The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-07-12
Merry y-Go-Round
Continued from Page D

When Congressman May of Kentucky piously beat his breast on the floor of the House and pro- claimed his great patriotism and complete innocence regarding contracts he failed to tell his guble colleagues about another deal in which he also tried to make some money
 It happens that Congressman May is presi- dent of the Greenbrier Manganese Mining Company, an outfit which has acquired 1000 acres of West Virginia loW-grade manganese land. Manganese is essential to the smelling of steel but the deposits found in this country are so poor that Army-NaVy experts say it is essential for this country to have a stockpile of imported manganese on hand in case of war They say We cannot risk being cut off from foreign manganese by submarine.
 Congressman May, however, has not always put the interests of his country ahead of the interests of his company in respect to manganese.
 Once, prior to the war, when the Navy was plan ming to accumulate manganese stockple, naval officers accused the gentleman from Kentucky Of presstring them to reduce the specifications for man. ganese to such low quality that poor-grade domes- tic manganese could be sold to the Navy, instead Of high-grade imported manganese.
 This meant, of course, that MT. Mays Greenbrier Manganese Company would have chance to sell to
 the Navy But it also meant in the vigorous opinion Of naval and Bureau of Mines experts that the qua- ity of manganese would not be high enough to pro- duce the high-test steel necessary to U. S. bat teships.
 Again, in October 1889, the procurement divi- sion of the Treasury awarded Sl8OO00 contract to Mays Greenbrier company for manganese, under very mysterious circumstances. His company was not the lowest bidder did not put up performance bond, and did not have any funds With Whlch to operate. An official said that they planned to go to the REC and borrow the money
 It so happened that May had introduced the Strategic Minerals Bill under which manganese was to be stockpiled.
 When he was accused of bringing influence to help his company however the Congressman issued pious denial and said his company would not go through with the contract
 Last chapter in the story of Mays great patriot ism occurred quite recently when new postwar bill was before Congress to permit the Army and Navy sockpile essential materials in case Of an- other war. This bill provided that manganese could be imported by the Army and Navy without paying a tariff
 Suddenly. however, Congressman May head of the Greenbrier Manganese Company, had the bill withdrawn from the floor of the House after it had already been agreed to by committees of both the House and Senate. He then proceeded to knock out the provision that Army-Navy manganese could be imported duty free.
 Naturally, ArmyNavy payment of a tariff on manganese would help domestic manganese pro- ducers, of which MT. May is one. Naturally the American taxpayer whom Mir May is supposed to represent thereby stood greater chance of having money wasted. MT Hay, however, voted not for the public but for his pocketbook Murray Carson, one of the -profteering he wasn't hard to entice-into god-fathering the Erie Basin war contracts, has unique history
 Entirely aside from his FBI record of associa- ton with gangster Dutch Schultz, Murray Carson went out to Hollywood when he Assistant Secre- of IaIoo 11r1dn Gabbled