Evening star., 1952-11-14
House Probers Press
For Papers on Katyn
Lab|ed Top Secret
By Robert K. Walsh

massacre. still sought American
top secret" documents, charging
that the Russians murdered thou
sands of Polish Army officers early
in World War II.
1t heard Julius Holmes, present
Mininster to London, and Freder-
ick B. Lyon, United States Consul
General at Versailles, France, in
sist yesterday that, while in the
State Department here in 1945.
they never received or saw those
documents.
Their testimony contradicted
statements to the committee ear
lier this year by Gen. Clayton
Bissell. former Army intelligence
chief, that he gave the State De-
partment the reports of 1t. Col.
John Van Vliet, jr.. and another
American officer who inspected
the graves at Katyn. The COM
mittee has said those reports have
"disappeared" from Government
files.
Earle Tells of Ban
Earlier yesterday, the committee |
was told by George H. Earle. for
mer Democratic Governor of |
Pennsylvania and wartime Minis
ter to Romania and Bulgaria, that |
President Roosevelt strictly for
bade him from publishing any,
thing critical of the Soviets.
Mr.. Earle testified that. in May, |
1914, a year after discovery of |
the bodies of the Polish men !
slaughtered in 1889 or 1910 in the
forest near Smolensk, Russia, he |
gave President Roosevelt affidavits
and pictures. strongly indicating |,
Russian guilt.
He declared he was sickened and
shocked that President Roosevelt
brushed off the evidence and
seemed convinced that the Nazis
had committed the murders, as
claimed by the Russians.
About a year later. he said. he
brought up the subject again in
letter to President Roosevelt and
asserted that the Russians were
even a worse menace than the
Nazis.
The President. in a letter, eau
toned him that such public state
ments would do "irreparable dam
age" and specifically forbade him
to publish any such criticism of
wartime ally. he added.
THE love, respect and belief in
Russia in the White House was
simply unbelievable. he exclaimed.
$500 Letter. |
In reading the late Presidents !
letter at the hearing, Mr.. Earle |
requested the committee to handle
it carefully because, he said, he
had been offered $1,000 for it by
collector.
Another witness late yesterday,
Arthur Bliss Lane of Washington,
former Ambassador to Poland. tes-
titled he obtained reliable evidence
in the 1940s that Russia was re-
sponsible for the Katyn atrocity.
He said he not only was unable
to convince his Government SUI
periors of the accuracy of that
evidence but also was surprised to
learn now that the State Depart
ment at the time received many
All q
slaughter. The only one ever
shown him.. he said. was report
by the daughter of w. Averell Har-
riman. then Ambassador to Russia,
THAT the murders seemed to have
been committed by the Nazis.
Mrs. Stanley G. Mortimer, jr.;
Mr.. Harriman's daughter. testified
Wednesday that she acted only on
the basis of a staged" inspection
trip arranged by the Russians in
1943. She said she now is con-
Vinced the Russians carried out
the massacre of the $4,000 Polish
officers and civilian leaders.
Appeasement Possibility Probed.
The House committee, headed
by Representative Madden, DEM
ocrat. of Indiana stated last sum-
mer that it believed the Sovlets
were responsible for the killings.
The purpose of the series Of hear
ings which opened Tuesday and
were scheduled to end late today,
was to determine whether any ,
Government agency played down
or concealed evidence Of Russian
guilt or otherwise attempted to
appease Russia.
Mr.. Holmes and Mr.. Lyon were
called yesterday principally In
connection with the missing Van
Vliet report. Col. Van Vliet and
a Capt. Donald Stewart. while
prisoners of the Germans, had an
opportunity to inspect the Katyn
graves. On their release in April,
1945, they filed reports with Gen.
Bissell that the evidence pointed
to Soviet guilt.
MI. f1OlLIlCS tOIO OllC NOAAAAAA'0NSI
he not only never received sucn
a report but did not recall ever
hearing Gen. Bissell mention 1t.
Mr.. Lyon, who at the time was in
charge of a State Department
office responsible for handling
confidential documents, said there
was no record that the Van Vllet
report ever reached the State
Department.
Still Puzzled Over Document.
Committee Counsel John j.
Mitchell declared there was no
question that such report had
been filed. But the committee
and lot of other interested
people have never been able to
locate it and still want to know
whether it was suppressed as an
appeasement of Russia, he said.
The session yesterday began
with testimony by StanislaW
Mikolajczyk, former Polish Prime \
Minister, who had lived in Wash
-.