The Cordova daily times., 1921-06-30
THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 1921
PROBING STILL CONTINUES

Observers in the national capital believed that the era of congressional investigations had ended with the world war; but such is not the case. The probing business goes merrily on and even now senate committees are investigat- ing new subjects.
 The senate interstate committee commission is engaged in an investigation of the exceeding ly and tangled railroad situation. Senator Cummins of Iowa, chairman of the committee is personally conducting the investigation.
 Only short time ago, Senator Johnson, of California, the 'stormy petrel" of the senate insisted on congressional nvesti gaton of the coal fields war on the Kentucky West Virginia boundary, where miners are engaged in almost daily gun fights with detectives employed by mine owners, and where pitched battles are ire quent, the situation in that region having de- veoped into a small civil war. The senate committee on education and labor will conduct this investigation.
 frequent criticism is heard in Washington, that congressional Investigations serve no use full purpose and simply get lot of publicity, besides spending considerable sums of the peo- ple's money. Nobody yet ever heard of con- gresslonal investigation that did not cost some- thing. Lawyers and stenographers are employ ed, the former often at fees that seem to the or dinary citizen to be unreasonably large. Wit nCsses have to be paid their expenses, but where the real "picking' comes in is when so- called "eXperts' are called upon by the inves- tgatlng committee to gave their testimony. which often is practically worthless
 And yet IS would seem there would be no pubic demands for congressional investiga- tons unless these probes served some useful purpose.
 The principal benefit of such investigations IS found in the public exposures that result, and such exposures serve to inform the people of reprehensible things that have been going on behind the scenes Publicity is undoubtedly the greatest weapon in republic. Exposures sometimes result in punishment of the guilty, and often lead to congressional legislation that corrects evil in our public life that would never have seen the light of day had not the congress sional committees thoroughly probed whatever| they were Investigating.
 Sometimes congressional investigation re- suits in great benefit to the public. The Cal der committee nvestigation which dealt with probe of housing conditions and other recon struction problems brought to light many things that benefited the public, and gave a great deal of information upon which future legislation can be based. The Calder committee exposed in many cities the most deplorable housing conditions, and also shed much light on illegal profiteering operations of builders and landlords. There is not the slightest doubt that this investigation had much to do with the recent slump in the cost of building materials, and served the useful purpose of causing re- sumption in building homes which in many cities are badly needed. The Calder committee also made thorough probe of the coal business and exposed profiteering and illegal combina- ton in restraint of trade that all probability will be curbed by drastic legislation in the near future. In some cities profiteering coal barons are already under indictment as a re- suit of the Calder committee investigation n- to the coal situation.
 During the, war the senate military affairs committee conducted for a long time an inves- tigation as to how the war department had con