Broadcasting (Jan - Jun 1944)

Fly Admits Contempt of Cox Inquiry Blocking of Article for 'Reader's Digest' Described By BILL BAILEY ANOTHER STORMY episode in the Congressional investigation of the FCC flared up last week as Commission Chairman James Lawrence Fly again hurled invective at Rep. E. E. Cox (D-Ga.), former chairman of the House Select Committee to Investigate the FCC, and its former general counsel, Eugene L. Garey. Mr. Fly heard himself charged with successfully blocking a story by Gretta Palmer, New York writer, in Reader's Digest after Mrs. Palmer had spent several weeks in Washington gathering material for the article. He didn't back down when he told the Committee he refused to give his version to the writer; neither did he attempt to hide his "contempt" for the "Cox Committee". Widely Condemned "I was certainly in contempt of the Cox Committee as it was handled by the former chairman and by the general counsel," he said when Rep. Miller (R-Mo.), asked if he held the Committee "in contempt". Mr. Fly hastened to say that he had no criticism of the "present chairman", Rep. Lea (D-Cal.). In his letter of last Dec. 29 to DeWitt Wallace, editor of Reader's Digest, Chairman Fly wrote: "The procedures of the Cox organization and of its unscrupulous counsel have been condemned on a wider scale than in the case of any other Congressional committee within my knowledge. Despite all this the present counsel (Mr. Garey) although not the present chairman, HUDDLING WITH Charles R. Denny Jr., FCC general counsel, is Chairman James Lawrence Fly, (r), dubbed by Gretta Palmer, New York writer, the "Frank Sinatra of the inner circle New Deal". FlyDenny conference took place as Mrs. Palmer told the House Committee to investigate the FCC last week that she made every effort to see the FCC chairman, but he refused to be interviewed for a story based on the Congressional probe. Page 14 • May 22, 1944 is determined to do a destructive job upon me by any and all devices regardless of the low character these devices might assume." (See this page.) Reading from a memorandum she wrote Digest editors after the Fly letter was received, Mrs. Palmer said: "This article was suggested to me by Wendell Willkie, as Mr. Wallace knows, and not by anybody connected with the Select Committee." In New York Mr. Willkie was quoted as denying he suggested the article but said he did talk to Mrs. Palmer about it and referred her to William S. Paley, CBS president, and others in radio. Mr. Garey, in Washington last week, declared he had not met Mrs. Palmer until "several weeks after she began working on her story". Harry S. Barger, chief investigator and now assistant general counsel, said Mrs. Palmer came to him and asked to see copies of the Committee hearing records and that later he introduced her to Mr. Garey. Other disclosures before the Committee last week included these ; The FCC assisted the Navy in a simulated attack on Pearl Harbor Nov. 23, 1941, just two weeks before the Japanese sneak attack. No longer does the FCC perform military radio intelligence functions except on request of the armed forces. All such work will be discontinued in full by June 30. George E. Sterling, assistant chief engineer in charge of the Radio Intelligence Division, testified, because of the Congressional cut of $1,000,000 from the RID 1945 fiscal year budget. The Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service, whose analyses and legality have been attacked in charges before the Committee, is performing a necessary wartime function and was "authorized by Acts of Congress", Dr. Robert D. Leigh, its director, testified. Rep. Hart (D-N. J.), adjourning Friday's session, said future hearings would be held at the "call of the chair". Chairman Lea is expected back this week from California, where he has been campaigning for renomination. Attending last week's session were Reps. Hart, Miller and Wigglesworth (R-Mass.). When Mrs. Palmer took the stand Wednesday Rep. Miller read into the record the letter Chairman Fly wrote Editor Wallace, protesting her article. She identified it as the one shown her by her editors and testified that she had written a "rough draft" of the story but never completed a final draft. Rep. Miller asked her to read a note she had given the Digest editors regarding the article. She said FlyWallace Letter Exchange Distributed by FCC Chairman JUMPING the gun on Rep. Louis E. Miller (R-Mo.), who last Wednesday read into the record of the House Select Committe to Investigate the FCC, a letter written Dec. 29, 1943, by Commission Chairman James Lawrence Fly to DeWitt Wallace, editor of Reader's Digest, Mr. Fly distributed mimeographed copies of the missive, together with Mr. Wallace's reply, before Rep. Miller started reading. The two letters follow: Dear Mr. Wallace: I have been more than shocked recently to receive word that one of your writers, Miss Gretta Palmer, has been assigned the task of "doing a job" on me. She has made it clear to me and to others that the writing which she is doing will be based upon "information" and documents collected by the Cox Committee. This Committee has attained a nation-wide reputation as being the most notoriously unfair of all the so-called investigative committees that purport to do constructive work on behalf of the Congress. I am reluctant to believe that by treating with this one-sided subject matter you would have the Reader's Digest brought down to this lowest of levels. I want to advise you that although this disreputable effort to "get" me has been going on for a number of months, neither I nor the Commission have ever been permitted to put a witness on the stand, to ask a single question of any witness, to offer a single document in evidence, to correct the record so that the deleted portion of documents are reinstated to refute charges wrenched from context or to answer by document unfounded and irresponsible charges that literally have been forced into the record. In short, no word of ours has been permitted to be uttered or placed in the record; our files have been culled for the dirtiest messes that innuendo could contrive; counteravailing evidence studiously avoided. Thus, you have the most serious and scandalous of charges thrown out publicly and with the sole aim to destroy without any respectable or responsible evidence to back any of them up and without the slightest opportunity extended to me to disprove them. While the title of this Committee is the Select Committee to Investigate the FCC, the record is replete with examples which conclusively prove that it is I and I alone that this Committee and its counsel set out to destroy. The procedures of the Cox organization and of its unscrupulous counsel have been condemned on a wider scale than in the case of any other Congressional committee within my knowledge. Despite all of this the present counsel (although not the new Chairman) is determined to do a destructive job upon me by any and all devices regardless of the low character these devices might ultimately assume. One of the effective ways of accomplishing this is to use a respectable publication of the widest circulation like the Reader's Digest to give the charges repeated currency and through countless repetitions a seeming validity. I understand that counsel for the Committee has cooperated most graciously with your Miss Palmer. With his ends clearly in mind, why not? It is true that Miss Palmer offered to talk to me. However, you, she and the Reader's Digest must bear in mind that it is quite impossible for me in the course of a few hours or even days to lay out before her the oral testimony, the voluminous documents, and the great bulk of evidence which eventually will be submitted by me and the Commission to utterly disprove every one of the serious and unfair assertions. This proof, I can assure you, will be overwhelming. The Committee and the Committee counsel have spent this past year raking among disgruntled and (Continued on page 63) she had "talked to Paley (William. S., CBS president) and Paul Hollister of CBS, Niles Trammell of NBC, Lou Weiss of the Don Lee Company, Neville Miller of NAB, Sol Taishoff of Broadcasting magazine and Louis Caldwell, lawyer for the Mutual chain, before I ever approached Eugene Garey or any member of the Select Committee." Her memo told of attempts to see Mr. Fly, of his refusal to grant an interview, of her move through Morris Ernst, New York attorney and White House "supporter of Fly", and Commissioner C. J. Durr in an effort to see Chairman Fly. After outlining her contacts and work, Mrs. Palmer read: "The great unsolved puzzle ... is howMr. Fly has won to a position in which he can win arguments, in the military field, against Knox and Stimson — and can even refuse to give out fingerprints to the FBI on request? "Even if he were the busines hating, power-loving, table-thumping radical his enemies say, the central question remains unsolved. That question is: Is Fly really the Frank Sinatra of the inner circle New Deal?" Rep. Miller asked Mrs. Palmer to read the first draft of her article and the Committee itself was plunged into argument over the relevancy of such document. "I dont see what value it has," re marked Acting Chairman Hart. "It does seem important that some steps were taken to suppress the article." Rep. Miller countered: "I think we ought to be concerned if Mr. Fly charges this Committee puts' scandalous testimony in theSI record." Chairman Fly interceded :H "At the time of my letter the'B article hadn't even been drafted."* Rep. Hart ruled it out. Rep. Millertt moved its admission. The vote was § 2-0, Rep. Hart not voting and Mrs, | Palmer began reading her 21-pagei£ document. Throughout as the author* read Rep. Miller interrupted tojjji (Continued on page 61) GRETTA PALMER, New York writer assigned by Reader's Digest to do an article on the House investigation of the Commission, testified last week that her story wa^ shelved after FCC Chairman James Lawrence Fly wrote DeWitt Wal lace, Digest editor, "warning' against publication of her article BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertisini