Evening star., 1942-04-04

publicly aSsail a David Lawrence.
congressional committee. Even the
House respects the committee privi-
leges Of the Senate and vice versa,
and the courtesies are carried to
such an extent that not often is
there an attack by a committee
Of one house on committee of
the other.
The White House more than once
has indicated its hostility to the
Dies committee, but it has not until
this week endeavored publicly to
discredit that unit.
The attack is not confined to the
New Deal chieftains but has been
taken up by various left-wing or
ganizations.
Seeks to Kill Committee.
The Dies committee has had to
ask the House at least three times
for continued authorization and on
each occasion the administration
has used its influence to try to
prevent House approval. But the
Dies committee has triumphed and
the last vote was an overwhelming
one.
What is the reason for the ad-
ministration's opposition and what
is the reason why the Dies commit
tee wins such overwhelming votes
of approval2 The reasons for op-
position are as diverse as the
reasons for support.
Naturally, the administration and
its New Deal supporters dislike the
Dies committee because, rightly or
wrongly, it has uncovered an affinity
between some New Dealers or rad1-
cal organizations and the Com
munistic approach to governmental
philosophy. But this kind OF thing
happens, on the other hand, to be
pleasing to certain groups In Amer
lea which have been basica1y anti
Corhmunistic and remain so r-
respective Of Russia's entrance into
the United Nations family. Thus
backbone pressure to support the
Dies committee has come at times
from various patriotic and religious
organizations opposed to Com
munism, from certain labor groups
which have consistently opposed
Communism and from the American
Legion, which consists Of veterans
Ct the First World War.
This is a formidable array OF
supporters and to this must be
added the Republican groups which
70 along more or less with every
House vote that might produce
enbarrassments for the New Deal
ers.
On the other side are militant
pro-New Deal organizations like the
National Lawyers Guild, which has
in its membership many attorneys
who work for the Federal or State
administrations. Not long ago Fer
dinand Pecora, a New Dealer, now
g. Judge in New York City and prom
inent in the lawyers guild, COM
planned about alleged Communistic
influences in one of the guilds re-
ports. Subsequently the conflicts
were adjusted. But there is no
doubt that the Dies committee has
earned the enmity of most radical
organizations and publications be-
cause 1t has singled out individuals
and contended that they either had
joined Communistic organizations
or societies that were accused OF
being tools of Communistic groups.
Fascism Soft-PedaI Denied.
It has been charged, moreover,
that the Dies committee has not
been as vigorous in its criticism OF
or in its public revelation concern
ing FasAist agencies or individuals
of that line of thought. Repre-
sentative Dies has denied this, and
1t probably would serve no useful
purpose to try to match by count
the number of accusations on each
side, because there is no certainty
that Fascism has made as great In
roads as Communism in American
institutions. Certainly the Dies
committee has not hesitated to at
tack and to investigate Nazi agen-
cies and connections and it has also
claimed to have investigated ac-
tivities of an un-American nature
on the part of American-born Jap
enese.
Some observers who criticize the
Dies committee argue that its meth
DDS are too sensational and that
publicity seeking is its objective, or
that the F. B. I. can do all that the
Dies committee can do. But the
r. B. l., Of course, is confined in
Its inquiries to such action as the
President or his cabinet representa-
tive-the Attorney General-may
direct.
The charge now being made is
that the Berlin radio uses for its
purposes data uncovered by the
Dies committee, especially in Cath
ole countries, where Communism is
an anathema. Berlin could very
easily. Of course. stifie all criticism
within the United States, no matter
how useful to Americas war effort,
by merely publicizing such criticism
and leaving it to the Washington
administration to squelch the crit
4cS ever If thew happeY tn he r,nen-