Evening star., 1947-02-24
LiIienfhaI Now Needs
3 Of q Undecided
Votes, Poll Shows
BY the Associated Press

n pun VI OllC OCiAotC o1AOWC0
today that David E. Lilienthal
needs to win over only 8 of %
undecided Senators to exc out
confirmation as chairman of the
Atomic Energy Commission.
An Associated Press check over
the week end of all but four of the
95 Senators listed 40 in favor of
Mr. Lilienthal and % opposed.
If a full membership were on
hand when the issue comes to a
vote, 48 "ayes" would be necessary
for confirmation.
AS the Senate Atomic Committee
opened its fifth and final week of
hearings, it heard testimony from
Alfred Friendly, a washington Post
reporter, that a Knoxville news
paperman who wrote a story about
letter purporting to disclose Com
munistic activities within the IVA
told him he had seen only mimeo-
graphed copy of the alleged letter.
O'Neal Letter Backs Lilienthal.
Chairman Hickenlooper read into
the record of a letter from Edward
R. ONeal, president of the Farm
Bureau Federation, strongly urging
confirmation of Mr.. Lilienthal and
w. w. Waymack of Iowa, nominated
as a commission member. Mr..
O'Neal said they are Exceptionally
qualified"
Senator McKellar, Democrat, Of
Tennessee, then read a telegram he
said he received today from Rufe
Wilson, chairman of the Legisia-
tive Committee of the Loudon
County (Tenn) Farm Bureau Fed
Grafton, saying that Mr.. O'Neal
didn't pseak for the entire member
ship.
Senator Hickenlooper closed the
/ hearing by calling the committee
into closed session. He announced
that it would be rsumed Wednes-
day.
Mr.. Friendly was called before
the committee by Senator Nc
Mahon, Democrat, of Connecticut,
to discuss the alleged letter about
communism in the IVA.
Was Denounced as Forgery.
Henry G. Hart, a former IVA
employe, whose name was appended
to the letter, has denounced it as
forgery. Robert B. Barker, former
Dies Committee Investigator, testi-
fled, however, that he distracted
it from Communist Party files at
Birmingham, Ala, in 1910, and had
Photographic copies made of it. The
letter was dated January 81, 1885,
The committee has been able to
locate only what purport to be
mimeographed copies of the docu-
ment.
Mr.. Friendly said he investigated
the circumstances surrounding pub
lication of a story about the letter
in the Knoxville Journal, June 27,
1943. He said he talked to Stephen
F. Humphrey, former news editor
of the Journal, and to Guy L. Smith,
the editor, who verified Mr.. Hum
phrey's account.
Mr.. Friendly said Mr.. Humphrey
told him he wrote the story on the
basis of a mimeographed copy of the
letter given him by Mr.. Barker,
along with a transcript Of the Dies
Committee hearings. ...,t
Still Considers 1t Genuine.
The Post reporter testified that
Mr.. Humphrey told him he con-
sidered the letter genuine at the
time he wrote the story, and still
does.
/ Mr.. Friendly also told the COM
mittee he had telephoned Martin
Dies, former chairman of the House
Committee on Un-American Activi-
ties at his home in Lufkin, Tex. He
said Mr.. Dies told him he had nc
recollection of the Hart letter, other
than vague recollection Of some
newspaper stories.
Thus far, two members of the
committee have declared that Mr.
Lilienthal and his five co-nominees
will have no trouble" winning a
favorable report from the group.
Senator Mcmahon only member
of the nine-man committee whc
has publicly predicted confirmation
was joined by another member wht
asked that his name not be used.
There is no question about 6
favorable report to the Senate ane
it should come this week." this Sen
ator told a reporter.
| Tho hccnniatad pracs Yan1l Shnwnf