Evening star., 1948-08-05
Civil Service Ignored
Adverse Reports on
Reds Rees Charges.


man Rees of the House Civil
Service Committee has charged
that top officials of the Civil
Service Commission cleared
Nathan Gregory Silvermaster
and other loyalty suspects over
objections of their subordinate
Investigators.
Mr.. Rees made his lengthy attack
on the House floor yesterday, a few
hours after the House Committee on
Un-American Activities finished
questioning Silvermaster, accused by
an avowed former espionage agent
of heading spy ring" of Federal
workers here who supplied the So
Wet with information.
Promising that his own committee
soon" will start hearings on the
entire loyalty set-up, Mr.. Rees
spread the blame for what he called
a confusing, haphazard and al
most completely irresponsible" pro-
gram among top civil service Off
cials, as well as agency heads. who
disregard" commission findings.
New Data on Silvermaster.
Mr.. Rees made public, for the first
time, large amount of new mate
rial on Silvermaster, who said he
left the Federal service in Novem-
ber, 1916, because he was being
"harassed"
He also brought out new data on
three other figures mentioned by
Miss Elizabeth Bentley, Silvermast-
ers accuser. And he traced for the
first time investigations of four
other present or former Federal en-
ployes. not heretofore mentioned in
the stormy espionage hearings of
the House and Senate investigating
committees.
AS late as July 10. 1916, Mr.. Rees
declared, his committee held hear
ing to investigate Silvermaster'
loyalty An official of the Justice
Department was present at the time,
he added
Cites 1912 Findings.
But it was on May %, 1912, he
went on, that Civil Service Com
mission official, after reviewing an
inVestigatory report of several
hundred pages" recommended:
TT is my conclusion that Silver
master is definitely either an active
member of the Communist Party or
so directly aligned with their lead
ers and interests in the San Fran
cisco Bay Area, if not on national
scale. as to color and affect his serv-
ice for the Federal Government. 1t
is felt that by reason of these at
tachments, his continued employ
ment in his present capacity or at
all by the Federal Government can
only serve to advance the cause of
the Communist Party in its ulti-
mate design to disrupt America S
political and economic texture"
The vast civil service record, Mr..
Rees said, contains statements that
Silvermaster was "active in a San
Francisco unit of the Communist
Party under the party name of
Serge Komov.'" The investigation
launched when Silvermaster ap-
piled for transfer from the Agri-
culture Department to the Board
+. of Economic Warfare, also included
> a report from the American Legion
> that Silvermaster had close asso-
Citations with Sam Darcy Samuel
A. Darcy, Communist candidate for
Governor of California in 1884, .
MI Rees said.
Tiukad In Harry Rr;dr~e
At the hearing yesterday it was
brought out from civil service files
that witnesses said Silvermaster
S<Uas member of the Fillmore
group of the Communist Party and
that he was closely associated with
Darcy 90. and Harry Bridges, West
Coast labor leader. Those files
quoted other witnesses as saying he
was active in Seattle and com
pletely underground in 1920
Mr.. Rees also told of a strange
stipulation in divorce decree
insisted upon by the former hus-
band of Silvermaster's present wife
when they were divorced in 1929.
Mr.. Rees said it regarded custody
of their child. and read:
Both parties agree that neither
shall remove the child from the
United States without the consent
of the other party, given in writing
and the parties agree that the child
shall be educated in the accepted
American principles in the spirit of
American freedom and democracy
and that he shall not be exposed
to Communists or anti-religious
teachings
G-2 Urged Removed.
While the investigation was going
on, Mr.. Rees declared, Military In
telligence also investigated and told
the Board of Economic Warfare to
remove" Silvermaster from its off,
ces. The BEW. however. handed
CPS investigation to Silvermaster
to answer and then advised ca
that the charges against Silver
master we're unfounded, he stated.
Later, Mr.. Rees said. in December,
1914, Civil Service top officials,
over objections of subordinate off,
cials. approved Silvermaster's trans
fer to the Treasury Department
because, in the words of the COM
mission, There was no reasonable
doubt as to his loyalty to the
United States"
From here on Silvermaster trans
ferred from one agency to another
with relative ease" Mr. Rees con-
tinued, and. his salary rapidly in
creased from $4,000 per annum to
$4,000 a year at the War Assets
= Administration, his last post.
In all, Mr.. Rees said. Silvermaster,
In his II years of Federal employ
ment, earned more than $4,000.
Al retirement age" he added. he
will be eligible to receive from the
Government an annuity of approx
mately $500 a year
Case Held Typical.
Mr.. Rees said the Silvermaster
, case is typical of investigations
which might as well have not been
conducted
Turning to another figure named
by Miss Bentley as member of the