The New York herald., 1921-05-10
$25,O00.000 Harness Con-
tract With Former Off
GERS for Commission
Sales Is Suspended.
SUSPECT SALMON DEAL
Graham Committee UncOv-
ers Evidence of Alleged
Profiteering With Names
and Specific Dates.
DAUGHERTY PROSECUTOR
Secretary Weeks Cooperates
With Attorney-General in
Search for Criminal
Liability.


Special Despatch to THE NEW YORK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau,
Washington, ID. G., May o..
By direction of President Harding,
the Department of Justice has begun
AN investigation of the charges of
graft and profiteering in connection
with army purchases during the war
and the sale of surplus war materials
since the armistice. Those charges
resulted from the exhaustive inquiry
of the select House Committee on Ex-
which Representative Graham (Ill.)
was chairman. They were ignored by
the Wilson Administration.
Attorney General Daugherty will
scandals If his Department finds the
law has been violated
Secretary of War Weeks is cooperat-
ing with Attorney General Daugherty
in the inquiry. The first tangible re-
suit is the suspension Of a contract for
the sale on commission basis of
army harness valued at upward of
so5 5000, 900 That action was recon-
mended by the Department of Justice.
which is continuing its study OF the
evidence TO determine whether any
criminal liability is involved in the
transaction.
Conference with President.
The Department OF Justice also has
sent a special request for all inrorma-
tion gathered by the Graham committee
In regard TO the purchase during the
war or canned salmon and the contracts
made for the sale of the surplus.
The action OF the Attorney General
followed conference last week between
President Harding and members OF the
committee which made the investigation
in the last Congress. including Chairman
Graham and Representative Reavis
tNeb). chairman of the subcommittee
on Quartermaster's stores Other men,
bers of the committee who have inter-
ested themselves in the scandal are
Representative Frear (Wis.). chairman
OF the subcommittee on air craft pro-
duction: Representative johnson Is. d.,
chairman OF the subcommittee on A..
Il. f. finances: Jefferis (Neb). Mac
Grcgor On. ". ana Magee On. ".
The President was told the Graham
committee had unearthed some real scan
dals and could give names. dates and
other specific information. He was urged
by Chairman Graham, Representative
Reavis and others to appoint a special
\
Justice in studying the evidence They
explained to the President that unless
the Republican Administration acted on
the evidence there would be ground
for the Democratic charge that army in
vestigation in the last Congress was
nothing more than partisan mudslinging
intended to injure the Democratic Ad-
ministratlon in the Presidential cam
paign. Such was not the case, they in
sisted, and now Is the time to prove it.
IT Is understood President Harding has
been impressed with the force of their
reasoning and the facts which they laid
before him.
+ That the Department of Justice lost
no time in beginning its inquiry is shown
by the fact that on last Saturday the
Sales Division of the War Department
called on members of the Graham COM
mittee for information regarding alleged
Irregularities In the purchase and sale of
army salmon. explaining that the De-
partment OF Justice had asked the Sec
retary of War for II.
Unloaded Poor salmon.
While specific details are not available
tonight regarding the exact character
OF the salmon charges or the individuals
involved in the salmon scandal, Il is
understood there is evidence tending to
show not only that packers unloaded a
lot of bad salmon on the Government at
high prices during the war but that the
packers were unduly favored by the War
Department when the time came for the
Government to get rid of It's surplus
that, for instance. the difference between
the price which the Government paid for
the salmon and that for which some Of
the packers agreed to take II Off the
Governments hands Is so great in favor
of the latter. as TO warrant legal in
Qury
The leather goods scandal Is believed
by the Graham committee to be the
most serious of all They claim to have
evidence to prove that large quantities
OF leather goods especially OF harness
were purchased at exorbitant prices for
the War Department by army officers
who were formerly In the leather manu-
featuring business. and that those same
officers. when they returned to civil life
after the armlsticc. organized company
which has since made contracts with the
department to dispose OF vast quanti-
ties of the same leather supplies at prices
which will net them exceptionally high
profits 1t is those contracts which have
been suspended
During the last Administration the
Graham committee specifically recon-
mended that the Department of Justice
Investigate and. IL the facts warranted.
prosecute alleged grafters In the con-
struction of camps and cantonments dur
ing the war. But former Attorney-Gen-
eral Palmer made no move IN the matter
alleging that II would cost too much
money for tho Government to enter upon
, cases OF that sort.