Evening star., 1938-12-06
James Roosevelt Gave
Nothing 10 Church,
Minister Says
Presidents Son Criticized
At Dies Hearing by
Washington Pastor
By the Associated Press.

lodoE SlitlClIcO cdlIlcS ttOOSeVclJ.
the Presidents son, for apparent
neglect to make church contribu-
tions.
The Rev. Howard Stone Anderson,
minister of the First Congregational
Church here and the first of a
series of Affirmative witnesses be-
fore the House Committee on Un-
American Activities, said in a
statement which was entered in the
Record:
"A young man of great political
prominence (James ROOSEVELT, with
exceedingly large income, recently
caused his income-tax reports for
several years to be printed Since
they were printed at his request, I
suppose there is no objection to a
comment on them.
Zone thing interested me as a
minister. In not a single year had
he contributed to a church. And
In only one year did his gifts out
of income running into five figures
exceed s28 per annum.
Feels Public Men Should Lead.
Actions like his are responsible
for the loss in support for benevo-
lent organizations And as we weak
en- our spiritual institutions, we
weaken America. Public men, in
the Nations eye. can, by their eX-
ample, lead their fellow Americans
in personal and practical support of
religious work.
Give the churches proper large
financial support and enable them
TO fulfill their mission in implanting,
cultivating and perpetuating whole
some Americanism I" ="
The Rev. Mr.. Anderson said the
Nations public men should lead the
country in moral rearmament, and
added:
There is more pious pap written
and tumpeted by public men about
their interest in religion than I
like to consider. But when the
Sunday congregations or collections
are counted, they're not there
either physically or financially"
The minister was the first of a
group asked by the committee to
submit suggestions for promoting
"Americanism"
Spiritual Decline"
The Rev. Mr.. Anderson said there
was ample evidence of the spiritual
decline and moral decay" of. Ameri-
can education, family life, democracy
and moral ideals.
Educational institutions have di-
vorced themselves from religious
connection, the minister said.
And as for American homes, he
declared:
They are turning to Saturday
night Jamborees and Sunday after
noon cocktail parties, which is
about as far from the early
American tradition as He'll is from
Heaven"
The Rev. Mr.. Anderson said he
had letters from 20 members of
congress who were members of his
denomination, saying they were in
terested in church aff1liation here
and promising attendance at church
services.
"As Bad as Heathens."
But" he added, in practice they
are as bad as heathens who believe
only in geographical or local gods,
for apparently the god they worship
exists only mack home, where they
are elected
The Rev. Mr.. Anderson's state
ment came during a resumption of
the committees inquiry into charges
by some previous witnesses that
communistic activities existed in
the w. P. A. Federal theater project
in New York City.
When Mrs. Ellen S. Woodward.
assistant w. P. A. administrator, re-
sumed the witness stand Represent
atlve Mosier, Democrat, of Ohio, a
committee member, renewed his mo-
ton Of yesterday that she be dis
qualified as witness. He con-
tended that what she testified was
hearsay, but Chairman Dies again
refused to put the motion to vote.
Denies Putting Theater First.
Mrs. Halle Flanagan, national di-
rector OF the theater project, fol-
lowed her superior to the witness
stand to deny that she ever had
placed the Theatrical purpose" of
the theater ahead of the necessity
for providing relief to needy pro-
fessional actors.
Under questioning of committee
members, Mrs. Flanagan said she
had spent most of her time in
Russia on a trip abroad in 1926
and 1927, and expressed the opinion
that the Russian theater was more
vital and live" than theaters in
other European countries.
But, she said in reply to COM
mittee questions. she is not nor
has been a member of any Russian
organization.
Mrs. Flanagan said, I'VE have
maintained constantly" since the
inception of the theater project
that "it be founded on American
principles. and that has nothing to
do with the Russian theater."
Chairman Dies said the commit
tee would hear more than a score
OF persons on the subject. William
Green, president of the American
Federation of Labor, was one of
the prospective witnesses, he said.
The committee yesterday heard
testimony on charges that Com
munists are active in certain w. p A.
Federal theater and writer's prof.
ects in New York City.
Mrs. Ellen S. Woodward, an as
sistant w. P. A. administrator, tes-
titled she knew of no such activities.
If any of the charges are true,
It's such little, tiny thing that
1t might be compared to a f1yspeck
on big pie" she said.
Earlier witnesses had asserted
that rs of the 924 plays of the
w. p. A. Theater were communistic
and that Communist party organ
tiers were active in the undertaking.