Evening star., 1944-05-24
Byron Price BIames
Other Agencies for
Kenems Letter Leak
By the Associated Press.

Byron Price, director of censor
ship, told Senate Post Office Com
mittee yesterday that he believed a
leak in some other Government
agency was responsible for publica-
ton Of parts of correspondence be-
tween Miss Vivien Kellems. Con-
necticut war contractor, and a Ger
man count in BuenoS Aires.
He explained that his office made
extracts of the correspondence and
sent them to certain Government
officials. He said he had tried
vainly to discover the channels by
which the highly restricted mate
rial became public and promised full
cooperation in the investigation
being carried on by the subcom-
mittee.
The censorship chief agreed with
members of the committee on the
advisability of criminal penalties for
disclosure of such information.
Identifies Nazi Correspondent.
Mr.. Price identified Miss Kellems'
correspondent, Count Frederick Karl
Won Sedlitz, as representative of
Mettallgesellschaft, great German
metals syndicate +"* supplying 80"
Hitler's war machine" He said Won
Sedlitz had been communicating
with Germany and had been trying
to communicate with the United
States. Won Sedlitz is on the United
States proclaimed list of enemies.
On February 6, Drew Pearson in
broadcast, quoted indirectly from
some of the Sedlitz correspondence.
On March 81, Representative Coffee,
Democrat, of Washington made a
speech in the House quoting from
the letters and charged Miss Kel-
lens had played the Nazi game"
Miss Kellems called Mr.. Coffee's
charges Lies" and asserted he had
gained possession of the letters by
illegal means. Senator Reed, Re-
publican, of Kansas demanded a
Senate investigation.
Telling the committee of his own
investigation, Mr.. Price said:
1 am not certain, but believe it
probable that censorship informa-
ton was the source in each instance.
base that opinion on the similar
ity of phaseology used by censorship
on the one hand, and by Mr. Pear
son and Mr.. Coffee on the other
hand, in paraphrasing certain parts
OF the Zedlitz correspondence"
Six Intercepts Quoted.
he said that MIR. Pearson and Mr..
CoHee between them quoted from
SIX 1ntercepts of the zedlitz series
He explained that trained officials
In his Office make extracts from Ger.
tain international civilian corre-
spondence which appears to contain
war information, and that the in
tercepts are sent to Government de-
partlnents believed to be interested
Mr.. Price said all six of the inter
cepts went to the State Department
and to the Office of Strategic Serv-
ices; three to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, three to the Office of
economic Warfare, two to Foreign
Funds Control and one to the CO.
ordinator of Inter-A American Affairs
In addition, he said, copies of all
six were sent to the British censor
ship.
Immediately after the first pub-
Hclty, early in February, asked the
agencies who had received this ma
ter1al to make urgent and unsparinp
inquiry among their own personnel
and give me an accounting" Mr.
Prlce said. THUS far I have re-
celVeo only denials and repeated
assurances that all intercepts are
handled according to the pledges of
secrecy which have been given re-
peatedly to the Office of Censor
ship"
Nazi Spy Executed.
Explaining the role of censorship
In the war effort, Mr.. Price told of
the arrest and execution of a Ger
man spy in Havana whose activities
were uncovered by his office: of the
convection of Californian who was
writing about fish livers" as a code
Tor platinum shipments; of the To-
cation OF new sources of strategic
ana critical materials, and of inter
cepted information leading to seiz-
ure of s7,000,000,OOO worth of enemy
property.
Senator Mcclellan, Democrat. of
Arkansas referred to alleged CORE
spondence in which Miss Kellems
addressed Won Zedlitz as NV Dar-
ing Boy" and signed "All My Love.
Sweetheart" Chairman McKellar
Democrat, of Tennessee asked Mr.
Price whether in his opinion such
phrases might have been code.
That's universal code, isn't it?"
senator Reed, Republican. of Kan
SaS broke in sattinn off 1nrnL4