The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-08-05
WILD ORGY OF
 WASTE LAID ID
 U. s. BY CkPPER
Says Money Squandered During War Would Bury Washington in Aval-
 anche of Gold.
HOT ATTACK ON
 INSURANCE BOARD
Oversupply of Workers Hin dered Rather Than Helped
 Winning, He Declares.

washington, Aug. - Reckless spending and waste of money in Washington hindered the winning of the war. instead of keeping. Senator Arthur Capper. of Kansas. charged in a signed article in one of his papers which has just reached Washington. The Kansas Senator lines up squarely with Senator Smoot, of Utah, repre- senting the opposite pole of political thought inside the Republican party. in his fight to eliminate waste. His signed article. which is headed ''Uncle sam's Padded Expense Ac- count" is In part as follows:
 T have no sort of doubt enough money has been wasted in Washing ton every year for the last three years to bury the city deeper than Herculaneum was buried by Mount Vesuvius if these wasted dollars could have been dumped on the capi- tai. And this. notwithstanding the new Congress has just sliced off nearly s3.oO0, 100000, mainly from appropriations the old Congress was unable to pass before its adjournment because five Senators went on a strike with filibuster A lucky strike for Uncle Sam's taxpayers. for it re- suited in the greatest saving ever made by any government since the world began.
 Uncle Sam's record as n spender during the war, and for months after is a world record we shall never see beaten unless there should come an- other great war. For instance. our total cost of government for 12S
 
 s2O.OOO. O.O00.0OO. But between 1917 and 1919 we spent s25.o0o. .O0o. .oOO-a mountain of wealth higher than any mountain peak in existence. Accord ing to the army's chief statistician who ought to know, we spent more than 1000, 900 an hour for two years during hostilities.
 '"The people wanted all the money spent that was needed. We now are finding that in many instances ex- penditure was so lavish that it great ly hindered instead of helping win the struggle. The wretched break down of the Bureau of War Risk In surance is laid to this cause by Sen ator Shoots Investigating commit tee. This is why we had such trouble and endured such heart-breaking sus- pense in finding out the condition of our wounded soldiers, and also was the cause of no end of sufferinr through failure to pay allotments tc families and dependents of soldiers and insurance to the beneficiaries ot tho dead.
 Tt seemed to be the policy of the director of this bureau to see how many employees he could obtain ire spective of the work to be accom- plfshed. He had nearly 1s.ooo, and bo I- +r come here from any part of the coun- try was added to the list. That is why the bureau collapsed.
 "'I have been in the building say. Senator Shoots report, when 1t wa: so crowded with girls that they were falling over one another. I do no believe the girls in that bureau did a. much work in a 711-hour day as could have been done, and done much bet ter. by competent employees in an houi and a half
 the information collected in the be ginning. and the records kept by thu War Risk Bureau, were worse thai useless and had to be done away witt entirely, because the information wal incorrect.
 Every visitor to Washington Is i'm pressed with the number and size O the government buildings. Yet al over Washington buildings arc rente for government offices despite tn great number of structures erected fo the governments use during the wal Uncle Sam's office rental the last yea in Washington was just under a mil lion dollars. This seemed so enor nous that Congress created a publi buildings commission in March, wit Senator Shoot. of Utah, as chairman This com mission effected a saving O s356,56O in the rent bill for the fisca year beginning July l, but Senate Shoot, who attributes much of thi waste to the employment of too man clerks by departments and bureaus says the evil will not be correcte until Congress gives a commission au thorfty to discharge useless clerks.
 with such a situation existing. an moro than 100000 government em p!oycs in yyashington alone, one ca understand why in these days Con Eress Is compelled to nppropriat money by billions instead of by mil Hons.