Omaha daily bee., 1922-03-17
Move Made
Release
House Committee Urged 10
Report Resolution Asking
President Ia Act in Case
of Political Con,icls.
Clashes Feature Debate

IVY ihr Ns~"f'ntrd ffesst
/ Washington, March l6,-ln the
face oi apparent aud oulspoken op-
/ position. lawyers and representatives
Of various liberal organizations
pleaded with the house judiciary
committee today to report resoiu-
ton asking the president to give
careful consideration" 10 the nro
/ priely Of granting immediate amnes-
~ TO llj political prisoners sery-
ing long terms for violation OF the
espionage act
Committeeman indicated that the
resolution never would pass, in
sisting that congress had no right TO
direct the president in such matters.
especially because OF the lack OF on"
portunity 10 review the cases. Gilbert
L. Roc, an attorney Of New York.
who advocated the general principle
OF amnesty said, when questioned,
that lie saw no improperly in re-
questing the president, the attorney
general and the secretary OF war 10
look into the appeals because "the
resolution seems as harmless as the
four-power treaty"
Clashes at Hearing.
Speaking for the American Fedora
ton of Labor. +. II. Wallace de-
clared war laws were necessary. that
they should have been enforced. but
now in peace times there was no
good reason for keeping wartime
offenders in Jail.
There were many clashes between
members OF the committee and wit
nesscs. Representative Yates, repub-
lican. Illinois, charged that Repre-
sentative London, socialist. New
York, author OF the resolution, who
declared he would free men con-
victed OF violence il they did so be-
cause Of deep religious feeling, WAS
advocating violence. which Mr.. Lon
don was quick to deny.
Another verbal clash conferred
around Harry Weinberg, a New
York lawyer, one time counsel for
Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, the draft
dodger, who added that he had
nothing whatever to do with Berg
dolls escape" In a tilt with Repre-
sentative Reavis, republican, Ne
braska, Weinberg said he would ex-
press his "opiuion on political and
economic questions at any time and
any place, despite the supreme court
of the United States a
Time Called on Lawyer. s..
Referring to the s-4ease Of some
offenders, Weinberg charged that one
obtained his liberty through the in-I
tercession Of the Italian ambassador,
and some of his comment drew from
members the reminder that they
would not sit there aud hear the pres
ident and attorney general criticized.
This was after the lawyer had stat
ed that one of the men in whose
behalf he had appealed did not get
out because he did not happen to be
"a trust nlagnate." Weinberg de-
MED any desire to criticize the presl-
dent. Time was called on him while
he was still trying to speak.
Miss Caroline Lowe Of Kansas
City, counsel for a number Of |. w.
w. members tried in Wichita, cbars-
ed that men arrested i'll the famous
Oklahoma case" were oil workers
and that the anilnus back Of their ar
rest "was the determination on the
part of oil operators to crush any
attempt on the part of the workers
to organize"
Frequent references were made to
the pardon OF Eugene Y. Debs, and
on this point some OF the witnesses
expressed conflicting views Many
agreed, however, that President
Harding's list of Christmas pardons
contained the names OF persons who
have served terms which, they in
sisted, were more serious than those
charged against "the political pris-
oners."
Miss Theodore Pollock, convicted
in Sacramento, Cal, and fined, came
here to testify, but committeeman
said her recital of the trial had
no bearing OF the resolution.