Evening star., 1950-06-10
Communists
Continued From First PageD

NUIltA4lu ucQ rIOIu E1SI HdSe.l
ever to do with this case at any
time"
Vardaman Knew of Diary.
Mr.. Vardaman said he knew
about the diary before he made
his statement and that. owing to
other activities in which he was
engaged at the time. Mr.. Forrestal
could not have taken the matter
up with him.
Mr.. VardamanS name was
brought into the Senate inquiry
this week when Brig. Gen. julius
Holmes. Assistant Secretary of
State at the time. testified he
seemed to recollect that Mr.. Var
daman had acted to obtain a de-
lay.
The committee also has received
testimony from Assistant Attorney
General James M. McInerney,
chief of the Justice Departments
criminal division. that it was Mr..
Forrestal who intervened in the
case.
References Found in Notes.
The references to the Amerasia
case. battling and mysterious for
five years, were found in diary
notes among Mr.. ForreStal'S pa
pers in New York.
They showed that Mr.. Forrestal
acted in the case after being in
formed on Monday, May %, l945.
by one of his special assistants,
Maj. Matthias F. Correa. that ar
rests were scheduled to be made
two days later. including a lieu
tenant in naval intelligence.
In a May % entry Mr.. For
restal said:
Maj. Correa reported to me
that the Department of Justice
had evidence to the effect that
1t. Andrew Roth had been fur
nishing confidential and secret
documents to man named Jaffe,
head Of a publication named
Amerasia in New York City. Jaffe
has had intimate relationships
with the Russian Consul In New
York.
Other Departments Involved.
"Other departments of the Gov
eminent involved are the Office Of
Strategic Services. the State De-
partment and the Foreign Eco
nomic Administration.
Maj. Correa reported that it
was proposed that 1t. Roth should
be taken into surveillance (Mr.
Forrestal apparently meant to say
custody Wednesday. He said
the FBI thought that unless speedy
action were taken important evil
dence would be dissipated, lost
and destroyed.
II pointed out that the inevita-
BILE course of such action now
would be to greatly embarrass the
President now in his current con-
versations with Stain because of
the anti-Russian playup the in
cident would receive out Of all
proportions to its Importance. :.
"rasked Capt. Vardaman to see
to 1t that the President was in
formed in the matter and I then
called Mr.. Edgar Hoover and sug-
gested that he advise Mr.. Tom
Clark and have him also see that
the President is in full information
of all the facts in the matter as
we'll as their implication"
The discovery of the Informa-
tion in the Forrestal papers be-
came known as Senator'S Know
land of California and Brewster
of Maine. both Republicans. were
demanding that the Senate sub
committee subpoena the diary to
see If it would shed any light
on the mysterious and hotly-dis-
puted case.
The personal papers Of Mr..
Forrestal have been kept secret
since he died last year in a plunge
from an upper floor of the Bethes-
da Naval Hospital shortly after
retiring as the country's first
Secretary of Defense.
The question of who intervened
in the Amerasia case. and why he
did. has had only an indirect i'm
portance in the Senate investiga-
ton because President Truman,
when informed OF the suggested
delay, himself eountermanded the
order and directed a full and Wig
orous prosecution of the case.
Apparently Delayed Arrests.
Mr.. ForrestalS action in the
case, the diary showed, was made
on May %. two days before sched-
uled arrests. and apparently de-
layed action until the matter
came to the attention of Mr.. Tru-
man.
The matter was brought directly
to the Presidents attention by
Gen. Holmes, now American Min
lister in London, who was then
handling the Amerasia matter for
that department. /
On June 2, 1945. Gen. Holmes
took the unusual step Of going to
the White House and personally |
laying the matter before the Presi- |
dent.
The President ordered the JUS
tice Department to proceed with
the case and the FBI made the
arrests on June {, <ls45-nine days
after Mr.. Forrestal had sought q
delay.
Six persons were arrested on
charges of a conspiracy to obtain
illegal possession of Government
documents.
They were Roth. the naval lieu
tenant: Philip Jaffe. editor OF the
obscure magazine devoted to Far |