Evening star., 1947-10-31

Wyn, SuOpOendeQ Dut HcVcI CdAeu,
termed the hearing a flop" and
added they certainly will not in
fluence anyone in our town"
The group of film stars and others
who came to Washington to protest
the investigation reached Holly
wood by plane early today and were
met by cheering crowd Of about
800 persons, according to the Asso-
ciated Press.
"We knew we were sticking our
chins out when we flew East, 7
Actress Marsha Hunt said, "but I
am certain that each one of us Is
deeply glad we went. We believe In
the American tradition that one Is
innocent until proven guilty, and
the hearings were not conducted IN
that tradition.
Meanwhile, Philip Murray, presi-
dent Of the CLIO, made public letter
to Senate and House leaders calling
on them to "act promptly and de-
cisively to repudiate the committee
and to terminate Its existence once
and for all"
Labor has regarded the commit
tees operations to represent, politi-
cally, "the same kind Of thought
control which characterizes the
police state of the nations who were
our enemies in the recent war" ne
declared.
In his story of the espionage at
tempt. Investigator Russell related
this chain of events:
Peter Ivanov, Soviet vice consul
at San Francisco, approached
George Charles Eltenton, an en-
ploye of the Shell Development
Corp. at Emoryville, Calf, and Of
fered to pay for information on
secret work being done at the Uni
versity of CALIFORNIA; radiation lab
oratory.
Mr.. Eltonton then contacted
Haakon Chevalier, professor at
the university, and asked him to md
out what was being done in the
laboratory, particularly on high
ly destructive weapon"
Mr.. Eltonton told the professor that
he had line of communication"
with a Russian official who had told
him that since Russia and the
United States were allies at the time
-1942-the Soviet Union was en-
titled to the information.
The professor sought out DR.. OPP
penheimer, asked for the informa-
ton and told him Mr.. Eltonton
wanted to transmit it to the Soviet
Union.
The exact nature of the scientific
DEVELOPMENT in which the Russians
reportedly were interested was not
disclosed at the hearing, but it was
pointed out that DR.. Oppenheimer
later headed the atomic bomb pro-
iect at Los Alamos, N. M.
DR.. oppenheimer, now director OF
the Institute for Advanced Study
at Princeton University, told the
Associated Press:
Il would like to withhold COM
ment, either confirmation or denial,
of the statements in general or de-
tail in order not to interfere IN any
manner with the activities OF the
agencies of the United states Gov
ernment concerned"
Mr.. Eltenton, reached by the AS
sociated Press at the Shell Rennlng
and Marketing Laboratories In
Thornton, England, said:
II have no comment to make on
such testimony"
He added, however:
Concerning the committees
work in general, it doesn't seem to
be sticking very closely to facts"
Others Mentioned by Russell.
Three other individuals figured
Importantly in Mr.. Russell's testi-
mony. They are:
Charles A. Page, who, according
to Mr.. Russell, was employed at the
State Department from 1928 to 1888,
spent seven years in Hollywood as a
| free-lance writer and returned to
the State Department during the
war. Mr.. Russell listed his address
as Jefferson Apartment, Sixteenth
and M street NV According to
the investigator, Mr.. Page was de-
scribed by a Mexican Communist
leader as lone of eur men,"
Mrs. Louise Brensten, California
heiress, former wife Of the former
owner of the New Masses (Bruce
Minton) who was described by MI.
Russell as q contributor OF large
sums to Communist organizations
and a high-powered arranger OF
contacts"
Alexander Stephens, also known