Evening star., 1946-11-01
Hearing Planned Soon
= On Alleged War Deals
OF BiIbo, Contractors
By J. A. O'Leorv

uldllCldl bidflSdCtlOIlS WHICH, oeI-
ator Bilbo, Democrat, of Mississippi,
Is alleged to have had with war con-
tractors in the last five years will be
probed by the Senate War Investi-
eating Committee at hearingsi
planned for "the near future" Fran
els Flanagan, acting chief counsel,
announced late yesterday.
No date has been set, but COM
mittee counsel said he assumed the
hearings would be held before the
new Congress meets 10 January.
Mr.. Flanagan called press con-
ference late yesterday and outlined
what he described as four chief allie
cations that have come to the com
mittee's attention.
The committee counsel began by
saying group of three contractors
worked on Keesler Field, at Biloxi,
Miss, for the Army. He said they
received the contract, amounting to
about $11 100000, in June, 1941. Mr.
Flanagan told reporters it has been
alleged Senator Bilbo did lend the
assistance of his Office to the con-
tractors in obtaining the contract"
$4,000 Involved In Complaint.
The first of the four complaints
the committee has been looking into,
according to Mr.. Flanagan, is that
in September, 1912, Senator Bilbo is
said to have received s25.000 from
one of the contractors in four checks
three for $4,000 and one for
10000. Il
The committee counsel said this
amount originally was charged on
the contractors books as cost item
under the contract. He added that
$4,000 of it later was changed to a
debt to Senator Bilbo and $4,000
continued to be carried as a charge
to war contract.
Mr.. Flanagan said Senator Bilbo
supposedly did not get the money
for his own use but allegedly used 1t
in the 1912 senatorial campaign OF
former Senator Doxey. Mr.. Doxey
is now sergeant at arms Of the Sen
ate.
The second charge, Mr.. Flanagan
said. is that about the same time
legged to have contributed $8,750 to
Senator Bilbo. This also Is said to
have been used in the Doxey cam
paign. according to the committee
counsel.
The next complaint, Mr.. Flanagan
said. relates to what he described as
dream house No. on Senator Bill
bo's estate at Poplarville, MISS,
Counsel said the house Is on an Is
land in the middle OF an 8-acre lake.
According to Mr.. Flanagan, the al
legation is that one contractor built
the island, and two others oullt
the house. Mr.. Flanagan said 1t is
further alleged that, around CHRIST
mas of l941, two of the contractors
furnished the house and another
rave the Senator an automobile.
Parsonage Also Involved.
The last of the four complaints,
Mr.. Flanagan said, involves the OPP
Grafton of the Juniper Grove Baptist
Church, which, he said, adJolns the
Bilbo property at Poplarville.
Mr.. Flanagan said it is reported
that during 1943 and 1914 Senator
Bilbo sent out two series of 100 let
tiers each to various persons in Mis-
sissippi and elsewhere, including
some war contractors, to collect
funds to build a parsonage for the
church.
According TO Mr.. Flanagan, SlS,Ooo
Is reported to have been raised. The
committee counsel said the parson-
age was built on Senator Bilbos
land. The minister has never been
allowed to live in that house, ac-
cording to Mr.. Flanagan, who added
that the insurance policies are In
Senator Bilbo's name and that the
house was put up as collateral ON
loan from the Federal Land Bank.
Mr.. Flanagan said it is reported
that one of the same group OF con-
tractors also had a contract amount
ing to $3500,0O0 for work at Key
Field, Meridian, Miss.
Investigators Still Busy.
At the outset, Mr.. Flanagan told
the press conference that, in June
of this year, the War investigating
Committee began getting numerous
complaints" most of which had to
do with activities in the primary
election, over which the committee
had no jurisdition. He said, how