Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1922-06-08

| Alex j. GrOcSbeck, Governor.
This cannot be excused or explained
away by the statement that it was inn
possible to close all war activities
instantly upon the signing of the
armistice Even after July 3, 1919,
eight months after the signing of
the armistice, munition factories un-
der the orders of the War depart
ment turned out tremendous quaint
ties of shells and ordnance. One
order of 355 Howitzers, costing APP
proximately $4,000 each, was &C
copied after July 3, 1919. Orders
of expensive shells running into the
hundreds of thousands were accept
ed after that date.
Not only were American plants
KEEP; busy manufacturing war NUM-
tionS eight months after peace had
been declared but factories in Eng
land and France were kept running
on contracts which our War depart
ment would not cancel. France
made a delivery to this country after
the armistice was signed Of l44
guns and carriages of an old model
of 1897, which had absolutely no
military value whatever. She also
delivered under contract another
order of 1913 guns and carriages, and
still another order of 700 guns and
carriages England delivered 200
6O-pound guns. 100 6-inch guns and
$50 S-inch howitzer guns and car
riages. When it is stated that the
cost Of one howitzer gun and car
riage is approximately $4,000, it
can be appreciated what enormous
waste the War department permitted
after the armistic was signed, and
there was every incentive for econ
omy.
The explanation given by the
Democratic administration at that
time for their permitting English
and French factories to continue the
manufacture of war material for this
nation months after peace was de-
clared was that they desired TO main
tain friendly relations between this
country and England and France and
they thought that it would best be
done by permitting those countries to
continue the manufacture of munitions
for the United States in order to
keep their factories busy None of
the product Of these plants is of any
use whatever to the United State.
There are thousands upon thou
sands of cases of war graft that
never will be prosecuted because of
the fact that although they were
outright steals they were made legal
by the acts Of the Democratic adj
ministration. Taking advantage of
the tremendous and almost unlimited
autocra.:c war power granted it, at
its own request, by Congress, the adj
minstration abrogated all laws which
were on the books for the protection
Of the American people. The statute
requiring all government contracts to
be let by bidding and to be made in
writing was suspended by the Secre-
tary of War six days after the de-
claration of war.
Not content with this, after the
armistic was signed, the Democratic
Congress enacted the notorious Dent
law. This piece Of legislation was
enacted under the pretense that it
was necessary in order to permit
Secretary of War Baker, Attorney
General Palmer and others to make
a speedy settlement of war claims
and contracts, but after the passage
Of the act it was found that thousands
Of claims existed for which there was
not even so much as a scratch of a
pen as evidence.
Over 10000 such claims were filed
before a board created by Secretary
of War Baker and a half a billion
dollars was paid out on these claims
without any accounting and without
any legal justification at all except
in the language of the Dent act itself.
The Republican Congress elected in
1913 protested upon various occasions
against the action of the War depart
ment in the settlement of these
claims but these protests had no eff
feet upon the Democratic administra-
ton. After the elections in 1920
various Democratic administrative
officials and employees proceeded to
destroy or scquester records and to so
tangle up the bookn and documents
connected with the administration Of
the government under the Wilson
regime that to this day they have not
been replaced and Strengthened out.
Mothers Here's your opportunity.
Boys Blue Denim Overalls. Sizes 3
to years, will be sold Saturday at
SOC. ID. w. Robinson, Alma, Mich
advertisement.