The Washington times., 1922-05-08

4
y dom be shown by
sss>8ssS8 asseslsss&asA Aanybody in dis
WILLIAM HARD missing a dog
from his house
hold, while the millions upon mil
lions of dollars owed TO the Federal
Government by large business
firms because of known over-pay-
ments to those firms on wartime
contracts are seen to remain uncol-
lected. 1t is this sort Of situation
which leads Congressman Royal
Johnson Rep) to say:
The danger that the Republican
party is under is that we will al
low the invisible government to
control it,"
Royal Johnson, after having been
attorney general of South DakotJ,
and having been elected to the House
of Representatives, enlisted as prt-
vate in the army OF the United states
in the war against Germany and
rose to the rank OF first lieutenant.
He has lBboriously accumulated long
lines and trails Of facts regarding
sales of surplus war supplies in the
War Department, not merely Turing
the late Democratic Administration.
but likewise during the present Re
publican one. He is interested. for
instance, in wool socks.
He makes the following assertions
regarding certain sales of certain
wool socks:
Some 500, 900 pairs OF wool socks
were sold TO the Wool Products Com.
pany of Watertown, y. Y, at 23l7
cents a pair. This sale was Cancelled.
Then those same socks were sold to
Phelps & Quinn, OF Louisville, KY.
at ga cents a pair. The amount OF
money which would have been got
from the former sale was some $780,
900. The amount Of money got from
the latter sale was about $72 900.
Congressman johnson alleges in
stance after instance OF that kind of
thing. He also alleges extreme nesli-
gence on the part of the War De-
partment in choosing the persons to
have charge OF the sales of surplus
war supplies. He alleges. for in
stance. the case OF Col. James p.
Castleman.
Colonel Castleman, while serving
in France, was charged by the
French government with having
helped to smuggle American com
mercial motor cars into France.
The French ambassador at Wash.
ington brought the matter TO the
attention of our State Department
at Washington. The motor cars in
Question were being taken into
France as IL they were army cars,
without the payment of freight
rates and without the payment OF
tariff duties. They were then being
sold commercially to the French
public.
The case was investigated by Gen.
eral Harbord, who is now assistant
chief of staff in the War Depart
ment. He then was chief OF the
supply service in France. He re-
ported that Colonel Castleman
should be discharged from his COM
mission. He said that Colonel
Castleman must be either a fool
or a knave." He said that he had
shown gross incompetency and a
low standard of military duty"
Colonel Castleman in time re-
turned to the United States. He
then was sent by the quartermaster
general in the War Department to
take part in the selling Of l0, ,000, 900
pounds Of surplus War Department
canned meat at Wheeling, w. Va.
The higher ups, II is charged, are
protected; and the lower downs, 1t
is charged, are now pretty well on
their way to losing even the protec.
ton of the Civil Service. Dismissals
take place in disregard Of the Civil
Service rules and Attorney General
Daugherty has said THE Civil Scrv-
ment," while Secretary Of Labor
Davis has said: There should be less
Of the classified service"
Attorney General Daugherty
thinks that Civil Service is q poor
bad thing, while the Demacrats gloat
over his having given a good rich
job to W. l.. Cole, OF Missouri, who
took money in the last Republican
Presidential primary campaign from
luo LO"uSh anu
also took money at the same time
from the Harding campaign man.
ayers, thus improving on Bryan's
oratory and introducing into Aneri.
can politics the double-cross Of gold.
But the Democrats can claim little
credit for themselves in these mat.
ters. Attorney General Daugherty
is, indeed, failing, for instance, to
collect back for the Federal Govern
ment the enormous over-paymentS
made to aircraft manufacturing COM
panies during and Just after the was.
The late Democratic Administration
however, extended a free pardon to
Col Edward A. Deeds and to Col. J.
G. Vincent and to Col. George w.
Mixter and to everybody else. who,
according to Charles Evans Hughes.
after he had officially investigated