Casper Daily Tribune Newspaper, February 7, 1924, Page 8

"AGE EIGHT Che Casper Daily Cribune MEMBER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS rv ed Press is exclusively entitled to the tion of all news credited in this paper e local news published herein. ‘The Casper Daily Tribune issued every evening anc ‘The Sunday Morning Tribune every Sunday, at Cas- per, Wyoming. Publication offices: Tribune Building, opposite postoffice. Casper (Wyoming) postoffice as seound Entered class matter, November 23, 191 5 and 16 Business Telephones ——.---------------] at Branch Telephone Exchange Connecting All Departments. By HANWAY and BE. B, HANWAY J. & Advertising Leap Creepy Chicago, Boston, s and visitors are welcome. Member of Audit Bureau of Circulation (A. B. ©) SUBSCRIPTION RATES By Carrier and Outside State da: -~--$9,00 i ---- 2.50 -- 4.50 eS FS 75 y'and Sund ths Daily and Sunday ~ Three Months, Daily and Sunday -. One Month, Daily and Sunday Per Copy - One Year, Sunday Only Six Months, Day ané Sunday ~ Three Months, Daily and Sunday One Month ily and Suncay 15 All subscriptions must be paid in advance and the Daily Tribune wil not Insure delivery after subscrip- tion becomes one month In arrears. YOU DON'T GET YOUR TRIBUNE. t find your Tribune after logking care- 5 or 16 and it will be delivpred to you Register nts before’ 8 The Tempest Rages The clash between the two schools of conser- vation, or rather the ultra-conservationsists and those who favor immediate development and use of public reesources culminates in the spec- tacular Teapot dome inquiry at Washington. The former was represented by Theodore Roose- yelt and Gifford Pinchot and now by their fol- lowers. The latter by most of the western states- men of both parties until conservation became a settled policy of the Republican party, when Democrats opposed it for purely political rea- sons. After the conservation program: of forests, water power and naval oil reserves was com- pleted the west became apparently reconciled and gave it support. All the while, however, there remained a considerable sentiment for the exploitation of public resources upon the plea of local development, urged by captains of indus- try. These urgings were prosecuted before both Democratic and Republican administrations, ac- cording to testimony adduced by the senate in- quiry. While the actual lease under the act of congress was made in the early part of the Republican administration the way was paved for it under the preceding Democratic administration by Mr. McAdoo shortly after re- signing from the cabinet, for which Mr. Doheney another Democrat, and contributor to the Democratic war chest, says he paid Mr. McAdoo the sum of $250,000. . It is all right to make Albert Fall the goat if he deserves it. But if there is no greater proof, than so far brought out, that he was unfatih- ful to his public trust, he can never be made the goat. : The brethren on the other side have gone into the Teapot matter with the sole purpose of making political capital out of it fer parti- san purposes. They are on mighty slippery ground. For what they are attempting to fasten upon one or two Republicans, as criminal acts they find in their own party more of their own concerned than they can dig up in our party.* If it seems desirable for the Democrats to make apolitical issue out of the alleged un- faithfulness of public officers, let them. ._We will probably have a muddy campaign, that will not put the country ahead any, or increase pub- lic confidence in the thousands and thousands of honest and faithful men who are serving in public capacities. When the courts get throtigh with their in- quiry into the legal aspects of the Teapot situa- tion, it will bear no resemblance to the redfire aspects given it in the partisan political investi- ion at present going forward. Sxcitement, about the whole matter is largely E outside the state of Wyoming where the Teapot is located; and as usual in such cases, the peo- ple showing the wildest disposition are those who are not concerned in the oil industry and have but little actual information on the whole subject. We believe we <eflect the wisest opinion in the industry, locally, when we say that the devel- opment of the Teapot at the time was the wisest economical step the government could have taken, and that it was of great benefit to the west and furnished a needed impulse to. the in- dustry as a whole. Here’s The Rehearsal Mr. Cordell Hull, chairman of the Democratic national committee has invited a rehearsal of things and events that occurred in the recent administration, of his Democratic party of the national government. Mr. Hull maintains that the record of his party constitutes “an unblem- ished record of honest and faithful service.” In} enumerating these happenings and refreshing Mr. Hull’s memory upon recent official history which he is pleased to call “honest and faith- ful s@rvice,” it would seem entirely appropriate and pertinent to inquire of him, just what would constitute, in his view, actual dishonesty and unfaithfulness under his party's administra- tion? Touching at random the more important items unearthed by congressional inquiry, which in the nature of things could not bring to light all that} occurred under an administration acknowledged to be the most incompetent in history and per- | meated with graft time when the fate of | the nation was at stake in The most terrific war | of all time: Bought 41,000,000 pairs of shoes for soldiers. Bought 149,456,611 bread cans, or 42 for every man ynder arms. | Paid out #484,425,566.11 on claims presented} after the war, many of them without a contract, most of them without an accounting, many with out any legal justification, over the continued protests of Eepublicau members of congress, 8,500,000 | public information, which was engaged in par- Se ee ee = See A casual audit by General Lord indicated that on oye-tenth of the settlements with contractors there had been overpayments of $46,000,000. | Spent twenty million dollars on coke ovens which produced no coke. Spent $35,000,000 on picric acid plants which produced no acid. Spent $127,661,000 on terminals and docks at which no ship ever tied up. Spent $116,000,000 on poison gas plants which furnished no gas. Four billion dollars was spent on ships which took no part-in winning the war because they were not in use, it is estimated that half of this sum was wasted, much of it on wooden ships, which proved unseaworthy and rotted at an- chor; hundreds of other ships were sold at a small fraction of their cost. Records were destroyed, papers ‘hid and docu- ments abstracted from the files, as shown by the report of the Graham committee in order to make impossible prosecution of criminality. Eleven billion dollars were loaned to“foreign nations without evidences of indebtedness mak- ing collection possible except by negotiation, of which $1,500,000,000 was loaned after the war was over and $300,000,000 to nations not inyoly- ed in the war. Trees were cut down on cantonment sites and lumber hauled for miles to construct buildings on these same sites, corn crops ready for gather- ing burned and grain purchased to feed the gov- ernment’s horses; valuable materials dumped in excavations or thrown into streams; scores of thousands of unnecessary people employed at excessive wages on cdst-plus contracts in order to run up the plus and encouraged to shirk on the job; materials bought at excessive prices in order to swell the contractors’ profits on a per- centage basis! scores of thousands of motor vehicles permitted to decay and rust exposed to the weather while the government had acres of covered storage; many millions of tons of ex- cess canned food held from the market while prices were high to carry out agreements with cohtractors from which this stuff was brought at excessive prices, in order to prevent break- ing the market and afterwards sold for next to nothing; thousands of costly modern honses built for government employes and employes of government contractors at remote places and turned over to the hats and owls at the end of the war. Purchased 945,000 saddles, 1,000,000 sets, of double harness, 1,148,000 horse covers, 2,850,000 halters for the 391,000 horses and mules used in the army. If all the orders made by the War department had been filled they would have re- quired 300,000 more hides than the total output of the United States, which caused a doubling and trebling of the price of shoes and other leather products. Purchased 195,000 copper-tipped branding irons to brand the government’s 391,000 horses and mules; at the conclusion of the contract the government bought 20,000 pounds of left-over copper from the company at 391% cents and sold it back to them at 11 cents; then the government allowed $40,000 for profits the company would have made if it had made more branding irons. Not a branding iron was used during the war. We bought $21,000,000 of ambulance harness when our ambulances were motorized. Bought for 391,000 horses and mules 1,637,000 horse brushes, 1,148,364 horse covers, 2.033,204 nose bags and 712,510 sets of spur straps or 36 sets apiece for every officer entitled to use them. Spent $206,632,920 for sixteen national army cantonments, built by the cost plus, system, | which could have been built for $128,101.399, or $78,531,521 less money with the waste and graft eliminated. Spent $1,200,000,000 for camps and cantonments in~which the conservatively esti- mated waste and graft was 400,000,000. These | contracts were let without bids. “s | Spent $60,000,000 to build a powder plant at | Nitro, W. Va., which never produced a pound of powder; after the war the entire plant, with* personal property worth conservatively ten mil- lion dollars, was sold for $551,000. The company | which was paid $11,293,737.11 for operating the | nitro plant produced no powder that could be used during the war. Spent $90,000,000 in constructing and operat- ing a powder plant at Nashville, Ténn., which produced no powder that could be used during the war, and $116,194,974.37 on nitrate plants at | Sheffield, Ala, Muscle Shoals, Ala., Toledo, 0.,! and Cincinnati, O., which did not. produce a pound of nitrates during the war. Spent to the date of the armistice $1,051,000,- 000 for aircraft construction without producing a fighting plane, the total of observation and ali + other forms of planes sent to Europe being 3,214. A recommendation of criminal prosecution in this case was made by a legal commission of in- vestigation headed by Justice Hughes, but no action was taken by the Democratic adminis- tration. Spent during the war $1,191,000,000 for. artil- lery, with the result that 133 American-made guns were on the firing line at the date of the armistice. Made hundreds of contracts like the follow- ing: Contracted with the Hammond Car company to erect buildings, and purchase machinery and raw materials for the building of,howitzer car- Tiages, paying the company a commission on the finished product; erected buildings costing $ 7,000 and sold them back to the company for $600,000; material in the plant at the time of the armistice amounted in value to $5,558,000 ; the department sold this material to the com- pany for $300,000 at a time when the arsenals of the country were clamoring for similar mater- ial. The two hundred howitzer carriages pro- duced cost the government $18,582,000. ix months after the war was over, when we had twice as many automobiles in France as we needed, sent.33,993 negy motor vehicles to France which were sold at aeeity per cent-of their orig- aa cost, with ten years in which to pay for hem. Hundreds of settlements were made with con- tractors allowing them profits they claimed suey wroule have made if the war had continued and they had been permitted to deliye: ordered. : sat ot og Spent eight million dollars of the people’s money maintaining the George Creel bureau of tisan administration propagands his is by no means all. There is much more While the country has been del- uged In recent years with reforms and reformers of almost every brand end variety, ments. ss ‘This appiies to the Feceral con- stitution, that of cl! the states, and charters of most of the big cities, Now before going further, it might be well to state that the writer hag no desire to pose as some kind of sagebrush sage or flower of statesmanship, which up to the present, has wasted its frag- rance on the desert air. Perhaps not a few—and justly so—will con- sider these lucubrations as. merely the idle thoughts of an idle fel- low. But since reform seems to be the great obsession of the age woe may as well all have a whack at it. So here goes: In the first place, we have about twice too many elections. In other ‘words, the term of practically every officer from the president down, Is about one-half too short. With many others, with whom the writ- er has discussed the subject, we believe that the presidential term should be eight years instead of four, with el'gibility of incumbent limited to one term. Parentheti- cally speaking, the writer believes that there should be a limit to the number of terms of any other pub- Uc officer’s e'igibility to election. This would tenc to curtail the growth of life-long rings and ma- chines, which are not among the less reprehensible features in the realm of American politics. On the other hand, it might be urged that we cannot have, too much of a good man. There may be a grain of truth in that. But all things considered, ineligibility to an indefinite number of terms, would be the lesser evil of the two. We must remember that even a good man must die sometime and then the country must get along without him. ‘Webster and Clay died, and splendid statesmen and patriots as they were, the nation survived their great services. Returning, however. to the elght year presiCential term: Some peop'e might contend that stich a term would be too long, in case an oc ecupant of the presidential chair should prove incapable, or. other w'se unworthy of the great office of Chief Executive. Granted, But as a certain Civil War veteran. who fought four yeary with Sher- man used to majntain, applying even to that high office, should br vested in the people, the right of recall. National presidential primaries. too shou’d be a long step in thr right direction. But, let us ramble right along. Very few people believe that biennial congressiona! elections ar: an “unmired blessing. It is fact that in recent years, congres sional and presidential campaign: ——— Nev's high mancderd of delicious fever of similar kmd. But it ought to be enough to cinvince Mr. Hull that he onght to revise his view of “honest and faithful’ Seryicee, upward Jamey Sita Sapience Fi rom the A. O'DONOGHUE Sagebrush are earlier and earlier, until at present, they practically overlap each other, keeping the country in an almost chronic state of unrest, with a concommitant condition of in the bus- iness- and in world. Fur- just about beginning to learn some- thing, by way of practical experi- ence, when his term expires. But on with the reform dance. If there be one thing, above all others, that has outlive® its use- fulness—if it ever had any—it is the electaral _ college. That a presidential candidate should be elected by a big majority of the popular vote, and still be defeated by a couple of votes in the elec- toral college, is a paradox and an anachronism inconsistent with reas- on, and at variance with common sense. Yet, it ig a historic fact that this very thing has happened more than once. As most of us know, the most notable exremptifica- tion of the anomaly was the Tilden-| Hayes election. It is history that Samuel Tilden was chosen president: by a plurality exceeding 240,000 of the popular vote. Yet, by the concession of three doubtful electoral votes to Mr, Hayes, the latter received the presidency, by a majority of just one vote in the electoral college. Again, in 1888, Benjamin Harrison was returned chief magistrate throngh the electoral college, not- withstanding the fact that Grover Cleveland received a plurality of nearly 100,000 of the popular vote. However, it is not necessary to turn back farther than the Wilson- Hughes campaign, a little over seven years ago, to cite an instance. Had Charles E. Hughes received a Uttle over 5.000 more of the popular vote in California, thus securing the electoral vote of that state, with those of a couple of minor states, Mr. Hughes would have occupied the White House, although a minor- ity candidate, by nearly half a mil- lion of the popular vote, By way of digression, it is tnter- esting to note that, in this respect, little backward Bolivia is ahead of the United States, since her chief executive is elected by a direct popular vote. ’ Advocacy of the abolition of the electoral college is nothing new. Indeed, in 1875, a party known in It Happened Testing Public Credulity THERMOPOLIS.—"“Wildcat Sam" bernathy was down from his traps 1d shack on Birdseye pass this eek looking like the breaking up a_hard ‘winter and feeling like cefve where an upper, or second. assemblies, Matters and Things, of State-Wide Interest, Wired In, Telephone In, Written, Grape-Vined and Some of It Purloined ts day arged in their eopular vote for president and vice president. But, let the reform filvver “fiv.” Coming to state institutions and city charters: it is difficult to con- house in legislative or ‘The reverse is almost invariably the case. The most urgent measures are not infrequently tossed back and forth between the two houses, sometimes for weeks, in many in- stances suggestive of some kind of legislative football. The system, more than anything else, is re- sponsible for this. However, the taxpayers must foot the bill for the waste of time. Striking right home, it is the honest conyiction of the writer, that in Wyoming, with a population slightly exceeding 200,000, an upper house is a superfluous adjunct, and an unnecessary burden on the tax- payers. Going still further, if a single. chamber convened every four years instead of every two, it would be a great saving of the pub- lic funds, and such assemblages would be sufficient for all practical Jaw-making purposes. Now, the Labor party, in their Chicago platform, urged the aboli tion of the national senate. This, for reasons which space precludes dwelling on, seems a step too far. Nevertheless, we'll venture to say that if the senatorial representation were reduced to one senator from each state, it would render the upper house less unwieldy, and par- Ually relieve the country from a superflutty of senatorial oratory. Indeed, if the national house of representatives wert cut down one half, it would mean less talk and, perhaps, more business. While still laboring along the re- form highway, we'll say in conclu- sion, that if thousands of federal, state, county and municipal offices were abolished, instead of new ones being constantly created, such a procedure would be hailed by every taxpayer in the land, as one of the greatest, and most-needed, reforms in the history of the nation. in Wyoming a bear after a season of hibernating. While Thermopolis has-been sitting Proudly on the ba®ks of the Big Horn without suffering any of the outrageous flings of the storm king, Birdseye Pass, according to‘the sto- ries of “Wildcat* Sam", has been buried deep in the snow and bearing the rigors of an old fashioned win- ter. Tttakes the delicious Butter. ayer ean apes pl perfect. Butter-Nut supplies that final touch of richness and satisfaction_that nothing else can give. Quality in coffee is tru ). Se RR a ag , “he Coffee Delicious” i 5 i j i i Hf Hs 2 g i i g ; ul 42 EE i “From Contented Cows” quart flows with pure milk WwW LEAVE CASPER—ARKEON BUILDING t Mason Pens Ode To Electric Light In his famous poetic writings on subjects of popular interest, Walt Mason does not for- + get how the science of electricity has bene- \fited modern man. Here is the way he de- scribes the blessings of electric light: When in my cozy room o’ nights I count my blessings every hour; I push a button and the lights shine forth with potency and power. Last night the button failed to work some dynamo had broken down, and midnight shadows seem to-lurk o’er all the sore and saddened town. My aunt produced an ancient lamp with misfit glass and shade of green, and its ex- terior was damp with evil smelling kero- sene. I cranked it up and lit the wick and said, “Now, we shall have some light ;” the ‘smoke it sent forth dark and thick, increas- ra ee pare of the night. When turn- “ ed too low it gave no light, when turned too high it acted drunk, and I exclaimed, ie und the wight who ever made such hopeless junk.” : 1 fooled with it in my abode, neglecting more important chores and in the end saw it explode, and blew my aunt clear out-of- doors. My clothes were wet with kero- sene, rfiy hide was full of broken glass and neighbors say they wist and ween my lan- guage shtiveled up the grass, Our fathers used such dizzy traps to light their homes and thought them great, and much I fear we modern chaps don’t realize our rich estate. I count my blessings, count them all, since with that coal oil lamp I ‘wrought; I press a button in the wall. and’ lo, the light to me is brought, ; TRAIN SCHEDULES Chicago & Northwestern SALT CREEK BUSSES 3 Busses a Day Each Way Leave Salt Creek Baggage and Expres: Sf ota Called for and Delivered Ba. me Da. ma. Salt Creek Transportation 2 p.m 2:30 p.m Company Tel. 144 3 p. m Departs 2:35 p. m. NN