Evening star., 1951-05-29

10 IIUSG IdSG W
Congress Letters
The case Of the congressional
letters has been closed by the
Senate subcommittee investigat-
ing the Reconstruction Finance
Corp.
There will be no inquiry into
whether any members of Congress
improperly put pressure on the
lagency, the subcommittee an
nounced in approving a staff
study report yesterday on SAT
such messages.
There undoubtedly have been
instances in which the RFC was
placed under pressure of varying
degrees by members of Congress
who were anxious that particular
loans be made" the subcommittee
stated, "but the existence of i'm
proprieties, If any. cannot be as
certained from the communica-
tions alone"
Might Be Misleading.
The report issued by Subcom-
mittee Chairman Fulbright, DEM
ocrat. Of Arkansas said that the
letters taken by themselves
would be misleading rather than
informative" It added that "they
have meaning only when con-
sidered together with all of the
other elements involved in the
negotiation Of a loan"
Senator Fulbright told reporters
it would be utterly fantastic" to
attempt an inquiry on that basis
The congressional letters be-
came a hot issue early last March
during the subcommittee's public
hearings on influence and favor
Iitism affecting RFC. The SUBJ
committee learned that copies OF
several hundred such messages
were requested and received by
the White House from RFC. Pres
Iident Truman later announced he
found no evidence of wrongdoing
in them.
Subcommittee Chief Investiga.
tor Theodore Herr recently wa.
directed to examine copies of the
same letters. He prepared ex.
Icerpts and a report so that SUBJ
committee members could decide
whether a full-scale inquiry should
Ibe made. 's$' 'eF.t, tHer
Letters to Be Withheld.
/ The subcommittee late yester.
day voted unanimously not tx
make the letters public, Senator
Fulbright announced. It made
public the report in which Mr.
Herr declared:
THE communications do no
5 show that the RFC was subjected
to pressures which it could no
have resisted in a straightforward
manner with propriety and with.
out great difficulty"
Mr.. Herr said he found no evi
dence that FRC was asked by an,
: letter-writing legislator to "se
aside its own judgement and t,
accept instead the legislator,
Judgment concerning denial or ap
T. proval of a loan application"
At the same time, he noted, i
was difficult. if not impossible. t.
= determine what any particula,
letter may have implied to tn,
RFC." The. letters in themselve
:. become virtually meaningless
: meaningless" without knowing al
5 the ctS'and circumstances of in
dividual cases. he said.
I 136 Letters on One Company.
!, Mr.. Herr reported that 1876 o
I the letters and kilograms con
cerned loans totaling $76 million
to the Lone Star Steel Co. o
, Texas.
:. Besides the 647 letters by mem
| bers OF Congress. another 49,
communications were examine,
oy Mr.. Herr. These were mostl,
= "referrals" to RFC members O
. Congress or other Government Of
f1cials. They were letters write,
= originally in most instances b
businessmen and referred to RFl
O in connection with loan applica
= tions, he explained.
: Mr.. Herr concluded by recon
! mending that the letters shoul,
n not be discussed publicly by tn
v subcommittee except possibly "a
s an integral part of complete,
\ case-studies of individual loans.