European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 17, 1962, Darmstadt, Hesse Jet i1 7" a a \ j i Iiii-7- 1 r the stars and stripes thursday May 17, 1 Stry tempest in Teapot or Teapot Dom or a a i or r his by Vonitter has " " alow fe1mjvson i the eyes of ski so Federal Bureau of of investigation j tvo a omit ties the United " Stales department of agriculture and ithe chairman poor the demo cratic \ arid \ of Republican National on Nnttie a. Plus some private Estes for the toy wonder who is under Federal indictment on fraud charges in connection with a Busi Ness Empire that once was Esti mated "be1 Worth 5150 million. A3vtj�,lie do div live enough trouble already he has become inthe Lafe few Days National political Issue republicans Are beginning to talk is Chough they had found something which will swing Mil Lions of votes the car Way in this elections. They at saying is that there is plenty of dirt in Estes relationship with the . De part enl of agriculture Ais that the Enn Efly administration is " try Riff to sweep it under to Estes is a Democrat and a wit Ness a jets fled he told Hinr he contributed $100,000 to. The party Sigried of president Kennedy vice president Lyndon Johnson and to Adi i Stevenson once Hung on the Walls of his office in the Litile town of Pecos some 400 airline Tours Southwest of he always has had the reputation of thinking big politically Anda favorite Story Here is a stunt he. Propose to promote Stevenson presidential candidacy in 1352. He was a engr to buy thousands of parakeets teach them to say Idice Flat and then turn them Loose in Northern cities. The men who4malte the decisions vetoed the idea on Jive grounds that mos Northern cities we re heavily demo cratic and there was no Point i buying parakeets to scream at residents of such places As new York cloy aids Cook county Illi politics -7probably is the last thing Estes is thinking about these Days he and three of his business associates Are " under Federal in die Toner it on charges of committing 57 overt mete of fraud. Bbb Bali was set at 5500.000 ?1 Federal j attorneys insisted he1 War planning to flee to Brazil or Switzerland and he spen four Days in jail when he could t raise he succeeded in getting a 11 reduced. To . Estes made it and l went Back to Pecos to try to prop up the Walls of his business were. No v he could Ftp because he admitted the roof already had fallen in. He Nat he had debts of $32 million at his a Alt in is controlled or Aad tin interest in 40 companies Trot the three if us Ness a Livette that interest Federal and stateln\-es1tebtors Ore is operations in fertilizer Lanks i rain storage Cotton allotments involve the department Obj agriculture and this is where the political heat is being 1 in Federal Farmer s land Ator certain purposes As building a dam he some time can Transfer jigs Federal cot ton All fitment to another farm he purchases r ,., a let Coit no ally Anent is a Federal device to controi5fpr duet on. You cannot t Plant Cotton to unless you live i Creage allot sent which makes tit extremely valuable3"" in u 1361justes succeeded in Jay ing 3,123, acres in Cotton allotments Ipp a ammonia led to crumbling of Kaiui Empire kites $150.000 mansion this is the lavish Home of the Pecos Ivy. Tycoon now indicted for transferred " to land he formerly owned in Reeves and Pecos coun ties. On Case involved an East Etas Arm condemned for a River project Uthe Fowner contracted to buy a Fawn from kit sctt in Beeves county and then had his Cotton allotment transferred to it the owner a to receive $50 an acre for. The Transfer and Eolk was to gel the land Back in one year. In the meantime Bntf-8 would lease the land and Plant Cotton. Estes lawyers insisted the so que Dion of the 4,123 acres , list the department of " Agricula Thirft took the position that Lar was it device to buy cot ton allotment. That is illegal both Federal and slate investigation to Estes activities Are continuing texans who know All to Heinstand outs of the situation Are waiting for further developments before Hazard ing an opinion As to whether the republicans have a Jtj ajor Campaign Issue or whether they Aire Only seeing the Mirage of a democratic Teapot dome across lion. Political Sands. Witness has quoted Estes he b spent Between $100,000 and $200,000 a year on payoffs but nobody was named As having received it. The Texas attorney Gen eral is Tring to Trace $40,000 which Estes withdrew from the first National bulk of Pecos shortly before he flew to Washington in january to attend Lite Kennedy adminis Lra Tion sufi no anniversary Celebration. N. Buttle Hales an agriculture department employee charged at to Washington news conference that the department had shown favorit ism to Estes but his sup enors dented it there has been test Bixxie sol Estes a Lay preacher. 4 business Empire Worth $150 million before roof caved i. T. Thought big politically. ". Drove a ruthless bar gain t did l Ilshik or smoke a bicycle to office. A Mony that Esles bought suits at$245 each and shoes at $100 of pair for agriculture deportment employees at the Plush Neimann Marcus department Ilore in Dallas. The men involved denied it. Since the Estes Case broke one agriculture depart ment employee has been fired and one has resigned. Estes never was Rich in the sense that such Texas tycoons As 11 a Hunt and Clint Murchi on Are Rich. Their annual incomes probably exceed Esles Gross assets in his. Burst years. But he was a towering Man in West Texas and the town of Pecos population 15,000, is the Little Pond in i High he Jrew to be such a big arrived there 12 hours ago with one suitcase a Balte cd to encase and a question Wavrecan i find an honest real estate dealer he found one and started raising Cotton. He was 2f Jears old then and five years later he had made his first million. He is 37 a ars old now. Before the roof Fellin he controlled or had an instr St in 40 companies had a Fleet of Cadillac even the i vans used one and owned two . In 1953 inf Junior chamber of Commerce Vot a him one of the nation s 10 outstanding Young have been close to Billie sol for 10 years said a Peros Busi Nessman and j still can t explain what makes him is a Duncon Nyrl a Lay preacher in the Church of Christ. It is an austere Church and Billle sol carries us teach Ings to the Point that he Irrera Gates the in his big swim Ming Pool. Children Are Welcome to Iise it but boys and Girts must. Switz at separate times. He has five children four girls and a boy ranging Down from 1 i Yoni a but they Are not allowed to Wear does not drink or smoke und before he retired behind the closed doors of his ranch House he frequently startled the residents of Pecos by leaving All the Cadillac in the Carport and travelling to ins office on a bicycle. People in Pecos Sny he u a Sharp ruthless Man in a business Deal that he has driven Small competitors out of business and Wilt sit up half the night figuring How to Cut a Corner. There is an erroneous impression that every Enterprise in which Estes engaged now is on the rocks. Investigations still arc und r Vay but so far so to of his companies appear to be in Good shape. Estes estimates his assets at $54 million but that is subject to a court got him into trouble is a Metal Cylinder about Sevin fit Long and Pili in Duhle. If it culled an anhydrous ammonia fertilizer tank. When you feed its contents into an irrigation ditch it gives a terrific boost to growing Cotton. The Price of a tank u about $1.000. Using his credit Estes began buying Large orders of anhydrous ammonia from commercial sol vents corp. Then he began slash ing prices to West Texas Farmers and underselling competitors in a attempt to drive them out of Busi Ness. Before the roof fell in Estes had succeeded in becoming one of the world s largest distributors of anhydrous ammonia. He used some of the Money de Rived from the Farmers to get into the Grain storage business expect ing to get heavy government fees for storing crops. Into the. P i c t u r e now come Arnii i Root and to car Griffin general manager and editor atthe Fik Rott to dip Lent a paper published on monday thursday with u Cirrus Lytteon there was a Tot of talk itolngf1 on around Perow when the Fairo 3 pfc come to town about in pwr&s1.- t it and All of it seemed to 6kihne Ctet with Estes. Griffin be gun . Re a this is the Story he finally turf of a covered. To s tastes. In partnership with a concern Superior / manufacturing co., would approach m of timer a and Tell them his cred to was overextended but t hat needed some fertilizer tanks. The Farmer was asked to buy some tank. From the Superior Ait i a factoring co. On credit sign ft1 mortgage for them and then Leasier the tanks to kites. The Farmer was promised it Cash Hosnih of ii per of the Pur Chahe Price and Estes make the Icuss Uay Menta Cicely the some amount of 0109vl eyes the snort it up would coif. It sounded like a Good Deal an the Farmers to this area had great Confidence in Estes. They began signing Tho mortgages. Some of them it is snid without Reading the documents. Testes took the Farmers Mort gages end sold them at a discount to finance companies. ,. With the 10 per cent Cash pay ments he was making to the farm. Ers and the discount to the finance companies he must have Beening close to 30 per cent for Money said a Pecos business executive. What the Pecos independents investigation disclosed was the c there were 16,000 tank Nwart Gandl Vav on file in re ves county alone the to West Texas was it. Excess of , and that Saftel i businessman was enough Toffi fertili2e everything from Here to California the inevitable conclusion. A that Estes had been collecting mortgages on tanks Whiteh a inf a exist Finci there was testimony i if one court action that he admitted that such was the Case xhosa thanks just Aren t there.".j.,-. European edition ripes army Navy a Force col Ridgway p. Smith or Usa. T. ,. Edl Tot it Chi Felt col John j. Caulfi Eto Usan Arnold Burnett managing Ethew Elmer d. Frank .,.-Foo Authon met wowsydne1t Label circulation mar att directory of news bureaus Germany Darrin Ted onto no at Ivity Homer a Cable met Jock Emit sports George n. Poy to. Facture i darn Tadt c 75366 Dar Milady afr strip m 741 two Ruff it Tel a cmtb9 332 Stull Attr William c. Dur it c a 7795, telex 7-jj407 Munich Bab Hoyer c 49j4a8. M 8356. Lelei 5 33984 on Lens Henry t. Rolt 1c 435w Lle 04j-72i Baffin unmet guilty c South Vilt Lintl "2333 0200.28601 Par it Moi on England John kru�9�r, 471, 472 Fiance cutt Estorf s400, it 466 or 768 Spain Madrid Wallace in 83 90, til 2753 at 020b7-779j c Bouasa let diff Totty of Cek citation office Gimant a Lett a 7a39it or mrav a c 45341 dwt Entwit. C 7366 it 6\ fron Kurt a 0108-2047 . It 5117 Mann Tom a 84407 Munich c 43923 Nim Inberg c 790c47 Mif Jarl a 84335 wit Ibadan cd 4334 or 43479 Morocco Tripoli 8143 1c civilian a afr a my Mil Story an unofficial publication of Aid for tit . Ati surf fact in Lump pro Rhet of Darm Pladt Ger Rohmy und rth a Leicil of Fth pub in affair div Mthm. Us Arluro mail Oddou the. Stan and slrip.�, afo 175, . Forc. To darn Lett 1c 7536r 75395 or fron furl ic1 33141. A term 641 Weihl Nifon of new Yard 14. , Wathinia 4-1000. a i cant Cla irate to 3pr. 19s6, of la foil offic of h.y., n.y., in ctr act of Mank 3, 179. England London Busby Fork a. My. A i or Teddy Nesron Loti 2863 France la ret Holt m 776 met. C 684619 Foril c 9jo-75-75j m a Smon 147 Italy , dolby pm t465 Spain Modred c 7743408 Greece c 9423/0 in to 1 in i a c a a so Jujj Al a of in
