Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-02-03
NOT IN POLITICS
AND NOT GOINGM
SHOUTAT SOLONS
Declares France Over
charged for Supplies;
Critics Are Scorched.
Fashionable to Flay
Britain Among Politi-
clans; Defender, Ayers

Washington, Feb. 2.-Declar-
ing he was not in politics and
was not going in, Charles G.
Dawes, Of Chicago, former
chief Of supply procurement for
the American Army in France,
bitterly attacked Wednesday
what he charged were political
attempts to discredit the
achievements Of the people who
won the war.
In the course of five hour exami-
nation by house war investigating
committee. Mr. Dawes struck with
sledge hammer blows at critics who had
tried, he said, to detract from the glory
Of the great achievements by picking
flaws and parading trivial faults 5000
miles away. At times the air was
thick with stress of oaths for which
the witness frankly confessed he had
neither apology nor excuse.
Not Cabinet Prospect.
Late in the day he reiterated an
earlier offhand statement as to his own
part in politics, which was accepted to
mean that he would not become mem-
Der of Mr.. Harding's cabinet. position
with which his name has been linked:
Mr.. Dawes was called by Democratic
members of the committee to rebut
testimony relating to waste and extrav-
to liquidation Of American accounts in
France and sale of surplus stocks to
the French government.
Answering charges that food and
clothing supplies might have brought
more than the $4OO,0O0,O00 paid by
France, Mr.. Dawes turned sharply
upon one of his questioners, Represent
ative Bland, Republican, of Indiana,
and shouted:
Exposes Fool Arguments.
1T is just that sort of fool argument
that forced Great Britain to hold On to
it's stocks and attempt to drive hard
bargain. The stuff is there today, rot
ting. They are raising the devil in
England now because England did not
sell its supplies when we Sold
Mr.. Dawes said he thought France
was charged too much. -,
Here you come now and charge"
he said, "that we should not have sold
sugar. The war department ordered
the sale. The sugar went in a lump
lot with the junk Everything was sec
ond hand We got four hundred mil
lion dollars for it, We liquidated
every account because a lot of big men
quit their own jobs and went over
there to help"
Didn't Stop to Dicker.
Mr.. Bland questioned Mr.. Dawes
about excessive prices paid for equip
mant and material
.'Sure we paid" he said, eve did
not stop to dicker. Why. man alive,
we had to win the war. i was mans
Job. We would have paid horse prices
for sheep if the sheep could have pulled
artillery to the front. The man like
johnson, there" he said, turning to the
chairman Of the committee, was
standing at the front to be shot at.
We had to get him food and ammuni-
ton. Oh, it's all right now, to say we
bought too much vinegar and too many
cold chisels, but we saved the civiliza
ton of the world"
Defends Great Britain.
Much Of the questioning related to
Great Britain.
II am no more ashamed to stand up
here for England than for the United
States said Mr.. Dawes, jumping from
his chair and racing around the little
committee room 1T seems to be
fashionable in American politics to at
tack England. ! am not in politics
and am not going to be. And thank
God, that in crisis like we had there
were no chickering's between the English
speaking peoples