68. Welch-McCarthy Exchange - No Sense of Decency
Senator McCarthy: Not exactly, Mr. Chairman. But in view of Mr.
Welch"s request that the information be given once we know of anyone who might be
performing any work for the Communist Party, I think we should tell
him that he has in his law firm a young man
named Fisher whom he recommended, incidentally, to do
the work on this Committee, who has been, for a number of years, a member of an organization which
is named, oh, years and years ago, as the legal bulwark of the Communist Party, an
organization which always springs to the defense of anyone who dares to expose Communists.
Knowing that, Mr. Welch, I just felt that I had a duty to respond to your urgent request that
"before sundown," when we know of anyone serving the Communist
cause we let the agency know. Now, we"re now letting you know that your man did belong to this organization
for either three or four years, belonged
to it long after he was out of law school. And I have hesitated bringing that up, but I
have been rather bored with your phony requests to Mr. Cohn here, that he,
personally, get every Communist out of Government before sundown.
Whether you knew that
he was a member of that Communist organization or not, I don"t
know. I assume you did not, Mr. Welch, because I get the impression that while you are quite
an actor, you play for a laugh, I don"t think you
have any conception of the danger of the
Communist Party. I don"t think you, yourself, would ever knowingly aid the Communist
cause.
I think you"re unknowingly aiding it when you
try to burlesque this hearing in which
we"re attempting to bring out the facts.
Mr. Welch: Mr. Chairman....
Senator Mundt: The Chair may say that he has no recognition or no memory of Mr.
Welch recommending either Mr. Fisher or anybody else as counsel for this Committee.
Senator McCarthy: I refer to the record, Mr. Chairman...to the news story on
that.
Mr. Welch: Mr. Chairman. Under these circumstances, I must
myself have something
approaching a personal privilege.
Senator Mundt: You may have, sir
Mr. Welch: Senator McCarthy, I did not
know, Senator Senator,
sometimes you say may I
have your attention
Senator McCarthy: I"m listening....
Mr. Welch: May I
have your attention?
Senator McCarthy: I can
listen with one ear and talk with
Mr. Welch: No, this time, sir, I want you to
listen with both. Senator
McCarthy, I think until
this moment
Senator McCarthy: Good.
Just a minute.
Jim, Jim, will you get
the news story to
the effect that this man belongs to the to
this Communist front organization....
Mr. Welch: I will tell you
that he belonged to it.
Senator McCarthy: Jim, will you get
the citation, one of the citations showing that this was
the legal arm of the Communist Party, and the length of time that
he belonged, and the fact
that he was recommended by Mr. Welch. I
think that should be in the record....
Mr. Welch: Senator, you won"t
need anything in the record when
I finish telling you this. Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty, or your recklessness. Fred Fisher is a young man who went to the Harvard
Law School and came into my firm and is
starting what looks to be a brilliant career with us. When I decided
to work for this Committee, I asked Jim St. Clair, who sits on my right, to be my first assistant. I said to Jim,
"Pick somebody in the firm to work under you that you would like."
He chose Fred Fisher, and they came down on an afternoon plane. That night, when we had taken a little stab at trying to see what the case is about, Fred Fisher and Jim St. Clair and I went
to dinner together. I then said to
these two young men, "Boys, I don"t know anything about you, except I"ve always liked you, but
if there"s anything funny in the life of either one of you that would hurt anybody in this case,
you speak up quick."
And Fred Fisher said, "Mr. Welch, when I was in the law school, and for a period of months after, I belonged to
the Lawyers" Guild," as you have suggested, Senator. He went on to say, "I am Secretary of the Young Republican"s League in Newton with the son of [the] Massachusetts governor, and I have the respect and admiration
of my community, and I"m sure I have the respect and admiration of the twentyfive lawyers
or so in Hale & Dorr." And I said, "Fred, I just don"t think I"m going to ask you to work on the case.
If I do, one of these days that will come out, and go over national
television, and it will just hurt like the dickens."
And so, Senator, I asked him to go back to Boston. Little did I dream you
could be so reckless and so cruel as to do an injury to that lad. It is, I regret to
say, equally true that I fear he shall always bear a scar needlessly inflicted by you. If it were
in my power to forgive you for your reckless cruelty, I would do so. I
like to think I"m a gentle
man, but your forgiveness will
have to come from someone other than me.
Senator McCarthy: Mr. Chairman, may I say that Mr.
Welch talks about this being cruel and reckless. He was just baiting.
He has been baiting Mr. Cohn here for hours, requesting that
Mr. Cohn before sundown get out of any department of the government anyone who is serving the Communist
cause. Now, I just give this man"s record and I want to
say, Mr. Welch, that it had been
labeled long before he became a member, as early as 1944
Mr. Welch: Senator, may we not drop this? We know he belonged
to the Lawyers" Guild.
Senator McCarthy: Let me finish....
Mr. Welch: And Mr. Cohn
nods his head at me.
I did you, I think, no personal injury, Mr.
Cohn?
Mr. Cohn: No, sir.
Mr. Welch: I meant to do you no personal injury.
Mr. Cohn: No, sir.
Mr. Welch: And if I did, I beg your pardon. Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator.
Senator McCarthy: Let"s, let"s
Mr. Welch: You"ve done enough. Have you
no sense of decency, sir, at
long last? Have you
left no sense of decency?
Senator McCarthy: I know this hurts you, Mr.
Welch.
Mr. Welch: I"ll say it hurts!
Senator McCarthy: Mr. Chairman, as point of personal privilege, I"d like to
finish this.
Mr. Welch: Senator, I think it
hurts you, too, sir.
Senator McCarthy: I"d
like to finish
this. I know Mr. Cohn would rather not have me go
into this. I intend to, however, and Mr. Welch
talks about any "sense of decency." I have heard
you and everyone else talk so
much about laying the truth
upon the table. But when I heard
the completely phony Mr. Welch, I"ve been listening now for a long time, he"s saying, now
"before sundown" you must get these people "out of government."
So I just want you to have it very clear,
very clear that you were not so serious about that when you tried to recommend
this man for this Committee.
Mr. Welch: Mr. McCarthy, I will
not discuss this further with you. You have sat within six feet
of me and could ask could
have asked me about Fred Fisher. You have seen fit to bring it
out, and if there is a God in heaven, it will do
neither you nor your cause any good.
I will not discuss it further. I will
not ask, Mr. Cohn, any more witnesses. You, Mr. Chairman, may, if
you will, call the next witness.
