Evening star., 1940-01-03

Frankly" Campbell wrote to
Deatherage, II say to you that this
thing has gone so far that there is
only one remedy, and that is mill
tary action which will put military
court in charge of the United States
Federal Government and each State
government 90" ."
If not actually advocating such
methods, they repeatedly profess to
believe that military action will be
necessary in order to combat the in
fluence and activities of minority
groups. II believe as you do" wrote
Deatherage on one occasion. that it
will take military action to get this
gang out and the organization must
be built around a propaganda or
ganization, now, that can in few
hours be turned into a militant
fighting force"
Probably the largest, best financed
and certainly the best publicized OF
such groups is the Silver Shirt
Legion of America, whose leader is
William Dudley Pelley of Asheville,
N. c.
In his own book titled "The Door
to Revelation" Mr.. Pelley describes
how he launched his Silver Shirts
on January 81, 1888, the day after
Hitler took power in Germany, and
how he regards himself as the
American Hitler But, as a matter
of fact, documentary evidence from
the records of the United States
District Court at Asheville, presented
to the committee at public hearings
showed that Mr.. Pelley on January
IA, 1884, from Hollywood. Calf
wired Harry F. Sieber, one of his
associates in Asheville, to destroy
all records of the Galahad Press
Mr.. Pelley's defunct publishing COM
pany, the insolvency of which had
been brought about by the diversion
of over 100000 in funds to other
accounts; s29 ,497.42 of this amount
having been deposited in Mr.. Pelley S
personal account in the Franklin
National Bank, Washington, D. c..
and $81 .366.97 having been deposited
in two Asheville banks to credit of
the formulation for Christian Eco
nomics," a dummy corporation set
up by Pelley. The Galahad Press,
later, on May l, 1884, was adjudi-
Gated bankrupt with losses of over
$4,000 to the preferred stockholders
and over $4,000 to creditors. 1t was
further shown that the Silver Shirt
Legion OF America was actually in
corporated on March II, 1884, by a
Delaware charter. Mr.. Pelley and
three of his associates were subse-
quently indicted in North Carolina
and Pelley and one of his lieu
tenants were tried and convicted
Pelley being fined $1,7195O and
placed on probation of continuous
good behavior for five years from
and after February 18, 1885.
On September 2. 1889, as a result
of false testimony under oath be-
fore the committee on August g.
1889, a paid secret agent of Pelley
was indicted by grand jury in the
District of Columbia for perjury
committed by said agent in his ef-
forts to secure employment as an
investigator with this committee.
Pelley Disappears After
Summons by Committee.
It was Pelley who repeatedly in
his weekly publication Liberation
challenged the committee to call
him before it but who when sum-
moned by the committee to appear
and testify attempted to enjoin the
committee in an abortive suit In
Federal Court at Asheville which
was dismissed on August 20, 1889
Thereupon, Pelley disappeared.
A careful investigation of Pelley's
bank accounts, and books and rec
ords of the post Office at Asheville
has established the fact that thou
sands of dollars In funds coming into
Pelleys hands from his organization
and publishing house now known as
Skyland Press, have been disposed
Of in a way so devious as to defy
accounting.
These facts may explain the des-