Evening star., 1951-09-02
Commerce Chairman
Reluctant 10 Take Up
Senate Crime Probe
: BY Miriam Ottenbero

CHAIRMAN johnson OF the Sen
ate Commerce Committee yeSter-
day injected the Senate Investi-
cations Subcommittee into the
controversy over who should
carry on the crusade against
crime.
At the same time, he conceded
that Congress owes the District
something it does not owe the
rest of the country. That was as
far as he went in indorSing the
Ifull-scale investigation of District
crime recommended by the Sen-
ate Crime Investigating Commit
tee.
He went further than in any
previous statement in voicing his
reluctance to have the Commerce
Committee get into the crime
investigating business. And he
suggested that the Senate Investi-
cations Subcommittee might be
the one to take on the job.
The Senate resolution that con-
Itinued the Senate crime committee
from May until last week pro-
Ivlded that the commerce COM
Imittee take over the crime COM
mittee's files on September / and
continue the study and sur
Iveillance" of interstate crime.
Need for Probe Here Stressed.
The crime committee in its final
report last Friday called attention
Ito that resolution in expressing
hope that the study of organized
Crime will continue. The commit
tee was specific about the need for
Ia crime investigation in the Ma
ItionS Capital but side-stepped
the delicate question of which
committee should do it.
At this point, the prospects of
more national crime hunting and
a District probe are intermingled
in one complicated bundle. A
key man in the picture is Chair
man Hayden of the Senate Rules
Committee, which decides which
committee get extra money and
for what. u
1t will be up to Senator Hay
denis group to decide whether it
Should change it's mind and let
the Senate District Committee
have some money to go ahead
with a District crime inquiry.
Wherry to Back Plea.
Senator Case, Republican, of
South Dakota. who sponsored the
resolution last April for a Senate
District Committee investigation
of crime conditions here, told
newsmen yesterday he had heard
rumors that the Rules Committee
would delay the District Commit
tees request until it died, but
Senator Case was optimistic. He
said he thought these rumors
would be dispelled Wednesday
when the Rules Committee meets.
Minority Leader Wherry, ac-
cording to Senator Case, will put
up a good fight for some money
for the District investigation and
Senator Case expects favorable
action.
Senator Case argued that it was
logical to have the District Com
mittee make the Investigation
since the Crime Committee said
local action was up to local bodies
and the District Committee is the
local body here.
To get briefed on what the
Crime Committee found out about
the District, Senator Case had his
aide on local affairs, Robert AL
brook, confer for more than an
hour and a half Friday with
Downey Rice, the Crime Commit
tee associate counsel who con-
Quoted the explosive Prince
Georges County hearings.
Senator johnson agreed with
Senator Case that crime in the
District presents a different pic
ture than anywhere else but the
whole tenor of Senator Johnson'S
talk with a reporter was to create
doubts about which Of four or five
different committees should take
on crime investigating.
There's a special reason why
Congress should concern itself
with the situation here" Senator
johnson said. Crime is a local
problem but Congress is the local
governing body for the District.
! just don't know how they should
go about it.
Senator Johnson pointed out
that the % bills introduced oy
the crime committee have gone
to number OF different commit
tees for action. He mentioned
that one committee with several
bills is the Judiciary Committee
which at one point was in the run
ming to conduct the original