Evening star., 1946-07-12
Fields Tells Reporters He Tried
To |ntercede as Favor to Friend
Continued From First Pagel

one of them by her first husband
Fields confided to the assembled
press that he had been on a busi.
ness trip that took him ito the
United States and other parts out.
side the United States" He sale
he had been overseas, but not where
he would need a passport. He hac
left Washington, he said, Monday g
week ago before he knew he was
going to be subpoenaed. In other
words, he said, Il didn't run out be.
cause l didn't know they were going
to subpoena me-" He had flown
back from Los Angeles, he said, get
ting bumped" four times in the
course of the trip.
Says He Received No Pay.
In his prepared statement, Fields
said he had never been employed by
the Erie Basin Metal Products Co
or its Subsidiaries-the holdings OF
Henry Carson and his brother
Murray Garsson-and had never
been paid by them.
whatever activity I did in theil
behalf was purely from friendship
standpoint for my friend, Joseph
Freeman, whose family and mine
have been very close friends for a
long time, and this was done volun-
talily on my part because felt
with the circumstances reversed, he
in turn would endeavor to do every
thing possible to assist me in legal
and lawful manner
Under questioning, he said he had
known Freeman for several years
and believed he had met him in
California.
Denies Fix" Effort.
Fields said in his statement 1t
was true he had gone to Chicago
''purposely to meet Mr.. O'Connell
to try and intercede on behalf of
my friend" Joseph Freeman.
He said he wasn't trying to stop or
fix" the investigation but only to
see if he could convince Mr.. O'Con-
nell from a human and business
standpoint" to expedite the investi-
cation of Erie Basin and the Batavia
Metal Products Co. SO the companies
would be free of the many auditors
and accountants who were taking up
space and time of officials trying to
reconvert their business to peacetime
operations.
Fields explained he knew "subor-
dinate investigator" couldn't quash
an investigation but could expedite
it.
Mr.. O'Connell had told the COM
mittee Fields was present when Joe
L. Martinez, a former committee
investigator, gave him $500 to drop
the investigation and go to New
Mexico
Fields said in his statement that
Mr.. O'Connell admitted to him that
he was just loafing on the job and
could have closed it long ago had
he wanted to- He described Mr.
O'Connell as very talkative and
braggadocios" and said the investi-
gator told him many interesting
and confidential and secretive opera
tlonS in connection with his work. y
tlSitcu OIL lntO MOIIlIHS.
Fields said in answer to questions
that Mr. O'Connell arrived at his
Drake Hotel suite at $3.50 am.
and stayed until 2 or 3 o'clock the
next morning All that time, Fields
said, Mr.. O'Connell was drinking
Scotch and he was drinking coffee
Il couldn't get rid of him." he
confded. Always having been a
good host. I stayed on"
He identified Mr. Martinez as "a
friend of mine" He said Mr.. Mar
tinez had accompanied him to Chi
cago "as friend at his own ex-
pense.'
He said he had made a page and
half of notes on the Chicago inter
view. which he would make avail
able to the committee on request.
In denying Senator Mitchell's
report that he threw Fields out of
his Office, Fields said the true
facts" were that he went to see
Senator Mitchell ito seek his aid in
behalf of my friend tJoseph Free
NAM to see that his company got
a square deal, because the Senator
was member of that committee
Senator Mitchell by no means of
Imagination" threw him out of his
office, Fields insisted.
''As a matter of true facts" he
added, Senator Mitchell paid me a
very cordial good-by and told me to
phone him in day or two. and he
would let me know what the cir
cumStances were.
PhOned Him Later.
st did phone Senator Mitchell
several times thereafter and he
finally told me that he could do
nothing about the matter, nor did
he want anything to do with it. If
there was any amount of money
mentioned insofar as his campaign
funds were concerned. it was mere
lv flgment of imagina ton on his
part
Fields denied he had ever said he
represented King Farouk of Egypt,
as Senator Mitchell had reported.
He added with a rueful smile. II
wish l did,
Asked why he had singled out
Senator Mitchell for his attentions,
he shrugged. Il don't know. Maybe
! just liked his name" He said
going to Senator Mitchell was en-
tirely his own idea.
L don't tell friends when I'm
going to help them" he said grave
ly. Il don't think that's friendship.
I have talked to Freeman about it
since"
The approaches to Senator Mitchell
and Mr.. O'Connell, he said we're
the only efforts he made to help
his friend Freeman with his Cars
son problems.
Met DR.. Carson Here.
AS for his connection with other
key figures in the committee in
vestigation, Fields gave these an
swers:
He met Henry Carson in the office
of the late Albert Levin, when he
was renting office space from Mr.
Levin in the Peoples Life Insurance
Building. He has run into DR..
Carson in various public rooms
since then He newer reprecopted