Evening star., 1934-02-02
Former Official Had Refused
to Give Senators Data
of His Clients.
SAYS HE LET AVIATION
FIRMS REMOVE LETTERS
Declares Companies Used His Of
flee for Purposes Other Than
Airmail Business.
BULLETIN.

Contract investigating Committee
conferred this afternoon to decide
whether a contempt citation should
be issued for William p Mac
Cracken, former Assistant Secre-
tary of Commerce in charge Of
aviation, who refused to permit the
committees agents to seize avia-
ton correspondence in his law
office.
By the Associated Press.
The Senate Mail Investigating
Committee today ordered the i'm
pounding of all records relating to
air mail contracts in the Office of
William P. MacCracken. Washington
attorney and former Assistant Secre-
tary of Commerce in charge of avia-
ton.
The action came after MacCracken
had refused to permit a committee
investigator to go through his files
and had disclosed that officials OF
aviation companies yesterday took
from his Office certain correspondence
he characterized as personal"
MacCracken, who testified previous
ly to representing various aviation con-
Germs seeking mail contracts. had re-
fused Wednesday to supply records
to the committee on the ground re-
lations between a lawyer and client
we're privileged"
Action Is Withheld.
The committee withheld further ac-
tion pending word from the clients as
to their attitude which had been re-
quested in a telegram from Mac
Cracken
The former Commerce official told
the committee today that Col. L. H.
Britten. vice president of Northwest
Always. and Harris M. Hanshue,
president of Western Air Express,
called at his office yesterday and took
away some correspondence. He added
that they had used his office at times
for matters unrelated to air mall
business.
Referring to MacCracken's chair
manship of a Washington conference
in 1880, at which mail contracts were
made under the provisions of the Nc
Nary-Watres act, Chairman Black
and airmail routes had been divided
up "un njustly, unfairly and Illegally
O.
MacCracken. explaining his posi-
ton to the committee. said he had
had nothing to do with determining
what airmail operators should attend
the conference He said the McNary-
Watres act was intended to take care
of pioneer operators" who had spent
large amounts of money in develop
ing aviation
After MacCracken had testified,
Senators King, Black and McCarran,
Democrat committee members. ex-
pressed the opinion that the service
rendered by the lawyer to various air
concerns was not necessarily legal
service and that the privilege should,
therefore. not be recognized.
Senator White. Republican, of
Maine, expressed himself as desirous
of guarding jealousy legal privilege,
but said that Il can't think of any
thing more foolish than what these
clients have done"
If clients in the circumstances
that have existed in the past three or
four days are willing to do such
fool thing as to remove these letters,
1 have no objection to these opin-
ions"
Chairman Black. concluding an e.
tended opinion, said he favored i'm
mediate impounding of the corre-
spondence sought unless MacCracken
agreed to permit A. G. Patterson Of
the committees legal staff, to search
through his files and take any rec
ords he believed related to mail con-
tracts. as had previously been sug-
gested by Senator King.
Low Bidder Lost Contract.
The committee was told yesterday
that despite the fact the United Fruit
Co. was low bidder. mail contract
was let to the Columbian Steamship
Line.
A. Lane Crlcher, former Chlef OF
the transportation division of the Bu-
reau of Foreign and Domestic Com
merce. testified that the United Fruit
Line did not bid second time on the
route which was given to Columbian,
but received three other contracts.
Much of Cricher's testimony was
merely acquiescence with the ver-
batim minutes of an interdepart-
mental aviation subcommittee. high
spots of which were read by Chair
man Black.
Considerable entertainment was af-
forded spectators as Black read quo
tations from the minutes relating to
the awarding of contracts. many of
which. Cricher said, were merely
"facetious remarks"
Asked for Other Routes.
The minutes we're introduced in an
to show United Fruit had
asked to be assured of the three other
routes before agreeing to drop its ap-
plication for the one in question,
which was to the Caribbean and
South America.