Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1920-04-25
Will CONSIDER
STANDING HERE
Of COMMUNISTS
Arguments End and Secretary
Wilson Takes Question Of
Aliens in Amusement
FLARE-UP In HEARING
Judge Anderson's Statement
Upheld by Attorney
Try The Associated pressl

WASHINGTON, ID. c., April "a
Secretary of Labor Wilson, after an
all-day argument, took under advise
ment tonight the question whether
membership in the communist labor
party in itself constituted grounds for
deportation of aliens. At the hearing
there was flare-up over statements
attributed TO Federal Judge Anderson
of Boston that the government "oper-
in this country" Swinburn Hale of
New York, upholding it, and j. Hoo
ates some part Of the communist party
yer Of the department of justice de
claring it an unjustifiable miscon-
ception of the facts.
Armed with communist literature,
Hoover attempted to show by quoting
lengthy excerpts the relationship be-
tween the communist labor party and
the third intcrnationale.
Asserting that John Reed, last re-
ported in Finland for affiliation with
the bolsheviki. was the founder of the
communist labor party, Hoover de-
clared ii was like all other communist
organizations, "a gang of cut-throat
aliens who have come to this country
to overthrow the government by
force"
Attributes Strikes to Communists.
Fifty per cent Of the influence be-
hind the railroad strikes. Hoover said,
was directly traccable to the commu-
mist organizations. Attorney General
Palmer tonight denied the statement
by Hale at today's hearing that Louis
c. Fraina, described as secretary of
the communist party in America. was
an agent for the department of jus
ticc. Fraina, he said, had never rem
dered any service to the department.
Inforuants Were Used.
Discussing the departments activi-
ties in connection with raids and de-
portation proceedings, the attorney
general said:
Certain statements have recently
appeared in the public press to the
effect that the department of justice
has had its agents actively identified
in the formation Of the communist
party and the communist labor party,
and was to a large extent responsible
for the agitation and unrest caused
by those two organizations through
their propaganda. There is no foun-
dation whatever for this charge OF
course the department has used con-
fidential information ever since its
bureau of investigation was estab-
ished, but they are under strict in
structions not to engage actively in
any organization under their investi-
cation. There is no instance in the
administration Of the department Of
justice where any confidential inform
ant has ever actively engaged in the
counsels of the communist party or
the communist labor party. One Of
the specific instances charged to the
confidential informants of the de-
partment of justice is to the effect
that they were instrumental in the
holding of meetings of the communist
party Jan. 81, 1920. That was the
regular meeting night of the commu-
mist party throughout the country.
Friday Of each month.
individuals Held Without Warrant.
Certain references have been
made to the holding Of individuals
without warrants in the deportation
proceedings. In the large number of
simultaneous arrests made throughout
Ahe country there were naturally a
few isolated cases in which individ-
uals were arrested for whom no war
rants were in hand. Sometimes this
resulted from mistaken Identification
and sometimes because of other cir
cumstanccs not easily foreseen. They
were negligible in numbers and war
rants were promptly requested for
such persons when taken into custody
by the department of labor.