Show Neat Sleight Hand Sleight of Hand HandT HE SENATE commerce committee commit- commit T THE tee has pulled some neat sleight- sleight of-hand of to keep the taxpayers from finding out how much government gravy Pan American Airways is getting Under a senate resolution the committee is supposed to examine the airmail subsidies paid to the airlines for hauling mail What the senate wants to know is how much of this subsidy is legitimate compensation compensation compensation com com- and how much pure government government government gov gov- handout Yet in defiance of the senate the committee staff has quietly excluded excluded excluded ex ex- Pan American Airways from the study And as a double precaution pre pre- caution caution belIeve believe it or not not not-it it has hired Pan Ams Am's accountants to tomake tomake tomake make the survey Interesting fact Is that the senate commerce committee is partly dominated dom dome mated by Sen Owen Brewster of Maine close friend of Pan American Ameri Ameri- can airways Brewster has traveled all over Latin America free in Pan Am planes also commuted between Washington and Maine in a special Pan Am plane and is now being in investigated investigated investigated in- in for tapping the wires of Howard Huges on behalf of Pan American Airways What Brewster had to do with the recent maneuvering inside the senate commerce committee is not known But it is known that the contract contract contract con con- tract for the subsidy airmail-subsidy survey survey survey sur sur- vey was awarded to Ernst and Ernst of New York City which also was retained by Pan American for fees of in 1948 and in 1949 What is even more peculiar Ernst and Ernsts Ernst's bid was not the lowest but one of the highest Despite this the committee staff awarded the contract to Ernst and Ernst for though though other bids I were submitted as low at I for example by Georgetown sity In other words it is costing the taxpayers twice as much to hire Pan Americans American's accountants Tricky Word-Juggling Word The commerce committee at first tried some tricky language to protect Pan American from the subsidy subsidy subsidy sub sub- sidy survey This was written into the senate resolution by Edward Sweeney the committees committee's aviation consultant who called for a survey of certificated interstate and overseas overseas overseas over over- seas air carrier operations It By a technicality this left out Pan-American Pan entirely whose operations operations operations op op- op- op are classified by law as foreign However West Virginias Virginia's alert Sen Harley Kilgore caught this word juggling At first I myself understood that the word overseas covered the operation of all our planes flying flying flying fly fly- ing abroad he told the senate But it seems that the civil aeronautics aeronautics aero aero- act divided our planes into three classes instead of two Overseas Overseas Overseas Over Over- seas planes are defined as those which fly overseas to our island possessions It As a result of Kilgore's vigilance the senate unanimously changed the resolution to Include Pan Ameri Ameri- can Despite this the commerce committee has flagrantly ignored the senate mandate and has left Pan American out of the survey con con- tract The Hawaiian runs of Northwest Northwest Northwest North North- west and United Airlines are included in included included in- in but Pan Americans American's Hawaiian Hawaiian Hawaiian Ha Ha- run is left out of the study by its wire wire wire-puUing puling friends on the senate commerce committee Round Merry-Go-Round Nine out of ten visitors at Lake Success wa want t to see Mrs Roosevelt Roose- Roose velt but have trouble asking for her committee by name Social Humanitarian and Cultural committee committee committee com com- Often they ask Is this the room where they hold human relations A committee chairman chairman chairman chair chair- man at Lake Success scanning his list of speakers announced I call now on the delegate of the Soviet Union and when he hc has finished speaking all the delegates on my list will have been exhausted The Soviets got a lot of oC publicity when they walked out of various UN U.N. agencies early this year But they have Avoided publicity in their back backtracking Thus few people outside U UN U.N. N. N are aware they have returned to the trusteeship council and the economic and social council council council coun coun- cil Fleet Admiral Nimitz has completed a wide country speaking tour for the United Nations and will wm leave the U UN U.N. N payroll at the end of this month A great fighting man he has now done a fine job for tor peace Capitol Hill Hm is still chortling over the way Sen Molly Molly Molly Mol ly Malone of Nevada Republican challenged Sen Scott Lucas of Illinois Illinois Illi Illi- nois Democrat to a fist fight on the senate floor just before betor congress congress congress con con- gress adjourned Strange Appointment A lawyer who help helped d torpedo the American plan to break up Nazi cartels Is now assistant general counsel of the national production authority the new defense agency with tough get-tough powers over Industry He is Richardson Bronson named by an investigating commission as asa asa asa a key figure behind the dropping of the stiff stitt plan While in hi Germany Bronson worked hand handin in glove with Phillips Hawkins son son- law in-law of ot Wall Street banker William William Wil Wil- liam E. E Draper |