Col. Ament is Not Representative of U.S. Government in Roumania

Two cable despatches to the “Jewish Daily Bulletin” from Roumania reported of an investigation of conditions affecting the Jews in Bessarabia carried on in a peculiar and conspicuous manner by a gentleman, who presumably was acting for the United States Government. The American Jewish Congress, through its Washington correspondent, the “Jewish Daily Bulletin” learned, made an inquiry into the activities of this unknown investigator and yesterday the Executive Secretary, Mr. Bernard G. Richards, gave out the following statement on the subject.

“The investigator referred to has been variously described as Hammond and Ament and there was therefore some difficulty experienced in establishing his identity. I am now, however, in a position to state that Col. Lytton G. Ament is positively not on a mission of the State Department or acting officially in behalf of any other department of the United States Government. Judging by his strange methods of taking evidence, one would conclude that this zealous student of conditions in Bessarabia is acting, if not in behalf of, at least in the interest of the Roumanian government.

“I learned that Col. Ament was the director of the American Relief work in Roumania and afterwards was associated with the U. S. Veterans’ Bureau as chief of the Investigation Division. He resigned from this post last February. While in charge of relief work in Roumania he became closely associated with Roumanian official and social circles. Col. Ament recently married and according to information secured, sailed last February to Roumania, primarily on a honeymoon trip.”