Omaha daily bee., 1922-04-12

Demanded
in m e
Wholes..',a-. ,urtAiartisl in
..ssSsss,,s,lh With Surplus
,s's urged by tx.
w service Men. ~
May Impeach Daughery
Omaha Nee !. Ased Wire,

impeaeh Attorney General Daugh-
erty and demands Tor wholesale
eour,-mar,ial in the War department
were made in the house today by
Representative Woodruff. Michigan,
and Representative Johnson. South
Dakota. two republican exserviee
men.
They Jointly ofired resolution
10 appoint a select committee OF tho
house TO investigate the liquidation
OF contracts under the jurisdiction OF
Secretary OF War Weeks, Attorney
General Daugherty, Secretary oi the
Navy DENLY and Alien Property
Custodian Miller.
Representative Johnson charged
that the War department in dispos-
ing OF surplus property, IS proceeding
in much the same manner that II did
under the regime OF Newton. ID.
Baker. Favored buyers are given
valuable contracts without compctl-
tive bidding and goods worth mil
lions are sold for mere song to
those who have the inside track he
asserted. Candy costing $4,000, and
sold for S535. and canned meat cost
ing 45 cents pound and sold for
4 cents pound. were cited by john
son as typical instances.
Cite Lincoln Motors.
Woodruff aSailed the attorney
general for fatnre to prosecute vio-
lators OF the law. He was particu-
larly aroused by the inactivity OF the
Department OF Justice toward the
Lincoln Motor company, recent pur-
chased by Henry Ford for SS.0O0OO0.
The company, Woodruff insisted,
owes the government S9,l88,Sol,
which it was over-paid III contracts
for their air service.
"If the attorney general does not |,
look fully to the interests of the gov
ernment in this case and allow the
courts to determine to what extent
this company is indebted to the
government, I shall consider him
guilty of malfeasancc in office and
Shall move his impeachment upon
these grounds" Woodruff declared.
Woodruff furnished the house
with detailed history of the Bosch
Magnetic deal. The Bosch Magnetic
company wee,, sold by former At
torney General Palmer and former
Alien Property Custodian Garvan
to Martin E. Kern, a close personal
friend of Palmer. for $4,l5O,OOO,
about half of its value, according to
Woodruff. The transaction was
handled by the brokerage firm OF
Hornblower & Weeks, of which
Secretary of War Weeks was for
merly member. The profits of the
Hornblower & Weeks firm on the
deal were about 100000. accord
ing to Woodruff.
Read Woodruff Letters.
"Mr. Kern returned from Europe
some time ago." Woodruff continued.
"He is still at liberty enjoying the
profit and fruits of the manipula-
tons. While he was in Europe it
appears that he wrote some letters
which were intercepted and finally
passed into the hands of public au-
thorities. To show the audacity Of
the man and the influence which he
thinks he has on public officials,
will quote from these letters.
Writing from the Hotel Maurice,
Paris, under date of January q,
1922, to one Of his attorneys in
Pennsylvania town, he says among
other things, Call Griffiths in. You
can trust him. Of course. he wants
to look. out for himself. He always
does. Surely there must be some
way to make the attorney general
see reason
"Again writing from the same
pl De to the same person, he says:
Murray seems to have lost his head
entirely, as have Why don't
Murray and all interests take John
w. Weeks to Daugherty and put
quietus on this thing?'
"The Murray he refers to was one
of the men who was associated with
him in DEAL, and who was after
wards president OF the Bosch Mag
neto company The other gentle
men he refers to are respectively the
secretary of war and the attorney
general and think upon which he
wished a quietus put evidently was
the. agitation in the public press for
criminal prosecution by the Depart
ment of Justice in connection with
the matter and civil proceedings to
set the sale aside"
Refuse Congress Aid.
Representative Johnson said the
administration had refused TO aid
congress in bringing fraud and cor
ruption to light. He raped Secre-
tary Weeks, General Pershing and
Budget Director Dawes particularly.
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