Evening star., 1921-06-23
'PR0F|TEER PIRATE
FLAYED IN SENATE
AS SOLDIER LEECH
Veterans More Worthy of
Money Than Gougers, Nc
Cumber Declares,

CumDer declares.
Wartime "profiteering pirates"
were fayed in the Senate today by
senator McCumber. republican, North
Dakota, in an address advocating his
Dill for giving adjusted compensa-
tion to former service men. The
measure. reported favorably by the
finance committee. would be an act
not only Of gratitude but of justice,
he said.
Great as it seems to be when
crystallized into dollars and cents"
said Senator McCumber. I'VE are
compelled to admit that it is much
less than is actually due the soldier
selected for military duty as COM
pared with that which was received
by his countrymen, who performed
civil duties only"
Explains Five-Fold Plan.
Senator McCumber explained the
| five-fold plan of the bill. as indorsed
by the American Legion, for a cash
payment of 81 a day for domestic
and SI25 for foreign service. for
! twenty-year deferred payment and
| insurance certificates, for farm or
| home aid. for vocational training
| privileges and for land-settlement
I aid.
He estimated that so per cent of
former service men would exercise
| their option of the five plans by taxi
ing the twenty-year certificates.
which. he said, would really give
! service men 40 per cent more than
the cash options. II the other 20
per cent should take cash, Senator
McCumber said, the bill would not
| entail an annual burden upon the
| government of more than two hun
| dred million dollars until 1943.
Even though our action calls for
! an outlay we would gladly escape"
| said Senator McCumber. land will en-
! force greater economy along other
lines. let us not delay the fulfillment
of this. to my mind. sacred financial
! obligation. and then let future
Congress see to it that in any future
| war there shall be no distinction be-
| tween the patriotic duty of the SOL
| dier and that of the civilian, and
| that industrial stacking and profiteer-
| ing will be visited with as heavy a
| penalty as draft evasion or deser-
ton
Patriotic Duty Uppermost.
| In time of war" said Senator Nc
| Gambler. the mobilization of our in
dustries is not one whit less impor-
tant than the mobilization of our
| armies. The duty to bring our fight
! ing force up to the highest degree OF
| Perfection is not one whit more i'm
mobilized industries up to like de-
| gree of perfection. 1t therefore fol-
lows that in time of war the duty OF
| every man employed to make shells,
! to make as good ones as he knows
I how to make and to make as many
| before God and country. just as sacred
and obligatory as the duty of the SOL
dier to fire those shells and to fire
them as accurately as he can. And
the>man who makes those shells has
| no more right to say to his country in
the throes of a desperate war. I will
not make these shells unless you give
me SO day. than the soldier would
have to say, I shall not fire those
| shells unless you pay me the equiva-
lent of $40 per day. And the con-
tractor who, taking advantage of the
criminally foolish cost. plus plan. and
seeking to enrich himself by encouraging
Stacking an idleness and thereby delay
ing and enormously adding to the cost
of government war supplies, is just as
much a criminal at heart as the general
who surrenders his army to the enc
! d
/! Charges Inemciency.
l. Carpenters received their $40 a
day for week days and $50 day for
| Sundays and holidays. so they all
worked Sundays and most of them
laid off on Mondays to make the snap
last longer.
Testimony shows that work in our
| shipyards was far below SO per cent
| efficient, though the wages were in
creased 800 per cent and more.
THE blood of the patriotic soldier
must have boiled with Indignation
| to feel that while his governmen,
estimated his services. including his
board and clothing. at about So pei
day. with all the risks and all the
hardships. it supinely submitted to
may, it invited by its form of con.
trsct-tbe immense increase in the
and the soldier knew must be meas.
ured by government bonded indebt.
edness which he upon his return from
conflict must help to satisfy.
THE administration started ou'
with the determination to satisfy the
demands of both organized capita
and organized labor, whatever theil
demands might be, and leave the
public to foot the bill. which it ha.
done and will continue to do in ex
orbitant taxes and extortionate price:
for many. many years to come.
This administrative policy NIGH
more aptly be described as playing
both ends against the middle, the two
4 ends being capital and labor and tn,
middle being the paying public.
j ProfiteerinE Encouraged.
Our war administration nots only
allowed but absolutely encouraged
the most scandalous profteering or
the part Of both capital and labor
Il permitted excessive profits on the
part of capital and then levied heav,
the spoiis on a sort Of $3.50 basis
But, Mr.. President, the public in the
end paid both SOS. as all big taxes
and ali big profits must be paid BY
the ultimate consumers. After pay
ing these heavy taxes, capital, in sup
plying the government war needs
which included nearly every product
Gme out of the few months Of wal
with a rotundity many times bigger
i! than when we went in. We have fifty
miIiionaires in the country now wher,
4 we had one before the war, and thu
ii millionaires in existence before thu
astlt fvr1sl I,