Evening star., 1943-05-18
House Opens Debate
On Cutting Off Pay Of
Watson, Dodd, Loyett
Kerr Says Committee
Understood Seriousness
Of 'Subversive' CHARGE
Earlier Story on Pare A-2.Y

Earlier Story on Page Any
The House this afternoon opened
debate on a proposed amendment
to an appropriation bill which would
cut off the salaries Of three Gov
ernment ofdcials-G Goodwin B. Wat
son, chief analyst of the foreign
broadcast intelligence service Of the
Federal Communications Commits
sion; William E. Dodd, jr., assistant
news editor of the same agency, and
Robert Morss Lovett, secretary of
the Virgin Islands.
The House Appropriations Com
mittee proposed the amendment as
a result of an investigation con-
Quoted by one of its subcommittee
headed by Representative Kerr,
Democrat, of North Carolina. The
subcommittee charged the three
officials ARE unfit" for continued
Government service.
The subcommittee was appointed
by the House to inquire into charges
OF Chairman Dies of the Un-Ameri-
can Investigating Committee that
there are several score crackpot bu-
reaucrats' in the Government serv-
ice with Communistic sympathies.
Committee Defended.
Representative Powers, Repub-
lican, of New Jersey, a member of
the Kerr committee, said during de-
bate that seven of the Government
officials named by Mr.. Dies already
had been interrogated. AS result,
he declared the committee had rec
commended the removal of the three
whose names are now before the
House, had exonerated three others,
but had reached no determination
in the seventh case.
Representative Taber of New York.
ranking Republican member of the
Appropriations Committee, told the
House he would vote for the pro-
posed amendment. The Kerr COM
mittee, he declared, had leaned over
backward" in its investigation.
Mr.. Kerr explained that the duty
placed on his group was not pleas
ant" one.
THE subcommittee understood
from the start" he declared. "The
seriousness of removing a man from
Office and the stigma that would fol-
low him through life"
Court Decisions Cited.
Since the question had been raised
as to the authority of Congress to
take Government workers "off the
|. pay roll" Mr.. Kerr cited three de-
clsions on that point-two by the
Supreme Court and one by the At
torney General.
Representative O'Connor, Demo-
crat, of Montana interrupted Mr..
Kerr to ask whether the three men
the committee wants fired from the
Government service had done any
thing to obstruct the United States
in winning the war.
I'VE didn't 60 into that phase of
It," replied Mr.. Kerr.
Then Mr.. Kerr closed his speech
with this declaration: Il want no.
body but Americans on guard to-
night"
Mr.. Powers centered his attack
on DR.. Lovett, on whom, he said,
the Dies committee, the FBI and
an interdepartmental committee
had a complete fle''
DR.. Levett, in my opinion" he
declared, was professional Joiner
and Joined several score of foreign
organizations, OF course, he has
the right to do it, but he will not
do it while on the Government paw
roll as long as I have anything to
do with it."
Mr.. Powers said II wouldn't have
DR.. Lovett or the two other gen.
tlemen mentioned in the committee
report on my payroll for Is min
utes"
Mr.. Dodd is the son of the former
Ambassador to Germany, and sought
the House seat of Representative
Smith, Democrat, of Virginia in 1886
but was defeated in the primary
election. His address is given in the
committee report as 220 Nortf,
Greenbrier street. Arlington, Va.
The address of Mr.. Watson is listed
IN the report as 500 West 121st
street, New York.