Milford chronicle., 1955-07-01
SENATE Effort To
Make Bribery Probe
Is "Au Messed Up

welcome an lnyeslgation into tne
matter.
On Monday Senator Calvin r.
Mccullough tD-Holloway Terrace)
said Mr.. Hickman was one of
three retail liquor dealers who
offered a few months ago to make
DEAL for his vote on bills which
would reorganize the Delaware
Liquor Commission.
Since then the General Assembly
passed a measure which would re-
place the present one-man COM
mission with five-member group
named in the bill. Gov. BOggs
vetoed it, and the Senate repassed
it over the Governors veto on
Monday.
Association and / welcome any and
all Investigations in obnnection
with Senator McCollough's belated
and false allegations as to efforts
to bribe him." said Mr.. Hickman,
who lives at 2126 GILES Street,
Union Park Gardens.
His accusations are without any
foundation whatsoever 1t is un-
fortunate that it appears neces-
sary to some people to use such
methods to achieve their political
ends"
a statement which moved the
Holloway Terrace Democrat to
ask the Senate: How can he be
so ridiculous?"
On the same front, telegram
denying that the Allied Beverage
Dealers Association OF Delaware
had any connection with the al
legged backroom meeting was read
into the Senate record today.
Hearing Set Wednesday
Before efforts to organize the
investigation developed into d
ful-grown snafu, the committee
named by the first resolution held
its initial meeting and elected
Senator Walter j. Hoey (D-Mil-
ford) chairman. 1t issued a state
ment announcing a public hearing
next Wednesday at 10 a. m. in the
Senate Chamber.
The other members of Senator
Hoey's special panel are Senators
s. w. Harrison tD-Wyoming), i,
Thomas L. Johnson (R-Rehoboth
Beach, and Elwood F. Nelson,
Jr., (R-Claymont). Senator Mel
son sponsored the resolution that
created it.
1t wasn't until after this pro-
posal had been approved by
unanimous voice vote that some
of the Democrat Senators dis
covered Senator Charles G. Moore
O-Hartley), the president pro-
tenn never had been consulted
about the membership of the COM
mittee.
This was the complaint that
prompted Senator Camper to in
troduce the second resolution,
which would have given the pres
ident protein a free hand in
naming the makeup of the COM
mittee. Senator Campers resolu
tion missed passing by a one
vote margin, and he changed his
vote so that it can be reconsidered
on Thursday.
The fly in the ointment as far
as Senator Campers resolution
was concerned was the fact that
Senator Nelson had gone home
before the measure was intro
duced.
This left both sides shouting
"dicourtesy! Camper pro-
ponents because Senator Moore had
not been consulted and the Nelson
group because a move was afoot
to undercut a Senator (Melson)
when ne wasn't around to defend
himself
To smooth the waters Majority
Leader Eugene Lammot (D-Wil-
mington) summoned a joint eau
Gus of Democrat and Republican
members tomorrow at IL a. m
Well see If we can't get this
thing Strengthened out" he said.
"Unfav0rabie Publicity"
The telegram from the Allied
Beverage Dealers Association of
Delaware by Henry Topel, presi-
dent of the association, was in
troduced for the record by both
Senator's Mccullough and Camper.
Claiming that the association is
"the largest organization of retail
liquor dealers in the state" the
telegram deplored "the cloud of
publicity now shadow
ing the industry as the result of
statements from the Senate floor"
and denied ans affiliation with
the Delaware Retail Liquor Asso-
citation.