Evening star., 1946-07-09
Nv the Gssoeio.ed Pres,

The feTt OF a speech dehDered
to the House yesterday BY Chair
man May of the House Military
Affairs Committee, in connection
NTH the Senate investigation OF
mar contracts, tollotUS.
Mr.. Speaker:
Exercising for the first time in 16
years service here the privileges of
this body under House rules, l pro-
pose to make full answer to certain
charges and insinuations being
broadcast over the radio by a GER
tain individual, as well as certain
statements emanating from the
Mead Senate Investigating Com
mittee.
Most members of this House will
remember in the early stages of the
war program how utterly unpre-
pared We were to go to war, and
how lacking we were in supplies
and materials, as we'll as trained
fighting forces. All of you remem-
Der the days of letters of intent
When the War Department was
moving heaven and earth to get
or program of preparation under
way. They were without any sort
Of plans and had to follow a device
of letting contracts for billions OF
dollars in work based on letters OF
intent, which merely said in sub
stance that we intend to do thus
and so-build this and that. Dur
that orlu roriAI fcn,IcorI nj
prospective war contractors, large
and small, were being invited to BID
on all types of construction fl ON
trivial to astronomical amounts.
Army Sets Up Board.
Washington. from then on. was
crowded to capacity with represent
atives of all classes and sizes of
business concerns from the smallest
to the largest, from the east to the
west, and from the north to the
south. The Army, as they should
have done. proceeded to set up a
board of three members to receive
bids, and that board was known as
the Blossom Board, because its
chairman was man named Bios
som. Complaints of discriminat ton
in the awarding of contracts by this
board became Nation wide, and the
complaints were principally from
small businessmen and firms which
charged they were being shut out
from consideration in favor of huge
corporations, and when these COM
plants became no longer tolerable,
my office was beSieged with visitors
and crowded with complaints of
discrimination coming by telephone
and mail, SO that l decided to start.
and did start, hearings on February
u, 194l, which continued until April
IS, l94l. These hearings were before
the whole committee.
They brought forth the resigna-
ton Of Mr.. Blossom, and that. of
course, led to Nationwide publicity
that sent sWarms of small business
men to Washington where all the
country's business, both large and
small, was being conducted with the
Government. Conditions got so
serious and critical for small busi-
ness that this House not only
directed by resolution that the
House Military Affairs Committee
continue to investigate the progress
OF the war effort, but to set up what
Is known as the Small Businessmen's
Committee, headed by the distin-
guished gentleman from Texas, Mr.,
Patman
Here are the hearings. two vol
umeS full, that were held by the
House Committee on Military AT
falrs, at which it appeared that
there were more than 5000 applica-
tlons for rs jobs. and naturally YOU
would expect contention now and
then.
A certain newspaper columnist
no doubt on misinformation leaking
out from supposedly secret pro-
ceedings of an investigating COM
mlttee, charges me with having re-
celVed a travel expense check from
one of the concerns now under in
vestigation by the Mead Committee,
namely, the Cumberland Lumber
eral public and you, my colleagues
the facts which will disclose that ]
never received any such check for
any such purpose. and l never used
one penny Of anybody's money ex-
cept my own as travel expense OF
otherwise.
At Embassy Reception.
The first time l ever saw Jot
Freeman was at an embassy re.
ception here in Washington wher
he was introduced to me by former
Senator McAdoo of California, {
Senator well remembered by all O.
YOU, and I did not again see Mr.
Freeman for year or two. that
recall, until one day my Secretar,
informed me Mr. Freeman wa
in the front Office and wanted tt
see NE. I saw him for a few
minutes and allowed him to tel
his story, which was that, he wa
the gentleman Senator McAdoo hat
introduced to me previously at thu
embassy reception as a representa-
tive of the Los Angeles Chamber o
Commerce. This, think, was dur.
ing the early part of the war ex
panSion program. I do not thinl
7 saw him again for months. unit
the occasion when he called M
Office and made an engagement tt
see me-
That was the time when he sale
he represented a manufacturer Of
farm machinery in Illinois ther
engaged in making some kind OF
wood materials for production OF
farm equipment and machinery. and
wanted to buy a considerable guam
tity of lumber He said he had been
referred to me by some one who told
him there was A lot of lumber in
Kentucky and that I might be able
to advise or assist him. We talked
few minutes and I suggested to
him the name of William Ritter
Lumber Co. of Columbus, Ohio
which has large band mills ano
lumber plants in both Kentucky ano
West Virginia. l also told him that
I had a constituent who had for sale
a rather large boundary of rough
mountain land, we'll timbered fol
which the owner had asked me sew
eral times to help him find buyer