Evening star., 1923-11-01
EXPLAINS
i. s. HOSPITAL DEAL
Assistant Treasury Secretary
Takes Stand in Probe of
Veterans Bureau.

Ewing La Porte of Pittsburgh, former
assistant secretary of the Treasury,
explained to the Senate veterans
committee today why he had rushed
through an agreem mt, just at the end
of the Wilson administration. for
lease of a hospital site at Excelsior
Springs. Mo-, from Z. L. Morse, prom
inent in republican politics in Mis-
souri,.
II rushed all sorts OF things
through at that time" La Porte said.
These veterans were suffering and
were out on the streets, and they had
to be cared for. had to provide beds
for them. There wasn't any appro-
priation from Congress for building
hospitals and We had to do the best
we could under leasing system"
Asserting that the Excelsior
Springs site had been strongly recon-
Service. La R Forte testified W R that he
never had seen any public health
service memorandum objecting to the
place, such as previous witnesses had
been sent to him. He added that
favor of the Excelsior Springs site
and naturally he would not send me
an objection to it,"
La Porte denied that he had in
creased the ultimate purchase price
fixed by the public health service
from $4,000 to $50, 600. as former off,
cials OF that service had testified.
Explains Action.
The only thing I did" he said
was to reduce the rentals. Morse
was to spend a large sum on an
addition to his home and they wanted
to pay him back in one year. 1 in
sisted that the payments be spread
over a series of years. The records
must show that. unless they have
been destroyed"
John F. Organ. general counsel
for the committee, said the Inference
in previous testimony was that La
La Porte was concerned. with MorSs's
Interest in this matter"
"I am sorry for that" LA Porte
said. 81 was concerned Solely with
the interests of the government and
the service men.
known Morse only casually up to the
time Of /he lease of the Excelsior
Spripsx site~He said a friend of his
had told him not to lease Morse's 8
blace: that If he did 1t would be made
a political issue in Missouri.
For that reason" the former as
sistant secretary said. Il was more
suspicious of this transaction than
any other, and / drove a hard bar
gain.
Denies Stratton Testimony.
La Porte denied testimony of
Charles H. Stratton, formerly of the
Of ha ir
health service, that he had torn up a
page of the original draft of the
agreement with Morse and had
ordered another one, drawn providing
for a $4,000 increase in the ultimate
purchase price.
II didn't think these men would
testify to thing like that, because
1t is not true" he said. adding that
he knew from what he had heard that
he was particularly unpopular with
the construction division. because he
had undertaken to abolish that divi-
sion, leaving its work in the office OF
the supervising architect Of the
Treasury.
"That probably is a deliberate
falsehood. I think 1t is." he added.
with reference to the charge that he
had destroyed the paper concerned.
La Porte, who testified that he was
twenty-six years old when assistant
secretary OF the Treasury, was sub
jected to a long and sharp cross-ex-
animation by Senators Reed. republi-
can, Pennsylvania. the committee
chairman, and Walsh, democrat. Mas
sachusetts. He was questioned par
ticularly about his visit to Kansas
City in February. 1921, to inspect the
Excelsior Springs site.
His testimony was that he was met
at Kansas City by representatives of
CONTINUED on Page 2. Column L)