The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-09-24
CONGRESS- WAR PROBE PROVING
 TO BE FIzzLE
Graham Select Committee Has Little Standing With
 Republican Leaders.
PERSHING WON
 OVER SMELLERS
Many Sub Committees Are Duplicating Work At
 Needless Expense.

Washington, D. C., Sept. 24-After an existence of nearly three and one half months it now appears as If the much heraldcd Graham select com mittee to investigate war expendi- lures has little or no standing in the estiTNtion of the RepublIca leaders of the House of Representatives Wsthin the next few weeks a part of their work will be either dupli- cated or taken away from them.
 The commtttee-popularI known as the "smalers," who are seeI5tng Republican campaign material for 1920 in the methods used by the Democratic national administration in winning the World War-has divided itself into five smelling" sub-com- nittces in order to more easily run down the elusive "sclndaL" These latter committees have had varying careers. one is recupcratiug in Paris after Inc battle of the Seine. won by Gen John J. Pershiug, Y. s. A., an- other is junkcting on the Pacific coast in search of spruce scandals" and The others appear to have faucn in to tho slough of despond This lat tor class includes the subcommittee on camps and Cautonments.
 At any rafe, eight or nine mem hors of the House standing commit fec on military affairs are leaving fhis week for a little trip of inspec- fi0u of four Cantonments ln the south. Thee appears to be no ques- ton but that the Information they are seeking falls directly under the Jurisdiction of the Graham sub-com- uittCo on camps and cantonmeuts. Which means that the treasury may hN compelled to ny for duplicated work, as this exp IItiou is likely to C1lvanizo into acton the Graham suh-"smcIlcre. "
 Tho detachment from the military affairs committee plans to visit Camps Humphrey, Virginia; Bragg, North Carolina; Benning. Georgia, and Knox. Kentucky Early in the special session tho House RepubH- cans passed a resolution fOrbidding thu War Department utilizing unex- pended funds appropriated for the construction of Cantouments and this subcommittee will tour the South to sec whether this resolution should be nbrogated. Incidentally. this trip is being taken Tt a time when the Graham sub-commit.c on camps and cantonments was prepar- ing to do the same thing.
 The Republican mountain has la bRItn TUT lllAHN anu oLltt-IlstlL IlouLIlH and has not so much as a mouse to show the American public, Democrat ic lc0 rcrs assert, despite confident predictions of enormous extrava- EanCe." ''wilful waste,' "gross mis- ma .aEement,' and everything else the specially engaged press agent of the Republican National Committee had prophesicd- The Graham committee is spending the peoples money at the moderate estimate" of S1O,OOO a mont so far, and has nothing to show for 1t. And now comes along another committee, also of Republi- can inception, to do the work the Graham subs have failed to do.
 The Graham committee was creat- cd June II and spent but s163 30 that month. 'It was some time af- forwards when they got momentum, % as 1t was described before the House appropriations subcommittee by Will liam Tyler Page, clerk of the House and it's disbursing officer. From July 1 to Sept. 3, the Graham com mittee's expenditures, and estimates for the European and Pacific coast trips, total $1s,546.92. For the same period the select committee 10 in- vestigate the shipping board expen- ditures spent S1,20O. With a defici- enCy appropriation or $bO,OOO MT Page thought the Graham and ship ping committees could be financed uI to Jan. l, his estimates being based on the July and August figures quot- ed.
 Representative Joseph w. Byrnes of Tennessee, Democrat, doubted whether the estimates would actually cover the expenses of the "smellers' in France and on the Pacific coast not q voucher for either of these ex- Ctrsions having been turned in.
 Questions by Mr. Byrnes extracted some interesting information from the clerk of the House. The Graham committee so far has this permanent staff:
 1 clerk at $3,OOO per annum.
 1 clerk at $2,5O0 per annum.
 2 clerks at s2,0OO per annum.
 1 clerk at $50 per week.
 steuographer at $1,sOO a year.
 1 stcnographer at S1,60O a year.
 stenographer at $1, 400 a year.
 i messenger S1,20O a year.
 This does not mean that all tho sub-committees have engaged clerk! -