Evening star., 1935-04-26
Proposed Removal of Gar
nett and Police Officials
Reported Eliminated.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
REFUSE INFORMATION
Chairman Says Body Deplores
and Resents Speculation
Concerning Findings.
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

D1 JHuEo 4. SHlNNs
The Special Crime Committee of
the House today adopted the report
it is to make to the full District Com
m.ttee next week, after making a num-
Der of revisions and deletions in the
tentative report drawn up by its
counsel, John r. Fitzpatrick.
Action was taken at a special three
hour executive session. which was de-
voted chiefly to a discussion of GER
tain recommendations in Fitzpatrick's
tentative draft that were completely
out OF harmony with the views OF
several members of the committee.
These recommendations, it is un-
derstood. called for the immediate
removal of United States Attorney
Leslie C. Garnett, the retirement of
Police Supt. Ernest w. Brown and
several other police officials. includ-
ing Inspectors Thaddeus r. Bean
and Albert ]. Headley.
Randolph Makes Statement.
There we're rumors that these
recommendations in the draft of FitZ-
patrick'S report were eliminated by
the committee. but all of the members
frankly refused to discuss any of its
contents. The only information given
out for publication at the conclusion
of the meeting was a statement issued
by Representative Randolph. Demo-
crat, of West Virginia. chairman of
the Crime Committee.
1t said:
The special committee has agreed
on its report. which will be submitted
next Wednesday to the District COM
mittee
The special committee deplores and
resents speculation concerning its
findings. Neither directly nor indi-
any information as to the contents of
its report"
The committee was aroused par
ticularly by premature publication of
several of the recommendations in
Fitzpatrick's tentative draft which the
members had not seen or approved.
These recommendations, which re-
lated to the proposed removal of Gar
nett and the retirement Of the police
oficials. were especially Objectionable.
While Chairman Randolph declined
to discuss details Of the report, he
indicated that during the three hour
session various members of the COM
mittee made suggestions for altera-
tions and deletions of some of the
contents. Representative Virginia
Jenckes, Democrat, of Indiana, took
an active part in the proceeding and
she Is one of the members who, 1t Is
understood, objected to the proposed
recommendation that Garnett be re-
several other police officials be placed
on the retired list.
The early portions OF the commit
tees meeting was devoted to an in
vestigation to determine how certain
Of the recommendation in the ten
tative draft of the report had Leaked
out"
Deny Giving Information.
All of the committee members, as
well as Fitzpatrick and William Seals,
who served as committee secretary.
denied vigorously that they had given
any information to newspaper men.
The full House District Committee
will pass on the report Wednesday and
transmit it to the House. The report,
according to Chairman Norton of the
District Committee, will not be made
public until it has been approved by
the full committee.
Publication of the recommendations
prior to committee action on the re-
port also aroused Chairman Norton
and for the first time she met with
the crime investigators in protracted
session behind closed doors in the Of
flee Of Representative Randolph.
The report is voluminous docu-
ment covering 120 pages of closely
typewriter copy. In addition to rec
concentrations for improving the Dis
trict's prosecution and law enforce
ment machinery, it summarizes the
testimony of more than so witnesses
who appeared before the committee
during its two-month investigation.
Fitzpatrick is understood to have ex-
planned to the committee that in
drawing up the recommendations he
followed the evidence presented during
the inquiry.
Fitzpatrick was formerly an assis-
tant United States Attorney for the
District and served under Garnett
until he resigned last Fall as a re-
suit Of a controversy with Justice
Proctor. Seals was formerly en-
ployed by a Washington newspaper
to write a series of stories on crime
conditions In the District.