Evening Star Newspaper, March 3, 1925, Page 13

SECRETARY MELLON DEFENDS TREASURY Declares Purported Irregu- larities in Bonds Far From Proven. First Page.) spired by Brewer, who had given his wide publicity in a _sult t by him in the Supreme Court strict of Columbia against his own department head. Aswsails Brewer's Part. committee promptly desig- r. Brewer to assist It fn con- the investigation. Thus Mr. having made the charges ilted in the passage of the has occupled the triple vestigator of his own ac- prosecuting attorney and to the jury. Naturally, he wted ¥ such information and as in his opinion wblish his charges had no interest in the ith wvas inconsistent with the charges upon which his employment depended he Brewer whick resolution rola cusat dvisor pres such ness ng of the mmit- nearly a yearago, ed permission to of all the wit- & Mr. Brewer, and to them, and that request ntly repeated. Notwith- s, nearly all the witnesses iewed in secret executive though there has been v was denied ir testimony or The Treas- an_opportunity to Brewer, which enabled it to show con- lusively wherein he had evaded or distorted the facts “Under date of January 28, 1925, the committee submitted to the Treasury a list of five so-called ‘outstanding facts' with respect to which it de- sired information. This information was conveyed to the committee in my February 4 and February In these letters the com- was fully advised concerning: (1) Th thority of the Secretary f the Treasury to des irities try Was Tiot aross-c would ha 1 employved by the in giving tentative alloc tions of serial numbers where secu ties appear to bear duplicated serfal numbers; “(3) The facts concerning alleged paper and bond shortages: (4) 1 method of certification employed with respect to securities delivered for destruction, and “(5) The Liberty Bond transactions conducted by the War Finance Cor- poration during the period 1913 to 1920 Treasury Willing to Ald. “In _this connection. I may say that the Treasury has at all times held itself in readiness to co-operate with the committee In every possible way and has repeatedly assured the com- mittee of its willingness to furnish the facts concerning any matter under consideration. At the same has pointed out the injustice f accepting the testimony of wit- nesses, many ef whom were employes with fancied grievances who could not in the nature of things have had full knowledge of the operations, without permitting the Treasury to cross-examine them or answer their was the investigation of icter, but the committee, though often Invited by the Treasury to make a personal inspection of the activities about which its investiga- tion has centered, and thus gain first- hand information regarding the meth- ods under which the public debt has been handled and the safeguard de- | betore actions of the War Finance Corpora- tion in Liberty bonds during the period 1018 to 1920, which were comi- pletely and conclusively refuted in a public hearing on October 25, 1924, and in my letters to the committee al- ready referred to. As Far From Proof as Ever. The accusers of the Treasury, therefore, are as far now from prov- ing thelr c¢harges as they were in 1930. Mr. Brewer undertook to in- vestigate the McCarter charges, and after two and 1 half years merely re- peated them and admitted that ha could not prove them to be true. The speclal congressional committee then undertook to investigate’ Mr. Brew- er's chafges, and after the lapse of a year has merely repcated many of the same charges and has developed no evidenec to support them, Cer- tainly threo and @ half years of fruitless investigation should be sut- ficlent to demonstrate that the charges are baseless, The charges started with a great consplracy and “hundreds of milifons” {n fraudulent seourities, but during the fnvestiga- tion these general charges have grown less and less, until now the only specific evidence of, fraud pre- sented is the theft of $15,100 of paid securities and thefr second presenta- tion, the facts concerning which the Treasury itself made known. This is not a duplication of securities, but a duplicate payment of the same se- curities. he chari late to tra my for the most part, re- ions which took place administration of the Treasury. 1 feel that the handling of the tremendous volume of war- time securities was exceptionally well conducted Dby the employes of the Treasury, and 1 think the public should know that the charges are unworthy of further consideration.” Asks Audit of Public Debt. A comprehensive audit of the public debt Is recommended by a majority of the House committee which inves- tigated charges of irregularities in the Bureau of Engraving and Print- ing, in a report yesterday which de- clared that duplication of Government bonds, “some fraudulent, the propor- tlon not yet determined,” had been disclosed. The report, filed late vesterday, was signed by Representatives King, Re- publican, Illinos; Steagall, Democrat, Alabama, and Stevenson, Democrat, South Carolina. Chairman McFadden, in a minority report, declared he could not sub- scribe to the majority findings, which he described as “incomplete.” If hearings had been continued to per- mit the Treasury to present addi- tional witnesses, he added, the ma- jority report might have “stated dif- The style headwear. when the Flag passes THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ferent conclusions and necessarily different recommendations.” The fifth member of the committee, Representative Strong, Republican, Kansas, in separate minority views, asserted that while there had been duplicate numbered bonds issued by the Treasury, he had not found that theso bonds were spurious or fraud- ulent, nor that the Government did not receive full payment for them. The committee majority declared that the evidence, presented during a years investigation, had disclosed: “1-—That there has been duplication of bonds, some fraudulent, the pro- portion not yet determined. —That the report of the Treasury relative thereto is incomplete, con- tradictory and evasive, and the tes- timony it offered to show innocent error, was refuted: “3-_That records have been falsi- fled, the extent of which is unknown to the committee. “4—That indifference to duplicates has been prevalent. Legal Remedies Neglected. “p~—That legal remedies have been neglected in the payment of dupli- cutes. “6—That destruction of bonds was conducted in haste and that destruc- tion records are not dependable. —That bonds were destroyed In violation of law, of regulations and of the presidential order and evi- dence of duplication thus removed. “8—That, under a theory of econ- omy, evidence not destroyed has been rendered useless and the Government also thus deprived of its main safe- guard against future fraud. “9--That the will of Congress has been overridden in the purchase and sale of millions of dollars’ worth of bonds. *“10—That were employed funds. “11—That substantial actual losses to the Government have resulted. nd that the extent of th Wigs and Patent Toupees r ,th‘g'rml Ofer oupee for oo $20 $500.00 if my state- ment is not tru Tllustrated cal logue sent free. LOMBARD BAMBINA CO. 113 MUNROB STREET, LYN' Pay What You Will STUDEBAKER You Can Buy no Finer Car questionable methods in handling these To Top Off "'T.fl“" thought in topping off sartorial ti Spring is supremity of style in I-!:n' Inauguration, inaugurate the new styles—you will be completely correct if in the parade you lift in salute one of these world famous Borsalino Hats 9.00 Famed for the integrity of their maker—supreme in style—these losses has been rendered uncertaln by fallure of recort ‘The investigation was a sequel to the summary dismissal early in 1923 by President Harding of the director of the Bureau of Engraving and Print- ing and 28 heads of divisions of the bureau “for the good of the service A long row followed, and about two years later, after the discharged offi- clals had been reinstated under the clvil service, 16 of the men were placed back on their jobs. The re- mainder had obtained other employ- ment or had reached the retirement age. The majority report stated that duplicate bonds totaling 2,314,000 pairs and duplicate coupons totaling 4,698 pairs, ranging in denomination from 350 to $10,000, had been redeemed to July 1, 1924. Charging that duplicate payments of identical bonds stolen from Treas- ury vaults by employes and again cir- culated had been made, the report said that the extent of such thefts is un- certaln on account of “inexact meth- ods and faulty mccounting.” Little or no attention, it was de- clared, has been pald to duplicate bonds when received in the Treasury. Employes generally, it added, seem to have prejudiced such cases, declding that duplication resuited from error. Recommends Segregation. The report recommended that the printing of Government securities be completely divorced from the Bureau of Loans and Currency in the Trea ury Department, and from the agen: In charge of auditing and the final recording of payments. As an additional safeguard, it was recommended that the division of paper custody, the Bureau of Engrav- ing and Printing, and the office of register of the Treasury, which au- dits and records the retirement of pald and canceled securitles, be sep- arated from the Treasury and requir- ed to report directly to Congre: The report sald all evidence in the possession of the committee was be- ing turned over to Congress, and It was added that there is much evi- dence In the files of the Treasury, the division of loans and currency, the Bureau of Engraving and the com- missioner of the public debt which would be available at any time for examination by Congre Asserting that it was “absolutely es- sential” that the examination which the committee 18 forced to terminate by adjournment of Congress be re- sumed and that the public debt be subjected to a searching audit, the majority charged that “the attitude of the Treasury has been constantly one rather than one of McFadden Refuses to Sign. Explaining why he had withheld his signature from the majority report, Chalrman McFadden said the commit- tee had been unable to hear many witnesses, and did not have time to call or hear all of the witnesses of- fered by the Treasury or to permit the department to examine witnesses previously heard. Mr. Strong, in his minority report. sald that while there had been errors and some petty thieving, he had found that “such errors and such petty thieving were not more than could be expected under the volume of work and the general wartime conditions that prevalled.” It is remarkable,” continued Mr. Strong, “that in handling over 140 billions of dollars in bonds and other securities from the beginning of the war up to the present time the Treas- ury had sustained so few losses. This achievement deserves commendation rather than criticism. C, TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 1925. made in the majority report are un- founded, and has ever so insisted when before our committee.” Assally Brewer's Part. Mr. Strong declared that Charles B. Brewer, Department of Justice attor- ney, whose charges of irregularities at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing resulted in the committee's investigation, had been engaged in an effort to disclose fraud at the burcau “for almost four years without any appreclable result.” “His Investigation has @ost the Government hundreds of thousands of dollars in time, labor and other ex penses” sald Mr. Strong, “and the' committeo already has spent $10,000 in this investigation. On the basis of the evidence presented, to continue the committee and to have an audit, as requested by the majority report, | would be nothing less than a great| waste of public money.” . The ancients belteved that rings gold, ornamented with certain ston ‘were capable of warding off death by polsoning. AMP WALLS —and resulting ““wet spots” on the interior SHED through our weatherproofing process. Phone L. 6049 or address P. O, Box 1256, 'WEATHERPROOF OLEANING 00., ‘WE CLEAN BUILDINGS’ 0O O O | orporation oal oal o | “The Secretary of the Treasury has repeatedly stated that the charges lean llIlIII!IllIIIIIi[|l!llI|I||[|||||l|||!l|l!i|l||ll!IIIl}llillllllllllllfl s, | JE. Cunningbar €o 101 LIQUOR ARRESTS. One hundred and one persons were arrested on charges of oxication during the 48 hours ended at 8 o'clock | this morning und more than 200 gal- | lons of whisky were seized in con nection with arrests for alleged violations of the Volstead Four arrests were made for driving mobiles while under the influen liquor. Dr. Platt's caiise of {1t ~Alla. guaranteed 1o or money bac drugs. Get Rinex to 24-FHour ¥ gisi or & ¢ Of | atories Co., CL cover packing, and try it atment FREE from by the Clinical Labor- . on receipt of 10c 1o sou take no visk in 7 on guarantee from y_druggist—woney back if mot relieved in Keep Looking Young ..?It’s Easy—Tf;;-Know Dr. Edwards’ Olive Tablets Inauguration Day Wednesday, March 4th SPECIALS Table D'Hote Dinner, $2.00. Also Service a la Carte. SUPPER DANCE 10 to 1 a. m. SANGAMO BAND With DICK LEIBERT Souvenirs Noisemakers | | ’ The secret of keeping young is to feel young—to do this you must watch your liver and bowels—there’s no need of having a sallow complexion—dark rings under your eyes—pimples—a blll- ous look in your face—dull eyes with no sparkle. Your doctor will tell you ninety per cent of ali sickness comes Y from inactive bowels and liver. Dr. Edwards, a well known physi- cian in Ohio, perfected a vegetable compound mixed with olive oil to act on the liver and bowels, which he gave to his patients for years Or. Edwards’ Olive Tablets, the sub- stitute for calomelgare gentie In their action yet always eWective. They bring about that natural buoyancy which all should enjoy by toning up the liver and clearing the system of impurities. Dr. Edwards' Olive Tablets are | known by their olive color. 16c and 30c. Pennaylvania Ave. at 11th. For Reservations— Call Main 3094 Note—We have a Imited 316 7th The Most Marvelous Values We Have Ever Shown! EveryiDress Fashioned of Exquisite New Silks and Satins and Adorably Trimmed With Dainty Laces, Beading, Embroidery and Ribbons! 316 The Most Attractive Colors You Have Ever Seen! In an Endless Variety of Smart New Spring Styles! Borsalino Hats are stylishly broader of brim and fuller of crown. Si v West (INCORPORATED) 14th and G Streets N. W. si to protect its integrity, has not seen fit to do so. The importance of uch an inspection in connection with ny effort to determine the facts is dily apparent. Representative Strong, who, as I have said, did not sign the report of the committee, is the only member who recognized the ecessity of personally viewing the reasury’s operations in relation to public debt matters, and who availed himself of the Treasury’s invitation. The committee's inquiry has been under way for nearly a year, and its report has been made public. The re- port ubstantially a reiteration of arter-Brewer charges, with exception that there are added certain charges relating to the trans- OODLAWN MANSION MISSES’ SIZES STREET DRESSES! WOMEN'’S SIZES AFTERNOON AND EXTRA SIZES PARTY DRESSES! You will be amazed at these lovely Dresses at this price—the quality of silks is so unusually rich and lustrous—the trimmings so distinctive and different—and the styles absolutely new! Priced within the reach of every woman. Misses’ Sizes—Second Floor Women’s Sizes—Second Floor WOODLAWN MANSION, originally part of the Mount Vernon estate, that portion being a gift from Gen. 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