In a subcommittee report signed by Representative Jerry Voorhis, Joseph Casey and J. Parnell Thomas, the Dies Committee today denounced William Dudley Pelley and recommended that the search for the fugitive Silver Shirt leader be continued. The report said:
“Efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, North Carolina State authorities and committee investigators to locate William Dudley Pelley have been extensively made. It is interesting to note that after styling himself the American Hitler after launching his Silver Shirts coincidentally with Hitler’s coming to power in Germany, after scurrilously attacking many of the most respected men in American public life, after daring the Committee on Un-American Activities to call him before it, after collecting large sums of money over a period of years from deluded followers, after posing as a great leader of men–after all these things William Dudley Pelley has successfully hidden himself away for months to avoid appearing before our committee to answer questions.”
“The Capias issued by the Superior Court of Buncombe County, North Carolina for Pelley’s arrest to answer the citation to show cause why his parole should not be revoked is still outstanding and unanswered.”
Immediately after the Pelley report was issued the whole committee, with the exception of Dies, who is still in Texas, met in a stormy session to consider the full committee report, which must be made to Congress tomorrow.
The report had not been made public at a late hour today, but informed sources said it would recommend an intensified campaign for prosecution of every known violator of the immigration, naturalization, deportation, passport and foreign agent registration laws and renewed publicity for un-American activities which are beyond the scope of existing statutes.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
