Republican farmer., 1919-10-17
 COMMITTEE WILL
 PRESENT REPORT
Democrats Will Stand For No Delay on War Pro-
 ceedings.

1 tIVes select committee to investigate
 war expenditures -popuIarly known
 as the Republican ''smeIlers''-has | delved into the problem of how, and why g. Democratic administration won the greatest war of history. Bands of sub ''smeuers" have jour neyed to the Pacific coast to camps and cantonments and to France in a search for campaign material for the G. o. P.
 And what is the official result? The probability that most of the sub committees will not turn in their re- ports to Chairman W. J. Graham of Illinois for six months. That would be March, or about three months be- fore the holding of the Republican convention. There is little lkelf- hood, however, that the Democratic leaders will permit any such delay, so far as their protests can carry. Consequently much of the informa- ton will likely come out in debate on the floor of the House long before that time.
 The country still recalls the defeat administered to the subcommittee on foreign expenditures at Paris in their attempt to ''sm elT' General Pershing on the day before he sailed for America. It is unjust to attri- bute this defeat to all the sub smell CTS" as the Democratic meube Henry D. Flood of Virginia, had no part in the affair; the chairman, Royal c. Johnson, of South Dakota. and his Republican colleague. Oscar E. Bland of Indiana, monopolizing that feature.
 Johnson and Bland arrived in Paris n Aug. 28, called on General Pershing for information to be given the fol- lowing day. They were well aware at the time of their arrival of the ap- proximate date of the American com mander's date of departure, and lat
 CT knew that Aug. 30 had been fixed as the time.
 When they called upon the General at his headquarters the members of | the committee were informed by General Pershing that all his docu- ments, records, etc. were either at Brest or in the hold of the ''Levia- than,' and that he did not want to make any important statements with out being able to refer to them. That did not satisfy Representative Bland i who insisted upon 'eXaminirg'' the soldier. That settled it for Persh- ing and he flatly refused to answer saying he would be available on his return to the United States, when, with his records in hand, he would be glad to reply to all questions. For this he was denounced in ca,blegrams by Johnson and Bland for overriding g Congressional authority, etc. As in the cases of the other sub committees, the French explorers failed to uncover the expected cam paignfng material, and their methods have excited the derision and denun- citation of several of their own party organs. As Representative Flood, a
 Congressman of many terms, put it:
 There was nothing in the evidence
 that would appeal to any reasoning mind as justification for the criticism
 by the Republican members of the subcommittee"
 Representative Bland in the vari- ous statements he has given out since his arrival in the United States drew particular attention to the disposal of prai,e rly Gnr S4GO.O00,O00 which he valued at s1,70O, 100000 He neg lected to state much of this property cost the United States nothing, hay ing been captured from the Germans. A commission consisting of eX-Sena- tor Hollis of New Hampshire; Gen. Charles G. Dawes, of Chicago, and eX-Judge Parker of Texas, valued this property at one billion dollars.
 Of this amount S2O0,000,000 worth
 was disposed of to other nations, and the remainder sold to the French
 government for S400, 100000 under a blanket contract, the French assum-
 ing all American liabilities in con-
 nection with the occupation of more
 than 155,OOO tracts of land, and also
 agreeing to feed and generally sup
 port all American troops during the entire time they remained in France.
 It must also be remembered that
 much of the property sold to the
 French consisted of buildings which
 could not be otherwise successfully
 or profitably disposed of.
 There was some irony in the situ-
 ation of the sub" "smellers' because
 the automobile in which they survey
 ed France belonged to that country
 by purchase from the United States,
 likewise the gasoline that furnished
 the motive power.
 Another subcommittee that has
 been much in the public eye because
 of the methods of it's chairman, James
 A. Frear of Wisconsin, Republican, was that Investigating aviation. The
 other members were Walter w. Ma
 gee of New York, Republican, and
 Clarence F. Lea of California, Dem
 ocrat.
 Representative Lea expressed the
 public idea of this committee as re-
 flected in newspapers and other peri
 odtcals of both parties when he said,
 on his return to Washington
 '"The attitude Of Chairman F'rear
 in conducting the spruce investfga-
 tion on the Pacific coast was a dis
 grace to Congrfess, I do not for
 moment believe the Republican
 members of the House of Represen-
 tatives approve of the brow-beating methods used by MT. Frear.''
 It will be remembered that FTear wired to Washington a denunciation
 of John D. Ryan of New York, when
 the evidence that Frear would not admit but which was subsequently learned by the public, proved that
 MT Rryan had nothing whatever to
 do with the railroad construction cit ed
 Such an influential Pacific coast newspaper as the Portland Journal independent, denounced the FTear
 treatment of witnesses, calling his manner That of a thicknecked po- lice court lawyer" and saying that
 he brought the great American
 House of Representatives down to
 the level of a kangaroo court"
 Also, 'tthe chairman (Frear) bull 1;ad badrared and iosI11ted General