The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-11-24
NO EXCUSE
FOR WASTE
AFTER WAR
Public Should be Tolerant of
Extravaganza and Mistakes
of War Days, However,
Says Sullivan.
WILSON IS BLAMED
BY MARK SULLIVAN

judgment about the shipping board eX-
posures need 10 keep several distinc-
tons in. mind. The most important
of these is the distinction between
what happened during the war and
what happened after the war ended.
For the things that happened during
the war there is much excuse: For
war ended there is no excuse
Martin Gillen who has been the most
important of the witnesses so far, and
who made the most damaging indict-
ment of the shipping board, evidently
had this distinction in mind. The
great bulk of his criticism was direct
ed at things that happened in connec
ton with liquidating things after the
war was over. Mr.. Gillen, by the way,
Is himself an able business man, with
a good knowledge of accounts, and
celtic temperament that expresses it.
self in exceptional force and frank
ness.
Keeping in mind this distinction be-
tween war conditions and postwar
conditions, fair-minded persons will
try to recall the state of mind we all
had while the war was on and will be
tolerant of the waste that happened
then.
Must Be Tolerant.
At the moment the shipping board
was getting under way the German
submarines were sinking two ships
while the allies were building one. The
issue of the war literally hung on the
building of ships. The perfect we'll
justified cry Get the ships at any
cost" caused haste of the waste, ex-
travagance. and mistakes that oc-
Cured under these conditions we
ought all to be tolerant.
There is rule of war which runs to
the effect that ''In peace money is to
be put above time, but in war money
counts nothing and time counts every
thing" This is perfectly sound rule.
Every business man and every en-
gineer who came to the help of the
war machine "ad to learn this rule; he
had to go through the process of re-
versing his former habit of mind and
had to learn to dismiss all considera-
tions of cost and focus his mind on the
element of speed. That things done
on this basis we're costly and waste
full can be taken for granted. Wheth-
er they were most costly or more
wasteful than they neeu have been is
too fine a point to waste much time
on now.
Waste After War.
But Mr.. Gillen's charges are directed
chiefly at mistakes and waste that oc-
Cured after the war ended. He di-
rected his indictment al the failure of
the administration to follow the meth
ods of careful business at time when
these methods were entirely possible.
Everything that is said about this
period of the shipping board existed is
justified and so far these things are
proved they constitute just and un-
escapable indictment, not merely
against the administration. but against
government ownership or government
management of any kind of ordinary
business whatever. Whether differ
ent administration or different polit-
ical party would have done better Is
an academic question
Everybody in Washington has been
painfully aware that the business of
the United States has not been very
well run during the past two years.
President Away.
During the first of those years Presi-
dent Wilson spent seven months at
Paris, and for the rest of the time had
his mind on the league of nations TO
the exclusion of other issues. During
the second of the two years he was
i'll. That things might have been man
aged better by a president who would
have stayed at home and delegated
the peace conference to his aides, or
that such purely business matters as
the shipping boards affairs might
have been managed better by presi-
dent whose temperament was more
easily adjusted to business matters,
goes without saying.
Also, some of President Wilson'S
best friends have thought, and at the
time advised him, that he would have
done better to resign at the moment
his illness made it apparent that he
could not again give we'll mans
strength to the nations business How
ever. it will be for history now to
balance President Wilson's achieve
ments in the field of thought against
his defects as anadministrator.
Self.Seekers.
One other aspect of the shipping
board revelations is less easy to be
tolerant about That is the activity
of a few public officials and a few
Democratic lawyers pursuing advant'
ages for themselves or for their clients
before the shipping board. That this
has gone on has been suspected and
deplored by most Of us here in Wash
ington.
All public men are solicited by their
friends and business asQuaintances to
do this kind of thing. Public men
with high personal standards try to
avoid getting involved in this kind OF
practice, which is not the practice of
law at all. but is the practice of trad
ing upon personal relations. Several
lawyers who formerly were office hold
ers and gave up office to practice law
have been active in this kind of thing.
Some Of them have already been men
toned in the investigation and others
WILL be drawn in this week or later.
Violate Propriety.
There Is nothing wrong in what
they are charged with, but there is a
violation Of the highest personal stand
ards of propriety. A lawyer who gets
himself elected or appointed to high
office stays in office for brief per
iod. and then makes capital out of his
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