Evening star., 1948-03-07
Rankin Urges
Truman 10 Yield
Files on Condor
Says Horrimon, Clark
Should Be Ousted if
They Don't Cooperate
By J. A. O'Leov

President Truman was urged
last night by Representative
Rankin, Democrat, of Mississippi
to order Government agencies to
give the House Un-American Ac-
tivities Committee, of which he
is a member, the loyalty files on
DR.. Edward U. Condor, director
of the Bureau of Standards.
Mr. Rankin said Secretary OF
Commerce Hartman should be
asked to resign if he continues to
refuse to comply with the commit
tee subpoena. and that Attorney
General Clark also should be re-
quired to step down and out" If he
advised. against supplying the in
formation. He added that Congress
might have to impeach some top
flight bureaucratS."
Mr.. Hartman has informed the
committee it would be prejudicial to
the public interest to turn over the
records on which the Commerce De-
partment's Loyalty Board gave DR..
Condor a clean bill. The Commerce
Secretary said Attorney General
Clark had advised him Government
departments are not bound by law
to furnish such information to Con-
gressional committees.
Review to Be Asked.
Mr.. Hartman concurred in the
findings OF his departmental board,
but announced that, in view OF the
public interest in the matter, he
would ask the Federal Loyalty Re-
view Board to go over the case.
Other developments at the Capi-
tol yesterday were:
Representative Nixon. Republican.
of California sent kilograms last
night to Mr.. Hartman and Mr..
Clark, asking them to make an ex-
ception to their general ruling by
releasing an FBI letter OF May Is,
1947, to the Commerce Department
on DR.. Condor, in order to clear up
controversy which has developed
over its contents.
Two members of the Joint House.
Senate Atomic Energy Committee
conferred yesterday with members
Eof the House Un-American Actlvi-
ties Committee, seeking information
to guide the joint group in deciding
tomorrow whether it should make
it's own inquiry.
Rattle Seen Over Funds.
Meanwhile, there was a possibility
of a floor battle in the House early
this week, when the resolution te
: give the Un- American Activities
Committee 100000 for expenses fol
the remainder of this year comes
up for action.
After Commerce officials had re.
fused to produce their files Friday
subcommittee voted unanimously
to recommend to the full Un-Amer-
ican Activities Committee that 1t
proceed with open hearings, at which
DR.. Condor, FBI Director ]. Edgar
Hoover and others would testify.
In the absence of Chairman
Thomas, who is recuperatlng from
an illness, no date has been set tor
these hearings. Representative NC
Dowell, Republican, OF Pennsylvania
said yesterday, however, that Chair
man Thomas has agreed to his sug-
pestion that the committee stan
drop everything else to concentrate
on the Condor case
Il feel" he said, I'VE should hear
DR.. Condor at once"
Partial Report Issued.
The current controversy began
last Monday, when an Un-American
Activities subcommittee stated In q
partial report that DR.. Condor
knowingly or unknowingly' had en-
tertained and associated with al
legged Soviet espionage agents the
report also called him "one OF the
weakest links in our atomic security" ="
DR.. Condor said the country need
not worry, I'm absolutely reliable.
The subcommittee report quoted
only portions of the FBI letter to the
Commerce Department. In his tele-
gram to Secretary Hartman last
night. Representative Nixon wrote +:
I'm view of the fact that several
contradictory purported clauses OF
the letter have been published, and
, that a controversy has arisen over
the exact contents and language Oh
this letter, I feel that the public IN
'