Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1949-07-22
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Feud Has No Basis

from two separate sources.
One was President Truman, who
got highly indignant at the smear
ing of lot of innocent bystanders
when the FBI reports in the Judith
Coplon case were published. Tru-
man felt that unchecked rumors
should not have been allowed to
get into the FBI files, and for
while he was all for firing the eff
Gent FBI chief.
The other source was J. Edgar
Hoover's public relations man, Lou
Nichols, smart and likable Creek
American, formerly Nicholopolous,
who, in his zeal to protect his boss,
sometimes outsmarts himself.
1t was Nichols who set in motion
the rumor that Hoover was about
to resign-as backfire against
Humans intimation that it might
be good thing to have Hoover re-
sign.
Nichols was busy as a bird
dog dropping hints to newsmen
about friction between Hoover
and his chief, Attorney Cen
eral Tom Clark, and one edi-
torial in a local Washington
newspaper followed Nichols
conversation almost verbatim.
Nichols is the same alert busy
body who shuttled back and forth
between the FBI and Capitol Hill
last summer when it was a good
bet the Republicans were going to
win in November. He seemed al
most as much at home in the office
OF Congressman Parnell Thomas,
chairman of the un-American &C.
INVITES committee, as the congress-
man himself. (Thomas is now I'M
der indictment in a kickback scan
DALI
Nichols also was chummy with
COP. Senator Ferguson of Michi-
gan, bitter foe of the justice de-
partment. In fact, Lou was credited
with slipping Ferguson the Eliza
beth Bentley spy data, and was so
active that some capitol observers
were unkind enough to say Lou
was playing his cards to become
chief of the FBI once the Reubli-
cans took office - though this OBJ
server has never detected anything
but strict devotion to his chief.
Clark and Hoover
Contrary to reports Of trouble
between Hoover and Attorney Gen
eral Clark, Hoover never sent a
letter Threatening resignation, and
here is what actually happened be-
tween the two men:
Clark telephcned Hoover after
DR.. Edward U. Condor of the bu-
reau of standards had asked for an
FB1 apology. Jokingly, Clark
called Hoover "Dr Condor"
Hoover laughed.
Clark then asked how many
confidential agents he had lost
as a result of making public
the FBI reports in the Condor
case. Hoover said he had lost
about IL, and that the one that
was most important was inside
the Russian embassy.
The attorney general said he had
been talking to Acting Secretary
Of State Webb, who said he was
sure the Russians knew they were
being watched.
Clark went on to say that he
simply could not drop the Coplon
case rather than produce the FBI
reports because, if he did, every
espionage agent in the United
States would figure he had immun-
ity.
Hoover than asked if the justice
department couldn't take "a con-
tempt as in the Touhy case in
Chicago. There, gangster Roger
Touhy had demanded that certain
FBI reports be produced in court,
and the justice department had re-
fused, even though Judge John
Barnes threatened to hold the local
US. attorney in contempt.
Clark replied that the TOuhy
case was different from the
COplon case in that TOuhy was
making an appeal and the bur-
den of proof was OH him. There
fore, all the justice department
risked in taking "a contempt"
was a Si00 fine. In the CoplOn
case, on the other hand, Clark
continued, the justice depart
m.nt was the prosecutor, and
if it was held in contempt the
Judge would not merely assess
500 fine, he would dismiss
the case.
Hoover said he guessed the at
torney general was right He added
that publication of the FBI papers
in court was now water over the
dam, but he would be dead opposed
to producing the "top secret" docu-
ment.
Clark Agrees
Clark said he heartily agreed,
and that if the judge ruled this re-
port had to be published, then he
would appeal to a higher court