Evening star. [volume], August 12, 1955, Page A-5, Image 5

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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V.
CHARGED IN DOCUMENT CASE-Rea S. Van Fosson, in
dicted on charges of misusing a secret Air Force document
and then lying about it, poses in his attorney's office today
after being released on bond —AP Photo.
Peurifoy and Son Killed
In Thai Auto Crash
Continued From First Page
the Athens government by his
skillful handling of the Ameri
can aid program and thus helped
to end the communist threat in
that country.
Perfect as Troube-Shooter
It was his perfect record as a
trouble - shooter that prompted
the President and Secretary of
State Dulles to select him for
his last assignment—the diffi
cult post in Bangkok.
Thailand already is a target of
Communist pressure and propa
ganda. Red agents and gunmen
have infiltrated the country’.
But State Department experts
consider the Thais to be one of
the most pro-American people
in Asia. Mr. Peurifoy has helped,
promote these close ties between
the two nations.
Although he was a career
Foreign Service officer, he did
not always act like one. He pre
ferred to be casual in his dress
and in his talk. He was beam
ing and bouncy and asked every
one to call him "Jack.” In turn,
he was likely to know your first
name, just like he knew the
names of three-fourths of the
legislators on Capitol Hill. I
Began as Elevator Operator
He became acutely aware of.
congressmen when he came to
Washington in 1935 and took a
Job as an elevator operator in
the House Office Building w’hile
awaiting an opening in an ex
ecutive agency.
It was there that his good
looks, ready smile and charming
chatter made him a favorite of
both Republicans and Democrats.
He made associations then that
continued throughout the re
mainder of his life and that
made his work in the State De
partment less trying on many
occasions.
Mr. Peurifoy could not qualify
for a State Department post at
the outset because of a lack of
formal schooling. <He had to
leave West Point after two years
because of illness.) And so he
took a job with Treasury and
•tradied at George Washington
and American Universities at
night.
He suffered a temporary set
back when his Treasury job was
abolished. He took a job at
Woodward & Lothrop's. selling
smoking accessories. His bride,
the former Betty Jane Cox of
Cattle Raisers, Producers
Discuss Results of Curbs
What would happen to beef
supplies and prices at a time of
a major military emergency if
the Government clamped a tight
freeze on prices and wages?
A group of organizations whose
members raise cattle, process
beef and sell it to the public say
such a freeze would produce dire
results, especially for consumers.
Five co-operating organiza
tions. with the help of outside
economists conducted such a
study under simulated emergency
conditions. It was intended to
show just what would happen, in
the event of a price-wage freeze,
advocated by many experts in
event of another Korean type
emergency.
The panrl concluded that
cattle marketings would drop;
supplies of beef for home con
sumers would disappear; there
STATION WAGON
1955 PONTIAC
$ 2,497
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FLOOD PONTIAC
4221 Connecticut Avenue O WO. 6-8400
• Tulsa. Okla., also worked there to
; help things along.
Then he got a break. The
State Department hired him as
. an economic analyst at $2,000 a
,yearinl93B. It was onward and
upward from then on.
He served on several special *
assignments for the department
■ as its representative with the
War Production Board, the
Board of Economic Warfare and
in 1942 was detailed to the Am
■ erican Embassy in Riode Janiero.i
He arranged the physical details
for the San Francisco conference
which established the United
Nations in 1945.
After serving as special assist
ant to Dean Acheson, the then
Under Secretary of State, in
1946. Secretary of State Mar-;
shall recommended Mr. Peurifoy'
for appointment as an Assistant
Secretary. Later, he was ap
pointed Deputy Under Secretary.
In the latter post he initiated
the plan ultimately adopted in
principle by the Hoover Com
mission which re-orgariized the
department.
Enemy of Red Tape
As Deputy Under Secretary he
iwas the business manager. He
. became known as a deadly enemy
"of red tape. If a regulation
1 blocked something that needed
' to be done, he encouraged his;
, subordinates to say "let's change
the regulations” instead of "we
can't do that because it's against
the rules.”
Mr. Peurifoy became embroiled
in the controversy about alleged
Reds in the State Department
stirred up by Senator McCarthy.
After the Senator made his
■ maiden speech on the subject at
Wheeling, W. Va., in 1950, Mr.
Peurifoy lost little time in de
manding proof of the charges.
When the Senator did not re
; ply, the department released Mr.
( Peurifoy's telegrams asking for
. proof which he had sent the
| Wisconsin Republican.
[ Some observers believe this
i may have convinced Senator
. McCarthy that there was great
publicity value in attacking
"Communists in the Govern
i ment.” Although Mr. Peurifoy
became a target of the Senator's
: he survived and even thrived,
. partly because of his popularity
' on Capitol Hill.
f would be extreme shortages In
f parts of the country away from
J the cattle producing areas; prices
; would continue to ris despite
the freeze and large gray and
s black markets in beef would
> develop.
The study, however, was not
: intended to show what would
happen if cattle and beef prices
■were left uncontrolled as Is
' advocated by a large number of
i people raising cattle.
' The organizations which made
> the study were the American
‘ Farm Bureau Federation. Ameri
. can Meat Institute, American
i National Cattlemen's Association.
■ Food Retailers Committee, and
jthe National Livestock Produc
er's Association. They presented
their views at a luncheon meet
ing yesterday at the Willard
"Hotel.
Clardy Sees Injustice 1
In Arrest of Van Fosson
By L. EDGAR PRINA
Former Representative Kit
Clardy, Republican of Michigan,
said today he sees a "terrible
injustice" in the arrest of Rea
S. Van Fosson, a onetime Air
Force intelligence agent who was
charged yesterday with misusing
a secret document and then
lying about it.
In a telephone interview from
his home in Lansing, Mr. Clardy
asserted:
"They are prosecuting the
wrong person, in my opinion.
Van Fosson only did what he
believes to be a patriotic service.
This looks like persecution of a
man who sought to help the
House Un-American Activities
Committee in the pursuit of its
fight against communism.”
Fired by Air Force
The 36-year-old Van Fosson
was separated from the Air Force
last November under conditions
"other than honorable" for turn
ing a classified document over
to the House committee. The
next day he was hired by the
committee as an investigator at
$8,200 a year. He was fired, how
ever, when the Democrats took
control of the Congress in Jan
uary.
He was arrested yesterday at;
his home in Silver Spring, Md.,|
by deputy United States mar- 1
shals. He posted a SI,OOO bond
in United States District Court
here and was released.
Arraignment of Van Fosson
was postponed today from next
Thursday to September 2.
Postponement was granted by
Judge Burnita S. Matthews at
the request of Van Fosson's at-
Eisenhower
Regrets Loss
President Eisenhower said to
day the world has lost "an out
standing champion of freedom
and peace" in the death of Am
bassador John E. Peurifoy. '
The President issued the fol
lowing statement:
"I have just been informed of
the tragic death of Ambassador
John E. Peurifoy and his son.
"A brilliant career diplomat,
Ambassador Peurifoy served his
; country exceptionally well for
, many years. The United States
, and the free world has lost an
■ outstanding champion of free
dom and peace.
“On the personal side. Mrs.
; Eisenhower and I have lost a
valued friend. We extend our
deepest sympathy to Mrs. Peuri
foy in the great loss she has sus
tained.”
The President also sent a per
sonal note to Mrs. Peurifoy.
Secretary of State Dulles de
scribed Mr. Peurifoy’s death as
■ “indeed a tragic loss."
“In Greece and Guatemala he
contributed mightily to repelling
the efforts of international com
munism to take over the govern
ments of these countries," Mr.
Dulles said.
“At Bangkok, he served not
only to cement ties with our good
friend and ally, Thailand, but
also at this seat of the secretariat
of the Manila Pact Council, he
helped to give vitality to the new
treaty for the security of South
east Asia."
Casket Thief
Being Sought
In Arlington
Arlington Police arc looking
for a thief who stole a pine
casket and 65 square feet of ar
tificial mound grass from the
Odd Fellows Cemetery, Colum
bia Pike and South Orme street,
Ailington.
A spokesman for the Chinn
Funeral Home. 2005 South Sem
inary road, said hp and some
helpers left the pine box and
the grass at the cemetery Tues
day. The theft was discovered
Wednesday.
The casket and the grass were
valued at $385. police said
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torney, Edward Bennett Wil
liams. Mr. Williams entered his
appearance as attorney for Van
Fosson this morning at the
courthouse. He then asked for
the arraignment postponement
because he expects to be out of
the city.
Mr. Clardy, a one-term con
gressman. who was defeated last
fall in his bid for re-election,!
was a member of the Un-Amer
ican Activities group. Today, he
offered his legal services to Mr.
Van Fosson "without compensa
tion.”
Clardy Revealed Case
It was a memorandum written
by Mr. Clardy to other members
of the committee last fall that
brought the Van Fosson case to
light. In the memo, the con
gressman decried the Air Force
action in separating the intelli
, gence operative, a former bom
, bardier-navigator, who holds the
1 Distinguished Flying Cross and
. the Purple Heart.
Mr. Clardy did not identify
! Mr. Van Fosson by name, but
another committee source did.
The document Mr. Van Fosson
is charged with misusing is a
113-page file, prepared by the
FBI in December, 1952, on Jay
Lovestone, one of the founders
and former General Secretary of
Jthe Communist Party, U.S.A.
I Mr. Lovestone was expelled from
, the party by Joseph Stalin in
1929.
t ! Now executive secretary of the
American Federation of Labor's
Free Trade Union Committee,
r Mr. Lovestone offered to appear
; before the House committee last
. December after a story in The
"Star revealed that he had bevi
| under fire in secret testimony
| given by Spencer Miller, jr.. a
former Assistant Secretary of
Labor.
At the time. Mr. Clardy said
the committee had testimony
naming a "kingpin” of a world -
’jwide Red network. Other com
' mittee sources confirmed that he
1 was talking about Mr. Lovestone.
The AFL official denied the
charges and asked to be called
' to testify under oath. He said
, Mr. Clardy "was repudiated at
the polls and was trying to ride
a dead horae.”
Committee sources said last
■ fall that operatives of the Central
’ Intelligence Agency first learned
that the committee had a copy
5 of the FBI dossier on Mr. Love
-1 stone and so reported it to the
' bureau. The FBI then called in
;all copies, having circulated them
to interested Government agen
-1 cies. The leak was easily pin
" pointed.
■j Chairman Walter of the House
' committee said last night that
las far as he is concerned the fir
' ing of Mr. Van Fosson earlier
this year and the turning over to
' the FBI of the committee copy of
5 the document "closed the case.”
Explaining why he dismissed
- the investigator. Mr. Walter said:
! "In going over the list of
' personnel and seeing his record
' I came to the conclusion that if
he would take an Air Force
secret document, then he might
1 take committee documents.”
• As for the Miller-Lovestone
L case, committee informants said
1 it was not likely that any re
“ port or public healings W’ould be
1 held. They said it was doubtful
■ whether the testimony already
taken would be released.
j The indictment against Mr.
!Van Fosson specifically charged
him with unlawfully removing
and unlawfully converting to his
own use a classified document
from the files of the Air Force
Office of Special Investigations.
: Six other counts charged him
’ with making false statements
• to OSI officials when questioned
• about the document.
Conviction on alt eight counts
, could bring a possible maximum
penalty of 34 years imprison
i ment and $63,000 in fines.
Mr. Van Fosson. according to
■ friends, has been unemployed
1 except for a few w’eeks since he
left the committee in February.
I His wife had been working as a
waitress until she became ill
■ recently. The Van Fossons have
two small daughters.
Escaped Convict
Sought in Arlington
Arlington police were searching
today for a 19-year-old convict
who escaped from a road gang
in the 4900 block of Arlington
boulevard yesterday. He report
edly fled into Lubber Run park.
Police Identified the escapee as
James Webber and said he was
serving three year for a grand
larceny conviction in Winchester,
Va.
INFLATION
Continued From First Page
different category, but never
theless was identified with other
moves by the administration to
prevent inflation from getting
out of hand.
He put a temporary end to
Government assistance to more
than $6 billion worth of proposed
industrial plant and equipment
expansion, pending a determi- 1
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nation whether the requests are|
in line with defense needs at this
time.
! The immediate effect of his
order was to slow down on tax
: benefits for new plants in 19 in
) dustries and a “suspension” of
• action in 38 others. Officials esti
mated the review process would
5 require "a month or more.”
. Mr. Flemming's action drew
j praise from Democratic Senator
O’Mahoney of Wyoming who
’ said the Eisenhower administra
tion “should be congratulated”
for moving to curtail such tax
benefits.
Senator O’Mahoney said the
: tax incentives have been ex
■ tended to many industries have
' no direct connection with de
) sense and thus were "due for
r curtailment.
The order followed closely
) upon recent reports that Secre
: tary of the Treasury Humphrey
I has urged curtailment of the
t. Government's moves to offer tax
• deduction incentives which vari-
*| THE EVENING STAR, Washington, D. C. *•
i FRIDAY. AUGUST it, I9S.V
ous Industries receive as a means
’ of stimulating plant expansions.
The successive stands taken
| by Mr. Humphrey, Mr. Flem
ming and Mr. Weeks apparently
| were related to moves made last
week by the Federal Reserve'
■ System, Federal Housing Admin
' istration and the Veterans’ Ad
-1 ministration concerning loans.
■ Mr. Weeks, in fact, told his news
; conference that his remarks
were prompted to some extent
! by the action of those agencies
■jin stiffening credit requirements.
■ Delayed Dinner
CASSOPOLIS. Mich., Aug. 12
r TP).—Dinner was delayed a bit
■ when Alexander Fields, aiming
r at a chicken, missed and shot
: his wife Mary Lou in the leg
c with a shotgun. She was treated
• for a flesh wound.
VFW Plaque to Go
To Dr. Mourot
Russell Mitchell Post 609. VFW
in Alexandria, last night voted to
honor Dr. Arthur J. Mourot, the
post surgeon, for outstanding
service to sick and disabled vet
erans.
j Dr. Mourot will be presented a
plaque at the annual George
Washington Birthday Dinner, a
feature of the two-day Wash
ington Birthday celebration
sponsored by the veteran’s post.
The group also passed a reso
: lution demanding the rescision of
circular 19, of the Veterans Ad
; ministration, which forbids VA
employes to hold certain offices
[or committee memberships in
veterans organizations.
A-5