Evening star. [volume], December 14, 1951, Page A-3, Image 3

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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Lawmakers to End
Hearing on Practices
in Arms Jobs Today
•y Associated gross
DETROIT. Dec. 14.—A con
gressional subcommittee winds up
its week-long hearings here today
with big and little businessmen
pleading for continuation of the
Government’s present defense pro
curement system.
Any radical change, they con
tended. might upset 50-year-old
practices in the auto industry as
well as hamper the defense pro
duction effort.
Representative Hardy. Demo
crat, of Virginia, still questioning
the role of the middleman in the
scheme of things, summonded wit
nesses from America's biggest
producer — General Motors — and
medium-sized and small firms.
Middleman Gets Slice.
The middleman, according to
Mr. Hardy, is any one who takes
a slice of profit over and above
that of the actual manufacturer.
The name has been applied in the
hearing to firms like General Mo
tors and Chrysler, for distributing
parts for their vehicles manufac
tured by a supplier, as well as to
manufacturers’ agents and ordi
nary "5-percenters.”
Testimony already has shown a
considerable share of defense con
tracts has gone to companies or
individuals with few or no manu
facturing facilities, for subcon
tracting or sub-subcontracting to
others.
One of the most vigorous de
fenses of the present system was
voiced yesterday by Earl J. Bush,
president and general manager of
the Diamond T Truck Co. of Chi
cago.
Wants No Changes.
All we ask, said Mr. Bush, "is
that the time-proven competitive
methods of handling parts be not
disturbed or changed by Govern
ment edict.”
Mr. Bush contended it is eco
nomically sound for so-called ‘‘end
producers” such as Diamond T to
distribute replacement parts made
for their vehicles or suppliers.
Mr. Hardy has questioned
whether it would not be more
economical for the Government
to get vehicle replacement parts
from the firms which make those
parts than from the companies
which assemble the vehicles.
Denies Stifling Competition.
Mr. Bush, Executive Vice Pres
ident John Keplinger of Hercules:
Motor Co. and Assistant Controller'
Prank Misch of Chrysler Corp.l
all denied they had done anything'
to discourage their suppliers from
submitting competitive bids on
parts contracts.
Mr. Bush's statement that it is
industry practice for the assembler
of trucks to handle the replace-;
ment parts business drew fire from
Representative Meader, Republi
can. of Michigan.
He asked if that didn't ‘‘amount
to a kind of subsidy which industry
has been receiving and wants con
tinued. rather than going out in'
rough-and-tumble competition to
keep alive.”
Truman Expresses
Hope for Peace in
Greeting to Forces
By Associated Press
President Truman said in his;
Christmas message to the armed
forces yesterday he is praying
“that the new year will bring us
all nearer to a fuller realization of
a lasting and honorable peace.”
The message follows:
“This year's Christmas season
finds many of you in far-off places,
away from your homes and the
close family ties which are always
associated with the holiday spirit.
As representatives of our great
Nation, dedicated to the cause of
true peace, may you find reason in
rejoicing in the knowledge that
your unselfish efforts stand as a
pillar of strength and inspiration
to all freedom-loving peoples of
the world. I pray that the God of j
our fathers will watch over you
and your families and that the
new year will bring us all nearer
to a fuller realization of a lasting
and honorable peace.”
LOST.
BILLFOLD, lady's, green, lost In cab or
at Trallways Bus Station; contained i
identification; reward. Wa. 6497. —14
BILLFOLD, red alligator, black lacing, con
tained driver’s permit, valuable papers!
and pictures; downtown area. Thurs.
Finder please keep money and return blll
fold. HP. 7025._—16
BOTTOM of Shadier cold fountain pen
with name engraved. Wed. noon between
Prets bldg, and Willard Hotel. Reward.
RE. 8503._ __—15
CAT. very lge.; long hair: black, white
feet, mouth, cheat; nr. Alta Vista Gar
dens; possibly TJniv. Park. OL. 0399 after
6 p.m.__ —15_
CAT. yellow Persian; vie. 35th and White
haven n.w. Reward. Call WO. 8457
after 6 p.m. —15
DRESS, black; left in Veteran's Cab Mon.
evening. Telephone AD. 1421. Reward.
_—14_
ENGLISH SETTER, black and white:
spayed female; lost or strayed from
Falls Church area; reward lor informa
tlon. JE. 3-9893._—16_
GLASSES, women’s folding glasses: dark
tortoise shell frames; In blue case; be
tween Gude's and 517 10th at. Reward
If returned to 517 10th. _—15_
GLASSES, lady’a, 8:45 a.m. Dec. 12; In
t«xl; between 16th and Oak. and 1930
Columbia rd.; reward; return to ofilce,
Cromwell Apts.. 1515 Ogden at. n.w.
GREAT DANE, female, very thin, brlndle:
vie. HUlcrest *.e.; 2 children heartbroken
over loss. Reward for any Info, leading
to return of dog. VI. 8255, AT. 1111.
__—16
IRISH SETTER wearing red collar. Va.
tags. Lost in vie. 811ver Hill. Md. JO.
9-9314.__—15
POCKETBOOK; brown leather; with ap
proximately S8; glasses. Identifications,
gold fountain pen. keys, etc.; between
conn. ave. and 8 at., or 23rd and Ban
croft. Hyattsvllle. Md. Return pocket
book and keep money. Call UN. 3294.
POCKETBOOK. on M stT! near 28 th".
Please return glasses, keep contents.
2418 K at. n.w., RE. 0606.
RING, lady’a. diamond horseshoe; vicinity
Washington National Airport. Reward.
Finder call BT. 3881 or TA. 9587. 15»
BING, woman’s class ring. In the Dept,
of Agriculture; Monday. Dec. 10; re
ward. LA. 6-6814.
RING, man’s gold; blue and white stone:
lost vie. 2!.st and Eye n.w.; reward.
1932 Penna. ave. n.w._ _—:I6_
"TAX EXEMPT CARD No. 2868 with other
mtae.; MAJ. FERNANDO CALDERON,
Embaaay of Peru. CO. 1734. —16 _
WATCH—Man’s Hamilton wrist watch, en
graved on back. “Edward T. OlTutt. Jr. ’
Sat. a.m. vie. 8t. Charles Church or Lee
Shopping Center. Arlington. Va.; senti
mental value; reward. Call E. T. OP
PUTT. Jr- NA, 2345 or OL. 4930. —14
LOST—Diamond clip: circlt bow knot.
Liberal reward. DU. 7361._—15
LOSTi lower set false teeth on 7th street
earline going north between 6 and 6:30
Wednesday. Dee. 12. Reward. ^ GE.
LOST ON DEC. 1. 1981. somewhere-in
the District of Columbia; one platinum
diamond ring containing 14 diamonds.
Reward to finder. NA. 1029. —16
WATCH, lady’s. Bulova. name engraved
on back; lost Dec. 13. Call ME. 5131. \
2 DIAMOND RINGS, in small envelope.
store tags attached; on 7th st. bet. O and
S. Kann’a. Ample reward. AD. 7193. *
FOUND.
COLLIE. black, brown and white male;
owner or good home. KI 9-3959.
VUIL brown aid white male. ,KI.
GAVE DATA TO GRUNEWALD—Appearing nervous and pausing before nearly every statement,
Charles Oliphant, resigned chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Bureau, tells House investi
gators about his friendship with "Investigator” Henry Grunewald. Mr. Oliphant said he gave
Mr. Grunewald data about tax fraud charges pending against Abraham Teitelbaum and that
later Mr. Grunewald asked him to keep silent about the inquiry. _AP Photos.
Revenue
(Continued From First Page.)
testimony today, that the job
would have to be one of the 25
under consideration and that
“that is what the Secretary wants
to do."
Represenative Kean. Republi
can. of New Jersey, then com
mented that if the Treasury Sec
retary already was in favor of the
move, the only place Mr. Grune
wald could have put pressure
"would have been higher up—in
the White House.”
“My whole concept of this
thing, Mr. Oliphant said, "is that
he didn’t say he was going to do
anything.”
Mr. Oliphant mentioned Sena
tor Bridges' name when Mr. De
Wind asked about the tax cases
which Mr. Grunewald had dis
cussed with the former Revenue
Bureau official.
The witness said one of the
instances involved a jeopardy as
sessment made against H. H.
Klein, a Baltimore businessman,
and said Grunewald told him he
was asking about it "on behalf of
Senator Bridges."
Says Bridges Asked About Case.
He testified that earlier Senator
Bridges had inquired about the
case and expressed the hope that
some arrangements could be
worked out to settle the matter.
He emphasized that Senator
Bridges had said he did not want
to do anything improper.
“How did Grunewald get into
the picture?” Mr. DeWind asked.
“To the best of my recollection.”
Mr. Oliphant replied, "he was rep
resenting Senator Bridges in the
matter.”
Mr. Kean asked if Senator
Bridges had ever told him Mr.
Grunewald would represent him
in the case. Mr. Oliphant replied
that he could not recall.
“Has he tried to influence you
in the case?” Representative Kean
asked.
“No, sir.” Mr. Oliphant replied, j
adding that he thought Mr.
Grunewald was “just following up”
the efforts of Senator Bridges to
?et the matter settled.
Steamer Ticket Involved.
“Was the taxpayer represented
by anybody?” Mr. De Wind asked.
“I don't know who represented
the taxpayer,” Mr. Oliphant re
plied.
He explained that “bureau peo
ple” had placed the jeopardy as
sessment against Mr. Klein, after
seeing him purchase a steamship
ticket. Mr. Oliphant added that
Senator Bridges told him at a con
ference in the bureau that the!
steamship ticket was for a vaca
tion in Bermuda.
Members of the subcommittee
staff said the Klein case was a;
civil one Involving an amount!
running “into six figures.” It was!
their understanding That the case
has not been settled.
Mr. Oliphant did not say when
the conferenee with Senator
Bridges about the case was held.
Mr. DeWind told reporters after
the morning hearing that he
thought it was sometime in 1949.
Grunewald Subpoenaed.
Mr. Grunewald has been sub-!
poenaed for questioning about his
relations with Mr. Oliphant and
other tax officials and about the
sensational charge of Abraham
Teitelbaum, wealthy Chicago at
torney, that he was the target of
a $500,000 shakedown attempt by
two men claiming they had con
nections with a Washington
"clique” of present and former of
ficials seeking "a soft touch” from
taxpayers in trouble.
The subcommittee has set no
date for hearing Mr. Grunewald*
since he is still confined in
Georgetown Hospital. He re
fused to talk when members of
the subcommittee went to his hos
pital room earlier in the week.
Mr. Byrnes confronted Mr. Oli
phant with testimony he said was
given by Mr. Caudle in closed ses
sion to the effect that Mr. Caudle
had learned of the subcommittee’s
acquisition of his tax returns from
Mr. Oliphant.
This testimony occurred, Mr.
Byrnes said, soon after the sub
committee began its probe into the
affairs of Mr. Caudle.
“I advised him that Senator
Williams had asked for his tax re
turns,” Mr. Oliphant declared. “I
did not advise him that the sub
committee of the House Ways and
Means Committee had asked for
them.”
Oliphant Explains Attitude.
Mr. Byrnes wanted to know on
what basis Mr. Oliphant felt he
had the right to disclose even the
request of Senator Williams. The
Senator has launched a number
of personal investigations of tax
cases and the way they were
handled.
Under further questioning, Mr.
Oliphant said he would “not nec
essarily” call a member of Con
gress to advise him that a request
had been made about the Con
gressman’s returns, but that he
thought it was all right to advise
"Government men I worked with.”
Mr. Byrnes wound up the ex
change by asking permission to
insert into the record testimony
by Mr. Caudle "in which refer
ence is made to a conversation
with Mr. Oliphant by which Mr.
Caudle became aware that the
subcommittee had his returns.”.
Later today, the subcommittee
planned to bring new disclosures
in the Teitelbaum case through
questioning Frank Nathan, the
“influence man” who was named
by Mr Teitelbaum as one of the
pair who allegedly tried to shake
him down in return for help with
his tax troubles.
Earlier, Mr. Oliphant had con
ceded that he let a tax prosecu
tion case drop at the behest of a
Congressman. He said he did it
despite word from his own boss
that the case should be pressed.
He said the case was that of the
Washington Beef & Provision Co.
for 1942 tax deficiencies, and that
it was allowed to die at the in
stance of Representative James
Morrison. Democrat, of Louisiana.
The Washington Beef & Pro
vision Co. case had been aired
previously by the committee. * It
had tax deficiencies for 1942, 1943
and 1944. It was owned by Sam
uel and Sidney Kolker of Wash
ington whose other company, Witt
ii Co., was in tax difficulties
for 1944.
The claimed deficiencies for
both companies were reported
earlier to have aggregated $187,
000.
information furnished.
In his lengtny testimony yes
terday, Mr. Oliphant:
1. Declared Mr. Grunewald asked
him last July 23 whether the
Teitelbaum tax case was to be
handled as a “racketeer matter”
and that the information Mr.
Grunewald sought was furnished.
The witness also disclosed that
former Internal Revenue Commis
sioner George J. Schoeneman in
troduced him to Mr. Grunewald
four or five years ago.
2. Related that Mr. Grunewald,
on December 4. asked him not to
reveal the July inquiry and, on
December 6. a few hours before
entering the hospital, asked Mr.
Oliphant about his previous day's
closed-door testimony before the
House group.
3. Stated that he once was
given a plane ride from Mr.
Grunewald’s Florida home to
Washington by a friend who was
later involved in tax troubles. He
said he disqualified himself from
taking any part in the case be
cause of the friendship.
4. Testified he once was among
a group flown to the Kentucky
Derby in the plane of Edwin
Pauley. California oil man, and
said Mr. Pauley now is involved
in a $13,000 tax case before the
Internal Revenue Bureau.
Smyth Declares President
Never Asked Him to Resign
James G. Smyth denied last
night in San Francisco that
President Truman asked him to
resign before Smyth was fired as
tax collector for Northern Cali
fornia last month. He admitted,
however, the Associated Press
reported, that he was approached
twice by others about quitting.
His denial came after Mr. Tru
man told reporters he had asked
Smyth to resign before reported
irregularities in the San Francisco
office were made public.
"The President never asked for
my resignation,” Smyth declared.
Smyth was suspended from of
fice in September and fired two
months later for “failure to man-"
age his office properly.” Tuesday,
a Federal grand jury indicted him
on charges of conspiring to de
fraud the Government, involving
tampering with the tax payment
forms. Smyth denies the charges.
In Philadelphia, meanwhile.
George C. Mulligan, fired deputy
tax collector who calls himself
"small stuff,” charged he was
being used “as a political scape
goat” to appease the public de
mand for housecleaning within
the tax system.
•Mr. Mulligan, the Associated
Press reported, denied charges
made against him, stating “I’m
small stuff and I can’t fight back
as readily as the bigger boys.”
Mr. Mulligan, 41, was accused
of taking fees and gifts from seven
persons for helping them with tax
returns. His dismissal was dis
closed here Wednesday.
Service
<Continued From First Page.)
give reasonable grounds for be
lieving Mr. Service disloyal.
In reversing the department
board, the review board declared:
"To say that his course of con
duct does not raise a reasonable
doubt as to Service's own loyalty
would, we are forced to think,
stretch the mantle of charity too
far.”
Mr. Service. 42, a career Foreign
Service Officer since 1935, de
scribed the review board's deci
sion as "a surprise, a shock and
an injustice.” He said the board's
“reasonable doubt” finding was
based on a single episode “for
which I have been tried and
unanimously acquitted at least
nine times.”
He conferred today with his at
torney, Charles E. Rhetts, about
possible further action to clear
his name. They were understood
to be considering the possibility
of court action as well as an ap
peal for reconsideration of the
Loyality Review Board.
Bad Effects Feared.
State Department officials, re
luctantly carrying out the re
view board’s decision for dismis
«1 of Mr. Service, were concern^
out effects of the action. Th$
'feared it would cause many other
foreign service officers to:
1. Pull their punches in reports
to the department and be wary of
recommending any policy changes j
to their superiors for fear such
j reports might be held against
them later.
! 2. Tighten up in supplying
"background information” to
newspapermen to the extent of
increasing the difficulty of re
porters in obtaining any informa
i tion about foreign policy problems
except that contained in official)
i "handouts.”
Senator McCarthy, Republican,
of Wisconsin, who has made Mr.
Service one of the principal tar
gets of his pro-Communist-in
Government charges, asserted in
Los Angeles last night that the
fired diplomat "is only one of
many rotten apples in the barrel.”
He renewed his demand for re
moval of Secretary of State Ache
son. saying Mr. Acheson "had all
the evidence on Service for many
years and refused to act.”
Acted lTnder Executive Order.
7 he firing of Mr. Service came
under an executive order issued by
President Truman last April which
requires dismissal of any Govern
ment employe about whose loyalty
there is a “reasonable doubt.”'
This order strengthened previous
regulations which permitted firing
only when "reasonable grounds”!
were found for believing an em
ploye disloyal.
The State Department’s Loyalty
Security Board reported it recon
sidered the Service case under the
tougher regulations last July 31
and determined that there was
“no reasonable doubt” about his
loyalty. In September, the case
was referred for “post-audit” to
the Loyalty Review Board, which
held its own hearing last month.
Hiram Bingham, chairman of
the Loyalty Review Board, notified
the State Department yesterday
that it had found “there is a rea
sonable doubt” as to the loyalty!
of Mr. Service, “based on the in
tentional and unauthorized dis
closure of documents and informa
tion of a confidential and
non-public character.”
The Review Board and Depart
ment Board agreed that Mr. Serv
ice's activities in China during the
war when he visited Chinese Com
munist headquarters as part of an
Army observer group, raised no
reasonable doubts about his loy
alty.
His reports during that period
were described by the Department
Board as “extraordinarily accurate
as political forecasts of what was
to come.” The board noted that
“as early as January, 1943, he re
ported that civil war in China
would bring about a Communist
government which would not be
democratic in the American sense, |
and which would be more inclined
to friendship with Russia than
with the United States.”
It added:
“The board finds nowhere in
his reports any sympathy for Rus
sian or for world communist, but
only a clearly expressed fear that |
the policy of the Chinese Nation
alist government, and of the
United States Government as a
supporter of Chiang Kai-shek
alone, was headed for a major*
disaster that would throw all of
China into the hands of the Soviet!
Union.” •
Split on Amerasia Case.
Where the department and re-1
view boards split was in their
interpretation of Mr. Service's con
tacts with JafTe in connection with
the famous “Amerasia” case of
1945.
On March 10, 1945—a month;
before Mr. Service’s returp from
China—OSS agents searched the
Amerasia offices in New York and
found a large number of Govern
ment documents. The FBI then;
was asked to make a full investi
gation and kept Jafle and others
under surveillance.
Mr. Service returned to Wash
ington on April 12 and on April
19 was introduced to JafTe by
Navy Lt. Andrew Roth, the State
Department board said its evi
dence showed. It added that then
Mr. Service “assumed to treat
JafTe as a reputable writer and
to give him the same sort of ‘back
ground information’ that he had
been accustomed to give to news
papermen in China.”
Mr. Service, the board said, ad
mitted lending JafTe “8 or 10”
of his reports about conditions in
China—copies from his personal
files. He picked up the copies in
New York April 25.
On June 6, 1945, Jaffe, Mr.
Unanimous RFC Vote
On Hurry-Up Loan
To Stutts Disclosed
Senate Investigators said today
that the $455,000 loan obtained
from the Government by W. P.
Stutts, Alabama lumberman now
under arrest for misapplication of
bank funds, was approved by
unanimous vote of the Recon
struction Finance Corp. board on
the same day the application was
received. ,
A spokesman for the Hoey Sen-;
ate Investigating Committee de-;
scribed the 1949 transaction as a
"hurry-up loan’’ in which Stutts
was assisted by the then acting
director of RFC for the Birming
ham region and Representative
Boykin. Democrat, of Alabama.
Stutts, president of the Stutts
Lumber Industries in Alabama,
and two officials of the Thomas
ville (Ala.) Bank & Trust Co.
were arrested Wednesday on the
charges of, misapplying bank
funds
RFC officials disclosed that the
Stutts Lumber Co. has a timber
cutting contract 'on property;
owned by the Boykin family.
For months, both Senate and
RFC investigators have been
studying a complaint that an of
ficial of the Mobile Paper Co. had j
been forced to turn over stock'
.ontrol to some members of the;
Boykin family in order to get an
RFC loan several years ago. Mr.
Boykin has denied any wrong
doing in that matter and ex
plained that he introduced Stutts
to former RFC Chairman Harley
Hise only to help a constituent.
According to the Hoey commit
tee spokesman, the alleged bank
shortage at Thomasville was dis
covered when suspicion was
aroused by the hurry-up loan.
The shortage, reported to ap
proximate $800,000. was discovered
after W. Stuart Symington be
came head of the RFC last Sep
tember. Mr. Symington told re
porters it seemed to him the $455,
000 loan was used to bail out the
Thomasville bank. FBI Director
J. Edgar Hoover reported that
Stutts appeared to have received
the benefit of about $700,000 of
the shortage.
_ .
Barkleys Arrive in U. S.,
Due Here This Afternoon
Sy th« Aiftociated Pr«t»
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE.
Calif., Dec. 14.—Vice President and
Mrs. Barkley paused here briefly
this morning en route to Wash
ington from a visit to Korea,1
Japan and Honolulu.
Their four-engine military:
plane departed at 2:18 a m. t5:18
a m.. EST> after refueling. The
Barkleys remained aboard.
A spokesman said they were due1
in Washington in eight or nine^
hours.
Canadian Casualties
In Korea Rise to 595
iy th# Associated Press
OTTAWA. Dec. 14 —The Cana
dian Army yesterday issued its 82d
casualty list of the Korean war,
reporting 15 wounded in action,
including a major and two lieu
tenants, and one wounded in
action for a second time. The
latest list brought to 595 the num
ber of casualties so far suffered by
Canadian troops. They include
118 dead.
Service and others involved by the
FBI were arrested on charges of
conspiracy to commit espionage.
A District Court grand jury re
fused to indict Mr. Service and
two others, but did indict Jaffe
and two associates on a lesser
charge — conspiracy to remove
Government documents illegally.
Jaffe pleaded guilty and was fined
$2,500.
Nothing Harmful to Security.
While terming Mr. Service guilty
of "serious indiscretions” in turn
ing over any documents to Jaffe.
the State Department board noted |
that "the documents in question
contained nothing that could be
considered harmful to the na
tional security: they were reports
of Mr. Service's personal observa
tions on the aims and situation of
the Chinese Communists.”
The department board added
that it believes Mr. Service's ex
perience "as a result of his indis
cretion in 1945 has served to make
him far more than normally'
security conscious.”
The Loyalty Review Board dis
cussed at length the evidence
about Mr. Service’s association
with Jaffe, including FBI reports
of conversations in Jaffe's hotel I
room here.
It reported that "Service under
took to get documents for Jaffe
in the department.” and said:
"The question we ask ourselves
is: ‘Why should Service do it for
a man he says he disliked and
whom he knew to be very much of
a left-winger, and, as Service's
own statements indicate, whom he
suspected of being a Commu
nist?”’ ,
The review board concluded:
“We are not required to find
Service guilty of disloyalty, and
we do not do so, but for an experi
enced and trusted representative
of the State Department to so far
forget his duty to his trust as his
conduct with Jaffe clearly indi
cates, forces us with great regret
to conclude that there is reason
able doubt as to his loyalty.”
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917 G St N.W.
Why Was McGrath Kept in Dark
On Truman Probe of Caudle?
By Jomes Marlow
Associated Pr*»$ Staff Writer
We now have the extraordi
nary picture of the Attorney Gen
eral bypassed and ignored in one
of the most critical situations in
volving the Justice Department in
a generation.
That was the investigation of
T. Lamar Caudle, assistant at
torney general, by a House sub
committee and by the Truman ad
ministration itself. The President
fired Mr. Caudle. *
The story behind the picture
starts when the House subcom
mittee investigating the tax scan
dals began investigating Mr.
Caudle, who was in charge of the
Justice Department’s tax division.
Right in the midst of this con
gressional investigation the Presi
dent fired Mr. Caudle from under
Mr. McGrath's nose.
Digging deeper into Mr. Caudle's
activities, the committee ques
tioned Mr. McGrath who, any
time he pleases, can put the whole
machinery of the FBI to work on
any case, since the FBI comes
under the Justice Department
McGrath Testimony Cited.
Mr. McGrath told the committee:
1. He never had doubts about
Mr. Caudle, and never saw any
reason to have them, until after
the committee had begun investi
gating him.
2. He had always considered
Mr. Caudle a good man in his job,
so much so that he never even
took the trouble to look at the file
on Mr. Caudle’s background pre
pared years before by the FBI.
3. Whatever it was the com
mittee found out about Mr. Caudle
—when it began its investigation
—Mr. McGrath wasn’t told. It
was the President who got the
news and fired Mr. Caudle sim
ply bv telling Mr. McGrath he
was going to.
Mr. McGrath made those state
ments Tuesday. They were a
plain admission he was bypassed
on critical information involving
one of the key men in his de
partment.
But yesterday the President told
a news conference Mr. Caudle had
been under investigation by the
executive, branch of the Govern
ment before his name turned up
in the congressional investigation.
The President said the Truman
administration was wise to Mr.
Caudle long before the committee
checked on him and that Mr.
Caudle would have been fired even
if the committee had not stepped
in.
What the President left unex
plained was this:
Just who in the Truman ad
ministration was wise to Mr.
Caudle before the committee went
to work on him? Certainly not
Mr. McGrath who only two days
before said he has had no doubts
of Mr. Caudle till the committee's
work began.
But since the President said the
administration's investigation had
begun before the committee’s,
why wasn’t Mr. McGrath told?
No one could have had more in
terest, or a bigger stake, in such
an investigation than the At
torney General.
Why Was Action Late?
And why didn’t the administra
tion act before the committee
started its work?
A strange sight: The Attorney
General .a top man in the Truman
administration, never told about
an investigation of one of Mr.
McGrath’s top men.
And w'ho made the investigation
for the administration—the FBI?
If so—since Mr. McGrath by his
own admission didn’t know about
such an investigation—this is an
equally extraordinary sight.
If it wasn’t the FBI, then it
might have been the Treasury
Department's investigators who
checked on Mr. Caudle.
Even so, that doesn't answer the
question: Why should Mr. Mc
Grath be kept in the dark about
something which involved one of
his chief lieutenants?
Quizzed a little about this, the
President said he doesn’t keep Mr.
McGrath's books. He also said he
has no plans to fire Mr. McGrath.
Four Auto Employes
Held as 'Strippers'
Police last night accused four
employes of a downtown automo
bile dealer of stripping parts from
new cars and selling them at bar
gain prices.
Arrested were two stockroom
clerks and two mechanics at Hill
<fc Sanders, Inc., 1114 Vermont
avenue N.W. The clerks. Thomas
Edgar Rollins, ir., 28, of the 2400
block of Massachusetts avenue
N.W, and Lou's McMurray. 25, of
the 800 block of K street N.E.,
were charged with grand larceny.
The mechanics. Joseph R. Hay
den, 25. of the 300 block of Doug
las street N.E.. and Louis W. Ra
gosta, 22. of the 1400 block of
Twenty-first street N.W., were
charged with receiving stolen
property.
Detective Sergts. Edwin F. Tal
bot and E. H. Sisson of the gen
eral assignment squad said of
ficials of the company told police
that parts had been disappearing
from new autos there the past
four or five months. Police said
parts taken were sold at about
one-third listed cost.
Child Escorts Grandfather
A six-year-old girl flew 5,700
miles to Scotland alone to provide
an pscort for her 81-year-old
grandfather on the return voyage.
*♦♦♦«♦♦♦♦♦•♦********♦**«
Six Fort Meade Soldiers
Hurt in Turnpike Crash
ly Associated Press
HIGHTSTOWN. N. J.. Dec. 14
—Six soldiers on leave from Fort
Meade, Md.. were injured last
night in a two-car collision on the
recently completed New' Jersey
Turnpike.
An Army sergeant in the second
vehicle also was injured.
Turnpike police said they be
lieved this w’as the first single ac
cident on the new turnpike in
volving such a high number of
injuries. First sections of the
turnpike were opened last month.
The six soldiers, alf privates,
were Roy J, Arsenaunt. 22. Read
ing, Mass.: Alfred Galanek. 20,
New York: Jacob Green. 23. New
ark: Vincent Lamantea. 22. Red
Bank, N. J.: John Zsilavely. 24.
Perth Amboy, N. J„ and Louis
Pistani, 23. Brooklyn.
Van Paassen to Speak
At B'nai Israel Service
Pierre Van Paassen. author and
student of world affairs, will speak
on-“Israel Today” at the services
of the B'nai Israel Synagogue. Six
teenth and Crittenden streets
N.W., at 8:15 o'clock tonight.
| Mr. Van Paassen, author of
j “Days of Our Years” and “Earth
Could Be Fair,” is an ordained
minister of the Unitarian Fellow
ship of the United States and also
has w’orked as a new'spaper cor
respondent. The services will be
open to the public.
New York Operators
Negotiate Purchase of
Hotel Congressional
The Knott Hotels Corp. has en
tered into an agreement to buy
the Hotel Congressional from Al
vin L. Aubinoe, a Washington
builder and developer, a spokes
man for the hotel chain said today
in New York.
The agreement represents a
contract to purchase if the title
is clear and "everything is satis
factory." E. K. Gordon, vice presi
dent of the hotel company, said.
The hotel is at 300 New Jersey
avenue S.E., on the southeast cor
ner of New Jersey avenue and C
streets, opposite the House Office
Building. It contains about 200
apartments having about 400
rooms, and is one of Washington's
newest hotels.
Mr. Aubinoe also is owner of
the Hotel Dupont Plaza, on the
site of the old Leiter mansion on
Dupont Circle: the Washington
Lee Apartments in Arlington, an
apartment building at 4801 Con
necticut avenue N.W., and is now
engaged in home-building opera
tions in Bethesda and in North
east Washington.
Mr. Gordon said the Knott cor
poration has never owned or oper
ated a Washington hotel, though
several executives of the chain
personally bought the Hotel Hous
ton in 1940 and sold it last sum
mer. "
The chain owns 26 hotels, hav
ing 15,000 rooms, and operates a
number of large restaurants, in
cluding the one in the United Na
tions Building in New York. It
was established 61 years ago.
Brewster to Visit Formosa
TAIPEH. Formosa. Dec. 14 (A’i.
—Senator Brewster. Republican,
of Maine is scheduled to arrive
in Taipeh tomorrow. He will be
the sixth United States Senator
to visit Nationalist Formosa.
WHY n
NOT •
IT COSTS NO MORE
TO PARK AT THE
CAPITAL GARAGE
1320 New York Avenue N.W.
CHRYSLER-PLYMOUTH
PALES—SERVICE
\
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received with pleas
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You’ll find his fa
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distinctive design,
ribs of finest lisle or
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or with contrasting
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A SALTZ F STREET
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/or the men who likes
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