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aiLy Maiette
CASTONIA
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VOL. XU. waes.
GASTON I A, N. C, MONDAY AFTERNOON, APRIL 12, 1920
SINGLE COPY 5 CENTS
10USE HEARS
Aftr.lY
Majority Report Presented By Republican Com
, mitte'emen States That More Than 78 Million
Dollars Was Lost By the Government In Con
; struction , of Natibnar;nn;;Cantonmcnto:.
Democrats Defend Administration Program, v
' fBy The Associate! pftti)
-WASHINGTON,; April 12 Twp op
posing reports on the long congressional
- Investigation of ihe'eontsruction, of ;32
army camps, and cantonments were sub
nitted today to the house, by a war ex
penditure committee ; and debated for
; several hours. The majority report, pre
sented by Republican committeemen, crit
icised government agencies and officials
in charge of the war building spgram,
while the minority report r of the Demo
crats defended the administration', ;
.The government lost 78,531,521 on the
sixteen national army cantonments' it
uas estimated by the majority report,
which asserted this was due to "waste,
inefficiency , and graft " resulting from
eost plus contracts, which were, said to
tbe "wide open.". No estimate of loss
sa "the national guard camps was made
fcy tbe majority. ;':v- '' ":
' Dissenting from the majority findings,
- the minority declared that the construc
tion work was equivalent to building 32
cities, each with 37,000 to . 46,1)00 popu-
, lation, and added.-f V:.''r.:.-5;r:: "X--''
" This tremendous talk was practical
ly completed in three months and stands
out as one of the great achievements, of
. the war. 'j XXXX '-V;: 'xX.-f.
' . representatives MeKenxie, Illinois, and
3acOulIoch, Ohio, republicans, and Do re-
" anus, Michigan, democrat, were the com
.. snitteemen who' conducted the investiga-
; tion, and their divergent reports were
Accepted respectively by the 10 republi
cans and five democrats composing the
full committee on war expenditures.';
Tbe majority submitted six recommen
dations for legislation by : congress, in
cluding the submission to the states of a
constitutional amendment making ,' ' prof -
- iteering in war time, treason. " It also
atrged that the department of justice be
staked to investigate work at every camp
m "to the end of bringing to book' those
responsible for losses to the government,
and frauds through which they occurred,
both by recoveries and merited penal
ties. " ; XX''. ----X '- ' X, '
No recommendations, were made in the
minority report, and it listed two eon-
. elusions, one condemning the majority re
tort aud tbe other defending Secretary
- Baker, who the majority declared, "must
i ear the final responsibility. " ; The ma-
jocity conclusion as to the ' secretary's
-responsibility - was but one of its more
ilium four score conclusions. Along with
these, the majoritf cited several items,
Amounting to; many thousands of dollars,
which it was argued could legally be re
covered by the government fpom eontrae
-on.". v
, The majority declared Secretary Baker
hould not have" permitted A departure
. from the old method of competitive bids,
declaring that 'with him "must rest the
flnal responsibility for the entire situa
tion, including violations of Jaw, de
frauding, waste,'1 losses and delay. " ''
In turn, the . minority .said the secre
tary 'was amply, justified in abandon
ing the usual peace time , method of
warding contracts upon competitive
Ridding aad in substituting for it th so--aOed
eest plus system.'" '.'
"The. minority is of the opinion,? ad--4ed
its report; M that if the views of the
, enajority had been adopted at the be
jpnning ef the .war, the whole, building
- .program would have been in a state of
. itaaos, many of our troops would have
perished with cold or died ef disease in
x the winter of 1917, and the German army
would have been in Paris before our sol
diers could have entered the battle
Sines. XX' -XQ. ; ryX? 'VX'h
Besides the secretary, the majority re-
3ort held Colonel W. . A. Btarrett, an
architect of New York, ' primarily re
ponsibIe f or ; adoption ef the cost plus
' .contract, and it was intimated, that , he
-ased his position on the emergency eon
traetion - committee to obtain contracts
. ,for the George. A. Fuller Company, of
which his brother was president.
Tbe minority said this 'charge'! of
. m of position to get contracts .for the
. "Fuller company4! rests wholly, upon in-
- flueaee" and pointed oat that Btarrett
was not examined by the committee. The
sniaority added that 'the committee did
' mot show" the slightest reflection upon
the manner in which the company's con
tractual relations with .the government
were carried out. " ' . ' , :
Cn the other hand, the majority assert
ed that favored contractor and arehl
. teets generally , had a hand in. framing
fhn cost plus contracts, which . it was
finr-!i fii"! by the minority,
". -ut's ia-
HE
PORTS
BUILDING OF
teresU;-i'v-;."-.;";,;-'-
The majority asserted that there was
delay in the eontsroction work, citing
that night work was not performed, but
the minority-said "the average time for
constructing each building in the entire
sixteen cantonments was about forty
six minutes. Complaints by the ma
jority of .loafing by workmen, the min
ority also said, was effectually ans
wered, by this, record, . "It was admit
ted by the minority, however, that there
was some loafing. ; X; X -l' ,'
': Among its many conclusions, the ma
jority charged tbe law creating the coun
cil of-national defense and permitting
establishment of subordinate bodies was
"perverted from its, clear intention and
transcended, particularly in matters re
lating to construction work." .
The subordinate bodies, it was : said,
'J became in fact actual dominant func
tioning organisations'' and that . the
emergency construction committee, head
ed by Colonel Btarrett produced separa
tion of the cantonment division from the
war department, and then "usurped and
dominated functions of that division. " '
Further, the majority said, the. jnixi-
mum limitation of a fee.or amount earn
ed by a contractor was not a safeguard
to the government, that extravagant 'ex
penditures were made generally, that con
trary to the intention of the lawyers
draftng the eontraet that "subcontract
ing was generally practiced," that the
schedule of rentals was "exorbitant"
and that "the chief factor toward inef
ficiency and idleness : was ' the. general
knowledge among workmeu that .the con
tract was on a cost ' plus percentage
basis , r
The conclusions of the majority also
declared that failure to classify carpen
ters' correctly alone caused, a loss of
1400,000 . for each cantonment, "that
there was delay in calling . troops for
training because of a delay in construc
tion,'! and that "as a result of tbe sys
tem used the cantonments cost from 40
to sixty per cent, more than the amounts
for which they could have been built. "
The exact cost of the construction, the
majority concluded, may never be known.
Specific investigations of conditions
were made at camp .Sherman ia Ohio
and Grant, in Illinois, at which the ma
jority said the "waste,. idleness and ex
travagance disclosed" also "existed at
other camps.'' V ..' .' "' v
The legislation, which the majority
recommended to be enacted by congress,
would prohibit cost plus contracts on gov
ern men t work, prevent officials from dis
carding the competitive bid system, place
war activities, not military, under a sys
tem of "fixed responsibility," give war
.workers generally eomissions -"in '' the
proper corps or .arm of the services,"
marke the engineer corps of the army re
sponsible and in charge ef all army con
struction, and "restrict . the aub-coa-tracting
evil." -
' MI. 1ECU.Y KATTBIS
Correspondence of The Daily Gazette.
,5. jjT HOLtT AprU IffThe bouse on
South IkCain street formerly eceupied by
Dr. B. D. lfoere has been bought. by
Mr ." Conner Htroupe, who moved into it
last Tuesday. - ; - - . X . X
Mumps are appearing among the school
children and among older persons as
well.. Mrs. .B. X. -Jenkins is eonfined
to her home with a ease of the mumps. .
- Mr. F. H. Dunn's new brick store is
Bearing completion and will add much to
the convenience of his, present building.
A basiess deal of considerable sise was
consummated Friday night when Messrs.
Lewis ft Bidenhour, druggists,, sold out to
Mr. B. K. Webb. Possession was giv-,
en immediately, Mr. Webb assuming
control Saturday morning. Mr. ' Webb
is an experienced druggist aad will serve
the people when called ea. -, .
Mr. Ed Fishery tired of the duties of
ownership, ' has sold his barber shop,
which is a v-to-date one. to Mr. K. L.
Jenkins, the eonsideratioa being ' over
$2,000. Mr.r Jenkins took over the bus J
iness ' with all the barbers at work, no
change being made in the fores.
We are reliably informed : that this
month will bring to us two blushing
brides and the corresponding number ef
proud and. exultant grooms. s -
; Mr. Jean Dewstoe, of .Charlotte; was
a weex-ena visitor at the home ef his
mother, and also visited his listers Mrs.
EeijJtia aad llri'r --31 A." dsrtner-'-
PRINCE ALBERT WHO -
WILL VISIT AMERICA
J
K
. Prince Albert, a brotlier of the Prince
of Wales, who will represent Great Brit
aiu at the Tercentenary celebrations of
the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in the
United . States next autumn. ' ' He will
probably spend some time visiting cities
in Cdtifrla uml America, and arcorJing to
present plans bis visit 'will include a calf
at the White House in . Washington ..
Prince Albert will be 25 years of age in
December, and is an all-round athelete.
lie is anxious to visit the United Htatee;
REV. G. B. 6ILLESP1E . .
PREACHES TO SCOUTS
Bor Scouts, Campfire Girls and
v' , Kindred Organizations Hear
Good Sermon From Rer. Mr.
. Gillespie at First Presbyter
ian Church Music For Ser
vice Was Especially Good.
Before a congregation that packed the
spacious auditorium of the First Pres
byterian church Sunday night and over
flowed into the gallery, Itev. George B.
Gillespie, assistant pastor of the First
Presbyterian church daiiyewl a masferly
sermon to tbe Boy Scouts, Carapfire girls,
and the Iiiuebird Organization of girls,
in Gaston county . One half of the main
auditorium was reserved" for tbe j-oung
people's organizations, who sat in a
body. More than 1-j young boys and
girls from Gastonia and suburbs, Dallas
and Ranlo were present in uniform for
the service. ' , " .X ' ', ' ;
X Mr.: Gillespie's sermon to the young
folks was particularly timely , and ap
propriate.' His discourse was based , on
tbe story of tbe rich young man who al
though possessed of many worldly goods
and much wealth felt that there was
something lacking in his life, and came
to Jesus Christ seeking to fill that need.
From this very beautiful story, Mr. Gil
lespie pointe dout to the young boys and
girls the supreme necessity of . their
taking .Christ as the rule and guide, of
their lives.: Be cited , the example of
Pontius Pilate who washed his hands of
the ' affair in answer to' the great ques
tion, "What will ye do with Jesus 1"
"There are many things, ','aid Mr Gil
lespie, "that you young folks must de
cide for yourselves within the next few
years, your education, your companions,
the making of your home sad the. choos
ing of your life companions, but none of
these is as important as. the choosing ef
Christ." 7..-v-.1;--:r. ..
The sermon by Mr. Gillespie was an
impassioned plea to- the young boys sad
girls. It was illustrated with striking
bits of testimony snd evidence, including
oae' from the life of thr"spakt ;
C The musical program .rendered by the
choir si the service was especially beau
tiful. The anthem, "Onward, Christian
Soldiers," .in which solo parts were tak
en by Miss Harvey, Mrs. J. Holland
Morrow aad Mr. P. H. Thompson, was
rendered in a beautiful manner, and was
heard with intense interest by the large
congregation. The duet, "Jesus, Lover
of My Soul," by Miss Harvey sad Mr.
Thompson, was also beautifully rang..
- There were present at the service the
following organizations: " ' - .
Troops, from. Dallas, Mr. Marshall
Brown, Scoutmaster, Banlo Prof. F. L.
Smith, Scoutmaster, Gastonia Troop No.
3, Mr. Otto Duncan, assistant scoutmast
er, Gastonia No. 2, Mr. Donald Stroup,
Scoutmaster, Campfire girls under Miss
Edith Pickens from tbe Gray Parkdale
mflls, Miss Buth Blythe's camp of girls
aad camp fire girls from Baalo, .
40 PER CENT RBTUKW. v
(By The
- COLUMBUS, O., April 12 Approxi
mately 4 Oper cent ef the striking yard
men employed by the Pennsylvania rail
road here returned to work this morning,
according to company officials; Yardmen
ef ether railroad systems were holding
meetings today, te determine what na
tion they will take. . ; ?
MERCHANTS TO BEGL'I
SATURDAY lilGHT CLOSING
Will Close on Week Days at
Six o'Clock and On Satur-
' day Evenings at 8 o'Clock -
'' List of Merchants Who Have
Signed Agreement to Close.
;In deference to public senriment Gas
tonia , merchants representing nearry. an
the stores in the main, business section
have signed an agreement to close at 6
o'clock week-days and at 8 o'clock on
Saturdays, beginning this week.
The agreement is as follows i
We, the undersigned merchants, hereby
agree to close, at 6 o'clock on Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Fri
lay evenings and M 8 0 'clock on Satur
day nights,. beginning April 12th, 1920;
Craig li Wilson '
X)lumbia Tailoring Co. - - ,
J. W. Culp, SUndard Hd w. Co.
; H. M. Van Sleen 'X
' Rankin-Armstrong Co.
Robinson Shoe Co.
Hone Mercantile Co.
H. P. Stowe Co.
Matthews-Btilk Co.
E. Frohmaa
A.' a Karesh
The Efird Co.
Kirby-Warren Co.
Winget Jewelry Co. ,
Torrence Morris Co. :
John L. Bcal " '
Spencer-Atkins .Book Co.
A. J. Kirby Co.
The Globe, John nonigman, x
- Howell-Armstrong Shoe Co.
Kondrick Riddle Co.
McNeely Co..
R. H. Jacobs
IL Schneider
P. & L. Leboviti
II. Miller
M. Kaufman
Max Silver
B. Silverstoin Sons.
M. Schults
Sherman Brothers ,
Rankin-Chandler Furniture Co.
WILL DISCUSS THE
TROUBLES OF A MERCHANT
Harry A. Brown, a representative of
The National Cash Register Company, of
Dayton, Ohio, is in the city and is mak
ing arrangements with tbe Department of
Mercantile - Affairs of the Chamber of
Commerce for bringing to GaiAonia the
noted lecture, "The" Troubles of a Mer
ihnnt and How to Stop Them."
The lecture is principally for business
men, merchants and clerks, and from re
ports from other cities it is one of the
mimt interesting snd instructive lectures
f its kind ever put out on the road.-
The lecture outfit consists of an ad
vance man, lecturer and operator, and tbe
equipment consists of an entire motion
picture and steropieon outfit, slides, etc.
Sin large trunks are required to transport
the equipment.
sThis well known lecture, will be of vast
benefit to the merchants and clerks of
Gastonia.. ..' ''
The date has been fixed for Thursday,
Vpril 22, and will be given at tbe court
house. ; There will be no charge for ad
mission. -, -
MAIL SERVICE INTERRUPTED.
(By The Associated Press '
WASHINGTON, April !2.rstoffice
department officials said todsy that thss
far there had been no serious Interrup
tion of the mail service, but that mails
were being delayed at a -. number of
places, including- Chiajo, St. Louis and
other cities. ' . Mail coming to Washington
from New York is several hours late as
is also that going into jhe south.
The. strike of switchmen in the local
yards which began yesterday was being
felt today. ' Some trains arriving from
the south could not be handled at the
Union station and passengers were put
off after the trains crossed toe rotomae
into the city. :- .. '' ' - ;.-
COLDER TONIGHT.
(By Tbe Asaoeisted Frees)
WASHINGTON. AprQ 12 The tem
perature wil fall decidedly tonight snd
Tuesday in Tennessee aad tbe east gulf
states and Tuesday in. the Atlantic states,
the weather bureau announced today.
DISCUSS SITUATION AT
,V - WHITE HOUSE
i (By The Associated Pre.)
WASHINGTON, April 12 W. Nr.
Doak, vice president of the Brotherhood
of Trainmen, aad Senator Cummins,
chairman of the senate interstate com
merce committee, which is ts investigate
tbe strike, called at the white house today
to disetws the situation with Set ary
Tumulty..-
MAY GO OUT AT NEW ORLEANS
- By Tee Asaneiated Frees.)
NEW ORLEANS. April 12 Unless
wage increase demands are met by 3 p.
m. tomorrow 1,000 switchmen here will
go on strike, it was announced today by
officials of the yardmen la association
local. The IUiaois Central and Pub lie
BeltHaflroads will be most seriously af
fected in event of a strike, it was said.
YORK FI
TO FREE ITSELF F
HARDSHIPSIOF STRIKE
Despite Worst Efforts of Strikers Some Passen
ger Trains Are Maintained and Milk Trains
Creep Into the City - New Jersey Commuters
Still Find Trouble Iii Reaching City - Condi
tions In Chicago Seem to Be Improving. .
(By The Associutetl Press.) ;
NKW YORKAprit li-Commuters
were naraesi mi-as xew jors e"1"
the fifth day of the local tie-up caused by
tbe spread to the eastern seaboard rail
roads of the unauthorized railroad striae.
When the city resumed its daily busi
ness after the week-end respite, it was
found that gaps in the ranks of tbe
workers, noticeable last Saturday, had
increased.' ,
Many thousands rescuing uannaiiaa
Saturday only after long delays, appar
ently abandoned any stempt to journey
to the city today. -
. Although threatened trolly strikes in
New Jersey 'and Statoa Island failed to;
develop, passenger service both in Jersey
City and on Long Island was further
demoralised. Across the Hudson many
automobile owners converted their ma
chines into non-payment jitneys to bring
workers to ferry slips, but with the Hud
son tubes still closed by tbe strike and
ferries operating with reduced crews be
cause of a walkout, of marine workers,
only a relatively small proportion of the
commuting boats crowed the river.
Meanwhile, although not yet feeling
tbe pinch of hnncer New Yors prepared
to face the serious situation caused by
freight and express embargoes placed on
virtually all lines. Health Commissioner
copelaad, nas cauea a- paney cnis or-
noon or iooa aeaters vo uiscus sum sivuu-
tion and . prepare lor a possiDio ioou
sohrtage. - , . .; -'(' '
NEW' YORK, April : 12. New York,
with its back against tbe wall, struggled'
desperately today to free Itself from tlie ;
tentacles of the octopus-like epidemic of
unauthorized railway strikes. (
Out of the maze of conflicting -reports,
f new strikes called, and of others
threatened railroad officials professed to
tu.-e a ray of hope, because some pnasen
ger service had been maintained and food
and inilk trains managed to creep into the.
city.' It was admitted by? the railroad
fliters. however, that the situation still
was grave but they asumed the optimistic
iMitude that if they weathered today's
Htornt the situation would soon' approach
the normal. ;;- ;"'-.;
Tbe lull , in business hctivities over
Sunday gave the railroads a .breathing
spell in which to marshal their forces in
handling the tide of commuters sweeping
into the metropolis. Under nbrmal con
ditions 700,000 persons corns to this city
each day. ' XX,
With the. Hudson tubes still tied up
by the strike tbe bulk of the burden of
handling ; New Jersey commuters fell
upon the ferries plying the Hudson.; The
ferry service wss handicapped too by the
strike of harbor workers, bat each boat
was jammed beyond capacity by commu
ters who had stood in line at ttrtj houses
for hours. Police reserves bad s strenr
oos time trying to control the mad rushes
for the boats. ; : "
CONDITIONS IN THE WEST
. ARE IMPROVING
(By The Ansociated Pti) - ,
CHICAGO, April 11 Developments
west of Pittsburgh in the switchmen's
unauthorized strike today were regarded
by railroad brotherhood officials ss point
ing" toward a gradual dissolution of the in
surgent forces, but in the east, where the
walkout was joined ia several districts
by trainmen, the situation assumed a
mors serious aspect. ' .
-1 a the central and far west numerous
reports of defections from the strikers'
ranks followed the report of the first Im
portant break at Colonrbua, 0 where
at hundred switchmen voted to return
te work. - -
At Chicago, admitted keystone of the
walkont, railroad officials were presented
'terms for settlement ef the strike"
which included recognition of the sew
union formed by dissenters, .from tbe
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and
the Switchmen 's Union of North America.
Ia the settlement proffered Cy John
Grunaa, president of the Chicago Yard
.mon 'f Jlssocialim. who called the, strike,
st least one radical concession was made
abrogation of the claims for back pay
demanded by the older organizations la
their eoatrtacta. with the government.
That possibly' would mean, a saving of
hundreds ef thousands of dollars to the
railroads, it wss said. ? - - " -
Other clauses in the prooel settle
ment agreement dt'truBjAl r-rar.tVr.g t
the. erisinal was i ! " fr In
the strike saaou- " " f-
ire epos te r '
Gmli
111
eight hour basic day, and time and a half
for overtime Sundays and holidays and
ilmihla t!mtt fur nvorfiitiB on Rundava nt
oUdays.
la addition to the gradual improvement
claimed by railroad heads m the Chicago
district which the brotherhood officials
said presaged a return to normal through .
out the country the organization leaders
pointed' to the votes at, Columbus, Fort
Wayno, Ind., Akron, O.. and Saginaw,
Mich., as marking definite breaks in
.toe ,trike. X -iX-:X r -X-rXX- -'X
' At Akron striking switchmen on the
Eric, ' Baltimore & ' Ohio land Akron,
Canton and Yeungstown railroads, voted
at a nnsa meeting to return to work; 2CO
of the 300 strikers at Fort Wayne voted
to return to the yards this morning snd
the remaining workers, employees of the
New York Central, will meet today to de
ciiio their course. . - , i X-
- In tbe far west and various other cities
in the middle west local unions voted not
join the strike.;' V;-vCiV V , 1
Seattle, TacomaKverett and Auburn,
WashJ, and Cincinnati, Little Rock, Ark.;
Memphis, Tenn., and St Joseph, Ua,
swiU'hmen registering that intention. '
Yardmen at Duluth, Minn., and, Su
perior, Wis., decided to continue at work
and await developments.
Officials of the terminal railroad asso
ciation at St. Louis said conditions were
improved. The eompanv's
engineers
V0T4H t0 rrmaiQ 'JoyaL'
. The' first rote on ft s-mpathetic strike
in Canada was negative, v. ,
Despite thees reports however, Orunaa ;
declnred -'we are going to win." "
STORY OF STRIKE BOUND
PASSENGERS
NEW YORK, April IS The story of
ling "strike' bound" in the foothills
of tbe Cstakills on the Chicago express
when it was abandoned by its erew at
Forth Jervis, N, Y,', was told by pas
sengers on arrival here this morning 10
hours late, A fireman sent out from
Jersey City on an outbound train aided
the engineer in finally bringing in the
stsOed, trsis.- ;j.v'-V -h-.'- ',-;'. f, " ,
. A "mob of railroad men." met the ear-,,
press when it Tenched Port J arvis, accord ..
ing to Mrs. E. G. filarcb, of, Lynbrook,
snd Mrs. A. B. Cobb, of Corning. Hi
Y. They ; swarmed about engine and "
dragged the firemen to the ground,, they
said. X -,:!,:-: - ': f
The conductor and the rest of the crew '
endeavored to persuade the strikers te
let the fireman resume- his post aad al
low the. train to proceed to Jersey City.
This was refused snd Mrs, 8tsreh ssid
tbe strikers shouted that the only way the
fireman could go to Jersey City on the '
train would be .'jn a wooden box.". .
, The passengers, after a considerable
time, searched for lodgings. ' Some of
them managed to rent rooms for a few
hours st fS each, Mrs.' Stares laid. Food
was procured '. snd the station agent '
agreed to ' announce "an hour before
hand when the train would start." '.;
. At 11:30 p. m. this word came and
the passengeri "tumbled on board like
gleeful school . children scrambling over
the tracks in the dark. " But it was'
after S o'clock ths morning before the
new fireman arrived, 'and considerably
later when the train finally polled ; out
for Jersey City again, Mrs. Starch ssid.
WORSE IN PHILADELPHIA "J
PHILADELHPIA. April lS-Striie
conditions in and around Philadelphia are
reported worse . today'. Many men who
had remained at work, joined tbe strikers
this morning. Between 150 and 300
switchmen aad ethers at the Baltimore '
k Ohio station in this tlty struck , at
midnight.',; X:,X- - ,.
PALMES GETS INTO ACTION.
WASHINGTON, April 13-,Attorney
General Palmer returned to Washington
today aad immediately conferred with of
ficials of the department of justice who
nave been keeping in close touch with
the railroad strike situation.
There was no indication what recom
mendations they laid before the attorney
general, but all admitted the situation to
be serious. :
Mr. Palmer s aides had received t: 1 -S
Sew sheaf of telegraphic re-' '
Conditions at points t f distnr -refuicl,
however, to ti '
texts.
It was understood tl '
Ivave t-ua tie
r---'-,l tr:-
' -. V:' --r ,-