ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE SOVIET UNION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP66B00403R000200190012-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 4, 2005
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: July 30, 1964
• Content Type: OPEN

1964
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - HOUSE
of survival. Lipservice to human rights
no longer has value. The 20th century has
caught up with those unworthy stewards
who publicly proclaim liberty and justice for
all, but privately try to massacre both lib-
erty and justice for minority groups.
Historically, the American people have pro-
claimed and defended human rights and
fundamental freedoms. That is why Amer-
ican citizenship has always been a prized
possession. The world needs America for
justice and freedom and liberty. You and
I and all of us must serve this Nation that
her greatness may endure. Without Amer-
ica the world would be in chaos.
The Founding Fathers recognized that our
country had a mission, a vocation, to lead
the world to new concepts of national sov-
ereignty and individual liberty, to a new
understanding of the dignity of man and the
freedom of the human spirit.
On July 4, 1776, the Congress of the 13
Colonies proclaimed immortal principles of
human liberty for all the world to read and
today our mission, our vocation, in the provi-
dence of God, is to save mankind from
slavery.
Your Excellency, the Ambassador of
Lebanon, we of San Antonio are grateful to
you for the honor which you have conferred
on us this evening and we ask you to convey
to your government our sincere appreciation
of art award which you have brought to us;
a distinction which will forever remind us
of the glorious cedars of Lebanon.
AMBASSADOR OF LEBANON'S SPEECH AT THE
BANQUET HONORING ARCHBISHOP LUCEY AND
MR. PHILIP KAZEN
Mr. Chairman, Your Excellencies, honored
guests, monsignors, very reverend. and rev-
erend fathers, ladies and gentlemen, we are
gathered this evening to honor two dis-
tinguished guests, well known by all of us
and who need no introduction.
As representative of the Republic of Leba-
non, I am delighted to come here and to ful-
fill a mission in paying tribute to these out-
standing personalities.
As an honorary citizen of Texas-a privi-
lege that Governor Connally conferred upon
me 2 months ago-a privilege and an honor
that I deeply cherish, and as alcalde, an
honor that Mayor McAllister conferred upon
me here today-I am happy to be with you
and to share your joy in honoring our two
guests.
Your Excellency, tonight you are sur-
rounded by parishioners and friends, men
and women among whom you have lived,
people who as individuals and as a com-
munity respected you, love you, and admire
you.
Your accomplishments and your services
are well known.
I would like, however, with your per-
mission, to recall some of them to this
gathering:
I am conscious of your virtue of humility;
and your modesty is legendary. I hope my
short remarks will not harm them, and I
that in their physical anguish they found
in you spiritual comfort and strength. As
chaplain of the Newman Club at the 'Uni-_
versity of California, you inspired the minds
of the young and guided them in the true
path. As you have always been interested
in every aspect of the life of your parishion-
ers, you have been elected president of the
California Conference of Social Work and
became a' member of the executive board
of the California State Department of Social
Welfare.
It was natural that your dedicated aposto-
late lead to your consecration as bishop of
Amarillo, and since 1941 as the archbishop of
San Antonio.
Belonging to the Apostles of Brotherhood,
you turned your attention to the Maronite
community in your diocese, and you have
shown a special interest in St. George's
Maronite Church, its pastor, and tis parish-
ioners. You have insisted that this com-
munity be served by a Maronite priest; helped
its pastor, encouraged him in his duties
and finally rewarded him by recommending
the Very Reverend John Trad for the honor
of papal chamberlain.
Your friendship to the members of the
Maronite community has enabled them to
preserve the rites of their ancestors in this
hospitable land.
As host of His Beatitude Most Reverend
Paul Peter Meouchi, Patriarch of Antioch
and All the East, you expressed sentiments
which echoed in our country, for the high
respect that all people in Lebanon, of very
creed and faith, have for the head of the
Maronite community.
It is by way of recognition for your noble
qualities and. rich career of service, and as
a token of appreciation for help and encour-
agement to the Maronite community that
my Government has granted you a decora-
tion of commander of the National Order of
the Cedar.
Allow me now to present your excellency
with this medal of the rank of commander.
And in honoring you this evening, I feel that
the honor is for me personally in this pres-
entation.
Our second distinguished guest is a prom-
inent citizen and a civic leader, an example
of the abnegation to the service of the com-
munity. This man is Philip A. Hazen.
Mr. Hazen, if your name was mentioned
in our country to a Lebanese he would im-
mediately designate you as Shaykh Philip,
because this family is very popular in Leba-
non and you would be given this hereditary
title.
Literally, the word "kazen" means "treas-
urer" or keeper of the treasures. But the
family of the sheiks was not only the keeper
of gold, it was the keeper of the old tradi-
tions of Lebanon; the traditions of tolerance,
understanding and brotherhood.
Your family is originated from the north
of Lebanon, and I do not know if you are
related to the sheiks of Kesrouan. But I am
sure you belong morally to this Kesrouany
family because you performed here-you and
am confident that you will accept these re- - Charles, Jimmy and (Chick) Abraham, Jr.,
marks as a sincere expression of my personal your brothers, and Mrs. Carmen Ferris, your
appreciation of your merits and accomplish- sister-all the civic virtues that the sheiks
ments. performed in Lebanon-you kept alive here
For almost five decades you have dedicated all our noble traditions.
your life to the service of God, you have You have distinguished yourself as a citi-
ministered to the spiritual needs of your, zen of the United States, serving your coun-
community. You have served the church in try in time of peace as in time of war in
a number of capacities, and your words vital areas of activity. I will not recall at
were always listened to religiously. this time your many and well-known civic
In addition to your parochial duties, you and philanthropic activities. But I wish to
enriched your service in diversity. As di- mention that you have been selected as man
rector of Catholic Charities, you practiced of the year in Laredo, Tex., for outstanding
one of the highest teachings of the church' civic work and for championing the cause
and one of the supreme virtues of mankind, of the underprivileged.
compassion. As director of hospitals, you Your knowledge and dedication has led
extended your care to the afflicted ones so you to become the friend of many political
leaders. Even Presidents, I am told, like to
listen to your wise words.
You have served your community and
your state and Nation with distinction.
Like the Sheiks of Lebanon, the Kazens of
the United States have justly earned a rep-
utation for distinguished service, political
acumen and generosity in friendship. You
have done credit to your name, to your an-
cestral homeland and to your great country,
the United States of America.
In recognition of your services, my gov-
ernment has granted you the Decoration of
the Order of the Cedar. It is with great
pleasure that I present you this evening with
the medal of the rank of chevalier.
Before concluding, I would like to thank
sincerely the Very Reverend John Trad, pas-
tor of St. George's Maronite Church, for
having worked for this gathering and for
inviting me to be here this evening.
I would like also to express my sincere
gratitude to all officials and friends who
took the trouble to meet me at the airport
and who welcomed me so heartfully. I felt,
since my arrival, that I am at home among
fellow citizens. Thank you.
(Mr. PEPPER (at the request of Mr.
WAGGONNER) was granted permission to
extend his remarks at this point in the
RECORD and to include extraneous mat-
ter.)
[Mr. PEPPER'S remarks will appear
hereafter in the Appendix.]
(Mr. McDOWELL (at the request of
Mr. WAGGONNER) was granted permission
to extend his remarks at this point in the
RECORD and to include extraneous mat-
ter.)
[Mr. McDOWELL'S remarks will ap-
pear hereafter in the Appendix.]
ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE SOVIET
ION
The SPEAKER. Under previous order
of the House, the gentleman from Illi-
nois Mr. FINNEGAN] is recognized for 10
Mr. FINNEGAN. Mr. Speaker, the
last few months have shown a steady
increase in correspondence I have re-
ceived from concerned constituents,
alarmed by the persecution of both the
individual Jew and the Jewish commu-
nity in the Soviet Union. A random
sample of these letters expresses the fear
and anxiety of many Americans over the
situation and the need for us to raise our
concerted voices in protest.
In our world today, where the mention
of anti-Semitism immediately recalls the
almost unbelievable atrocities inflicted on
the Jews of Europe during World War
II, it is not possible for us anymore to
ignore the growing volume of reports
coming from the Soviet Union concern-
ing the ' Soviet campaign of harassment
and repression being waged against 3
million Russian Jews. That such a cam-
paign now exists seems beyond doubt,.
and the fact that Jt is not presently
marked by mass A rests and murders
does not lessen its significance. Recently
many of my colleagues have expressed
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - HOUSE
awareness of and deep concern over
these developments, and many Individ-
uals and groups of citizens have urged
that the President and the Secretary of
State inform the leadership of the Soviet
Union of the sense: of outrage that Amer-
icans feel towards a Government which
makes anti-Semii;ic practices a national
policy.
Much has been written dealing with
the history of anti-Semitic sentiment In
Russia. It is easy to remember the geno-
cidal programs o' Stalin which, were it
not for this death, might well have des-
troyed completely the cultural and reli-
gious life of Russia's Jews, and we have
been led to bellevr that in post-Stalinist
Russia many moderating and civilizing
changes have taken place. We have not
been assured that Stalin's objectives have
been repudiated, and we in America can
take little consolation in the knowledge
that the Soviet Government Is now em-
ploying more sophisticated means to
achieve a substartially unchanged goal.
TILL GOAL
For reasons kr. own in their entirety
only to themselves, the leaders of the
Soviet Government are in the process of
implementing a policy that if successful
will destroy the relationship of the Rus-
sian Jew with his religious and cultural
traditions. Isolate him completely from
the world outside the Soviet Union, and
cast him irrevocably Into a second-class
citizenship within the supposedly class-
less society. The noted journalist, Ro-
land Evans, Jr., writing in the Saturday
Evening Post in 1962, characterized the
Soviet goal as "to put an end to all the
special qualities t iat, like a kind of ce-
ment, have bourd the Jews together
through the most rapacious persecutions
in all history." And Moshe Decter, writ-
ing in Foreign Affairs, making precisely
the same point, says:
The objective of this policy is clearly to
intimidate and atomize Soviet Jewry. to iso-
late it both from its past and from its
brethren in other parts of the world. to
destroy its specifically Jewish spirit. Soviet
policy as a whole, then, amounts to spiritual
strangulation-the'eprivation of Soviet Jew-
ry's right to know the Jewish past and to
participate in the Jewish present.
From an analysis of the operations of
vi
et policy the true Soviet intention is
disclosed The existence of such a policy.
as well as Its objectives, is strenuously
denied by Khrushchev who with other
Soviet spokesmen repeately points to the
Soviet Constitution and Communist
Party statements to the effect that there
is no religious persecution in Russia.
They are quick to 'emind critics that the
many nationalities in the Soviet Union
enjoy a high degree of cultural and lin-
guistic autonomy, but such protestations
only serve to bring into sharper focus the
undeniable fact that the Jewish religion
and culture are being systematically
crushed out of existence. This cam-
paign against the Jews is at the present
time definitely nit it part of a wider
action aimed at the other religions and
nationalities of Russia. But while other
religious groups receive concessions, such
as statewide organizations and interna-
tional affiliations, a program to isolate
each Jewish community in Russia is vig
orously enforced. Russia's many ethnic
groups, some much smaller and as wide-
ly dispersed as the Jewish, are permitted
such channels of communication as
newspapers and journals In which to pro-
mote and perpetuate their particular cul-
tural traditions. What instrumentalities
of this nature that are permitted the
Jews are at best blatantly propagandis-
tic and hardly serve to preserve Jewish
culture.
TIIL POLICY
In view of official Soviet protestations
and denials of anti-Semitic activities, it
will be well to review some events which
have taken place in the Soviet Union,
events which are patently anti-Semitic,
protestations to the contrary notwith-
standing. The initial phase in the anti-
Jewish program is the maintenance of
each Jewish community in a state of iso-
lation. Such isolation is intended to
help the effort toward eradication of
Jewish religious and cultural life. In an
article which appeared in Communism
Today in 1960, Erich Goldhagen noted
that the post-Stalinist leadership in the
Soviet Union has attempted to right the
wrongs inflicted on some nationalities
under Stalin. He was quick to point out,
however, that "Stalin's heirs are deter-
mined not to revoke the edict against
the cultural life of the Jews." Mr.
Goidhagen then proceeds to explain why
isolating the Jewish communities is Im-
portant to the Soviet policy:
Pursuing the goal of total assimilation of
the Jews, the regime has for the past 3 years
embarked on a campaign against the last
fragments of communal life In Russia-the
synagogues and the religious life-associated
with them. The purpose of this campaign,
conducted through the familiar medium of
the feulileton In the press and the occa-
sional radio broadcast, and practically rein-
forced by the closing of synagogues in out-
lying regions, is to deter the Jews from con-
gregating in compact groups. The process
of atomization is to be brought to Its ulti-
mate conclusion. By insulating the Jews
from their corellgionlats and conationals
in the rest of the world, and by isolating
them from each other, the regime hopes to
extirpate the consciousness of kind and thus
what it thinks is a source of disaffection
from within the Soviet Union.
Within this framework provided by
Mr. Goldhagen, it is possible to arrive at
the real meaning of certain happenings
which might otherwise seem unrelated
and unimportant.
The Soviet campaign against the prac-
tice of the Jewish religion is essentially
three pronged; the removal of leaders
coupled with the closing of synagogues,
the prevention of the training of a new
generation of rabbis, and a proscription
on the production of articles necessary
for religious observances, including pub-
lishing facilities. In 1961, Gedalia
Pechersky, a respected leader of Lenin-
grad Jewry, was sentenced to prison for
espionage activities along with Ave other
prominent Jews from Leningrad and
Moscow. In five other cities the chair-
men of the Jewish congregations were de-
posed. Synagogues in other cities were
closed down, having taken the brunt of a
widespread smear campaign linking the
Jewish houses of worship to espionage
activities, economic crimes, and other
July 30
disreputable undertakings. In carrying
out these arrests, shutdowns, and re-
movals, the Soviet officials have carefully
avoided using any openly religious
charges. For example, synagogues are
closed down because of failures to com-
ply with repair requirements or for viola-
tions of building codes.
The extent to which the Soviet cam-
paign against the synagogues themselves
has been successful is apparent from a
statistical comparison with the numbers
of places of worship open to other reli-
gions in Russia. The 40 million members
of the Russian Orthodox faith have
available some 20,000 churches, i church
for every 2,000 believers. The 350,000
Lutherans in Estonia and Latvia have
100 churches, one for every 3,500. By
contrast, there are some 60 or 70 syna-
gogues which serve nearly 1 million
Jewish believers, 1 synagogue for every
15,000 or 16,000.
Shortly after the Bolshevik revolution
of 1917, all of Russia's yeshivas, acade-
mies for the training of rabbis, were
closed down. In 1957, ffilrushchev per-
mitted the establishment of a yeshiva
as an adjunct to Moscow's Central Syna-
gogue. No sooner had the institution be-
gun operations than. the Soviet Govern-
ment took steps to render it ineffective.
In 1962 nine of the yeshiva's students, a
large majority, were ordered to return
to their native Georgia to vote in the
Supreme Soviet elections. They were not
then permitted to return to Moscow on
the pretext that a housing shortage ex-
isted there. While the Soviet Govern-
ment maintains that the Moscow yeshiva
exists and operates, its imposition of
severe restrictions on that operation can
only lead to the conclusion that the
yeshiva must stand as one rebuttal to
anti-Semitic allegations while at the
same time contributing no material as-
sistance to the viability of the Russian
Jewish community.
Like all established religions, Judaism
for its rites and worship requires cer-
tain religious articles. It has been So-
viet policy to render the procurement
of these articles as d'fficult as possible.
In March of 1962, a prohibition was
placed on the public baking and sale of
matzoh and shipments of matzoh from
Jewish communities in the free world
have been diverted, delayed, or confis-
cated, so that the Jewish faithful were
denied the use of the unleavened bread
which has been an indispensable part of
the Passover ritual since the Exodus
from Egypt. In the article referred to
earlier, Moshe Decter points out the ex-
tent of Soviet pressure against the re-
ligious articles of Judaism:
Judaism is permitted no publication fa-
cilities and no publications. No Hebrew Bi-
ble has been published for Jews since 1917.
(Nor has a Russian translation of the Jewish
version of the Old Testament been allowed.)
The study of Hebrew has ben outlawed, even -
for religious purposes. Not a single Jewish
religious book of any other kind has ap-
peared in print since the early 1920's.
He showed that other religions In Rus-
sia received rather liberal treatment in
this area, and the ban on Jewish re-
ligious publications is not -part of any
overall attack on religions in general.
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This in brief summary is the strategic
mode of attack on Soviet Jewry. Given
a proper amount of time and freedom
from interference, it should be able to
wipe out the practice of the Jewish re-
ligion within the Soviet Empire. The
Soviet policy against Jewish cultural life
goes hand in hand with that against re-
ligion. It is quite similar and involves
a cultural strangulation, isolating the
Jews from all the instrumentalities of
cultural expression.
Much has been written about a pos-
sible relationship between anti-Semitic
activities and the economic difficulties
which have plagued the Soviet Union,
especially those which have taken the
form of private enterprise schemes and
which - are reportedly causing serious
problems for Soviet economic planners.
There can be little doubt that the Soviet
Government will continue to use the
Russian Jews as the prime scapegoats
upon whom to heap the blame for the
invasion of the capitalist spirit into the
Soviet economy. It would seem, how-
ever, that such a policy would be but
an adjunct to other expressions of anti-
Semitism, revealing little as to the why
and wherefore of these expressions.
It has been suggested that anti-Semi-
tism is connected with Soviet foreign
policy in the Middle East. One of the
common chrages levied against Russian
Jews attempts to associate them with
purported Israeli activities in intelligence
and espionage. It has been contended
that the Soviet Union recognizes a
threat to itself in any identification that
Russian Jews might make with Israel.
In addition to this, it may be thought
that anti-Semitism at home serves as a
useful corollary to a pro-Arab policy
abroad.
Mr. Speaker, it matters not what the
reasons are for the Soviet Government's
anti-Semitic policy and practices. What
is important is that they exist. Under
one guise or another, man has perse-
cuted his fellow man from the begin-
ning of recorded history, but past ex-
perience has taught us that we cannot
remain apart or silent. Though it is an
internal problem of another country, we
must speak out and implore the Soviet
Union to live up to its own constitu-
tional guarantees of freedom of religion.
We must continue to cast a searching
spotlight of all such oppressions wher-
ever found if we are to see the day when
they are no longer a matter of policy or
"matter of mind.
THE WASHINGTON CLIMATE
The SPEAKER. Under previous order
of the House, the gentleman from Mis-
souri [Mr. HALL] is recognized for 30
minutes.
Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, the Wash-
ington climate as evidenced by the
recent Bobby Baker case indeed provides
us with some strange analogies. I have
read several editorials in regard to the
pressures put on Federal employees to
purchase tickets to Democrat fundrais-
ing affairs. Some of the editorials have
not minced words in castigating Presi-
dent Johnson for permitting this to hap-
pen and yet on other days some of the
same papers contain flowery editorials
for this administration. Not nice or as
we are taught to like it, but the people
of the United States have long since
realized and appreciated the difference
between the office of the President and
the person himself-a political figure.
The conclusion seems to be that politi-
cal immorality is an accepted fact in that
the means by whatever illegal deeds
justify the end. Last month, an edi-
torial in the Washington Star contained
this :
There is only one practical solution for
muzzling the big bite. That is for the Presi-
dent of the United States and the national
committees of the political parties to put a
stop to the "biting" practice, once and for
all.
The Star editorial was in reference to
the alleged widespread violations of the
Hatch Act, limiting political activity
among Federal employees, in connection
with the Democratic $100 salute to Presi-
dent Johnson affairs in May.
Republicans in the House and Senate
have initiated investigations into the all
but proven violations, but President
Johnson and the Democrats have been
characteristically silent on the subject.
This silence on the part of the Chief Ex-
ecutive of the United States is not at all
surprising.
Lyndon B. Johnson has a record of be-
ing notoriously, against moves to take the
Federal civil service out of politics . and
this was no more exemplified than in
1964-the 25th anniversary of his votes
against the Hatch Act.
But, before reviewing the record of
Lyndon Johnson, it would be well to re-
view the situation as it exists today un-
der his administration:
[From the Washington (D.C.) Post,
May 26, 19641
WINKING AT THE LAW
(By Walter Pincus)
Since 1962, the Democrats have made a
strong effort to get those Federal employees
who were appointed to their positions--so-
called schedule C jobs-to buy $100 tickets
each year to one major party function.
Currently, there are about 1,440 schedule
C positions of which, according to a civil
service spokesman, about 80 percent are
filled. Some 400 of the persons holding down
these jobs, however, are regular civil service
and not political appointees.
Winking at the Federal laws that prohibit
solicitation of Federal employees in Federal
buildings, the Democratic National Commit-
tee has designated sales coordinators in each
executive agency. Quotas have been estab-
lished normally based on the number of
schedule C positions in a given department
combined with a 10-percent increase over the
past year's ticket purchases.
In 1962 it was possible to go through
the political spending reports filed with
the Clerk of the House of Representa-
tives and determine how many tickets
were sold in each Federal department.
For instance, according to the Star arti-
cle, on January 12, 1962, 25 $100 con-
tributions were reported from the Agri-
culture Department. Secretary Freeman
has long been known for his politics-
above-everything approach to govern-
ment, both as Governor of Minnesota
and as Secretary of Agriculture.
However, since 1962, the Democratic
National Committee has shuffled its re-
ports and it is no longer possible to de-
termine exactly where the contributions
came from:
[From the Washington (D.C.) Star,
May 26, 19641
This year, the diner promoters have taken
to marking the solicitation cards distributed
to the executive departments with a number
so that when the contributions come in di-
rectly to the committee they can easily be
traced to the department of origin and
credited to that department's quota.
The Democrats did not stop at the
schedule C employees, however. Joseph
Young, writing in the Washington Star
of May 17, said this:
Thousands of career employees in grade 9
and above have received invitations from the
Democratic National Committee in the past
few weeks. Many thousands of others had
received invitations and followup letters
during the past 3 months.
And the Democratic National Committee
apparently has devised a new wrinkle to pres-
sure Government careerists into attending.
During the past week employees of grade
13 and above in the Agency for International
Development, which is seeking legislation to
"select out" employees without regard to
civil service laws, received invitations.
The invitations they more or less expected.
But what chilled them was their civil service
grade number written in Ink in the corner
of the invitation cards.
AID employees feel this is it not-too-subtle
way of telling them their agency expects
them to attend if they hope to avoid the
fate of being "selected out" of their jobs,
should AID get this authority.
The Democratic National Committee's
money-raising scheme was not confined
to AID employees:
[From the Washington (D.C.) Star, May 20,
1964]
(By Joseph Young)
Representative NELSEN, Republican, of
Minnesota, charges that Rural Electrification
Administration employees are being coerced
into buying the $100 tickets.
In a letter to President Johnson, Mr. NEL-
sEN, who formerly was REA Administrator,
charged that REA officials are selling the
tickets to the employees on the agency prem-
ises in violation of civil service rules which
prohibit solicitation of political funds or
selling of political party tickets in .Federal
buildings.
Mr. NELSEN said he has received complaints
from REA employees in grades 13 and above
that they are being called to the office of
their boss and told to buy the $100 tickets.
In some cases their checks are being accepted
right in the building.
The New York Herald Tribune on May
26, 1964, reported:
The tactics being used by fundraisers
selling $100-a-plate tickets for the Demo-
cratic Party's "Salute to President Johnson"
today are bringing quiet complaints from
high-level employees of several Federal
agencies.
Objections involve the fact that these peo-
ple are being solicited for tickets at their
desks and even in their bosses' offices.
Federal law prohibits solicitation of politi-
cal funds on Government property-and
thus in Government buildings where civil
servants work.
One official said: "The solicitation card
someone placed on my desk had my home
address written on it. Since they had my
address, why didn't they just send it to me
at home? That's what angers me."
A more specific example of the pres-
sure used to get civil servants to pur-
chase the tickets is contained in a letter
from a former employee of the Rural
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Electrification Administration to Con-
gressman NELSEN. Although the letter
refers to tactics used In selling tickets to
the 1961 inaugural, the same methods
were reportedly used for the May 28
salute this year. Here are some ex-
cerpts:
A few weeks before the Kennedy-Johnson
inaugural celebration. I received a letter in-
vitation to donate $100 to the Democratic
Party. I can only speculate that my name,
home address and telephone number were
given to the party headquarters by my em-
ployer, the RH,A * * *. Then a few days
later, I received a telephone call at my home
from a lady who identified herself as a vol-
unteer worker for the Democratic Party, but
she did endeavor tc convey that I was under
a moral obligation 4 ' '.
All would have been readily dismissed .had
it not been for a s.ibsequent request for an
official appointment to a (higher official's
office) through the official communication
channels of REA.
Mr. made the appointment at 3 p-m.
during a regular waking day. He reviewed
the salary situation * ' * implying that my
salary * * ' and civil service grade classifica-
tion. were solely dare to the efforts of the
administrator, the Secretary of Agriculture,
and the administration, and, further, that
out of gratitude, I should financially support
the party with c, cash contribution of
$100 a*0
A ticket was that. taken from a drawer In
his desk and offered. I was then advised
that, if necessary, I could buy it on the in-
stallment plan-450 down, and the rest
later.
I replied that r had worked for the REA
for 24 years and never publicly affiliated my-
self with either political party heretofote
and was not about to break that precedent
at the moment. I -;bought I had earned my
salary and would continue to work faith-
fu11'i and consicent_ousiy up to the limit of
my ability.
My feeling as I left the conference was
that Mr. showed great disappoint-
ment and that he might be inclined to use
his Influence to my disadvantage In my civil
service career. A few days later. I was con-
tacted for employment elsewhere and ten-
dered my resignation with REA.
U.S. News & World Report, in Its June
8 issue, reported that "similar tactics
have been widely used in Washington in
recent weeks." The magazine reported
tha other agencies where pressure has
been reported are the State Department,
Veterans' Administration, Small Business
Administration, Pouring and Home Fi-
nance Agency, and the Post Office De-
parment. Significantly, U.S. News &
World Report also said:
Employees report that the solicitations,
previously confined to highest level officials,
now reach all the way down to salary levels
of $6,675 a year.
By the end of May, Senator Jomi J.
WILLIAMS, Republican, of Delaware, and
Representative ANCILER NELSEN, Republi-
can, of Minnesota, had both asked for in-
vestigations into the alleged violations of
the Hatch Act. fie nator W=i&ws intro-
duced a resolution in the Senate request-
ing the Attorney General to look into the
charges and Representative NELSEN re-
quested the Civil Service Commission to
investigate the allegations.
On June 17 the Civil Service Commis-
sion announced that it would investigate
the charges of pre.sure being brought on
Federal employees to purchase the $100
tickets. On June 24 the Senate passed
the resolution which asked the office of
the Attorney General to review the
charges.
What will come of either or both of
these reviews is hard to say. Democrats
will probably make every effort to do to
this Investigation what they did to the
Bobby Baker inquiry-stop it cold in its
tracks.
The possibility of a full disclosure Is
dimmed even more by the attitude of
White House Press Secretary George
Reedy, who said on May 26:
1 don't believe anybody has ever solicited
for a ticket to these dinners.- Philadelphia
Inquirer, May 27. 1964.
The refusal by the White House to help
expedite a look at the allegations could
be safely predicted by past votes of Lyn-
don Johnson on the issue.
THE BPOUSMAN
In January 1883 the Pendelton Civil
Service Act became law. Republican
President Chester A. Arthur signed the
law which established the merit system
In the Federal Government.
Fifty-six years later, during the first
full term of Lyndon Baines Johnson's
career as a U.S. Congressman from
Texas, the Civil Service Act and Con-
gressman Johnson began a series of open
conflicts.
On the one hand was a sound civil
service system free of partisan politics
and on the other hand was a Federal em-
ployee system perched on the political
fence, waiting to be knocked over by one
or the other of the political parties.
Lyndon Johnson, then, as today, chose
the route of politics-politics above a
sound public administration system-
politics without regard to the taxpayer's
money-politics as a demoralizing factor
in sound execution of the public policy.
The 1936 and 1938 elections had seen
widespread evidence of coercion of relief
workers and others by the forces of the
New Deal. Administrative pressure had
forced the defeat of a bill in 1938 to re-
move Federal employees from politics.
But In 1939 a bill was introduced to pro-
hibit intimidation and coercion of voters,
particularly those receiving Government
relief payments; to make it Illegal for
Federal officials and employees to use
their authority or position for the pur-
pose of influencing elections; and to pro-
hibit Federal employees, with certain ex-
ceptions, from taking an active part In
politics.
Two recorded votes were taken on the
bill. On the first, a motion to recommit
the bill to the Judiciary Committee and
probably kill It, the House voted 146 to
232 against the move. Congressman
Lyndon Baines Johnson, of Texas, voted
"yea.,'
A few minutes later on July 20, 1939,
the House, by a vote of 241 to 134 passed
the bill, which was to become better
known as the Hatch Act, after Senator
Hatch. of New Mexico, the chief author.
All 157 Republican votes were cast for
the bill. The Democrats split, 82 for and
133 against. Congressman Lyndon
Johnson, of Texas, voted "nay."
On July 10, 1940, the Hatch Act was
amended In the House to include pro-
visions restricting political activities by
State and local employees whose funs-
July 30
Lions are financed In whole or in part by
the Federal Government. The amend-
ments also regulated campaign contri-
butions and expenditures. The bill was
passed 243 to 122. The Republicans
voted 151 to 1 in favor, while the Demo-
crats split 90 to 120. Again, Congress-
man Lyndon Johnson, of Texas, voted
?nay?
In 1942 the House voted on additional
amendments to the Hatch Act but the
Senate did not move the bill. The effect
of the House action would have been to
have removed the poll tax as a qualifi-
cation for voting in Federal elections.
The bill passed the House by a vote of
254 to 84. Again, Congressman Johnson,
of Texas, voted "nay."
The Senate version of the Agricultural
Appropriations Act of 1945 contained an
interesting omission from the House
version. Specifically, the Senate struck
from the act a provision which prohib-
ited Agriculture Department employees
from engaging in political and lobbying
activities as well as an amendment pro-
hibiting employees from demanding that
farmers join AAA programs in order to
receive draft deferments or for the
granting of a priority certificate for any
rationed article.
The vote in the House was on the mo-
tion to recede and concur In the Senate
amendment. A yea vote was against
the antipolitleal activities provision and
a nay vote was for its inclusion in the
law. The motion was rejected 123 to
219 on June 20, 1944. As could be ex-
pected, Congressman Johnson, of Texas,
voted "yea." All 173 Republicans voted
against the motion while the Democrats
split 122 to 48.
Finally, the Johnson record of being
against every recorded bill to keep the
civil service out of politics, moved to the
Senate. On June 21, 1950, the Senate
passed a conference report on additional
Hatch Act amendments by a vote of 42
to 32. The amendments would have al-
lowed Federal employees living in nearby
areas to participate actively in local elec-
tions as Democrats, Republicans, or In-
pendents. In cases involving minor
Hatch Act violations, a new provision was
added which allowed the imposition of
lesser penalties-not less than 30 days'
suspension as against mandatory dis-
missal under the law as then written.
it was contended by the opposition that
the lesser penalty provision was too mild,
and was a weakening of the Hatch Act.
Need there be any question? Of course,
the freshman Senator from Texas, Lyn-
don B. Johnson, voted for the bill. The
Republicans split 2 to 32 and the Demo-
crats voted 40 to 0. President Truman
subsequently vetoed the bill and it was
not passed over the veto.
33 rr ANY WONDF$?
Is it any wonder then, that now Presi-
dent Lyndon B. Johnson, would condone
the practice of the Democratic National
Committee in 1964 of a wholesale in-
vasion of the political protection sup-
posedly provided civil servants by the
Hatch Act?
However, this entire matter involves
something much more serious than
mere political-issue talk for 1964. It
becomes more apparent as this admin-
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