Evening star., 1947-09-29
Taft Favors Applying
Anti.Communist Test
To Corporation Heads
By Gould Lincoln
Stor Stoff Correspondent

SPOKANE, Wash, Sept. 29.-
Senator Taft of Ohio, after a
two weeks bombardment of the
Pacific Coast States in the in
terest of the Republican Con-
gress and his own potential
presidential candidacy, is turn .
ing eastward today. He paused
here long enough for a breakfast
meeting with Republican leaders.
Abandoning his railroad car tenn
porarily. he later drove to Moscow,
Idaho, stopping for luncheon in Pull
man, Wash. At both places he
spoke-in Moscow at the University
of Washington,
Before he left Portland last night,
Senator Taft said he saw no reason
% why corporation officers should not
take the same anti-Communist oath
that is now required of labor union
officers under the Taft-Hartley law,
when the corporation officers are
involved in issues pending before
the national labor relations board.
Could Affect Corporations.
II see no reason when amendments
are made Ito the Taft Hartley law,
why they should not require corpo-
ration officers to do the same thing
Ctake the oath they are not Com
munists) If they want to take ad-
vantage of the law" said Senator
Taft. He was replying to question
at a press conference.
The fact that employers are under
no compulsion to take such an oath
probably was an oversight by Con-
gress, Senator Taft said.
Il guess it didn't occur to any one
in Congress, he continued, That
employer organizations might be
fronting for the Communists.
The question was asked of Senator
Taft in an effort to further clarity
statements made by him on the
Communist Menace" to the students
of Oregon State College at Corval-
lis. He had told the students that
about half of the CIO unions are
Communist dominated" Elaboratine
on that statement, Senator Taft
said he would not undertake to be
precise. He added that the number
of Communist-domin unions
might be little bit more or little
bit less" than half. He insisted that
it was formidable percentage of The
total.
Make Policies Effective.
ut is true" he commented, that
the Communists never had major
ity of the board of the C1O-PAC,
but there have always been enough
of them on the board to make their
polfcies effective"
When he was questioned at Cor
Wallis, Senator Taft said he had
the names of the allegedly Commu-
mist dominated unions In his office
in Washington and that he would
furnish them to any one who asked
for them.
The Ohio Senator told his press
interviewers in Portland that, al
though the daily newspapers of the
country generally we're giving the
Republican Party an even break"
in their publication of the news,
the nationally syndicated colum-
nists were giving the party less than
an even break The radio COM
mentators, he added, were giving
the Republicans much less than
an even break"
Commentators Held Biased
He charged that about two-thirds
of the radio commentators were anti
Republican. Acknowledging their
right to be critical, Senator Taft
said he hoped we can get some
more on our side"
Senator Taft also said he believed
that a majority of columnists and
d. commentators, especially these in
Washington, were still New
Dealers
j The questions about the press
treatment of the Republican Party
grew out Of reports that Senator
Taft. at an off -the-record speech in
Gearhart, Greg. had complained of
biased and unfair coverage of his
present Western trip Senator Taf:
replied to this that he had made nc
such complaint. He added that as
far as he knew the reports written
about his trip had been entirely fair