The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-07
| HARDING STOPPED
 BUREAUS SCANDAL
(Continued From Page one)

their report. O'Leary said the Pres ident wanted to know all the details, but he would not say when pressed by Senator Reed that MT. Harding was "ncansed" Major Carmody. &C., cording to O'Leary, told the President that in his opinion the veterans bu- reau had received 8 better price than the war department had received for similar articles.
 "The President apparently was sat- isfied" O'Leary continued, ''and soon afterwards the embargo was removed and Colonel Forbes directed resump- tion of shipments.
 Senator Reed stressed that the President could have before him only such information as officers of the veterans bureau had regarding the materials and that it was evident that this was rather scanty, partic- ularly with reference to the thousands of new bed sheets that were being delivered to Thompson and Kelly at one-fifth of their cost to the gov ernment.
 Commander O'Leary told the com mittee that after the President had ordered a final cessation of deliveries three or four cars which had been loaded at Perryville were allowed to go forward.
 What led up to the second order of the President" asked Senator Reed.
 Forbes Goes To Europe.
 "A number of firms interested in the purchase of materials made rep resentations to the President and General Sawyer" o'Leary replied.
 How long after that was 1t before NnF fN
 Within four or five days"
 And he never came back to the veterans bureau?"
 "Oh, yes; he came back"
 Later there was read into the rec ord letter from Forbes to Presi- dent Harding under date of Jan uary 12, 1923. in which Forbes asked for permission to go to Europe to study rehabilitation methods there. Forbes wrote he had wanted to make this study for some time and that Hn view of the highly developed and ef- ficient service the bureau is now glv- ing" he thought he could well leave at that time.
 O'Leary told of visits to his office of dealers, who said wanted "to get in" on the Perryville sale. Henry Anchester, who was described as the representative Cf the Greedy A. Madi- son corporation. "a New York con cern with S5,0o0 capital" was de- clared to be the tmost persistent" of them. The witness quoted Anchester as saying Thompson and Kelly had been "stung" on the Perryville pur- chase and as proposing that if he were '"let in on the sale of bureau surplus supplies at North Chicago he would "call eff" Mr. Silverman, of Silverman and Brothers, another firm protesting against the Perry vile sale.
 Threatens To Blow Roof.
 According to O'Leary. he declined to entertain the proposal and ordered Anchester from his office. The vis- itor left, the witness said with a threat that he would "blow the rCof off the veterans bureau and blow you up with it."
 It was after that, o Leary said that Anchester charged that Sidney Bieber of Washington, previously described to the committee as friend of Forbes, was interested in the Thomp- son and Kelly contract. Forbes then called a conference at the veterans I bureau at Which were present, the witness said, Bieber, N. Thompson of Thompson and Kelly, several of l ficials of the bureau, land one or | two newspaper men," He added that the record of the meeting was in the buIeau's files.
 l AncHester appealed to General Sawyer, the witness went on, while other of the New York dealers went to Senator Calder and both the sena- tor and General Sawyer discussed the matter with the President. It then developed that at the December IF conference at the White House, Presi- dent Harding had called for mCre de- tails about the goods being sold and O'Leary prepared a statement which was sent to the executive early In January