Evening star., 1941-09-28
Orphaned Mail Sacks
OF bennett Case Lie
Opened, Unclaimed
Fish Won't Have Them;
Justice Agents Wait
Bid TO Pick Them Up


An orphaned pile of United States
mail bags lies in a sixth floor storage
room of the New House Office Build
ing
According to the Department of
Justice and the Office of Representa-
tive Hamilton Fish, their contents
may be desired for presentation be-
fore grand jury investigating Sus-
pected Nazi agents-but SO polite
and diplomatic are both Department
agents and Mr.. Fish's Office that
neither has offered to lay a finger
on the bags.
The Justice men may or may not
go pick them up tomorrow-10 days
after they allegedly vanished from
the Office of Prescott bennett, sec
retary of an iSolationiSt organizati
which the Department claims has
received contributions from known
German agents. Department Off
cials were not sure late yesterday.
Want Fish's Invitation
Mr.. FiSh'S office says that it once
refused to accept the bags, when
they were sent to the New York rep
/ reSentative by Mr.. bennett. and it
| is not going TO start fiddling with
/ them now. MI Fishs secretary.
Walter L. Reynolds, tells reporters
/ that the Justice agents are cordially
invited to take them away from their
/ present resting place, just outside
locker assigned to Mr.. Fish. Of
flcialS of the Federal Department
hesitate, remarking that they think
Mr.. Fish should send them a per-
/ SOnal invitation, not through the
/ newspapers.
/ Department of Justice spokesmen
say they believe that some of these
bags were among the 20 allegedly
! removed from the Office of Mr.. Den
nett, 1430 Rhode Island avenue
/ NV, within an hour" after he
had been Subpoenaed as a grand
/ jury witness to explain activities
OF the Make Europe Pay War Debts
Committee of which he is secretary
Ten Sacks Recovered.
/ Ten sacks of iSolationiSt material
have been recovered by subpoena
from another organization in an
other part of the city. the America
First Committee, l26 c street NE.
/ according to Assistant Attorney
/ General Wendell Berge. These
proved to contain franked envelopes
containing speeches by various Sem
atorS, it is understood. Whether or
not the bags in the House Office
Building complete the material said
to be missing has not been publicly
stated. Whether these bags are likely
to contain important records is
subject upon which the Justice De-
partment will not be quoted-1ut
records otherwise obtained have
been admittedly "sketchy"
outside Mr.. FiSh's locker. No.
IN storage room 30, were Is filled
bags and a number of empty ones
when a reporter visited the site late
yesterday The empty ones had va
rlouS tags misunderstanding several
Representatives and the Children's
Bureau Of the Department of Labor.
BY the time the reporter arrived.
the filed bags had been roughly
handled, and some of their necks
were wide open. exposing contents
Plainly visible within were envelopes
bearing the postage-free frank of
nve Senators and two Representa-
tlves-not including Representative
Fish. His name was not visible on
any of the material within the bags
1t appeared. however, as a pen
ciled inscription upon a loose tag
among the sacks.
Representative Explains.
Cong. FiSh-Attention Mr.. Hill"
was the wording. This recalled Mr..
FiSh'S explanation of how the bags
were first presented at his office.
He said that Mr. bennett phoned
his second secretary, George Hill,
and said he had 500 unneeded copies
of speeches by the New York Rep
resentative. Mr.. Hill according to
Mr.. Fish, sent a House of Repre-
Sentatives truck to the bennett Of
flee for The 500 orations and was
surprised when it returned loaded
with big cargo of bags. Mr.. Hill
rejected the lot, according to Mr..
Fish, telling the truck driver,
Charles Wilson, to take the stuff
away and do with it whatever he
jolly well pleased.
Mr.. Wilson declines to give any
account of the affair. He told a
reporter he has been before the
grand jury to relate his tale and
was instructed to make no public
comment.
Some of the 13 bags would seem
to have no connection with the van
ishing bennett sacks One appears
to be loaded with pamphlet pub
lished in 1897 entitled, "Foremans
Handbook, w. P. A, Harry Hopkins,
Administrator Others have on
their top surface records of con-
gressional hearings on railroad
problems, etc.
ISolatlOniSt material beyond
franked speeches is present to some
extent, however. At the top of one
sack a series of stamps" was plain
ly visible. They showed an Uncle
Sam pointing an accusing finger,
with these inscriptions:
Make Europe Pay War Debts"
mo Foreign Wars"
mo War Loans"