Evening star. [volume], December 14, 1951, Page A-8, Image 8

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Truman Failed in '42
To See Empire Report,
Senator Nixon Says
Senator Nixon, Republican, of
California, said today President
Truman himself, when he was a
Senator, tried and failed to get
the same secret report to the
White House which Senator Nixon
now seeks.
Harry A. McDonald, chairman
of the Securities and Exchange
Commission which wrote the re
port, said in response to a ques
tion: “That is my understanding,
too.”
The SEC made the report in
1942 after a special investigation
it conducted on orders of the late
President Roosevelt into war con
tracts of the Empire Ordnance Co.
of Philadelphia. The White House
never made it public.
Would Study McKinney Link.
Senator Nixon says he wants the
Senate Investigations Committee.'
of which he is a member, to study!
affairs of Empire Ordnance and;
other firms headed by Industrialist
Prank Cohen.
He says relations of Mr. Cohen
With Democratic National Chair
man Frank McKinney also should
be scrutinized.
Mr. McKinney acknowledged
Monday that Mr. Cohen sold him
1,000 shares of common stock in
Empire Tractor Co., a sister Arm
to Empire Ordnance, for $1,000 in
1946 and bought it back 10 months
later for $68,000.
But he asserted nothing im
proper was involved. His ex
planation of the transaction was
that Cohen was willing to pay a
high price to get the stock back
because he wanted to have it be
fore selling out to a South Amer
ican firm. The deal with the
South Americans later fell through,
Mr. McKinney said.
asks Release or Report.
Senator Nixon wrote Mr. Tru
man Wednesday urging the Presi
dent to make the 1942 report
available for Senate investigation.
“The report is reputed to have
alleged that larceny, bribery and
other acts of fraud have been
committed by certain individuals,”
the Senator’s letter said.
Senator Nixon said he has re
ceived no reply yet. But he said
he has been advised by other
■ources that Mr. Truman, as head
of the Senate War Contracts In
vestigating Committee, sought in
vain to get a copy of the report
from President Roosevelt in 1943.
Rebuffed by SEC.
Mr. McDonald said Mr. Truman
had asked the SEC for a copy,
and received the same reply then
that the SEC has given Senator
Nixon, that it had no authority to
release a report prepared for the
White House.
Mr. Nixon told a reporter he
feels that “certainly in view of
these facts, Mr. Truman could be
expected to provide a copy of the
report if it remains in White
House files.”
Politics
(Continued Prom First Page.)
should not be allowed to become
“entirely political and selfish.”
In his blast at the administra
tion, Senator Taft, a candidate
for the Republican presidential
nomination, declared in a press
conference in Cincinnati that
“nothing President Truman can
do now will prevent indignation
of the people at what has already
occurred.”
Senator Nixon said, “A mini
mum program certainly should
call for firing Harry Vaughan,
Donald Dawson, Attorney General
McGrath and Secretary of the
Treasury Snyder. Instead, the
President appears determined to
keep them, so he can rely on their
advice in determining what ac
tion he should take.”
Gen. Vaughan, the President’s
military aide, admitted accepting
» gift of seven home freezers. Mr.;
Dawson denied he was linked to a
White House ring which sought
to influence RPC loans. Mr. Mc
Grath and Secretary Snyder have
official responsibilities in connec
tion with tax collection scandals.
Ives Foresees Fight.
Senator Ives, Republican, of
New York told a reporter that if
Mr. Truman believes—as he said
yesterday—that the controversy
over the scandals will die down
before next November’s presiden
tial election, he is mistaken.
“The country is disillusioned
and shocked by the continued
revelations of corruption in the1
Federal Government," Senator j
Ives declared. “A change In party
administration is imperative if;
the American people are not to
lose faith in all government.”
One of the sharpest Republican
comments came from Representa
tive Gross of Iowa, who sug
gested that Korean war veterans
staff a “sanitary department”
that would replace the Justice
Department. Mr. Gross said in
a statement that these men have
been in a “police action” and
“therefore would know how to
Initiate a ‘police action’ in this
country for the sole purpose of
removing from the public scene
and public office the flock of vul
tures that threatens the freedom
of all citizens.”
Still Formulating Plans.
It had been confidently ex
pected that at the news confer
ence President Truman would an
nounce some new machinery for
dealing with the scandals, but
he said that his plans still were in
process of formulation.
He said he wanted to see the
situation cleared up for the bene
fit of the majority of Government
employes who are being smeared
unjustly.
It may be that, in addition tc
any new action he may take, ad
ditional legislation will be re
quired, Mr. Truman said.
India and Turkey Sign
NEW DELHI, India, Dec. 14 (JP)
—India and Turkey signed i
treaty of "perpetual peace am
friendship” today at Ankara, th
Foreig^ Ministry announced here
AFTER THE SHOOTING—Beverly Hills, Calif—Producer Walter
Wanger (left), husband of Movie Actress Joan Bennett, confers
with his attorney, Jerry Geisler, after shooting his wife’s agent,
Jennings Lang. Mr. Wanger shot Mr. Lang as he arrived at a
parking lot with Joan Bennett in her car. “I thought Lang was
responsible for breaking up my home,” police quoted Mr. Wanger
as saying.
.i Hi-'-1—n—rririTiTiTiifnrriiiiininriiiiinniiiiiHiiitiMMMMMMBMMMMiWMiiiM
Joan Bennett arrives at police headquarters, where her
husband is being held. With her are two of her publicity agents,
Chuck Cochard and Margaret Ettinger.
Joan Bennett
(Continued From First Pape.)
show for her. They returned to
the parking lot about 5:20.
She and Mr. Lang got out of his
car and walked over to hers. She
got in, he stood beside the door.
They talked a few minutes. She
had turned the motor and lights
Dn when the gun flashed and
roared and she saw Mr. Wanger
standing nearby.
Tosses Gun Into Car.
Police said Mr. Wanger tossed
the gun into his wife’s car.
The shooting—across the street
from the city's towering, gleaming
Christmas tree—left an irregular,i
i-foot-long pool of blood on the
parking lot’s asphalt paving.
The veteran producer of many
Rims, including “Stage Coach.” i
‘Foreign Correspondent” and the
financially ill-fated “Joan of Arc.”
was questioned at length and fin
gerprinted.
Chief Anderson quoted Mr.;
Wanger as saying he warned Mr.
Lang last January, in New York,
that he'd shoot anybody who
might break up his home.
The hint of discord between the j
couple was as shocking to Holly
wood as the sudden burst of gun
fire.
The producer said he noticed his
wife’s convertible parked in the1
lot as he drove past about 2:30
p.m.
Mopped to Wait.
A half hour later, Mr. Wanger
was quoted, he again saw the car
there and stopped to wait until
she returned.
Mr. Lang, the father of two
children, is head of West Coast
television operations for Music:
Corp. of America.
His wife, Pam, was driven to:
the hospital by Actress Jane;
Wyman who said she is a close:
friend of the Langs. Mrs. Lang
and Miss Wyman were at a din
ner party when the physician
phoned word of the shooting. The
victim’s attractive wife is the
niece of actor Hugh Herbert.
Chief Anderson told reporters
that Miss Bennett thought her
husband has been on the verge
of a nervous breakdown because
of financial troubles.
Petition in Bankruptcy.
An involuntary petition in
bankruptcy was brought against
him by the Bank of America for
$178,476. To satisfy unpaid loans
to Mr. Wanger, the bank moved
last September to forclose on the
couple’s $150,000 home in fashion
| able Nolmby Hills,
i The producer’s money troubles
'were blamed by him on complex
business arrangements,
j Jerry Giesler noted criminal
‘lawyer, arrived at the police sta
tion and conferred with Mr. Wan
ger.
Miss Bennett was taut-faced
but still glamorous-looking when
she arrived at the police station.
Her dark, bobbed hair appeared
carefully groomed and she wore
a chic dark-blue dress with white
lace collar and cuffs.
Actor George Murphy was a
l visitor. Restaurateur Mike Ro
1 manoff dispatched a meal for Mr
: Wanger to the lail by his head
. waiter. * Shortly the cafe mar
r |
himself arrived to make sure the
pjeal was properly served.
Mr. Wanger—president of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences from 1939 to 1944—
was born in 1894 in San Francisco.
In 1919 he married Justine John
stone, Ziegfeld Follies beauty.
They were divorced in 1939. Mr.
Wanger and Miss Bennett were
married in 1940 in Phoenix, Ariz.
Thrice married, she is the moth
er of four children. Diana, now
Mrs. John Hardy Anderson, the
mother of a 3-year-old daughter,
s Miss Bennett’s daughter by her
marriage to John Fox. Melinda,
17, was bom when the star was
married to Screen Writer Gene
Vfarkey.
The Wangers have two chil
iren—Stephanie, 8. and Shelley.3.
Miss Bennett is the daughter
if Richard Bennett, noted stage
ictor during the first three dec
ides of the century. She made
ler dramatic bow with her father
m Broadway in "Jarnegan" in
1928.
Shortly afterward she followed
aer older sisters. Constance and
Barbara, to film stardom in Hol
lywood.
Altered Her Career.
Mr. Wanger altered the course
of her career by taking her out
if ingenue parts in 1935. He cast
her as the spoiled wife of a young
psychiatrist who was suffering a
nervous breakdown.
On Mr. Wanger's persuasion,
she later changed her hair from
ilond to brunette, the shade she
has retained.
Recently she made a three-day
trip to New Orleans for a perfume
festival. Thjee weeks ago she re
joined Mr. Wanger at their home
here.
Mr. Wanger, born in San Fran
lisco, graduated in 1915 from
Dartmouth and produced stage
plays in London anti New York
before coming to Paramount Stu
dio as general manager. Stars he
brought to the screen included
Claudette Colbert, Kay Francis,
Miriam Hopkins, Clara Bow and
the Marx brothers.
He left Paramount in 1931 and
has been an executive producer at
several other studios.
Mr. Lang lies on an operating table at Midway Hospital
after he was shot in the abdomen and thigh.—AP WIrephotos.
Central High Alumni
To Seek $10,000 for
Place to Put Trophies
Central High School alumni
soon will launch a drive for at
least $10,000 to outfit a permanent
display place for school mementos.
The fund drive was decided on
last night by the alumni associa
tion’s executive board, meeting in
the Chevy Chase Community Cen
ter, where the alumni hope to es
tablish the displays.
The District Recreation Board
this week approved display of Cen
tral’s trophies in the community
center’s lobby. But alumni hope
to rebuild three rooms on the sec
ond floor. One would house the
Chinese room given by the Sze
family, another would contain the
school’s memorial to those who
lost their lives in World War I,
and the third would house the
trophies.
The association will seek per
mission from the Commissioners
and the Recreation Board for the
larger project after the funds are
raised, according to its officers.
Harry S. Wender, Recreation
Egypt Keeps Guardianship Over Errant Princess
By the Associated Press
CAIRO, Egypt, Dec. 14.—The
Crown Council announced today it
has decided to maintain Princess
Fathia Hanem Fouad, youngest
sister of King Farouk, under
guardianship after she becomes 21
years old next Monday.
The Council’s announcement
said the decision was taken after
Mohamed Naguib Salem Pasha,
administrator of the royal estates
and the Princess’ guardian, pre
sented a report on her properties.
Princess Fathia incurred King
Farouk’s displeasure by marrying
Riad Ghali, a Coptic Christian
commoner, at San Francisco,
Calif., on May 10. 1950.
Farouk stripped Fathia of her
royal title and privileges after the
marriage. By today’s action he
apparently puts Egypt’s hold on
Board chairman, said he will take
a leading role in the fund drive
Meanwhile, the alumni are com
pleting plans for their annual re
union December 27 at the Shore
ham Hotel. The program, includ
ing presentation of honor certifi
cates, election of officers and a
dance, will start at 8 p.m.
any properties the Princess might
claim by coming of age.
Mr. Ghali is political adviser to
Egypt’s Queen Mother Nazli.
Farouk also deprived the Queen
Mother of her estimated $7,000 &
week income and removed her as
custodian of the Princess because
of the mother’s assent to the
marriage.
Princess Fathia and her hus
band and the Queen Mother have
been living in California.
GIVE HIM A \
DESK
far ^
MHE*® 4 Stores 1
%
Manhunt Bogs Down;
FBI Widens Search for
Ross and Cellmate
The manhunt for George F.
Ross settled down today to a tedi-:
ous sifting of every possible lead
to the whereabouts of the sus
pected murderer, dope addict and
burglar.
Baltimore police began a search
for a former cellmate of the 27
year-old fugitive, while FBI agents;
widened the field of their activ
ities.
Authorities admit that Ross,
although wounded, managed to
escape from the woods near Elli
cott City without leaving a clue to
the direction he was heading
Several hundred armed men;
looked for him day and night w’ith
the aid of bloodhounds, helicop
ters and searchlights.
‘Gunman’ Was A Hunter.
Yesterday Prince Georges Coun
ty and Washington police hurried
to the woods near Dupont Heights
just across the District line oR
the Marlboro pike when a woman
said she had seen a man resem
bling Ross go into the under
growth with a shotgun.
It was learned later, however,
that the suspect was a rabbit
hunter, although he wore a ma
roon jacket of a type stolen by
Ross when he burglarized a fill
ing station near Ellicott City
Monday night.
Another fruitless ‘‘tip” came
from a man who thought he saw
the convict buying a bottle of
iodine in a Bladensburg 'Md.)
drugstore yesterday afternoon.
Police Question Man.
Virginia State police questioned
a man at a tourist home in Dum
fries after the proprietor became
suspicious that the man was us
ing an assumed name.
Ross escaped into the woods
Monday night while exchanging
shots with two officers who sur
prised him asleep in a stolen car
parked at a closed filling station.
He was identified through fin
gerprints as a man who murdered
|a Cleveland policeman said to
have questioned him about a
i traffic violation Sunday.
Ex-U. S. Girl to Wed
Defrocked Priest Soon
Ey Associated Pres*
MILAN, Italy, Dec. 14.—Claire
Young of Chicago said today that
she and Luciano Negrini, de
frocked priest for whom she gave
up her United States citizenship,
would be married in Milan City
Hall on December 27.
Miss Young said she and the
former Catholic missionary would
get their license tomorrow for a
civil wedding service.
“Everything is happening so
quickly,” said the 21-year-old girl
who met Mr. Negrini in Chicago
and followed him to Italy a year
ago. “I am a bit confused now.
and many of the details of the
wedding ceremony have not yet
been settled.”
She said, however, that her
; papers and Mr. Negrini’s are now
;in order after their year-long ro
mance in which she spent a week
in Milan’s jail and became a
stateless person, and he re
nounced his priestly vows and ex
posed himself to excommunica
tion.
During the months in which
they tried to get their papers ini
order, both ran out of money andi
Miss Young sold nylon stockings.!
The 43-year-old Negrini sold
neckties and offered to give les
sons in Chinese, which he learned
in 15 years as a missionary.
JOHN G. WEBSTER HAS SERVED WASHINGTON SINCE 1912 j
IF YOUR WA1ER HEATER LEAKS,
OR IF YOU ARE GETTING RUSTY
WATER ...Call
STerling 6100
Day or Night
HOTPOINT
AUTOMATIC WATER HEATER
with Magic Control
$12.50 DOWN • $5 Monthly
Guaranteed Against Leakage
Let Us Install the Hotpoint — Assure
Yourself of Hot Water Always, with
Webster Exclusive 5-Star Service.
• Installed by our own plumbers, li
censed in D. C„ Maryland and Virginia. £'h*Egt“B o«
_ Company no longer sells
—-n nor installs hot water
WWHrf || EBSTER heaters Don't call your
gas company . . . call
8Terllng 6100,
627 F St. N.W. Opposite the Hecht Co.
SHOP EVENINGS TIL 9 P.M. (EXCEPT SATURDAYS)
Franklin Si
Christmas Gift Specials
Long sleeve pullover
Cashmere Sweater
Gray, camel, wine, light blue, navy blue,
hunter green.
Sleeveless model $17.95
Gray, natural, canary
Imported from England.
Broadcloth Pajamas
$ 1250
Satin striped pajamas as only England
knows how to make. Cuff on trouser and
coat. Stripes only. Sizes A, B, C, D.
* ..
Wonderfully soft and warm.
Viyella Robe
Tartan plaid.
Sizes S, M, L, XL
#
Warm and long wearing.
Viyella Shirt
Plain.
0
4250 CONNECTICUT AVENUE ORDWAY 6700
I—ass=_B-_!aBaB!BBBBSBate-H—A
i r i ’ t