NEWSPAPER’S ATTACK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26842, 5 August 1948, Page 5

NEWSPAPER’S ATTACK

PROCEDURE OF INVESTIGATION

« CIVIL RIGHTS NOT OBSERVED ” Rec. 10 p.m. NEW YORK, Aug. 3. Attacking the House Un-American Activities Committee for its procedure in the current investigation of alleged Communist espionage by Government servants, the New York Times in a leader points out that civil rights are guaranteed under the Bill of Rights. “Among these are: The guarantee against being called to answer for an infamous crime except upon a grand jury indictment, a promise of open trial by a jury of one’s peers, and the right to confront one’s accusers in open court after having been previously informed of the nature and cause of the accusations. We d<? not believe that these fundamental rights are being observed to-day in Washington by the Congressional committees investigating Communism in the United States. The New York Times reviews the current investigation, pointing out that various persons have been called before the committee purely on the evidence of Miss Elizabeth Bentley. The newspaper adds that it believes Soviet agents should be spught out and brought to trial and punished iffound guilty, but only by proper judicial means.