New-York tribune., 1921-01-20
Colonel Abadie
Accuses Cillen
In Ship Deals
Says Benson's Aid Sought
Settlement of Claims That
Would Have Meant Loss
of 100000 to U. S.
Favoritism Also CHARGED
Walsh Committee Is Told
How Contracts With Va
rious Firms We're Handled

merly executive assistant to Chairman
John Barton Payne and Chairman Ben
son, of the Shipping Board, sought to
prevail upon him to certify certain
settlements with shipping companies,
which would have resulted in a loss to
the government of between $4,000 900
and $15,000,000, were made by Colonel
+. II. Abadie, formerly general comp
troller of the board, when he resumed
his testimony yesterday before the
Walsh Congressional Committee at the
Hotel Pennsylvania.
Colonel Abadie charged also that Mr..
Gillen showed favoritism to the Nafra
company, the Green Star Steamship
Company and the Imperial Steamship
Company in handling Of contracts be-
tween these companies and the Ship
ping Board. Mr.. Gillen is at present
financial adviser to Joseph Mercadante,
OF 120 Broadway, president of both
the Nafra and the Green Star COM
panies
dramatic touch was added to yes-
terday's hearing when Mr.. Gillen made
his appearance in the room Just at the
moment when Colonel Abadie pro-
nounced his name in connection with
the charge that he had sought to pre-
vail upon him to certify to settlements
which would have resulted in a heavy
loss to the government.
Will Get Chance on Stand
At one time during Colonel Abadie's
testimony Mr.. Gillen broke in by ex-
pressing desire to make a statement
Chairman Walsh, however, refused to
permit him to do so, saying he would
be given an opportunity to go on the
stand later and refute Colonel Abadie's
Statements Mr.. Gillen later made q
preliminary explanation to the news
paper men.
Describing his troubles as general
Colonel Abade launched upon his first
charge against Mr.. Gillen by saying:
"Thc first unpleasant incident with
which ] was confronted Arose as a
result of the attempt to settle requsi-
tion claims. Some were in the hands
of the Requisition Claims Committee.
Some were being handled by the assist
ant to the chairman, others by indl-
vidual commissioners.
Martin j. Gillen, then special as
sistant to Chairman John Barton
Payne, early in December, 1919. tele-
phoned me to ap- ear at his office at
3 o'clock to certify to some records.
l was presented with a number of type
written certifcatiors carrying pay
ments of millions to former owners OF
requisitioned hulls, and | was request
ed to sign on the dotted line. tried
to explain that | was not satisfied that
these records were correct and that
| would not sign them until I was sat
isfed that they were correct. Mr.. Gil
len lost his temper and demanded That
if I intended to continue as general
controlle these certificates would have
to be certified to before 6 o'clock, to
which l refused until was shown from
whom the figures were obtained and
how.
Refused to Consider Issue
"I was then presented a sheet which
was made up by Mr.. Gillen and his
several assistants, the figures on which
they finally admitted were obtained by
telephone from the Philadelphia Office
of the General Comptroller Finance
Division, Fleet Corporation). l found
that no letter Or statement support
ing these figures had ever been re-
ceived and that no letter Of request
had beer made to the General Comp
troller's Department by Mr.. Gillen or
the other parties present which would
explain to the Finance Division repre-
sentatives the purpose Of the figures
which they had gotten and reflected
on this summary sheet.
81 then refused absolutely to have
anything to do with the certitcation
or further consideration of the mat
ter until l had made a complete inves-
tigation. was persuaded to meet
them that evening at eight o'clock for
further discussion of the question.
In the meantime l communicated by
phone with the Philadelphia office and
found that my contentious were sub
stantiated. Z Immediately set Mr..
Fielding at work to analyze these
amounts and an entirely different set
up was presented. such that had
certified as demanded by Mr.. Gillen
that afternoon in his office, the cor
poration would have lost millions.
GAS a matter of fact, the investiga-
for us to write to all the former own
ers to obtain their sworn statements
IS to the progress payments they made
to ship contractors, and we likewise
wrote to the contractors and obtained
their sworn statements of what they
received from the former owner in the
way of progress payments before we
could straighteu out and adjust these
payments, and I properly signed as
general comptroller certificates au-
thorizing payments to former owners -
GLOW many millions would the cor
poraton have lost if you had made
the certifcations demanded by Mr..
Gillen?" asked Chairman Walsh.
From $10,00O,000 to $15,000,000 re-
Llied Colonel Abadie
Describes Ship Deal
The transaction described by Colonel
Abadie in connection with his second
charge involved the alleged purchase
by the government Of five steel ships
from the G. M. Standifer Construction
Company, of Vancouver, Wash, which
had been ordered originally by the
Emergency Fleet Corporation, but
which contract had been cancelled
after the war, and the alleged rein
statement of the governments con-
tract for ships when the Green Star
Line defaulted in its payment to
Standifer under conditions which re-
quired the resale to the steamship
company by the government at cost
when completed.
onnd tse ds1 fer eas5
the Shipping Board, he charged, again
changed its contract so that the five
ships were decided back to it and then
merely allocated to the Green Star
Line for operation.