The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1919-06-27
CHAMP CLARK SCORES
REPUBLICAN, CAREERS
Promises to Dress Them Down"
If Nagging and Criticism
Are Continued

member of the national House of
Representative makes any motion
without attempting some sort of re-
Election on the Democratic Admins
tration. The passing of resolution
for a special committee to investi-
gate American war expenditures was
an example. Champ Clark of Mis-
souri,, former speaker and Democrat
is floor leader, tired of the constant
nagging and, amid applause from
both sides of the chamber, expressed
himself recently,
eve all went into this war to win
it, and am going to take just min
ute to tell you what think about this
whole business" said he. at will
be constantly bobbing up in this Con-
gress as to what happened and what
did not happen. l want to say Incl
dentally that am growing exceed
ingly weary of so many gentlemen
devoting so much time to nagging
and criticizing, whether they know
what they are talking about or not,
and if they do not quit it am going
to get enough time some day to dress
off the whole crowd of naggers.
"The truth is that we got into a
stupendous job in that war, and it
was sprung suddenly | do not be-
lieve that 5 per cent of the people in
the nUited States believed that we
were going to get into that war I'M
ell we were in it. They kept hoping
that we would be able to keep out
of it; and we did everything that the
Germans thought we could not do,
and if they had believed we could
do it they never would have dragged
us in. That was to raise a great
army, drill it and send it across the
sea in time to help give them 'whal-
ing. That is what was the matter
with them, and if / were to live 100
years and studied about it all the
time would never be able to find out
why they did not know that, if we
wanted to, we could raise an army
of Is, 100000 men and put them in
the field, and that, practically, our
material resources are illimitable.
"a vast amount of money was
spent. We spent the greatest sum
that was ever spent by any nation
since the world began-40 or so bill
lions-and we had to do everything
at once. We were all as green as
gourds about war. / tell you what
I believe will be found out when
this is all investigated, and that is
that there was some extravaganza,
good deal of it, growing out of the
hurry with which we did things and
the size of the undertaking, and that
incompetents were found here and
there.
"There were a good many prof.
teers and I wish that every one was
in the penitentiary, and / do not care
whether he is a big or little fellow.
/ would not be at all surprised if
somewhere along the line they found
some absolute dishonesty, some plain
stealing-not much, but some, by
underlings. 1t has been that way in
every war we ever had. War fur
nishes opportunity for all sorts of
gouging and profteering. Neverthe-
less, taken all together, our achieve
ment in. conducting the war is SPLEEN
did, magnificent, glorious.
at was that way in the Civil War;
it was that way even in the brief war
with Spain. Those of US who were
here then know that the very same
complaints were made, and some of
them were ascertained to be true.
What we want, and / suppose what
you Republicans want, is fair deal
in this examination; but my sugges-
ton is that everybody quit nagging
and criticizing and lampooning until
we ascertain the truth as the result
of this investigation which we are
undertaking and which is going to
cost good deal of money.
II take it for granted that nearly
everybody in the war desired to do
his duty faithfully and we'll. Some
of them did not know how, some of
them had to learn how, some of them
never did learn how, and some OF
them never did any good. Take such
a vast army as we had in France and
there was bound to be injustices
done. You could not run an institu-
ton as big as that without it. Acct
dents happen.
at is astounding that we raised an
army of 100000 men and sent over.
100000 of them to France in few
months, that we gave sustenance and
hel6 and food and raiment to half
the nations of Europe and are still
not bankrupt ourselves. 1t is the most
monumental job ever undertaken by
the children of men, and we accom-
plished it and accomplished it well
and tboronphlv. and. as Admiral