Move to Block Debate on Dies Probe Defeated; Failure on Christian Front Charged

A move to steamroller through the House the resolution which would continue the Dies committee and thus prevent debate on charges that Chairman Martin Dies “went easy” on the Christian Front and William Dudley Pelley was blocked in the Rules Committee today.

The committee reported out the resolution to continue the Committee on Un-American Activities for one year, and action by the House was expected this week. It was viewed as certain that the House would approve the resolution continuing the Dies investigation and would appropriate $100,000 for the purpose.

There will be no vote in the House, however, until Rep. Frank E. Hook (Dem., Mich.) has had his chance to oppose continuance of the Dies committee on the House floor. An attempt was made, on motion of E.E. Cox (Dem.,Ga.) to throttle all debate in the House. It was blocked by John Dempsey (Dem.,N.M.), member of the Dies committee, and the Rules Committee agreed to allow two hours of debate.

The Rules Committee allowed Rep. Hook only three minutes in which to present arguments for open debate, but during this time Hook managed to read excerpts from two letters written by Pelley to his Washington agent in which he showed his “appreciation” of Dies. Later, Hook introduced into the Congressional Record a mass of testimony intended to show that Dies was delinquent in investigating the Christian Front.

Hook read to the Rules Committee a photostatic copy of a letter from Pelley to David D. Mayne, his Washington representative. The letter, dated July 22, 1938, in Boston, said:

“The conference verified the belief that we may safely continue in the understanding that Dies will not go out of the way to call us or embarrass us, True (James True, Washington anti-Semitic propagandist), Father Coughlin, George or the Legion (Silver Legion). However, there remains the chance of disagreement between Dies and one of his committee–or even between him and one of those entrusted with the responsibility of keeping us off the fly paper…”

All members of the Dies committee who attended the Rules Committee hearing said they were confident that Dies had no secret dealing with Pelley. Hook charged that twice while the Dies committee was seeking him, Pelley visited Washington without interference.

But the Michigan representative, in the speech he inserted in the Congressional Record–he could not speak because the House adjourned early for the funeral of Senator William E. Borah–turned his heaviest guns on Dies’ alleged connections with Merwin K. Hart, chairman of the New York State Economic Council, and with the Christian Front.

He said that on Dec. 8, 1938, Hart presided at a luncheon at New York’s Hotel Biltmore at which Dies was the principal speaker and which was attended by Fritz Kuhn, leader, and James Wheeler-Hill, secretary of the German-American Bund. Four days earlier, he said, Dies was a luncheon guest at the American Defense Society, whose president, Robert Appleton, provided free desk space for Joseph McWilliams, leader of the Christian Mobilizers.

Hook branded Hart as a friend and co-worker of Allen Zoll, who was arrested for attempting to extort money from Station WMCA in return for calling off Christian Front pickets.