The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-14
By WILL iRwtN

Great Britain and South America by North Amer rights reserved.)
 When toward the end of July, 1922, Colonel Forb of the veterans bureau returned to Washington from his joyful junket on the Pacific coast, he found a delicate complication awaiting his at tention. As I have already told, J. w. Thompson and J. w. Black, chief own CTS of several great construction com panies, had employed Colonel Forbes chum and boon companion, Elias H. Mortimer, as agent and salesman.
 Under the terms Of the Langley bill, the veterans bureau was building and equipping $17 0OO, ,000 worth of new hos pitals for the wrecks of the World war. Thompson and Black wanted quite nat urally, a share of this business. Nor timers job implied sticking close to Forbes" And not only Mortimer's di- rect testimony but many letters and telegrams in possession of the govern ment, indicate that Mortimer was pass ing to his employers advance informa- tion from the inner councils of the veterans bureau.
 Long before competitors and the pub lie in general knew where these hospi- tals were to be built, Forbes had given to Mortimos, for Thompson and Black, list of the eastern sites. Mortimer and his employers motored to these sites, looked them over. As a business proposition, they took a special fancy to that at Northampton, Mass.
 Wrong Site Chosen
 The selection of Northampton for a neuro-physiatric hospital is one of- the matters which the Senate committee, in s4, af nv,I vember, 1923, did not investigate. They had but six weeks to look into the oper- ations of government department which cost some $450,000,000 year and a debauch of mismanagement; necessarily, they touched only the high spots.
 To the private citizen, the choice of Northampton seems stupid; which is saying nothing against an attractive old .. New England town. NeurO-phycia :rfs'' is nearly equivalent to the slang term nut" This hospital was designed for the mental al u"' lIa weeks of V3fs Now th@ eSs ice n, -toUtUl' nt for sifch cases is atten,ance of skilled spe- e.alists. The best ntyl. of this .e,sks will not work for the sienter salary .anted hy ottr government ti0weger, th will, ter little or notfieg, treat eH 3,ldiers Ton the dde /"
 Boston Convenient
 Common sense you'd nave dictated that the IN. P.'' hospital for the New England region should have been built in some quiet spot within p miles of Boston. That city is rich in specialists. A visiting physician could have mOtored out and back in two hours, whereas Northampton is far from Boston, and al, visits it does nothing else that day.
 At any rate, the site was chosen-at whose instance does not exactly appear --, and was pproved, after a conference with Fort by the President. This, however, la; nothing directly to do with the si, gular story of the North ampton f0ul iation contract.
 When, any in 1922, President Har dipS informed Director Forbes that the new hoSr;a must not be erected on the cos, pus plan but under definite contract. :h sealed bids, Mortimer expressed iety. Forbes told him not to wo1i You will be taken care of Jast the same The essence of tie coutrc, is speed."''
 Before '.o departed for his tour to the coas. orbes had advertised for hids on ;hl Northampton founda tions. 1Yley we f,- be opened on July 3. At that period, Director Forbes was on the Pacific coast, inspecting hospital sites and enjoying life. He had just, in fact, finished off party by jumping into a lake, fully dressed, with lady of the merry company. He had left behind, in charge of the bureau, Dr. Rogers.
 Cramer On Scene
 But Charles r. Cramer, chief coun- Il ko # ha secret diplOmacies. Bids for the Northampton job were filed on July 3. That of the Pontiac Construction com pany was not among them. However, there is some reason to believe that it was in the building at the time. But iL was not even mentioned when Cap tain Starr of the quartermaster gen erals department witnessed the open ing. On July 5, however, the Pontiac company appears on an official synop- sis of bids. The Northeastern Con struction company, one would have said, had won hands down. They bid $133, GOO; tiple, one hundred and twenty days. The p}itiac company, as listed op the synop.is, bid $160,000; time, sixty days. Ia their full. official bid, as after ar led, the typewritten fig pres 20 per, crossed out, and ''G0'' substitn ted
 t~ CrAlner A- out of the office at the '!me, takius vacation over the hOli- 'ey, The ,g. irtermaster generals de- artment hal m honest interest in this G 's; and q neral Carson of that bu-
 ran, r ted to Acing Director A.. s n 0J nion. He recommended ao - '', st n bid, not only because .4i he e price, but because of q co .sosg s.... tdafinita plauSp in the .al. al. Pontiac reserved the
 , CT .uu4 ytra charges in case
 = found it aee, 'sary to blast. And 5a Cars6n's opinigo blasting would be 7eceSSafg. Ile Aprt. eastern company GiRt c no s,lch rcstlvat,,N.
 Sends News To >rbes. ,---.- i faetor Rogers .0rHel telegraphed this .Y,ws to Colonel to5pr , the Pa cific coast, And pn jH,ly lu Forbes transmit d ,ao teleS r1E4S first, high-minded anu offic''i Va, a Rog- CTS. "ConsL 'eueral -,.Esci, .. -. d. "and give me ,ur recommendation 99 tn whom the NOrthan ptoo coprrac, should be awarded, ] desire 10 i;il " the financial respon ibilitJ f bc7@uc- cessful bidder"
 But to Cramer he tefeuapAed as fellows:
 "If Pontiac Constructic company furnishes bond equal to the sum of the contract and guarantee the work will be done in 60 days, etc. award the contract for Northampton"
 But the Quartermaster generals de partment insisted on it's right to voice in the award grew troublesome.
 So we find Director Forbes, in spite of the necessity for speed on which he had insisted, holding up the award of