Evening star., 1949-09-02

Craig, 40-year-old attorney, is
to hold the post.
Five-Percenters
Continued From First Page)
scarce building materials through
the intercession Of Gen. Vaughn
with housing officials. The OIL
mans son denied this in state
ment to reporters.
During the hearing. Gen.
Vaughan denied ever having pres
sured Agriculture Department Of
ficials to grant more grain to a
distillery in which Senator Nc
Carthy said Mr.. Helis had an in
terest.
All Senator Mccarthy could
draw from Gen. Vaughan was
that Mr.. Helis had raised political
campaign funds for the Demo-
cratic Party.
Campaign Contributions.
Columnist Drew Pearson, who
testified yesterday, also brought
the subject Of campaign contribu-
tions into the record.
Mr.. Pearson said that in 1916
he was visiting James p. Nc
Granery, then assistant to the At
torney General and now a Federal
judge, when Gen. Vaughan called
to ask some Intervention" in
the income tax fraud case Of w.
T. Burton, Louisiana oil man,
Mr.. Pearson said Mr.. Helis and
Mr.. Burton are friends.
"McGranery made the state
ment he was darned If he was
going to stand for any political
influence in the case" Mr.. Pear
son said
Later that year. the eolumnist
testified. erumors cropped up IN
Louisiana that large contributions
had been made in the Kansas City
primaries in order to prevent a
conviction in the Burton case" He
added that he had heard this
described as "the third Louisiana
purchase"
Mr.. Pearson said Mr.. Burton
was tried on the tax charges, but
the jury failed to agree. He said
the OIL man later was convicted
of conspiracy to influence jury.
Called utterly Fantastic"
In New York, William Helis, jr.,
denied as utterly fantastic" Mr..
Pearson's Allegation and innuen-
do" about his father. who he said
is now on trip to his native
Greece.
The younger Helis, who de-
scribed himself as an old friend Of
Gen. Vaughan. said at q news
conference that he and his father
had been made victims Of char
acter assassination" by references
and inuendoes in the Senate in
vestigation.
1--WE cannot further condone or
tolerate this baseless attack, and
reiterate our desire to be permitted
to be heard" Helis, jr., declared.
He said that it was he and not
his father who got in touch with
Gen. Vaughan about the Tanforan
race track.
Called in Desperation.
Some of his friends connected
with the track called him "in des-
peration" about their application
for a permit to remodel the track.
Helis, jr., said, and he suggested
that they see Gen. Vaughan.
The younger Helis said he called
the general and told him there
we're some men in Tanforan who
had to file for permits and didn't
know what to do and did he know
who to see and what to do.
IT, told Vaughan they were
friends of mine. He said that as
a friend he'd be perfectly glad to
do what he could.
"They went to see the general.
He saw them for two or three min
uotes and told them were to CO."
Helis, jr., said his father had
helped to organize the Fair
Grounds Race Track, non-profit
civic agency, in his home city,
New Orleans. but that except for
that his father never had had any
interest in a race track.
Never Employed Maragon.
The younger Helis also asserted
that he and his father never had
employed Mr.. Maragon to repre-
sent them.
Senator Hoey has said Mr.. Helis
will be called for testimony some
time in the future, along with two
other key witnesses - James ".
Hunt, the management counselor
whose reported activities touched
off the whole inquiry, and David
Bennett, president of the Albert
Verley Perfume Co.
Mr.. Bennett carried a letter OF
introduction from Gen. Vaughan
when he took q private business
trip to Europe via Army plane
shortly after We day in 1915.
He also paid the bill for seven
home freezers which Gen.
Vaughan got and pasSed on to
| his friends among Washington
notables the same year.
Senator Smith. said she thought
the committee must hear" from