Evening star., 1947-06-09
Carson Says Cufback
In Shells Hif His Firm
Harder Than Others
By Robert K. WoIsh

Henry NJ Carson testified in ME
trict Court today that former Repre-
sentative Andrew j. May protested
against War Department cutbaek
on a Carson shell contract in 1e45
because 1t was proportionateIy
greater than cuts on Henry Kaiser
Co. and other ammunition plant
contracts.
The witness, beginning his second
week on the stand. said he asked
his Washington Office ito take the
matter up with somebody in Wash
ington."
He explained that his brother.
Murray, and others in the Wash
ington office informed him they
would see May. He learned later,
ne said, that May telephoned W2r
Department officials but that the
cutback order was not changed.
The Carson brothers and May,
former chairman of the House Mill
tary Affairs Committee, are charged
with the conspiracy to defraud the
United States. The Government
hopes to prove May accepted bribes
totalling more than $4,000 for
favors he did or obtained for the
Garssons and their s78 ,000, 900 muni-
tions combine.
Objection on Shells Sustained.
AS the trial entered its seventh
week. defense counsel attempted un-
successfully to introduce into evi-
dence a 200-pound, 8-inch howitzer
shel and smaller 4.2-inch mortar
shell. Justice Henry A. Schwein-
haut sustained objections by Gov
eminent Special Prosecutor William
A. Paisley that the requested ex-
hibits were immaterial. Justice
Schweinhaut observed, however, that
the jury last week saw these shells
displayed on the counsel table.
The Government has declard that
Mays protest against the cutback on
the 8-inch shell production at a
Carson plant in Illinois in May,
1945, was an overt act" in the con-
spiracy.
Mr.. Paisley attempted to show, in
questioning Secretary of State Mar
shall and Gen. Eisenhower two weeks
ago that such cutbacks were a nee
essary and Nationwide policy in
l945.
Carson declared today he did not
object to shell cutbacks as such at
that time. He said "he didn't want
to be treated differently" than any
body else.
Called Greater Proportionately.
But. he said. he protested to War
Department officials and, through
his Washington Office, to May when
he learned the scheduled cut from
$4,000 to 1000 a month in shell pro-
duction at the Illinois Carson plant
was more severe than the cuts
ordered against other concerns.
Carson explained that when the
cutback order was received May 3.
1945. his plant was producing $4,000
shells month and was fooled for a
10000 monthly output. But the Hen
ry Kaiser Co.. he said, although cut
from 100 900 to 10000 month never
has produced more than 100000 Sim
ilarly the Rheem Co., a subsidiary
of Bethlehem Steel, was cut from
$4,000 to 10000, he said, but had
never produced as many as 10000
a month.
THE cutbacks on those COM
panies," Carson continued, were
not based on actual production, but
on paper commitments which they
had not reached. Our cutback was
on actual production and We re-
ceived much greater cut proper
tionately."
Case May End Very Soon.
Carson said he tried in vain to
obtain War Department permission
to produce $4,000 month so that
the cutback would not result in
immediate discharge of almost 200
workers.
He said he also asked the War
Department that if the 10,000-shell
limit were put into effect. his COM
pany would be reimbursed for ad-
ditional expenditures it had made
for machinery to turn out 10000
shells. The War Department. he
said, refused to allow this.
Defense counsel said they might
close their case very soon after
Carson leaves the witness stand.
Charles j. Margiotti, chief coun-
sci for the Garssons, said he will
have Carson explain Mays calls to
the War Department in connection
with delayed e" award for
Carson company
This trial could end very soon
after that" Mr.. Margiotti declared.
I'VE may or may not call other wit
nesses. That depends mostly on
the trend of the cross examination