Evening star., 1939-10-15
Communist ACTIVITY
AT Navy Yard Halted, ,
Dies Inquiry Hears
Russio Sent Agents to
Procure Industrial
Secrets, Witness Says
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

BY JAMES E. CHINN.
Communist activities at the Wash
ington Navy Yard went under
ground" in February, according to
information given the House Com
mittee on Un-American Activities
yesterday by source which men,
bers declined to reveal.
The Communists, who up to that
time repeatedly had been active in
seeking recruits among workers at
the big naval gun factory and pub
fishing a periodical called "The
Navy Yard Worker" suddenly ceased
their activities, 1t was said, when
Acting Secretary of the Navy Edison
asked Congress for legislation giving
Army and Navy authorities a new
and modern weapon with which to
deal with subversive movements.
The draft of bill proposed by
Mr.. Edison, however, is still in
House committee.
Letter to Bankhead.
In a letter to Speaker bankhead
urging enactment of the proposed
legislation, Acting Secretary Edison
said:
Literature of nature subversive
to the Government has been dis
tributed in increasing quantities in
recent years to the personnel of
the Army and Navy. The literature,
apparently emanating from Com
munist organizations, seeks to un-
dermine the morale of the services
by urging disloyalty and disobedi-
ence OF laws and regulations for the
Government of the armed forces.
Existing law is inadequate to
curb this propaganda. -"
Mr.. Edison also pointed out that
the legislation he proposed would
not infringe on the rights of free
speech or free press and would not
prevent any person from advocating
a change in existing laws by lawful
means"
1T does, however" he added,
prevent persons from urging men,
bers of the armed forces to violate
laws and regulations by which they
are governed"
Communists Keeping Quiet.
All other information given the
committee in the last few days, in
connection with its intensive inves-
tigation of Communist activities at
the Navy Yard, indicates that if
there are Communists in the plant,
they are keeping quiet. Even the
report seized in the raid on the
Communist party's Washington
headquarters about 10 days ago
declared "our work" at the Navy
Yard is "at standstill."
Six Navy Yard workers were
questioned by the committee last
week behind closed doors. Four
others whose names were furnished
voluntarily by a union official at
the plant are to be called later.
Meantime. the committee is await
ing receipt of any reports the naval
intelligence may have as to Com
munist activities at the yard.
The committee plans to resume
Its public hearings tomorrow at 10
am, at which time it will call sew
eral union leaders who were identi-
fed as Communists by former wit
nesses.
One Witness at Hearing.
The only witness at yesterdays
two-hour public hearing was Robert
Pitcoff, New York electrician,
who identified himself as former
official in the control department
of Amtorg, official Soviet trading
corporation in the United States.
Mr.. Pitcoff, who said he was
member of the Communist party in
the United States from 1926 to 1888,
told the committee Russia had sent
numerous commissions to this coun-
try to procure information, secret
or otherwise, in American industrial
plants, especially those engaged in
the manufacture of munitions.
Amtorg. he declared, arranged for
the visits of these special missions
to the industrial plants.
BY visiting the industrial plants,
through the purchase of equipment
and through Communist party
agents, the witness testified, the
Russian commissions were to get
secret information.
IF Communist party member
In any plant is requested for infor-
nation, he's certainly going to try to
obtain it," he declared
Wanted Aviation Information.
The Soviet government, he said,
was especially anxious to procure
information about the aviation in
dustry because it considered Amer
lean planes superior to those of
other countries. He said many air.
plane engines and obsolete planes
had been purchased from Amer
acan manufacturers.
Mr.. Pitcof also charged that Am
torg has special department on
aviation headed by military off,
cials of the Soviet government. A
good percentage" of Amtorg en-
ployes, he said, are Communist party
members.
The witness testified, too, that
special efforts were made by the
Communist party to get American
citizens affiliated with it employed
as Ogpu agents and placed in the
industrial plants. Americans" he
said, have better access in those
plans to be investigated"