Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-07-20
By chorIes 3. Seib


Al House subcommittee once
described Roy M. Cohn as IAN
extremely bright young man. ag-
gressive In the performance Of
his duties and probably not free
from the pressure OF personal
ambition"
Whatever those personal am
billions might have been, they
have taken a sudden change Of
direction as q result Of Mr.
COINS resignation from his Nc
Carthy subcommittee post. bit-
terly disillusioned by his venture
into high power Washington
politics.
His statements to newspapers
when he disclosed his resigna-
ton echoed what he had been
telling friends ever since the
close Of the sensational Army
Mccarthy hearings.
In private conversation the
youthful Mr.. Cohn made plain
that he felt his reputation had
been torn to shreds because Of
his association with Senator
Mccarthy. Also, he was deeply
concerned over the impact events
Of the past mopths have had on
his parents. His father, Justice
Albert Cohn Of the appellate di-
vision Of the New York State
Supreme Court. is reported to
have suffered q heart attack as
a result Of his grief over the
attitude OF some Of his friends
regarding his sons Washington
activities.
Mr.. Cohn asserted he was
being made a political sacrifice
and that resignation was the
only way out for him.
Those who have dealt directly
with the 27-year-old lawyer and
those who watched him on tele-
vision during the Army-Mc-
Carthy hearings probably could
find themselves in general agree
ment with the House subcom-
mittee's appraisal of him as
an extremely bright. aggressive
and ambitious young man.
Mr.. Cohn got an early start
on the career that led him to
the national spotlight as chief
counsel Of Senator McCarthy's
Subcommittee on Investigations.
He was precocious child and
at 20 he had completed college
and Columbia Law School. He
was obliged to spend year at
clerking until he turned 81 and
could be admitted to the bar.
From the start, his favorite
target for his legal fire was COM
munism and subversive activ-
tiles.
Becoming an assistant United
States attorney on the day he
was admitted to the bar, he took
part in the prosecution Of Will
liam Remington, former Com
merce Department employee, on
perjury charges: the treason
trial Of the Rosenbergs: the big
New York trial of top United
States Communist leaders; the
grand jury presentation OF the
case against Owen baltimore.
and the investigations of alleged
United States Communists on
the United Nations staff.
Was McGranery Aide.
Mr.. Cohn rose rapidly in the
1 Governments legal branch. In
1850, at %. he became confiden-
tial assistant to United States
Attorney Irving Saypol in New
York. Two years later he was
transferred to Washington as q
special assistant to Attorney
General James McGranery.
With the end Of the Truman
administration, Mr.. Cohn left
the Justice Department to be-
come chief counsel Of the Nc
Carthy subcommittee. a $ll,-
646-a-year post.
Mr.. Cohn soon became known
as a relentless squeStioner with
a brilliant mind and superb
memory hiding behind his sleepy
eyes and deadpan expression.
Always in a hurry, seldom
smiling, given to occasional out
bursts of anger, Cohn kept the
subcommittee staff hopping. He
seemed to keep a whole series of
Investigations in the air at the
same time.
Brought In q Friend.
- l.