Evening star., 1924-02-06


that he misled the late President
Harding in connection with the dis
charge of heads of the bureau of en-
craving and printing is contained In
a statement by Charles b. Brewer
filed as an exhibit to his suit for an
Injunction to prevent Interference
by officials of the Treasury and De-
partment of Justice with his posses
sion of bonds. securities and other
documents by which he expects to
prove his allegations of Irregular
tiles at the bureau.
Mr.. Brewer says:
Il am fully aware that | am gen.
orally credited with being the one
who 'misled' President Harding in
the discharge of the twenty-eight en-
March 81, 1922, and have been re-
peatedly SO charged in the public
press The President had seen fit to
remain silent, and when the charge
was first made, in February. 1923, 1
sealed. I have persistently refused
to be interviewed. but l hereby dis
claim any responsibility for his act.
Denies Responsibility.
"If 1t be fact that President Hard
ing was misled, it was not / who mis-
led him. / had never met President
Harding until April IS, 1922.
Though 1 had no voice in the
matter. from what incidentally
knew of the situation then and from
subsequent information which has
come to me. my opinion Is that he
disclosed to him fully justifies his act.
From what is set out below It can be
seen that vice and dishonesty of en-
ployes was protected by superiors and
by cliaues-and this in a financial
institution which demanded integrity
beyond question.
Il had maze a report to the At
torney General on the duplicate bond
situation of December 21. 1921. con-
cerning various divisions" of the
report made reference to the bureau
of engraving in connection with sew
eral very questionable proceedings,
seemingly concerned in the bond
situation. as they had been repeated
to me. But I ended the report with
the statement there was uncertainty
and injustice might be done unless
records were examined. And 1 also
repeated my former request for au-
thority to inspect the records.
When Harding Saw Report.
The President never saw this re-
port until August, 1922. had been
informed that. he had stated on May
10. 1922, that he had never seen it, and
in August following, when I sub
mitted a digest Of the audit made
after the discharge Of employees. I
asked him, and he repeated to me,
for 1t. I was unable to find q trace
OF 1t In the Department of Justice,
and furnished him a carbon copy Of
it, without the exhibits, in August,
"If further proof that the President
influenced hu f0
needed, it will without doubt be fur
nished by perusal of what that re-
port stated. Such perusal will show
Irregularities of so grave a nature
other than the bureau Of engraving
that had he. regardless Of the warm
ing that uncertainty existed, based
mis- action on this report he would
unquestionably have not limited :, the
discharges to the division affected"
Attached to the petition is q state
ment OF an employe OF the bureau,
addressed to Mr.. Brewer, in which he
points out that certain numbers and
errors on the alleged spurious bonds
indicate irregularities.
Statement Of EmpIoye.
The bureau employe says: "since
I was thirteen years old, in 1873, ]
have been continuously employed at
the bureau Of engraving and printing
dHu &1Lu lduullldT Will 61A types VA
numbers used now and throughout
the liberty loan issues,
referring to the duplicate bonds
which you showed to me in the Union
Trust Company's vaults today OF the
fourth ~ issue and particularly to
the make-ups OF this Temporary
issue of $50, 800 and $1,000 denomi-
nations enumerated below, am able
to state definitely that the numbers
appearing on these bonds are such as
-
among those legitimately numbered
for issue. My reasons for this state
ment are:
"Certain characterfstics which not
only show them not to. be tho bu-
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