Anti-Red Bill Set For State Debate Today

Hearings on a bill which would outlaw the Communist party and allow the Attorney General to investigate any group for possible subversion will be held at 10:30 a.m. today in the State House.

The bill's sponsors, State Representative Paul A. McCarthy (D-Som.) and Thomas Dorgan, Clerk of the Superior Court, stated that communist teachers in universities and colleges are one of the prime targets of the proposed bill.

Specifically, the bill provides that any organization is illegal if it "teaches a program of sabotage, force or violence, edition or treason against the government of the United States or of this commonwealth."

The Attorney General is granted the power to determine whether a group is Communist or not. He is authorized to conduct the investigation in any manner "in keeping with the purposes of the act."

McCarthy contends that the Attorney General, legally, could bring any alledged Communist teacher into court for violation of this act. The teacher, however, could continue with his work until found guilty.

Another Bill

Because of this, McCarthy has brought up another bill which would revoke the charter of any university or college that would not dismiss Communists from its faculty. This bill will be heard before the Committee on Education on April 2.

Opinion at the State House holds that the bill outlawing Communists will receive a favorable committee report. Bills which are reported unfavorably seldom pass the House and Senate. But officials think the petition will run into trouble in the House and will probably be pigeonholed until the United States Congress takes action on the issue.

If the bill does pass, Massachusetts will be the first state in the Union that has outlawed the Communist party.

The McCarran Act, passed last year by Congress, does not outlaw any allegedly subversive groups, but places certain restrictions on them.