Evening star., 1950-04-10
Mistakes Of Judgment
Made on Most Sides
In Mccarthy Case
FBI Should Be Left Out
Of Row in Order to Avoid
Political Toint, 1t Is Held
By David Laurence

MlSIdkeS Ol Judgment nave De6L
made by nearly everybody con.
cerned in the controversy growing
out of the attempt by Senator
Mccarthy, Republican. of Wis
consin, to prove that communistit
influences have shaped the
policies of the State Department
Here are some of the appraisals
that can be enumerated thus far:
/. Senator Mccarthy was mis-
taken in demanding that FBI files
be made available to Congress
No detective agency of the Gov
ernment can ever be effective il
it must disclose its sources OF in
formation.
2. The Administration was
mistaken in yielding to the Nc
Carthy demands even in a limited
way by permitting a Senate For
eign Relations subcommittee to
have access to a summary" pre-
pared by FBI Chief j. Edgar
Hoover at the request of the At
torney General. The summary
confined itself only to one phase
Other pertinent questions bearing
on the Mccarthy charges were
not asked of the FBI, and hence
were not included in the so-called
summary"
3. FBI Chief Hoover was mis-
taken in keeping silent. He should
have made protest to the public
against turning over any informa-
ton whatsoever from his files to
anybody outside his department,
even though it was his own
superior who requested it. The
public would have supported him
on the principle involved. He now
has been put by Senator Tydings'
Democrat, of Maryland. in the
embarrassing position of having
evaluated information in his files
for a congressional committee-a
bad precedent.
McGrath Mistaken.
4. Attorney General McGrath
was mistaken in judgment in let
ting the members of the Senate
subcommittee ask Mr.. Hoover
orally or otherwise whether GER
tain individuals constituted "bao
security" risks. If a congressional
committee is to be allowed to ask
three questions, they are entitled
to ask many more questions and
hence FBI information would not
then be protected as it should be
until ready for court proceedings
If, indeed, any are to be brought
5. Senator Tydings was mis-
taken in publicly announcing GER
tain things as having been writ
ten in the so-called FBI sum-
mary" and then failing to tell
the committee at its public hear
ing what important things of a
contradictory nature Mr.. Hoover
also said orally in answer to other
questions asked of him concern
ing the subject of bad security
risks" 1t was a mistake for
Senator Tydings to go to the
Justice Department without Sen
ator Hickenlooper, who repre-
sented Senator Mccarthy.
s. Senator Lodge, Republican,
of Massachusetts,, as we'll as the
Democratic Senators who did go
there were mistaken in failing to
disclose to the public that Sen
ator Tydings did not include the
whole story of what was said at
their meeting with the Attorney
General and the FBI chief.
Right to Air Charges.
The executive and legislative
branches of the Government have
concurrent responsibilities in fer
reting out wrongdoing. A member
of Congress, having reason to
believe that evidence is being
suppressed or a prosecution with
held by the Justice Department
has a right to air his charges
before Congress with the idea OF
bringing about a congressional
inquiry with it's own staff of in
vestigators. Without the evidence
uncovered. for instance, by the
House Un-American Activities
Committee. the Alger Hiss case
might never have been revealed
If q member of Congress thinks
a political whitewash is being
carried on by the political party
in control of a congressional com.
mittee, he has a right to expose
his charges on the floor, utilizing
congressional immunity, in the
hope of forcing a thorough in.
vestigation. This kind of investi.
CATION is something which un-
fortunately Senator Tydings has
not carried out in the present
case.
Senator Mccarthy in the first
instance should have turned over
his evidence about alleged Com
munists to the House Un-Amer.
ican Activities Committee and he
should have confined himself te
his principal thesis whether
communistic influences have
played a part in formulating Fan
Eastern policy in the State De.
partment. That is a subject on
which opinions differ and he
does not stand alone. For there
are other Republicans in the
Senate who think American pol
icy in the Far East has been q
series OF tragic mistakes. But
ABOVE all the FBI should be left
out OF these controversies so il
ran continue -