Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-07-08
DEFENSE COUNCIL is
DENOUNCED BY THE
PROBE CHAIRMAN


IDENTIFY discussion in congress as to
illegality of members of committees
on the council buying from them
selves, the council discussed this gem
eral policy and it was suggested that
this embarrassment might be removed
by the plan of the committee reor-
ganization now under consideration
THE minutes show that on account
of this so-called embarrassment the
war industries board was created, and
committees were appointed by the
national chamber of commerce, so the
letter OF the law might be complied
with, but by which scheme no part
of the method of buying was changed
in the slightest degree so far as l
can observe"
Citing cases in which he said the
council formulated legislation before
war was declared which legislation
later was considered by congress- Mr..
Graham declared that on February Is,
1917, the council discussed the draft
system and considered a report from
Commissioners Samuel Gompers and
Toward f. Coffin relative to the So
clusion of labor from military service;
on the same day recommended that
Herbert Hoover be employed by the
government in connection with food
control and on March 8 endorsed the
daylight saving scheme and recon-
mended a federal censorship Of the
press.
Buying Program Formed.
about the first thing the commits
4 10, tn1y 10 ttpY, ~
arranging an easy method of COM
munication between the manufacture
ers and the government" Mr.. Graham
continued. "In several meetings, long
before war was declared, the commits
sion met with the representatives Of
the manufacturing industries and
formed an organization of them for
selling supplies to the government.
This method consisted of having
the representatives of various busi-
nesses, producing goods which the
government would have to buy, form
themselves into committees so they
might be able to sell to the govern.
n rent direct. When war was declared,
this machinery began to move.
Although this scheme was sup
posed to enable the industries to deal
with the government as one man, the
government was at no time able to
deal with the industries through one
man and on the contrary, throughout
the war numerous federal bureaus
were bidding against each other for
the same supplies, with greatly in
creased cost to the government. Un-
der the ministrations of the council
Big business was highly organized
while the government remained Who'll
ly disorganized and incapable of pro-
tecting itself against fragrant prof.
teering,"
Mr.. Graham concluded his state
ment by saying so far as he had been
able to observe from the minutes of
the council, there had not been n
act of the so-caied war legislation
which had not been dis 9ussed and
settled upon by the councils advis-
DRY commission before the actual
declaration of war. At times. he said,
"the activities of the commission were
such as greatly to embarrass the cab
met and 1t became necessary for the
cabinet to protest against them"
Chairman Graham frequently was
interrupted by members of the COM
mittee. After he had read the min
utes referring to the military draft,
food control and press censorship.
representative Reavis, republican.
Nebraska asked If all this was not
prior to the presidents speech o.
armed neutrality, Gin which he said
he was not contemplating war" and
Mr. Graham answered affirmatively.
The minutes showed that Philip
Patchin, chief of the state depart
ment's division of foreign intelligence,
first suggested a press censorship. He
was described by Chairman Graham
as free lance news correspondent"
Details of the plan for military
exemption on industrial grounds out
lined by Mr.. Coffin and Mr.. Gompers.
were not disclosed by the minutes, Mr..
Graham said.
After Chairman Graham had told
the committee that the minutes he
had read into the record were unoff!c-
ial. but substantially correct" the
committee decided to call Grosvenor
GARRISON, director of the council to
establish their authenticity.