Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-07-11
Ferguson Pondering
Congress Act 70 Ban
Bail Liberty for Reds
BY the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press
Senator Ferguson, Republican
of Michigan said today he may
ask Congress to ban the release
on cash bail of such persons as
the II United States Communist
leaders convicted for conspiracy
Twice we have been tricked,
Senator Ferguson said, referring
to the fact that four of the Com
munistS have jumped bail and tc
the flight from this country in
May, 1949, of Gerhart Eisler, a
Communist. EiSler, who also
jumped bail, is now an official in
Soviet-controlled East Germany.
Senator Ferguson is a member
OF the Senate internal security
subcommittee which has sub
poenaed Frederick Vanderbilt
Field to testify here tomorrow at
closed-Goor hearing and Owen
baltimore to testify the next day.
Field to Be Questioned.
A New York millionaire, Field
will be questioned about the bail
bond fund raised for the Com
munist leaders sentenced to Jail
for conSpiring to advocate the
violent overthrow of the Govern
ment. He has been ordered to
bring his bank account records
with him.
But committee members also
will inquire into what connections
Field had with the Institute of
Pacific Relations.
Mr.. baltimore also will be queS-
toned about the institute, whose
affairs have been under investiga-
ton by the committee for months
following the seizure of thousands
of its documents on a farm at
Lee, Mass.
The IPR figured in last years
lengthy investigation by a Senate
Foreign Relations subcommittee
of charges by Senator Mccarthy,
Republican, of Wisconsin, that the
State Department harbored Red
SympathiZerS.
Secretary of State Acheson and
former Secretaries Marshall and
Byrnes have denied Senator Nc
Carthy's claim that Mr.. baltimore
was a principal architect of
American Far Eastern policy. Mr..
baltimore insisted he was only an
infrequent consultant who had no
parts in shaping policy.
Edited Institutes Journal.
Mr.. baltimore was the editor of
the Institutes magazine, Pacific
Affairs, from 1884 to 1941. Field
wrote two articles for the maya
zine in that time.
Senator McCarran, Democrat,
of Nevada, the chairman of the
committee, had little to say about
the Subpoenaing of Mr.. Latti-
more, but Senator Ferguson said
Its no secret we are interested
in the Institute of Pacific Rela-
tons"
Field was sentenced to 80 days
In Jail last week by New York
Federal District Judge Sylvester
RTan after he refused to disclose
contributors to the bail fund
raised for the Communist leaders.
But after spending the week
end in jail Field was released on
$4,000 bond pending an appeal
from Judge Ryan'S ruling that he
was in contempt of court.
Field is a co-trustee of the
Civil Rights Congress, which
raised a bail fund for the con-
victed Communist leaders and
which is on the Attorney Cen
erals list of subversive organiza-
tons.
Want Data on Bail.
Senator McCarran said the in
ternal security group, a unit of
the Senate Judiciary Committee,
wanted to question Field about
his activities, the Civil Rights
Congress and how bail was raised
for the missing Communists. If
Field isn't able to leave the New
York courts jurisdiction, Senator
McCarran told a reporter, "the!
committee will go up there"
Senator Ferguson said he
thought the group should look
into the whole question of grant,
ing bail "to see if we ought to
prohibit cash bail in certain
cases."
While the Constitution bans
unreasonable bail, Senator Fer
guson said it also indicates that
the privilege of obtaining freedom
under bond should not be abused.
The surrender of bail allows a
person to buy his freedom, he
said, and the loss of the cash is
not ALWAYS pllniShment