The daily morning oasis., 1919-11-05
S M ELI n C
co NJ NIT TEE
MADE P 0 0 R
S H 0 W | N G

ENADENCE u POLITICAL
PURPOSES; RETURNED SOME
MONTHS AGO WITHOUT MAX.
ING A REPORT.
WASHINGTON, November -
There is one branch of the Republican
majority in the House of Representa-
tivess that has done some hard work
and needs a vacation. Even the Dem
ocrats admit this assertion to be true.
Those deserving of this relief from
care are the members. of the select
committee on war expenditures, deris-
lively termed the "smellers" by the adj
ministration forces. After five months
of determined smelling" they have
failed to uncover single one of those
steals, scandals or examples of "fright
full efficiency" that they promised
the nation they would disclose.
"No wonder the Republican leaders.
Senate and House, want to adjourn"
comment the Democratic chieftains.
Having failed to pass hardly bit of
important legislation, and then only
because the president held them in
line and stopped their vacation, they
are now holding back their reports on
the war expenditures because they
have failed to uncover the promised
dynamite. So, by postponing their
revelations until the regular session of
Congress, they hope to give the public
the impression that the have made hor-
rendous discoveries that cannot be re-
vealed at this time "
Representatives Royal c. Johnson,
and Oscar E. Bland were the Republi-
can members of the sub" smeliersn
who went to France and cabled back
attacks on General Pershing because
he would not unload all his papers
from the steamer hold on the day be-
fore he sailed for America, although
they had fortnight in which to ex-
anime him. General Pershing has
been in America more than a month
and the investigators nearly the same
time, yet no move has been made to
examine him in Washington, though
he protested his willingness to appear
at any time.
Chairman William J. Graham of the
smelling" committee is now heading
the ordinance subcommittee in and
around Chicago to find out about the
contracts and settlements in that To-
cality, some irregularities on the part
of underofficers, not the administra-
ton, having been alleged. The camps
and environments subcommittee is
about to inspect some of the training
encampments in the South and Mid
die West, though the military affairs
committee recently did the same
thing. 49,.
The subcommittee on aviation, head
ed by James A. Frear, whose methods
of handling witnesses were termed by
the press of the Pacific Coast as
"those of a thick-necked police court
lawyer" has been reawakened and
will journey to New York, presume
bly, to take back some of the things
the chairman said about John D. Ryan
the head of the aircraft division for
the last six months of the war. Mr..
Ryan demanded the right to appear
before the committee and add further
refutation that he had nothing to do
with the construction of railroad ex-
tensions for the handling of spruce,
one reason being that at that time he
was not in the government service.
Col. Brice P. Disque, who superin-
tended the job of getting out the
spruce for airplanes in the Northwest,
will also appear to try to get into the
record some of the answers to insult
ng questions that Mr. Frear barred
out during the Pacific coast junket.
All of which apparently will post
oone the presentation of the nearly
deceased Smelling" reports till about
he end of Congress- winter session,
and in fine time for use in connection
With the Republican national conven-
,ion-if there are any facts worth US
ng.