Evening star., 1944-02-24
j. ). Workers
Declared Free
OF Subversiion
Committee Reports
Action in Only 8
Of 301 Cases

Government employees today had a
clean bill of health from the In
terdepartmental Committee created
year ago to aid in investigating
subversive activities by Federal per-
sonnel.
Reporting yesterday to Attorney
General Biddle on 301 cases aris-
Ing in the first year of operation,
the committee, headed by Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury Herbert
E. CASTOR, said dismissals had been
warranted in only five cases and that
"other disciplinary action" had been
taken in three.
The committee decided "there is
no real basis for supposing that
Government service harbors any
significant number of pereons who
who are members of organizations
which advocate the overthrow of the
Government of the United States
by force or violence or who per-
sonally so advocate. With excep-
tions, fortunately rare indeed, the
Government worker is loyal"
The committee said that 1876 cases
still were pending on the original
docket and that action had been
suspended in Is because of resig-
nations or separations from the
service mot within the purview." )"
There were 14l generations.
Board Is Advisory.
The committees principal func-
ton is advisory. 1t was created as
the outgrowth against charges of
disloyalty in the Government aris-
ing from the Dies Committee in
vestigation. Serving with Mr.. Gas
ton are Rudolph M. Evans of the
Board of Governors, Federal Re-
serve System; Francis C. Brown,
solicitor, Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp: John @. Cannon. jr., admin
lstrative assistant to the Attorney
General, and Oscar L. Chapman,
Assistant Secretary of the Interior.
The committee explained it was
concerned only with one type of
case-that of an employe who is a
member Of an organization advo-
eating the overthrow of this Govern
ment by force Or violence or who
personally so advocates. When
complaints of this nature come from
agencies-or the Dies Committee
they are referred to the FBI for
investigation and the result of this
inquiry goes to the Interdepart-
mental Committee. The latter in
turn submits the data to the en-
ploying agency for a report.
Agencies Held Responsible.
The 1nterdepartmental Commit
tee may give the employing agency
an advisory opinion if requested,
and it may also request the agency
to review any action the latter. may
take.
The responsibility for deciding
cases rests on the employing agen-
cies,' the report said. The charac-
teriStic difficulties which the cases
present are attributable in part to
the nature of the offense. Secrecy
Is typical A part of the difficulty I
is attributable to uncertainty and
perhaps fundamental differences in
opinion on the part of agency
officials as to what are the prin-
ciples that should properly govern
case.
"A reconciliation of basic differ
ences in point of view is a matter,
of course, beyond the competence
of this committee. The committee
can only insist that the applicable
acts of Congress mean precisely
what they say, and nothing more
and nothing less; that admins
trative action shall not disregard
those traditional American principles
whose fundamentals include free
speech and liberty of conscience;
that the rights of the employe and
the interests of the Government
are both involved; that common
sense must play its part in the dis
-