The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-01-08
Truman Denies
Red Herring
Technology
Ex-Presideni Il
Interviewed By
Drew Pearson
~ HERB ALTscHuLL

WARRINGTON M-FOrmer Pres
ident Harry Truman, defending his
efforts to combat Communist sub
version, said today he never used
tne words. ''red herring" 10 de-
scribe Congressional spy hunts.
Humans statement was made
10 : film for teieyision showing,
an interview with Drew Pearson,
the Washington coIumnist Truman
once called an IS. o. B."
The "red herring" incident oc.
CURED At q Truman news confer
ence on Aug. S, 1913. II was on that
day that Alger Hiss, former State
Department official, swore before
the House Un-American Activities
Committee that he had never been
. member Of the Communist party.
Hiss was convicted later on
charges Of falsely swearing that
ne had never given secret infOrma-
ton 70 the Reds. He is now serving
. five.year prison sentence.
Pearson asked Truman In the In
terview: There has been q LOT Of
talk about you saying that the
Mger Hiss indictment was q red
herring. What Is the fact on that?"
Truman replied:
"The facts In the case are that
n press conference one morning,
some young man who had never
been at q press conference before,
durig the session Of the S0th Con-
gress, asked me Il the action Of
the Un-American Activities Com
mlttee was not In the form Of a
red herring to cover up what the
Republican administration In the
0Oth Congress had not done, and
] said 1t might be.
And that's where II started.
never made any statement that
there was q red herring although
the Republicans when they are In
power always try to cover up their
mistakes by attacking somebody or
some institution"
Pearson interposed: so you
0ever even used the word, red
herring That was the word used
by the reporter and you said that
II might be that Congress was try
ing to cover up something"
Truman replied: That's right.
That's correct. The press confer
ence itself viii show that. "
An unofficial transcript of the
news conference shows that this
question was put to Truman: "Mr.
President, DO you think the Capitol
Hill spy hearings are . good thing
OF do you think they are red
herring to divert attention from th
antl.inflation program?n
Truman replied that he agreed
with the latter view.
Afterwards, Truman was asked
whether he might be quoted d.
rectly.
The unofficial transcript gives
this as Truman's reply: Eyes, you
can quote me They are using
this a. red herring to keep from
doing what they ought to do.s
Veteran Washington reporters
said the ''red herring question
was put to Truman in 1913 by
Harold Stacy, a reporter for the
Columbus (Ohl0l Dispatch. They
said they could not recall that
Stacy ever asked any other ques.
tons at a news conference.
Questioned by Pearson about the
loyalty program under his admin.
istration, Truman said 40 persons
were dismissed on loyalty grounds
and some $500 were separated or
resigned or were denied employ.
ment because they were security
risks"
President Eisenhower said in his
state Of the union message yester.
day that 1900 persons have been
discharged undea his administra-
tons security program.
Truman had some sharp words
for an old antagonist, Sen. Nc.
Carthy (R.Wis). Attacking Nc.
Carthy's approach as ''by Suspi.
cion and not BY the facts" Truman
said:
The facts of the case are that
the Communists who were working
for the subversion Of the govern
ment In the United States were in.
dicted long before Mccarthy ever
heard Of a Communist, and they
were Indicted during the admins
trations Of President Roosevelt and
myself
Asked whether any Communists
had Aeen indicted, prosecuted or
convicted since the Eisenhower adj
Ministraticn took over, Truman re.
piled.
have never heard of Il. II
there has been, ii has been In Sc
cret and not in public"
Truman and Pearson FLASHED re.
peatedly when Truman was In the
White House. Once Pearson at
trinuted An anti-semitic remark to
tne iormer President, whereupon
Truman commented:
a had thought wouldn't have
% ADD another liars star to that
do III"
Ihe Truman interview is being
aEed tonight (7:45 pm, EST)
ever The DuMont station, wABD.
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