Show J he Red Conspiracy Browder Inquiry 1 Cuts Criticism Jt 1 Kobert Bobert E. E Stripling Edited by Bob Con Considine si din o ohe I J The he wildest ideological scrambling scram bling ng wo we shall probably ever see was that occasioned by the signing of the Stalin Hitler-Stalin pact in August 1939 and its subsequent rupture in 1941 The house un-American un activities activities activities ties committee found itself playing playing playing play play- ing a stormy and often unwelcome role in this hist historic ric course chang ing Criticism of t the Ii e committees committee's inquiries into Communism including including including I ing our important hearing In which Earl Browder acknowledged under oath that he he had twice Editors Editor's note This is the sixth of a series of 28 articles examining t the h e Communist conspiracy in the United States Robert E. E Stripling the author W was as S until recently the spark plug of the house committee t that hat Ii a t uncovered unco widespread Communist propaganda propaganda ganda and espionage traveled on false passports decreased decreased decreased de de- de- de creased after the pact signing But when Germany invaded Russia we again came ame under fire for calling caIling attention to a conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy con con- which had never and has never ceased In the months before tho the pact See Page 3 Column 1 II Inquiry Cuts robe Critics Critics' Blasts Continued from Page One Oner I 2 D la r 3 signed the committee found elf lt in possession of ot two very i t pot potatoes a toe s the American t uth congress and American ident dent union union both both since judged I I I fronts by the attorney eral r Our ur ur difficulty in pursuing this into the youth movements t e ted mainly in our accidentally ring log offense to Mrs Roosevelt o was steadfastly attached to toh h organizations Toe oe Lash a kind of of 0 B first IRd lady headed the Ameria Ameri- Ameri a Student union Lash's good I end nd Joe Cadden headed the Youth congress h was a frequent visitor to White House and often a aber aher I her ber of intimate family di dir din rs His friends Cadden Jack Michael and one Abbott Simon o o 0 had many Communist ons s were also entertained from frome ie e e to time at Lash's request i- i i Congressman Shocked Rep p p. p Jerry Voorhis D D. D Cal good friend of the Roosevelt Roosevel t oily nily Iy and a member of the un un- activities committee us shocked one day on a visit to toj j White House when he saw den and Simon occupying coln's oln's bedroom He mentioned s to the president and informed n of the nature of the commits commit's commit- commit s 's file fie on Simon and on Cadden's ith il th movement loosevelt was busy with other Mrs Roosevelt's siness ness Hess he said I cant can't do any- any ng g about it it its acting chairman Rep Lines es the committee began ring iring ng witnesses in the youth matter while Dies was New cw York preparing to speak Madison adison Square Garden he e young people as Mrs sevelt called them in her limn arrived at the house office Iding in two White House cars by the beaming first y They laughed a great deal ded out literature asking asting- for fort t youth of the world to to unite tight fascism and settled down downAn downan downan an interesting show t 4 t Closer to Circus Tie e committees committee's counsel at that e e was Rhea Whitley a former II I man accustomed to dealing T with the blunt well-defined well ks and whites of i. i But here re was something t by design was neither It Iti i closer to to toa a circus ash sh i on the witness stand g a round of applause from young people by suddenly ting tang into a song which he as one he had sung to Bibers of the Lincoln brigade Ing g the thc Spanish civil war f you see an un-American un come come lurking near Thy y alkalize wi with th Martin Dies and he will disappear he session stumbled to an un- un r halt with little accomplished es was soon on the long ance ce phone calling Dies e h had a d a hell of a day rhes es moaned For Gods God's sake ry back and bring Mats Matis Mat- Mat VB is s with you i Made Seven Trips Matthews atthews was the same J. J B. B who had testified in early days of the committee had been retained as a come com com- tee e researcher and was ace a ace arce ce of enormous information lad d made seven trips to Russia o J i given up his Communist i ings gs after witnessing famine bons in the Ukraine spoke 1 languages a and n d had many c qualifications for the job e and I went through Lash's rd th that at night upon our reL re- re L i turn from New York The nex next morning I arranged for Matthews rather than Whitley to question Lash The young people and Mrs Roosevelt settled down for another day of fun But Matthews recognizing recognizing the tactics of Lash am and other leaders as an old and trusted Communist diversion diversion to to which Mrs Roosevelt was Inadvertently inadvertently inadvertently lending her prestige prestige- began taking Lash and the Student Student student Stu stu- dent union apart Rep Rankin not then a member of the committee but sitting just behind Mrs Roosevelt in the caucus caucus caucus cau cau- cus room as a n. spectator leaned over to hear and remarked My that examiner certainly has that fellow in a bad way I certainly haven't noticed it Mrs Roosevelt said stoutly Deflated Young People It was a depressed and deflated i little group of ot young people who returned to the White House for lunch The tinsel had been removed from the hearing by Matthews Matthews' Matthews Matthews' Matthews Matthews' Mat Mat- astute Questioning Questioning- As Mrs Roosevelt wrote wrote l in her column the contrast between the first and second day of the hearing hearing hearing hear hear- ing was noticeable It was soon time to write the committees committee's annual report and the question of whet whether er or not we should pronounce the American Ameri Ameri- can Youth congress a Communist front was at hand Rep Voorhis was opposed to such a labeling explaining that he had pro promised Mrs Roosevelt he would do his best to keep the Youth congress off the front list The committee compromised by reporting it had detected evidence evidence evidence evi dence of communism in the groups group's leadership The report had been filed Hiter Hitler Hitler Hit- Hit ler er and Stalin had signed their pact and the American Youth congress congress' annual convention was being held In Washington Mrs Roosevelt invited the young people peo peo- by by now a large group group to to toa a tea on the south lawn of ot the White House President Heckled The president appeared on the balcony above them in good time and called th them m to denounce all form orm of dictatorship whether found bund in Berlin or Moscow At the mention of Moscow he was vas immediately heckled He retired retired re- re tired ired indoors indignantly and Mrs Roosevelt thereafter cooled off toward the movement But the ultimate switch in was best epitomized by Joe Cadden The leader of t the h e American Youth congress m o 0 oved v e d from Lincoln's bed to a picket line of ot the he American Peace mobilization Up Jp and down on the pavement before the White House he carried placards denoun denouncing ing the policies of his celebrated host and hostess Saturday Mr Stripling r re reveals reveals re- re cals that the house un Ameri can activities committees committee's aid was sought b by the White hite House In attempting to place Joe Lash in naval intelligence Copyright 1949 King Features Syndicate |