Evening star., 1951-11-26
TaftCha||enges
Truman Charges
On Ohio Election
Sinister Conspiracy
Spent So to His ST,
Senator Tells Probers
By J. A. OLeory

olilO UOOdy OCoCl4UtU DIS CUIIl
pletely false" President Truman
statement last week that "specia
interests" poured money into Ohit
last year to re-elect him.
Appearing as the first witness
in Senate investigation into th'
1850 Ohio campaign. Senator Taf
unfolded in more than 10000
words his own series of charge!
that labor unions took the leac
in sinister conspiracy" to pun,
ish him for his legislative recoro
in the Senate.
He estimated that his oppo-
nents spent SO for every dollar
spent in my behalf by my sup
porters."
Specifically. the chairman OF
the Senate Republican Policy
Committee accused his opposition
of excessive use of money. pour
ing funds into Ohio from every
State in the Union" and of using
falSe-front organizations and
'carpet-baggers" to campaign
against him.
Charges Communism.
Furthermore" he added. "the
campaign had a peculiar Commu-
mist undertone, which included a
detailed blueprint for the cam
paign drawn up by Gus Hall, Sec
retary of the Ohio Communist
Party and top national Commu-
mist"
Senator Taft denied that he
injected a religious issue into the
campaign. but said his opponent
made such a charge late in the
campaign.
Senator Taft's Democratic op-
ponent last year was State Audi
tor Joseph T. Ferguson. Catho-
lie. Mr.. Ferguson is expected to
testify tomorrow.
mo committee of mine nor any
supporter of mine, with my ap-
proval. raised religious issue at
any time in the campaign" Sen
ator Taft testified. Toward the
end of the campaign my opponent
made this charge, and I then made
this public statement: My oppo-
nent is sufficiently desperate to
make any kind of charge here at
the last moment. A man named
Stonebrunner wrote letter ask
ing some of his co-religionists to
vote against my opponent. 1 never
heard of Stonebrunner and he is
certainly no friend of mine. The
appeal he made is contrary to
every principle in which I believe,
and every principle urged by my
committees or myself. 1t is my
opponent who is trying to make
votes by raising a religious ISSUE "
Ferguson Present.
Mr.. Ferguson was in the room
as Senator Taft testified today
and followed a copy of the volum-
inous prepared statement Of the
Senator.
'Mr. Republican" lost no time
In hitting back at President Tru-
mans reference to Ohio in the
Presidents speech to the Wom-
ans Democratic Club here last
week.
The Senator, who is now ar
active candidate for the Repub-
lican presidential nomination mex
year, also charged that outsider!
appeared to be trying to use the
Senate elections subcommittee fol
"a purely Democratic politica
maneuver." He expressed con.
fidence his colleagues will not per
NIT outsiders in the Democratic
National Committee or the Presi
dent of the United States himsel
to use this committee as a politi
cal smear weapon. I shall shov
today that the Presidents state
ments regarding the Ohio cam
paign are untrue"
Senator Taft attached to hi
statement series of exhibits Il
show the type of campaign he sait
was conducted against him. HI
listed a 16-page comic book he salt
was distributed against him ant
which he called the most infa
nous piece of political propagand;
ever devised"
He also gave the committe
copies of what he called 9Th
grand-daddy of all political com
posite photographs" He said j
appeared in the CIO News Of
October IA, 1916, and that it "pur
ports to show me in conferenc
with two Nazi leaders"
The Serator said he has hear,
the committee is interested il
composite photographs. This wa
an obvious reference to the ear
lier Maryland investigation il
which a composite photograp
was used against former Demo
cratic Senator Tydings.
Under later questioning b
Senator Margaret Chase Smith
Republican, of Maine, Senate
Taft said the 1916 compost
photograph was not used agains
him last year.
He said use was made of
group photograph including hir
with Earl Browder, but it was nc
a composite. He said the circum
stances were that in 1896 he wer
as representative of the Republi
can National Committee to ad
dress the American Youth Con
gress. When he got there h
found Stanley High representa-
the Democrats, Norman Thoms
the Socialists and Earl Browde
the Communists. He said the
were all photographed together o
the platform.
Another exhibit Senator Tai
filed today was a letter from job
ctr 4f