CONGRESS: A Pretty Mess

Congressional investigators functioning in Washington brought forth sensations in an investigation of the Veterans’ Bureau. Senators Reed of Pennsylvania, Walsh of Massachusetts and Oddie of Nevada as a special investigating committee of the Senate held hearings at which Major General John F. O’Ryan, counsel for the committee, presented evidence which he has been gathering since last March. The evidence heard accused Colonel Charles Robert Forbes, retired head of the Veterans’ Bureau, of extravagance, mismanagement, gross corruption. Colonel Forbes’ defense was scheduled to be heard later.

Colonel Forbes was a personal appointee of President Harding. He is a civil engineer by profession, schooled at Phillips Exeter Academy and Columbia University. In 1912 the Government despatched him to Honolulu in connection with the great military works of Pearl Harbor. He became Territorial Superintendent of Construction. During the war he served for 18 months, most of it at the front, and was made chief signal officer of the Ninth Army Corps. He received six decorations. He was appointed head of the Veterans’ Bureau less than two months after President Harding was inaugurated. He resigned last Winter on account of ill health, after a trip to Europe. He is a 32nd degree Mason.

At the first hearing of the investigating committee he appeared and clashed violently with General O’Ryan and with Frank T. Hines, present Director of the Bureau. Said Colonel Forbes: “I have come 3,000 miles and out of sick bed to be of such service as I can, and at the same time to protect my own interests and integrity which are being attacked.” But it was not until a later hearing which he did not attend that the gravest charges were made. Some of the charges:

¶That Colonel Forbes employed Matthew O’Brien, an incompetent architect of San Francisco, to draw plans for a hospital; the plans were unusable, but O’Brien received $64,000 and is suing the Government for $13,000 more.

¶That scandalous arrangements had been made for doing dental work for veterans, by which dentists collected fees of $5,627,000 in 1921.

¶That (this in following charges by Elias H. Mortimer of Philadelphia) he got a “loan” of $5,000 from Mortimer, without security; Mortimer was acting as agent for several construction companies who were anxious for contracts on veterans’ hospitals.

¶That he had gone on a ” junket” across the continent, his railroad bills being paid by the Government, the remainder of his expenses, amounting to $5,400, being paid by Mortimer.

¶That he gave advance copies of plans and specifications for a hospital to a construction firm of which he was Vice President to give it an advantage over other bidders.

¶That while on the Pacific Coast he engaged in drinking and other disgraceful parties, after one of which, on a dare, Forbes and a woman jumped into Hayden Lake near Spokane.

¶That he made arrangements with various construction companies that he should receive one-third of the profits on Government contracts which he granted them.

¶That he asked Mortimer to dispose illegally of $5,000,000 worth of drugs and 67,000 quarts of liquor, the property of the Veterans’ Bureau.

Colonel Forbes was scheduled to be heard later in reply to these charges. He declared: ” Every charge and every word of testimony, especially that of Elias H. Mortimer, reflecting on my personal or official integrity, is entirely false. . . . The only thing I ask the public is to withhold judgment until my witnesses and I are heard and full documentary evidence produced.”