The Semi-weekly leader., 1922-11-04
u S. WILL ACT
IN WAR FRAp9S.
ATToRNEY-oENERAL DAUGHERTY
PROMISES TO PROSECUTE
SUITS TO LIMIT.
REExAMINEs ALL EVIDENCE
Investigations In 425 Contracts Reveal
connivin5 Efforts to Rob Govern
ment, Says Daugherty-Push
Criminal Suits.

Washington. - Attorney General
Daugherty declared that the govern
ment purposes to prosecute to the
limit everyone of the war. transac-
tions in which fraud or dishonesty
has been practiced, but appealed for
public patience while the government
is making sure Of it's evidence upon
which to take the war crooks into
court.
The attorney general made his an
nouncement when there had been
presented to him memoranda from
the heads Of the various units of the
war transaction section Of the de-
partment Of justice indicating that
preliminary investigations into 425
war time contracts had disclosed evil
dence upon which the government
must take action.
In every one of these 425 cases it
was officially declared, either civil
or criminal suits must be brought by
the government, and in many cases
both will be necessary if the gov
ernment is to recover even part Of,
fabulous sums paid out as a result
of fraudulent or improperly executed
contracts.
"The balance of questionable" con-
tracts, as the department of justice
refers to them, are-now being work
ed up by special assistants to the
war transactions section or by United
States attorneys in various parts Of
the country.
The majority of them approximate
ly $50 cases, were said to. have orig
mated in the war department, while
the navy department transmitted to
the department of justice nearly 20
cases the shipping board so, and
something like 80 cases came from
miscellaneous federal agencies and
bureaus which functioned during the
war.
Attorney General Daugherty, who
with members of the advisory council
OF the war transactions section, Judge
Charles Kerr, Judge T. M. Bigger
and former Senator Thomas and the
six assistant attorney generals, had
examined and re-examined the evil
dence thus far accumulated by those
officials who have spent months in
vestigating various cases, said:
Legal civil action will be taken in
every case in which it has been dis
covered that fraud, collusion or dis
honesty was practiced, while great
numbers of cases indicate on their
face. the worst kind of fraud and
thieveTy, the government, of course,
cannot go into court until it has es-
tablished absolutely on the face of
records in its possession that its case
viii stand the acid test The govern
ment must be fair to itself, and fair
even to those whom it would brand
as crooks and profiteers; yet every
single individual, firm or corporation
involved in the cases now in the pos
session of the department must sat
isfy the governments claim to the
last penny.
I'm addition to this work, we have
been in constant consultation with the
attorneys in this section having in
charge a large number of important
actions, civil and criminals, and as a
result Of our own joint endeavors
quite number of suits. involving
many millions of dollars, have been
instituted in various jurisdictions and
quite large number of like. impor-
tance are now in process of prepara-
ton and will soon be filed. Mean
time settlements have been made in
quite few instances, without suit.
and adjustments made in actions al
ready pending the totals amounting
to several hundred thousand dollars
in the aggregate"