Imperial Valley press., 1922-05-09
DAUGHERTY IS
READY To
SHOOT
President Transmits His
Threat of Expose
To Congress
MANY IN SHADOWS
Influence" of Former u. S.
Officials Prevented
Prosecutions

WASHINGTON, May "a sweeping
expose of the activities Of former Gin
fluental pers0nages in the government" :"
III preventing prosecution of war graft
ers was promised by Attorney General
Daugherty in letter transmitted TO
the House by President Harding.
eff this case had been presented
without such preliminary investigations
the principals might have been indi-
Gated, and their liability to the govern.
ment in large amounts established,n the
letter said.
"However, this investigation con.
Quoted in the most careful way, has de-
veloped that q great many others who
have been lurking in the shadows are
also involved in the unlawful transac-
tiOns.
1.The result is that not only will the
principals and several others, in all
probability, be indicted here, but other
Indictments against the principals and
different groups Of individuals may be
expected to follow in other parts Of
the country.
"When these two eases have been
fully presented, a third ease, which has
been under investigation for rany
months and which has received COM
siderable publicity will be ready for
presentation.
Charging that no effort was made
during the last administration to prose-
cute the fraud eases, Daugherty said:
cit is not to be wondered therefore,
that upon coming into office, I found
not only that practically nothing had
been done in the way of investigating
and prosecuting these offenses, but no
machinery had been set up for handling
the cases in an orderly and systematic
way.
''It is terrible thing to charge q
citizen with robbing his own govern
ment and I have insisted upon most
painstaking investigation of all cases
involving charges of criminality. The
Investigations in q number of more ini-
portant cases have been completed or
are rapidly nearing completion. In each
instance, they disclose sufficient in
dicatiOn that crime had been committed
to warrant submitting them to a grand
jury.
Referring to the resolutions for an
investigation reported to the house at
the instance of representatives Wood
rolf, Michigan, and johnson, South Da-
hota, DduShcrty uecldreu tndt III IL
regrettable that public attention should
have to be so strongly focused on these
eases on the eve of their prosecution.
''The Lincoln Motor Co. ease, in
which the government has a claim for
more than $9,000,000 was delayed to
give the government more time to pre-.
pare its claim," Daugherty said, deny
ing charges that "persons of high in
fluence" had held the prosecution up.
Lack of funds has handicapped the
department of justice in its investiga-
tion of frauds, Daugherty said, urging
passage of legislation which will give
the department an additional $500,000.
Prosecution of war graft cases,
Daugherty declared will be started by
the department. of justice as soon as
congress passes law he had recom-
mended providing for an additional
grand jury in the District of Colum-
bia.
Two eases of the first magnitude are
ready for prompt submission 'Daugher-
ty said.
''One of these is nationwide in
sc0pe,' he declared.