Evening star., 1941-08-15
May Charges Press
With Attempt 10
Smear Pepper
Legislator Depiores
differences on Florida
AsphuIt Contract
By the Associated Press.

| By the Associated Press.
Chairman May Of the House Mill
tary Affairs Committee said yester-
day that there was an apparent
attempt on the part of some men,
bers of the press" to smear" Sena-
tor Pepper, Democrat, of Florida.
In statement on report issued
yesterday by a military subcom-
mittee investigating delay in the
construction of Eglin Field, Fla,
Representative May declared the
report included no direct state
ment justifying even an implica-
ton that Senator Pepper did any,
thing improper about the matter"
The report declared that in con-
nection with the Pensacola Fla)
Municipal Airport, W. E. Harkness,
at that time the Florida procure
ment officer, was aware that Sen
ator Pepper. who had nominated
him for a better job" wanted an
| asphalt contract let to the Pan
American Petroleum Corp.
Situation Deplored.
The report added, The special
committee most strongly deplores
the fact that any member of Con-
greSS would permit, even by infer
ence, an employe of the Govern
ment to believe that his promotion
to a better position was contingent
upon the securing of a Government
contract by a particular corpora
ton"
The text of Mr.. Mays statement:
When the attention of Chairman
May of the House Military Affairs
Committee was called to the head
lines of the Washington Post in con-
nectlon with a tentative report of
! the subcommittee No /, of the
House Military Affairs Committee
conducting an investigation under
House resolution, of the Eglin Field
Army air base in Florida, he stated
that he was surprised to know that
the press had been given the infor-
nation contained in tentative re-
port made by the investigator to
subcommittee No. /.
The chairman of the committee
said he had made rather hurried
inspection of the report as sub
mitted to him by the special sub
committee, and that while he was
not advised as to whether the COM
mlttee had made formal approval
OF 1t or not, he could see no justi-
f1cation for the apparent effort of
SOy11n r1epoh harc of tho nr,e- r. o,-;K;
cize, and in fact, smear Senator
| Pepper.
Confusion on Bids.
In the committee report, he SAYS,
there is no direct statement justi-
flying even an implication that SEN
ator Pepper did anything improper
about the matter When the bids.
which were the subject of the in
yestigation, were submitted to the
Procurement Division of the Treas
ury, there was confusion as to the
number of bids, as to whether or
not land grant rates applied to the
| transportation by rail, as to the
cost of trucking or otherwise trans
7 porting the materials from the rail-
center to the air field, and such a
number of complications that the
Senator merely recommended to the
Procurement Division that it was
unfair to all the bidders that the
| contract should be awarded without
further consideration and the COM
mlttee on Page 9 Of its report, sets
forth the reason for Senator Pep
per's acts and definitely justifles
them.
The report has not yet been sub
mltted to the whole committee and
probably will not be for at least
month. AS to whether it will be ap-
proved or disapproved, he does not
know.