Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-27


ask me to vote for this appli-
cant nor in any way to get a
commitment from me as to how
I would vote. However, 1t was,
of course, obvious to me that
he favored the Public Service
application. 1t was equally OBJ
vious to me that Mr.. Katzen-
tine and Mr.. Carter and Mr..
Palmer miami friends Of Mr..
Mack and others favored the
Katzentine application and
hoped that I would vote favor
ably on it,"
II listened to what they all
had to say and in addition, GER
tain Senators and Congressman
discussed this subject with me,
all of whom approached me in
behalf of Mr.. Katzentine. 1
must say that the interest ex-
hibited in behalf of Mr.. Kat
zentine from all directions was
intense.
81 Was Not Swayed"
81 was not swayed or in
f1uenced by any of these in
dividuals. If I had felt that
I was being swayed or pres
sured into vote against my
convictions I would not have
voted at all. However. it should
be noted that if I had abstained
the result would have been the
same and Public Service would
have received the grant"
Mr.. Mack told the subcom-
mittee the money he had re-
ceived from Mr.. Whiteside
might be considered advances
against his earnings in Stem
bler-Shelden rather than loans.
He added that most of his
repaymentS to Mr.. Whiteside
come from his earnings at
Stembler- Sheldon.
He said he never actively
solicited" any business for the
company, but merely made
suggestions" Mr.. Whiteside
has testified that Stembler-
Sheldon paid Mr.. Mack "for
leads" on new business.
During his service on the
Florida Railroad and Public
Utilities Commission. Mr.. Mack
said he gave the company a
list of truckers who might be
prospects for liability insurance
policies.
Asked whether he now thinks
it was "indiscreet" to accept a
one sixth share in Stembler-
Sheldon from Mr.. WhiteSide
free of charge, Mr.. Mack said
he didn't know. He added that
Florida has no legal ban against
members of its commission en-
gaging in business other than
railroads.
IF Mr.. Whiteside had given
me $20,00Q. I probably would
have taken it," Mr.. Mack said.
He explained that such a gift
would not involve his official
capacity and would have moth
ing to do with how he voted on
the Florida Commission. Mr..
WhiteSide never used ANY
pressure" on him, he added.
No Idea of Loan Total
MIR. Mack testified that he
had no idea how much money
he has borrowed from Mr..
Whiteside in about the past Is
years. He said loans before
1850 were "Spasmodic" and no
individual loan was substantial.
/ He emphasized under ques-
tioning that he never pledged
his vote to anyone in the
scramble for the Miami TV
license. He recalled that Mr..
Whiteside phoned him and
asked him to tell a friend of
Col. Katzentine'S that he was
in no way pledged. Mr.. Mack
recalled that he replied that
isn't hard. because I never
have been pledged"
I Asked about the BACKGROUND
of his FEC appointment, Mr..
Mack said he first heard he
was under consideration in
March or April of 1855 when
an assistant to Senator Hol-
land, Democrat of Florida,
phoned to inform him. AS far
as he knows. Mr.. Mack said,
Senators Holland and Smath-
ers, also Florida Democrat,
were the only ones who helped
him win the appointment.
He said specifically he knew
nothing about support from
the brOadcaSting industry. Mr.