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ACTIVITIES OF THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION AND THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT IN FLORIDA

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1946

UNITED STATES SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY.

Jacksonville, Fla.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a. m., Friday, December 27, 1946, in courtroom No. 2, at Jacksonville, Fla. Senator Carl A. Hatch (acting chairman) presiding.

Also present: J. G. Sourwine, counsel to the committee.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order. Are you ready to proceed, Mr. Sourwine?

Mr. SOURWINE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. We might as well proceed. We have some witnesses here. There is no use in waiting.

Mr. SOURWINE. Mr. Mansfield, who was subpenaed as a witness, was in the room a moment ago but he went out.

The CHAIRMAN. Which witness did you wish to start with?

Mr. SOURWINE. I want to start with Mr. Jervey and Mr. Ackerman. They want to get away.

The CHAIRMAN. Let the record show that this hearing is being held in the city of Jacksonville, today, pursuant to authority contained in Senate Resolution 35. Senator McCarran, of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the chairman of the subcommittee, is unable to be present and I am presiding today at his request, in order that the testimony of these witnesses may be taken and the record made.

Mr. Sourwine, counsel for the committee, is present and will proceed with the examination of the witnesses and the introduction of such testimony as he may desire to elicit.

You may proceed, Mr. Sourwine. Do you want the witnesses sworn?

Mr. SOURWINE. Mr. Chairman, the witnesses have been sworn in the previous proceedings. I believe it would be advisable. May the record show the names of those witnesses who were subpenaed and the situation in regard to them?

The CHAIRMAN. Let the record show the names of those subpenaed and the names of those who are here or not here.

Mr. SOURWINE. Subpenas were issued for Mr. Edward Ball, Mr. Giles J. Patterson, Mr. M. H. Ackerman, Mr. T. H. Jervey, Mr. Walter Fuller, Mr. Clyde C. Pierce and Mr. E. J. Mansfield. I believe Mr. Ackerman and Mr. Jervey are here. Mr. Pierce is here. Mr. Patterson is here. Mr. Fuller has not yet been served. We are hopeful that we can get Mr. Fuller for tomorrow.

We have the following telegram from the United States Marshal at Jackson, Miss. [reading]:

Witness Ball, located at Edgewater Gulf Hotel. Have attempted to serve subpena but was unsuccessful because of illness of witness. Doctor allows no one in room with him except doctor and nurses.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, that completes the list of witnesses?
Mr. SOURWINE. Yes, sir, that completes the list of witnesses.

The CHAIRMAN. And these witnesses were all subpenaed for today?
Mr. SOURWINE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen, all of you stand up and be sworn. (The oath was administered to all witnesses present.)

Mr. PATTERSON. Mr. Chairman, may I make a request?

The CHAIRMAN. Your name, please?

Mr. PATTERSON. Giles Patterson. The last time you kept us here all of the morning, sitting around, and I have a great deal to do. If you can give me some idea of when I will be needed, I will be glad to come back at any time.

Mr. SOURWINE. With the memory of the last time, I was about to suggest to the chairman that you might be excused until a later date. Mr. PATTERSON. If you will just give my office a ring. I will be there all day, or, if you will fix a time, I will be back.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you have any definite time that you will want the witness present? I may say I was not present before, and I did not keep you waiting.

Mr. PATTERSON. No; you did not. Mr. Sourwine put us in another room and shut us up.

The CHAIRMAN. Would you rather set a time or call him to come back?

Mr. SOURWINE. I will call him.

The CHAIRMAN. We will call you, Mr. Patterson.

Mr. PATTERSON. All right.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you wish the witnesses under the rule?

Mr. SOURWINE. That is up to your discretion.

The CHAIRMAN. I am not familiar with the investigation but I see no particular reason to put them under the rule.

TESTIMONY OF M. H. ACKERMAN, UNITED STATES POST OFFICE INSPECTOR IN CHARGE, ATLANTA, GA.

Mr. SOURWINE. Your name is M. H. Ackerman?

Mr. ACKERMAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. SOURWINE. You are the post-office inspector in charge at Atlanta, sir?

Mr. ACKERMAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. SOURWINE. That includes the Jacksonville district?

Mr. ACKERMAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. SOURWINE. You were served with a subpena duces tecum?

Mr. ACKERMAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. SOURWINE. Did you bring with you any documents or correspondence or other matters in pursuance to that subpena?

Mr. ACKERMAN. No.

Mr. SOURWINE. And why not?

Mr. ACKERMAN. They were forwarded to the chief post-office inspector, Mr. J. J. Doran, at Washington, D. C., upon his request.

Mr. SOURWINE. So that there is, then, no material pertaining to the items with respect to which you were subpenaed now in your possession?

Mr. ACKERMAN. I have not.

Mr. SOURWINE. There is none?

Mr. ACKERMAN. No.

The CHAIRMAN. By the way, when were they forwarded?

Mr. ACKERMAN. There were three pouches of them forwarded on June 16.

The CHAIRMAN. It was a long time prior to the receipt of this subpena?

Mr. ACKERMAN. Yes. I would like to explain this: That I am now specially assigned on work of a high technical nature, regarding the expansion of air-mail service and experimental work for the PostOffice Department and I have been away from my division practically ever since last April 1, with the exception of a few days. This request from the chief inspector came to the division during my absence and the assistant inspector in charge complied with the request of the chief inspector at that time. I did not know that the files had been forwarded until afterward.

The CHAIRMAN. All right. You may proceed.

Mr. SOURWINE. Mr. Ackerman, are you familiar with how the Post Office Department's investigation of the Crummer Co. began?

Mr. ACKERMAN. It is my recollection that a complaint was made. Mr. SOURWINE. Do you know by whom?

Mr. ACKERMAN. I have a memorandum that I copied from a division slip-what we call a division slip to identify a case, which has a number-and it was by Roger L. Main, Jacksonville, Fla., through the chief inspector.

Mr. SOURWINE. What was the date of that complaint?

Mr. ACKERMAN. Alleged violation of section 2350, Postal Laws and Regulations of 1932, by R. E. Crummer & Co. fraudulently obtaining possession of $117,000 of Lee County, Fla., road and bridge bonds. That was the subject of the complaint that we had.

Mr. SOURWINE. And the date of that complaint?

Mr. ACKERMAN. June 4, 1941.

Mr. SOURWINE. Does that jacket, sir, from which you are reading, show the date on which the case came to you?

Mr. ACKERMAN. It came to us on June 10, 1941.

Mr. SOURWINE. And you transmitted it to the inspector at Jacksonville?

Mr. ACKERMAN. It was sent on June 11, 1941, to Inspector Eugene McKay.

Mr. SOURWINE. McKay? M-c-K-a-y?

Mr. ACKERMAN. That's right. But, it was during the war and something happened in there that he couldn't get to it and then it was

sent to Capt. C. M. Hill-I believe those are his initials-on November 17, 1941, and he went to the Army. And then it was sent to Inspector E. J. Mansfield on August 3, 1942.

Mr. SOURWINE. Did any other inspector, besides the two you have mentioned, have the case before Mr. Mansfield? Before Mr. Mansfield had it?

Mr. ACKERMAN. No; I have no record of that.

Mr. SOURWINE. Did Mr. Jones ever have the case?

Mr. ACKERMAN. I believe that Mr. Jones had it here, but I don't believe he did anything with it at the time.

Mr. SOURWINE. He had it prior to Mr. Mansfield's having it?
Mr. ACKERMAN. I think so.

Mr. SOURWINE. Is "Mr. Jones" endorsed on your jacket?

Mr. ACKERMAN. Let's see.

Yes; he was; January 24, 1942.

Mr. SOURWINE. So that it was then transmitted from Mr. McKay to Mr. Jones and

Mr. ACKERMAN. No. From Mr. McKay to Mr. Hill; Mr. Hill— evidently it went to Mr. Jones and then to Mr. Mansfield.

Mr. SOURWINE. And so far as your record shows, neither Mr. McKay nor Mr. Hill nor Mr. Jones had time to do anything with the case?

Mr. ACKERMAN. No.

Mr. SOURWINE. Over a period of how many months was it before it came to Mr. Mansfield?

Mr. ACKERMAN. It was sent to Mr. McKay June 11, 1941. It reached Mr. Mansfield August 3, 1942.

Mr. SOURWINE. Fourteen months later?

Mr. ACKERMAN. Yes. And then after Mr. Mansfield retired, then it was turned over for completion to Inspector T. H. Jervey, who is now assistant inspector in charge, and that was done on November 21, 1945.

Mr. SOURWINE. Then what happened to the case when Mr. Jervey became assistant inspector in charge?

Mr. ACKERMAN. That Mr. Jervey will have to answer, himself. Mr. SOURWINE. I see that you brought some other papers with you. What are they?

Mr. ACKERMAN. This is just a copy of the case jacket, itself. Do you want it all?

Mr. SOURWINE. Do you have the original case jacket with you? In your possession?

Mr. ACKERMAN. I have that on file, yes; and I copied this from it. Yes.

Mr. SOURWINE. There is nothing in that case jacket now?

Mr. ACKERMAN. No; that's just a slip. This part, right here, is the identification slip and that's the number of the case.

Mr. SOURWINE. Mr. Chairman. this file is fairly short; may it be inserted in the record at this point?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes; it may be admitted.

(The documents referred to are in words and figures following:)

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