Evening star., 1939-12-28
Special Jury
To Probe Spy
Here
Group to Be Called
To Meet January 2,
Murphy Says

Climaxing lengthy investigation
by the Department of Justice, spe-
clal grand jury will be summoned
here January to go into "espionage
and sabotage matters" Attorney
General Murphy announced today.
The Attorney General said the in
quiry will be Nation wide and under
an unusual procedure information
developed here which touches on
offenses in other jurisdictions will be
turned over to the prosecuting agen-
cies there.
The Attorney General said the
inquiry under way by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation for more
than six months had developed evi-
dence of sabotage in automobile
plants and plans for further sabot-
age in the automobile, aircraft and
munitions industries.
Will Probe Anti -Semitism.
Asked if the sabotage had been
committed lin the interest of some
foreign government or to aid some
labor leaders" the Attorney Gen.
eral said I'VE believe it has been for
the benefit of foreign nations.
The grand jury procedure which
the Attorney General said would be
OF some duration also is going into
"anti-Semitic activities" as well as
other "anti-isms' the Attorney Cen
eral said. This phase of the inquiry
would reach both organiza tons and
personalities. One newsman asked
if the "anti-Semitic activies of
Father Coughlin" were coming
under scrutiny.
mo complaint of any kind ever
has been placed in this department
against Father Couglin'
The Rev. Charles E. Coughlin. De-
trcit radio priest, has come In for
criticism because of anti-Semitic
broadcasts from Royal Oak, Mich.
Freedom of Religion.
The Attorney General indicated he
attached great Importance 20 the
anti-Semitic inquiry. declaring he
believes it is the function of the
department ito see to it that the
freedom of religion is guaranteed
to all the people"
This may be the beginning Of
something that may mean a great
deal toward orderliness under
democracy
Reverting to the inquiry directed
at foreign agents, the Attorney
General said he wanted it under
stood that representatives Of more
than one country are involved and
that where aliens are convicted they
will be deported without delay.
Touching on one phase of the in
quiry which ended here yesterday,
with the filming of two represent
atives of Bookniga Inc. a Soviet
propaganda distributing agency, Mr..
Murphy said that more than 400
pounds of record books had been
seized in the Bookniga establish
ment in New York and that these
contained names of persons who are
to be investigated. The names are
not going to be given out however,
because Mr.. Murphy said the de-
partment does not want to smear"
these people
Labor Doubted Responsible.
The Attorney General said that
the automobile plant sabotage has
been mostly in Michigan. One of
his hearers asked if any of It was
traceable to Workmen and he ampli-
fled his previous comment in this
regard by saying that he realizes
that in strikes labor, in the heat
of passion. might do this or that"
but that actions of this sort were
not what the department is aim
ing at.
Mr.. Murphy said that he attached
more Importance to the plan for
sabotage that have been barred than
to the acts of sabotage. The Attor-
ney General recently announced
that the F. B. I. had set up machin-
cry for coping effectively with in
dustrial sabotage.
The indictment yesterday named
Boris Nikolsky, president of Book
nlga, Inc, a New York corporation
described as the agent of Mezh.
knige Of Moscow, official Soviet pro-
paganda outlet; I. A. Ilyin. secretary
treasurer, and the corporation itself.
Fines Promptly Paid.
When the pleas of guilty were
entered before Justice Jennings
Bailey in Criminal Division of Dis
trict Court, he fined the president
and the corporation $1,000 each, and
the secretary $780, The fines were
promptly paid, and defense counsel
announced that Nikolsky shortly
would return to Russia, and that
the bookshop operated by Bookniga,
Inc, in New York would be closed.
BOOkniga Inc. is the successor to
Bookniga Corp, three of whose for
mer officers were indicted here two
weeks ago. After the pleas yester-
day. Horace S. Whitman of defense
counsel said his clients did not
admit they were distributing mat
tiers of political and propaganda
nature" He said a large part of
their business was the exchange of
Russian and American scientific lit
erature, and that the retirement of
their company will be felt by the
various universities and scientific
organizations of both this country