The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1922-09-22
LEGION WOULD KNOW
WHO GOT THE MONEY?
Second In%stallment of LegiOn's Inves-
tigatiOn Reveals Huge Failure
of Aircraft Program.

" the lives of the flower Of the ma
TONS manhood; individuals and cor
porations reaping rich reward from
the fever Of activity that failed to get
a single fighting plane of American
make to the front in France; sinister
influences at work seemingly since the
war ended, preventing prosecution OF
guilty ones, or recovery of the huge
amounts of which the government was
mulcted.
The foregoing are high lights in the
second of the series Of articles, "Who
Got the Money!" written by Marquis
James, writer and investigator OF the
American Legion, exposing the alleged
graft and profiteering and criminal
conspiracies attendant On war and
postwar industrial contracts. The
second articles appeared in the Am
erican Legion Weekly issue of Sep
TENDER Is. The series are six in num-
Der, compiled after many weeks OF
careful investigation following the
American Legion's insistence that the
government take steps to punish those
against whom it was charged glaring
evidences of graft and profiteering
were apparent, and to institute pro-
ceedings for extracting from the pie
thoric purses of the profiteers the mil
lions rightfully belonging to the gov
eminent.
The article reviews in detail the in
designations and reports made by
Charles Evans Hughes, now secretary
of state, acting for President Wilson,
and of H. L. Scaife, a special agent
of the Department of Justice, concern
ing the aircraft program. Reviewing
conditions under which the Lincoln
Motor company is alleged to have OBJ
tanned "erroneous and unlawful pay
ments totaling $9,18S.000," and the in
stitution of suits for recovery of that
amount, the article continues with
findings concerning other companies
which held government contracts:
"The government presently filed
suits in the Detroit courts for $685.
600. Later the attorney general took
it out of the hands of the Detroit dis
trict attorney and had the case re-
turned to Washington, where attor-
neys for the Lincoln company were to
be given a rehearing on April 18th.
When Congressman Woodruff says he
heard whispers that the company's
lawyers had it all fixed up Woodruff
on April 18th made a speech before
the house in which he declared he
would 10Y the Impeachment of the
attorney general if history repeats it.
self in the case of the Lincoln Motor
company Next day the Lincoln's
lawyers found the government still de-
termined to push the suits.
"No such vigorous action seems to
have been taken in the case of the
Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation.
which yves the government S5,267,-
900, according to Investigator Scaife,
who says in an official report:
1t was found that the minutes
Of this company at the time it
was negotiating for a government
contract stated that an "eight per
cent profit was the proper profit
to the company On government
contracts" The report of the gov
eminent audit states that the pro-
fits actually charged and COL
lected amounted to 270 per cent.
among the items this firm collect
ed from the government Mr.. Scaife
cites accountants fees totaling S1O1,-
047, work of no concern to the gov
eminent. Stranger yet appears a
payment of $14,S64 capital stock tax.
The company paid its income tax, how
ever, and a tidy sum it must have been
in those fat var years. 1t was some
job figuring up those profits; in fact,
clerical hire alone amounted to $922-
and the government paid this bill!
Liberty bonds or other public funds
went to pay for 1895 worth of cigars
and SS4S worth of dinners given by
the hospitable representatives of the
company. 1t took only the amount of
a few war savings stamps, however,
to care care of the item which is en-
titled, box of La Carona cigars for
Mr.. G. H. Houston, $685.
Notwithstanding the government
maintained a corps of guards at the
company's plant the corporation Gre
ated a secret service of it's own, spar
ing no expense because Uncle Sam met
the pay roll to the tune of S91, 1925.
At one time there were 1876 men in
this MYSTERIOUS organization the prin-
cipal function of which Mr.. Seattle
charges was counter espionage against
the government An example of the
wages paid appears in the case of J..
W. Wheatley, former government sec
ret service agent drawing $4,42O a
year. The Wright-M Martin people
handed him a retainer or $4,000 and
a yearly salary of $4,000, with a $685.
900 bonus for cancellation of his con-
tract with the treasury department.
Sleuth Wheatley compromised this
last item for SIT, 800, so his first years
work Melted him only s39, 500.
The company's original contracts
We're on a fixed-price basis, but were
later changed to cost-plus, by which
operation the profits were increased.
The fees to the lawyers who arranged
this detail for the company were paid
by the government, Mr.. Seattle as
serts. After the armistice the COM
pany bought up for s24,379 a quantity
of semi-finished tools and work in