Evening star., 1943-07-16


eating committee. His reason is
that 1t is not "in the public inter-
est" No reference is made to mill
tary security, and there is no in
timation as to the nature of the
legal opinion whereby the ruling
Is justified.
Whether this particular investi-
eating committee does or does not
deserve to get the cooperation of
the executive is beside the ques-
ton. Congress will be compelled
to act on the theory that the whole
principle of legislative power is at
stake. Once it is conceded that
officials of the executive agencies
may be prohibited by the President
from testifying before Congress, the
legislative body is relegated to a
position of subservience to another
branch of the Government.
May Handicap Legislation.
If the rule is carried to its logical
conclusion, no committees of Con-
gress could get from the executive
agencies the facts or the informa-
ton needed on which to base legis-
lation. The President has refused
to let his officials testify even in
executive session.
1t is known that the Senate Ma
val Affairs Committee has felt con-
siderable embarrassment over the
instruction given to high naval Of
f1cers a few months ago which
prevented them from giving in con-
f1dence to executive sessions of the
committee certain data on the use
Of Federal appropriations. Mem
bers of the Senate have not come
to the point where they care to
make an issue of it, but 1t seems
certain that the special House COM
mittee which is Investigating the
Federal Communications Commits
sion will make an issue OF it before
the bar of the House.
The power Of the congressional
committee to command the appear
ance of witnesses never has been
successfully challenged. The courts
have ruled, however, that the Presi-
dent himself could not be sub
poenaed to appear, but it is doubt
full whether all minor officials can
hide behind the instructions of the
President about testifying. If they
do, Congress will soon be enacting
more legislation dropping from the
payrolls specific officials who have
refused to furnish Congress data
requested.
Certain Secrets Protected.
1t always has been a fundamental
principle in the relations between
the executive and legislative
branches Of the Government that
only state secrets or matters affect
ing foreign relations are of a nature
the disclosure of which Is "incom-
patible with the public interest"
The subject on which the House In
vestigating Committee has been
seeking information concerns the
action taken by the Federal Com
munications Commission with re-
spect to private citizen who hap
pens to be head of a trade associa-
tion known as the National Asso-
citation of Broadcasters.
Refusal to give data on points like
this may be understandable in con-
troversies between officials and Con-
gress, but when a formal demand for
the Information is made, backed by
the power of subpoena, 1t is natural
for the House committee to seek to
enforce its request by bringing con-
tempt charges to the whole House.
Sometimes these charges are
wiped out by the answers given to
the question at issue and sometimes
they are contested in the courts,
but 1t is rare that a court action
favors recalcitrant witness. AS a
rule, the witness is obliged to make
answer or suffer the consequences
Congress Can Press Issue.
Congressional committees are
pretty much their own bosses and
they make their own rules concern
ing the manner of handling wit
nesses, but when they ask a ques-
ton, it must be answered unless the
witness can prove it may tend to in
criminate him in legal proceedings.
But documents which are a part of
the official records of the Govern
ment must be furnished on demand,
and if the President withholds them
on the ground that it is 'incom-
patible with the public interest" to
furnish them, legal justification
for such a step must be available