Evening star., 1954-10-31
Mccarthy Letter Asks
BroWneII 10 Seek
Peress Indictment
By james Y. Newton

SeutS9
Senator Mccarthy, Republican,
of Wisconsin yesterday urged
Attorney General Brownell to
seek indictment of DR.. Irving
Peress, former Army Dental
Corps major, for possible viola
ton of the False Statements
Statute or any other Federal
statute"
The promotion and honorable
discharge of DR.. Peress, now a
practicing dentist in New York.
helped to touch off the bitter
Army Mccarthy controversy last
spring. He is described by Sem
ator Mccarthy as a Fifth
Amendment Communist"
In his letter to Mr.. Brownell,
Senator Mccarthy said that a
former agent for the New York
Police Department in the Com
munist Party had testified before
his Investigations subcommittee
| that Peress was not only a
member of the Communist Party
but had been an active organizer
and attended a (party) leader
ship training course. :. :"
Senator Gives Details.
when Peress testified before
this subcommittee" the Senator
continued, "he invoked the Fifth
Amendment when asked whether
he, or the Communist Party unit
to which he belonged, advocated
the overthrow of the United
States Government by force and
violence or any unconstitutional
means. PeresS further testified
that when he was commissioned
in the United States Army he
took an oath to uphold and de-
fend the Constitution of the
United States"
Senator Mccarthy said that
when DR.. Peress applied for an
Army commission, he stated in
answer to a form question that
he was not then and had not
been a member of any foreign
or domestic organization, asso-
citation, movements. group, or
combination of persons advocat-
ing a subversive policy or seek
ing to alter the form of govern
ment of the United States by
any unconstitutional means"
Senator Mccarthy said that
if DR.. Peress were a member of
the Communist Party land knew
its detectives, as the evidence
seems to clearly indicate" then
his signing of the commission
form would constitute a violation
Of the United States criminal
code.
Seeks Grand Jury Action.
"It would seem imperative.
therefore," he concluded, "that
his case be submitted to the
grand jury with a request for
Indictment"
Senator Mccarthy also tele-
graphed Senator Gillette, Demo-
crat, of Iowa urging him to state
before Tuesdays election
whether in the forthcoming
special Senate session he will
vote to censure him.
Senator Gillette, who is up
for reelection, wired back last
night that he would make no
statement about his vote prior to
Senate consideration of the res
olution.
The Iowa Democrat was the
original chairman of a Senate
Elections subcommittee that in
vestigated Senator McCarthy's
financial affairs in 1851 and
1852. One of the censure charges
against Senator Mccarthy is that
he showed contempt of the Gill
lette subcommittee.
The Wisconsin Republican
said that Senator Gillette ordered
arrangements for mail cover
to be provided for on my mail
and on members Of my staff"
during the 1852 campaign. That,
Senator Mccarthy said, was "a
clear-cut violation Of the law"
AS you are aware" he told
Senator Gillette, "this fragrant
violation was only one of the
improper actions of your COM
mittee. Nevertheless the Watkins
committee says that, I should be
censured for vigorously criticiz-
ing your committee. It would
seem therefore that the voters
should have a clear-cut state
ment from you before election
as to whether you will vote CEN
sure because Of my criticism of
your committee, which commit
tee as you well know was used
to make an example Of any one
who dared to expose subversives
in Government"