Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-07-24
Efforts 10 Cut Off
Acheson S Salary
Pressed in House

TlVSSVU III HtVuJC
A Republican attempt to sub
tract Secretary of State Acheson
from the Government payroll
took on more steam in the House
today.
Attorney General McGrath and
Secretary of Commerce Sawyer
also were due for some verbal
pounding by Republicans and a
few Democrats as the House con-
tinued debate on the $1,051, 715,ll5
State, Justice. Commerce and
Judiciary appropriations bill.
But the principal drive was
aimed at Mr.. Acheson. It con-
sisted of an amendment to ban
payment of department funds for
the salary of any official who,
at any time during the five years
preceding his appointment, was
connected with a firm that repre-
sented foreign government. Mr.
Acheson's law firm once repre-
sented Poland.
Vote Probable Tomorrow.
The amendment does not name
Mr.. AcheSon but would affect him
as well as several other key off,
Gals in the department. It has
been drafted by Representative
Phillips, Republican, of California.
1t probably will be voted on to-
morrow.
The first two hours of general
debate yesterday was given over
almost entirely to Republican at
tacks on the Voice of America
program. Although Secretary
Acheson was seldom mentioned
he was the object of much in
direct criticism.
The pending supply bill, held
back for many weeks by the House
Appropriations Committee, would
allot 1921. 432 900 to the State De-
partment. The committee cut the
original bill by more than $206
million, of which about $50 mil
lion were reductions in State De-
partment requests.
The Voice of America program
although cut from Sis million to |,
$85 million by the committee,
should be cut far more, in the
opinion of House Republicans.
Program Called Failure.
G. o. P. speakers called the pro-
gram IAN abysmal failure" the
work OF "wild-eyed dreamers" and
the product of fuzzy minded"
activity in the department. Rep
resentative Brown. Republican of
Ohio, said Republicans in general
believed in the necessity of such
an information program to bring
the American story to peoples be-
hind the Iron Curtain. But he as
serted that the program has been
poorly handled and is ineffective ,
mainly because "the Administra-
ton has no foreign policy worthy
of the name"
Can the voice of Acheson be
truly the voice of American" Mr.. J
Brown asked,
Democratic Representatives ,
SABBATH OF Illinois and Rooney of +
New York. as well as Majority =.
Leader Mccormack came to the
defense of Mr.. Acheson and the r
State Department. :
Mr.. SABBATH declared the six t
hours allotted for general debate lie
on the appropriations bill would
give critics plenty of time to 4
smear some outstanding men who Id
are serving their country" liz
May Question Some Policies. III
He indicated, however, that he a
may question some policies of Mr..
Acheson, Mr.. Sawyer and Mr..
McGrath, although he had no in r
tention of challenging their mo- r
tives and ability. Mr.. McGrath, IL
he said, might be open to criticism t
for not pushing" some anti trust
prosecutions. r
Mr.. Rooney, floor manager for Z
the bill, lost no time in attacking "
the Phillips amendment which has v
not yet been formally introduced.
He denounced it as a "blunder- y
buss" approach. He warned that
it would affect not only Mr.. Ache G
son but also John Foster Dulles, a In
prominent Republican in the a
department, and several ambas- ]
sailors.
Mccormick Defends Voice"
Mr.. Mccormack defended the v
scope and effectiveness of the
Voice of America program. He !
declared that Russia is spendinga
"at least a billion dollars" for .
propaganda directly chiefly against !
the United States. =
The Democratic floor leader =
took issue with Mr.. Browns crit y
icism of Assistant Secretary of =
State Edward w. Barrett, who is :
in charge of the program, Mr.. J
Barrett, according to Mr.. Brown.
is part and parcel of the fuzzy
minded cabal' in the department
and at one time seemed to en- 4
courage Communist "agrarian re-
formers" in China.
Mr.. Mccormack charged that
Mr.. Brown distorted Mr.. Barrett's >
position. The majority leader re-
called that Gen. Macarthur, in
his speech to Congress last April, ?
voiced similar views of social !
JUSTICE for the Orient. a
Secretary Acheson also was o
challenged from another quarter Y
today. Senator Mccarthy, Repub- Z
lican, of Wisconsin, who has long T
urged that Mr.. Acheson be ousted.
asked him whether 20 department d
employees under investigation for Il
loyalty have access to secret docu- C
ments. =
The department has not con- Il
f1rmed Senator McCarthy's state Ii
ment that the cases of 20 persons c
are pending before the depart
ment's loyalty board. I