Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-28
ESTES II
| Freeman Comedies
/ Some Errors in Case

fired because they permitted
themselves to be compromised
by Estes penchant for gift
giving and personal favors."
Mr.. Freeman listed steps he
had taken to strengthen ad-
ministration of the sprawling
department which has 101, 900
employees. He specifically men,
toned four actions since the
Estes case broke.
These four were Cd tighten
ing up bonding requirements
on grain storage operations.
90 strengthened supervision Of
local committees and field
operations, 90 a study of local
and county committees and "a
creation Of an audit and in
vestigations office.
Mr.. Freeman insisted that
Estes received no preferred
treatment in his grain storage
operations and that grain was
not moved into West Texas for
his benefit.
Discusses Storage \
The Secretary repeated pre-
vious Agriculture Department
assertions that Estes received
less grain than other West
Texas operators. Most of the
80 million bushels in his facil-
tiles when the Texans finan-
lcial house of cards" collapsed,
Mr.. Freeman said, were placed
there by farmers themselves.
All but $4,000 of the SIS
million storage fees paid to
Estes or his assignees in the
last three years was for grain
stored there by the Eisenhower
administration, Mr.. Freeman
said. He also revealed that the
Government has moved 6 mil
lion bushels out of Estes ware
houses since his arrest in late
March on Federal fraud
charges.
Mr.. Freeman said the $780,
600 bond required of Estes for
his grain storage operations
represented no favored treat
ment. 1t was fixed, the Secre-
tary pointed out, on the basis
Of an audit statement prepared
by a certified public accountant
showing the Pecos operators
net worth far in excess of
requirements.
The report was prepared by
VIM P. jackson, a Lubbock
(Tex) accountant, who has
been suspended for two years
by a Texas accountants board
for his role in the case.
Mr.. Freeman disclosed a let
ter from the American Institute
Of Certified Public Accountants
saying a reader Of the jackson
report would be entitled to
assume the auditor had done
all the necessary work checking
the items on the Estes balance
sheet.
The bond on Estes facilities
was raised to $40 million after
his arrest and the disclosure
that instead of being a mil
lionnaire he was broke.
The Secretary said the Gov
lost nothing by holding
up cancellation of Estes cotton
acreage allotmentS which even
tually was done with a 1854, 900
penalty being assessed against
him.
Role of Meeting Here
The cancellation was sus-
pended after a conference last
January 6 in Undersecretary
Murphy's office. In addition to
Estes and his attorney, the
meeting was attended by Sena-
tor Marlborough and Repre-
sentative Robertson, Texas
Democrats. The Secretary said
the two members of Congress
expressed the opinion that the
matter involved a legal dispute
and the hope that Estes would |
be given fair treatment.
The allotments were can
celed, the Secretary said, when
the Pecos man failed to execute
required certification that land
transfers involved in the cotton
allotments were made in good
faith.
Mr.. Freeman said he well
coined the subcommittee in
vestigation as q means of cor
recting those implications Of
wrongdoing that have appeared
without Justification"