President Conant Meets A Senate Committee

Last week President Conant, seeking Senate confirmation as High Commissioner in Germany, ran into one of the most unique of modern U.S. political institutions--the congressional committee.

This was not one of the hyper-suspicious hunting parties which have been ferretting communists out of every corner of American life--from the movie industry to the school system. It was the relatively staid Senate Foreign Relations Committee which though it includes a number of highly conservative Republicans--treated Conant with great respect and restraint. Nevertheless, the committee record, released this week, typifies the fantastic, often ridiculous testimony which is an evidence of the fear gripping this country today.

The committee voted unanimously last Wednesday to approve Conant's appointment and the Senate accepted the recommendation by confirming him on Friday.

As new composed, the Foreign Relations Committee consists of eight Republicans (including chairman Alexander Wiley of Wisconsin) and seven Democrats. On the Republican side are semi-reactionaries Taft of Ohio and Hicken-looper of lowa, moderates Knowland of California and Langer of North Dakota, semi-liberals Smith of New Jersey and Ferguson of Michigan, and in a category all his own, Tobey of New Hampshire, an enigmatic character in the political spectrum. Chairman Wiley is decidedly as internationalist. On the other side of the table are Democrats Green of Rhode Island. Fulbright of Arkansas, Sparkman of Alabama, Gillette of Iowa, Humphrey of Minnesota, Mansfield of Montana, and George of Georgia. Senator Humphrey was absent during the hearings.

Woman Opposes Conant

The committee held its hearings on the appointment of February 2 and 3. During that time it heard two witnesses against confirmation, one for it, and Conant himself. Appearing against Conant were Mrs. Beatrice Brown, chairman of the Women's Committee for Clean Government of New York and John T. Flynn, Boston journalist and radio commentator. The one witness for confirmation was Joseph M. Dawson executive director of the Public Affairs Committee of the Baptists of the United States.

Off all testimony the committee hears, Mrs. Brown's was probably the most surpassingly ridiculous. Describing the committee she represented, she said, "It was originally a group of women who got into politics in our district. We get into fights and help do things. We are the ones who put through a coalition and defeated Marcantonio . . . We are supposed to have accomplished more in three years than most organizations have in 50."

Listing her objections to the appointment, Mrs. Brown said, "As a prominent American educator, Mr. Conant was a founder of the National Citizens Commission for the Public Schools. This group lined up four-square with the National Education Association. One aim of this association is to control the thoughts of our children from primary grades up, to a concept of world government, entailing a breakdown of the national consciousness. This is socialism on a world scale, as envisioned by Nazis and Communists alike, only with a change of bossmen. Mrs. Conant has also been a member of the policy-making body of the National Education Association, its educational policies commission, whose principles are not consistent, as I have shown, with the program of the Republican Party."

Soft-Headed

Mrs. Brown went on to day, Certainly it appears that Mr. Conant is soft-headed toward communism. Only a week ago he openly declared it would be better to have a crypto-Communist on the staff of Harvard University than to have distinguished United States Senators investigate communism at Harvard. We would like to know if Mr. Conant would also be willing to have a crypto-communist on the staff of the United States High Commission in Germany? . . . Well, there are some of the members on the staff of Harvard who have long, long lists of connections that are not too lily-white . . . Mr. Conant dopes indeed appear to be soft-headed--much too soft to lead freedom's cause in the vicious East-West fight in Germany today."

In talking about the none "too lily-white" professors here Mrs. Brown cited only a "Professor Matheson" and offered to let Senator Tobey have a "look at his record." Mrs. Brown was evidently referring to F. O. Matthiessen, one-time professor of History and Literature, who committed suicide in the spring of 1950.

When she emphasized once more her committee's record in fighting against Vito Marcantonio in New York City, Mrs. Brown was interrupted by the unpredictable Senator Tobey who said, "Let's leave Mr. Marcantonio out for the present time. You are down here to appear against the nomination of the man whose name is a household word across the country for integrity, character and ability, professionally as an educator, and as a man . . . Don't link Marcantonio with James B. Conant . . . It strikes, me frankly, as unusually presumptious for an organization to come in here and protest the nomination of this outstanding American. I think he is far above his critics . . . I value the man so highly that I resent inferences that are being passed out about Mr. Conant. I think he is tops in this country . . . (The criticism) is unfair, unfounded and un-American."

A Stout-Hearted Pragmatic

Mr. Flynn, the second witness against Conant, told the committee that in Germany, "where the agents of every important State are gathered, and where all sorts of social philosophers are scheming for the soul of Germany . . . (America needs) . . . as our representative some stout-hearted pragmatic American who believes in the American system, and not an agreeable philosopher who is talking about making over the American system."

Flynn rested most of his argument, on this point, on an article by Conant in the Atlantic Monthly for May, 1943 entitled "Wanted: American Radicals."

"In this article," Flynn stated, "Mr. Conant says that a total war has automatically eliminated the conservative and what we want now are American radicals . . . That was not in the platform on which the Republican Party just got elected . . . The animating principle of the government just elected is one of conservatism and conservation of the American system. I rather think our people are done, for the moment, with the redicals . . . There must be in the immense population of this country some man who is dedicated to the preservation of the American system rather than the Fabian dream in some one of its numerous forms, whenever a task of great importance is to be undertaken."

Miraculous State

Flynn objected to Conant's use in the article of the term "the miraculous Russian State." It is a curious way to describe the Russian state." Flynn commented.

At this moment Senator Smith interrupted, saying "Many people thought it was miraculous at that time."

Senator Taft broke in, "I certainly did not. I do not know who else thought it was miraculous."

Explaining Conan't desire, as expressed in this article, for a third group of radicals, Flynn said the "answer to his prayer" would be a state "based on the political ideas of Jefferson and his prophets, Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman--I do not think there was too much agreement between Jefferson, Whitman and Thoreau. He would be respectful but not enthusiastic about Marx, Engels and Lenin."

Tobey: "Groucho?"

"No." said Flynn, "this is the old boy himself."

Flynn then emphasized once more "considering all the philosophies that are running wild in Europe, the man who represents us at that particular point where we confront the Communist world and the Socialist world, should be a man at that particular time who represents what is the prevailing philosophy of the American people with only a small dissent from it. I believe, and Mr. Conant does not answer that specification."

Flynn also criticized statements made by Conant in a speech to the Foreign Policy Association on October 4, 1944. He quotes Conant's statement concerning Germany and Japan that "Matters must be so arranged that neither country can become a military power for at least 30 years," as proof that he supported the now discredited Morganthau plan which would have converted Germany into a purely agricultural and pastoral country.

"I suggest that a plan which horrified Secretary Hull and Secretary Stimson and Secretary Byrnes, found a supporter in Mr. Conant," Flynn said, "and I submit in all fairness that if our purpose now is to rekindle the bonds of understanding between the German people and ourselves . . . and the Western World the last man to send to Germany to carry out that mission is the man who was probably the first eminent figure in the educational and intellectual world to publicly support it."

In his testimony, Conant denied strongly that he was ever an advocate of the Morganthau plan or had even heard about it at the time he wrote his article.

Conant and the Schools

Flynn based much of his argument on Conant's speech, "Unity and Diversity in Secondary Education," delivered at a meeting of the American Association of School Administrators in Mechanics Hall, Boston on April 7, 1952.

Flynn attacked the "incredible statement" that private schools are a divisive force, which he claims Conant made in the speech. "How a person can believe that a private school is a divisive force, I do not know, but he cannot believe that unless he believes that religion itself is a divisive force . . . (because) nine-tenths of the private schools are religious schools."

Conant's speech aroused considerable nation-wide controversy last spring and drew comment from prominent clerics, notably Boston's Archbishop Cushing.

In replying to Flynn's contention Conant remarked that he did not use the word "divisive." "As a matter of fact," he said, " I never use it because I'm never quite sure how to pronounce it. This was one of these phrases that was picked up and used in the newspapers in attempting to summarize the contents of my speech. . . It is in no way an antireligious speech. It was a speech for something; it was a speech for the American public school. It was a speech urging that the people who are running the American public school improve those schools, and pointing out that if they did not have time, the competition with the private schools, both those which are non-denominational and those which are denominational would prove disastrous to them."

Disqualified

A major part of Flynn's attack on Conant concerned the President's recent remarks on education in his report to the Overseers last month. In the report Conant said, "There are no known Communists on the Harvard staff and I do not believe that there are any disguised Communists either. But even if there were, the damage that would be done to the spirit of this academic community by an investigation aimed at finding a crypto-Communist would be far greater than any conceivable harm such a person might do."

Flynn insists this statement "completely disqualifies Mr. Conant from holding so important a post abroad where the recognition of Communists and Communist objectives is absolutely almost the first need of an official in discharging his duties."

It disqualifies him, Flynn said, "because he says there are not any kind of Communists, no Communists or disguised Communists, and there are at least 15 or 20 of them.

"I take the case of Dr. Harlow Shapley. Dr. Shapley is a member of 20 different known Communist organizations. Now, a man could get into one or two or three of those by accident. I got into one myself one time. But here is a man who is a member of 20 Communist organizations. He is a very distinguished man and a very extraordinary man. He is probably one of the greatest living astronomers, but he shows up at Communist meetings; he has financed Communist meetings. A man can be fooled by that once or twice or maybe three times but he ought not to be fooled by it habitually over a course of many years."

Wiley: "Even if his head is in the stars?"

Shapley and Communists

Flunn: "Yes, that is right. Shapley organized the Communist Wold Peace Conference which was a notorious Communist operation. He says he sees no Reds in any of these fronts. Now it seems incredible to me that a man who can see so far in his profession cannot see a whole Madison Square Garden full of Reds all around him in an organization which he brought into existence, and when a man--he is playing with words."

Green: ". . . I do not see how this committee can go into the record of every Harvard professor who claims he is not a Communist, even if he were a Communist, and it may not effect our decision as to the qualifications of the nominee for the position to which he has been nominated."

Flynn: "Well Senator, may I reply to, that? To point I am making here is that we certainly do not want to send to Germany confronting that Communist crowd over there with hidden and crypto-Communists all over the place, a man who cannot recognize a Communist on his own campus, who is a member of 20 different Communist organizations. I think you cannot have a man over there who is going to be deluded and deceived . . . it is all right to be tolerant if you are the president of Harvard University and your institution stands for that, and you are perfectly willing to let Harlow Shapely and that crowd to around the country and organize young men into those fronts, but it is not all right for the United States Commissioner in Germany, standing out there in front of the troops facing the Russian political army."

Irish Ambassador

Smith: "If I might ask you this: Would you object to his being nominated a Ambassador to any part of the World?"

Flynn' "No; I would vote for him as Minister to Ireland."

Green: "Why Ireland?"

Flynn: "Because I think the Irish are proof against Communism and I want to give him a nice soft job."

Joseph P. Dawson, representing the Baptists of the United States, devoted the bulk of his time to stating that Conant's position on parochial schools is "in harmony with the historic position of the Government" and is supported by the Baptists.

In his testimony on the last day of the hearings President Conant concerned himself almost entirely with the question of Communists at Harvard. He emphasized that the problems confronting the head of the a government agency are "totally different" from those the president of a university, particularly in regard to the problems of loyalty.

He stated that he did not believe professors, by joining certain organizations, had branded themselves as Communists. "Professors as private citizens, particularly in periods of tension, may say many things and take many stands that many other private citizens will not agree with. They are free agents. The woisdonm of their statements is not for me either to condemn or condone as president of a university . . . A university could not undertake the kind of investigation which would find the really hidden Communists without destroying the life of the university. On the other hand if the government has evidence that there are such people there I hope they will ferret them out by FBI methods and prosecute them.

Conant Defends Shaley

Specifically with regard to Shapley, Conant said, "I have known him for a long time. Anybody can be a hidden Communist as was brought out here, but I do not regard him as one. He is an astronomer as you know."

Tobey: "That means he is starry-eyed."

Conant: "Well he has appeared on many public platforms shall we say, over the years."

In explaning why such a man as Shapley would join so many organizations which are called Communist fronts. Conant framed his answer in term of an "hypothetical professor," who "corresponds to a number of people I have known on a number of different university staffs, who might join a great many organizations and make statements which from any point of view are incredibly stupid and not likely to improve the cause of either peace or the security of the United states. It is quite easy for such people to be flittered by certain organizations. They are told they are great. Shall we say for the sake of argument, a great biologist or anatomist or anything you want, is told 'you views must be heard' . . . Politically some of them are naive beyond belief."

Saltonstall Rebuts Critics

President conant was introduced to the committee by Leverett Saltonstall (R-Mass.) who spat back at the criticisms of the day before, "I would rather have a man who had done something and who has built up a record than to have a man who has no record of any kind and who, for that reason will have no opposition or no man in factor of him." . . . Now, of course, he is a controversial figure. These three presidents of Harvard during my lifetime--Charles W. Eliot, A. Lawrence Lowell and James B. Conant--have all been controversial figures and I hope any president of Harvard for as long ahead as we can see will be a controversial fighre; if he is not a controversial figure then he is no good. He is not good as a president because what we want is a leader of men, who is going to think ahead, who is willing to express himself ahead of our ordinary thinking and who is willing to try to show the way not only in educational fields but in other fields as he develops and as his name becomes recognized as a thinker and a leader."

Saltonstall carried the day, not only in the committee with unanimously approved Conant's appointment but two days later in the Senate which officialy confirmed it.

But the Senator's loyalty to an old friend and classmate backfield on him this week. Back in his home state legis-6SALTONSTALL