Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-04-13
Luutania Charge rs Denounced
b. g. s. Senator H0ke Smith
is Stubid Campaign SLAnder
Z REPORTS MADE
O|VEyP|END|TURES
For ARMY CAMPS
~ -

WASHINGTON. April 12.-(By
the Associated Press. 1.-TWO oppos-
ing reports on the long congression-
al investigation of the construction
of thirty-two army camps and can
tonments were submitted today to
the house by a war expenditures
committee and debated for several
hours. The ma jority report, present.
ed by Republican committeeman.
criticized government agencies ana
officials in charge of the war build
ing program, while the minority re-
port of the Democrats defended the
administrat ton.
The government lost 1881 ,521 on
the sixteen national army canton-
ments, it was estimated by the ma
jority report, which asserted this
was due to waste, inefficiency ana
graft" resulting from cost-plus con-
tracts. which were said to be wide
OPEN" No estimate of loss on the
national guard camps was made by
the majority.
Dissenting from the ma jority find
ings the minority declared the con-
struction work was equivalent &c
building thirty-tWo cities. each with
$1,000 to $4,000 population, ana
added:
This tremendous task practically
was completed in three months AMI
stands out as one of the great
achievements of the war"
Three Investigators
Representative Mckenzie Illinois.
and McCulloch, Ohio,1 Republicans >,
and Doremus. Michigan. Democrat,
were the committeeman who con-
Quoted the. Investigation, and thel,
divergent reports were accepted re-
spectively by the ten Republicans
and five Democrats composing the
full committee on war expenditures
The ma jority submitted six rec
ommenda lions for legislation by con-
gress, including the submission 20
the states of constitutional amend
r2ent making ''profteerin@ in war
time treason" 1t also urged that the
NSPdt LtllNIll VI JioGlGC IIC doItti u
investigate work at every camp "to
the end Of bringing to book those
responsible for losses to the govern
ment and frauds through which they
occurred. both by recoveries am
merited penalties
No recommendations were made III
the minority report. and it listen
two conclusions, one condemning the
majority report and the other de-
Tending Secretary Baker. who THE
majority declared must bear the
final responsibility" The majority
conclusion as to the secretarys re.
sponsibil;ty was but one Of it's more
than four score conclusions ALONG
with these. the ma jority cited sew.
eral items. amounting to many
thousands of dollars, which it WA
argued could legally be recovered by
the government from contra ctors.
Majority Findings
The majority declared Secretary
Baker should not have perlllitte :,
departure, from the old method OF
competitive bids. declaring that with
him must rest the final RESPONSE
bility for the entire situations incluc-
ing violations OF law. defraudtnr.
waste. losses and delay"
In turn, the minority said the sec.
rotary was amply justified in aban-
don;ng the usual peace-time meth ID
OF awarding contracts upon compet.-
tive bidding and in substituting ro1
1t the so-called cCSt-plus system"
The minority is of the opinion, -
added its report, that if the views
Of the majority had been adopted at
the, beginning of the war. the whole
building program would have been
in state of chaos. many of our
troops would have persisted with
cold or died of disease in the winter
Of 1917, and the German army would
nave been in Paris before our sol
iIlers could have entered the battle
lines"