Evening star., 1948-12-09
Former EmpIoye Of
State Department
Is Questioned
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partment employe, was put on
the stand in the spy hearings
this afternoon and accused of
slipping secret Government
papers to Whitaker Chambers.
The accusation came when
Representative Nixon, Repub-
lican, of California read hith-
erto secret testimony of Mr..
Chambers, confessed former
Communist courier. Wadleigh
himself refused to say whether
he ever gave restricted" docu-
ments to Mr.. Chambers.
TESTIF1ES before New
York grand jury. Page AS
One of two former Federal
employees said by Whitaker
Chambers to have slipped him
secret Government information
was put on the stand to testify
at an open hearing called by the
House Committee on Un-Ameri-
can Activities early this after
noon.
Representative Mundt, Repub-
lican, of South Dakota, acting
chairman said the man had been
located in the Washington area and
was questioned by the committee in
a closed session before the public
hearing began. Mr.. Mundt refused
to reveal his identity in advance of
the public hearing.
This development came as it was
revealed that Assistant Attorney
General Alex Campbell had asked
the committee not to call witnesses
in its efforts to expose details and
persons involved in the stealing of
Government documents which have
been turned over to the committee
by Mr.. Chambers, an avowed former
Soviet agent.
Rankin Hits Interference.
The request Of Mr.. Campbell, head
of the Justice Department Grim
inal Division, was revealed by Rep
resentative Rankin, Democrat, of
a member of the COM
mittee. Mr.. Rankin said the depart
ments attempts to interfere with
the committee hearings are "asi-
ninely stupid"
Mr.. Rankin said Mr.. Campbell
protested the committees plan to
call witnesses in a formal letter.
The letter was not made public.
According to Mr.. Rankin, Mr..
Campbell quoted law to the effect
that no testimony given by wit
nesses before any committee OF
Congress can be used as evidence in
any criminal proceedings except
perjury charges.
That's true" Mr.. Rankin con-
ceded, but that does not have any
effect whatsoever on testimony given
elsewhere. The Justice Department
can put the same witnesses on the
stand"
Witness Described as Suspect.
The man called to testify before
the committee this afternoon was
described by Mr.. Mundt as "one of
the two suspects we have been look
ing for as a result Of information
given us by Mr.. Chambers
Last Monday, Mr.. Chambers, now
a senior editor of Time Magazine,
was said by committee members to
have named at least two former
Government employees as sources of
secret information. These were in
addition to Alger Hiss, former State
Department official named by Mr..
Chambers as one of his sources.
Committee members said Mr..
Chambers has turned over to the
committee more than 200 documents,
IS of which may be made public
soon.
Since Monday, the committee has
been trying to locate the two men
named by Mr.. Chambers who gave
him secret Government information
while he was operating as Soviet
agent here in 1887 and 1888. One of
the men, it was disclosed earlier, was
a former State Department employe
and the other formerly worked for
the National Bureau of Standards.
After bluntly accusing the Justice
Department of trying to silence the
Representative Nixon,
of California disclosed
earlier that he has been assured of a
chance to present the committees
(See SPY INQUIRY, Page A-5D