Evening star., 1944-03-08
F|yQuestioned
On Pearl Harbor
Regular Gables Were
| Open Until Attack,
FEC Head Says
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Japanese naval forces lurking
off Pearl Harbor just before
their attack on Decem-
ber 7, 1941, probably got military
and weather information through
regular cable channels which
were not censored at the time,
Chairman James L. Fly of the
Federal Communications Com
mission testified today.
The commission had maintained
constant surveillance for many
weeks before the attack without
finding any Illicit shortwave radio
stations, Mr.. Fly told the House
committee investigating the FEC.
Mr.. Fly and Representative Miller,
of Missouri, who was
doing much of the questioning,
clashed sharply several times.
Mr.. Miller asserted yesterday that
the administration is trying to gag"
the inquiry and, if it succeeded. the
real truth" about the Pearl Harbor
might never come out.
Mr.. Fly said his agency was In
the clear, that the charges would
be funny If they weren't so serious"
Jap Consulate Used Gable.
AS a graduate of the Naval Acad-
emy in 1920, Mr.. Fly was asked by
Mr.. Miller If the japanese Navy
could have made its attack without
radio intelligence.
I'm reluctant to attempt an ex-
pert opinion" the FEC head re-
piled. He added, however, that ra-
dio intelligence would be extremely
valuable" to any task force.
Representative Magnuson, Demo-
crat, of Washington said Japanese
workmen were employed at the
Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor until
the attack. Mr.. Fly added that any
one of them could have kept the
Japanese consul informed of all de-
tails. The consulate had increased
its cable activity with Toxic greatly
prior to December 7, Mr.. Fly said,
and this was the likely channel for
the Japanese fleet to obtain what
it needed.
"You must remember there was a
peacetime condition and they were
not subject to censorship" he said.
Navy Making Check.
Mr.. Magnuson disclosed that the
Navy now is checking" all angles
and expects to make report ION
what they found out about the
whole matter" as soon as possible.
Mr.. Miller asked Mr.. Fly what
he knew about what happened to
an American force of destroyers
and light cruisers in Alaskan waters
as result of information sent out
by the Federal Communication
Commission?"
Mr.. Fly said he had no knowledge
of such an incident. There was
no further development of what was
meant.
Mr.. Fly denied yesterday that his
organization had opposed any
Army Navy plan to eliminate Japa-
nese broadcasts in Hawaii before
Pearl Harbor.
Late yesterday Mr.. Miller made
sharp verbal attack on Mr.. Fly on
the House floor in a talk aimed
principally at the decision of the
committee majority to suspend
hearings on the sale of radio sta
ton WMCA in New York. The sta
ton was sold by Donald Flamm to
Edward j. Noble, former aide to
Harry Hopkins.
COrcOran Mentioned.
GAS the mystery of this New Deal
drama unfolds," he said, you will
find moving mostly behind the
scenes the significant name Of
Thomas j. Corcoran, once an aide
to Mr.. Roosevelt. It will be shown
later on that Mr.. Noble employed
the former chief counsel of the FEC
(William j. Dempsey at the sugges-
ton of Mr.. Corcoran and that Mr..
Corcoran was in the picture to the
point where he may have shared in
fee estimated to run as high as
$4,000.
"The evidence showed that Flamm
protested the sale to
Noble. but rather than run the risk
of losing his wave length, signed
a contract in blank transferring
the station to Noble on December
2, 1910, and that the transfer was
approved by the FEC without a
hearing just two weeks later"
Mr.. Flamm testified at a recent
hearing that he did not want to
sell his station, but did so under
pressure" coming all the way from
the White House. The committee
suspended the WMCA investigation
because civil action brought by
Mr.. Flamm against Mr.. Noble has
not been disposed of by the courts.
Probe Hit as Ones
Replying to the Missourian, Mr..
Magnuson told the House that for 13
months testimony has been taken
ION one side of this question"
I'VE owe a duty to the House Of
Representatives to at least reserve
our judgment until we have heard
the other side of the case" he de-
clared, suggesting that the recent
series of House speeches attacking
and defending the committee be
ended.
In his testimony yesterday before
the committee, Mr.. Fly asserted that
the commission worked with the
Army, Navy and Federal Bureau of
and was asked by them
to be the sole agency for tracking
down any enemy radio transmitters
in the islands. None was found, he
said.
Says BrOadcasts Were Analysed.
The domestic broadcastS from
four stations in Hawaii before the
attack were analyzed and contained
no "subversive activity or political
he added
At this point, Mr.. Miller inter-
rupted to declare:
IF Admiral Hooper and j. Edgar
Hoover were permitted to testify, a
lot would be shown about who was
responsible for Pearl Harbor."
(Admiral Stanford C. Hooper
formerly was chief of Naval In
telligence and Mr.. Hoover is head