Evening star., 1942-09-05
Enemy Aided
Publication,
FB|Chdrges
One Arrested Was
News Analyst for
Inter-Americun Unit
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The Justice Department an
nounced this afternoon that it
had arrested three men, includ-
ing former employe of the Of
flee of the Co-ordinator of Inter-
American Affairs, on charges OF
acting as agents of the Japanese
government.
j. Edgar Hoover, director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
named the three as Walker Grey
Matheson of Washington, formerly
news analyst in the inter-Ameri~
can Affairs office; Joseph Hilton
Smyth and Irvine Harvey Williams.
both of New York.
Bought Magazine.
Mr.. Hoover said that Smyth and
Matheson bought the magazine
"The Living Age" in June, 1888, with
$4,000 provided by the japanese
consulate in New York, and that
the magazine was underwritten by
the consulate for approximately
$4,000 month until August, 1941.
"These funds we're advanced" Mr..
Hoover said, ''in consideration of the
magazines featuring at least one
pro-Japanese article in each issue,
some of the articles consisting
wholly of reprint material furnished
by members of the consulate"
Employed by Consulate.
The FBI chief said that Smyth
was employed by the consulate as
a public relations counsel from 1887
to November, 1941, at $500 a month
and that he had conducted a survey
in New York on Communistic ac-
tivities for the Japanese Office.
The three men were seized on
warrants charging them with fall
ing to register as agents of for
eign principal, as required by law.
| The charge was brought under
section of the law providing maxi
mum penalty of 10 years imprison-
ment and 5000 fine.
Matheson was discharged from
| the Office of Co-ordinator of Inter-
American Affairs, where he had
been employed. Mr.. Hoover said, in
a non-confidential capacity. He
said Williams was employed as a
bookkeeper by Smythe & Mathe-
son and became co-owner of the
Living Age when Smythe Withdrew
I from the ovino f,, 1910
| Was British Subject.
| Williams, British subject, be-
came president and treasurer of the
Living Age Co., Mr.. Hoover con-
tiued. He was born in Japan of
| British parents and was educated
in Germany and England.
Smyth was described by Mr..
Hoover as 41-year-old native-born
American who worked as a news
paper1nan and free-lance writer be-
fore organizing the Harrison, Hilton
Publishing Co., Inc, in New York
in 1888.
He shared in the purchase and
publication of the magazine Cur
rent History, the FBI head stated,
and in 1910 helped organize Scrib-
ner's Commentator.
Mr. Hoover said that Matheson
was 40 and a native of Canada
who acquired American citizenship
through naturalization. He said
that Matheson toured the Orient in
1910 to gather information for ar
ticles published in the Living Age
and World Over and since 1888 had
written articles for the North
American Review and Current His
tory.
Born in Canada.
Information at the Justice De-
partment showed that Matheson
was born at Frank, Alberta, Canada.
and derived American citizenship
through the naturalization of his
father at Honolulu in 1910. The
elder Matheson was connected with
the Honolulu Advertiser and later
owned and operated the Japan
Times at Toxic. Matheson received
his bachelors degree at the Univer-
sity of Nebraska and took soma
graduate work at Harvard Uniyer-
sity.
The FBI said that he had worked
on the New York Daily News, the
Washington Post and the Washing.
ton Herald and had been associate
editor for Fawcett publications.
Smyth. the department said. wa,
born at Plymouth, Mass, was edu-
Gated in private schools in New
England and the South, and had
worked on various newspapers in
Central America and Europe before
taking up magazine work in this
country.
Smyth and williams pleaded
guilty when arraigned before United
States Commissioner Edward H. Fay
in Brooklyn and both were held in
$4,000 bail pending action of the
grand jury. Matheson was to be
brought to New York for arraign-
ment later.
The FBI said that the magazins
The Living Age, was founded in
1874 and was one of the Nations
Oldest monthly publications.