Weekly journal-miner., 1920-07-28
STOPS . ALLEGED BIG
 CHAPTERS

Joe Delavigne, a Prescott boy, who rendered great service 10 his country in Washington, D. C., during June, is back fro ma visit with his parents, who live at the capital He is ac- customed to living out among men, where they turn 'em out wild-out where they are not afraid to stand up for their rights without offering to pay for them.
 Delavigne did not approach the compensation bureau with the atti- tude employed by the boys who were sick and cowed and afraid to stand up and declare their rights.
 It had become the policy, it is al Ileged, in some sections of the com ipensation bureau, for the head of the department to look up a mans claim account and say to him that he had about so much coming to him, and wuold name the amount, probably correct. Then Delavigne says the chief or assistant clerk would get in to close conversation and say that the amount was terribly low and that he knew it ought to be more. Then the clerk, it is alleged, would name a much larger amount and offer to make it out that way provided the ex-soldier would agree to split the difference
 In Delavigne's case the clerk stated the amount should be 5000 and asked him if he would like to make it $2,- 400. whereupon Joe used his quick wit and said. "Yes, will split it with you and will be back tomorrow"
 Delavigne went to a moving picture ', show and watched to see that no one was shadowing him, and after that he hunted up Senator Ashurst, who was at that time sick in the hospital from an operation. He asked the senator what to do, and was sent di- rect to the secret service. He lald his story before the secret service men, who wanted Joe to go and he , the man to catch tn officials in the act, but Joe said he would prefer tc let them get any other man who might sho -wup for compensation and see who what take place III then cases. A soldier who had been gassed was picked up by the secret service men and was instructed how to act his part, and he took the agents into the public park to split the extra money. Delavigne said the coup was complete and he identified the guilty men and that they were held under I$l0.0OO bonds each. Many other ar rests were made on the same steal The amount stolen had already run into a huge sum.
 When the head cferl: asked Dela- vigne ii he would take the extra money, Joe asked him what they would do when they caught up with them. The clerk told him that a law had been passed that in case any sol dier was paid more than he had con- ling that it could not be collected by the government. The clerk told him that he would merely explain that the check had been made out in error and that would end the whole business.
 Delavigne said: "I was dumbfound- ed to think of the thing when 1t came up to me like that-jlgst like flash. I had been working hard for all the money l got. Here was a fellow fig uring on getting $500 from me and from every other fellow some amount without work. ] could see that it would not do to be a party to such an act saw that it was the part of a criminal 10 take such a position as this man was wanting to force me into, and that this practice had to be stopped at once.
 "I have never been a man to sit around and give advice to people about doing their duty, and have not been parading as any reformer, and do not want to be classed as one, but I could not stand this, and could not act fast enough to suit me when l found out what they were up to. l did not do this for notoriety. l did it because l just could not have helped it if I had have tried. My parents were oyerjoyed when they found out what I had done. To me it was really only an incident"
 Delavigne is receiving the congrat- ulations of his many friends in this city. He is glad he did his little bit here at home and hopes it may be starter for the eradication of much graft.
 CHINESE DRUG SQUAD