The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-17

fcesyyfsht la7a, United etstss and Canada. s.s s.:s.sss TIE ,ss sri:sss is' | 1s' 1i
 srhe circumstances surrounding Colo nei Forbes, resignation from the. Vet efans' Bureau are still sprsQgnded hy- mystery and ,eonttadiction the first week of January. 1925 General Sawyer discovered that for the second time in a month the Veterans Bureau had violated n presidential order stop ping shipment AM supplies from Perry vile, Md. General Sawyer says fiatiy l that the .Pfesident thereup3t asked ! Forbes to resign Forbes teat5tied to the Senate committee that HA Dekernbef he resirned voluntarily, Ehec4pse nc could no longer stand General sSaw- ysr's interference. He added that the | President asked him to continue in office for two months moro. By the middle of January, rumors af the IT, reeularitiess at Perryville n0ated about l Washington. ' The matter kad come to attention of at least dozen men In the Public Health Servics and the ! Bureau of the Budget; sofne of them humanly and naturally, g0ssiped with friends in Jthe governHie3l Those agents for purchase of conds17! gey. ernmant goods who had bee1 frozen out" in thesPefryville transaction, had no official brake on their tongues; they talked freely. aa
 First Public Intimation
 The first mention of the affair which I can find in the newspapers is dated January IS, 1S23. It is guarded story" announcing a flight to.remove Forbes" Interviewed, the Colonel. said: President Harding has never spoken, to me about, resigping. The | President and. have been on the best of terms and are today good friends, The Washington correspondents in gem eral took these irresponsible rumors lightly on Eebyaary first press bu- ! req carried a report athat Eorbss sEey l mentioned as AssistafIt. ssefstaSy of War. VI ss, ;.s' z z s
 On January 30, however, Appeared l the first hint in the newspapersso far as my investigation goes-that something was wrong with the Perry vile sale. To an old newspaper man, it has the scent and flavor of guarded story, given out from officials for pur- poses of diplomacy. Possibly the ru- mors had begun to exaggerate the af- fair; it was best to quell them by il hint of truth.
 All this time, however, Colonel T Forbes was preparing to leave the scene of action. On January IF, he wrote to the President asking permission to visit I Europe on official business. Many dis abled soldiers--the Colonel said-had remained overseas; they as we'll as their repatriated comrades we're charges of the Veterans Bureau. T Forbes wanted to look them over and determine proper measures for their re- lief. What answer President Harding made does not appear in the record.
 Sails For Europe a At the end of January, the news papers report that Forbes is not in 4 Washington. And on January 30, with ' out fuss, feathers or preliminary notice he sailed for Europe. Merle Sweet, his private secretary, accompanied him. On the way over, Sweet testified, Forbes was rather seriously ill His health had begun to break. He who ,adminis- ters q complex bureau spending $450,- *000,0 900 year must live under respon- liability and strain. Beyond that, Forbes had kept late hours. And since he returned from the Pacific coast in July, he had endured many anxieties. 1t struck at his heart; Colonel Forbes may never again be entirely well.
 He sailed on January 30; he was back on February 25-se soon that many wonder if he ever really landed. Certainly, he did not fulfil his mission, as stated in the letter to the PfeSident!l &By the time he stepped off the steamer President Harding in New York, re- marking to the reporters that all his European travels had done his cold no good, many things had happened. [Under date of February 5, a newspaper declared that Director Forbes was ''soon 1to walk the plank" On February 16, 1.-the announcement of his resignation be- came public. The newspapers. relying probably on official information, said that it had been cabled from Europe" The reports about irregularities in the Perryville sale had become more, than rnmors. It was ammunition flor the Democratic opposition.
 Heard. Strange Stories
 Oongressmen and Senators had in- terviewed men in the Public Health Service and the Veterans Bureau and heard strange stories. Congressman % Larsen had written and telegraphel to . IkclllS n. MOrtltuer Ok IuuhNelpNAas |S ence agent for contractors to, the gov sfnment, asking what he knew... Final. H6y, on the day after Forbes landed in Europe, the President appoint&ii 8figa- 4 Idier- General Frank T. Hines Director # of the Veterans Bureau. On February &h1, Senator Walsh of Massachusetts in- fl kroduced resolution for a committee % to study" the Veterans Bureau. The American Legion which had been criti- cal of Forbes, rolled into the Capitol charges of incompetent manageinent. The matter was getting beyond pafti> zanship. Senator Reed of gPennsyls- gania introduced on March 2, a fesolu-, < ton for thorough investigation by M khe Senate. Senator Reed, together with Senator Walsh of Massac chusetts nnd SenatoT Oddie of Nevada were ap- pointed q special committee in this hla tier. 'tS
 Major.General O'Ryan, who led the R7th Division in France, consented to Iary his duties as Transit Commis- Sioner of New York with the job of assisting the committee as counsel. M DRyan was the only militia officer bf our late war to attain command of division. Further, he had the courage when all was over, to declare that eixi- r Iization should and could abolish war, 4 Major Davis G. Arnold, who served byerseas with the artillery, gave up his
 law practice in Providence to become