The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1919-02-14
FAILURE AND LAUNDERING OF
GOVERNMENT IN THE BIG WAR
Will Cost the Taxpayers of the United
States Five Billion Dollars.

W Ill OOSt the taxpayers vi the OIIleu
States Five Billion Dollars.
HAS it ever occurred to you that
practically every endeavor of the
American people in the war resulted
in the most phenomenal success, while
in almost every instance the efforts
of the administration ended in dismal
failure?
"Our soldiers, themselves, suddenly
called from peaceful pursuits, briefly
trained, poorly equipped put up a
fight the like of which Europe has
never witnessed. The Liberty loans
were as a rule highly oversubscribed;
the war savings and war thrift stamps
were bought to the limit; a people
whose prodigality with food had once
been notorious performed marvels in
self-denial and conservation. Contri-
buttons to the Red Cross, the Y. M.
C. A, the Y. M. H. A., the K. c., war
chests, tobacco and literature funds,
and countless other activities to amel-
iorate the soldiers lot were handsome
ly responded to and generally boosted
far over the limit set. Every one of
these war organizations rendered
splendid and amazingly effective SER
vice. Producers of war equipment,
frn,, tbo ,~,aoufo ot,,ra,. Of fr,,oLc RI
the knitter of socks, came thru in fine
shape. That the end of the war
found the government storage spaces
glutted with billions of dollars worth
of material was no fault of the max
ers, but must be blamed to the dila-
tory Mr.. Baker.
"The failures of the administration
in the conduct of the war are well-nigh
numberless. They began with the OBJ
stinate refusal for two and a half
years to make ready, and where they
will end no man can say. 1t is almost
impossible to cite an instance of where
an administration effort really sue
ceeded. The soldiers were started in
training with wooden guns and odd
lot uniforms, drilling in mud and
sleeping in insanitary camps. They
are returning without funds, many of
the wounded without proper hospital
accommodations, and their families
have yet to receive their allotments.
We have had the airplane breakdown,
and the ship building breakdown.
The country is strewn with war ma
terial of every description which the
government bought with prodigality
beyond reason and never delivered, and
the great gas output ended in dump
age at sea because it was realized too
late. But two of Ford's Eagles" ever
flew, so that almost the sole exception
to the general success of American
individual enterprise is to be found in
the factories of pacifist and presi-
Dental favorite. Our troops were
transported in foreign vessels, or for
eign-built vessels operating under the
American flag, and Great Britain and
France equipped them with airplanes,
guns and partly with clothing.
"Where pressure of public opinion
compelled administration reforms and
able men were eventually drafted to
carry on war work, results at once
began to appear, as for example, when
Charles Schwab took over the building
of ships, Stettinus became our quar-
termaster-in-fact, and Ryan began on
the airplane program. But these re-
forms were adopted too, late to be OF
effective war service.
Comparison of successful American
enterprise and exasperating admins
tration failures presents the most
damning indictment of partisan, Sec
tional, narrow minded, inefficient bu-
reaucracy to be found in all the pages
of history. But it has its bright side
1t indicates that the people them
selves are there with the goods; that
it is the administration which they
were beguiled into supporting on the
plea, he kept us out of war that is
rotten to the core. And in 1920 the