The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-02-03
DAWES FLAYS
COMMITTEES
PROBING War
Former Head of Army Supply
Procurement in France Says
Investigations are Waste
Criticizes ''Muckrakers"
PRAISES GEN. PERSHlNG
fRv Associated Press)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3-Turning
; sharply on mouse war investigating
committees as a whole. Charles G
Dawes, former head of army supply
procurement service in France. told
one of them today that the value of
their work had been rendered useless
i through injection of partisan politics
II bitterly resent this effort to re-
j fleet upon the whole army because
/ some poor devil blundered in Switzer-
land" he shouted. "You cannot put
blotch upon the army. What the
! hell did we go in for--to steal money?
1t was not a Republican or a Demo
cratic war. 1t was an American war,
and yet as a rule these committees
: try to bring in partisan politics.
You could use your time investi-
eating right here trying to save a dis
save more money for the people. But
! as to France, you haven't got evil
dence to make a case, if one existed,
and | don't believe it does"
i Criticizes Muckrakers.
Asked about grafters who followed
! the American army TO France. Mr..
| Dawes said: yes. they were there,
some of them the most despicable
characters on earth, trying to help the
army by selling the things it needs
at exorbitant figures. There was one
man we caught and deported. What's
his name? Oh, what's the use ! am
not a muckraker. He was traitor
and ] wish we could have shot him. "
General Dawes praised the men in
! the army, saying it was the fashion
nowadays to condemn them. There
were many women at the hearing but
| it didn't Tease the general, who swore
constantly.
| Praises Army.
| Long after this committee is dead
and gone" he declared, the achieve
ments of the American army will
stand as an everlasting blaze of glory.
/ You have tried to make a mountain
out of mole hill, but thank God the
army was American, not Republican
or Democrat"
Asserting that the people were tired
of war talk and fault finding, General
Dawes, banging the table said:
! There's no news in it. If ] wasn't
here strutting around and swearing
there would be no news in this
Lauds Pershirg.
Mr.. Dawes ripped out a streak of
oaths as he took up the attempt in
some quarters to criticize General
! Pershing.
1T will be 25 or SO years before
Pershing's place in history is fixed
he said. He could not have won the
war had he sought to put popularity
above duty. and let mo tell you-the
doughboys now complaining will live
+ to see the day that they will be proud
that they fought under him"
! The general pleaded that the army
and its officers be protected from
muskrakers who pick fly specks."
| Rips Politicians.
Look at the pin head politicians
! who are raising hell about promotion
for men who earned them in France" "
petty reasons. It's d dirty shame"
! The committee was told the next
war would break out over night and
that the army and navy would prob
ably get into row about which was
to boss the affair.
General Dawes declared the govern
ment was purchasing it's supplies in
the same wasteful and disgraceful
manner as the army did when the
United States entered the war. The
president has authority, he continued
| to create centralized business control.
Heavy taxation and a desire for econ
omy has put the public in frame of
mind favorable to such a change, Gen
eral Dawes, said, adding that it might
be inaugurated during the next ad-
ministration" it, pin heads who would
be affected were not permitted to stab
/ it in the back"
| PAGES Floor.
| For five hours yesterday Mr. Dawes,
at times striding the floor OF the COM
nlittee room, challenged with the main
argument of Victory Won previous tes-
| timony before the committee relating
to waste and extravaganza in the
liquidation of American accounts in
France and the sale of surplus stocks
to the French government.
After widening his harrage to assail
the present system of conducting the
federal government as an evil OF a
hundred years standing, and asserting
investigators might better deal with
that than with the things of history,
Mr.. Dawes declared he was not in
politics and was not going in. a later
specific reiteratiOn Of the statement
was accepted as a final answer to re
ports that he might become 4 member
of the Harding cabinet.