The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-12-12

anu OOu1eSClC NOIIlI11SICS.
 Not Q word of the matter has appeared in the press. Yet it Is one of the most amazing stories in the capital, involving several U. 8. representatives abroad, charges of moral and official lax ity, a secret investigation includ- ing trip to Europe that has al- ready cost $20O00 and produced several large volumes of testi- mony-aud 8 woman.
 THE WOMAN WAS THE CAUSE OF IT ALL.
 L'Affaire McCann
 In the fall of 1o35, Miss Beryl McCann was dismissed from her job as assistant disbursing officer of the Paris office of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com- merce.
 A stickIer for moral as we'll as official rectitude, the young lady from Alabama had got I'm the hair of some of the more ebuIlient members of the Paris staff. She had bluntly chal- lenged the veracity of their ex- pense accounts and in other ways made herself irks0me.
 To get rid of this embarrassing gad-fly, the attaches ganged up on Miss McCann.
 Claudius Murchison, now, the $25, ,000-a-year director of the Cot ton Textile Institute, was then head of the bureau. How the Paris boys worked 1t is not known, but Miss McCan was fired.
 That was an evil day for them. They soon found they had TRADED THE FRYING PAN FOR THE FIRE.
 Alabama to the Rescue
 Miss McCann did not take the busting meekly. She fought back with the same crusading spirit she had displayed in disapprov- ing the playboys' bohemian antics and expense accounts.
 Miss McCann caught the first home-bound steamer and rushed with her story to Representative William B. Oliver. 1lDw MT. Oliver is not only a staunch Alabaman, but he was also chairman Of the appropriations subcommittee that handles the commerce department appropriation bill. In other words, MT. Oliver was very potent guy. Also, as he promptly demon- strated, he could get just as hot under the collar over bureaucra- tic high-handedness as Miss Mo- Cam.
 When he heard her story he went directly to Secretary Dan Roper and demanded sweeping investigation. No one has ever accused Uncle Dan of being a crusader, but Oliver was not man to be trifled with.
 Secret Probe
 So H. Colt Mclean, head of the Paris office, was ordered to re- turn instanter to Washington and explain.
 When he arrived the probe got under way, surrounded by the most extraordinary secrecy. Guards were posted outside the door of the hearing room and the blinds were drawn. Con-
 ducting the proceedings were
 three tOp-rung commerce of- ficials, Assistant Secretary Dra-
 per, Solicitor Trimble and Mal- colm KePlin. aide to Roper.
 The matter might have gone no further than some reprimands and a shakeup of the Paris of- flee had not the entire personnel of the Bureau leaped into the fray. As one man, the staff rose in outrage at Miss McCann's charges. They boinbarded Wash ington with bitter attacks against her and other critics.
 Butts the But
 One of their targets wae Thomas Butts, another dismissed subor- dinate in the Paris office, who had returned to Washington and hurled a blast of charges.
 Charges and counter-charges filled the air. The affair soon developed into a battle royal. What had begun as 8 probe of 8 row over a minor job grew within a few weeks into 8 general inves- tigatoin of the Bureau, both at home and abroad. Scores of inc fractions of rules and other in- stances of official laxity were un- covered by Oliver, acting as prose- cutor.
 Oil on Flames
 Constantly pouring oil on the flames and aggravating the situa- ton with peculiar obtuseness were the Bureau officials.
 One, for example, solemnly charged Butts with engaging in political activity because he had contributed to the democratic National committee. Since Roper and other department executives are contributors, this accusation promptly boomeranged.
 Oliver took a further slap at the blundering official by pro- ducing letters from American business men in Paris lauding Butts as an able and reliable man.
 Another incident that back fired against the bureau was a letter from one of it's attaches hotly denouncing Miss McCann as a trouble maker and wire puller. Later, this letter was ex-