Evening star., 1935-06-18
MITCHELL CHARGE
ORDERED PROBED
BY SENATE GROUP
Ousted Commerce Official
to Be Put on Stand
Under Oath.
INVESTIGATION SLATED
TO START TOMORROW
Committee Reports Favorably
Carolinian's Nomination
as Successor.
BY the Associated Press.

retary of Commerce, against his Supe-
rior, Secretary Roper, was ordered
today by the Commerce Committee to
tegin tomorrow morning.
Announcing the committee action
Chairman Copeland declared Mitchell
would be put on the stand under
cath" for questioning about his
charges that Roper had signed con-
tract permitting the United States
Lines Co. to retire the Leviathan from
service without paying the Govern
ment the penalties due for not keep
ing the big ship in service as part
of the subsidized merchant marine.
Ousted on Refusal to Quit.
Mitchell was ouSted by President
Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary OF
Commerce after he refused to resign
He made public yesterday charges
of improper favoritiSm and graft In
the Commerce Department.
At another press conference today
Mitchell made public a letter to Presi-
dent Roosevelt renewing his conten-
ton there had been "scandalous dis
regard of the public interests" and
''racketeering practices" in the Com
merce Department.
THE charges are serious" Copeland
said. He insisted, however, he did not
place much credence in them.
The committee voted 13 to 5 to
report favorably the nomination OF
John Monroe johnson of South Caro-
lima as Mitchell's successor.
'I want it understood" Copeland
said In announcing the vote, that
every member of the committee said
he had nothing against johnson, but
questioned the policy of confirming
him in advance of an investigation
Of the Mitchell charges.
Everybody is satisfied johnson is
o good man."
Vandenberg Backs Delay.
As he left Senator Vandenherg, Re-
publican, of Michigan, declared he
would oppose confirmation until the
Mitchell investigation.
Those voting to withhold imme-
diate approval were all Republicans
McNary of Oregon, johnson of Cali
IOIIlld, WIllIE VI NJC Va 4NOA IA
Dakota and Vandenberg.
In his letter to President Roosevelt,
dated June Is, Mitchell said:
The trouble was that my attitude
led me to look into the merits and
the lawfulneSS of the multitude of
business transactions that came to me
for approval, and when I found that
ships costing millions of dollars and
in perfect condition were being de-
hvered for scrapping on an illegal
contract, that millions of dollars in
mail pay were being squandered with
out any regard for past due obliga-
tions of the contractor to the Gov
ernment and other Treasury plumber
ing transactions we're going on with
out check or hindrance, I refused to
approve such racketeering practices.
Naturally, all of the racketeers who
had placed their henchmen in official
key positions were resentful and found
no difficulty in persuading Secretary
Roper that my attitudes were un-
suited to the position I occupied"
Machine Opposition Cited.
He added that nearly all of the
worthwhile appointments you have
made In Missouri have gone to the
notorious Pendergast-Ree machine,
whose vigorous opposition to your
nomination before the Chicago con-
vention and whose brutal tactics
during the convention were carried
to such extremes that the women
among the Roosevelt delegates often
were in tears"
Mitchell long has been Identified
with the anti -PendergaSt faction in
Missouri politics.
Senator Truman, Democrat, of Mis-
souri,, declared he was certain there
was no "deal'' between the Democratic
Pendergast organization in Missouri
and the national administration for
the removal of Mitchell.
The committee vote for the Mitchell
investigation was unanimous, Cope
land said, and was reached with little
discussion of his charges.
vandenberg moved that an inves-
tigation be made at once and that
Mitchell be summoned" and Roper
be invited"
Machine Pressure Charged.
Mitchell said at his press confer
ence that pressure from the Fender
gast machine In Missouri "undoubted-
ly" had played part in his removal.
Secretary Roper" he added. had
been wanting to get rid of me for
good while. and when you add to that
opposition the two Missouri Senators
and the Pendergast boss you have got
a real objection"
Mitchell said Postmaster General
Farley had been playing with the
Pendergast machine all the time"
During the presidential campaign"
he said, Farley kept phoning me that
Pendergast will be ali right. I told
him the Pendergast machine was based
on the high dollar and never would
harmonic with Roosevelt ideas. Up
to the end of the campaign Farley
still had the idea he was going to
get the support Of Pendergast."
Like Truman. Missouri's senior Sen
ator, Bennett Champ Clark is polit-
ical opponent of Mitchell. They have
been at odds for many years.
Before sailing for Europe recently
Pendergast said the efforts to oust
Mitchell were not prompted by any
thing he said about me" but quickly
added that both Senators wanted him
removed and insisted Mitchell had
little political weight in Missouri.
Clark did not oppose Mitchell for
confirmation for the reason, hi
Friends said, that President Roosevelt
asked him to take that action as "