Evening star., 1953-11-06
Truman Accused by Browne||
Of Promoting Official Branded
As a Spy by FB|; He Denies 1t
Dexter White
Charges Laid to
Election Setback

VI A4ACA Z 4CoI0C11I uIA1dI1 PIO-
NOTED the late Harry Dexter
White to a high Government
post after the Federal Bureau
of Investigation had handed the
President an official detailed re-
port labelling Mr.. White a Com
munist spy. Attorney General
Brownell charged todGy.
The charge was made in a Chi
cago speech by Mr.. Brownell. de-
llvered at a meeting of the Exec
utives Club of Chicago. Copies
of the speech also we're released
here.
Mr.. BroWnell said that he could
Announce officially, for the first
time in public, that the records
in my department show that
Whites spying activities for the
Soviet government were reported
in detail by the FBI by means of
a report delivered to President
Truman through his military
aide, Brig. Gen. Harry H.
Vaughan, in December, 1945.
Given Monetary Fund Post.
In the face of this informa-
tion, and incredible though it
may seem, President Truman
subsequently on January %, 1946,
nominated White, who was then
assistant secretary of the Treas
ury, for the even more important
position of executive director for
the United States in the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund" Mr..
Brownell added.
Reached by telephone at his
Office in Kansas City, Mr.. Tru-
man said that "as soon as we
found out that White was wrong
we fired him"
There's no use making any
comment" the former President
told the Star. II don't know
what they're talking about. No
such thing happened"
He added:
"All the lies they can tell and
all the headlines they can get
won't cover up what happened
in Wisconsin and New jersey"
White, author of the So-called
Morgenthau plan for Germany,
died in 1948 under mysterious
circumstances a week after he
appeared before the House Un-
American Activities Committee
and vigorously denied Commu-
mist connections.
RumOrs About Death.
It was officially reported he
died of a heart attack at his
summer home in Fitzwilliams, |
N. H, but rumors persisted that |
he had taken an overdose of a |
heart medicine.
Mr.. Brownell said that as soon
as Mr. Whites nomination to the /
Monetary Fund job became pub !
lie. the FBI prepared another
report on White and his espio-
mage activities" The new re-
port, Mr.. Brownell declared, was
handed to Gen. Vaughan for de-
livery to the President February
4, 1916.
The Attorney General said the |
Senate was allowed to confirm |
the nomination two days later.
"It is true that the full text of |
the FBI report could not be made
public but there certainly |
was no reason why the Senate
could not be informed of the
established fact that White was
6 spy" Mr.. Brownell said.
White Wasn't Fired.
Officially, Mr.. White never was
fired. He resigned his job with
the International Monetary Fund
a year after his appointment to
leturn to private business, ac-
cording to his letter of resigna-
ton.
Newspaper reports at the time
quoted Mr.. Truman as praiSing
Mr.. Whites "ces Seless efforts to
make a real contribution to the
stability of international trade
through the International Bank.
and the International Monetary
Fund"
Whites name had been men
toned several times in Congress
sional hearings on subversive in
f1uenceS.
Elizabeth Bentley, who termed
herself a former courier for a
Communist spy ring, had called
White participant in the ring.
Whitaker Chambers, another
avoWed former Communist. teSti-