Evening star., 1948-12-18
Top Officials Serenity
In Spy Case Believed
Disturbing 10 Public
Grover Disclosure Could
HordIy Be Mode; People
Entitled to Know Why
By Frank n. Kent

iuttcc except on CI1e LQeOfy G1at
for either personal or political rea-
sons they want to bottle the whole
business up. There is nothing smart
about this attitude and there is
nothing good about 1t, either. Ap-
parently, the indictment of Alger
Hiss for perjury by the New York
Grand jury has not altered it very
much.
Whatever may be thought Of the
personnel and methods of the COM
mittee (and both have been greatly
overdenouncedD. through it there
has been revealed the stunning fact
that 10 years ago officials of our
State Department were covertly
supplying copies of highly secret
documents to the espionage agent
Of a foreign power. A graver dis
closure could hardly be made. Nor
Is there any doubt about 1t. The
copies have been identified as au-
thentic by former Undersecretary
Sumner Welles and present Assist
ant Secretary John E. Peurifov.
Both have insisted that some of
these documents are so important
that their publication even how
would be damaging to The national
security.
Facts Are Not Denied.
No suggestion Is made that the
documents are not what they seem.
No denial Is made that they were
copied and conveyed to Whit
taker Chambers, the self-confessed
former Communist and spy. Chiefly
the denials came froa Mr.. Hiss,
who Mr.. Chambers swears furnished
him many Of these documents and
much information over a consider
able period Of time. This the now
indicted MIR. Hiss unequivocally de-
nies. Another former State Depart
ment ohicial-Mr. Henry Julian
Wadleigh-named by Mr.. Chambers
as also supplying sinformation and
documents, refused to answer Ques-
tions before the committee on the
ground that he might incriminate
himself. Now the question of whether
Mr.. Hiss and MIR. Wadleigh are guilty
"A charged by Mr.. Chambers Is, of
course, very important to them but,
80 far as the country Is concerned,
that is a minor matter. There are
several questions vastly more vital,
full answers to which the people are
clearly entitled.
One Of these is: II the charges are
true. what and who were back
of these State Department Of
ficials? Were they disloyal for
pay or for some other reason? Have
they all been cleared out or do any
remain whose loyalty is question:
able? And, finally, who sponsored
these men In the first place? Who
put them in positions where they
had access to the top secrets of the
department and were able to pass
them on to the agent Of a foreign
power? 1t is important to know
these things. 1t is important to
MAKE public all information bear
ing upon this incident which Is
among the most unsayory In our
history.
In some ways it Is more unsavory
than the Tea Pot Dome scandals of
the Harding administration which
also, it will be recalled, were revealed
by o congressional committee.
Though some of the facts were
known to the FBI and an AS
sistant Secretary of State some
years ago, clearly they would not
have been made public but for this
committee. Clearly. it was a real
public service to dig them out.
Clearly, the full story has not been
told and, quite clearly, it should be
told. Yet, instead of cooperating
with the committee in uncovering
the whole Shiny business, the ad-
ministration appears to be trying
to cover it up.
Position Called Illogical.
Mr.. Truman still holds to his un-
founded and ridiculous campaign
assertion that it is all q red her
ring" The Department of Justice
blocks the committee in its effort
to examine witnesses and refuses
1t access to papers. And the New
Deal writer's divide into two
classes one denounces the COM
mittee for its lack of dignity
and decorum; the other declares
that the facts as revealed by the
committee and the Chambers papers
are innocuous and inane; that
nothing Of importance has devel-
oped: that the average citizen is
bored to tears" and, anyhow, 1t Is
all 10 years old.
Finally, it is obvious that as soon
as the Democrats take over Congress
an administration effort to abolish
the Un-American Activities Com
mittee will be made. The charge
Is that the objective is to smother
and whitewash. There is more than
a little evidence to sustain this
allegation. The administration DO
sition in this very serious matter is
Illogical and wrong. In addition, it
Is stupid. This is the sort of thing
that cannot be smothered or brushed
aside. It would be against the
national interests to do so. Also, it
would be against public sentimentl
as reflected in Congress.
This, Mr.. Truman is likely to dis
cover if and when he attempts to
carry out present plans. Insistence
that the committee has done moth
ing except hunt headlines" and
that it must become a dead COM
mittee," is not likely to commend
itself to the normal man or woman.
1t is more apt to discredit those who
try to maintain that position. In
the face of such developments such
complete serenity on the part of
the White House and State Depart
ment is-to put it mildly-unbe-
coming. If these developments do
not disturb them it is appropriate to
ask: What would?
Students Who's Who