Evening star., 1952-07-12
3 Men 0usfed
AT AtMary|andU.
AS Red Suspects
Ober Law Chief Says
State Has Secret File
Of 600 Subyersives

Three instructors have been.
dropped from a University of
Maryland Government research
project because their loyalty was
under suspicion.
This was disclosed last night
after a talk by o. Bowie Duckett.
assistant attorney general OF
Maryland. before the State Amer
ican Legion Convention in Balti-
more.
Mr.. Duckett revealed In his
speech that three university in
lStructors were relieved of their
duties on secret Government
project because they were sus-
|pected of violating Maryland,s
anti Communist Ober law. Mr..
lDuckett refused to give their
names or the name Of the univer-
sity since the Ober law prohibits
him from disclosing such informa-
ton until a defendant formally is
charged.
Check Confirms Firings.
A check with the University Of
Maryland, however. revealed that
the three instructors had been en-
lployed there at the Institute of
Fluid Dynamics and Applied
Mathematics. A university spokes-
man said they were carried as in
structors. although they were en-
gagged in research work and did
not teach.
The three were dropped when
the university refused to renew
their one-year contracts. which
expired last month. Two were
Americans and one an English
man. the university spokesman
said. He estimated all three were
in their late 30s.
Mr.. Duckett, who is in charge
OF administering the Ober law,
said his assistants first investi-
gated the three researchers about
four or five months ago. He said
ne did not intend to prefer charges
until he had obtained enough
information to warrant prosecu-
ton.
Has List Of 600.
/ Mr.. Duckett said the State has
accumulated a file of more than
900 names Of persons in Maryland
suspected of being Communists
or members of Communist-front
activities. The FRI reported last
March, he said, that there were
431 Communists in Maryland.
The State has not investigated
Communist : activity assertions
against Prof. Owen baltimore of
Johns Hopkins University, Mr..
Duckett added. because the al
legged happenings concerning Mr..
baltimore occurred before the
Ober Act became a law.
Meanwhile, interest in tomor-
rows election for State Legion
posts mounted. The three candi-
dates for State commander held
open house in their suites in the
Lord Baltimore Hotel. site Of the
four-day convention. r ssgf-e
s The three candidates are VIII
liam q. Porter, jr., 30.year-old
veteran Of World War II; Joseph
Fields, SO, Of Silver Spring, a.
Marine who served in World War
4, and James c. Vancherie, "a, Of
Havre de Grace, who served in
the Army in 1917 and later in
the Navy.
10 and 8 Elects.
The 40 and 8, the Legion's fun
making department, elected Wil-+
liam Rollins Of Glen Burnie.
grand chef de guerre.
Other officers picked by the 40
and 8 included Raymond Burke.
Washington, grand commission
aire intendent;; j. Charles Pagan.
Baltimore. grand avocat; Fred
Sargent, Dundalk, cheminot ma
tional, and Joseph Knight, Balti-
more. alternate cheminot national.
The Legion's auxiliary elected
Jas president Mrs. Vernon H. Ran
sail. Pikesville. Other officers in
cluded Mrs. w. George Walz.
Hamilton, treasurer: Mrs. Hugh r.
|McClay. Hyattsville, historian;
Mrs. Hugh v. Clary, Pocomoke
City, chaplain, and Mrs. John
Kinder, Baltimore, sergeant-at-
arms.