Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-20
CRAFT TALK
IN WAR TIMES
Congress Cooperating With the
President in an Effort to
Prevent Wasteful
Favoritism
Special Correspondence Evening Ledger

n is a fairly good word but applied &
certain other human activities graft i
a comparatively new word, but decided!
dlsagreeable one. As now Understood, grat
Is little more than cheap but dishones
proht-making. 1t Is popular to ascrloe th'
term TO the methods of politicians Ih'
| small official who dispenses favors Tor
| consideration or who takes money for doing
| something which winks at the law Is De
! nominated a "grafter." The term Is moi
! so generally applied to business men as II Is
| to politicians, as the grocer who mixes ior'
| eign substances with his sugar or the dealer
| who uses false bottoms or gives snort
weight or the miller who grinds up IN
| ferior materials with his wheat Is not COM
| monty known as a CRATER Neither IL IL
customary thus to refer to the buyer OF n
| great CORPORATION who Is occasionally sus-
pected Of standing in" with the seller OF a
| commodity to the prejudice Of competitors
and the detriment of the concern THESE
have not yet come to be known as gratters
in tho popular sense. Yet there are men
who contend that the rebates, commissions
allowances and percentages that business
men are compelled to meet or concede IN
many Of the larger commercial transactions
are little short Of graft, although they may
be sheltered under usage that has attained
n semblanCe Of respectability.
These observations are called forth by
phase of existing war conditions. The
moncymaker is abroad when the country
is at war. The ordinary, everyday care
which the Government exercises In making
contracts in times Of peace Is not gcher-
aIlv adhered to in times Of war. The Presi-
dent and the members Of the Cabinet nave
so much to do in war times that the word
Of some one else must ofttimes be accepted
for theirs They can only give general
directions and depend upon their suOordl-
mates. lt was so in the Civil war. AS we
have already authorized the expenditure Of
n, 20, nr
entire cost Of tho Civil War, it is bound to
be so in the war with Germany.
Official Washington Alert
Official Washington knows it must pre-
pare itself to meet honest criticism result
ing from war conditions. 1t has been
Fastening legislation to obtain appropria.
tions and authority, believing 1t best to be
in position TO strike Germany hard and
fast. Congress understands the Importance
of quick action and is ready To facilitate
it, but Congress knows that many influences
are at work to have ii vote money ana
power and then quit Washington. Con-
Eress does not want to remain in session,
but most of the members feel they have
duty to perform in throwing certain safe
guards about the enormous powers and cN-
penditures which the Administration con-
tinucs to ask for and they are doing II in
spite of criticism. They have voted the
President the power to issue bonds; they
have voted the chief expenditures de-
mandcd they have voted the men to fill up
the army quota and to man the ships. They
have also voted the ships. Congress has
authorized the Communicating of munitiOn
plants and Of various other instrumental |
ties Of private concerns It is now con-
sidering the Government control Of food
or the products Of the farm, as it has al
ready considered the oversight and direC- |
tion Of the factory. Upon this problem of
the food supply Congress and the Admins |
tration are now engaged I'm n tug-of-war |
In the end the President will doubtless have |
his way and the control and direction of
the food supply will be placed in the hands |
of a virtual dictator under his direction |
who will have to do things through subordi- |
mates far enough removed from the Pres. |
dent as to make things done in the name Of
the President sometimes embarrassing
Great care must be exercised in these au-
thorizations and appointments If honest and
effective execution is to be had.
Presidents Advisers Numerous
Much as all Americans now insist upon
a speedy preparedness and prosecution of
the war few of them know how broad are
the powers delegated to the Council of Ma
tional Defense and its advisory committees,
which serve without pay. nor to the Ship
ping Board and other bodies to which vast
sums have already been appropriated or
$3.50 900 900 for the Shipping Board TO pur-
chase and build ships. We are told it has
already purchased the contracts entered
into by certain foreign nations for ships
being built in American yards. Apart from
the high prices thus necessarily paid, and
the purchase of some going vessels at fairly
good prices, we have the shipbuilders' war
over wooden and steel vessels. In Congress,
which has voted the money and the power
to the President, these incidents of author
ity delegated by the President are discussed
by Democrats as well as Republicans. SO
with the power Of the unpaid advisory COM
mittee of the Council of National Defense.
The rush Of contracts made ready by these
gentlemen because they are supposed to
know how" is said to have taken the
breath away from the department officials
who have had to deal with them since the
So 900 900, 900 appropriation bill was signed.
Rushing these contracts which it is fair TO
assume the President does not see, Is also
known to have checked the hopes Of numer-
Gus business men who expected to obtain a
part Of the public work, but who found, in
some instances, they were required to go
10 their business rivals who were fortunate
enough to have been placed upon the com.
mittees. If business men will tell their
Of their disappointments and
sometimes of their suspicious as to iniiu-
ences operating in the name Of preparedness
and patriotism they will talk to each other.
These are some Of the things which induce
who desire to protect the Pres
ldent and the honor of the nation in great
crisis to obtain as much information as the
Administration cares 10 make known of its
plans with respect to the so-called purchas-
ing and food relationships,
Mr., Hoover's Big Task
Doubtless Mr.. Hoover is an able ad'
ministrator with a generous heart Never
theless, the Senate wanted to know more
about him, since so much of his life has
been spent abroad. In the House 1t de-
veloped that the farmers were not altogether
too well satisfied with the control that Mr.
Hoover was 10 have over their atairs.
The farmer vote seemed to be for let
me alone" policy. IT did not relish an
investigation Of every potato bin IN every
farm house in the land. And yet II was
that Mr., Hoover was after the
middleman more than the farmer and
would bring down the price OF food supplies
by stopping his eXactons Then again It
was asserted that Mr.. Hoovers mission
was not so much to bring down the price
of food supplied in the United states as
II was to assure supplies to our Allies and
to prevent speculation through tho holding
up of supplies. All this has accounted In