Show I 1 Veter Veterans Bureau Scandal Graft Sensation of Decade I IFo Forbes b s Ke Kept t Mortimer Posted I 4 1 o 9 Contracts e acts Assure 35 Per Cent Profit I I e Inspection Trips Joy Rides By WILL IRWIN ThIs l II the e second instalment of the amazing story of Charles R R. R Forbes r al and his handling of the appropriated by the government for for the ther r rehabilitation of the tho American boys wounded In th the World war Yesterdays Yesterday's Instalment told how Forbes drummer boy In the marine corps corp at 12 later a deserter from the the- signal corps later a construction gang foreman and politician clan cian met Senator Warren Q G. Harding In the Hawaiian Islands won his I friendship eat sat or on the famous front porch at Marlon Marion and as Intimate and favored companion of the late president was appointed head of the veterans veterans' bureau after the Harding victory In 1920 NEV YORK Feb 12 Mrs Votaw sister of President 1 c Harding was the tho innocent cause of bringing Colonel F Charles Chares R R. 1 Forbes and Elias II Mortimer l together During F 1 I February 1923 she was working on ona ona on- on a a. special Job joW In th the veterans veterans' bu u reau She knew Mrs E. E H. H Mortimer Mortimer Mortimer Morti Morti- bU 1 mer a pretty and smart young oung woman very popular In ln one of the 1 several presidential sets Mrs Mortimer Mortimer Mor Mor- Mori i timer timet sometimes sometime called on her at atthe atthe t the tho office O One e afternoon Mrs Mortimer Mrs Votaw and Forbes came out of ot the veterans' veterans bureau together and found Mortimer waitIng waiting waiting wait wait- ing at the curb In hi his automobile Introductions were no sooner finished finished fin fin- than Colonel Forbes and the Mortimers went off on one of ot those parties which sprinkle the tho ln merry rry history of the veterans' veterans bureau Forbes seems to have havo perceived at once that his Ills new friend would be I serviceable to his purposes Mortimer Mortimer Mor- Mor timer had been an agent for firms which sold supplies supplieR to the government govern govern- I go ment He knew the ropes rope Two 1 meetings more and they had grown ro intimate three and Forbes be began an anto to talk business HOSPITAL CONTRACTS Congress Is going to pass th the c Langley bill he ho said Seventeen million dollars for new hospitals and their equipment I want you ou to find some contractors and get yourself appointed their agent Further ho advised Mortimer to secure agencies for beds bed supplies supplies supplies sup sup- plies surgical Instruments dental instruments Instruments anything anything and everything everything every every- thing that a hospital might need Supplies however did not Interest interest Inter inter- est Mortimer so much as the big Continued on pa page e 3 3 FORBES KEPT POSTED Hospital Hopital Contracts Assure 35 Per Cent Profit Continued from rom page 1 I hospital eor contracts tracts J J. J W. W Thompson and J J. W. W Black of St. St Louis partners part part- I hers ners In half haU a dozen Vest Western rn construction construction construction con con- companies were In Washington Wash ington looking for government busi- busi ness And now Mortimer is agent for tor these men with a promise of 35 per cent of the profits on any Job he ma may get for tor them Thompson Thomp Thomp- son Black and Colonel Forbes grow I intimate Thompson meets the tho j I colonel on one of his merry Inspection inspection I tion trips to New r York Mortimer I I finds Forbes and his two employers employ employ- I ers In close conference at tho the thoI Wardman Yardman Park hotel Washington I Forbes lorbes hands Mortimer a list of ot tha sites selected for tor new hospitals I explaining that it is confidential with the government put but ut suggest cst I ing that Thompson and Black look them over Colonel F Forbes gives Siye Mortimer tI his lIs word ih i-ih that l no one else one else outside of the government knows krows I the c contents of ot this list Mortimer Black and Thompson t like tle a it Joy joyride ride to the Eastern sites Then Mortimer Mortimer Morti Morti- I mer gets disturbing news s has been planning to build on the plus cost basis The president objects to that and insists on the contract basis probablY basis probably because that plan gives less opportunity for Jrr Irregular gular charges But Colonel Forbes reassures Mortimer l Time he sa says s 's is the essence of the con con- tract Dont worry he adds If U you are anywhere in line lino at all I will see ee you get the work QUESTION OF SITES Mortimer whose break with Forbes I shall describe later is the chief hief witness as to the system in inthe inthe inthe the veterans' veterans bureau But he was not an observer of the first minor scandal scand A to reach public attention Before construction sites must be purchased Here begins the Livermore Livermore Livermore Liver- Liver more Cal transaction Thirty miles or so inland from San Francisco Francisco Fran Fran- Fancisco cisco stood the Cresta Blanca vineyard vineyard vine vine- yard which once save gave ave Its name to toa toa toa a famous vintage of white wine Prohibition ruined that at least temporarily at the time the land was for sale cheap Charles F. F Cramer Cramer Cramer Cra Cra- mer legal adviser to the veterans' veterans bureau came from rom San Francisco He lIe apparently was first to to- mention the Cresta Blanca property as a site The veterans' veterans bureau paid I eventually for tor It much more In the opinion of ot real estate men than It was worth at the time Lucien Johnson was ne me owner of record Tho The transaction Is so ob obscured obscured oh- oh by leases options escrows and other technicalities that the laymen compute exactly what he paid for It originally but buthe buthe buthe he certainly did a very good piece of for himself Thomas ODay friend of Cramer and of Matthew OBrien O'Brien hereafter to be mentioned was Involved in nearly every stage of this transaction At Atthe Atthe Atthe the end we se find one Eccles agent for ODay following Lucien Johnson Johnson Johnson John John- son to the Crocker bank in San Francisco and collecting for tor services as ag agent nt The Tho money mone at Eccles' Eccles request was de delivered delivered de- de livered not in a check but in cash As all real estate men will agree a commission of more 20 per percent percent percent cent on a land transaction is generous generous generous gen gen- erous even lavish And In this piece of ot business either side probably probably abl ably had hadas as much need for tor an agent as a dog has for two Iwo tails Still less It would appear did the government need the of Matthew OBrien O'Brien supervising and constructive architect Friend F end of- of Cramer and ana ODay he was projected projected projected pro pro- Into the tho case as soon as the Livermore contracts were signed To un understand how little he was needed we wo must go back Into the history of the veterans' veterans bureau AUTHORITY UNCERTAIN Early In his administration Forbes had obtained from the de department department department de- de of Justice a very useful ruling As the Langley bill was drawn it was uncertain who should have authority to sign contracts the director of or the quartermaster generals general's department department depart depart- I ment of the army Which In reason reason rea rea- I son and common sense should have exercised this function no detached detached detached de de- observer doubts The di director director director di- di rector had a little litte rough experience In building the quartermaster generals general's generals general's generals general's gen gen- eral's department was staffed with experts In the period between the armistice and the formation of ot the i veterans' veterans bureau the quartermasters quartermaster's ter's department and its allied departments de departments departments de- de I had built nineteen permanent permanent per per- manent hospitals with reasonable efficiency and with no hint of Irregular irregular irregular ular practises And the law ac according according according ac- ac cording to attorneys who had looked Into this question might soundly have been interpreted either way Forbes passed the matter up to the president who by executive routine sent It on to the attorney generals general's department Back came camean camean camean an opinion the director of the veterans veterans' veterans veterans' veterans veterans' vet vet- erans' erans bureau had authority to sign the contracts This put Forbes Into an excellent strategic position He could sign or he could let et the quartermaster quartermaster quartermaster generals general's department sign according as it suited the diplomacies di diplomacies diplomacies di- di of the case Now the quartermaster generals general's department department department depart depart- ment as I 1 have said was full fun of building experts Tiley had plans and models already drawn for standard hospitals on the unit tem They were capable of supervising supervising supervising super super- every detail of hospital construction con con- and and without extra cost to the government since the experts ex- ex experts experts ex ex- were drawing salaries work or no work PLANS DEFECTIVE Nevertheless Matthew Matthev OBrien O'Brien was appointed planning and supervising supervising supervising super super- at a foe fee of ot Extra Items eventually raised the cost of this transaction to nearly According to a witness at the senate inquiry OBrien O'Brien arriving arriving arriving ar ar- ar- ar riving at Washington visited the veterans' veterans bureau and anti asked to look over over the J Standard t government plans plane With the help of government government government govern govern- ment draftsmen he sketched the essentials of these drawings and blue prints and spent several se days In conference with Charles H. H Stratton chief of ot designing His own plans when submitted had a strong family resemblance to those of the department But they were defective and the Livermore hospital hospital hospital hos hos- pital Job stopped dead Only last month after nearly two years of ot delay was wag ground finally broken This was to be a tuberculosis sani sani- Meantime the tuberculosis cases among our veterans have tended to seek milder airs arid ails therefore to pile up on the Pacific coast And many of ot the temporary temporary temporary tempo hospitals where they h have ve been coughing their lives away and meditating on n the gratitude of re republics republics republics re- re publics are aro unsanitary and able Before Mortimer brought to tg the surface the Inside workings of the veterans' veterans bureau we catch only glimpses At best there was wastefulness wastefulness wastefulness waste waste- and gross carelessness inthe In Inthe inthe the purchase of ot supplies Vh When When n General Hines the new director looked sketchily over the affairs of the bureau he found on hand enough floor wax and floor cleaner to last lasta a a. hundred years or so It had bee been 1 purchased mostly from the Continental Continental Continental Conti Conti- Chemical company In three or four tour large consignments at a total cost of The cleaner which cost the tho government about 98 cents a gallon was sent to the bu bureau bureau bureau bu- bu reau of standards for analysis This is a passage from their report Sample is a liquid s soap ap very l low law lawin lowin w win in anhydrous soap and containing a small amount of sodium carbonate carbon carbon- ate ate- If material represented by this sample is satisfactory for your purpose purpose purpose pur pur- pose it Is suggested that a solution solution solution tion of about three ounces of chip soap and about fou ounces of ot soda ash in of water would approximate tho the material reported herewith and would be much more economical GEORGE K K BURGESS Director EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION Major General ORyan attorney for the senate committee investigating ing this cas case brought out the out the tho fact that chi chip soap would cost 14 cents a gallon and soda ash cents a gallon making the cost exclusive of ot water cents a gallon But the government paid 38 cents As Asfor Asfor Astor for tor the floor wax wa in such enormous quantities it formed orm d a fire hazard Finally most of It was WitS destroyed by order of the director Fred E. E Hamilton Hammon investigator for General Gener l Hines tunes sa says s in his official report There are aro Indications of favoritism favoritism favoritism favorit favorit- ism If 11 not actual collusion or COnnivance connivance connivance con COn- in the placing of the order or order order or- or der the veterans' veterans bp bureau reau suffered suffered suf sut- suf- suf a severe loss If it was not actually defrauded 1 He lie recommends recommends recommends mends that the department of f Justice justice Jus jus- tice tico tal take e the matter up It was taken up not by the tho department of ot Justice however but by the sen senn ate But these charges were wore only hints and capitol gossip when In Jn Inthe inthe the summer of 1922 the director of the veterans' veterans bureau decided to swing round tho the country Inspecting g hospital sites Ostensibly but only ostensibly he was choosing sites also In reality that choice with two or three exceptions had hat already been made and had been O. O Kd by tho president And there seems no dis- dis reason why this information information tion should not have been given to the public However Forbes was to keep tho the list secret and In lu com com- after arter C L tb a receive cehe somewhat commercial hospitality built on hopes hope of ot ota a a l deal Just strung em aJ Sg gust timer along ng sa Mor- Mor Mortimer and Mrs invited In to join the Mortimer w were re party Taking l Forbes Forbes' testimony betor beford ate l the senate senate sen- sen committee at inclusion of ot the Mortimer its face value Js is ft hard the to explain Forbes said th that t Mortimer Mortimer Mor- Mor timer abused his wife was a character char char- acter whom he never liked had never talked Business Forbes Above all he testified with him that Mortimer had not I his Forbes' Forbes hotel customarily bills Mort Mortimer paid told a a. different story From Prom his hi first meeting with Forbes h he had paid paid paid There was a tour four day party party-at Atlantic City cTt for example ex example ex- ex ample tie lie settled d for tor thai that to n th the last bottle of ot mineral water In n fact he presented If in evidence I sheaf shea of receipted hotel hotel bin Mils made a out to Forbes And o one e ot of them K Issued by the Ritz Carleton of ot Philadelphia Phil Phil- adelphia Drw 7 head 1922 b bears eara ars the Rooms Nos and ana tim Colonel Charles R R. Forbes Mr l and Mrs oIls Mortimer l SIGNIFICANT REQUEST The fact that all these receipted bills were in m the Possession of Mr Mortimer held not Colonel l Fortes Forbes was was was' by the Iho Investigators Investigators' to have a bearing on the case So the Mortimers took a drawing room car to Chicago the first stop and went along all the way Just before they left Washington Colonel Colonel CoVo- CoVo Colo- Colo nel Forbes according to Mortimer made a significant request Let LeTus follow tollow Us s sAnd his testimony And finally Forbes called me Into inlo his apartment and said that he hS wanted to talk to me personally He lie said that his wife hid had gone I I abroad he was very hard up and wanted to know if it was possible for tor me to loan him any money I said What do you Ou want Forbes i I He Hf said I 1 need about fl I 1 said Personally 1 haven't got It but I wI will see seo what I can do doid td- td idward ward getting It for you ou And then I I asked I went o out t on theL and McDonald to leave the party so SD that I could talk to Black and Thompson alone Mortimer from Mortimer from here on we are re |