Unruffled

Month ago, after sending agents into Kentucky to explore alleged WPA activities in behalf of Senator "Dear Alben" Barkley's renomination, the Senate Campaign Investigating Committee handed a bill of particulars to WPAdministrator Harry Hopkins and asked him: What about it? Last week, having had no reply from Mr. Hopkins, Chairman Sheppard of the committee prodded Mr. Hopkins with another letter. This time he used strong phrases--"flagrantly violated," "criminal statutes." The committee declared that its evidence, supported by more than 100 affidavits, showed that:

1) All WPAsters in Russell and Pulaski Counties had been carefully checked over as to their political affiliations by their foremen.

2) All WPAsters in Kentucky's 32 western counties had been carefully listed so as to show the names and addresses of all legal voters in their families. This work was done by WPA workers on WPA time but on stationery supplied by Senator Barkley's headquarters. The lists were handed to Mr. Barkley's campaign managers in the 32 counties. Later most of the lists were burned.

Unruffled by these prods, the committee's most vigorous to date, Mr. Hopkins thanked the committee for reminding him of these matters. He said his people had been checking up and the answers were:

1) The Russell and Pulaski County lists had been made because someone had charged that Republicans were being favored over Democrats in giving WPA jobs. The lists had been put to no political use.

2) The committee's testimony about the 32 county lists "does not appear to set forth the full facts. . . . I have therefore caused this situation to be looked into further."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.