Non-Expos

"FOUNDATION PAID CONNALLY $225,000 WHILE GOVERNOR." The New York Times headline last week was modest in size, but it carried the unmistakable flavor of expose.

Starting on page one and jumping to a six-column spread was a story laboriously pieced together on the financial connections between President Nixon's nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, John Connally, and the late Texas oil tycoon Sid W. Richardson. The article reported that when Richardson died in 1959, Connally was named one of three executors of the $105 million estate. In 1963 he became Governor of Texas.

The Times quoted the Texas state constitution: "During the time he holds the office of Governor he shall not practice any profession, and receive compensation, reward, fee, or the promise thereof." The Times reported that in 1967, while he was Governor, "foundation records were showing payments to Mr. Connally." Reporter Martin Waldron had tried to get Connally's side of the story, but was told that the President had asked Connally not to grant interviews until after the Senate's confirmation vote.

Hopping Mad. When the story appeared, Connally asked that the closed hearings of the Senate Finance Committee be opened. He explained that the payments were spread over a ten-year period for tax reasons. During the time he was Governor, he performed minor chores for the estate. The committee approved his nomination, 13-0, but a few of its members were hopping mad.

Louisiana Democrat Russell B. Long, committee chairman, fumed that "the Times article sought to infer something improper about the payments." The Washington Post fired a double-barreled blast at both the Times for "unfair insinuations," and at Connally's "friends" on the Finance Committee for giving "the appearance of wanting to shove the whole situation out of sight by forcing an immediate vote" on his confirmation. Michigan's Robert Griffin, the Republican whip, told Connally: "If this is all there is to it, the New York Times owes you an apology."

The Times does not see it quite that way. Assistant Managing Editor Seymour Topping explained: "We've treated this story as any story on virtually every major appointment--we check out the background of the appointee. We made no special effort. We think there are things worth looking into."

The best that could be said for the Connally non-expose was that it cleared the air. Rumors about the Richardson-Connally relationship had circulated in Texas for years. Though Connally had given some details of his connections with the Foundation in 1961, during his confirmation hearings as Kennedy's Secretary of the Navy, the Times pointed out that "Mr. Connally did not mention that he was to receive payment of his executor fees over ten years." It was only last week that Connally explained his deferred-tax arrangement.

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