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i f * ——i ! —— | as dl eR a“ U.S. News & World Report \ .. +» New laws should be possed to ‘safeguard the Fal files'? permit a witness to have his lawyer present and even to consult with him before answering cach specific question. 6. A Royal Commission can require all concerned in the inquiry, including witnesses, to take an oath of secrecy. The duestioning by the Commission can be secret rin since only selected ex te from the testimony are made public, it is tmpassdble to know whether « fair vole. tion was made. Most congressional committee hearings are pubtic and open to the press. 7. A Royal Commission is not subject to or under the control of the courts, Parliament or the Cabinet, and a Commission “is the sole judge of its own procedure.” Con- gressional committees are completely subject to Congress, and they need the assistance of the courts in dealing with contemptuous witnesses. We do not approve, or urge, all of the foregoing practices, but cite them to show what other freedom-loving nations do to protect their security. What Legislation 1s Necessary Our Committee deems the bill introduced to overcome the effect of the Steve Nelson decision to be in the public inter- ests, Serious consideration must be given to tion which 1. Safeguard the confidential nature of _th 2. Give to congressional committees the same freedom to investigate Communists and pro-Communists that these committees have always had to investigate businessmen and labor leaders; 3. Sanction the right of the Federal Government to dis- charge security risks even though they occupy so-called nonsensitive positions; 4. Vest in the Department of Justice the right to question aliens awaiting deportation about any subversive associa- tions and contacts; 5. Correct the notion that the Smith Act was not in- tended to prohibit advocacy and teaching of forcible over- throw as an abstract principle; : 6. Permit schools, universities, bar associations and other organizations to set standards of membershib high enough to exclude those who refuse to testify frankly and fully about their past activities in furtherance of Communist plans to conquer the free world by subversion. In recent weeks the New York “Daily Worker” has been replete with articles and editorials proclaiming that the use- fulness of FBI informants in future prosecutions has been de- stroyed; thatthe Smith Act is now ineffective and for all practical purposes invalidated; that the effectiver- 13 of con- gressional inquiries into subversive activities has been cur- tailed and that the Government loyalty-security program is under serious attack. In reporting on fts current fund drive the “Daily Worker” has stated it experienced an eniiven- ing of contributions which it attributed to renewed hope by its supporters for its future. The reaction of the Communist Party to the recent Supreme Court decisions clearly depicts the resilience of the organiza- Gon and the speed with which its lead recognizes an advantage and presses to capitalize to the fullest extent on circumstances conducive to the growth of the organization. Some Americans may wonder whether an organization the size of the Communist Party, U.S.A., with a consistent d= cline in membership in recent years, represents a danger to 138 Court in Jencks 0. United States and legislation sequently introduced in Congress to define the the rule announced by the Court in that case. In the Jencks case the Court held that one accused by the United States of a criminal offense is entitled to inspect, for i purposes of impeschment, prior statements and reports which the prosecution witnesses had previously made to the Covern- snent and ‘which touch upon the the tial Further, the defense need not Brat lay a foun- dation of inconsistent testimony in order to obtain production of these documents. We are in firm agreement with the Court's view that the accused's right to make an adequate defense must not be by an arbitrary withholding of pertinent docu- ments by the prosecution. We are equally strong in our belief, however, that the rules by which these documents are produced should be defined with sufficient restriction that one accused of subversion against this nation and its people will not be allowed to nan mage at will through Government documents containing confidential information important to the national security and of no relevance whatever to the defense of the accused. There is danger of much a result. “Grave Emergency” From Ruling The Attomey Ceneral himself testified before the Congress only recently, declaring that a grave emergency resulted from the Supreme Court decision in the Jencks case. He asserted that some trial courts have interpreted the Jencks decision to require that the Government submit to de- fense not only those reports and statements specified by the Supreme Court, but also the investigative report of the ease, much of which fs neither relevant nor material to the defense of the accused, We believe the effect of such interpretations is to weaken immeasurably the p: and necessary defenses of society, without granting to accused any additional information which he rightfully needs to make his defense. We also point out that the investigative reports sometimes contain the names of third persons who originally were linked to the case in a manner subsequently found to be innocent. To release the names of these innocent le from the bond of Government secrecy would not promote the interests of justice. On the contrary, & would be injustice of the rankest sort. Accordingly we belleve that a firm stand should be taken in support of legislation, already introduced in the Congress, which would recognize the rights of the accused as defined by the Supreme Court in the Jencks decision, but at the and subversives as a lever to out of the Government files information to which they are not_en of which can serve DO t to jeopardize the rights of innocent persons and the public at large. ‘ Your Committee calls attention to the report to the Con- gress which was recently made by the Commission on Govern- ment Security, of which Loyd Wright, past president of the U. 8, MEWS @ WORLD REPOAT, Avg. 14, $057