AMERICAN COMMUNISTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26777, 21 May 1948, Page 5

AMERICAN COMMUNISTS

PH I TO CURB ACTIVITIES PASSAGE THROUGH HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Rec. 9 p.m. WASHINGTON, May 20. The House of Representatives to-day passed by 319 votes to 58 a Bill designed to put severe restrictions on the Communist Party. Many amendments modifying the Bill’s provisions were defeated overwhelmingly by the House, but it is expected that the measure will be rejected by the SenSt The Bill, which was drafted by the Un-American Activities Committee, and known as the Mundt-Nixon Bill, provides: — V First, that Communist leaders' must sever tics with Moscow or face heavy fines and imprisonment; secondly, the Communist Party and its “ front ” organisations must register with the Justice Department and submit annual financial statements to the Government; thirdly, that _ Communists would not he eligible to work for the Federal Government; fourthly, that no passports would be issued to Communists; fifthly, that Communists would be required to label any material sent through the mails as being of Communist origin. The Bill’s passage followed three days of debate, in which a small group of critics charged that it was unconstitutional, that it would lead to “thought control,” undermine the individual liberties of all Americans and drive the real Communists underground. . Supporters of the measure said the Bill was necessary to control subversion Representative J. McDowell (Republican, Pennsylvania)'! declared: “The Communists raised 500,000 dollars to defeat this Bill, and resorted to forgery.”