The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-02-03
DAWES ATTACKS
ARMY CRITICS
Denounces Critics of War De-
partment Before House
Investigating Committee.
PRICES NOT UPPERMOST
Country Was at War, He De-
clares and Supplies Needed,
No Matter What Cost.
(6y Associated Press)

WASHINGTON. Feb. 2.-Declaring 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 at
tackled today what he charged were po-
lltical attempts to discredit the achieve
ments Of the people who won the war.
In the course of a five-hour examina-
tion by house war investigating COM
mittee, Mr.. Dawes struck with sledge
hammer blows at critics who had tried,
he said, to detra-t from the glory of the
great achievement by picking flaws and
parading trivial faults 5000 miles away,
At times the air was thick with a streak
of oaths for which the witness frankly
confessed he had neither apology nor
excuse.
Late in the day he reiterated an
off-hand statement as to his own part
in politics. which was accepted to mean
that he would not become a member of
Mr.. Harding's cabinet, a position with
which his name has been linked. Even
before his views on this subject were
expressed, Mr.. Dawes sharply denounced
the present system of conducting the
federal government, an evil of a hundred
years standing, he declared, with which
investigators might better afford to
deal instead OF trying to scoop up water
dheduy over the udil
Mr.. Dawes was called by democratic
members OF the committee to rebut tes-
timony relating to waste and extraya-
gance' and particularly with reference to
liquidation of American accounts in
France and sale of surplus stocks to the
French government. Answering charg-
es that food and clothing supplies might
have brought more than the $400, 900. -
600 paid by France, Mr.. Dawes turned
sharply upon one of his questioners, Rep
resentative Bland, republican, Indiana,
and shouted:
1T is just that sort of fool argument
that forced Great Britain to hold on to
its stock and attempt to drive a hard
bargain. The stuff is there today, rot
ting. You cannot discuss an ex-parte
question 5000 miles away. There is
no use to try and throw mud when you
were not there to know conditions. Eng
land lost billions of dollars by listening
TO that sort OF talk-listening to a lot
OF people who were afraid of muclS rak-
ers at home. They are raising the
devil in England now because England
did not sell its supplies when we sold "
Mr.. Dawes said as a matter OF fact
he thought France was charged too
much.
Here you come now and charge" he
said, that We should not have sold su-
gar The war department ordered the
sale. The sugar went in lump lot with
the junk. Everything was second hand.
We got four hundred millions dollars
for IL. We liquidated every account. and
we did it because lot of big men quit
their own jobs and went over there to
help. We cleaned the slate and con-
gress today still has blending claims that
date back to the revolutionary war. 1t
was big job, and we are proud of it,
In finding fault and hunting RESPONSE
bility. you don't have to go far. Per
shing was the commander in chief and
his shoulders are big enough, thank
God, to bear It,"
Mr.. Bland questioned Mr. Dawes
about excessive prices paid for equip
ment and material.
Sure we paid" he said. I'VE didn't
stop to dicker. Why, man alive. we
had TO win the war. II was a mans
job. We would have paid horse prices
for sheep il the sheep could have pulled
artillery to the front"