The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-07-07
DEFENSE BODY
WAR DICTATOR
is CHARGE OF
CONGRESSMAN
Council of Defense Created
Secret Government" and
Antagonized Army Work.
ers, Graham Claims.
FRIEND OF BIG BUSINESS
(By Associated Press)

(By Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, July 7.-Charges
that the president organized the coun-
Gil of national defense before war
was declared in absolute violation of
law. and thereby created a secret
government of the United States"
which formulated war legislation, die
tated policies the country was to pur-
sue, and befriended big business"
were made today by Chairman Ora
ham Of the special house committee
investigating war department expendi-
lures.
Minutes of the council were read to
gether with a report in which he as
serted the council assumed such
broad powers that Major-General Goe-
thals, former chief of the purchase,
storage and traffic department. defied
it; cabinet members protested against
its activities, and Judge Gary, presi-
dent of the United States Steel corpc.
ration. accused it of operating in
"flagrant violation Of the law"
Mr.. Graham declared the president
created the secret government" by
ignoring and reversing the intent Of
congress in authorizing the establish
| in August, 1916. AS authorized by
congress. he said, the council was to
be composed of six members of the
cabinet who were to be the real ex-
ecutives and seven civilians to be
selected in purely advisory capacity.
Instead of doing this, Mr.. Graham as
serted, the president made the ad-
visory commission the real executives,
clothing them with Unprecedented
and almost illimitable powers"
Designed War Measures.
/! Behind closed doors, weeks and
even months before war was declar-
ed" he said, these seven men de-
signed practically every war measure
which congress subsequently enacted.
They devised the entire system Of
purchasing war supplies, planned a
press censorship, designed a system
OF food control, and selected Herbert
Hoover as its director and even de-
termined 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 high hand"
Mr.. Graham declared that when
Major General Goethals was called "at
the eleventh hour to rescue the war
depa rtment from the public obliquy
which was fast settling upon it as q
result of the methods and incapacity
of the commission, he repudiated and
practically defied it.
GoethaIs Given Power
"Our soldiers were actually dying
of pneumonia in the camps because Of
lack Of proper clothing and blankets" !"
Mr.. Graham said, "and General Goeth.
ais assumed the duties of quartermas-
ter-general only on condition he should
have free scope in the performance of
his duties, unhampered by the Coun-
Gil Of National Defense.
Immediately he took from the
members Of that council their power
to order purchases and fix prices and
soon dispensed with the services of
those members of the advisory COM
mission who had so deplorably bungled
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 "all
other statutes that are supposed to
regulate business, particularly big
business, when the encouragement
was called upon by the commission to
answer Judge Gary, Mr.. Graham said,
; answered that the matters referred to
as violations Of law were matters OF
national policy rather than a legal
question"
: "Arterwards," Mr. Graham declared,
when there was evidently a discus
sion in congress as to the illegaltty of
) members of the committees on the
council buying from themselves, the
, council discussed this general policy
and it was suggested that this EN-.
barrassment might be removed by the
plan Of the committee reorganization
now under consideration
Industries Board Formed.
The minutes show that on account
of this socalled embarrassment the
war industries board was created, and
,, committees were appointed by the ma.
tional Chamber Of Commerce, so the
: letter of the law might be complied
with but by which scheme no part OF
the method of the buying was chang
g ed in the slightest degree, SO far as
" can observe"
: Citing cases in which he said the
4 council formulated legislation before
4 war was declared which legislation
g later was considered by congress, Mr.
a Graham declared that on February Is
q 1917, the council discussed the draft
q system and considered report from
e Commissioners Samuel Gompers and
d Howard e. Coffin relative to the ex
e clusion of labor from military service
t on the same day recommended that
t Herbert Hoover be employed by the
e government in connection with food
e control and on March 3, endorsed the
b daylight saving scheme and recon-
n mended a federal censorship Of the