Evening star., 1935-03-19
GRAND Jury PROBE
of DAvEY ORDERED
Ohio Prosecutors Receive
Affidavits on "Shake-
down" Charges.
BY the Associated Press.

Relief Administrator Harry L. Hop
kins' charges that Gov. Martin L.
Davey's Campaign Committee solicited
funds from firms selling goods to the
Ohio Relief Commission was ordered
today.
Affidavits supporting Hopkins as
sertion that he had "incontrovertible
evidence" to back up his charge of a
"shakedown" were received by Attor-
ney General John w. Bricker, a Re-
publican, and Donald j. HoskinS,
Franklin County prosecutor.
Hoskins said the county (Columbus)
grand jury, now in session, would take
up the case Thursday.
United States Attorney Francis
Canny of Dayton took charge Of
check-up of relief records to determine
whether Federal statutes had been
| violated.
Bricker withheld comment on the
afidavits but Hoskins announced the
names Of witnesses to be summoned
| included Francis w. Poulson. State
Democratic Executive Committee
chairman.
Poulson, in reply to Hopkins
| charges, said he had solicited funds
to meet deficit from the Davey cam
paign and offered no apologies"
Toledo Contributions Claimed.
Frazier Reams, Lucas tToledo)
| County prosecutor, made public the
Hopkins afidavits. which asserted that
thousands of dollars had been COL
lected in Toledo and in other sections
of Ohio by the managers of the Davey
gubernatorial campaign.
One of the affidavits was signed by
Kenneth P. Aller Of Columbus, a sec
ond by Thomas E. Jones, also Of
Columbus, and third by William r.
| Mcnamara of Camp Chase, Ohio.
! Jones, in his affidavit, said that in
seeking funds in Toledo he received
/ $500 from Sam Davis Of Toledo and
/ that December 16 he procured $500
| from J. w. Jameson, general manager
Of the David Davies Co. He said that
he also collected $500 from a repre-
sentative of the Great Lakes Terminal
| Warehouse Co.
| Hoskins had said the three would
be among the witnesses summoned be-
fore the grand jury. Mcnamara is
+ superintendent Of the surplus COM
modities division Of the State Relief
Commission. Jones is his assistant and
Aller is a Columbus trucking company
! operator.
Confers With U. S. Attorney.
Shortly after Bricker received the
| afidavits he conferred with Canny,
Ray O'Donnell, assistant United States
/ district attorney; Bricker's first assist
/ ant, Dale Dunifon: Hoskins and Hos
kins' first assistant, Ralph ]. Bartlett.
! They remained behind locked doors
| for more than an hour, after which
Canny said:
We have thought best. in the in
/ terests of whatever there is in this
case, not to make public the contents
Of the affidavits at this time.
/ IT am not saying at this time"
Canny said, whether there is a Fed
eral case"
/ Anything he might do, Canny added.
would be independently of Admins
/ traitor Hopkins. He said no regular
Federal grand jury would be in ses-
sion in Cincinnati until June. but
there will be one in Dayton in May.
/ Bricker asserted he had no author
+ ity to act as yet. He cannot conduct
/ an inquiry into the relief controversy
/ unless specifically delegated to do so
/ by the Governor or the Legislature.
Several Employees Resign.
At the same time c. C. Stillman,
Federal relief administration chief in
Ohio. disclosed that several employees
of the relief division have resigned
because they had heard they were in
volved in the recent charges of ''polft-
ical corruption" made by Hopkins
Stillman said he had not accepted
the designations and would not do so
until the charges have been aired"
He would not name those who re-
signed
Stillman. who took over the Ohio
relief administration after Hopkins
had announced he had "incontrovert-
ible evidence" of political corruption
in the Ohio relief set-up, said he ex-
pected to reduce the relief personnel
sharply because some positions are
not needed and we will eliminate
them"
Meanwhile the battle between Gov.
Davey and Hopkins. with its charges
Of criminal libel and political corrup-
ton, ragged toward a showdown in
the Ohio Legislature today.
The House took up a resolution,
already approved by the Senate. call
ing for an investigation of the State
relief administration. Daveys charges
of waste and inefficiency in it and the
Federal relief administrator charge
that business firms seeking relief con-
tracts we're shaken down" for $4,000
by Davey's campaign committee.
/ The Governor awaited an answer
from the relief chief, whom he chal-
lenged to come to Ohio and stand trial
on a charge of libel or prove himself
to be a man who hits below the belt
and runs" -.
Called Base Assassin"
After filing the libel suit at Newark.
Ohio, the Governor appeared before
the Legislature last night and called
Hopkins "a base and foul character
assassin"
He demanded thorough inveSti-
CATION" of Ohio relief administration
and declared any Sins" are charge
able to Hopkins and Frank D. Hender-
son, former State relief director 90
The House chamber was crowded to
overf1owing and Davey was interrupted
by cries of Give EN- hell, Martin" as
he delivered bitter indictment of
Hopkins regime.
Asserting he was eager for Hopkins
to stand trial. Davey added:
Il want the people of Ohio and the
Nation to know the truth, and the
| quicker the better. If and when this
man. who is guilty of criminal libel,
goes to trial, there will be wave Of
popular indignation against his ne
farious and cowardly action, the like
of which we have seldom seem"
The governor indicated doubt about
any success of the national recovery
program as it affects unemployment.
The Democratic controlled Senate
approved an investigation by a COM
mittee of 10 legislators after voting
down Republican attempts to have
/ r.