Evening star., 1950-08-03
Wire-Tapping
Inquiry Plans
ToBePushed
Agencies Included;
District Subcommittee
Headed by Pepper
By Don S. Warren

dered yesterday by the Senate
Disctrict Committee. is expected
to be set in motion tomorrow.
BY unanimous vote, the com.
mittee late yesterday assigned tht
probe to five-man subcommittee
headed by Senator Pepper. Demo.
crat, of Florida.
Serving with him will be Sen.
ators Neely of West Virginia anc
Kefauver of Tennessee, Demo
Gratis, and Hendrickson Of New
Jersey and Darby of Kansas, Re.
publicanS.
The inquiry will include report
ed secret use by Government
agencies Of machines that make
records OF telephone converse,
tions with officials of the bureaus
Brewster Issues Denial.
Senator Williams, Republican
of Delaware, insisted that thi.
subject be included and won i'm
mediate agreement from Senator
Pepper, author of the investiga-
ton resolution.
One of the first reactions tc
the decision of the District Com
mittee was a fiat and blanket de-
nial by Senator Brewster, Repub-
lican, of Maine. that he had any
association with, or even any
knowledge of, reported tapping of
the telephone of Howard Hughes
during the 1947 Senate investi-
cation of the plane builders war
contracts, or of any other wire
tapping.
Reporters had sought out Sen
ator Brewster for a statement,
since rumors had linked his name
with accusations that Mr.. Hughes
phone was tapped while he was
here for investigation.
The Maine Senator, promptly
complying with requests for an
interview, told reporters he
thought the investigation was g
most excellent idea" since il
might be the means of "disposine
of rumors by getting the facts
Answers Disect Question.
He said he had repeatedly tole
his story. but in answer to 6
direct question as to whether hi
had had any association with the
reported incident, he said:
II have never authorized, di.
rected or had any knowledge OF
discussion of wire-tapping" He
said this was so as to the Hughes
case or any other.
No Senate official or member
of the District Committee had
named the Brewster-Hughes case
as a basis for the current inquiry,
though this was generally under
stood to be in the picture.
Nor was there any open state
ment linking it with 1t. Joseph
w. Shimon of the Second Pre-
cinct, former chief investigator
assigned to the United States At
torney's Office by the police de-
partment, and now facing wire
tapping investigation.
In fact, the Pepper resolution
was quite general. 1t directed
District Committee Chairman
Nicely to appoint a subcommittee
of five members "to investigat,
wire-tapping of telephones ant
other means of communication il
the District by members of thu
police force or others, and to re-
port to the committee thereon" :"
Authorizes Subpoenas.
The. resolution also authorized
the subcommittee ito swear wit
nesses, to issue subpoenas ant
other compulsory process and t.
exercise all other powers which
the committee itself may exer
ciSe."
Under the Congressional Reor
ganization Act, each standing sub
committee is authorized to con
duct pertinent Investigations ant
to issue Subpoenas. The resolution
members explained, specified thes'
things SO as to make clear tn,
Pepper subcommittee had the full
backing of the District Committee
Senator Brewster told reporter
he thought the new probe hat
some "very interesting possibili
ties" since it was to cover "th'
whole field" He, too, brought VI
reports that telephone converse
tions were being recorded on tn
gadgets that can be attached t.
phone instruments-this withou
the knowledge of the person Of
the other end of the line.
Senator's Phone Involved.
Similar stands had been takel
earlier by Chairman Nicely an
Senator Pepper. Senator Neel
said he had received complaint
that during the past year the tele
phone OF a Every prominent Sena
tor" had been tapped. Certainly
If that is going on and the polio
are doing it," he told his commit
tee, ''it ought to be stopped"
Senator Nicely last night refuse
to confirm or deny one publishe
report that it was the phones c
Senator Lucas, Democrat, of Hi
nois, the Senate majority leade.
that had been repeatedly fixed fc
tapping. Senator Lucas said h
had no knowledge of any wire
tapping of his phone.
The FBI, reputedly aware c
the report, said mo comment"
Senator Pepper said that
people coming to the Capita
cant engage in a private tele
phone conversation without fea
that police are listening in, the
certainly are not enjoying tn
kind of security that this countr
ought to afford them"
Wire-tapping, he added, is wi
I.r