Montana labor news., 1932-10-20
TELLING B / i
ABOUT GNU AFFAIR

Battle of Pennsylvania Avenue, in
order that you may, for the ben
eft of all concerned, square these
facts with the published state
ments emanating from your de-
partment.
You will recall, Mr.. Secretary,
that this interview took place in
your office and extended over a
period of more than three hours;
that there were present yourself,
Major General Douglas Macarthur,
B. E. F. Commander Walter W..
Waters, Captain Doak E. Carter,
Lieutenant Johnston and myself;
that during this interview the Pace
Communist group of about 200 men
was constantly referred to as en-
tirely separate from the B. E. F.
that Commander Waters stated he
would ~evacuate the three longest
ed areas in Washington as soon as
he could find shelter for some $50
women and children; that Waters
had advised all veterans with homes
to return to them and that the
men still in Washington had no
homes, except the temporary quar-
ters which they occupied, many
with their families and all their
worldly goods; that Waters was at
that time working on a Florida col
onization scheme and had other
projects for dispensing these men
into productive industry; that tenn
porary shelters were planned at
Camp Bartlett, on the extreme out
skirts of the District of Columbia,
which would clear the congested
area within a week; and lastly,
that Captain Carter rendered to
you the loyal support and coop
Grafton of every man in the B. E.
F. to carry out any order or wish
which you might officially or
otherwise express.
l do not forget, Mr.. Secretary,
that you called General Frank 7.
Hines of the Veterans Administra-
ton and urged him to allow these
women and children to be moved
to Fort Hunt for a few days. Also,
that you asked General Macarthur
if he could supply the necessary
| admired and commended this CO.
operative spirit on your part. l
tentage for a temporary period.
clearly recall, however, your re-
ply to Captain Carriers tender of
the loyal cooperation of the B. E.
f. to the effect that there was no
condition which would lead you to
call upon the B. E. F., or any Of
its members for any service, as
well as Captain Carter's rejoinder
that you did not feel that way
about it in 1917. l also clearly
recall your observation that the
B. E. F. had been a problem to
the Administration, because these
men had been absolutely law-abid-
ing and orderly; that had they
violated the law, or been disorder
ly, they could have been evicted
from the District of Columbia by
the civil or military authorities and
that the president of the United
States, by a scratch Of his pen,
could declare martial law and use
the entire military forces of the
United States for that purpose.
Now, if | have erred in any
point, please correct me. If l
have not, please square your de-
partment's broadcast with these
facts and explain how the moving
picture industry obtained reels of
men in uniform setting fire to the
B. E. F. shacks at Camp Marks,
occupied by the veterans and their
families, between 10 and II o'clock
Thursday night, July %.
| fully appreciate the political
necessity of justifying this act of
barbarism, which compared favor
ably with many of the World war
scandals, but | cannot believe that
political expediency can justify an
entire disregard of admitted and
well-proven facts.
| am calling this to your at
tention as particularly desirable
in view of the fact that / enlisted
from Portland, Oregon, and am
sure that the American Legion
convention in that city is entitled
to be apprised of this interview.
| am also taking the liberty of
sending copies of this letter to
the press for their information.
Very truly yours,
(Ciunod\ HEPREPT G WARD