Evening star., 1934-09-19

can only come with complete frank
ness.
Country Not Indicted.
TT cannot be bought by hiding.
deceiving and concealing. The show
that officials Of a company have used
weak men Is not an indictment of q
people, any more than an expose Of
the racketeering Of an AL Capone Is
an Indictment of the people Of Chi
cago.
THE Senate committee is not in
vestigating the morals Of a nation
1t is getting at specific facts in con-
nection with certain deals in the pri-
vate munitions business
The statement followed an argument
which developed when witnesses asked
the committee to suppress the name
Of Honduran public official, who was
alleged to have been paid a commits
sion on government contract.
1T might embarrass him." F. S.
Jonas. an agent for the company, said.
THE chair wonders why it hadn't
ought to be embarrassing to some
people" Chairman Nye, Republican,
Of North Dakota, interposed.
Trade Blow Feared.
Young said the investigation was
hurting American business abroad in
general by causing general resent
ment against the United States.
Senator Clark. Democrat, of Mis-
souri,, remarked:
I'VE are here to expose the skeleton
in our own closet in the hope other
countries may have the good sense
and sincerity to do likewise"
Young and Jonas said the munitions
business was distasteful to them and
that they were forced into it by the
depression.
Speaking Of e-depression sales to
bankers of tear gas and submachine
guns. Young said:
The bankers quit buying. They
got more afraid of their depositors
than Of bandits"
The name OF the Honduras Official
was not made public
Jonas had told the committee that
the payment of bribes and graft in
South American was epidemic and
generally expected.
This testimony came in connection
with letter Of Raoul Leon of the
firm Of Leon g. Bonasegna of
Buenos Aires, at the time the Federal
Co. sellers of gas and machine guns.
was attempting to trim its commits
sions.
1T is all very well for them to cut
down our commission" Leon wrote
Jonas. but how the devil do they
know just what our arrangements are
here with the bunch Of grafters we
have to deal with?"
Jonas classified this as sales talk"
and said there always was a lot of
loose talk among statesmen in South
America. He refused to include Ar
gentina as country where grease"
must now be applied.
Competition Cited.
The Federal Laboratories repre-
sentative in Venezuela reported in cor
respondence that he had to give part
OF his commission to the government
The agent. Col. B. De Santa Anna.
of Caracas, wrote the company June
IA, 1882:
AS you have very serious compeu-
ton here. and to compete with them
and get the order for you, I have to
give away all my commission; off,
cially to the government so per cent
and unoficially the rest.
"AS have special ARRANGEMENT with
the people here will ask you not to
work directly and to make all your
offers through me, as your representa-
tive, because you may make some mis-
take which will have bad conse-
quenceS for your future business
here"
Testimony yesterday showed that
Federal Laboratories decided last Fall
to favor a revolutionary group in Cuba
against the government in power.
Examining Senators hinted this de-
cision had considerable influence in
the fall of the government and VIC
tory for the Mendieta revolutionary
group.
Logan Act Cited.
Shooting questions at Young, in
vestigators brought the Logan act into
the picture after Young acknowl-
edged that he advised Cubans last
year about how to patch up their
revolutionary troubles. The Logan act
forbids private American citizens
meddling in diplomatic affairs.
Are you familiar with the Logan
act?" Senator Vandenburg, Republi-
can Of Michigan, asked
Never heard of it," Young an
swered.
Young told the committee his de-
ciSion to favor Mendieta over the
existing Grau San Martin govern