Evening star., 1923-11-19
Representative Johnson Tells
Senate Body Man Moved
Across Country.
COURT HAD ENJOINED
REMOVAL, is TESTIFIED
Tried to Keep Forbes Name Out
Of Hearing, Organ Tells
Investigators,

A charge that the Veterans Bureau
kidnapped Charles Kasavage. a world
war veteran. from an insane asylum
in the state Of Washington and took
him to hospital in Pennsylvania
was made today before the Senate
veterans committee by Representa-
tive Johnson. republican. Washington.
Representative Johnson said Off
cials of the bureau acted in violation
of a restraining order issued by the
state courts and that he had been
asked by Director Frank T. Hines Of
the bureau to present the facts so
that the wrong done in this case
can be righted."
A protest was made by Mr.. John
son against testimony given before
the committee on November by DR..
d. o. Smith. one Of the investigators
for committee counsel. and also
against "the manufacturing of tes-
tfmony." apparently to be used later
in suit affecting the status OF the
soldier in a court at Wilkes Barre. Pa.
Denying that Mrs Kasavage. wife
OF the alleged kidnapped man, had been
improperly appointed guardian for
her husband in the state of Washing
ton, Representative Johnson declared
the appointment had been made by
the state court on the recomrn. n da-
tion of the Veterans Bureau. He also
denied charges that Mrs. Kasavage
had lent her husband only IS spend
ing money In two years and half
out of a total of S157.50 a month re-
ceived by her from the bureau as his
guardian.
Wife Made Sacrifices.
This woman he said. has lived
in pain and misery and destitution to
help this soldier"
Before the committee began it's in
quiry into the operations of the sew
eral divisions of the bureau 1t heard
further references to charges against
former Director Charles r. Forbes.
His counsel, James s. Easby-S Smith.
expressed regret that the committee
had so limited his time that it was
impossible for him "to present a full
and adequate defense of Forbes" and
requested that he be permitted to
pi tSeIll ldlcI d IneIf1OTduuum Oh what
he had hoped to prove by witnesses
and the list of witnesses that he
could have called.
John F. Organ, general counsel for
the committee, replied that he had
tried to keep Forbes name out of
the investigation, but he was forced
to bring him into it, by the evidence
which investigators had gathered.
Additional testimony concerning
matters to which Elias H Mortimer
has testified ARE coming in eyery
day." O'Ryan said, land just how far
the committee desires to go into IL
remains for the committee to de-
eide"
Through. Charles F. Mulhearn. as
sistant director in charge of the
claim division, Organ developed that
the civil service requirem entS for en-
ployes of the bureau who make con-
tact with the veterans Is the lowest
for any bureau employe. although the
witness said he knew of no individual
case of incompetency.
Little Sympathy Found.
Organ read into the record a re-
port of one investigator, Arthur W.
McDermitt which said there Is too
much cynicism and too little SYM
pathy among the employees of the
bureau"
Mulhearn said he had no official
information about McDermitt's report
that frequently men are passed from
one employer to another until finally
they quit in disgust.