Evening star., 1939-10-25

should not be made public" declared
Mr.. Mason. If the members are
doing the things the statements in
dicate, why should we keep their
names sub rosa?"
Mr.. Mason said he had a list Of
1877 members Of the league in the
Government, service whose salaries
range from 5000 to $4,000 a year.
Mr.. Dies said it seemed to him
the activities of the league here
constituted "a systematic effort to
penetrate the Government by an
organization under the Com
muniStS."
Minutes Read.
Chairman Dies read excerpts from
bulletins of the local branch as well
as from purported minutes of its
executive committee. He said he
did this to illustrate how the league
goes to work"
From the purported minutes of a
meeting held in the home of Mrs.
Fowler last January %, Mr.. Dies
read that the legislative committee
of the Washington branch had been
instructed to Work out definite
legislative program on neutrality
legislation. Get list of friendly
Congressman and have teas and
luncheons for them"
And from the minutes of a general
membership meeting October 4,
1888, Mr.. Dies said the following
suggestion" was made to the men,
bership committee for a member
ship drive.
set up league committees in va
rious Government agencies with our
present membership in those agen-
cies as nucleus"
Bulletins Read.
Also from a mimeographed bull
letin said to have been issued by the
local branch May 4, Mr.. Dies read:
This sheet is the suggestion of a
group of active workers in govern
ment agency committees who met
last Thursday afternoon. Its pur-
pose is to give brief summary of
the important events of the next
few weeks so that key people will
know about them and be able to
plan work on them. 1t will be pre-
pared every two weeks and sent to
leading people in league committees
in government agencies and other
organiZa tionS.
The important events listed, to
which Chairman Dies called par
ticular attention, we're:
May 6-Picketing at the Peoples
Drug Store at Fourteenth and U
streets NV, in support of the new
Negro alliance campaign to force
Peoples to hire Negro clerks. I'm
portant to have a real crowd"
May 13-N tional emergency
conference on civil rights legislation
at the Raleigh Hotel. Plans for ac-
tion to defeat various Fascist bills
now before Congress such as the
Dempsey and Hobbs bills"
May 17-League membership
meeting. Place to be announced
David LASER of the Workers ALI
ance and member of the national
committee of the league will prob
ably speak and G. panel of experts
will discuss problems of w. P. A.
workers and pending legislation"
May 19-New Negro alliance pre-
sents Bury the Dead at the Howard
Theater at BIS pm. Tickets at the
Book Shop, 55 cents to $1.50."
The committee heard two wit
nesses yesterday - Francis Adams
Henson, 1928 G. street NV, and
Mrs. Clinton M. Barr of Milwaukee,
Wis.
Mr.. Henson, who said he was CO.
secretary with Donald Henderson of
the American League Against War
and Fascism, immediate predecessor
of the American League for Peace
and Democracy, told the committee
he and a number of Socialists de-
serted the league after reaching
decision it was dominated by Com
munists and fellow travellers.
Mrs. Barr detailed the circum-
stances surrounding decision she
made last September not to make
a scheduled radio speech over Sta
ton WTMJ in Milwaukee. She said
her refusal followed revision of her