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FBI Seen Weakened By Publicity Given Secret Documents Will Lose Informants Who Fear for Lives tfi Espionage Work By David Lawrence Had the Coplon trial been held in England, there would have been no embarrassment for any one not directly connected with the case. The judge would have ruled on the FBI flies in private and the attorneys would have had a chance to examine any secret documents without fear that out side persons would have access to confidential data of the govern ment. Nobody here is at fault for the unfortunate publicity that has oc curred. The FBI didn’t want its files made public. The judge had no choice when the defense In sisted on seeing the documents— he had to order them produced. But it must be borne in mind that the Justice Department it self did have a choice. It could have suppressed the FBI flies and withdrawn and let the case be lost by default. It chose instead to take the risks. The FBI, as a subordinate unit of the Justice Department, didn't make the de cision. Had it been left to the FBI. the case would have been dropped because the bureau values its sources of information more than it does the winning of a single case. Principle Involved For there’s a fundamental prin ciple involved. The FBI gathers all sorts of information. Some of it is gossip and may be proved un true. What is put in the agents’ reports isn’t evidence. It is mere ly* a memorandum to the head office covering everything heard or rumored. It is up to the bead of fice to piece together from various agents’ reports that which may properly be presented as evidence in a courtroom. This is the method of every in vestigation bureau, public or pri vate. Nobody has ever demanded the personal correspondence of any high official and gotten it into court. In fact, the President has insisted that another branch of the Government cannot receive even official documents or letters or correspondence if the executive branch deems it “incompatible with public interest” to divulge such data. Having refused to give such ma terial to Congress, it is logical that the executive branch may re fuse to give it to the judiciary. In the Coplon case, the Justice De partment could have refused to produce the files and no judge could have compelled their dis closure. But the case would have been withdrawn. What are the damaging conse quences of recent disclosures? These probably will never be measured. Nobody will evet know what hapened to the informants mentioned in the FBI files and now revealed. The public may not discern who the Informants were, but it seems a safe guess that the persons concerned will know. Informant Mar Lose Life. It is a safe guess, too, that the Russian government will be able to figure out who was an inform ant Inside the Russian Embassy. Names are not given but circum stances are very revealing. Not only will the Informant be lost to the FBI but his or her life may be lost also. Unhappily, the public attitude toward espionage Is not an In formed one. Many people don't like the Idea of spying or counter spying. They don’t like to see the American Government engaging in It, either. But In a period of oold war such things are part of the routine of all governments. Back In 1M1 the FBI monitored a radio telephone conversation between Hawaii and Japan and called attention to It. Also the FBI wanted to get at the messages which were filed by the Japanese Consulate for transmission to Japan before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but the Federal Com munications Commission in Wash ington refused to allow the Amer ican communication companies In Hawaii to give up the messages to the FBI. One of those messages. It was learned afterward, told the Japanese navy department in Tokyo what the signals would be to the carrier planes of the Jap anese fleet when they reached Pearl Harbor. Better espionage might have alerted the fleet at Pearl Harbor and saved many American lives. As long as unscrupulous gov ernments exist, espionage Is just as much a defensive measure as any form of armament. It is re grettable that the FBI will be weakened In handling espionage by a fear on the part of Inform ants that they may be mentioned in FBI reports that could become public. It would have been better to have dropped the case than to have allowed the FBI flies to be published. (Reproduction Rltht* Reserved.) DIAMOND BARGAINS FOR INVESTMENTS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO DUPLICATE LADY’S SOL. 14 CT. . $125.60 LADY’S % CT..$17500 LADY’S 1 CT..$225.66 MAN’8 114 CT..$366.66 MAN’S * CT.$566.66 LADY’S *14 CT._-$575.66 LADY’S *14 CT-$756.66 MAN’S IK CT.$156.66 All Price* Include Mice. Trades Accepted Abort erleta So not buliii Ui. Theta extremely Me* attest art made aotalUe by oer eati aarthaeee of exeeptteaatly flee come from estates, banka, banbrapter aa< taeriflee taloa. Tea teat pay (aaey arieet for ererktaS kart. LIVINGSTON ft 00. gSTABUSUD 16*4 v 142S H ST. NW. ML 1440. ML 2905 This Changing World FBI Urged Coplon Case Be Dropped In Order to Guard Confidential Data By Constantine Brown The FBI and its director, Ji Ed gar Hoover, are under severe and emotional criticism because the defense attorney In the espionage trial of Judith Coplon, former Justice Depart ment employe, succe e d e d in making public records of that agency con t a i n i n g the names of prom inent people. This could have been avoided had At torney General Clark, the im mediate chief CmmUbUm Btbbb. of Mr. Hoover, ordered the pros ecution to drop the case. The FBI is reliably reported to have advo cated such a step rather than re veal names and places it has kept through the years as a confiden tial matter to which only the President and his Attorney Gen eral have access. Investigations of the security agencies of this country—the FBI, the CIA and those of the Army and Navy—are painstaking. Much material Is gathered before the final estimate on an individual is put in black and white and a “ver djict” about his case is reached. Then the Attorney General must decide whether the individual should be prosecuted. In the case of those patient and protracted investigations all kinds of reports are gathered for the purpose of screening and sifting. Applies to All Probes. This applies not only to the loyalty cases but to all FBI investi-; gations. In the case of the notor ious A1 Capone and others of his; ilk—some of whon\ eventually had i to be prosecuted on charges of : income tax evasion and not for other crimes they had committed —long and complex investigations took place. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that had a judge issued at Capone's trial a decision similar to that of Judge Reeves, names of some prominent persons who had been in contact* with Capone might have been read i in- court. There would have been then as now no wish on the part of the investigators to smear such * people. * The FBI, which is charged with1 | domestic security Involving treason and subversion, considers these no different from the other crimes it is charged to present for prosecu tion on tlie attorney general's orders. The investigating routine has not and cannot be changed. Yet a wave of criticism and de nunciation of “cloak and dagger methods" has been hurled at Mr Hoover and his agents because it happens that in the preliminary investigations the names of a number of prominent people in art and science have come to the fore. Some of them had been connected —innocently it Is presumed—with organizations which the attorney General has listed publicly as sub versive. The FBI could do nothing but look into the cases of such persons and gather for sifting all the evidence that was available. stavisky Case Recalled. This method is not peculiar to our own FBI but to all such serv ices in the Western democratic nations. Few people will remem ber the spectacular Stavisky case in France in 1932 when this un savory financier was finally un covered not only as a dishonest individual who had robbed widows and orphans but also as a foreign agent. For some reason or other there is a violent outcry against all se curity agencies in this country whenever the name of a scientist is mentioned as a "doubtful char acter.” Because a person is a distin guished man of science it is as sumed that he must be. by defini tion, a good security risk although there are instances showing that some of them are active members of Communist parties or outright traitors. Thus, M. Jollot-Curie, a distinguished French physicist, is openly a member of the Com munist Party while Dr. Raymond Boyer, an equally distinguished Canadian scientist, has been sent to jail for two years by the Cana dian courts for having betrayed secrets from his laboratories to Soviet agents. The fact that an individual: happens to be a scientist cannot j serve as a shield against any in-! vestigation and suspicions, partic-i ularly in these days when American scientists especially have in their hands the most vital secrets of the Nation’s defense. The secur ity services of this country would be sadly derelict if they did not place such persons on the same level as other citizens. Brannan Plan Strategy Democratic Midwest Conference Seeks to Repeat Miracle of 1948 By Thomas L. Stokes DES MOINES, June 15. — A stray Republican observer put rather neatly the buoyant and zestful spirit of the Democratic Miawest con- . ference which | took over this \ former capital j of farm belt Re publlcanlsm j when he said, j wryly: ' "They act like they owned this place.” Secretary of Agriculture Charles F. Brannan, star of the show here with his ThMU L. IMu. somethlng-for-everybody Brannan farm plan, reflected the happy, confident mood when he spoke of “this wondrous and safely Demo cratic stronghold, the State of Iowa." He untied when he said It, and so did his audience of Democratic Party workers and farm and labor representatives from 16 Midwestern States. It was, indeed, one of those paradoxes that provoke a smile. But, after they had enjoyed It, Democratic Party leaders of the Midwest buckled down seriously with national party and labor leaders to organise for a repeat, if possible, on the miracle of 1948. Calculated Strategy This bold and imaginative poli tical coup here based on the Bran nan farm plan, and It was frankly recognized as such, represented calculated political strategy. That strategy is based, first, on recognition that farm States saved the Democratic party and Harry Truman in last November’s elec tion by offsetting and overcoming the loss of big Eastern States and four Southern Dixiecrat 8tates, and may provide the margin of victory in the next presidential election in 1952. It is based, secondly, on the recognition that if the Truman program is to get through Congress in the remain ing three and a half years of his term it will take stronger majori ties in Congress to offset defection of very conservative and anti social welfare Dixiecrats who are joining Republicans in this Con gress to block the Truman pro gram as they haye for the past decade. This continuing Dixie crat threat was referred to con stantly at the conference here. That points directly to the Con gressional elections next year, and that was the immediate objective of this party pow-wow. The area embraced in the 16 Midwestern States is about the only place where the required ad ditional Democratic members of House and Senate can be found. Democrats picked up five Senate seats and 39 House seats in this section last November. This is fer tile territory next year for offen sive tactics, for nine Republican Senate seats are at stake in the 1950 elections here, and only two Democratic seats. House seats in the region number 146. But beyond the Democratic need of extra seats in Congress, there is also the problem of getting ad ditional members who are of pro gressive political and economic viewpoint. For President Tru man’s purposes., they must be in that tradition and not the type of Democrats often elected from farm States who are progressive, if not radical, on farm legislation, but very conservative on issues involved in social welfare pro grams of principal Interest to people in urban Industrial centers. This explains the strategy at this conference to enlist labor in the light for the farm* belt, to form an alliance between farmer and worker. Labor Chiefs to Fore. Labor leaders offered their good offices. One after another they stood up In public meeting here to emphasize the dependence of farmers and workers upon each other, and their common interest. Jack Kroll. head of CIO's Poli tical Action Committee, summed it up very simply when he said: "If we don’t have enough dough we we don't eat ham and eggs for breakfast." Jack Kroll had his PAC rep resentatives here from the 16 State area. In hotel room confer ences, they not only checked up on election techniques—the funda mentals of registration, getting out the vote, and such—but also canvassed possible candidates for the Senate in contests in this area who would support Interests of both farm and labor in a pre-1950 primary survey. , It was significant that stage managers of this conference ar-i ranged a forum at which several members of Congress from this area and national labor leaders explained for the farmers why the Democratic administration wants repeal of the Taft-Hartley act as well as describing the ob jectives of measures in the Tru man social welfare program housing. education and health. ■VENETIAN BUMPS : 'CAUMWtm, Every One can have the Benefits of HOSPITALIZATION Our policies are sold to Individuals, Families or Groups. Ages from 3 mos. to 60 yrs. and from <0 to 74 yrs. For Application or Information CM in Poroon, Phono or Write INTER OCEAN INSURANCE CO. E. O. WieUnd, Mfr. 1231 New York Ave. N.W. District 7456 LOUIE —By Harry Hanan JUMUHMI Brannan Plan Politicking Farm Educational Meeting Becomes Democratic Convention in Miniature By Doris Fleeson DES MOINES. Iowa. June 15 - Democrats left here well satisfied that they had educated their pre cinct committeemen on the virtues of the Brannan plan as a soltz tion of the farm problem, a depression bulwark and a vote catcher. Vice Pres ident Barkley and others ad dressed an amazingly large and intent au dience on a steaming after noon during the farmers' busy Daria Fleaaon. ■ season, and the press-radio cover - | age was extensive. More thoughtful students of the farm problem wish that the polit ical overtones had not been so loud. They would like to consider more thoroughly the merits of Secretary of Agriculture Bran nan’s solution as compared to present schemes and the Hope Aiken Bill, due to become opera tive in 1950. Perhaps, however, the Hope-Aiken plan will never be tried. National Chairman Mc Grath states that if they can't enact the Brannan program this session, they will move to extend existing legislation and dissolve any Hope-Aiken prospect. The meeting just ended is only the start of a drive for Mr. Bran nan’s proposals. The Midwest will resort to more and greater efforts to explain them. Politics an Afterthought. Actually, Midwest Democrats originally planned this meeting for farm education purposes only. But Carl Rice of Kansas. Jake More of Iowa and others argued with 8enator McGrath and Direc tor Boyle in Washington as fol lows: Farmer benefits have always been Democratic programs. All Republican Presidents used to veto them. But we have supinely let Midwest Republicans pose as the farmer’s friends and get away with it. Now that we’ve got the Brannan plan, let’s put the Demo cratic brand on it and elect our own people. We made a start in Iowa and Minnesota last fall, let’s pursue our advantage. " The chairman and the director agreed to come to the Iowa meet BRAKES RELINED While Yea Wall oaaiieete D. o. laiai »">■ Johnp-Manvilla Lining CLUTCHES INSTALLED ONE DAY SERVICE J>. G. IsiMtltoi Berlin Wheel Beleadas—Alieaaeat Van Roirp'^r* ST. 5361 429 K St. N.W. Wntm Mb, Nip. M" S«u M_ @ome foT&e HOMESTEAD Virginia Hot Springs The Homestead's estate in the Virginia Alleghanies, celebrated as the mast delightful vacation local* in the Americas, is finer than ever this year. Com* and enjoy our superb sports facilities... the gay social scene . . . end The Homestead's famous Southern Service. Writ* for illustrated folder —and plan now for a per* feet vacation at the nation's most distinguished country hotel. tog; the Vice President was co operative. as always Attorney General Clark, who almost alone to the Truman Cabinet sees a connection between his job and the fact that a Democratic Presi dent gave It to him. said "Yes." Labor leaders welcomed the chance. The result was a national con vention in miniature, complete to heat, hangers-on and politicking to smoke-fliled rooms. Of course the farm problem is to politics, has been for years and will be so long as the tax payers are tapped for farm sub sidies. The farmers' own inter nal politics reflect it. Federation's Bad Guess. The powerful American Farm Bureau Federation, for example, had a Republican president prior; to 1932 when they hastily ousted him to install a Democrat. Ed O Neal of Alabama Anticipating that Governor Dewey would win in 1947, they retired O'Neal and elected Allen Kline, Iowa Repub lican. This proved a bad guess. Mr. Kline campaigned for the Re publicans. who lost even Iowa. Now he Is denouncing Mr. Brannan s plan and running into rank-and file dissatisfaction because of this. One Democratic aim is to detach the federation from their president. The new Brannan gadget is di rect consumer benefits from farm subsidies. Labor gets into the act not only because it benefits as consumers but because, by and large, candidates favoring the Brannan plan also favor labor, and vice versa. Coming up: Republican swers to Democratic maneuver* a GOP farm conference. *Reltand by Bell Srndlctl*. Ine.V McL'emore— OHers Milton forte Few Tips on Wori By Henry McLemere Mr Perpetual Matson. * filch a tt» say Mr MCton Berie a no* • fellow laborer us the syndicate vineyard He became a columnar for the first tune last Morsdav. and I think it would be leas than generous If I did not offer him a few tips | on his new ' work I am Quite sure that Mr Beile assumed his new position with a light heart, confident that after sing ing. downing. hoofing and mugging, writing a column would be a brreer of the very gentlest nature. Hardest Hay la I lot Ur I am equally sure that after a few months of writing a column Mr. Berle will admit, as ail col umnists have sooner or later, that It is the hardest way to turn a dishonest dollar this side of lump ing off the Empire State Building with no water wines. Wait. Mr Berle. until you wake up some morning with not a single thought in your head and have to stare an unfriendly typewriter in the face Nothing is uaher than a typewriter Nothing is meaner than a typewriter. Ire had the t on the typewriter jump right out of its little nest and slap me in the face. I have had the spare bar feint me out of position, while the % key crossed me with a right hook I have even had the margin release hiss at me as the * and the and the * told me how stupid I was. For an adult to grow angry at an inanimate object is silly, 1 know, but more than once I have struck typewriters right on the nose and then, when they were down, given them a boot There is something rlss ‘•you should know, too, Mr Berle. You can say almost anything in a night club as an entertainer and get away with it. But it's different with a column No matter what: you write about, there are sure to be thousands of people who will1 disagree. Once, just for a test I wrote that I was w hole-heartedly in favor of fire departments; that it was a grand thing to have the men in blue always standing ready to put out biases. 1 got: Very large outside roams available at weekly rates from $12.50, also some out side rooms with private bath at Special Weekly Rates. Full Hotel Service HOTEL CAIRO ISIS Qm Sr. N.W. Hofert 2104 Jamtt C. Vonrtory, Sr., Mmntgt K* letter* OC**J*«UV'rt sine for sue* • giam) You *«i ftr.i w Be tie la! 4 you adr orate tnes-r »4» far t»»4e« «**•** of Am*; *»m »U a: tjfs. u yaw BUlt u aesjaaSy a pouwr. *r,. that the «uv thurt feature *.*■ .-.■■•«..■ ■ fee fed i* a «a*b m*->- (nm e,,.r felt *au a.ad raaary parapaia* uoc HerX led at I art e * You A* been her* r-1 J-ors £r.*.n > a itsSftt rltife Sat I fcn.-a hu • ait UEt4 the jKst.vr at .a-ya .atamtai reader* from Vrme.: to Ktv Wen.*. ee; so te::t*ut you r pen arid ir.a what the* t:-..jj* about you and a bat you *rnr I haisttie m-v-. «-f *r- * Wst» a tide a ear shy as tUShtahiTt to prole* t m< Oeijrasr tttfi from the a bit* fcot ar.*rr o* my reader s Get made Mr Be; t to fee aaamprd a ;Us -esse * from me: *1)4 af ft:: ftjtftft. f* W- « t» ;*« ft’A^t* *■*•«* »£» ** ar< '••* t» to ft t'i ,i®\* to SftrSftfttoil » ;<■ to to » * •,’•*■.• S' ft f r* « -..tot ir.Kat ««» » fti«s e: .• .:■* I;to.••<• fi j| ' ■"'.ft ft )l« t-:-'..,! to ft ftK It..:’ » * <• » " >» . ■ •■ - to 4 » f «?r,’ • $•*» 4* Uto tWR.:* *•* -* fti u» a »•• * - • • fcMf » to - ' -i c* ft Hc-imi u- «ft*» » rrv“»«; t: » (■*■* %.»»>» Sl!!» * ft* ftft&i&g f ft t-.'tt ftjtf VV?:,.’ !;*»* V ^ • « ft' V * to. f ^icn TlAJISFtl A STOAAGI CO sM t«»* «•» m w HK HTt I» O t* A Miff 10 OOWN OIYM(MT II A MONTH BEGINNING IN HIT. 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