The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1921-02-04
PINHEAD POLITICS
.FLAYED BY DAWES
Tells Congress What He Thinks
Of Its Methods.
CANNOT BLACKEN ARMY
Former Supply Chief Says Its
Achievements VIII Live Long After
Partisan Probers Are Dead.


Washington, Feb. 4.-Another broad
;ide was let loose by Charles q. Dawes
@aiIIst congressional methods of inyes
igatihg the conduct of the war
Attacking what he characterized rs
p"rtisaL attempt 10 tlacken the
lanic of the whole American army be
-}Use of the plumbers of few, the for
ncr brigadier general III charge OF
upp!y procurement III France. declar
d house committees could serve a
more useful public service by turning
the searchIight upon tne waste of mil
ions of government dollars right under
their noses.
referring TO numerous inveStiga-
lions by the house, Mr.. Dawes said he
thought the people were sick Of them.
why there is no longer any news
in H." he shouted If l were nor
here, strutting around and swearing,
there would be no news in this. Don't
forget that 1t was an American war,
not Il Republican or q Democratic war,
and the record of the glorious work
Of our army will five hundreds of
years sitter your committee is dead
and gone and forgotten"
When the name of General Perish
ing was brought into this discussion.
Dawes could scarcely control his an
ger.
There we're hounds in this country"
he declared, 'who tried TO spread the
false news that Pershing was at
theatre the night of the armistice. He
was, like hell, there. He was at his
office, starting the work Of cancelling
vast war contracts to save money. Il
will take twenty-five to fifty years for
PerShinG to get his place in history.
but let me tell you, the time will come
when every dOughbOy overseas will he
PROUD to say he was one of PerShing's
men.
You can try 10 give me all the he'll
you want-I like it. You kick because
I sold a lot of secondhand junk to
the French government for S400,O00-
900. instead of keeping 10000 soldiers
there to guard it while We tried to
peddle It, My conscience hurts me
when ] think we charged
them too much"
Dawes said he was Il Republican,
but was broad enough to give the war
full credit for its work in
getting more men to the front than
France anLi Great Britain put there in
the same period. Then he jumped up
on the department and denounced 1t
for its refusal to permit promotion Of
men in the ranks-for nrivates and SER
geants who had the grit of generals.
The rule by which men, eager to go
overseas, but kept at home, were re
quired to wear silver stripes was char
acterIzed as one of the most disgrace
full acts of the war.
The award of distinguishes = rice
medals came in for fiery attack. It
broke more hearts, Dawes saidi than
anything else, because thousands of
mel, entitled 70 the medals were pass
ed by.
"And they are trying TO say that
Pershing permitted the sacrifice of
thousands Of lives on Armistice day.
It's the most damnable lie ever uttered.
And it's all right TO sit back here,
viewing from a partisan standpoint
the work overseas, when # you people
so free to condemn had been there,
you might have done just as we did
or worse. Liquidation? Why. he'll
men, We liquidated everything!"
Turning sharply upon house war in
vestigating committees IS a whole,
Dawes said the value Of their work
had been rendered useless through in
lection OF partisan politics.
II bitterly resent this effort to re-
feet upon the entire army oecaLse some
Door devil blundered in Switzerland"
he shouted. You cannot put blotch
en- the army. What the hell did we go
In fCr-to steal money? 1t was not
or a Democratic war. 1t
was an American war and yet as
rule these committees try to bring In
partisan politics.
You could use your time investigat-
ing to a better advantage right here
irving to save dIsgraceful government
waste. You could save more money
for the people. But as to France, you
haven't got evidence to make case
if one existed, and 1 don't believe II
does