Evening star., 1940-01-16
League Of Democracy
Meetings. Speakers
AssaiI Dies
Representative Coffee
Washington Stote Hits
Move for Further Probe

Avowed liberals from many walks
Of life gathered last night at Stop
Dies Donor Dinner" to attack pro-
posals that the Dies Committee In
vestigating Un-American Activities
be continued for another term
through additional appropriations
from Congress.
Out-of-town liberals and members
Of the Washington branch Of the
American League for Peace and De-
mocracy, led by Representative John
M. Coffee, Democrat, Of Washington,
and former Representative Bernard
of Minnesota, launched a renewed
assault on attempts to perpetuate
the committee, which lost its author
ity to function at the start of the
year.
Mr.. Coffee bitterly attacked Chair
man Dies and his committee-ex-
cepting three Democratic members
Dempsey Of New Mexico. Voorhis of
California and Casey Of Massachu-
setts)-in foreseeing a fate for the
United States similar to that of
Germany. Chairman Dies has as
cribed subversive activities to liberal
and progressive organizations in the
same way Nazis blamed liberals for
every crime and disaster in Ger
many, Mr.. Coffee stated.
Sees Menace to Liberals.
"The Dies committee is a menace
to civil liberties" he told the gath
nriv ci1 o,,v11
the Communists, he'll soon be apply
ing the same treatment to the c. I.
O., the A. F. L., the Negroes, the
Catholic Church and all liberal
thinking organizations"
Mr.. Coffee demanded to know why
the Dies committee had neglected to
investigate Father Coughlin and his
associates, and the Ku Klux Khan
and the Black Shirts. He expressed
the thought that this might be be-
cause the Dies group was pro-Fascist.
Mr.. Coffee criticized liberals who
desert the movement in moments
of stress. The sole aim of the COM
mittee, he said, was to smear the
liberals, undermine the New Deal
and eliminate the progressive func-
tions of organized labor.
Concluding, Mr.. Coffee named
"Texas conspiracy"-as members of
which he named Vice President
Garner, Mr.. Dies and Senators
Sheppard and Connolly-as instiga-
tors of "a great deal of trouble"
Cites "Christian Front" Arrest.
Abraham ISSerman, New York
attorney, charged the Dies commit
tee with responsibility for "the type
of vigilante activity" manifest in the
Christian Front organization, II
members of which were arrested by
the Department of Justice Sunday
on charges of conspiracy to over
throw the Government through
force.
Mr.. Isserman demanded to know
why the front had not been in
vestigated by the Dies committee.
A dramatic satire, I'm the Land
Of Beyond Time" was presented by
the Theater Arts Committee of New
York. The play was especially writ
ten for the American League for
Peace and Democracy.
Merle D. Vincent, president of the
Washington chapter of the National
Lawyers Guild, declared the Dies
committee had not uncovered any
organizations or activities that were
not already covered by law which
the Department Of Justice was ready
to enforce. He charged the Dies
committee with functioning in vio-
lation of the Constitution and the
rights of free citizens. He deplored
unproven charges against the in
tegrity Of persons and organizations,
some of which, he said, were not
given a chance to deny or disprove
the charges made against them.
Harry Kroger, president of the
Texas Tenant Farmers Union, said
MIR. Dies was elected by only S per
cent of the population of his con-
gressional district in making his
point that the poll taxes in many
places have become so high as to
disenfranchise many in the South
ern States.
The Rev. Andrew w. T. Mollegen,
associate professor of ethics at the
Theological Seminary of Virginia,
and vice chairman of the Washing
ton branch Of the league, was chair
man Of the dinner, held at the
Hotel 2400 Sixteenth Street.