The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-06-06

The British have proposed names. The Russians have gone ahead with an undetermined number And the U. s. Army has tried and punished various against American soldiers. But not one name so far has been list ed by the U. s. section of the War Grimes Commission under U. s. Supreme Court Justice Rob- ert Jackson.
 Furthermore, at a secret meet ing held in Washington few days ago, Justice Jackson would not be pinned down to conviction of any large group of Nazis, such as the Gestapo or SS Elite Guard, before Christmas. He even said he wasn't sure they were guilty under International law.
 How peculiar the whole run
 around regarding the trial of
 Maxi war criminals is, has just
 been emphasized in confi-
 dential report to the White
 House by Herbert Pell, former
 minister to Portugal and Hun
 gary and until recently U. s.
 chairman on the war crimes
 Commission.
 MT. Pell reveals in his report that some State Department of- ficials did not agree with him that Hitlerites who beat up and killed innocent victims because of their religion should De con- sidered guilty of WET crimes. Pell took a vigorous stand on this, and eventually his differences with the Stata Department caused him to be euclred out of the war crimes commission.
 His confidential White House report dated May g, 1945, fol- lows:
 PELL'S SECRET REPORT
 Late in June, 1943, I was ap- pointed American member of the War Crimes Commission by Presi- dent Roosevelt. I immedia tely went to the State Department and in 8 few weeks was ready to sail. I was informed that the British government did not want the American commissioner to get 70 England until the commission was ready to meet. discovered afterwards that no such sugges- tilon had ever been sent through the American embassy in London.
 T tried to get an assistant, Professor Sheldon Glueck of Har- yard, who was willing to come, and a friend of mine, Paul Lineau, The department sent neither of these gentlemen but preferred MT. Lawrence PreuSS. After very short time in London I discovered that a part of MT. PrueSs' duties was to write private letters, most ly abusive to me, to MT. Sandifer of the State Department, who in turn gave them to MT. Hack worth, the legal adviser, whose division had charge of war crimes in the department. When I dis covered this I told MT. Pruess that he should file his private letters of this character with the com- missions documents. He did file some of them but not all
 'In February. 1914, I moved,
 in committee of the War crimes commission, that crimes against whomsoever committed
 for reasons of race, religion, or political opinion should be treated as war crimes. MT. Pruess, although officially sub ordinate to me, rose in commit
 tee and opposed this sugges-
 ton.
 "A few weeks later a British general sent me by special mes senger document marked se- cret, for which had to sign. MT. Preuss asked to have some copies made of it. I refused to allow this but told him that he could see the original. Shortly there after he was discovered dictating a copy of this document. I con- fiscated the copies. the stenogra- pher's notes, and the cartoons and immediately reported to Ambassa- dor Winant. representing the President, thNt I could not accept the responsibility of secret docu- ments if anyone in my office could arrogate to themselves the priv ilege Of making copies.