[St. Louis Star Times, April 1, 1941]
PURCHASE OF TNT SITE
TO BE PROBED BY HOUSE GROUP
McDowell Sharply
Criticized in Hearing Before Committee.
BY SAM O’NEAL.
FROM THE STAR-TIMES
WASHINGTON BUREAU.
WASHINGTON,
April 1.—The House Military Affairs Committee, after a lively session today in
which R. Newton McDowell was sharply criticized, decided to make a full
investigation of the purchase of the 16,300-acre tract of land in St. Charles
County, Mo., for the government-owned TNT plant.
The
committee, following testimony by Brig. Gen. Brehon Somervell and John J.
O’Brine, attorney in the land division of the war department, recessed until
Thursday. Somervell, who is in charge of construction for the army
quartermasters’ corps, and O’Brine were instructed to return and Col. R. D.
Valliant, who negotiated the contract with McDowell for acquisition of the TNT
plant site, also is likely to be summoned.
An
unsuccessful effort was made today by the committee to determine who “handed
McDowell the fat plum” through which he stood to obtain a $150,000 fee, plus a
$40,000 fee for the Kansas City Title Insurance Co., which he personally
selected to abstract the tracts on the site.
Went to Washington.
Somervell
and O’Brine testified their inquiry had established only that McDowell came to
Washington early last fall, contacted the ordnance division of the War
Department and was advised of the plan to construct the TNT plant. They said
McDowell was advised to see Col. Valliant. This he did and the signing of the
contract followed.
Valliant,
the witnesses said, declared he didn’t know McDowell before, but had
established that he was favorably known by War Department engineers before
entering the contract.
==========
[no source, April 2, 1941]
Somervell Heard on
TNT Site Cost
Regrets Delay in Pay
to Farmers, but Calls Price Excessive
[handwritten: April
2, 1941]
Brig. Gen.
Brehon Somervell, in charge of construction for the Army Quartermaster Corps,
said yesterday he regretted that many farmers had not been paid for their land
in the TNT area at Weldon Springs after being forced to vacate the premises,
“but I don’t want to pay twice as much money as I know the person is entitled
to.”
The General
made his statement during a hearing before the House Military Affairs Committee
in Washington, during which criticism was leveled at R. Newton McDowell, Kansas
City contractor, who acquired the land for the government. The committee has
decided to investigate the acquisition thoroughly.
McDowell’s
office in St. Charles reported yesterday one of the five tracts which the
government announced Monday it was taking over, was appraised at $27,000, or
about the same amount of money the government deposited with the Federal Court
here yesterday for all five tracts. The appraisal was made by three agents
appointed by the Department of Justice after McDowell’s prices had been
questioned by the government.
OPTION PRICES
The five
tracts were optioned by McDowell in behalf of the government for $109,768, and
checks amounting to $27,559 were deposited with the court by the War
Department. Individual option prices were: 10 acres of Grover Cleveland Silvey,
$5000; 170 acres of Dr. and Mrs. Oscar L. Snyder, $30,395; 94 acres of Merita
Callaway, $10,888; 161 acres of Tarlton Woodson, $31,485, and 52 acres of Mr.
and Mrs. George C. Willson, $32,000.
Gen.
Somervell, in criticising McDowell, accused the contractor of “having done
everything he can to obstruct an equitable adjustment of this matter.”
McDowell,
under terms of his contract with the government, was to get a 5 per cent
commission on all the land bought. Somervell said that if any of the owners
whose land is being condemned decided against paying that commission, “I am
disposed to urge the government furnish counsel to those owners.” The General
said the department hoped to rush all the condemnation suits through the court
this week.
Somervell
said he had ordered payment stopped on 149 tracts after 121 had been paid for,
because he felt that the prices agreed upon in the options negotiated by
McDowell were “grossly excessive.”
John
O’Brien, newly appointed head of the War Department’s real estate section, said
the Justice Department had viewed the case as “unusual,” and had made the
entire staff of the United States Attorney at St. Louis available to expedite
the proceedings.
