Evening star., 1936-02-01
SENATE TO PROBE
GANGSTER ARM|NG
Munitions Committee Sub
poenas New York Second
Hand Dealers.
BY tho Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
An investigation Of the source Of
gangster machine guns was decided
on today by the Senate Munitions
Committee.
Its deficit wiped out by new Sen
ate grant Of enough funds to conclude
its hearings, the committee SUBJ
poenaed men whom Stephen Raushen-
bush. committee chief investigator. de-
scribed as "a lot of secondhand deal
ers and such" from New York. They
will appear before the committee for
three days beginning February IT..
Their names were not disclosed.
Attorney General Cummings few
months ago declared "our great Amer
ican underworld is armed to the teeth.
1t steals its heavier weapons and pur-
chases its pistols" He urged more
effective firearms act.
Raushenbush said the study would
be taken up from two angles: How
the gangsters got guns and how such
weapons get into the hands of South
American revolutionaries.
Morgan to BE Recalled.
The investigation will be the con-
cluding chapter in 20-month study
of munitions and World War ques-
tions. The committee will reopen the
World War inquiry Tuesday by ques-
tioning J, P. Morgan and his partners
again
While the committee pressed Its
quest for the cause and cure" OF
war there were growing indications
of trouble for one of its main OBJ
jectives--new neutrality legislation.
Taking note of the opposition, Chair
| man Pittman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee agreed it was
possible" he would be compelled to
| compromise on the administration
neutrality bill. The measure. which
seeks to make permanent the pres
ent mandatory embargoes against arms
shipments to belligerents, proposes
also to empower the President to i'm
pose quota restrictions on exports of
materials of war; such as oil, cot
ton and steel
There were indications Pittman had
strength within the committee to re-
port the bill out. but a prolonged
| fight was expected on the floor from
such opponents as Senators Borah,
Republican, of Idaho, and Johnson,
Republican. of California. They at
tackled the discretionary quota power
as giving the President the privilege
OF cooperating with the League of
Nations in imposing sanctions.
showdown session of the commit
tee is expected next Wednesday.
Then it will be decided whether
further study might compromise diff
ferences or whether the committee
should vote on the bill at once.
Next Wednesday the Munitions Com
mlttee plans to question officials of
the Sperry Gyroscope Co, manufac-
turer of airplane instruments, about
methods employed in making sales to
! foreign governments. Also up for ex-
animation then will be engineers of
the Interstate Commerce Commission
who have been helping the committee
study comparative costs of Govern
ment and private manufacture of
arms and munitions.
Senator Vandenberg, Republican. of
Michigan. who already has posed the
question to Secretary Morgenthau. said
he planned to ask the views of the
Morgan interests on the feasibility of
converting upward of 81 900 ,000. 900 in
| debts now in default into saleable
securities to fatten the "denleted
treasury"
Vandenberg pointed to a provision
in the debt funding agreement of 1923
| authorizing the Secretary of the
Treasury to demand of the debtor
nations that they convert the approxi-
mately ,50O,OoO.oOo in debts into
smaller securities 'for public sale"