Evening star., 1950-10-20
State Department
Forced to Go Along
With Justice RuIinq
By Gornett D. Horner

Justice Department action in
applying the new Internal Secur-
ity Acts ban against "totalitarian'
foreigners to Franco Spain S
Falangists lacked State Depart
ment concurrence today but ap-
peared to have President Tru-
mans backing.
The State Department was
forced to go along with the action
at least temporarily by holding
up issuance of visas to Falangists,
but said the whole question of
whether the ban should apply to
them "is still under study"
immigration Service officials in
the Justice Department said the
designation of the Falange as a
"totalitarian" party covered by the
law represents our judgment
and no further study was neces-
sary so far as justice is concerned.
Over Enforcement Charged.
Senator McCarran, Democrat,
of Nevada, chief sponsor of the
controversial law and a longtime
advocate OF closer \relations with
Franco Spain. charged that the
Justice Department is over
enforcing the act because it wants
to amend the law to take the
teeth out of it or to destroy the
confidence of the people in the
act"
President Truman was told at
his news conference late yester-
day that Senator McCarran had
said the administration is trying
to discredit the law. He retorted
that Congress already had done
that. He said he intends to en-
force the law to the letter.
"Absurdity," McCarran Says.
The Justice ruling upheld a
statement in the Presidents mes
sage vetoing the act last month.
Mr.. Truman said then it would
bar Spanish visitors who support
the Franco regime.
Congress overrode the Presi-
dents veto after debate during
which Senator McCarran said it
was IAN absurdity" to contend
the measure would exclude Span
lards. The Senator said then the
Attorney General will never con-
strue the bill in that way unless
he is ordered so to construe it by
a higher authority"
The law bars admission to this
country of persons who are now
or ever have been members of
the Communist "or other totali-
tartan party" of any country.
Departments Disagree.
Because Nazism and Fascism
are mentioned specifically in
another section of the law, the
State. and Justice Departments
began applying the ban to Ger
mans and Italians who ever had
Nazi or Fascist connections, as
we'll as to Communists, as soon
as they started enforcement.
But differences of opinion
quickly developed within both
the departments over whether the
"totalitarian" blacklist should be
extended any further.
The law itself defines "total-
itarian" in a way that most Gov
ernment legal experts interpret as
covering the Franco regime in
Spain. But some officials insist
that the intent of Congress as
well as the letter of the law must
be considered and point to Senator
McCarran's statement that was
not challenged in the veto debate
meaning that Congress did not
intend to ban Franco followers.
A group of lower level State
and Justice Department officials
were attempting to work out a
basis for an agreed Government
Interpretation when. as one in
formant put it. Justice Jumped
the gun" by instructing It's immi-
grafton inspectors to apply the
ban to Falangists.
This happened Tuesday but the
Justice action did not become
known until it was announced
yesterday by Michael J. McDer-
mott, State. Department press
officer.
He said that the State Depart
ment had instructed its visa-is-
suing consuls abroad to hold up
"any decisions to grant or refuse
visas" to Falangists pending fur
ther Instructions"
This doesn't mean that State
agrees or disagrees with the JUS
tice position, he said. He added
that there simply is no State De-
partment position now on whether
Falangist must be barred under
the law because the question still