Evening star., 1950-06-11
Amerasia Probe
To Get ForrestaI
Notes on Case
Seeretoy's Attempts
To Aid Trumon Held
Up Arrests for Week
By Cecil Holland

James V. Forrestal, revealing ne
intervened in the l945 Amerasia
case to be sure that President
Truman was fully informed be-
fore arrests were made. will be
placed before Senate investigators
tomorrow.
The diary notes show that Mr..
Forrestal. then Secretary Of the
Navy. feared the arrests might
greatly embarrass" President
Truman during critical negotiar
tions with Russia over the estabI
lishment of the United Nations.
Quotations from the Forrestal
diary were disclosed exclusively
by The Star yesterday. The jus
tice Department confirmed the
contents to reporters generally
late in the day.
The Justice Department said
Mr.. Forrestal's action served to
delay for few days the arrest
of six persons in the case.
Truman Ordered Arrests.
The arrests had been scheduled
for May 80. ls45. The Forrestal
notes showed They were car
ried out by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation a week later after
the matter had been brought to
Mr.. Truman's attention and after
the President personally ordered
the case pushed vigorously and
completely.
The notes. 1t was learned, were
found among Mr.. Forrestals
papers in New York. They have
been kept secret since Mr.. For
restal died last year in a plunge
from an upper floor OF the Be-
thesda Naval Hospital soon after
retiring as the country's first Sec
retary of Defense.
1t Is understood that pertinent
facts" from the papers will be
made available to the Senate For
eign Relations subcommittee in.
vestigating the five-year-old case
that involves alleged theft OF Sc
cret Government documents.
Navy Had Interest In Case.
The subcommittee. headed by
Senator Tydings, Democrat. OF
Maryland. is looking into the case
as part of its inquiry into charges
OF communism In the State De-
partment.
The diary showed that Mr.. For
restal acted In the matter On May
20. 1945. after being informed by
one of his special assistants, Mai.
Matthias F. Correa. that the FBI
was about to crack down in the
case.
The Navy had a direct interest
in the matter since one of the
persons involved in the case was
Andrew Roth. then a lieutenant
In Navy intelligence and assigned
to liaison capacity with the State
Department.
Forrestal Notes Quoted.
In notes dated May 20, l94S,
Mr., Forrestal wrote:
Maj. Correa reported to me
that the Department of Justice
had evidence to the effect that
1t. Andrew Roth had been fur.
nishing confidential and secret
documents to man named Jaffe.
head OF a publication named
Amerasia In New York City. Jaffs
has had intimate relationships
with the Russian consul in New
York.
Other departments Of the Goy-
ernment involved are the once of
Strategic Services. the State De-
partment and the Foreign Eco
nomic Administration.
Maj. Correa reported that IL
was proposed that 1t. Roth should
be taken into surveillance wednes-
day. He said the FBI thought
tnat unless speedy action were
taken important evidence would
be dissipated. lost and destroyed.
Diary Involves vardaman.
Il pointed out the inevitable
course of such action now would
be to greatly embarrass the Presi-
dent now In his current conversa-
tons with Stain because of the
anti-Russian play-up the incident
would receive out Of all proper
tions TO its importance.
II asked Capt. Vardaman to see
to 1t that the President was in
formed In the matter and I then
called Mr.. Edgar Hoover and sug-
Continued on Page A, Col. So