New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-07-09
WHERE THE BOND AND
THRIFT STAMP MONEY WENT

Democratic Administrators waste
and extravaganza during the VA,
which has just been made public by
Representative William j Graham,
of Illinois, chairman OF the House
War Investigation Committee. He
sums up the important disclosures
as follows;
We expended 3l,05l 81 ,98S for ay.a-
ton and airpianes. and up to the
time Of signing of the armistice not
a single fighting plane was at the
American front.
As q result OF our sntirc aviation
program VIZ obtain 2l3 De Haviland
4 observation planes, all OF which
were lily designed and constructed
and extremely dangerous, and ST
secondhand foreign planes, which
we either bought or borrow from
Our associates IN the war.
We spent S20,OO0,O00 for 46B Cur
tiss motors l,6l6 Curtiss-Type aero
planes, and 100 Standard JN-l aero
planes, which We purchased from the
Curtiss Aeroplane q Motor Corpora
tion, then sold them back TO this
company for S2,720,U0 lac nay
Department refused to sell tlese
machines to aviators for less than
$500 each, and provided in the con-
tract by which they were sold 10
the Curtiss company that the Cur
iiss company should have the iirst
opportunity to buy any other aero
planes which the War Department
might thereafter declare surplus.
We spent 100000 on Bristol
planes and ~Sl7,S0OyOO on Standard
planes. and got not a SINGLE machine
tha, could be used Tor any purpose
We spent S10p.o32;910 Tor 10 Ma
t,onal Army environments, built by
the cost-plus system. These could
have been built for Sl2S,l0 800 or
F8,s3l,S2l less.
We expended 81 ,lOO,OuUiUU for the
construction OF camps and canton
ments, largely by the cost-plus sys-
hem, a system adopted by the Wal
Department. BY this system costs
were increased. labor dsmoraIized,
the completion Of the camps was de-
hyed, soldiers called 10 the coIors
were subjected to conditions hat m
Juoed disease and death, and from
10 TO 90 per cent OF the money was
wasted
twenty-five million dollars was
spent for fees to favored contrao-
tors on camps and oantonmen's,
mos, Of which would have been saw.
ed had this work been let by bids.
We spent S60lOOOO TO buhd a
powder plant at Nitro, w. Va. II
never produced a pound OF powder
Tor the war. After the armstice
there was stored al Nitro personal
property worth at a fsir cash value
3lO.OU0IUu Both plant and proptr-
~ were sold after the armistice tor
S,SSl.oW, o OF which IS IN De-
ierred payments.
We paid the Hercules Powder
plant $ll-ZS3,737.ll They produced
no powder that We could use m the
war.
We spent &,Sp,OU IN furnishing
electrical machinery and building ell
eetric lines for the Virginia Power
company at Nitro, w. Va, and after
"e had built them a first-class sys-
TEN, giving Them q practical mono
poly OF the kanawha Valley. the
government settled with them o
fsl!uU n m aooiiion gave them a
longtime contract TO furnish elec-
trio power for the naval armor al
Charleston, W. Va
We spent approximately SSO.Uop.op
in the construction and operation OF
q powder plant at NASHVILLE Tenn,
called Do hickory, n winch pfo-
duced no powder that could be n'rd
in the war.
We spent many millions the exact
amount beng unknown, Tor the pro-
duction 81 tanks, and 1id not pro
duoe a single tank That reached
the iron; before the armisuce. To
complete our tank program We need
cd 10" tanks, which were to cost
ZS,UO each. To buliu these we start
N France, With WAS to
assemble and turn out 100 OF these
tanks a day. or the entire supply IN
u days. The British were to fur
nish the guns and armor and ship
to France Tor assembly. while ;
Ne were to furnish the engines and
gear. and ship them TO ,
for assembly. The British ,
their part, but we supplied ,
The factory was unfinish- I;
al the aTmlstIc. and never pro- 4.
suced anything 1
We spent siib,ip4.TtN on nitrate 9
)!2nts - Sheffield Ala Muscle f,
Ala Toledo, Ohio; and Tin
Ohio. These plants Did not
'roduce s. pound Of nitrate hat could
BE rseo On the wal.
We spent Sll"lN%-I on nitrate
8 pound OF American gas was Z
VcT fired IN an hmercan shell. and !