El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-05-26
ONE LITTLE ITEM IN THE WILD
ORGIE OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING

DEMOCRATS. officially through their national party
organization and spokesman persist in claiming to
the credit Of the party ali that was good and worthy in
the preparations for and conduct Of the war against
Germany. The facts that there are more Republicans
than Democrats IN the country that there were more
Republicans than Democrats In the modified forces, that
Republicans contributed more TO finance the war than the
Democrats did, simply because there are more Of them to
contribute, these are facts that are not supposed to be
considered when we discuss party politics IN a presidential
year.
But allowing that the Democratic party is entitled to
all the credit for high accomplishment and victory In the
war, there IS no particular reason Why 1t should claim to
be exempt from criticism on account Of those things that
must be classed as failures
The war preparations and expenses from first to last
were carried on most extravagantly, without due care for
ordinary and reasonable economy, conservation Of resources,
and efficient performance. There was waste, waste, waste,
al along the line from source IN America to destination
overseas, waste that was not IN any way due 10 engencles
OF military requirements, waste that had nothing TO do
with winning the war but waste that was due to gross
incapacity Of executives, s~candalOus misconduct Of public
employees, crooked political seheming, private greed, and
unscrupulous raids On the savings Of the people and viola
lion Of their patriotic impulses.
The country is weary Of war discussion, and even the
most amazing disclosures Of unpleasant facts fal to stir,
they only annoy. In such ways do Lies become immortal
and history Is falsifed.
From a report recently published by a congressional
committee which has been investigating the administra-
tons expenditures for constructing nitrate plants during
the war, certain conclusions are quoted that are worth
thinking over.
program has cost S116,194974, has produced no ~nitrates,
and contributed nothing toward the winning Of the war"
The committee finds that if the armistice had not come,
S2s0OO0OO0 more would have been spent on these plants
with no more likelihood Of results Of public war value.
Although SIIs,OOO,OOO was spent all Hitrates used in
the war came from coke ovens OF from Chile.
The report says, "The responsibility Of locating nitrate
plants Nos. / and 2 at Muscle Shoals and building a dam
there rests on the president Of the United States. Both
plants were placed at his order contrary to the recon-
mendation Of all the technical experts who had investigated
the sites"
The contracts for construction IN all the plants were
on the @cost plus" plan, causing enormous waste de-
struction Of public property, Generalization Of labor, in
efficiency and costs amounting to Giminalty,9 says the
report, and civil suits are recommended against the con
tractors for recovery Of damages.
The Air Nitrates corporation, contractors, swamped the
plants with labor and so poor was It that the turn over
was 1000 percent Badly fed, housed and treated, the men
flowed IN and out, so many staying, however, that the
contractors let them loaf and KIN time at government
expense.
The monthly pay roll was s~3y5OOyOOO. Men with their
cards punched would sleep all day, skilled carpenters
would unload cars, thousands got double pay one hundred
were put in a room 50x50 to finish it, an electrical job
that ought to have cost $4,000 cost $4,000, q car was IN
loaded BY skilled labor at a cost Of $1,000.
Gangs of boiler makers, brick masons, and master
mechanics were kept idle on pay for weeks. Immense
boilers were moved from plaes TO place to keep men en-