The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-17
BAKER WILL OPEN
NEW GRAFT INQUIRY
Confirmed from FIRST Page.

j generously paid and were and are being
\ AIRED for in sickness and injury by the
\ most skilfu surgeons and medical men,
/ with every modern hospital facility. In
spite of all this, however, out Of total
OF sos. 1000. OO0, 600 appropriated about
$4,000, O0O. 600 will be the net cost OF the
war to the United states through the
War Department and this latter figure
includes great and valuable properties
rand facilities acquired by the Depart
ment and permanently retained for the
use Of the military establishment
That there may be instances OF over
purchase and over estimate Is inevitable
in transactions so vast as these. The
men who made the estimates and made
the purchases however, worked IN close
cooperation with Gen Pershing and his
staff and the General Staff in the
War Department. and their estimates
and purchases were based upon the ex-
perience and opinion Of those on the
field and best equipped to judge the
probable needs Of so great an army
THE other general set OF accusations
deals specifically with transactions of
the so-called surplus property division
and alleged irregularities, favoritism
and prohteering in the sale Of surplus
materials With regard to this it is
necessary to remember that the transact
tons in question are OF vast bulk. Down
70 and including august II, 1920, the
money value OF the sales made was
about s424 156.5SC. The supplies upon
which this sum was realized cost the
Government about S571 $685. 2S.
Personnel Constantly Shifting.
THE individual transactions number
many thousands they were conducted
in various places and by a very large
force Of men for the most part drawn
from civil life, the force being progress
sivcly reduced and constantly changing
in personnel as men found it impossible
TO further sacrifice their personal bus
mess by remaining in the Government
service. The supplies covered by these
transactions were sometimes ordinary
commercial articles. but more often were
specialties having a peculiar color, COM
position or form of packing which rem
dered them relatively unstable in the
ordinary retail markets of the country
as for instance the large stocks Of frozen
beef, which could be disposed OF only to
those who had freezing refrigerators,
and similar stocks of bacon, roast beet,
etc. packed in cans too large for ordi-
nary family consumption and being Of
form to the use Of which our people
are not accustomed.
Many or the articles therefore re-
quired the creation of special markets
and could only be proAtably sold upon
contracts which involved notifications
of the articles TO render them generally
salable, the risk of which was specu-
lative and the success of which was
problenatical
Some Of the efforts of the War De-
partment 10 make available to the gen.
eral public the surplus supplies were
unsuccessful, as for instance the use
OF the parcels post as a distributing
agency. Others, like the War Depart
ment stores. were useful and profitable
as long as the surplus stocks We're suf-
fciently varied to maintain them. All
of these transactions, however. had to
be ad justed and readjusted to changing
market conditions, and even yet the
War Department is seeking with aid Of
all the expert advice it can secure to
devise ways to dispose of surplus still
remaining which will avoid middlemen
and spectators and make a proper saw
ing of money for the taxpayers and