Evening star., 1946-02-19

SblOb Va otAS Va
its committees which is called the
Committee on Un-American Activ-
titles.
If anybody is still confused, the
committee is the one popularly
called the Wood Rankin committee
Representative Wood of Georgia be-
Ing the chairman and Representa-
tive Rankin Of Mississippi being the
works. 1t is the successor to the
odorous Dies committee.
For some years, under Messrs. Dies
and Rankin, this committee has
made mockery of certain freedoms
generally regarded as precious in
this country, including press, speech
and religion. In recent months 1t
has taken to challenging-in so
many words-that this is a de-
mocracy. Most members of the
House pretend to be amused or
bored by the committees antics, but
nothing Is done to bring it under
control.
Churches Take Action.
Now the churches are getting in
terested. Last week the Board of
Directors of the New York Fedora
ton Of Churches, composed Of Prot
estant churches, adopted a resolu-
ton demanding the dissolution of
the Wood-Rankin committee. 1t
asked the more than million Prot
estants In New York to join in the
demand.
The action Of the board was based
on the whole indefensible record
of the n-American committee, but
was precipitated by an incident only
recently brought to its attention.
This was the case Of Prof. Clyde r..
Miller of Teachers College, Columbia
University. Mr.. Miller, associate
professor Of education at Teachers,
is the directing head also OF the
Institute of Propaganda Analysis.
During the First World War he served
overseas in the educational corps
of the United States Army. During
the Second World War he was a con-
sultant to various Government agen-
cies concerned with German and
other alien propaganda. Between
the two wars he spent two years
studying Nazi propaganda in Ger
many and considerable more time
studying Nazi propaganda IN this
country.
Who's Who records that he was
born in Columbus, Ohio, and is en-
alumnus Of the highly respectable
Ohio State journal and the Cleve-
land Plain Dealer and that he Is a
Methodist and a Republican.
Shortly before the war ended he
was asked to undertake some work
for one of the Government agencies.
When he agreed to do so. the head
of the agency suggested that he
check with the Wood-Rankin ccm-
mittee to ascertain whether that
committee had him on its blacklist
This agency head has no respect
for the Wood-Rankin committee or
its opinions. He simply wished to
avoid trouble. He didn't want the
committee to raise what is called
q stink.
Shock to Prof. Miller.
Visiting the committees office
Prof. Miller received q shock. One
of the committees Investigators
Nicklas by name, called attention to
the fact that Prof. Miller was listed
as q member of various organiza-
tions opposed to anti-Semitism
Then. in the presence of the COM
mittee's counsel, Ernie Adamson
according to an affidavit made by
Prof. Miller, Investigator Nicklas
remarked:
"You should tell your Jewish
friends that the Jews in Germany
stuck their necks out too far and
Hitler took good care Of them and
that the same thing will happen
here unless they watch their steps.
That was the statement that up
set the Protestant churchmen. They
don't like the Hitler idea. They
differ in this respect apparently
from the Wood Rankin committee
Hitler took good care" of the Jews
by slaughtering millions of them
The churchmen don't believe "the
same thing will happen here" but
L.