Norwich bulletin., 1922-11-04
SENATOR MCLEAN MAKES ANSWER
 TO CHARGES BY SPELLACY

had to raise 4,ooo, 900 or more soldiers. Baker thanked God that we hadn't rais ed any when we got into the war. Bryan said if we ever got into the war an army of a million men would spring up over night. They spent s43,0o0, 100000 | in three years. We appropriated $5S,- O00, 100000; loaned ten of it; they spent | the s4S,000,0e0,0 900. Six days after the | war broke out MT. Baker suspended the | requirement that all contracts should be l submitted to the highest bidder and in ] writing; after that most of them were made over the telephone on a cost plus basis.
 Money Thrown Away
 ''I have got list here of the money that was thrown away; the sum is about sio,ooo 100000. We spent s5;9Oo, 100000 for ordnance; we got 72 cannon they cost us around $5o,O00, 900 apiece We spent SIG, 900 for a nitrate plant we didn't get any nitrate; we spent ESQ., 100000 for coke; we didn't get any coke. We spent $116,000,00o for poison gas; we didn't get any. We spent S1,- 00,000, 900 on airplanes; we didn't get a fighting machine. So on through the list.
 Two days before congress adjourned in 1919 the democrats passed a law giving the secretary of war the right to settle all these contracts. He settled about 30,O00 of them. Those were claims, super-claims, and over-claims he paid out about half billion dollars They put $2,900, 100000 into the railroads; $5OO,- 100000 at least more than was neces- sary.
 That represents to you the situation ] when we got there. No such heap of wreckage, no such record of incompe- inAo ky party in this world. That is the posi- tion we were in when we took the gov ernment in 1921. The boat is now way | up stream in a safe position but all the democratic party has done has been to | stand on the bank and throw stones at | us. They say, Why don't you do somethin? We have been undoing what they have done.
 l Truth About Candidates. ] "One other matter I don't want to | forget because it has an important bear l ing on the subject we started with. Fair Play and Truth About Candidates
 This is from MT. Cummings. who ran against me six years ago. He made a | speech the other night in which he
 commented on my record. He said this
 The trouble with the republican party is that it is controlled by great wealth
 
 very selfish Then he had something tc say about me- This may be shown-that is, my sympathy with the selfish and the rich can be shown by the fact that l voted against the child suffrage bill
 and the direct election of United State.
 senators by the people, Now, I donr know whether it is worse to make
 little fun of Mir. Spellacy and tell tn.
 truth-because Mir. Spellacy has not de IA1 AI,1,
 letters in the Courant as I understand
 it, simply says that the way it was got
 ten-but never mind that-it is true whatever was said-it seems to me tha
 it is not quite so rough as it is to gt
 around the state telling absolute false hoods about a man.
 T voted for the Child Labor bill; an, . in a joint debate in Waterbury si, years ago I explained it to MT. Cum lmings He said he would be careful il the future to put me right His memor,
 seems to be remarkably short. I paire
 on the first child labor bill in favor O
 it. That was declared unconstitutional then they passed another and I voted fo
 it. Of course, everybody knows that voted for the constitutional amendmen which provides for the election of Unit ed States senators by the people. I don
 know that 1 did right, but I did it. I
 men who are candidates for the senat are going to be misrepresented an , abused and villiied by their opponents no man wants to be defeated by fals , witnesses. I don't want to be run t , earth by 8 pack of political hounds wi1 f either are ignorant of the truth or : they know it, disregard it. When I tol . Mir, Cummings in Waterbury six year ago and explained the situation to hir :, l-I don't think it is fair for him to mak r that statement around the state of Cor ! necticut, as he has I suppose whereve |. he goes. In a close vote such things 2 v that might result in defeating a man i and frankly it is one of the things wh
 men who care for their reputation, wh r have some self-respect take less and les interest in running for public office
 T would like to discuss the other in 9 Q portant bills that we passed, but I haven't the time the Esch- Cumming n bill, where we saved the credit of tn , railroads; millions and billions of do e lars held by insurance companies an e banks, bonds, constantly going down, d, y preciating in value the whole credit fal U ric of the country was threatened. W y passed a bill which permitted these raj
 roads to group where the strong ont - lcould help the weak; and we saved tho. = great industries from getting into u Il chasm of destruction.
 e There is one thing you want to dc that is vote the straight republics . . ticket. If you have got to scratch an, u body, scratch me, because think u F senate will be republican anyway. Ju think what would happen if you got der Q ocratic power; just think what it wou mean if you want anything accomplis 2, ed You don't want ship of state th II is all anchor and no sail; you don't wa r 2 congressional bird with two tails al o no wings. u There are only three colors that le can see, the red, white and blue it co 'e us some 7e,o00 precious lives and $5t .t 000, 100000 up to date to save the D 'u litical life of this country and n le body knows what it will cost us
 save the industrial life of this cou
 try. if you are false economists and t
 southern gentlemen control the great D. dustrial interests of the north. I wa en to say to you that if we don't prote Id ourselves against the dangers that a " known, we shall deserve to fail. t.;
 al
 rd Y SENIORS BEGINNING
 e ATHTETfC IEAGVE r0NTra,