Evening star., 1939-12-23
Dies Reported Aiming
To 'Get' New Deal
eft-Wingers
Such Efforts Seen
As Aiding Garner
In Presidency Race
(LaSt OF q Series.)

By the Associated Press.
It's as plain on the record as the
nose on your face that Martin Dies
and the Roosevelt administration
don't trust each other.
The head Of the committee on un-
American activity has been dubbed
an outstanding zany by the admin
istration's Secretary of Interior,
Harold L. 1ckes. Mr.. Dies has &C.
cused administration favorites OF
hrboring Communists and trying to
laugh him into the ounces corner.
There are whispers around Wash
ington that Mr.. Dies is out get the
New Deal, or at least the so-called
left-wingers in it, which, If true,
would undoubtedly do no harm to
his friend Mr.. Garner's campaign for
the presidential nomination.
Trouble Over Money.
The trouble started with the first
congressional resolution authorizing
Mr.. Dies to give the country $25, 900
worth Of subversive material.
mot enough money" said Mr..
Dies, which was quite true Witnesses
alone cost IS a day and transporta-
ton. not to mention the lawyers, in
vestigators, statisticians, stenogra-
pliers and secretaries required for a
complete survey of any given subject.
Aware 1t was handing Mr.. Dies
chicken feed, Congress requested the
Roosevelt administration to supply
experts from the Government de-
partments. But none was forth
coming.
The Justice and Labor Depart
ments and the w. P. A. had nothing
but polite excuses to offer this friend
Of Cactus Jack" Garner's. In fact,
Mr.. Dies said the only offer OF
help he got came from the La Fol-
lette Civil Liberties Committee and
he branded that an effort to sabo-
tage his committees work.
Shirley Temple Episode.
Then came the Shirley Temple
episode. wherein Witness j. B. Mat
thews, former national chairman of
the American League for Peace and
Democracy, testified Communistic
organs were using famous people as
decoys. Among these, he said, was
Shirley Temple.
They've found dangerous Com
munists in Hollywood, led by little
Shirley Temple" guffawed Secre-
tary Ickes.
Perhaps it was fortunate that
Shirley Temple was born an Ameri-
can" tee-heed Secretary Perkins.
They're trying to hamstring and
dlscredit the investigation" yelled
Mr.. Dies. But there does seem to
be general agreement now that the
committees early work was pretty
shoddy. Mr.. Dies himself comedies
that 10 per cent of the witnesses
were crack pots.
Just before the November elec-
tions in 1888, Mr.. Dies swung the
spotlight of his investigation west.
ward and the testimony began tc
SINCE New Dealers fighting hard TO,
reelection.
Heat Put on Murphy.
When Mr.. Dies let a witness o.
two turn the heat on Gov. Murphy
for not stopping the Flint sit-dowr
strikes, the President himself step.
ped into the fray. He said the com.
mlttee was n-American for lettine
witnesses say things to besmirch q
candidate just before election time
That, he said, was influencing elec.
tions.
The President hasn't read the
record retorted Mr.. Dies. Hes
mlslnformed.' But anyway, a size.
able section of the Democratic party
accused MIR. Dies of helping his owr
party lose 10 seats in Congress ir
1888, as we'll as the governorship Of
Michigan.
More recently, Dies witnesses tes.
titled that Communist front or.
ganizations' were using the names
OF the President and Mrs. Roosevelt
to affect an aura of respectable,
to influence wavering prospects
Both the President and Mrs. Roose.
velt considered the accusations unfi1
for comment. although Mrs. Roose.
velt indicated her willingness tc
appear before the Dies Committee
in the interest of truth"
Not long ago the committee reao
into the record 565 names of Gov.
ernment employees on the mailing
list of the American League fol-
Peace and Democracy. There was
no intimation that these people hao
anything to do with Communism
although Mr.. Dies charges the
league is front for Communism
The league admits 10 per cent o1
its members are Communists, ano
Communist Earl Browder agrees
the Communists consider the league
a transmission belt" for its ideas
Names Create FURRY.
At any rate, when the names
appeared, there was a furry of in.
digation among Government EN-.
ployes.
"sordid procedure" said Presi.
dent Roosevelt.