Evening star., 1951-10-11
Toxpoyers Are Shocked
By Bureau Disclosures
Fruud and Bribery in Collections
To Be Major Election Issue
The Political Mill:
By Gould Lincoln

The American taxpayers. who are
called on today to turn over to the In
ternal Revenue Bureau some $50 billion
year, are blinking their eyes in amaze
ment over what is being turned up in
the Offices of half dozen collectors.
To be more exact, in the Offices
in Boston, where recently deposed coll
lector, Denis w. Delaney, is under in
dictment on charges of bribery and false
certification of tax payments; in New
York, San Francisco. st. Louis, Newark
and Detroit. Not only are they amazed,
they are angry.
These revelations, many of them
growing out of Investigations by sub
committee of the House Ways and
Means Committee. headed by Repre-
sentative King of California, Democrat,
threaten to be even more devastating as
campaign issue next year than the
disclosures Of the use of political influ-
ence used in recent years to obtain loans
from the Reconstruction Finance Corp.
The end of the inquiries by the House
committee is not yet in sight, either
The recent testimony given before the
committee by James P. Finnegan, in
ternal revenue collector in st. Louis un-
til he resigned last spring, particularly is
enllghtening. A grand jury is looking
into the operation of the st. Louis Office
under Mr.. Finnegan.
Replies Come As Shock.
His replies to some of the questions
py the committeeman, come as some-
thlng more than shock. For example,
ne testified that he averaged two, three
or 1our hours day"in the collectors
oInce-handling job that was paying
MN $4,000 year; that he was in
formed when he took the job that he
could spend as much or as little time as
was necessary in the Office: that he
could continue his private practice of
law while he was collector, and that of
the "a collectors scattered over the
country he did not believe more than
10 were tax experts. Mr.. Finnegan free
~ admitted he was no tax expert-that
ne was just an administrator. He also
ADMITTED that his private law practice
Drought him 100000 to $35, 900 dollars a
year.
ms particular collector was a cronv
OF the late Bob Hannegan. also of ST.
LOUIS VINO was successfully Commits
eioLer OF internal Revenue, chairman OF
the democratic National Committee-he
ran the 1894 campaign for the late
rIanKlln u. RooSevelt-and Postmaster
General. Mr.. Finnegan played football
as young man on the same team with
Mr.. Hannegan. He contended that it
was quite natural that Mr.. Hannegan,
When the latter was Commissioner of
Internal Revenue, should want him az
collector in ST. Louis. and he took the
Joo on HanneganS invitation. From Mr.,
flnnegans description, it was a political
Joo' He was kind of public relations
man and job dispenser. He liked, he said.
to give jobs to people.
Had Sought to Resign.
Mr.. FInnegan also testified that in
1949 and in 1850 he had sought to resign
as collector in st. Louis and had taken
1t up with Matthew j. Connolly, secre-
tary to the President, and with Presi-
dent Truman himself, and had been told
not to resign. Secretary of the Treasury
snyder. however, told the House COM
mlttee that he had advised Mr.. Finne.
gan in October. 1850, to resign "because
OF general rumorS around st. Louis" Mr.
Flnnegan did not. however, resign until
some seven months later. Mr.. Snyder.
who like President Truman and Mr..
Fmnegan, is from Missouri said he knew
nothing of Mr. Finnegan's reported
talks with the President and Mr., Con-
nelly.
Mr.. Finnegan's sources of revenue
from his law clients-which netted him
about Sl05,000 in three years-have not
yet been fully disclosed. The House
committee is still working on that end
OF its investigation. He did not appear
as an attorney of record, but acted as
counsel, he said. in an advisory capacity,
The administration is now busying it.
self, according to Mr.. Snyder, in an at
tempt to clean up the mess that has been
uncovered in the tax collectors Offices,
One thing appears certain, however, and
that is the members of the House Ways
and Means Committee are intent on
seeing that the collectors give full time
to their jobs-and do not practice law
on the side. Also they will insist that
all collectors know something about the
tax laws.