The Key West citizen., 1954-11-16
Sen. Mccarthy
Blasts Back
AT Watkins

| WASHlNGTON iRs-- Sen. McCar.
! thy accused Sen. Watkins (R.Utanl
Monday of being "derelict in his
duty" in saying he didn't know if
anyone was at fault in the Peress
case. Watkins fired back: 'sI don't
believe you can ever be satisfied
unless you can find somebody who
could be shot or hung"
The two big figures in the Nc
Carthy censure row confronted one
another at a suddenly called hear
ing of McCarthy's Investigations
subcommittee.
Mccarthy said he scheduled il
to find out whether Watkins could
throw any light on who was re.
sponsible for the promotion and
honorable discharge of Maj. Irving
Peress, an Army dentist who had
refused to say whether he had
Communist connections.
| Watkins told the Wisconsin SEN
ator the way to fix the responsible.
ity was to question 30 Army Off
GERS whose names were submitted
to the Mccarthy subcommittee last
June by Secretary of the Army
Stevens.
| Watkins said Stevens had advised
that the list included all officers
involved in the PeresS case.
| In a hearing spattered with
sharp words and caustic phrases,
| Watkins refused to be budged from
his position that perhaps no one
was "criminally culpable" for the
Peress matter.
| Watkins said the Senate Internal
Security subcommittee of which he
is member could undertake 10
nail down those responsible" for
the honorable discharge.
But if it did, he said, 81 never
could find out to satisfy you unless
you could find some one who could
be shot and hung"
Mccarthy snapped back that
many young men viii die" be-
cause of traitors. He said traitors
should be "shot and hung"
Mccarthy said it was mo laugh
ing matter" when secret masters
in the military cover up for Com
munists.
Watkins said: 81 was not laugh
ing and the record and the picture
win so show"
II should perhaps be censured
for what ] am about to say" Nc
Carthy told Watkins in stern, lee
turing tones. But a senator who
represents the great state of Utah
who comes here and says he does
not know If some one ought to be
blamed for promoting a man ;.
who owes allegiance to q foreign
country, traitor to his country
=. such q senator certainly is
derelict in his duty and that .
putting it very mildly"
/ Watkins said repeatedly that only
"jury of his peers" could convict
spy. Accusations, he said, could
not convict.
He said the Peress matter
could have happened purely as a
matter of mistake" and criticized
what he called "a lot of charges"
without the proof.
Sen. Mcclellan of Arkansas,
ranking Democrat on the Inves.i-
cations subcommittee, asked Wat
kins if he would put I motion be-
fore the Internal Security subcon-
mittee to call al. the 30-odd off,
cers listed in the Army report
Watkins said he would. And Nc
Clellan said he would be glad to
second that motion.
i Mccarthy kept repeating he was
sorry that Watkins had wasted
our time" by testifying.
Watkins replied he had given the
committee the best answer .he
could.
The hearing was called, McCar-
thy said, because the report Of the
censure committee, headed by Wat
kins, had said that Brig. Gen.
Ralph w. Zwicker was not respon-
sible for the promotion and honor
able discharge of Peress and the
blame should be placed .'on those
who are culpable."
Mccarthy said the 30 odd names
supplied by Stevens would not re-.
veal the secret master" he sad
is behind the handling Of ne
Peress case. He said Watkins in
effect had told Mccarthy. in the
censure report, that Mccarthy
should discover the person WIN
was "culpable" in the Peress mat.
ter.
Mccarthy said at the outset he
! was calling Watkins only because
. of the reference to Peress IN tbe
report OF the censure committee
and not because "of your activitie.
as chairman Of the select commit.
, ee.''
He said it would be s.improner..
for him to ask about such actiyi.
ties.