Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-07-08
DEFENSE COUNCIL
IS DENOUNCED BY
PROBE CHAIRMAN
As LAW V|OLATOR
Representative Graham Says
Council Was Organized By
President Wilson Before the
War in Violation of Law,
COCKTAILS REFUSED
TO OBEY COUNCIL
Gary Told Members That They.
Had Violated Every Statute
In the Books For Control of
Big Business,


Washington, July 7.-Charges that
the president organized the council of
national defense before war was de-
clared in absolute violation of law,
and thereby created a ''secret govern
ment of the United States, which
formulated war legislation, dictated
policies the country was to pursue and
befriended big business were made
today by Chairman Graham of the
special house committee investigating
war department expenditures.
Minutes of the council were read to
the committee by MIR. Graham, togeth-
err with a report in which he asserted
the council assumed such broad pow
ers that Major General Goethals, for
mer chief of the purchase, storage and
traffic division of the war department,
defied it: cabinet members protested
against it's activities and Judge Gary,
chairman of the board of the United
States steel corporation, accused 1t of
operating in fragrant violation OF
law"
Mr.. Graham declared the president
created the ''secret government by ig-
noring and reversing the intent of con-
gress in authorizing the establishment
of q council of national defense, IN
August, 1916. AS authorized by con-
gress, he said, the council was to be
composed of six members of the cabi-
net who were to be the real execu-
tives, and seven civilians to be selected
by the president, who were to act in
purely advisory capacity. Instead OF
doing this, Mr.. Graham asserted, the
president made the advisory commits
sion the real executives, clothing
them with unprecedented and almost
illimitable powers"
Designed War Measures.
Behind closed doors, weeks and
even months before the war was de-
Clared," he said, 'these seven men de-
signed practically every measure
which congress subsequently enacted" "
They devised the entire system OF
purchasing war supplies, planned a
press censorship, designed system OF
food control, and selected Herbert
Hoover as it's director, and even de-
termining on the daylight saving
scheme.
Conceived within the law but
brought into existence in absolute vio-
lation of law, it is not surprising to
find this secret government of the
United states itself persistently ig-
nored and even violated the law; that
it allowed interested parties to fix the
prices of war supplies, that it put the
people of the country to incalculable
unnecessary expense and carried
things with a high hand"
Mr.. Graham declaredNthat when Ma
ior Goethals was called "at the elev-
enth hour to rescue the war depart
ment from the public obliquy which
was fast settling upon it as a result
Of the methods and incapacity of the
commission" he repudated 1t and
practically defied it."
GoethaIs Repudiated.
"Our soldiers were actually dying
of pneumonia in the camps because of
lack of proper clothing and blankets. F"
Mr.. Graham said, "and General Goe-
thals assumed the duties of quarter
master only on condition he should
have free scope in the performance of
his duties, unhampered by the council
of national defense.
Immediately he took from the
members of that council their power
to order purchases and fix prices and
those members of the advisory COM
mission which had so deplorably bun
gled the control of supplies for the
army"
Judge Gary advised the advisory
commission, Mr.. Graham said, that It
was operating in disregard of the
Sherman law, the Clayton law and call
other statutes that are supposed to
regulate business, particularly big
business" When the attorney general
was called upon by the commission to
answer Judge Gary, Mr. Graham said,
he answered that the matters referred
to as violations of law were matters
of national policy" rather than le-
gal question" Afterwards" Mr. Gra-
ham declared, when there was evil
(Continued on Page Two.I