Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1947-04-04
Washington
LaborReport
BY Paul Sifton,
LPA COlumnist

the stenographer can make an
accurate record.
Were you, or were you not,
on April 4, 1888, "in sympa-
thetic association with a
movement, group or comolna-
ton of persons, designated
subsequently by the Attor'
ney General as totalitarian,
Fascist, Communist, or SUBJ
versive, or as having adopted
a policy of advocating or ap-
proving the commission OF
acts of force or violence to
deny other perso ons their
rights under the Constitution
of the United States, or as
seeking to alter the form of
government of the United
states by unconstitutional
means" (From the executive
order on loyalty investigations
of U. S. employees.)
You say you want to hear
the question again? Read 1T,
reporter.
You say you want to talk to
your lawyer? Go ahead.
What's that, Mr.. Attorney,
you say the witness can't an
swer yes or no? Very inter-
esting; very, very interesting!
You may proceed, qualifying
your answer as you wish, for
the record.
You say you joined the
West Side Kitten Ball Assocl-
alton on the assumption that
you would have a chance to
play kitten ball and only
learned its true nature along
about Thanksgiving when
business meetings got on the
subject of politics and how to
use the campaign to free Tom
Mooney to awaken the broad
toiling masses of swampeast
Missouri?
DID YOU?
Well, did you resign? Have
you any proof that you ever
did resign, or even protested
against the use of the whole
some sport of kitten ball as a
front for subversive discus
sions-I mean, activities?
oh, you just stopped attend
ing meetings?
Can you prove that?
But you did continue to at
tend the games in the summer
months, did you not?
That's enough, l hin k.
Next!
Back in the Twenties and
early Thirties, American lib
erals, like their conservative
brethren, were chronic join
ers. When the insiders began
to put on the bite, to move
the caucus out on the floor, to
vote resolutions (and money!
for strange issues and causes,
the suckers and innocents
grumbled, grunted in a quick
parliamentary scissors-hold,
went home early, and mostly
stopped attending meetings.
LONG AGO
That was far away and long
ago. Today, if these one-time
suckers have the misfortune
to be in Federal government
employ, such sympathetic as
sociations" in the past is a
threat to their livelihood, to
their families, and to their
whole future in public or pri-
vate employment.
The terror Is on again in
Washington, worse than at
any time since Martin Dies
was in full cry. 1t exists wher-
ever there are Federal en-
ployees, The Justice Depart
ment and Civil Service Com
mission officials have pledged
a fair hearing" and that the
loyalty investigation will not
become a witch hunt
Today the panic applies to
u. S. employees. 1t threatens
TO spread. Rabid reactionaries
in Congress have taken the
ball away from President Tru-
man. With war whoops and
flashing tomahawks, they pro.
ceed TO do the loyalty job for
him In their own way, knock
ing people out of jobs by
knocking specific jobs out of
the appropriation bills.
All Americans are going to
be hurt. directly and indi-
rectly, in this campaign. They
are partly to blame; they ac-
cepted Martin Dies use of the
word "bureaucrat" as a dirty
epithet and his theory OF
guilt by association" as con-
elusive.
Congress has been hearing
test mony from labor and
weekly paper editors on how