Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1950-03-31
COP Embarrassed
By Backfire On
Mccarthy Charges
BY Nathan Robertson
For Labor Press Association


w now, Republicans and their allies, the
Dixiecrats, have been creating suspicion of the
New Deal and the Fair Deal by talking about
communists In the government. At last these
charges are backfiring In such a way that the
Republicans are likely to be seriously hurt
The loyalty Investigations have proved
there never were many communists In the
government service. But for more than ten
years conservatives In Congress have been
casting suspicion on the Roosevelt and Truman
administrations by picturing them as infested
with communists.
Started by Martin Dies, the former Texas
Congressman, this attempt to picture liberals
as communists reached climax a month ago
when Sen. Mccarthy (R, Wis., charged there
were more than 200 communists in the State
Department. L ater he said there were 81
known "card-carrying" members of the COM
munist party In the department
This forced a Senate investigation which
has shown that Mccarthy had very little evil
dence to back up his charges. The first two
mentioned by Mccarthy were Judge Doro-
thy Kenyon of New York and Philip Jessup,
Americas ambassador r-at-large. Both have ap-
peared before the Senate investigating COM
mittee and convincingly refuted McCarthy's
charges. Both have received widespread con-
servative support from friends who know them
we'll Miss Kenyon was backed by distin-
guished group of lawyers headed by John w.
Davis n former presidential candidate, Jessup
got strong support from Gems. George Mar
shall and Dwight Eisenhower.
Even more striking has been McCarthy's
failure to back up his original charges So far
he has failed to name a single individual he
claims is q "card-carrying" member Of the
communist party. Most of the names he has
submitted to the investigating committee have
been accompanied by no charges, and no evil
dence. What evidence he has presented has
been the guilt by association" kind that
would not stand up In any court.
The result of the inquiry, so far, has been
to turn a hotter spotlight on Mccarthy than
on any Of those he has accused Jessup told
the committee the Mccarthy charges were
mot only false but utterly irresponsible" and
said they revealed "a shocking disregard for
the interests of our country
Meanwhile evidence has turned up that
McCarthy's own record warrants investigation
by the Senate. II 1t were not for the danger
OF making him martyr, there probably would
by this time be move In the Senate to un-
seat him.
McCarthys' conduct as Wisconsin State
Judge has twice been condemned by the iWs-
Judge has twice been condemned by the Wis
would warrant action to unseat him. He also
has been forced to pay up income taxes on
income he failed to report
The State Supreme Court first denounced
Mccarthy for destroying evidence in case
In which he sat as Judge and which was later
appealed to the higher court The upper court
held that McCarthys action had been highly
improper" II AIDED that "the destruction of
evidence under these circumstances could only
be open to the inference that the evidence
destroyed contained statements of fact con-
uary to the position GER by the person
destroying the evidence"
Another court case showed that Mccarthy
reached the Senate by methods that were in
violation of legal ethics and of his own oath
as a member OF the bar.
After Mccarthy reached the Senate, the
State Board of Bar Examiners of Wisconsin
filed complaint with the Wisconsin Supreme
Court charging that Mccarthy had held his
judicial post while running for the Senate It
said that this a violation of the canons of
ethics adopted by the American Bar Associa-
ton and the Wisconsin State Bar Association
and OF his own oath of office