New Britain herald., 1923-11-16
DISABLED VETS
 VOICE PROTETS
tcontinued from First Page,

"The same"
 Forbes said Mortimer was drunk on another occasion soon afterwards.
 How was it that on your official inspection trip you carried this drunk around with your" asked O'Ryan.
 He'd have his little souse at some party and I'd warn, him that he would have to leave us until he behaved" the witness said. He would apolo- gize and say he would not do it again, and I'd believe him.
 The inquiry was taken back to the bureaus plant at Perryville. Md.
 You leaned pretty heavily on Commander O'Leary in the sale of supplies there?" asked O'Ryan.
 "Oh, not so heavily"
 Commander OLeary was in charge of the Veterans bureau supply divi- sion and had testified at length about the Perryville sale.
 Examination Ends.
 ORSan then renewed his motion of yesterday that he be permitted to inquire into the early life record of Forbes, but Chairman Reed reiterat- ed the decision of the committee not to go into that matter and O'Ryan announced that his cross-examination was finished.
 Chairman Reed took cp the ques- tioning.
 Do you kirow why Charles r. Cramer (former general counsel of the bureau) committed suicide?"
 I've asked a great many people," Forbes replied. i've heard domestic difficulties; financial difficulties and trouble with oil bnds."
 Did you make any investigation of it?"
 No"
 Did you sec the letters he left?"
 No. did not see them"
 Asked whether he suspected that Cramer had taken graft" the wit hess replied:
 "The man is dead, Senator"
 T know it." responded the chair man, but there are d, great many service men who are still living who | suffered as a result of the maladmin- | istration fin the bureau. and ] don't 1 believe we should omit. the name | even of the dead to get at the facts" |
 Forbesssaid he appointed cramer | soon after he came into office. He | had known him only slightly in Cali | fornia before his appointment.
 Without going into the question | further, Forbes was excused and | James A Mcfarland, national com mander of the disabled American vet | erans, took the stand. He immediate ly attacked the manner in which eyi- | dence in the investigation had been presented.
 Veterans Disappointed
 "I must tell you" he said. that the | disabled men are astounded at the transformation and disappointed at the lack of constructive proposals for improving tho condition of the ds- abled veterans. They, of course, do not know what has been done in the closed sessions of the committee and we hope that much has been done. but they want to know what is be- ing done for them and I believe they are entitled to know that the work of the committee is not being con fined to efforts to show up waste and graft in the administration of the bureau"
 Despite the time, money and work that have gone into the preparation of the testimony, nothing Of a con- structive nature has come out in the public hearings and we have heard of notbing but waste, fraud, graft and scandal. The men want to know what is hoped to be gathered from all these charges, denials and counter charges which at best read like a newspaper account of a dog'fght.
 "So far as we can see there has been nothing whatsoever developed at this hearing that would justify con- victlon. Even should the government attempt to prosecute anyone charged with plundering they would have to work under the handicap of having shown their hand at the. preliminary hearing.
 q will tell the committee that the disappointment of the disabled men has reached the stage of bitterness, and with little more than two weeks remaining to complete testimony and prepare a report if congress is 10 get the results at the opening. we re- [ spectfully urge that the committee turn over forthwith to the department of justics all information indicating graft or fraud, and proceed with the { relief of those vitally concerned in i this whole matter-disabled men. f
 While we know that the commit tee intends later to take up construc- i tive ideas, we declare that building , upon data now in the records is worse |, than useless, because we are prepared today to prove the misleading nature of much Of the testimony which has been given"
 Wants Country to Know
 Senator Walsh. democTat. Massa- l, chusetts, read to Mcfarland the reso- l, lution authorizing the inquiry and then reviewed just what the commit tee has done. Its a little dishesrtening." he said, to have a leader of veterans orr ganization to come here after the work we have done, and say that we have not been discharging our duties 
 o'Ryan also remarked that he re- ' garded McFarlandis criticism as un- | timely, as, obviously he did not know [ the constructive work the committee .