Evening star., 1951-05-22
] NPA Officials Face
Quiz on Lost Papers
For Locomotive Steel
By Francis P. Douglas


officials will be called to testify
tomorrow in a congressional in
vestigation of story that appli-
cations for steel by four locomo-
tive-building concerns were lost
twice while their competitor
promptly obtained the scarce
metal.
The Special Monopoly Subcom-
mittee of the House Judiciary
Committee announced today that
subpoenas will be issued for these
seven top officials of NPA:
H. B. Mccoy, former deputy
director of NPA and now assistant
administrator Of one of its bu-
reaus: Melvin w. Cole, director Of
the Iron and Steel Division; Henry
P. Rankin, jr.. chief of the Bars
and Semi finished Section OF Mr.
Coles division; Robert L. Glenn.
director of the Railroad Equip
ment Division: j. E. Sweeney OF
the Iron and Steel Division; w. C..
Groce, who has charge Of priorities
and directives and Franz T. Stone.
assistant administrator in charge
of the Industrial and Agricultural
Equipment Bureau.
GM Had No Trouble.
The four companies whose ap-
plications for steel to build loco
motives were said to have been
lost twice were listed before the
subcommittee yesterday as the
American Locomotive Co., Bald
Lima Hamilton Corp, Fair
banks Morse & Co. and General
Electric.
At the same time, the subcom-
mittee was told. an application
for steel for locomotive building
by the electromotive division of
General Motors went through
promptly.
The story was given by Col
William G. Knight, chief OF
the motive power unit Of
the NPA railroad equipment di-
vision. He said his unit screened
the applications and approved
them and then forwarded them
to the iron and steel division.
There, he said. they were handled
by Mr.. Rankin and Mr.. Cole.
Dollar-a-Year Man.
J Chairman Celler got into the
record that Mr.. Rankin is a dol
lar a year man, whose job in
private industry is that of assist
ant manager of the sales division
of Republic Steel. He also placed
In the record a news report that
Republic Steel obtained a $40 mil
lion loan from General Motors in
the financing of a $3.50 million ex-
pansion program.
Col. Knight said the applica-
tions by the five companies were
filed in March for interim relief
from steel shortages and for a
DO, or priority, rating. E. Ernest
Goldstein, general counsel of the
subcommittee, referred to the DO
rating as a hunting license,
under which the holder could
obtain the steel if he could find it
Col. Knight said his Office got
back directive for a specific set
aside of steel for the GIN loco
motive building unit in the amount
that had been requested.
The witness said he called Mr.
Sweeney of the iron and steel
division about the other four ap-
plications and was told that the
papers were lost. A second set
of applications then was sent the
iron and steel division Office by
messenger, Col. Knight said, but
they never came back.
slapped Down" for Inquiry.
Col. knight said he asked Mr.
Sweeney's Office so often about
the papers that he finally was
slapped down."
I'VE were told that they had
been sent back to our Office, but
we never got them" he said.
Then they were lost second
time?" Chairman Celler asked
Col. Knight agreed.
He said that General Electric
unable to get the supplies it re-
quested, laid off 400 men at Its
Erie IN. " works.
He added that on April S he
wrote Mr.. Mccoy, then deputy
director of NPA. putting him
"squarely on notice that some
thing was wrong"
Col. Knight said that, after HI
had been subpoenaed by the sub
committee, Mr.. Glenn remarked II
him, you've got yourself into 9
hell of mess"
He said Mr.. Glenn felt Col
knight had been too liberal ir