Evening star., 1947-11-16

qually If not more perturbing Is the
Generals apathy" regarding the
Communist problem.
Ignoring the strictly CONFIDENTIAL
warning on the Justice Departments
memoranda, Mr.. Dies gave out the
Biddle list as follows: American
League Against War and Fascism.
later known as the American League
for Peace and Democracy; American
Peace Mobilization, later called the
American Peoples Mobilization:
American Youth Congress, Congress
of American Revolutionary WriterS
Communist Party of the United
States of America, Michigan Fed
Grafton for Constitutional Liberties,
National Committee for the Defense
of Political Prisoners dncluding Ma
tional Committee for People'S
Rights, National Federation for
Constitutional Liberties, National
Negro Congress, Washington Book
Shop Association, Washington Com
mittee for Democratic Action and
the Workers Alliance.
This old list can hardly serve AZ
nucleus for Mr.. Clark's new tabus
lation, because 1t Is obsolete. Some
of the organizations then listed have
disappeared, although some have
reappeared under different names.
Many entirely new front" organ.
izations have come into being since
prewar days.
What Is the Yardstick?
The nearest thing to a guide for
Mr.. Clark's new list is the report
issued by the House Committee on
Un-American Activities on May 20.
1916, entitled Citations by Official
Federal Government or State or
Municipal Agencies or Reliable Pri-
vate Organizations Regarding the
Character of Organizations Named
This pamphlet lists more than $50
organizations which have been cited
as communistic, or friendly to COM
munism, by various public or private
agencies. Included among the au-
thorities given for the listing are the
committee itself, Attorney General
Biddle, the California Committee on
Un-American Activities, the Com
mittee for Cultural Freedom, the
New York City Council COMMITTEES
Investigation of the Municipal Civil
Service Commission and the Justics
Department proceedings against
Harry Bridges.
How will Attorney General Clark
be guided in judging suspected
groups?
In the Bridges deportation case
Mr.. Biddle gave the following def.
milton of Communist front organi-
zation
Testimony on front organizations
showed that they were represented
to the public for some legitimate re-
form objective. but actually used by
the Communist Party to carry on Its
activities pending the time when tns
Communists believe they can seize
power through revolution"
The House committee went fur
ther and, in It's report of March 29,
1914, listed 13 criteria for the guid-
ance of the American people in de-
tecting Communist-front organiza-
tons" They follow, in condensed
| form:
Congressional Formula
/. Does the organization have
Communists, or persons trusted by
Communists, in positions Of power?
2. Are meetings of the organization
addressed by Communists
3. Does the organization follow the
Communist Party line?
| 4. Does the organization cooper
ate with activities and campaigns Of
the Communist Party?
S. Is the address of the organiza-
ton in the same building with other
front organizations?
6. Does the organization cooper
ate with Communist controlled un-
ionse
7. Does the organizations oficial
publication reflect the Communist
Party line?
8. Are questions injected into
meetings which have more to do with
current policy of Communists than
with the professed purposes Of the
organization?
9. Are funds kicked back directly
or indirectly to the Communist Party
or to front organizations?
10. Is printing done in a Commu-
mist printing plant?
II. Does the organization use en-.
tertainers associated with pro-Com-
munist organizations?
I IL. Does the organization receive
favorable publicity in the Commu-
mist press?
13. Is the organization uniformly
loyal to the Soviet Union?
No Dearth of Details
The Attorney General has the
benefit of more than such generali-
ties as the foregoing in formulat-
ing his list, however. Available
to him are enormous quantities Of
specific details accumulated by the
FBI IN its investigations Of crimes
against the Government. Included
is a mass of evidence showing con-
nections between the Communist
Party and Moscow. The list Of
branded organizations, as finally ap-
proved, will be backed up by per-
suasive data.
II the question Of deciding
whether or not to make the list
public is left to the Loyalty Re-
view Board. it will face the prob
lem Of choosing between two schools
of thought. The secrecy advocates