Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-01-27

RECOVERY OF FUNDS
Powder Plant Sales at Nashville,
Tenn. In frobe-To Investigate
Surplus Property.

Washington. Jan. 27.-Announce
ment has been made that the Graham
committee Of the House which inves.
tieated the activities OF the War De-
r,artment before and after the sign
ing OF the ar1nistice will insist upon
action by the Department of Justice
to recover hundreds Of millions Of
dollars alleged to have been lost by
the Government through the opera
tons Of the Surplus Property Diyis>
ion.
The final report Of this committee
is now being drafted and will be
presented to the House prior 20
March 4. II will info1m Congress
that there was enormous waste
while the war was being prosecu-
ted, much Of which was unavoidable.
and that there has been enormous
waste since the war was concluded,
practically all Of which was avoid
able.
An important recommendation o:
the committee. it is, stated. will favor
the assignment of an Assistant At
tornev General or the creation by
Congress Of a special Assistant At
borney General. whose duty It Will be
10 proceed at once IN the courts lot
the recovery of much CT the money
which it will be asserted the Govern
ment shoulh have re=ahzed from the
sale of surplus property, but which
the committee Will contend was lost
through un5usincsslikc operations of
tn. War Department.
1t is stated that-the disposal hy
the War Department, o. the S79. .O0o,-
600 powder plant near Nashville,
Tenn. for $4,000 900 VIII figure large
IL IN the committees report The
National Industrial Corporation, said
10 he financed BY Morse Brothers. CT
Denver. Col, bought this plant. For
mcr Congressman Charles B. Smith,
representing the Buffalo WrecEinc
Plant. is quoted IS saying that Il
sold for junk alone the powder plant
was worth at least S6,000,OO0 ard
that tho machinery was worth prob
ably $l5,oOO,O0O.
One Of the reasons advanced by
the War Department why the pow
der plant was sold for so small
figure was an agreement that :t
should not be dislnan:led, but should
be operated as "eoirg concern" the
purchasers intending to make 1t the
center of great industrial city, as
is being done with a similar plans
built by the War Department at
Charleston, w. Va.
Othc~ disclosures which the COM
mi.tee holds to be even less dtlcnSl-
bic will be made in the report, 1t IS
learned. These viii deal largely
with the waste that IS alleged to
have taken place through the War
DEPARTMENTS ro!icy OF keeping OFF
. the market vast quantities Of MANA
featured products which were ac-
cummulated at a time when the end
of the wa, could not be foreseen.
These products include automobiles,
thousands Of which have been stored
at Camp Holahird, Baltimore; cater
pillar tractors and other valuable
road building machinery, much 0;
which is StiH at camps on the MeSi'
can border; thousands of tyPew-riters
said to be in storage in Washington
and various ether classes of properly
whi:h, it is contended, might havs
been readily marketed soon after ths
arrnistice was signed.
1t will be charged. it is said, that
many CT the corporations which SOC
these properties :, the Gove,anieE
eNacted an aGrecnc i. incorporated
in their contracts. thai their products
shorld not bc uss-9 fer other than wal
purposes for fixed 2erio:i. Th''
period, in most cases. j: seems, wa:
FIVE years.
The Secretary o. War adnlittet
some time ago thai he mad not fel
at liberty TO dump al! the surplu;
army automobiles or the surplus
packing house products and one
supplies Of that nature on the mar
ket Immediately after the arn.;stic
was signed. out of consideration 10
manufacturers, who would have bee,
irreparably damaged by such con,pc