The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-12-17
Government Con Dismiss IT jewellers
 WeE Department
 Vents Weapons
 To comboe Them


 Washington, Dec, iT--tupD=lThls baffllng capital was in . typical mess today, The courts have held that Che Government can fire a Communist fellow traveller and the Wa Department ls walling lt has 10 means Of protecting itself against such Eibvefslve characters,
 "What goes On, anyway" des iflanded the iglahsinsthesstFeel irs tefvlewed by your correspondent, No one seems Co know the answer Co that one,
 oOfgfessfaen were particularly interested in the War Department situation, 4 responsible individual told the United Press the departs filent had no satlsfactory system ot checking on Communists and Oths eF stibvefsives employed by lt, Bevs efai members Of the House the American Activities Committee told the United Press that the depart. fIieflt has plenty of authority Co act and should get moving on the pfobs lem right nov, if the department fails to clean its own house, there might Dc q congressional investlgas ton to discover why fiet
 Court Ituies foF Government
 Rep. John E. Rankin, lD,sMiss.) ], however, thinks there ought to Dc . law. lie says he viii propose that Congress legisiate for the fes stoFatlofi of the Army's counter ins teiiigence system to detect subs Verslve government employees.
 "HtB an outrage" said Rankin.
 At about the safe moment, the judges of the United States Court Of Appeals were affirming a lower court decision that the Government can fire afi efnploye about whose loyalty there b reasonable doubt.
 The einploye ir this instance was Morton Friedman. The court did not pass upon FTiedman's loyalty Of the implication that he was . Communist sympathizer. IL simply said the U. s. Civil Service com. mission had authority to determine his loyalty The commission held that Friedmafl's loyalty was ques- tionabie and after more than c year of investigation and discussion, Friedman finally was ordered out of his War Manpower Commission job.
 Fired for Affiiiasion
 Tn the process of firing Fried man, the Civil Service Commission took a terrific swing at an outfit known as the American Peace Mo- bliization. Tn a letter dated June s. 1044 and addressed to Friedman, the commission said he had to be fired, and explained
 The commissions action was based mainly on your activities in connection with the American Peace Mobilization. 1t may be true that many members of the APM were not aware that 1t was Communist dominated and pro-Comfmunist."
 The APM was the organization which was picketing the White House against aid to Britain against Hitler right up to il P. M., or 60 on the evening of June g, 104i. Al that moment the flash came that Hitler had attacked Soviet Russia The APM picketeers were caught with one foot in the air. They bal- anced in that awkward position briefly and called the whole thing off. With Russia under fire the war became a holy cause to Cofn- munist fellow travellers.
 The ApM has gone out of bisi- ness long since to be succeeded, 1t is charged. by an incorporated off- spring equally attentive to the Con- munist Party line. But if any meTn- Der of the outfit or it's successors remains in ignorance of the impli- cations of their late sodality. they should be referred to Section 1 of Appendix, Part of the House Un. American Committee report on Communist front organizations. Here is an excerpt: "The Amer ican Peace Mobilization was one of the most notorious and blatantly Communist fronts ever organized in this country The period of it's ex- ist snce coincided exactly with the period of the Stalin- Hitler pact. down to the very day of June 22. i04i."
 On Page 432 of the foregoing do- cument, the committee reported that the officers of the APM as of Sept. 3, 1940, included:
 Paul RobesOn, Negro singer, Rep. Vito Marcantonio of New York, the late Theodore Dreiser, a novelist who publicly embraced Communism shortly before his death. and Rep. Hugh Delacy. a Washington Demo- crat who was defeated in last ,.s1,.kt.,. .faakt1S