-

.. ·,,. . i 

.:.-·'-! .. " . . .. ~ .. i 

-."" .. 

C?~-A: 

Records Management Brancb 

Off Ice of the 1-.djutant Gfneral 

Rna 18 i!b7A, NAVSECSTA 

If.II 1 l"J .lo 

REF ID:A42817 

· i;pproved for Release _: -< 

DY NSA on 01-26-2015 

oursuantto E.O. 13526 _ .. 
• 

• 

• 

REF ID:A42817 

. --

Washington (DC) Star, September 1 

' 1942 

Holland Reiterates 

~ttack on ·Tribune, 

Patterson Papers 

Soys Jops Were 'Tipped 

Off' That Navy Had 

Broken Secret Code 

I!) lh• A»oc1al.ed Pren. 

Represent.atlve Holland, Democrat.; 

of Pennsylvania told the House yes- · 

lerday that "Amerlca.n boys wllJ die. 

because of I.he help lrirnLshed our i 

enemies by Joe Pa.t\erson, Robert l 

McCormick and Eleanor Patterson 

through the Chicago Tribune, the 

New York Daily News and the Wa:shln1t0n Times-Herald.'' · He contended it was public knowledge that a. story publLshed in the 

three papers concerning the com- position of the Japanese neet at the 

battle of Midway "tipped off the 

Japanese high command that. some- how our Na.vy ha.d secured a.nd 

broken the secret code or the Ja.pa- nese Na.vy." 

"Three days a.ft.er the Tribune 

story waa published the Japs 

changed their code." Representative 

Holland said In another of i;everal 

speeche11 criticizing the t.hree papers; 

and their publl.shers. ' 

Deprived nf Advanlal:"e. I 

' "Through the unthinking and: 

'll:lcked misuse of freedom of the I prcg.~. by the Tribune. ou1· side h11d ~cen deprived of 11. military 11d1'11ntaiie of enormous utility," Holla.nd 

contlnuP.d. 

He referred to the finding or the 

Chicago gr11nd jury that the Chicago 

Tribune did not violate the Espl- ' 

onage Act 1n publishing the Midway I 

atory, but added: • i 

"In the proceedlng11, the Chica.go ' 

Tribune convinced itself of prA.Ctlc-1 

i,ng 11. journallstlc conndence game, ; 

11long with Its fellow p11rtners of the I 

vermin press, the Wa:shlngton TlmeHeriild and the New York Daily I 

Newi;. ' 

.' "Robert McCormick bland!~· plead-1 ed. In I.he defense o! his ne\\•spaper 

Etory. that they were not culled from 

naval int..elllgence documents. Al· i 

~houi;h the 11tory sLatcd that iL ..w11s; 

based on Information rccei\'td from I 

'tlavRl lnt-elllg1mce' and was printed 'I 

. under a. Washington dat.e line, the 

Chlcae;o Tribune said that w111; Just 

done t.o deceh•e·jl.s readers··. I 

8peculales nn Action. 

· ''I wonder," Holland continued. 

"whether the military brapchcs of 

the Government wanted a. true b!ll 

returned? . . . Is It not possible 

that when our navd officers and ; our legal otncers sat do\\'n to work 

out their case against the Tribune, 

It became pl11ln to them that the 

trial or the case would reveal, or necessity, how that code came into our possession and other secrets of 

naval intelllgence-not already re- vealed by the traitorous triumvirate, 

the New York Dally News, the . Washington Times-Herald a.nd the 

Chica.go Tribune-which the Japs . would gladly sacrifice a. battleship 

to learn?'' 

Mr. Holland said "three days ·be- 1' 

fore Pearl Harbor, these jackals o! 

journalism secured and published ! our master plan or war, delivered · to the President under the signature I or Lhe chief of nave.I operations 11nd · the chle! or st:tff of the Army." I 

''.How long." he asked, "are we / 

going to be stabbed in the back at I 

home while our brave soldierl!., 

sal!Ol"l! and marines :fight !or our lives abroad?" 

Scott Quei;lions Holland. I 

Rep:-esentatlve Scott, RepubUcan. · ~( Pennsylvania. asked Mr. Holland I 

1r he had proor that t.he Lhree news- papers \\'ere "friends of Hitler" Rnd i 

EUggested. IC he had, that Mr. Hol- , land "waive his congreS1Slonal Im- r. muniW and submit that proof to a ~· 

court of law &0 that It can be prop- i; 

erly established. I 

"I think the proper place and the 1 

proper forum to decide such mat- ; ~rs," Mr. Scott said. "hs Lhe forum l 

where :he defendant h11.s an oppor- l 

tunlty to be heard 11nd to answer." ; Repre~entatlve Holland responded 1 that "all you have to do ls reed 

t.he cd\Lorlals or the Chicago Trib- une and comi-are them" with th05e · a ppearfng In papers in France and 

Austria before those countries \\"ere . conquered. He continued: I 

"He (Col. McCormick) may un- consciously be a friend of Hitler be- l cause when a. man's hate becomes so' 

great that he hates 11. certain indl- j vldual and lo.ses all reasoning power. ~hlch I believe the Patterson.s and j Col. McCormick have, they may feel 

that any thing they can do for Hit· I· 

ler or to dil!rupt our war effort. Is ! 

i;:olng to embarrass our commander 

in chief.'·' ' I 

I 

I 

i 

I 

J 

I