The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-21
SCHWAb CALLED BY
 WALSH COMMITTEE
 FOLLOWING CHARGE
$260, ,000 Expense Voucher of Which $100, ,000 Charged to Ship Construction Found,
 Declares Witness
By Associated Press

New York January 2o.--A voucher for s260, 600 flor personal expenses of an off, cer of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding cor poration' was found in an audit of the main offices of that company, Col. E. H. Abadie today informed the Walsh con gressional committee, investigating the shipping board. He identified this off cer'' as Charles M. Schwab, who was then director general of the Emergency Fleet corporation. The voucher was made for the month of October 191S
 'One hundred thousand dollars of this amount" he testified. was arbitrarily charged to ship construction.
 It was learned prior to adjournment today that MT. Schwab had been asked to appear before the committee to testify.
 The voucher in question, Colonel Abadie added, was not seen by him, nor was its alleged amount or purport veri- fled. He said it was reported to him by Mir. Morse of the firm of Perley Morse & Co, expert accountants employed by him as comptroller of the shipping board, to make an independent audit of ship building companies. He also testified that from what he knew of MT Schwab, he would be the first to condemn any injustice by his corporation toward the government. lie dd0eu tnhl WIluc llc voucher in question was not accompanied by supporting papers, he thought it could be explained. Asked if it might not represent MT. Schwab's expenses for that month as an officer of the fleet corporation, the witness replied that had it been so the amount would have been covered by fleet corporation voucher.
 DISPUTE WITH PAYNE
 The subject was brought up by Colonel Abadie in explaining certain matters connected with his resignation from the board involved in which was dispute with Chairman Payne in the employing of the auditing firm to make an audit of American shipyards.
 He charged that Martin J. Gillen, then special assistant to John Barton Payne, chairman of the board, had connived to get him removed.
 The auditing brought on dispute with Chairman Payne as to his (Abadie' 8 authority to order it.
 'The first intmation I had that my resignation would be acceptable" he said. twas when Gillen asked me to meet him and wanted to know if my heart was all right and could l stand a shock. I was then told that at an executive meeting of the board it had been decided to accept my resignation if it were rendered..
 Colonel Abade said he filed his resig- na tion and it was accepted and he was given a month on detached duty.
 He afterwards ascertained that he was framed and he asserted that MT. Gillen used similar tactics to get rid of other employees in executive positions.
 The audit of the Bethlehem shipbuild- ing plan. ~lstituted by him was ordered stopped by Chairman Payne, whom, the witness said, claimed he had not author ;zed the employment Of the firm selected by the witness to do the work. The contract with the nudfting firm was afterwards reinstated by Chairman Payne. but later on modified so that he auditing firm handled the material and labor accounts and auditors from the shipping board, the overhead of the firm. This method, Colonel Abadie said. would not produce the results he origSnally anticpated-as two sets of auditors could not work to the same end. He admitted. however, that the shipping boards auditors would natur- ally be inclined to protect the board.
 The witness said he had never heard of any attempt on the part of any one connected with the Bethlehem company 10 bribe or influence any one connected with the shipping board.