Omaha daily bee., 1922-05-12

eontinued but moneys OF the goyefn-
meat were used 10 continue and COM
plets other proieeIs such as by
product coke ovens for private con.
Germs. In some cases the contracts
were 50 unskilllully drawn as not
TO be subject 20 cancellation when
the war closed. In some eases the
administration proceeded with the
expenditures fully Intending TO do so
A fair example OF this is the Muscle
Shoals project,
That plant was located by Presi-
dent Wilson. against the protest OF
his scientific advisers. II Was a
political LOCATION, II Was built with
funds not intended for that purpose,
A contract was made with the Air
Ni,raies Corporation Tor It's eonstrue-
ton which. Il valid. puts the govern
ment in the power OF that corpora
ton. Seven months after the first
contract Was made the War depart
ment deliberately made a new con-
tract IN lieu OF the first. raising the
royalty IL the government should at
tempt 70 oep'A'e 'he p''n'' s''e' '"e
war.
IAN sorts OF embarrassing and
unfortunate situations arose out OF
this war, because OF the failure oi
the last administration TO observe
even reasonable care to secure our
national rights, a better example
cannot be cited than IN our sale
OF surplus war ma material err 1t to France;
we had over Ss,vp.oVo,"o worm o.
sueh ,na'e,'Al W rtsh.e when ~. 'ne
war sIosea, anu seo'es OF mi,hohs
OF dolIais worm Q. ','s was shippea
10 rnanoe no aI'ef inc ath,,s''ee, % suen
as so'WV new au'omop,'es' When
We 'a'Neu q, moving .'ns ',su.ia' .
nome o, se'ihg u az Ie.ai', rIanee
,n,oflneu en ny nnn ms u VIC a'u VIZ .. h'"t pay
sI'vVvovVo W import 'atnis. no one
IN inc aamin'sra'ioh appa,eh'ly nad
ever nad Judgment enough 10 nave
u uhaeistooo Una, VIC were nor 70
DC suo)eet 20 suen eSae'ions. we
RAG no uhae,s.and'hs q. an, ana 90
we had 10 seli this ma,erial 10 france
on IN, ~ ~ years ear deierred payment ior
ssoV,Uov,WW. men france ARRANGED
: sale OF part OF u 70 Ioppers anu
tney snipped u INTO the unted s'ates.
wmnout paying any customs duty.
When we passed = phi IN inc mouse
TO stop TINS Importation, ! met so',d
democra!ic opposi'ion' ana us timely
passage IN tnc senate was prevented
by democratic op!ections there.
Nor was this all OF the War de-
partmcnt expenditures. There was a
legacy OF debts and claims which will
plague. US for a hundred years. In
the closing days of the democratic
65th congress. on March 2, 1919, the
notorious Dent act was proposed and
passed. 1t was claimed it was neces-
sary in order to permit a speedy set.
tlement of war claims by the secre-
tary of war. After the passage OF
this act il was found that thousands
of claims existed for which there was
not a scratch of pen evidence. Over
$4,000 claims were filed before
board set up by the secretary of war.
and as a result OF the operations OF
the board no to January 4, 1922,
S484. .425,566l have been paid out,
much of it without the existence OF
a contract, most OF it without an ac-
and practically all of it
without any legal justification at all,
except in the language Of the Dent
act itself. During the Goth congress,
the protests of the republican ma
iority in the house of representatives
against these actions of the War de-
partment on these claims were fire.
quent. but the protests were unavail-
ing. To illustrate the loose and gross
" inexcusable way in which these
claims were allowed. in a recent sun1-
ming up by Brigadier Gneral Lord,
chief of finance of the army. he finds
on an audit Of approximately one
Ienth of these paid claims there has
been overpaid in these few settle
nents to war contractors. $40, ,0o0. 900.
"Under various Liberty loan acts,
President Wilson was authorized to
purchase bonds from the countries
in war with our enemies,
,earing the same interest. of the same
and same conditions, as
The bonds we issued and sold to our
people. Under this authority, Presi-
dent Wilson dispensed to our allies
md to flock of littlesnations whom
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