 Although 300 @,@ 000 soldiers had been wounded in combat , Forbes had only allowed 47 @,@ 000 claims for disability insurance , while many were denied compensation for reasons that Congress called " split hairs " . Even fewer veterans received any vocational training under Forbes ' direction of the bureau . According to the Charleston Gazette , Forbes toured with his contractor friends to the Pacific Coast , known as " Joy @-@ Rides " , inspecting veterans ' hospital construction sites . Forbes and his contractor associates allegedly indulged in parties and drinking . Forbes and corrupt contractors developed a secret code in order to communicate insider information and ensure government contracts . According to congressional testimony , in Chicago , on one of his many inspection trips , Forbes gambled and took a $ 5 @,@ 000 bribe from contractor J. W. Thompson and E. H. Mortimer at the Drake Hotel to secure $ 17 @,@ 000 @,@ 000 in veterans ' hospital construction contracts . Mortimer was the middleman man who had handed Forbes the bribe in one of the rooms at the Drake . Forbes said the $ 5 @,@ 000 payment was a loan . Mortimer stated that Forbes had an affair with Mortimer 's wife while on the inspection tours . After Forbes returned from his inspection tours he began to sell hospital supplies at severely discounted prices . According to a Highbeam Business report , he sold nearly $ 7 @,@ 000 @,@ 000 of much needed hospital supplies for $ 600 @,@ 000 , a fraction of their worth . Forbes was suspected of receiving kickbacks from contractors . When President Harding ordered Forbes to stop , Forbes insubordinately disobeyed and kept selling supplies . 
