The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1922-04-13
WAR GRAFTERS
T0BE SHOWN UP
Congressman Royal c. Johnson of
South Dakota Makes Serious
Charges in House
NAMES MANY PROMINENT MEN
Demands that Guilty Parties BE Pros
ecuted by Government

The American people were robbed
of hundreds of millions of dollars thru
fraudulent contracts made by the gov
ernment during the war, according to
charges made this week by Congress
man Royal c. johnson of South Da-
kota. Johnson is backed by Woodruff
of Michigan. They demand con-
gressional investigation and prosecu-
tion of the guilty persons by the de-
partment of Justice
a joint resolution was introduced
calling for the appointment of COM
mittee of fifteen members to probe all
contracts made by the government
during the late war. Woodruff in his
speech Tuesday cited numerous spe-
cific instances where he charged the
government had been defrauded of
millions of dollars in war contracts.
One of the biggest of the alleged H.
legal deals which he cited was the sale
of the stock of the Bosch Magnetic
company, seized by the allen proper
ty custodian during the war. Under
this sale, Woodruff charged. the New
York and Boston brokerage firm. Of
Hornblower & Weeks "proftcd to the
extent of 81 .OO0.0 900 or more"
"Cn Dec. 81, 1919" Woodruff said,
"thc capital stock of the Bosch Mag
neto company was sold by the alien
property custodian to Martin +. Kern
for S4,l5O,000. Kern was a close per-
sonal friend and client of A. Mitchell
Palmer. 1t appears that Kern was not
an American citizen, but was of Ger
man birth and citizenship. 1t would
also seem that he had served three
terms in prison in New York state for
felony and l hold in my hand copies
of his photograph, appearing in the
rogues' gallery in New York city.
apart from the fact that Kern was
not an American citizen, his convic-
ton of felony would deprive him of
his civil rights. The trading with the
enemy act prohibits the sale of prop
erty to other than American citizens.
The sale to Kern was in direct viola
tion of the act. No prosecutions have
yet occurred.
Shortly after the property was
sold to kern,, a corporation called the
American Bosch Magnetic company
was organized. One of the chief ac-
tors in these transactions was the firm
of Hornblower and Weeks. 1t appears
from information obtained from reli-
able sources that the profits realized
by the firm of Hornblower E. Weeks
in this transaction was probably ST.
100000 or more and that the profits
of Kern amounted to many hundreds
of thousands of dollars"
Woodruff displayed what he alleged
were copies of letters which he said
Kern had written from Europe re-
Gently in an effort to "hush up" agita-
ton for prosecution in the magnetic
company sale. He quoted one Of the
letters as saying, "Why don't Murray
and all interests take John w. Weeks
to Daugherty and put quietus on
this thing?" The Murray referred to
is the former president of the Bosch
Magnetic company.
Following Woodruff, Representative
johnson took the floor and also attack
ed alleged fraudulent war contracts
and sales. johnson charged that there
is "an invisible bi-party government
in the United States which controls
the real government elected by the
people,"
'This invisible government" he de-
clared, "is financial combine extend
ing to other nations of the world.
The Japanese financiers have an inter-
locking agreement and arrangement
with corrupt politicians in the United
States, which has enabled them to
take money by the millions from the
American tax payer who suffered and
slaved to buy Liberty bonds"
To bear out this charge johnson de-
clared that the Mitsu company of
Japan was given $16,461 $50 of air.
craft contracts by the United States
government during the war "in spite
of the fact that the company has been
a fiscal agent Of the German secret
service for many years and that they
had been mapping our coasts and had
maintained thorough secret service
in the United States"