Evening star., 1946-07-26
By Robert X. Welsh

CeIectiVe 4.2-lnCh smells. ana hlRnly
critical of a generals testimony that
he was merely a messenger in carry
ing letter from Representative
May to Europe in behalf of the
court-martialed son of one of the
heads of the Carson munitions
combine.
Maj. Gen Alden H. Watt, chief
of the Chemical Warfare Service
and his predecessor, Mai. Gen. Will
liam N Porter. retired, underwent
a two-hour grilling late yesterday in
a closed session. The committee, in
an unusual move, later made the
testimony transcript available as if
the hearing had been open.
This disclosed that Gen. Watt de-
clared he had been confused" at
the Tuesday hearing. He said he
testified incorrectly that premature
explosions of shells which killed and
wounded American soldiers resulted
from faulty design or manufactul e
of the shell bodies of the type pro-
duced by one of the Carson COM
panies and seven other concerns.
Puts Blame on Fuses.
Subsequent consultation with my
technical experts discloses that the
fault lay either in the fuses or the
fuse componentS or the assembling
of the completed fuses and not in
the shells themselves he stated in
preliminary report submitted TO
the committee Yesterday
The report revealed that Al fail
ares of this kind took the lives Of
% men and injured 83 others.
Besides being questioned closely
on this report. Gen. Waitt was eX-
amined on his activities in April
l945, when he took letter from
Representative May to Gen. Eisen-
hower's headquarters, ipterceding
for Capt. Joseph H. Carson, son
of Murray w Carson. Gen. Watt
testified that. on this tip, he talked
with many officers about the court :
martial of Capt. Carson for re-
fusal to obey a command to place
his company in a position he con-
sidereG tactically unSound in jan
uary, l945. Gen. Watt declared
however. his mission was purely and
simply "reportorial and that he at
tempted to use no influence.
Porter Queried on Promotion.
Gen. Porter queried about Capt
GarSSon'S transfer and promotion in
the Chemical Warfare Service. main
tanned that he had showed no un-
due preference for the then 20
year-old officer. He said he did not
recall having passed on the promo
ton, although he probably approved
it in connection with routine duties
of his Office
Committee members turned their
principal fire on Gen. Watt. At
one point he disclosed that he was
the victim" who pinned a Bronze
Star on Capt Carson in Europe
about month after the court mar
tial
Il might say in connection with
the award of the Bronze Star that
! appear again in this case he said.
Il was the victim who pinned the
Bronze Star on him"
Gen. Watt added that the merto-
rious combat service for which Capt
Carson was awarded the decoration
occurred in Normandy several
months previously
Sees Reaction on Influence"
Chairman Mead and other COM
mittee members criticized the man
ner in which the letter from the
chairman of the House Military At
fairs Committee was taken to the
supreme commander headquar-
ters by general officer MI Mead
commented that other officers and
men would be led by this to feel
that influence was being exerted
from high places" in Washington
Speaking for the committee, after
the closed session. Senator Mead
was even more emphatic in an
nouncing that the members voiced
displeasure at the very meager prog
ress report submitted today on the
defective shells investigation which
the committee has asked the War
Department to make. He said Gen.
Watt did not claim that yester-
days preliminary report was
complete.
We are expecting more COM
plete report very soon Chairman
Mead said. He noted that Gen.
Watts report. amounted to one
page statement
Senator Ferguson. Republican. of
Michigan questioned Gen. Waltz
about the entirely different story"
he told the committee yesterday
as compared with his Tuesday
testimony.
L gave the wrong impression. ap-
parently, but not Intentionally, .
Gen. Watt said
You didn't only give the wrong
impression" Senator Ferguson said,
You gave the wrong testimony"
Task almost Impossible"
81 am not trying to conceal any
thing" Gen. Watt replied What
I was trying to get across was this,
that it was almost impossible at
the front to fno what shell did
the damage-to trace the lot num-
bers because there were number
OF different lots at the gun
Gen. Watt contended that last
Tuesday my recollection was being
strained" His mistake in testimony,
he explained, was due to con-
fusion"
When Chief Counsel George
Meader asked about the Army's
method of investigating accidents
caused by those defective shells,
Gen. Watt said that Brig Gen.
Edward Bullene went to Europe and
filed full report to Gen. Porter
Gen. Watt promised to obtain the
report for the committee
Can't Link Up Garssons.
Concerning the design of the Az
inch shell. both Gen. Watt and
Gen. Porter declared tnat the Cars
sons did not make the fuses.
L have done my best to tie them
in with it, Gen. Watt remarked,
but I cannot find anything"
Gen Porter testified that, to the
best of his recollection, the fuse was
designed by the Chemical Warfare