Army Urged to Discharge Employee for Aiding American Nazi Party

A Congressman today called on Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara to discharge Schuyler Ferris, holder of a strategic U.S. Army civilian position, because of charges that Ferris provided the American Nazi party with its “hate bus” and otherwise aided George Rockwell’s movements.

Rep. Seymour Halpern, New York Republican, cited information about Ferris, an employee of the U.S. Army Map Service, and wrote Secretary McNamara he was “perplexed that such an individual was classified access “to the army’s secret maps. “I do not understand how the U.S. Government can justify continued employment of an individual so unstable politically that he facilitates totalitarian extremism and propaganda activities, whether Nazi, Fascist, or Communist,” the Congressman wrote.

Rep. Halpern questioned whether Mr. Ferris “should be required to register as a foreign agent under United States code 18 citing Rockwell’s claims to Nazi “affiliations in various foreign countries, among them Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, Argentina, South Africa, and others.”

Defense Department sources commented only that the Ferris case was “under study” by appropriate agencies. When Arlington, Va. police a few days ago impounded the Nazi “hate bus” it was found that the vehicle was registered in the name of Ferris who was previously linked with Rockwellite agitation.

The State Department has requested Attorney General Robert Kennedy to help them stem the flow of racial insults believed to be from the American Nazi Party to African embassies here and to investigate the situation. A Department of Justice source said that the matter was already under study but there was no evidence yet available that United States law had been violated.