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Mason Charges First Lady Aids 'FIFTH Column'
Also Accuses Miss Perkins in Debate in House
by Willard Edwards
Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt yesterday were named by Representative Noah M. Mason (R) of Illinois, as having extended sympathy, encouragement, and protection to the so-called "fifth column agents" in the United States.
Mason spoke in the House in opposition to the proposed transfer of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization from the Department of Labor, headed by Miss Perkins, to the Justice Department. The move was designed to cover up Miss Perkins' mismanagement of the bureau, he declared.
Cites "Examples"
"The results desired by the President can be much more quickly and effectively secured by demanding the resignation of Madame Perkins and appointing a competent administrator in her place," he told members.
The Illinois Representative proceeded to relate "concrete examples of protection, of sympathy and of encouragement lately given to 'fifth column agents' that are at work in our midst." Mason is a member of the Dies Committee, and some of the facts he gave the House had not previously been made public.
"I call attention to the astonishing appointment two months ago of William Hinckley as administrative assistant to the commissioner of education," Mason said. "It is my understanding that Hinckley obtained his position through the recommendation of Mrs. Roosevelt. Hinckley was for a number of years national chairman of the American Youth Congress, a subservient follower of the Communist party line. It is Stalin's 'fifth column' among the youth of this country."
National Disgrace
Testimony before the Dies Committee proved that Hinckley was an active member of the Communist party, Mason said. He cited numerous instances of Hinckley's radical theories and his connections with communistic organizations.
"It is nothing short of a national disgrace that one so prominent in the operations of the Communist 'fifth element' as Hinckley should be placed in a strategic position in our Federal Government and particularly in our Department of Education," he remarked.
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