Evening star., 1950-04-13
Left Wing Too Busy
RidicuIing Congress
To Learn lis Power
Film Writers Facing Jail
Should Have Been Told
To Answer Questions
Bv David Laurence


"Left-wing" radicals in the last
few years have been so busy ridi-
culing Congress and belittling its
powers that it is tragic to find
the Hollywood film writer's now
required to go to jail all because
some one didn't advise them cor
rectly that congressional investi.
eating committees must be given
answers to questions asked of wit
nesses.
For a long time, while the House
Un-American Activities Commit
tee was trying to learn from cer-
tain witnesses whether they were
members of Communist organiza-
tions or whether they held Com
munist beliefs. the radicals were
saying that in free America a
mans beliefs were his own and
that Congress had no right to ask
such questions.
This correspondent, on october
80 1947, pointing to the previous
decisions Of the Supreme Court of
the United States, repeated then
what is generally known by con-
stitutional lawyers to be the law
of the land-that congressional
committee can ask anything it
pleases and the witness must an
swer unless he claims that by tes-
tifying he might tend to incrimi-
nate himself.
Basic Right to Question.
This latter excuse is being used
as a dodge more and more. but in
the basic right to ask a question
and to require an answer where
there Is involved no problem of
personal immunity from criminal
charges, Congress has now been
upheld again in its authority. For
the Supreme Court Of the United
States this week declined even to
review the judgment of the lower
courts which convicted the film
writer's. The principles are so
we'll settled that no written opin-
ion was handed down.
One wonders why the Supreme
Court decisions of the past were
ignored by the legal advisers of
the Hollywood writer's. Certainly
in case after case where large
corporations are faced with de-
mands from congressional COM
mittees for information of a
highly confidential character
touching on financial operations
Of business. their attorneys have
always advised compliance-that
there must be some answer given.
II there had been a way to
evade the questioning by congre-
sional committees. the large cor
porations would have discovered
it a long time ago. But, in this
instance, it was evidently assumed
that a mans beliefs were sacred
and that he could not be asked
to tell what he thinks on public
issues or what views he has previ-
ously expressed. The assumption
that a political creed is a personal
matter does not apply even to the
casting of ballot. Under Ger
tain circumstances in connection
with the investigation of election
frauds, it might be pertinent to
learn who voted and how ballots
were cast.
Law For a Long Time.
There Is literally no limit to
the investigating powers of
congressional committee, and the
Supreme Court of the United
States has said so plainly. That's
been constitutional law for long
time-yet nobody evidently told
the Hollywood film writer's about
it..
There are, of course, adventur-
Gus spirits who try to challenge
old court decisions in the vague
hope that these precedents may be
overturned. Such an attempt
might account for a lone case now
and then, but the evident decision
OF the dozen Hollywood men to
defy the House Committee as a
body looks as if there was a pre-
conceived attack planned on the
constitutional right of a con-
eressional committee.
Nobody has ever been able to
prove in court that a question
asked by a congressional COM
mittee might not be germane to
future legislative action of some
kind. 1t has sometimes been as
serted that Congress has no right
to investigate local disorders as
these come within the police
power OF the States, but the answer
usually made is that Congress may
wish to find out whether a con-
stitutional amendment vesting cer-
tain concurrent rights in the
Federal Government to maintain
law and order might be desirable
The best advice any witness
before a congressional committee
can get is to answer questions or
be prepared to pay the penalty OF
a refusal.
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