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Show REPORTS H il GUMPS COMPLETE I ( Republicans Criticise "Graft" While Democrats Defend Record WASHINGTON, April 12. By the Associated Press.) Two opposing reports on the long congressional Investigation In-vestigation ot tho construction of 35 army camps and cantonments, woro submitted today to tho houso by a war expenditures' committee and do bated for several hours. Tho majority roport presented by Republican committeemen, com-mitteemen, criticised government agencies and officials In chargo of tho war building program, whilo the minority mi-nority report of the Democrats defended de-fended the administration. The government lost $78,D31,621 on the sixteen national army cantonments, canton-ments, it was estimated by tho majority ma-jority report, which assorted this wri due to "waste, Inefficiency and graft" resulting cost plus contracts whioh wero said to bo "wldo open." No estimato of loss on the national guard camps was mado by the majority. ma-jority. Dissenting from tho majority findings, find-ings, tho minority declared that th! construction work was equivalent to building 32 cities, each with 37,000 to 46,000 population, and addtjd: "This tremendous task was practically practi-cally completed in three months and stands out as one of the great achievements of tho war. Representatives McKenzIe, Illinois, and McCullough, Republican, and Do-remus, Do-remus, Michigan, Democrat, were the committee who conducted tne investigation. investi-gation. The majority submitted six recommendations recom-mendations for legislation by congress Including the submission to the states of a constitutional amondment making "profiteering in wartime treason," It also urged that the department of jus-tico jus-tico bo asked to Investigate work at every camp. No recommendations were made in tho minority report nnd it listed two conclusions, ono condemning tho majority ma-jority roport and tho othor defending Secretary Baker who, the majority declared, de-clared, "must bear tho final responsibility." responsi-bility." The majority cites several items, amounting to many thousands of dollars, dol-lars, which it was argued could legal ly be rocoverpd by the government fr6m contractors. Tho majority declared Secretary Bakor should not have permitted a departure de-parture from the old method of competitive com-petitive bids. 00 |