Evening star., 1947-05-20
Posed as Owner
Toad 0uiputof
Firm, May Says
Anti-Jewish Prejudice
Would Have cutSuppIy
Of Labor, He Testifies
By Robert K. Walsh

Oy N0Deft n. WoiSh
Fear that prejudice against
Jewish people and outside own
ership would prevent the COM
pany from getting labor caused
former Representative Andrew
J. May to give general inn
preston in Kentucky that he.
and not the Carson brothers,
owned the Cumberland Lumber
Co. he testified in District Court
today.
War fraud conspiracy charges
against the 71-year-old former
chairman of the House Military
Affairs Committee, and Henry and
Murray Carson specifically name
the lumber concern as a "cover-upe
device by which the Garssons gays
May more than $4,000 in return
for pressure on high Government
officials to get favors for them.
May. on the witness stand for
the third day, denied that he kept
even the company managers in the
dark about the Carson ownership.
He declared he was simply the Cars
son agent and served without pay.
He admitted, however, that he told
only few persons about this and
purposely let an impression get
around in Kentucky that he was the
owner.
Disputes Earlier Testimony.
II hesitate to inject this angle
into the case May told Justice
Henry A. Schweinhaut and the jury,
but I've experience that convinced
me that if it was known that this
company was an outside corpora
ton from Chicago and owned by
people who were Jews, couldn't
get any labor. regret to say this
but it was a fact"
Disputing earlier testimony by A.
G. Brown of Whitesburg, KY, for
ner manager of the lumber COM
pany, May denied that he had led
Brown to believe he was the prin-
cipal owner. He admitted he had
discussed possible sale of the prop
erty to Brown in 1945 for $35, 600.
He asserted, however, that Brown
knew that any such sale would have
to be approved "by the real owners,
the Garssors."
Shown a letter In which he told
Brown some time earlier that II
own the property" May explained
that he used this expression because
he thought he could make a bet
ter deal for the proposed sale.
He said the Garssor1s were unfamil-
lar with the nature OF the property
and could not have obtained as good
a price as he believed he could.
Cashier Identifies Notes.
Mays testimony was interrupted
while the defense called Herman
Hale, cashier of the Bank OF Whites
burg, KY. Mr.. Hale identified two
notes, one for s2,606 and the other
for $2,556, which were paid of at
his bank in 1943. He said he could
not recall who actually paid up the
notes, but the records indicated that
the checks were from May.
The notes we're made out to the
Mineral Development Co., original
owner of the lumber company prop
erty, and represented payments on
the purchase price by the Cumber-
land Lumber Co. On each of the
notes, as read to the jury, was writ
ten Cumberland Lumber Co.. Henry
M. Carson, president, to Mineral
Development Co."
Mr.. Hale also identified bank rec
ords indicating that $1,000 was de-
posted in the account of Mrs. A. C.
Brown in October, 1915. At that
time her bank balance was only 81,
the records showed. The defense
has declared that Mr.. Brown sold
some of the lumber at the Cumber-
land site and deposited the proceeds
in his wife's account.
In testimony yesterday May ad-
mitted, under questioning by his
chief counsel, that he took 81 900
option on the timberland and en-
gineered the sale by the Mineral
Development Co. to the Garssons
In 1943.
Put Up Some Money Of Own.
He asserted he occasionally put
up some money of his own wf1en
lumber company payrolls were slow
or other bitches developed. But he
testified that in every case, includ-
ing the option money, he was re-
(See CARSON, Page A-4)