Evening star., 1951-09-19
Truman Aid Reported
In Case Of Hyasta,
Jailed by Czechs

Jdlled by IzechS
Charges that an American Navy
veteran imprisoned in Czechoslo-
vakia had been subjected to me
dieval" torture today turned the
attention of the Government again
to the plight OF the victim, John
Hvasta, "a, of Hillside, N. j., as
new moves were pondered in the
Oats case.
While a new demand came for
renewed pressure on the Red dom
mated Czech government to free
William Oats. American news
man who has been imprisoned as
a spy. President Truman was re-
ported as telling a visitor that
young Hvasta, held for the last
three years on similar charges,
would not be permitted to become
a forgotten man"
In the meanwhile, Representa-
tive Armstrong. Republican, Mis-
souri,, demanded that this Gov
ernment sever all trade relations
with the CzechS and the Stand
ing Committee of Correspondents
at the Capitol took up a proposal
to expel representatives of Tass,
the Russian news agency, from
the congressional galleries, as the
outgrowth of the Oats case.
Revived on Two Fronts.
The Hvasta case was revived on
two fronts yesterday.
DR.. v. S. Krajcovic, speaking
for the National Committee for
Liberation of Slovakia, charged
that the Navy veteran, American
born, had been subjected to
punishment throughout his i'm
prisonment, according to word
relayed from an unidentified in
mate of a Czech prison who
escaped to Canada.
Mr.. Hvasta, whose parents came
from Slovakia, went there in 1947
to study at the University of
Bratislava. and later was engaged
as an interpreter at the United
States consulate.
Welded to a Slovakian girl, he
came under suspicion when the
Reds tok over the country, and in
October, l948. was tried secretly
and received sentences totaling
ten years. His wife also was i'm
prisoned but later released when
she became i'll.
Denied Fresh Air, Sunlight.
The torture of the prisoner re-
ported was occasioned by Mr..
Hvasta'S statements concerning
the existence of real liberty and
democracy in the United States. +"
The Capitol Correspondents
eran is kept in a cell from which
fresh air and sunlight are ex-
cluded.
Representative Rodino, Demo-
crat, New Jersey, saw President
Truman yesterday and was in
formed that every effort would be
made to help the luckless Hvasta
he told reporters.
Mr.. Rodino said he went to the
White House because of reports
that the veteran is ill-treated anc
that his wife is facing arrest
again.
Study Tass Custer.
The Capital Correspondents
Committee took over the proposed
expulsion of the Tass correspond
ents when the State Department
decided that the matter is one fo
a decision by the committee which
Isupervises the galleries.
I Fletcher Knebel, chairman O
the committee, asked for an opin
ion in response to a suggestion
from the American Society O
Newspaper Editors that Tass rep
resentatives be ousted because tn,
Organization primarily is an in
|telligence agency of the sovie
government.
Assistant Secretary of Stat
Jack K. McFall advised him a
follows:
I'm considering the question
the standing committee of CORE
Spondents will no doubt want t,
weigh such considerations as t.
whether the exclusion of Tas
representatives from congressional
press galleries would help or hin
der the cause of American cor
respondents in Communist coun
tries. the question of whether /,
governmental agency which is tn
only news agency of the countr.
concerned qualities for the privi
leges normally accorded to tn
representatives of free press, ant
the effect on the long-establishe'
American principal of the fre
flow OF information"
Attorney General McGrath ais
wrote to the committee declining
to say whether the Justice De
partment has any evidence ths
TaSs is primarily an intelligenc
agency for the Russians. The com
mittee had requested such infor
nation before deciding to &C
formally on the newspaper SO
ciety's request.
Mr.. McGrath said the Justic
! Department files may not b
disclosed except to the executiv
departments and agencies for of
fetal purposes"