Evening star., 1934-04-12
ACCUSER OF WRIT
QUALITIES CHARGE
BulWinkIe Corrects House
Statement of failing
| During War.
Nv the Aseoriotsd presx

| oeItion tIlat Tie OaIy, AHu., oCAiooA'
master had served Jail term be-
cause Of "pro-German" activities dur
ing the World War.
In debate on the House floor yes
terday. Chairman Bulwinkle of the
Special House Investigating Commit
tee said:
I'VE are not prosecuting or perse-
cutting Dr. Writ, not in the least. He
was not here to be investigated. Ii
he had been I would have gone inIo
his private character. If he had been
would have brought out from him
the fact that during the war. on
account of his pro-German activities.
he was confined to jail at Gary, Ind.
Arrest Is Denied.
But as the speech appeared in the
Congressional Record today the last
sentence had been corrected to read
| If he had been I would have
! brought out from him the fact that
during the war, whether or not on
account of his pro-German activities.
he was confined to Jail at Gary. Ind. "
! Representative McGugin, Repub-
, lican, of Kansas, already had denied,
on authorization from former Senator
James A. Reed. DR.. Wirt's counsel,
that the Indianan ever had been ar
rested"
"The charge that DR.. Writ served
a term in Jail during the World War
Is wholly malicious and wholly false, "
! McGugin asserted.
n,r1uriv,Ela hne e. h
Carolina home for a few days visit
after comforting briefly with five of
/ the six persons present at a dinner
in Virginia last September. 1t was
| largely from conversation at that din
ner that DR. Writ said he had formed
his revolution" allegations.
All five persons who talked with
| Bulwinkle expressed desire to ap-
pear voluntarily next Tuesday to
| testify. asking that they not be given
official subpoenas.
The five were Miss Alice Barrows.
hostess at the dinner: Robert Bruere
of the Textile Code Advisory Commit
tee. David c. Coyle of the Public
Works Administration. Lawrence Todd,
representative of TaSs, the Soviet
news agency. and Mary A. Taylor. at
tached to the Farm Administration.
Hildegarde Kneeland, economist in
| the Bureau of Home Economics. Is
not in Washington, but Bulwinkle was
advised she would return in time for
the hearing.
Representative Swick. Republican.
of Pennsylvania. in statement in
the Congressional Record. said former
Senator Reeds association with the
case was proof to any patriotic Amer
ican that the situation is a serious
one"
ITO the CONSERVATION of the ma
jority members of the committee" he
said. there appears in the role OF
counsel for DR.. Writ none other than
! Jim Reed of Missouri, who is undoubt-
edly one OF, if not the outstanding.
Democrat in the United States.
There seems to be a we'll defined
determination on the part Of the COM
| mittee-the ma iority members. l
should say-to bring the hearing to a
quick determination. even though it
becomes necessary to resort to unpre-
i cedented and un-American practices
! 20 do so.
1T is not my purpose to say whether
the charges are true or untrue. I do
believe they are of sufficient gravity to
merit very thorough investigation.
L believe the patriotic sense Of
Americans will demand that this mat
ter be given the same thorough inves-
tigation as is given other questions of
much less Importance
First Lady Supported.
If the charges are false-and let us
hope they are-they should be proven
so beyond doubt, otherwise they will
hang like dark cloud over us and do
much to hinder recovery"
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt drew
support today for the comeback she
made at DR. Writ for calling her pet
subsistence homestead plans "a Com
munistic effort"
Representative Randolph. West
| Virginia Democrat. sent the First Lady
telegram complimenting her "coura-
geous answer" to the man whose
charges of Communist plotting within
the administration have started an
interparty row.
Referring to the Reedsville. w. Va.
subsistence homestead project. in
which Mrs. Roosevelt has been in
! terested. Randolph said she was help
ing mountaineers who have been
! down for the count OF nine" He
promised her support by the hill
people.
There were but few signs of abate-
ment today of the bitter feeling be-
tween Republicans and Democrats
, aroused by DR.. Wirt's "red plot"
charges.
The Gary educator said he would
have no reply to Mrs. Roosevelt S
statement that she failed to under
stand ''how he considers it Com
munistic to give people a chance to
earn their own living and buy their
own houses"
Will Stand on Feet.
Randolph said IN his message to
her that when she visited Reedsville
on June the people would show
their appreciation.
Through your active interest and
that of the new deal leaders," he
said. these discouraged folk will
again stand on their own feet and
! not continue to be kept on an un-
satisfactory dole which destroys ini-
/ tiative."
The plan involves purchase by the
Government Of land on which strand
ed groups of industrial workers are
given opportunity to earn a living and
! have home.
DR.. Writ was still in Washington
late last night and time for his de-
parture was uncertain, but he had
nothing further to say personally
about the charge.
There was continued speculation
here over the statement of william F.
Hodges. mayor of Gary during the
. war, that 'Dr. Writ is o. K"
| Hodges denied a statement preyi-
ously attributed to him that Bull
wrinkles charge was "a vicious lie. /"
explaining that statement was
garbled"