Evening star., 1942-10-09
Wigg|esworth Asks
House 10 Stiff Charges
Of Bribery in FEC
Acceptance Of Payment
From Broodcuster Laid
To Ex-Commissioner
By the Aseociated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
A request by Representative Wig
ellsworth, Republican, of Massachu-
setts, for "a thorough-going inves-
tigation" Of reports that members of
the Federal Communications Com
mission had received remuneration
from licensees for ''the promise of
influence" was before Congress to-
day.
Asking for the inquiry in the
House yesterday, Mr.. Wigglesworth
declared that he understood "seri-
ous charges were leveled at members
or former members of the commits
sion around the first of the year."
The charges, If established, he
SAID, would show "the apparent ef-
rect OF remuneration in the action
OF the commission" and "the subse-
quent connection of one or more of
tnose involved with various corpora
tions authorized to engage in or to
manage licensees engaged in broad
casting"
Mr.. Wigglesworth said he under
stood the commission ordered an in
query last January and appointed
John Farnham, Chicago, as special
counsel to conduct the tnvestiga-
ton. Having heard Of no results of
the inquiry, Mr.. Wigglesworth said
ne asked FEC Chairman James L.
Fly about 1t during hearings on the
appropriation bill.
Commissioner Involved.
Among the questions he asked Mr..
Fly, Mr.. Wigglesworth told the
House. were whether MIR. Farnham
reported that former commission
member had been guilty of grossly
Improper" conduct; whether another
former member had received "flnan-
cial gratuities from a licensee or
Licensees" and whether a licensee
had admitted under oath that he
had mysteriously turned over to his
attorney" some $4,000 worth of Gov
ernment bonds in order to acquire
facilities he sought from the COM
mission.
Il understand that the record will
show that Mr.. Farnham reported
that from several independent
sources charges have been made to
the commission investigators that
an ex-commissioner while a mem
Der OF the commission, had accepted
favors from network which in
cluded emoluments in return for IA
vorable official treatment on his
part" Mr.. WigglesWorth declared.
He named the network in his
speech, but omitted the name In re-
vising his remarks for the Congress
sional Record.
Mr.. Wigglesworth also said he
understood that Mr.. Farnham re-
ported that temporary authority to
operate at night was given to a
icensee who subsequently was "ad-
vised by his attorney that the time
had come to pay off those who had
voted favorably" and that "he in
fact paid to his attorney $1,000 in
cash and $4,000 in Government
bonds; that he produced a note
book In which were written the
names Of seven members of the
commission, against five of which
was written the word yes against
one of which was written absent,
not voting and against another one
Of which was written present and
not voting or words to that effect"
Says Page Was Destroyed.
When the book in question subse-
quently made It's appearance, Mr..
Wigglesworth said he understood
"the particular leaf" had been de-
stroyed.
Mr.. Wigglesworth said that when
the stenographic record of the ques-
tioning before the Appropriations
Committee went to the FEC for
checking, some one in that agency
attempted to delete the entire set of
questions and answers" The print
ed record, however, contained them,
Mr.. Fly's answers generally being to
the effect that the matters brought
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.