DISHONESTY DENIED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 January 1943, Page 3

DISHONESTY DENIED

MR. FLVNN’S APPOINTMENT TO AUSTRALIA LIKELY TO BE CONFIRMED. SENATE COMMITTEE HEARS EVIDENCE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WASHINGTON. January 25. The Foreign Relations Committed of the Senate has heard the evidence bn the allegation that Mr Edward Flynn, who has been appointed Ambassador to Australia, is not a fit person for the appointment, having had city-owned paving blocks used on his estate. Decision is deferred. Though his opponents are still hopeful that enough Democrats can be swung from the administration to block Mr Flynn’s confirmation, indications tonight are that he will be successful when the appointment reaches the Senate, probably by February 1. The "Herald-Tribune” says most political observers are willing to bet that the committee will vote confirmation of the appointment. Robert Moran, former public works commissioner for the Bronx, said there was nothing wrong with the arrangement by which city employees laid paving blocks in the courtyard of Mr Flynn’s Lake Mahopac estate. In October ,1941, he said, Mr Flynn told him he wanted a narking lot at Lake Mahopac filled with granite blocks, and asked him to consult in his spare time with Mrs Haas, who was landscaping on the estate. “Mr Flynn asked me to get a private contractor to do the work and also to see he wasn't overcharged. It was customary for me to advise taxpayers who had problems about their property. The materials were hauled in private trucks, and city employees laid the blocks, working in their own time, and were paid by Mr Flynn.” He added that when Mr Kern began the investigation, he supplied all the data he wanted, because he knew there was nothing wrong. Fred Dennerlein, foreman of the paving-block gang, told him he would get the blocks from some dump if Moran arranged for the trucks, which he did, at a cost of 17 dollars a load. If he had wanted to be dishonest, there were 30 city trucks available. He had engaged private trucks in order that Mr Flynn and he would not be involved. He said he had not been sponsored by Mr Flynn during his years of public service. He owed nothing to him and sought nothing from him. Mrs Haas was charged approximately 300 dollars for the work, plus 404 dollars for the cost of trucking. NEW YORK POLITICS. Mr Moran said he had retired on a pension because the paving-block investigation had caused himself and his family great distress and embarrassment. Politics in New York was at present not a place for an honest man. Concerning Mr Harland’s charge that he acted as majordomo for Mr Flynn and was responsible for the use of city materials and labour on Mr Flynn’s job, Mr Moran, who is an elderly, whitehaired man, said: “Gentlemen, I can take it on the chin, but not below the belt.” Challenging Mr Kern’s statement that the parking lot was “an antique Belgian courtyard,” he said it was not even a paving.job. Old granite paving blocks were such a drug on the market in New York that contractors "heaved them into the river when the cops were not looking.” He claimed that Dennerlein admitted that the paving blocks came from a tip yard. Dennerlein was entirely responsible for using city-owned cars to take workmen to Mr Flynn’s estate. Mr Flynn would occasionally ask for a city-owned car 1o drive him home or to a hotel, but before the gasoline and tire shortage that was a common practice. City-owned cars were frequently seen at political meetings and even at race tracks. Mr Flynn, testifying on his own behalf, denied all the charges. He assured the committee that he' would not have allowed President Roosevelt to appoint him had there been anything dishonest in his past. The chairman, Senator Connally, announced that the committee would vote on Wednesday on the question of recommending confirmation of the nomination.

The “New York Times” reports a Gallup poll on the question, "Do you approve or disapprove the appointment of Mr Flynn as Minister to Australia.” The result is: Disapprove, 52 per cent; approve, 21 per cent; undecided, 27 per cent.