“BAD SECURITY RISK”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27346, 23 March 1950, Page 7

“BAD SECURITY RISK”

American Secretary Of State

ACCUSED OF COMMUNIST SYMPATHIES

Republican Leaders’ Attacks

New Zealand Press Association—Copyright , Rec. 8 p.m. WASHINGTON, Mar. 21. After a period of increasing Republican attacks on the Secretary of State, Mr Dean Acheson, and the Administration’s foreign policy, and claims that there are Communists in the State Department, the Senate Republican leader, Senator Kenneth Wherry (Nebraska), claimed today that Mr Acheson was a bad security risk. Senator Wherry, in a speech before the Republican-sponsored Nebraska Founders’ Day celebration, said Mr Acheson “ must go.” The Republicans’ campaign against the State Department, which stemmed from a charge made by Senator Joseph. McCarthy (Wisconsin) in February that the “ State Department is thoroughly infested with Communists,” is threatening to turn from a purely domestic squabble into a conflict of vital national and international repercussions.

In February, Senator McCarthy said: “ I have in my hand 57 cases of individuals who would appear to be either card-carrying members, or certainly loyal to the Communist Party, but who nevertheless are still helping to shape United States foreign policy.” Senator McCarthy later elaborated his charges in the Senate, and without giving the names, said that 81 officials of the State Department were “security risks.” Senator McCarthy has since named a number of State Department officials whom he considers to be a “risk”, and with several other Republicans, has kept up constant fire at the department. Goaded by the widespread publicity given to the charges, President Truman decided to allow Senate' investigators to examine the private files concerning the loyalty of State Department officials. So far 16,000 persons have been investigated. None have been discharged on loyalty grounds, but two have been discharged as “security risks.” Another 202 left the State Department while under investigation. This week, Senator McCarthy called for the dismissal of Mr Acheson and the “whole ring of untouchables who have delivered . China to Communism.” Previously he had accused Mr John Service, a United States diplomat, of being “a pro-Communist,” who ; while stationed in China, had “ tried to scuttle Chiang Kai-shek.” Yesterday, Senator McCarthy demanded that President Truman submit to the Senate Investigating Sub-com-mittee the files on Dr Philip Jessup, the United States Ambassador at Large, and Mr Owen Lattimore, former State Department consultant on China. Senator McCarthy repeated the charges he had made previously that Dr Jessup was not qualified to develop Far Eastern policy because he relied too heavily on Mr Lattimore’s judgment. Senator McCarthy has also charged Mr Lattimore with pro-Communist association. After the Republican attacks, President Truman found it necessary yesterday to deny rumours that he had lost confidence in Mr Acheson. He said he had no intention of replacing Mr Acheson as Secretary of State. The Presidential press secretary, Mr Charles Ross, said: “The President has complete confidence in Mr Acheson, and believes he is running the department admirably.” Mr Acheson recently has had few delenders. Even the Democratic leaders have remained silent since Mr Acheson elected publicy to express toleration for a former State Department • official, Alger Hiss, as a man in distress, although the Secretary of State did not condone the acts which led to the conviction of Hiss on perjury charges. In his speech at Lincoln (Nebraska) today, Senator Wherry, after claiming that Mr Acheson was a bad security risk, said: "Mr Acheson is the most powerful man in the United States Government today. His voice is the voice of President Truman, but his hand is the hand of Mr Acheson. He has become so powerful apparently as the idol of Left-wing appease Russia agitators that the President is fearful that should he dismiss Mr Acheson he will lose the support of this Radical Socialistic pressure group in the coming elections.’’ Senator Wherry said Mr Acheson and the “Alger Hiss clique” have been close collaborators in the State Department for years in “many schemes that have run our foreign relations into the ditch. His belated warning in California last week against further expansion by Red Russia has a mighty hollow ring in the light of his appeasement record and .otal failure to win peace." Dr Jessup yesterday protested that accusations of Communist sympathies against him and other State Department officials were weakening the effectiveness of the United States foreign policy. Dr Jessup denied before a Senate sub-committee the charge that he had an “ unusual affinity for Communist causes” which was made against him by Senator McCarthy. Dr Jessup, who recently completed a Far East survey mission which is expected to influence the State Department’s plans for combating Communism in the area, said on his return to the United States that there “ was absolutely no substance” in Senator McCarthy’s allegations that there were Communists in the State Department. Today Dr Jessup told the Senate subcommittee that Senator McCarthy had shown a “shocking disregard for the interests of the United States ” in bringing unfounded charges against State officers.