankets blankets blan blan- and canned beef but not experienced in constructing army camps had charge of the pro pro- gram There long tong has been rivalry between the quartermaster corps and the engineers corps as asto asto asto to which should be responsible for camp construction construction construction con con- and three years ago sighted far-sighted General General Gen Gen- eral Marshall recommended that the engineers be responsible for this kind of work But it was not until a few weeks ago that h he was able to get this reform partially accepted At that time he brought about the transfer of Brigadier General Charles D. D Hartman who was in charge of cantonment construction and appointed appointed appointed ap ap- ap- ap pointed Colonel Brehon Somervell of the engineers engineers engineers engi engi- corps in his place Haste and Poor Foor Planning Most serious handicap was the fact that the cantonments had to be rushed to completion immediately and that the army was given no funds to make preliminary surveys plan roads s sewage ce and water supplies until aft after legislation legislation legislation legisla legisla- tion passed congress t. t f t Result was that work was st started on some sites even before the water was tested For Fot instance the training center of the Seventh corps area was located 60 miles south of Des Moines Momes But after construction began it was found to be waterless and the site Camp Leonard Leonard Leon Leon- ard aid Wood was sh shifted te to Rola Mo Another er cantonment Camp Blanding near Jacksonville Fla is located on marsh land and the army is now engaged in dumping earth and stone to fill it up The army originally requested that congress appropriate for building the 23 camps However it will now have to go back to congress to ask for an addi additional or an increase in cost of 71 per cent Important factors in increasing costs have been labor and higher prices for materials though inclement weather the necessity of working in the winter and bad planning also have contributed Almost every construction company has had difficulty in securing enough skilled labor especially especially espe espe- carpenters At Camp Edwards EdwarC l Mass it is estimated that about 60 per cent of the men drawing carpenters' carpenters wages were not carpenters It also was discovered that one group of men mi menOn menon on the Camp Edwards payroll never showed up for fot work One of the number answered for each cock of them when the roll was called caned and the others spent their time in going to school Choal in Boston In the end they were detected and jailed One large item of additional expense was paint Originally it was planned that the shacks would be unpainted Then TOen because of the importance im importance ira ira- of army morale and the attention which the women of the country were paying to the new draft the war department decided to paint the buildings s in every camp This paint bill alone cost extra exta Distributed by by U United ted Feature Syndicate |
