Evening star., 1946-07-10
Benjamin Fields
Ready TO Testify,
He Wires Mead
Botovio Was Overpoid
Millions for Contracts,
RoyoII Testifies
By Corter Brooke Jones

Benjamin F. Fields, missing
witness in the Senate war profits
investigation, who has been
sought widely to explain charges
OF attempted bribery and alleged
efforts to impede the inquiry
reported to the Senate War In
vestigating Committee from Los
Angeles today that he was
hurrying back to Washington
and would be ready to testify
when called.
Mr.. Fields, named by Senator
Mitchell, Democrat, of Washington,
as the man who offered to contribute
$1,000 to his campaign fund while
suggesting that Senator Mitchell try
to get the committee to stop per
scouting" one of the Carson
companies, declared the Senator
had made numerous unbound and
untruthfur' statements about him.
The committee, meanwhile, learned
from UnderSecretary of War Ken
meth C. Royal that the War De-
partment had asked the Justice De-
partment to investigate an over
payment of sl,000,0O0 in was con-
tracts to Batavia Metal Products
Inc, one of the largest of the
Carson munitions combine under
scrutiny.
Erie Probe Suggested.
It had been brought out before
that the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation had been called into the
case. Mr.. Royal disclosed that he
had asked Attorney General Clark
on May 81 to find out whether
there was fraud in the overpayment
and also suggested that the affairs
of the AFFILIATED Erie Basin Metal
Products, Inc, be Investigated.
When the inspector-general Of the
Army reported an overpayment to
Batavia of s1,OOOOoO, Mr.. Royal
said, ''he concluded that the De-
partment of Justice should investi
gate it,
The Carson interests since has
offered to settle for something over
s950,000, but did not want to pay
cash, asking permission to- make
adjustment on an installment basis,
Mr. Royal told the committee. This
offer has not been accepted.
There was doubt, he said, whether
either company was in financial
condition at present to permit the
Government to recover.
Freezing Order Modified.
Discussing the War Department
order of about nine months ago
freezing Erie funds to protect Gov
ernment claims, Mr.. Royal pointed
out that the order was modified,
but that the War Department still
required more than enough money
to be frozen to satisfy all claims.
Mr.. Royal said the modification
order followed visit which Secre-
tary of War Patterson made to the
Office of Representative May, where
two officers of the Carson corpora
tions protested against the freez-
ing.
Mr.. Patterson told the committee
of the visit yesterday, but denied
that anything was done as a result
of it except what was considered
fair to all concerned. He said all
he told the company officers, whose
names he could not remember, was
to get in touch with War Depart
ment officers in the renegotiation
branch.
AT the outset of this mornings
session, Chairman Mead read into
the record kilograms from DR.. Henry
M. Carson, head of the Illinois
munitions corporations under COM
mittee scrutiny, and from two off,
GERS IN the companies, Allen B.
Gellman and Joseph T. Weiss, re-
pudiating the charge of anti-sem-
itism made by others in their behalf
declaring it was without basis and
had not been authorized by them.
Issue Raised by May.
Chairman May of the House Mill
tary Affairs Committee had said in
his speech in the House Monday
that the Chicago ordnance district
had objected to doing business with
DR.. Carson because he was a
Jew, and the issue was brought
further into the proceedings in tes-
timony yesterday by Henry Paynter
(See WAR PROFITS, Page A-2)
III