The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1940-12-02

man and his associated committee
men and assistants dig up all
available facts relating to German,
Italian, Japanese and other propa-
ganda and espionage operations in
this country. Contrariwise. the
FBI. in particular. is appreciative
OF tips along these lines. Chief
Hoover's preference. however. is to
have such tips turned in to his own
headquarters, to be used as he
deems desirable. He doesn't like
having them broadcaA~Nomiscu-
ously.
State Department Frowns
It's the typical detectives COM
plex. The state department does
not enjoy having its hand forced,
either. 1t was getting along fairly
well with German Charge DAT
flares Hans Thomson. Now the
Dies committee turns its spotlight
on Hans and all the German con-
suls general and consuls under
him. as a bunch OF Nazi espionage
agents in our midst. It's hard to
see how the department can con-
tinue treating them as diplomat
ically persona grata.
1t appears to be the FBI's pol
icy, when il locates a foreign prop
agandist or spy, not necessarily to
swoop down on him. but rather to
keep him under surveillance, I'M
known to himself, grabbing his
game and finding out. through the
unsus?ecting chap himself. all
about his organization.
Dies theory is that the fullest
possible publicity Is the best posi-
Bile anti-espionage and anti-Propa-
ganda weapon.
The proposition has its argu-
mentative merits. II should be
hard for a spy to go on spying or
for a proragandist to 20 on prona-
gandizing effectively after being
widely advertised as a spy or
propagandist.
Clash OF Policies
But Dies doesn't stop at reason
ing. merely, that his publicity pol.
Icy Is better, practically. than the
FBIs policy Of mystery. He like.
wise intimates that the FBI lie
mysterious, in large part, because
it doesn't know as much as his
committee has found out that it's
mysterious concerning what's
mystery to itself, too. Naturally.
this implication makes. the FB1
hot under the collar.
Furthermore. Dies insinuates
that the state department ought to
have known all about Hans Thorn
sen and his satellites long before
now. Hence the state departments
resentment.
The Dies committee hasn't men,
toned IT yet, but It's the general
impression that German spying
ard propagandizing have been car.
ried on mot only here but In Latin
America likewise) far more ener.
getically and openly than by the
Italians.
The Germans. It's said, have pro-
ceeded on the assumption that
holiness, In a fashion, was Sc.
cretive. That is to say, their thesis
has been that they could be so
brassy that nobody would be-
lieve it
Italians Less Bold
The Italians, by nature, aren't SC
intensive CT so efficient. Anyway,
they're not so distinctly on the
pan as the Germans are.
Russian Communism originally
was more talked about In the
United States than either Nazi-ism
or Fascism. That doubtless was
because IT got an earlier start In
Europe than either Of the other
two. Years before Duce Mussolini
and Fuehrer Hitler were invented.
Communism was under investigas
ton by Washington's lawmakers
Congressman Ham Fish probed
the subject so far back that I've
forgotten the date. He said that
American Communists ought to be
quarantined on an island. / asked
him. why an island ~ "Oh, I've.
no especial brief he said, for an
island. except that 1t would be con-
ven'ent. Guaranteed on the MAIN
land they a he ooZinR out ever