Evening star., 1954-06-05
To Whot Low Estote?'

~ WuOl Low E$tU1Ss
70 what low estate has the great
legislative CD body, the Senate Of the
United States, descended, as IL permits
one Of its members to defy the espionage
laws of this country and to encourage
members Of the armed forces and
Federal employees to outright disobedi-
ence and characterization The Senate.
has fallen into what the late President
Cleveland aptly called - state Of in.
y nocuous desuetude" as 1t stands idly
by and watches the Junior Senator
from Wisconsin SOW seeds of distrust
and suspicion In the executive branch,
bringing chaos and anarchy out of
law and order. to further his own
personal ambition.
Senator Mccarthy, by his own pro-
nouncement that he will protect any
Federal employe who win "leak" irl-
formation to him, has become 9 law
unto himself. He boldly dares the
Attorney General to prosecute him for
violation Of the law. which he admits.
For over century and half our
great land has grown strong under
system Of Government Of laws" and
not a Government Of men" This means
that no one. not even Senator. is
above the law. Unless the Attorney
General or the august upper body Of
Congress takes steps to meet the chal-
lenge of this would-be dictator, then
the motto which graces the portals
Of the Supreme Court. Equal Justice
Under the Law" will become an empty
phrase and hollow mockery.
And where is the voice Of the Senate
which has jurisdiction over the COM
mittee headed by Senator Mccarthy as
there is spread before them the shame
full and sickening spectacle of cropped
pictures" and "phony letters" offered
in attempt to smear one of their own
party? Such techniques carry within
them their seeds of destruction of the
great political party. It might be well
for the solons of the Upper House to
ponder well the following words of the
great sage, Cicero, uttered many CEN
turies ago and which are as pertinent
now as then:
Nothing is so swift as calunny;
Nothing is more easily uttered:
Nothing more readily received
Nothing more widely dispersed"
Unless the leaders of the Republican
Party wake up to the dangers Of their
lethargy and apathy, then the elec-
torate can ask but one question. TO
what lower estate can they descend?"
Abe Shefferman.
It is fantastic and utterly incompre-
hensible to hear Mccarthy, a United
States Senator, openly urge employees
49, %rrvr inf Nn1sC
and surreptitiouSly pass to him secret
and classified records hlched from Gov
ernment files. It makes me wonder II
our people are aware Of the implication
of such an appeal. To encourage this
iniquitous business the Senator offers
a deal He pledges to keep secret the
names of all such informers; and
further, he tells Government workers
that by giving this information to him
even though it violates existing laws
they will be rendering great service
to the country.
This corrupting appeal not only opens
the way for dangerous abuses but also
places enormous power in the hands OF
q single individual who could use it for
the accomplishment of great. evil. 1t
sanctions the violations Of oaths Of pub
licServantS who are encouraged to place
their own Judgment above that of their
Superiors. It exposes defense secrets,
thereby destroying national security.
Have we forgotten that this method
of engaging informers and acting on
their unevaluated information follows
exactly the Nazi line used so effectively
by Hitler and is now one of the terri
flying practices of the Soviet Union?
Surely it is not our intent to combat
communism by instituting another evil
equally repulsive.
It is possible to bring order out of
the present deplorable confusion If we
recognize the origin and make the nee
eSSary corrections TeleviSion Of the
Army Mccarthy hearings reveals these
important facts: Senator Mccarthy
has neither the temperament nor the
judicial qualities to act as chairman
of a congressional investigating COM
mittee. Secondly, the delicate investi-
cation of suspected individuals cannot
be adequately undertaken by a COM
mittee of Congress which perforce
operates under the glare of publicity
The answer lies within specialized
agencies of the Federal Government
the FBI and the Department of JUS
tice. Unfortunately, for years these two
agencies have been hamstrung by in
adequate powers.
Congress should promptly provide
such power as is necessary to the FBI
and the Department of Justice for
complete action from full investigation
to prosecution. At the same time Con-
gress should create its own Committee
of Public Safety to constantly review
the powers given to these two agencies
to insure that it is adequate in the
light of the shifting world situation.
John Graham.
"An Appeal for Anarchy" an editorial
in The Star on May 80, shows the
lengths to which the anti-McCarthy
press will go in an effort to discredit
him with its fair-ninded readers. Judg-
ing from Letters to The STAR" how
fs@Aspssss7ti H%4s4F