Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-02-17
Norwok. Surveys the Problem
Of Spying on Ones Neiqhbors
CONTINUED From First Page.l

.
side began to be heard from.
Letters denounced the VFW post
for resorting to shopping" po-
. lice State methods, and other
sins. Editors of the Hour said
a deluge of mail, only some. of
which was printed. ran about
. four to one against the VIEW.
. ADA Joins Fight.
+. = The pace stepped up a little
when the Connecticut branch Of
Americans for Democratic Ac-
ton moved into the fray. In a
paid advertisement in the Hour
on January 81, the ADA be-
iabored the VFW.
+. The advertisement was headed
"Secret Smears are Un-American
Don't You Think SOP" 1t was
signed by Alfred Baker Lewis,
. secretary of the Connecticut
+. branch; Devere Allen, editor of
the Worldover Press and author;
and Donald M. Douglas, real
estate dealer and architect.
None of the signatorieS is a
Norwalk resident. Mr.. Lewis
lives in Greenwich, and Mr..
Allen was asked why they, and
not Norwalk residents. had
signed the advertisement. He
replied that he understood some
Norwalk- residents had appealed
to Mr.. Lewis because the VFW
action was creating an atmos-
phere of fear" and they couldn't
take action themselves.
Be that as it may, there does
appear to have been some reluc-
lance on the part of some resi-
dents of Norwalk to become in
volved in the early stages of the
controversy. Henry Meyers,
Norwalk industrialist and Re-
publican leader, explained it this
way:
Many people have. become
conscious of the scare technique.
I've spoken to people on all levels.
Privately they've expressed to
me their views. They would |
rather not be involved by name.
But they are afraid lest we should
develop a Snooper complex and
citizens will fear one another"
Vr.-L. ro~:oS VUn;~I.&
Mr.. Meyers. however, was one
of those who took a position
against the VFW action from the
beginning. He made it clear to
other Republican leaders that |
he believed the VFW tactics were
not the American way of doing
things. And his words carried
great weight with them.
Another who took a quick
stand against any secret screen
ing committees was slight, gray
ing Mayor Irving c. Freese, an
old-line socialist turned indie
pendent. He described the VFW
action "a scandalous invasion of
private rights"
Still another was Mr.. Allen,
who busted himself with state
ments denouncing the VFW ac-
tions.
This is the craziest thing" he
said. Its one of those things
that has to be stopped in its
tracks"
The VFW, of course, has not
been without its defenders, in
.Norwalk or elsewhere. Mrs. SUI
zanr1e Silvercruys. Stevenson,
founder of the Minute Women
of America and a member of the
Norwalk posts auxiliary, was
among those speaking out for
the organization.
The wife of 1t. Col. Edward
Ford Stevenson and a sister of
Baron Silvercruys, the Belgian
Ambassador in Washington, she
said in an interview that she was
dedicated to my adopted coun- |
try"
Il feel and think that what /
the VFW has done is what many
other citizens have done all over
the country, she said. Il myself |
have given names to the FBI."
At the same time, Mrs. Ste |
venSon was clearly amazed at |
the extent of the controversy, |
and seemed to be having second !
thoughts on the subject.
Maybe there is more here |
than We thought" she said. !
Maybe somebody got hurt"
National vFW Acts.
National VIEW officials also
came to the defense of the local !
post. The national commander
said the local posts actions were |
in line with the thinking of the |
national organization"
For several years the VFW's
Americanism Department has
sent out instructions to VFW |
Post saying:
Every suspicious act should |
be reported to the nearest FBI |
Office in full detail"
This is in line with requests
made by the late President |
Roosevelt in 1889, again in 1941 |
at the time of Pearl Harbor.
and with a presidential direc-
tive issued by President Truman |
in 1850 calling on law enforce
ment agencies, patriotic organ
izations and individuals to re-
port any information pertain
ing to espionage, sabotage or
SubverSive activities.
But whether the national or
ganization approves their &C
tons or not, the local VFW Of
f1cialS are now proclaiming
loudly there never was any