| Show THE RED CONSPIRACY STUDENT PINKS' PINKS FRIEND PLAGUES RED By Robert E. E Stripling Edited b by Bob The house committee on un- un American activities would have preferred never t V tr hear again the name of Joe Lash Laih the highly be be- head of ot the Communist- Communist controlled American Student union But there seemed no way by which we could escape him even evenI I after he recanted and splintered away from his former cronies in inthe inthe inthe the Communist conspiracy against this government A little more than a year after the Stalin Hitler-Stalin pact was signed creating wild disorders among United States Slates Communists at attempting attempting at- at attempting tempting to learn the new party line Lash apparently informed his patroness Mrs Roosevelt that he had repented his past associations associations with the Reds Eligible for Draft Selective service had come into being and Lash unmarried and andIn andin andin in good g physical condition was eligible ible for the draft Mrs Irs Roosevelt Roosevelt Roose Roose- Roosevelt velt believed he lie was fine timber for a commission in naval Intelligence Intelli intelli- gence But the na navy department thou though h it was commissioning many civilians at that stage of the preparedness preparedness pre pre- preparedness program refused to ac ac- ac Lash White House inquiries met with a consistent answer Lash could not be considered until the un American activities committee committee com corn gave his loyalty a clean bill of health One afternoon I 1 was phoned by bya a secretary of Mrs Roosevelt calling calling callIng call call- ing from her office in the office of civilian defense where Lash was at that time lime employed as ns an adviser Mrs Roosevelt wants to see you at 4 o'clock this afternoon the secretary said Why rhy me 1 I asked And what about You be there the girl said But what is 18 it about I Ire re ro- ro You be there and you'll see Bce I told her that since ince this must concern committee business I ISee IS S See Page 3 3 Column 1 I f Friend of Student Pinks Plagues Red from Page One I would have to consult Committee Chairman Martin Dies I LV y You just be there the girl r and hung up Consults Dies DiesI 1 I called Dies to tell him of the Curious command and he became quite angry with me He seemed hurt because the call had not come cometo cometo cometo to him But when one did come cometo cometo cometo to him later that day and from the same secretary he decided notto not I Ito tn to accept accent the invitation The The l late te Mrs Evalyn Walsh McLean McLean Mc- Mc Lean iLean a frequent hostess of Mr and und Mrs Dies changed the congressman's congressman's con con- gressman's mind She told him it was rude to neglect to return the call of the first lady So Dies phoned Mrs Roosevelt the next day and a luncheon date at the White House was set 1 At the conclusion of the lunch- lunch eOn attended also by Lash and a former president of Smith college Mrs Ir Roosevelt quickly reached the point Lash she said had haden haden en the errors of ot his ways and must no longer be pilloried for forthe forthe forthe the mistakes of boyhood His record record record rec rec- ord should be cleared at a committee commit commit- tee hearing as soon as possible Dies called Lash se s several veral days daysI I later apparently to the surprise of of the Republican members of the committee The reformed youth leader was heard in executive ses ses- rion Sidon He admitted being a national national na na- na- na Iti mal committeeman of the AmerIcan American American Amer Amer- ican League Against War Var and Fascism membership in its suc- suc the American League for Peace and Democracy membership member- member ship hip in the American Student Union as well as the American Youth congress Wrote rote Pacifist Tracts A t He e admitted further that he head ad written a number of ot pacifist tracts which at that time was the party line line line-as as witness film writer Dalton Trumbo's well wen received received received re- re Johnny Got His Gun if f The Republican members of the committee then said to Lash that In view of his out all-out redemption he probably would now assist the committee by offering Information on ion the workings of the front organizations organizations organizations or or- to which he had be be- longed f r f Lash grew quite indignant He Informed the committeemen that he was not before them in the therole therole therole role of stool pigeon He was re reminded reminded reminded re- re minded in turn that it was strange to be seeking a commission in naval intelligence on the one hand and nd on the other refusing to shed tight on a conspiracy against the United States But he would not budge and after he left the room Rep ep Thomas equally indignant Issued a suggestion to the press that Lash be drafted I The following day a a. messenger messenger arrived at Dies' Dies office with a lett letter letter let let- t ter r from Mrs Roosevelt accusing him of ot a double An anwer an- an iwer was asked for but Dies made mane Lone t. t 1 i Drafted Into Army Anny I Lash was inducted into the army amy and land assigned to meteorological work at near-by near Boiling Bolling field He continued to be a frequent White Whitehouse Bouse house guest and andas was as present atthe atthe at atthe the dinner the president gave for Prime Minister Winston Vinston Churchill and Md their military ad advisers sers on the Christmas after the attack on Pearl Harbor The committees committee's work continued In more important fields We made public the names positions and end salaries of government located in Washington ho were members of the Amer Amer- ican can Lea League e for Peace and lacy Iracy We Ve made an exhaustive ll search earch into the workings of 10 C CIO 10 unions and obtained sufficient sufficient dent evidence to pronounce them for the first time Communist ridden They were The fv-The National Maritime union united Cannery Packing and Al- Al led led Workers Federation of Architects Architects Archi Archi- Engines Chemists and Elec- Elec Fur Fair Workers International International union International Long- Long and Warehousemen's I 1 I union Transport Workers union United Office and Professional Workers union American Communications Communications Communications Com Com- association United Electrical Radio and Mechanical Workers of America and the United Furniture Workers of America Findings Con Confirmed finned The committees committee's findings long since have been confirmed by the attorney general and acknowledged acknowledged acknowledged edged by officials and workers in each of the unions named At about this same time in t the J life e of the committee two events too took place which were to Ignite tremendous controversy nearly a decade later The first event was visible tous tous to tous us though none of us caught its significance at the time In December December December De De- cember 1939 the committee located located lo located lo- lo and questioned V William Odell Nowell of Detroit Nowell a former fonner Communist trusted with carrying messages back and forth between this country and Moscow testified at length on the scope of the Red conspiracy In naming other Americans and American visitors he had worked with he testified fl Also in Moscow I met a Mr r. r Gebhardt who was from the German Communist party He was a German by birth butin butin but butin in recent years he had been interested interested in interested in- in in and working on American American American Amer Amer- ican problems So he had worked with the American commission of the Communist Communist Communist Com Com- International He traveled through America in 1933 and a portion of 1934 I believe I met him in 1933 As a representative of the he traveled under the alias of Edwards I would ask the reader to re remember remember remember re- re member those dates The other event of 1939 which later had tremendous effect on the committee took place obscurely obscure obscure- ly and without our notice An ex-Communist ex couriers courier's confidence confidence confidence con con- in his former Ideology had been sorely shaken by the Moscow- Moscow Berlin pact Forty-eight Forty hours after it was signed he came quietly to a decision which which which-in in time time shook shook the entire United States He made up his mind to expose his past and the activities of those with whom he had con con- His name was David Whittaker Chambers Read the eighth installment in Sundays Sunday's s Salt Lake Tribune In it Mr r. r Stripling inquires into several touch touchy cases including the link between the White WhiteHouse V hits House and the P A C 0 and receives re receives receives re- re an unexpected draft no no- tice Cop Copyright right 1949 King Features Syndicate |
