Evening star., 1952-03-13
Morris, Casey FoiIed to Reveal
Full Facts Behind 7onker Deal,
Ex-Moritime OfficioIs Testify
Would Have Blocked
Sole If All Angles
Had Been Known
By Robert K. WoIsh

subcommittee inquiry today that
If the commission had received
"full facts" from Newbold Morris
and Joseph E. Casey, it would
have stopped a sale of surplus
tankers in 1948.
Vice Admiral William w. Smith,
for er commission chairman;
Grenville Mellen and Joseph K.
Carson. jr., former commissioners,
testified that Mr.. Morris and Mr..
Casey failed to tell them of a plan
whereby three tankers, which the
Casey group got from the Govern
ment. eventually were to be sold to
a subsidiary of the Chinese Inter-
national Foundation.
Mr.. Morris, the Government
anti-corruption drive director, who
ended two days of explosive tes-
timony at a tumultuous session
yesterday. is president of the
foundation, described as a char
liable organization. It's subsidiary.
the United Tanker Corp, accord
ing to earlier testimony, operated
several tankers which carried oil
to Red China from early 1949 toI
within a month of the outbreak
of the Korean fighting.
Vast Contrast in Hearings.
The testimony of the three for
mer commissioners, as well as of
Francis Goertner. former general
counsel of the commission, was
in such quiet contrast to yester-
days hearing that Senator Nc
Carthy, Republican, of Wisconsin.
told the witnesses:
This certainly is different from
the screaming display of adde's
cent emotional instability and fear
yesterday"
Subcommittee questioning to-
day centered largely on a Mari
time Commission record indicat-
ing that the commission on Janu-
ary %, 1948, authorized the trans
fer of three tankers to the
National Tanker Corp. from the
American Overseas Tanker Corp.
American Overseas was the COM
pany originally organized by q
group led by former Representa-
tive Casey, Massachusetts, Demo-
crat, now practicing law in Wash
ington, and several prominent |
associates. The Casey group
bought eight tankers from the
Maritime Commission and eventu-
ally netted profits of more than
So million on their original in
vestments Of only 100000.
Testimony Reviewed. /
The subcommittee is interested
particularly in the disposal of the
three tankers which found their
way to United Tanker Corp. It
reviewed previous testimony that
Mr.. Casey and several others set
up National Tanker Corp. to take
over financing of three of the
eight tankers.
National Tanker was organized
January %, 1948. Subcommittee
queStioners asked the former COM
miSsioners today to explain how
the commission authorized a
transfer of the three tankers
from AOTC to National Tanker
on the day before National Tanker
was organized.
Mr.. Mellen declared that "there
must have been some presentation
by somebody, possibly commits
sion staff officials. to the commits
sion before we acted" He added,
however. that he could not remem-
ber and that records Of the meet
ing do not disclose the detailed
proceedings.
Unaware of Plans.
All three former commission
members insisted that they had
not been told by Mr.. Morris, Mr..
Casey or any one else that Ma
tional Tanker planned to dispose
of the ships Immediately by SELL
44AS O111UCO
Senator Nixon, Republican, of
California told the witnesses that
he was impressed by their testi-
mony and their emphatic declara-
tions that they never would have
approved such move if they had
known then what they know now.
This testimony" Senator Nixon
said, clearly shows that the
transaction was a sham and a
subterfuge to get around the spirit
If not the letter of the maritime
law"
Mr.. Mellen explained that an
additional reason why he would
have voted against letting the
tankers go to United Tanker Corp.
was that 81 always was opposed
to the sale of such ships to nom
citizens because I feared they
might get into the hands of Rus
sians." He added that this ap-
parently happened in the case of