Nogales international., 1932-08-27
EyICTIONOF THE BONUS ARMY

Tn the matter of the eviction of the bonus army
from Washington, President Hoover seems to nave
been as unfortunate in his statements OF Iacts as
he was in his frequent optimistic utterances mlnl-
nzinp he extent and trend of unemployment and his
Coueiss concerning the duration Of the depression,
which he said was only "a temporary halt in the pros
perity Of great people, during the first two years
of the Hoover panic. His statements anG predlcuon
in that period were al disproved by succeeding ev
ents Now his most important facts bearing upon
his reasons for the military eviction Of the ex-servlce
men from government property IN the DlsCl1ct OF
Columbia are flatly denied IN information ootamed
from official agencies OF the Federal government.
In justification for his order in calling out the
Federal troops President Hoover stated that These
buildings are on sites where government construc-
ton is in progress and their demolition was necessary
to extend employment in the District and to carry
forward the governments construction program:
A press inquiry at the Office of the Supervising
Architect of the Treasury brought the reply that there
were no plans for the construction of any buildings
on The area from which the bonus marchers were
evicted It was explained tlat the area would be
cleared Of debris and seeded to grass.
So much for President Hoover's fact concern
ing the immediate purpose for which the ground was
required
Al impression" concerning the status of the
evicted men, which President Hoover implicitly, at
least accepted as a ''fact" was transmitted by him
in telegram to an American Legion Post at Boston.
1t reads:
1T is the impression Of our government services
that less than half of them (the bonus veterans in
Washington ever served under the American flag
This challenge of the patriotic services Of the
evicted shown to have been wrongfu1ly made
when General Frank T. Hines, Administrator of Vet
erans' Affairs, revealed that out of 5000 of
bonus marchers submitted to his agency, service
ords were found for all but 50O This information
was easily available to President Hoover before he
wired the impression" that less than half of them
had ever served under the flag.
The charge voiced by Secretary Of War Hurley
and other administration leaders that the men
under the influence Of Communists likewise proved
to be equally without foundation. Of the AZ "sus-
pects' arrested all discharged for lack of proof
Last Of the administration spokesmen to make
statements completely controverted by facts Rep
resentative Royal C. Johnson Of South Dakota who
charged that dynamite had been found in the camps
with caps to explode it. This was officially denied
at the office of Superintendent Of Police Gassford
and at the War Department
So far as the panicky statements of the admin
istration and It's spokesnen relating to the eviction
are concerned they have proved no more trustworthy
than were the Polyanna outgivings from the same
during the first two years of the Hoover panic
On both occasions they all had the effect of misead
ing the public to the facts And this is an aver
age illustration Of the kind Of 'fact-finding admin
istration' that is now in power.
Those Republican strategists who think they can
make political capital out of the charge that the NOM