Evening star., 1936-03-26
Indianan Charged School
Board Members Were
Communists.
KENNEDY is EXPECTED
BACK IN CAPITAL TODAY
Motion to Reconsider Exclusion
of 258 Pages of Testimony
Rejected in Committee.
BY JAMES E. CHM.


Democrat, of Indiana, who recently
made some blanket accusations about
members of the Board of Education
being Communists, was indirectly re-
quested today by Chairman Norton OF
| the House District Committee to reveal
the evidence on which she based the
! charges.
| Mrs. Norton wrote to Chairman
| Kennedy of the Education Subcoms
mittee of the House District Commits
tee, suggesting that the hearings on
the so-called red rider" on the 1885
District appropriation act be reopened
| SO Mrs Jenckes could disclose the
basis Of her allegations,
Action of Mrs. Norton followed q
meeting at which Mrs. JenckeS was
severely criticized by several Of her
colleagues for attacking the School
Board members without supporting
her charges with evidence.
Mrs. Nortons letter. dated March
25, read:
"At the meeting of the District OF
Columbia Committee this morning
l
vote that was taken at the last meet
ing to exclude the 258 pages OF ma.
terial included in the appropriation
hearings and failed to get a second
to her motion despite the fact that
a quorum was present.
1T was the consensus of the COM
mittee that she be granted special
hearing before the subcommittee Of
which you are chairman in order to
get before the subcommittee the evi.
dence on which she bases her charges
against the Board of Education"
Kennedy Returns Today.
Chairman Kennedy was not in
Washington when Mrs. Jenckes made
her appearance before the full Dis
trict Committee, but he is expected
to return some time today and de-
eide whether to arrange a special
hearing in accordance with the sug.
gestion of the committee members.
Mrs. Jenckes, patriot and bitter
foe of the Sisson bill to repeal the
; red rider" discussed alleged COM
munistic inroads into the public
schools before the House Subcommit-
tee on Appropriations during recent
hearings on the 1887 District supply
bill. She also appeared before the
Education Subcommittee of the Dis
trict, which held hearings on the
Sisson bill, during which she hurled
the charges about School Board
members.
Very little was said in congressional
circles about her testimony until yes
terday. when she went before the
House District Committee and urged
that 258 pages of testimony about the
red rider" in the record of the hear
ings before the Appropriations Sub
committee be included in the record
of the hearings on the Sisson bill.
= Representative Schultz, who, like
Mrs. Jenckes, is an Indiana Democrat,
turned to her and said:
There was q blanket indictment OF
every member of the Board OF Edu-
cation being a Communist. That's
i a very serious charge indeed. If that's
e true we have right to know it.
S believe there should be another hear
S ing at which the lady from Indiana
4 can be given an opportunity to sup
port her charge"
Behind the red rider" controversy
K hovers the ghost of Representative
S Blanton, Democrat, of Texas, who had
: it attached to the 1886 appropriation
d act and who has threatened to do
e everything in his power to prevent it
from being repealed.
= Chronologically, here's what has
e happened thus far:
= The recent hearings before the
:, House Subcommittee on Appropria-
r tions. which framed the 1887 District
S supply BILL were devoted to an ex-
d tended discussion of the red rider"
Blanton was chairman of that sub
o committee. One of the witnesses to
n appear in support of the red rider"
t was Mrs. Jenckes.
\ Blanton Request Denied.
e At the conclusion of the hearings
Blanton asked unanimous consent OF
= the House to have 1000 copies of the
|. testimony on the red rider" printed
d separately The request was denied.
but Blanton found way to have 1000
copies printed without consent OF the
House. Many of these copies have
already been distributed to members
of Congress.
. When the Education Subcommittee
of the District Committee began hear
inss on the Sisson bill, Mrs. Jenckes
also testified and called attention to
:, her statements before the Appropria-
= tions Subcommittee, requested that the
:, entire red rider" discussion, cover
. . ing 258 pages, be included in the rec
. ord. Mrs. Norton said that 200 OF
these pages were taken up with ques-
!, tions by Blanton.
When the District Committee met
=. after conclusion of the red rider"
hearings Representative Nichols.
Democrat, of Oklahoma made q mo-
ton that the 258 pages be excluded
from the record, but mentioned in
] reference to the hearings before the
Appropriations Subcommittee. The
motion was adopted.
:. Later. however. Nichols wrote Mrs.
. Norton and said he would withdraw
. his motion If the committee would ap-
, prove. But the committee remained
y adamant despite the plea Of Mrs.
% Jenckes.
Mrs. Norton took the position that
), her committee should not be made
d responsible for printing testimony
c taken before Blanton's Subcommittee
on Appropriations.