Evening star., 1944-01-21
Letter
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dressed to DR.. Lee, who also has ap-
peared before the grand jury.
Senator LANCER said Alamo" was
a code word meaning an administra-
ton move to back DR.. Lee for the
Senate against Senator Connally
Democrat, of Texas
Sparks Issued Statement.
Mr.. Sparks issued 20-page state
ment yesterday in which he said
that certain circumstances about the
letter supposedly written by Mr..
Hopkins led him ito suspect there
may be something to the charge that
the purported original is fake. that
1t was prepared by Briggs and that
it was done at Ickes' suggestion or
request
Mr.. Sparks told newspapermen
that Mr.. Briggs reported to him last
october that the Hopkins letter"
then was in the possession of Mr..
Phillips.
Mr.. Briggs telephoned Mr. Sparks
by long distance at 6 am. Tuesday,
the day after Senator Langer pub
licized the correspondence to Mr..
Sparks. Mr.. Sparks said Mr.. Briggs
expressed displeasure" that Mr.
Sparks had turned over photostats
of the correspondence to Senator
LANCER.
Tells Of Briggs Phone Call.
Mr. Briggs also 'phoned Mr.. Sparks
on January IA, after Mr.. Sparks
made the first of his two appear
ances before the grand jury, the
Sparks statement said, adding:
He asked me what happened in
tie grand jury. I answered. in SUBJ
stance, that I could not tell him,
but that if he was called he should
tell the truth and not be the goat for
anybody, that he had wife and
child to think Of"
why hasn't Briggs already been
brought before the grand jury and
required to testify as to each docu-
ment and its contents?" Mr.. Sparks
asked in his statement.
BY documents" he meant "all the
letters and wires he received from
me-" He said records of the tele-
phone company should be sub
poenaed to show the long distance
calls passing between Briggs and
myself from September to Decem-
ber."
MIR. Briggs received $l65 from Mr.
Sparks. the latter said-s40 in a loan
and SIPS to finance trip from
Washington to Dallas, Tex. last
October to 8. for the purpose Of
obtaining the letter, which he said
Secretary Ickes had told him about
Mr.. Sparks said that on october 9
Mr.. Briggs wrote him:
Just back late last night-with-
out the letter. However, it will be
here next week on the word of Mr..
Phillips, who is coming East and
will bring it."
The $40 loan has not been repaid,
Mr.. Sparks said. He was asked why
Secretary Ickes might have been
believed by him to be involved in
the Hopkins letter" mystery. He
said:
Briggs said the Secretary of the
Interior didn't like Hopkins
Weren't you surprised Ickes would
do thing like that?" he was asked.
I've been in politics long while
and I'm not easily surprised"
His prepared statement continued: !:
II had always found George NJ
Briggs to be of the highest integrity,
and a good friend. The information
he had given me on other subjects
ever since I first began associating
with him has proved trustworthy
I had no reason in the world to
doubt the authenticity of this pur-
ported original Hopkins letter, COM
ing to me as it did from Secretary
1ckes through Briggs.
Fears Briggs Is Scapegoat.
1T is with regret that 1 have read
of the disclaimers attributed to
Briggs, and his attempts to make
it appear that all but two of his
letters are forgeries. I fear that he
is permitting himself, or has been
forced, to be made the scapegoat
to save face for those who are more
powerfully placed, in order to con-
ceal the true facts from the public,
and perhaps also from members
of the Administration. The famous
cry Remember the Alamo seems
to be replaced by Forget the Alamo
In the inner circle of the New
Dealers"
Brought Manuscript Here.
Mr.. Sparks said he began his book
on Wilkie early in the summer OF
l943 and brought the rough draft
to Washington for Mr.. Briggs to
read. He said he told Mr.. Briggs
he hoped the latter would be able
to supply him with documents and
advised Mr.. Briggs to tell Secretary
Ickes what he was doing. Mr.. Briggs
reported to Mr.. Sparks that he had
told the Secretary, who offered no
objection.
AS his first service for him, Mr..
Sparks said Mr.. Briggs secured in
formation from Secretary Ickes
about how Mr.. Willkie obtained the
use of an Army bomber for his 1942
flight around the world. The state
ment goes on:
Briggs told me that. when Ickes