Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-05-15
Question Of Appeal
By Reds Raised by
Attack on Budenz
III Convicted Communists
Muy Cite Chovez Talk
To Discredit Witness
Bv David Laurence

one of the witnesses on the side
of Senator Mccarthy, Republican,
of Wisconsin, in his crusade
against Communists in the Gov
eminent.
& It is scarcely to be assumed
that Senator Chavez, Democrat,
of New Mexico. who made a
spirited attack on Mr.. Budenz in
. the Senate last week was not
speaking his party's attitude.
But the New Mexico Senator
now has aroused the wrath OF the
: president of Fordham University
the Very Reverend Laurence F.
Mckinley, because the Senator in
his speech accused Mr.. Budenz'
=. q Fordham professor, OF hiding
behind the shield of the Catholic
Church. Intersection of the Catho-
lie Church into the whole con-
: troversy was a move hardly calcu-
g, lated to diminish the bitterness
. that has already enveloped the
Mccarthy episode.
Senator Chavez in his speech
said things about Louis Budenz
which now raise a question as to
whether the II Communists con-
victed in Judge Medina's Federal
: court in New York City very
largely on Mr.. Budenz's testimony
may not have logical basis for
appeal on the ground that the
Democratic Party in the Senate
has begun a series of moves seek
. ing to discredit Mr.. Budnez as a
witness.
It is known that the FBI stands
behind the credibility of Mr..
Budenz as a witness. In fact,
1t is reliably reported that in
every case where the FBI checked
up on questions on which he testi-
fed, the facts stood up against
challenge.
More Suspicion Aroused.
" So the spectacle of a prominent
Democratic Senator launching a
bitter attack on the personal
character as we'll as credibility OF
Mr.. Budenz will only tend to
arouse more and more suspicion
as to what it is all about. Why
do the Democrats, it will be asked
spend so much time and energy
trying to discredit the accusers
and their witnesses and at the
same time place such obstacles in
the way of getting at the official
records and files about those who
have been accused?
Certainly the placing of restric-
.tions on the examination at the
White House Offices of the 81
cases in the loyalty files of the
State Department is bound to in
tensify suspicion. Why are not the
Senators on the Tydings commit
tee allowed to make notes as they
read the files? Why are they COM
PEELED to rely on memory for
facts needed when they go back
to their investigation on Capitol
Hill? Why is the chief counsel
of the Senate committee kept
from reading the files?
II the files are made available
at all to the Senators and if they
are to be trusted that much it
seems illogical that they should
not be trusted to make notes on
the files.
The fact is the Administration
is making blunder after blunder
in handling the Mccarthy charges
and thus is giving them much
more credibility in the public
mind than they perhaps deserve,
Politically. the Administration
is bound to lose ground by such a
course. Here is a Democratic Sen
ator attacking not only witness
in relation to his religious affilia-
tons, but also. in effect, a Cath
Ollie NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Univer-
sity-which accepted Mr.. Budenz
on its faculty as a teacher. What
Father Mckinley. head Of the uni
versity. says is perhaps a fore
runner of other comments yet tc
come from Catholic sources. He
says:
=. 1T has remained for a mem
:. Der of the United States Senate
: to bring this personal vilif1catior
of Prof. Budenz to point ever
lower that that reached in thu
columns of the Daily Worker. Il
might fairly be said that never
within recent memory has a mem.
Der of Congress so used his i'm.
munity in personal attack upor
the character of fellow citizen
Mistakes Are "Open Book"
1.-THE Senator had the effron.
terry, moreover, to pose as Cath
Ollie while publicly enacting this
vicious offense against Christian
charity
Whatever mistakes Prof. Blu
.denz has made in the past are
an open book
!, 1.-THE Catholic Church, con.
WINGED of the sincerity of his re.
pentance, welcomed Louis Budenz
back into the fold. Let those, who
in the name of the church Of
g charity presume to shout anothe
mans alleged transgressions from
the housetops look instead init
their own hearts"
-, Whenever the strategy boare
of the Democratic administration
meets again the members NIGH
well consider that attacks in tn,
Senate on the religion of any in
dividual and his reasons for re.
pentance of sin are not goot
material for political combat.
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