The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1924-04-01
SCANDALSROCK FRANCE;
GRAFT COSTS MILLIONS
IN REPUBLIC
oVERSHADOW THE OIL SEN
SATION IN UNITED STATES.
PREPARATIONS CLAIMS PADDED


vastated by Germans Defraud the
Public Treasury of Billions of Dol
lars, 1t Is Charged.
Americas great Teapot Dome oil
scandal has counterpart in a colossal
swindle, the news of which is rocking
the republic OF France from end to
end.
1t has been publicly charged on the
floor OF the chamber OF deputies, at
Paris, that big business interests, To-
Gated in the regions. devastated by
German INVASION have defrauded the
public treasury OF thousands of mil
lions of francs by padding their dam
age claims.
Estimate of Swindle.
Various estimates have been made
as to the exact amount OF the swindle.
The more angry OF the members OF
the chamber of deputies declare that
it totals close to 100000 francs, or
more than $5,500000,000.
The minister of finance says the
government can recover 2,O00,0OO,00O
francs if it will merely devote its en-
ergies to prosecuting the larger frauds.
The Poincare ministry, bowling be-
fore the whirlwind OF indignation
which has blown over the affair, has
constituted a committee to go into the
devastated regions to investigate.
That committee, working in the dis
trict OF Lille alone, for one week I'M
covered fraudulent devastation and re
construction claims already paid
equa1ing Sal 100000.
Advanced Money.
Germany occupied during the war
some $4,000 square miles of French
territory. This was the so-called de
vastated area" to which the French
government turned its attention when
the peace came.
In order to push reconstruction the
government directed that everybody
who had property i'll that area which
suffered impairment 81 destruction
should draw up a bill Of damages,
representing his losses, and present
It to the ministry Of reconstruction.
This ministry, backed by the par
lament, met these claims and charged
them against Germany for reparations.
One year ago a Paris newspaper
exploded a bombshell by printing
series OF articles revealing frauds in
reconstruction claims put in by big
business interests. However, from
some source these articles were sup
pressed.
Meantime, NJ. Poincare had sent his
army into the Ruhr and Germany be
gan her fiscal debacle. Then the
French franc began to tumble. Ger
many was paying little of her war bill.
Payments Fail.
The French government had ex-
pended staggering sums on reconstruc-
ton, sums which were not being met
by German payments. A fiscal crisis
resulted.
Then the opposition to Poincare in
the French chamber went out and
collected data on the reconstruction
frauds. Case after case was cited OF
the swindling of the public treasury
BY powerful business interests dom1-
ClleQ IN tfl6 devastated lCSiOHo'
1t was found that steel and iron in
terests, sugar barons, textile plant
owners, large manufacturers, mine
owning industria1s and other big bust
ness men, whose property lay in the
devastated regions, had overestimated
their damages by scores of millions
and collected.
Among the astounding claims, one
of the most amazing. had to do with a
great metallurgical firm at Longway.
This firm owned vast steel works in
that town before the war.
Germans Ran Plant.
When the Germans took possession
of the place they did not destroy the
plant, as they did in other cases. They
decided to operate it and produce war
materials for themselves.
And when the armistice came they
withdrew, leaving the plant almost in
tact and leaving, also, nearly so per
cent of the materials.
The business, according to the asti@
mates of French experts, was worth at
the outbreak Of the war about $50
600 900. The company put in a claim
for war damages to their plant of
about $4,000 900. They were paid by
the government in the neighborhood
of $30700,000. -