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Show Religious Fuss Caused by Probe House Committee Asks Minister of Red Ties LOS ANGELES The House un-American un-American activities committee inquiry in-quiry into filmland Communists here created a religious controversy as an unexpected side-light. Religious leaders commented both pro and con on whether the committee com-mittee had the right to call Dr. Stephen H. Fritchman, local Unitarian Uni-tarian minister, before it and question ques-tion his alleged Communistic activities. ac-tivities. The argument reached the editorial edito-rial columns of the Los Angeles Times. A letter-to-the-editor published pub-lished in that newspaper from Dr. George A. Warmer, district superintendent super-intendent of the Methodist church, denounced the committee in its move against the Unitarian minister. min-ister. The letter termed the committee's commit-tee's activities "pressure par excellence ex-cellence against freedom of religion, right of assemblage and free thought in the realm of morals." "All Protestantism must recognize recog-nize that this is the path Hitler traveled to power," it said. "It is McCarthyism in flower." Dr. Warmer stated that the committee com-mittee "declares war on the right to think and let think and damns the consciencemakers as subversives sub-versives even though no evert act can be attached to their operations." opera-tions." The Times commented editorially that "Dr. Warmer appears to be so utterly mistaken that his letter cannot be allowed to pass without challenge." |