-
I]
■ ,
:
■ r
■ ;
■:
:
:
iliilSi
I
iiii
:
■
.. !
Ilil
]m
1!!
i
mmi
jfiHf^{|jtmi5Hf
iiifitrt
:;■
:m
Hii
■'i '
mmnn
I
//
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE
CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
PART 2
MA«VA»i «« •
HEARINGS ^^'2(i
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES
EIGHTY-SEVENTH CONGKESS
SECOND SESSION
JUNE 5, 6, AND 7, 1962
INCLUDING INDEX
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Un-American Activities
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
86790 WASHINGTON : 1962
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
United States House of Representatives
FRANCIS E. WALTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman
MORGAN M. MOULDER, Missouri GORDON H. SCHERER, Ohio
CLYDE DOYLE, California AUGUST E. JOHANSEN, Michigan
EDWIN E. WILLIS, Louisiana DONALD C. BRUCE, Indiana
WILLIAM M. TUCK, Virginia HENRY C. SCHADEBERQ, Wisconsin
Francis J. McNamaea, Director
Feank S. Tavenner, Jr., General Counsel
Alfred M. Nittle, Counsel
John C. Walsh, Co-counsel
CONTENTS
PART 2
Afternoon Session
June 5, 1962: p^^^
Testimony of — .p.--
Jean Krchmarek |"''
Pauline Taylor j"^°
Frieda Katz |Xcr
James Wells i^°°
Julia C. Brown (resumed) ^^°^
June 6, 1962:
Testimony of — MCf^
Julia C. Brown (resumed) }}"^
Samuel Handelman ||y^
James Smid ||^„
Frida Kreitner j||^
Martin Chancey '■^'■^
June 7, 1962:
Testimony of — . , 04.
Sylvia Strauss ||^^
Abraham Strauss |j^^
Ruth Emmer jj^o
Milton Tenenbaum :[|^^
Regina Sokol ||^^
Elsie R. Tarcai :[|^2
Violet J. Tarcai ^^^*
Afternoon Session
Eugene Bayer \\^^
NeilE. Wetterman ^^^^
Index
PART 1
c . 989
Synopsis
June 4, 1962:
Testimony of — nno
Julia C. Brown --- ^^^
Afternoon Session
William Henry Cooper }0}^
Julia C. Brown (resumed) ^"^"^
Morning Session
June 5, 1962:
Testimony_of—
^rtrn t T'OGl 1 TY» nrl 1
1069
Julia'C. Brown (resumed) J2cn
Ethel L. Goodman ,„-o
Margaret Wherry ^"'"^
(Index appears in Part 2)
ni
Public Law 601, 79th Congress
The legislation under which the House Committee on Un-American
Activities operates is Public Law 601, 79th Congress [1946] ; 60 Stat.
812, which provides :
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of Aniericain Congress assembled^ * * *
PART 2— RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Rule X
SEO. 121. STANDING COMMITTEES
*******
17. Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine Members.
Rule XI
POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
(q) (1) Committee on Un-American Activities.
(A) Un-American activities.
(2) The Committee on Un-American Activities, as a vphole or by subcommittee,
is authorized to make from time to time investigations of (i) the extent, char-
acter, and objects of un-American propaganda activities in the United States,
(ii) the diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American propa-
ganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and at-
tacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitution,
and (iii) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in any
necessary remedial legislation.
The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to
the Clerk of the House if the House is not in session) the results of any such in-
vestigation, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable.
For the purpose of any such investigation, the Committee on Un-American
Activities, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized to sit and act at such times
and places within the United States, whether or not the House is sitting, has
recessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, to require the attendance of
such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, and to
take such testimony, as it deems necessary. Subpenas may be issued under the
signature of the chairman of the committee or any subcommittee, or by any
member designated by any such chairman, and may be served by any person des-
ignated by any such chairman or member.
Rule XII
LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT BY STANDING COMMITTEES
Sec. 136. To assist the Congress in appraising the administration of the laws
and in developing such amendments or related legislation as it may deem neces-
sary, each standing committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives
shall exercise continuous watchfulness of the execution by the administrative
agencies concerned of any laws, the subject matter of which is within the juris-
diction of such committee ; and, for that purpose, shall study all pertinent
reports and data submitted to the Congress by the agencies in the executive
branch of the Government.
RULES ADOPTED BY THE 87TH CONGRESS
House Resolution 8, January 3, 1961
0 0*****
Rui-E X
STANDING COMMITTEES
1. There shall be elected by the House, at the commencement of each Congress,
*******
(r) Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine Members.
0 0*****
Rule XI
POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
0 0*0***
18. Committee on Un-American Activities.
( a ) Un-American activities.
(b) The Committee on Un-American Activities, as a whole or by subcommittee,
is authorized to make from time to time investigations of (1) the extent, char-
acter, and objects of un-American propaganda activities in the United States,
(2) the diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American prop-
aganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and
attacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitu-
tion, and (3) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in
any necessary remedial legislation.
The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to the
Clerk of the House if the House is not in session) the results of any such investi-
gation, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable.
For the purpose of any such investigation, the Committee on Un-American
Activities, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized to sit and act at such times
and places within the United States, whether or not the House is sitting, has
recessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, to require the attendance
of such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, and
to take such testimony, as it deems necessary. Subpenas may be issued imder
the signature of the chairman of the committee or any subcommittee, or by any
member designated by any such chairman, and may be served by any person desig-
nated by any such chairman or member.
*******
27. To assist the House in appraising the administration of the laws and in
developing such amendments or related legislation as it may deem necessary,
each standing committee of the House shall exercise continuous watchfulness
of the execution by the administrative agencies concerned of any laws, the subject
matter of which is within the jurisdiction of such committee ; and, for that pur-
pose, shall study all pertinent reports and data submitted to the House by the
agencies in the executive branch of the Government.
VI
C0M3IUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO,
AREA
Part 2
TUESDAY AFTERNOON — JUNE 5, 1962
Unii'ed States House of Representatives,
Subcommittee of thIe
Committee on Un-American Activities,
Washington, D.G.
PUBLIC hearings
The subcommittee of the Committee on Un-American Activities re-
convened at 2 p.m., Hon. Francis E. Walter (chairman) presiding.
Subcommittee members present: Representatives Walter, Doyle,
Scherer, Johansen, Bruce ; also present Representative Schadeberg.
The Chairman. The committee will be in order. Mr. Nittle, call
your next witness.
Mr. Nittle. Will Jean Krchmarek please come forward ?
The Chairman. Will you raise your right hand ?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give will be
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?
Mrs. Krchmarek. I do.
TESTIMONY OF JEAN KRCHMAREK, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
JOSEPH FORER
Mr. Nittle, Would you state your name, please ?
Mrs. Krchmarek. My name is Jean Krchmarek, K-r-c-h-m-a-r-e-k.
Mr. Nittle. I see that you are represented by counsel.
Will counsel please identify himself for the record ?
Mr. Forer. Joseph Forer, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Nittle. Where were you born, Mrs. Krclmiarek ?
Mrs. Krchmarek. I was born in the District of Columbia.
Mr. NiTTiJi. Are you currently employed by the Communist Party
in any capacity?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. lOiCHMAREK. Sir, I must decline to answer that question. I
invoke the privilege of the fifth amendment; and furthermore, I feel
that it violates my rights under the first amendment to the Con-
stitution.
Mr. Nittle. Are you currently employed as a columnist for The
Worker?
Mrs. KJRCHMAREK. I must decline to answer that question on the
grounds previously stated.
1077
1078 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
The Chairman". You said you must decline. You are not under
any compulsion.
Mrs. Kechmarek. I do decline. I am sorry.
The Chairman. That is better.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you at the present time a member of the Com-
munist Party ?
Mrs. Krchmarek. I also decline to ansTver that question on the
grounds previously stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you at this instant a member of the Communist
Party?
Mrs. Krchmarek. Again I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you loiow Julia Brown ?
Mrs. EjtCHMAREK. Again I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you, at the time Julia Brown was a resident of
Cleveland, a section leader of the Northeast Section of the Communist
Party?
Mrs. Krchmarek. I decline to answer that question on the grounds
that I previously stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. As said leader, did you have the responsibility of di-
recting the activities of the Communist clubs established in the North-
east Section?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mrs. Krchmarek. I did not state that —
You made the presumption — that I had not said. I think that is an
unfair and a loaded question, and I decline to answer it on the same
grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you participate in the organization of a farewell
party given on June 11, 1960, for Elizabeth Hall, wife of Gus Hall,
now general secretary of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Krchmarek. I decline to answer that question, on the grounds
previously stated.
_Mr. NiTTLE. Mr. Chairman, I think it is quite obvious this witness
will not answer any of the questions put to her. The staff has no
further questions.
The Chairman. The witness is discharged.
Mr. NiTTLE. Pauline Taylor, will you come f oi-ward ?
The Chairman. Will you raise your right hand ?
Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give will be the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mrs. Taylor. I do.
TESTIMONY OF PAULINE TAYLOR, ACCOMPANIED BY CO'ONSEL
JOSEPH FOEEE
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you please state your name for the record ?
Mrs. Taylor. Pauline Taylor.
Mr. NiTTLE. I note that you are represented by coimsel.
Will coimsel please identify himself for the record ?
Mr. Forer. Joseph Forer.
Mr. NiTTLE. Where were you born, Mrs. Taylor ?
Mrs. Taylor. In the Unit"ed States.
Mr. Scherer. Where in the United States ?
Mrs. Taylor. In the State of Alabama.
COJVIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1079
Mr. SciiEREK. In what city ?
Mrs. Taylor. Well, it is a village; Lockliart.
Mr. ScHERER. Lockliart, Alabama ?
Mrs. Taylor. It is not Lockliart any more.
Mr. NiTiLE. Mrs. Taylor, you appeared before this committee on a
previous occasion, November 27, 1956 ; is that correct ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Taylor. What was the question ?
Mr. NiiTLE. Will you read it, Mr. Reporter?
(The question referred to was read by the reporter.)
Mrs. Taylor. I can't be sure of the date. I believe the year was
1956.
The Chairman. Did we find out what your present address is?
What is your present address ?
Mrs. Taylor. Mine? 313 Chicago Avenue.
The Chairman. In Chicago ?
Mrs. Taylor. No, Chicago Avenue.
Mr. NiTTLE. In Youngstown, Ohio ?
Mrs. Taylor. That is right.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you presently active in the Communist Party in
the Youngstown area?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer that question, because it is not
pertinent; and also on the rights of my protection under the first
amendment and my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mrs. Taylor, I w^as talking about your prior appear-
ance before this committee in November 1956. At that time, you
were questioned by Mr. Arens, who asked you this question : "Mrs.
Taylor, are you a member of the Communist Party ?"
Your reply was : "I am not, Mr. Chairman."
When you stated at that time that you were not a member of the
Communist Party in response to that question, were you telling the
truth ?
Mrs. Taylor. Mr. Chairman, I refuse to answer the question, under
the protection that I have already asked for under the first and fifth
amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. I put it to you as a fact, Mrs. Taylor, that at the time
you responded to that inquiry you were a member of the Communist
Party.
Mr. FoRER, No question has been asked.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you affirm or deny that fact ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mrs. Taylor. Mr. Chairman, I refuse to answer on the same
grounds, on my protection under the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mr. Arens also asked you : "Have you ever taken or-
ders from the Communist Party?"; to which you replied, "I have
not."
Were you telling the truth at that time ?
Mrs. Taylor. Mr. Chairman, I refuse to answer the question under
the protection of the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. You were a sworn witness when you testified that you
had not taken orders from the Communist Party, were you not?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer your question under the same
protection.
1080 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. Mr. Arens also asked, while you were a witness under
oath: "Did you ever hear of a Communist who was not actually a
member of the party, but was under party discipline so he could be
used by the party and not be easily exposed? Did you ever hear of
that technique?"; to which you replied: "Mr, Chairman, I decline to
answer that question under the protection of the fifth amendment."
In view of your refusal to answer that question at that time, would
you be willing to answer that question now, if I put it to you ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Taylor. No.
Mr. NiTTLE. You would not be willing to answer the question?
Mr. FoRER. She answered that question.
The Chairman. She answered.
Mr. NiTTLE. Have you, Mrs. Taylor, received instructions from the
Communist Party, or persons known to you to be members of the
Communist Party, to infiltrate any church in the Cleveland or Youngs-
town area ?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer that question on the previous
grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you, in the course of the latter part of last year,
have occasion to speak at a women's meeting before a church group,
at which time you stated you had received a communication from a
woman in South Vietnam asking for your help to work for the re-
moval of our troops from that place ; and you further told this group
that although you did not have the communication, you were told that
dogs were being set upon tied civilians and that women were having
reptiles injectecl into their reproductive organs, and that this was
what our troops were doing, that is. United States troops, in South
Vietnam ?
Did you or did you not make that or a similar statement before a
women's group in a church meeting?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you further state that this conduct was sanctioned
by U.S. Army officials, and that the actions of the American Armed
Forces overseas were disgraceful? And did you add that your son
had been in the Army and had knowledge of this ?
I ask you to affirm or deny that account.
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer on the same grounds f)reviously
stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mrs. Taylor, at the time the United States was associ-
ated with Soviet Russia in World War II, were you at that time very
active in promoting the defense effort of the United States ?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer that question on the previous
stated grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you not at that time work, as you have said in one
of your pamphlets, with the United States Employment Service, to
cut down absenteeism, and were you not, to use your words, "visit-
ing homes to find out what caused workers to take time off vital war
work in steel and putting up a fight to change bad conditions" ?
Mrs. Taylor. Are you asking the question?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes.
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer on the grounds previously stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. I show you a pamphlet, identified as Taylor Exliibit
No. 1, titled "Peace Is Possible," which is described on page 12 thereof
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1081
as a report from Pauline Taylor, issued "as a public service" by the
Progressive Party of Ohio, 5103 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.
Will you examine that pamphlet, please?
Now I want to ask you, Mrs. Taylor: Do you recognize it?
Mrs. Taylor. I object to the question as not being pertinent.
Mv. Ni-FTLE. Will 3'ou tell us who wrote that pamphlet for you ?
]Mr. FoRER. What was that question ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Taylor. Mr. Chairman, that is a loaded question. I didn't
say that I wrote it or that anybody wrote it for me.
The Chairman. Did you write it?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mrs. Taylor. Mr. Chairman, I object, because the question is not
pertinent.
The Chairman. Now, I direct you to answer the question whether
or not you wrote that pamphlet.
Mr. Forer. There is no explanation of the pertinency, Mr. Chair-
man.
The Chairman. No. We know why we want the question answered.
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mrs. Tayt^or. Mr. Chairman, I refuse, on the grounds previously
stated under the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. You refused to answer that question ?
Mr. FoRER. Yes, she did.
Mr. NiTTLE. On what basis did you refuse?
Mrs. Taylor. On the grounds of my rights under the first amend-
ment and my privilege under the fifth.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was that pamphlet written for you or delivered to
you by persons known to be Communists?
Mrs. Taylor. What are you talking about?
Mr. NiTTLE. The pamphlet entitled "Peace Is Possible," to which
we were referring.
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer, on the grounds of the first and
fifth amendment, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. NiTTLE. The address which that exhibit bears is 5103 Euclid
Avenue. Was that the office of the One World Book Shop, operated
by Frida and Morris Kreitner?
Mrs. Taylor. ]\Ir. Chairman, I refuse to answer the question on the
previous stated grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was that pamphlet in fact circulated from that book-
shop?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question on the previous stated
grounds.
(Document marked "Taylor Exhibit No. 1" and retained in commit-
tee files.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you know Frida Kreitner as a member of the
Communist Party ?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question on the previous stated
grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you know Morris Kreitner as a member of the
Communist Party ?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question on the previous stated
grounds.
1082 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. I show you Taylor Exhibit No. 2, a booklet titled "We
Pledge Peace," A Friendship Book, published by the American Rus-
sian Institute, Inc., 101 Post Street, San Francisco 8, California.
Did you make i\ contribution to this booklet ?
Mrs. Taylor. A^"hat is the question ?
Mr. NiTTLE, 1 point out to you page 62 of this booklet on which
appears an article titled "If Our People Knew The Truth"— "Pauline
Taylor, peace leader, church loorker, Youngstown, Ohio."
Did you write that article for that booklet ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mrs. Taylor. I object to the question, because it isn't pertinent, Mr.
Chairman.
The Chairmax. You are directed to answer the question.
Mrs. Taylor. Mr. Chairman, I refuse to answer the question, on
the grounds that it is not pertinent, and under the privilege of the
first and fifth amendments, as previously stated.
(Document marked "Taylor Exhibit No. 2" and retained in com-
mittee files.)
Mr. NiTTLE. If I may, Mr. Chairman, I would like to read a por-
tion of that article from page 62 of Exhibit 2, which appears under
the byline of Mrs. Taylor :
In November 1950, as chairman of the Ohio Women for Peace, I went as a
delegate from Ohio to the Second World Peace Congress in Warsaw. After the
Congress, 19 of us from the United States were invited by the Soviet Peace
Committee to visit their country for two weelcs.
In Russia I found great concentration of the people on peaceful work. Though
there was concern over the war danger, the flames and bloodshed of actual
war seemed remote in these countries. Everyone was building, working, farm-
ing and they seemed very much like us. They showed us great housing projects,
schools and irrigation canals, subways, and forests being planted, and they said :
"If we planned to start a war, do you think we would be spending billions of
rubles and millions of tons of scarce steel and concrete on these projects, which
will take years to finish, and have little or no military value?"
I ask, Mrs. Taylor : Who wrote that article for you ?
Mrs. Taylor. Mr. Chairman, that is a loaded and an insulting
question.
Mr. NiTTLE. Let me put it this way : Did you write that article ?
Mrs. Taylor. Mr. Chairman, my objection is because the question
is not pertinent.
The Chairman. Answer the question.
Mrs. Taylor. And the grounds of the right under the first amend-
ment and my privilege under the fifth amendment.
The Chairman. Did you go to Europe as a delegate to some sort
of a meeting?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question on the previously
stated grounds.
The CiiAiRMAN. Do you really feel that if you were held to answer
the question as to whether or not you had taken a trip abroad, you
might be prosecuted criminally?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Taylor. It is possible.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1083
Tlie CiiAiKMAN. Have you ever been national committeewoman, and
Ohio State secretary, of the Progressive Party?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question on the previously
stated grounds.
The Chairman, On the grounds that you might be prosecuted; is
that it?
Mrs. Tatlor, The first amendment, "which are my rights, and the
fifth amendment, whicli is my privilege. And the question is not
pertinent,
Mr. NiTTLE. Can you tell us of your own knowledge whether that
item was written by a person known to you to be a representative of
a foreign power?
Mrs. Taylor. Wliat item are you speaking of, Mr. Chairman ?
Mr. XiTTLE. The article which appears in the booklet I mentioned,
"We Pledge Peace."
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question, because it is not per-
tinent, and under my rights in the first amendment and the privilege
of the fifth amendment.
Mr. NiTTLE. I did not ask that question without point, Mrs. Taylor.
Did you arrange for the attendance of certain Comnumists of the
Cleveland area at the Polish Embassy in Washington?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question, on the previously
stated grounds.
Mr. NiiTLE. Did you not in fact appear at a banquet at the Polish
Embassy ?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question on the previously
stated grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. And was not Julia Brown in attendance at that ban-
quet with you ?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question on the previously
stated grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did the Communist Party of the Cleveland area pay
your expenses to attend that banquet ?
Mrs. Taylor. I refuse to answer the question on the previously
stated grounds.
jNIr. N1TTI.E. Mr. Chairman, I ask leave to insert in the record the
citation of the American Russian Institute of San Francisco, the pub-
lisher of Taylor Exhibit No. 2 to which we have been referring. It
was cited by Attorney General Tom Clark as a Communist organiza-
tion.^
I have no further questions of this witness, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Any questions?
The witness is excused.
Mr. NiTTLE. Would Frieda Katz come forward, please ?
The Chairman". Will you raise your right hand ?
Do you swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?
Mrs. KLvTZ. I do.
1 Cited as a Communist organization. (Attorney General Tom Clark, letter to Loyalty
Review Board, releai-ed September 21, 1948.) (See Committee on Un-American Activities,
Guide to Subversive Organizations and Publications, House Doc. 39S, p. 29 (S7th Cong.),
Dec. 1, 1961.
1084 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
TESTIMONY OF FRIEDA KATZ, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
JOSEPH FOEER
Mr, NiTTLE. Would you state your name, please?
Mrs. Katz. My name is Frieda Katz.
Mr. NiTTLE. You are represented by comisel ?
Mrs. Katz. Yes, I am.
Mr. NiTTLE. Would counsel f)lease identify himself for the record ?
Mr. FoRER. Joseph Forer.
Mrs. Katz. Will the committee give me permission to read a state-
ment ?
The Chairman. No. You can leave the statement, and if we thmk
that it is relevant, we will make it a part of the record.
Mrs. Katz. Thank you.
Mr. NiTTLE. Does the statement contain any references as to whether
or not you are a member of the Communist Party as of this moment?
Mr. FoRER. Well, all you have to do is look at the statement.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you a member of the Communist Party, Mrs. Katz,
as of this moment ?
Mrs. Katz. I should like to use my privilege under the fifth amend-
ment of the Constitution of the United States, and my privileges and
rights under the first amendment to the Constitution, of freedom of
speech, redress to the Congress, and so on.
The Chairman. You said, "I should like to." Do you?
Mrs. Katz. I do. I refuse to answer the question on those grounds.
Mr. Nittle. Do you loiow Julia Brown ?
_ Mrs. Katz. I refuse to answer the question on the previously men-
tioned grounds.
Mr. Scherer. Witness, were you in the hearing room during the
time that Julia Brown testified ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Katz. Yes ; I was present.
Mr. Scherer. You heard her testimony ?
Mr. Forer. During part of the time, I think.
Mrs. Katz. Part of the time. That is correct.
Mr. Scherer. Did you hear testimony with reference to you ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mrs. Katz. I did not hear all of the testimony.
Mr. Scherer. You heard part of it ?
Mrs. Katz. I heard part of it.
The Chairman. Whose testimony are you talking about?
Mr. Forer. He is talking about Julia Brown's testimony.
The Chairman. Let the witness answer the question.
Mrs. Katz. I must refuse to answer the question, on the previously
stated grounds.
Mr. Scherer. Now, is there anything that Julia Brown said about
you that is untrue ?
Mrs. Katz. I refuse to answer the question on the previously stated
groimds, under the first amendment and the fifth amendment to the
Constitution.
Mr. Scherer. Was Julia Brown telling the truth when she identified
you as one of the leading Communists in the State of Ohio ?
COMIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1085
Mrs. Katz, I must refuse to answer this question on the previously
stated grounds.
Mr. ScHERER. I have no f urtlier questions at this time.
The Chairman. Go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Nittle. Do you also refuse to answer the question on the ground
that the statements made by Julia Brown are true?
]\Irs. Katz. I have already stated the grounds on which I have re-
fused to answer the questions. These are my constitutional guarantees
of freedom of speech, and the right not to incriminate myself, and
these are the grounds on which I have refused and will decline to an-
swer questions.
Mr. Nittle. I state as a fact, Mrs. Katz, that you were also a mem-
ber of the Communist Party prior to your marriage to Dave Katz,
and that you were a member of the Communist Party under the name
of Frieda Zucker.
Will you affirm or deny that assertion ?
Mrs. EL\tz. I shall refuse to answer, under the previously stated
grounds.
Mr. Nittle. Is it not a fact that under the name Frieda Zucker you
were the secretary of the Tom Paine branch of the Communist Party
in Cleveland, Ohio, and you were so listed in the Ohio 1939 yearbook
of the Coimnunist Party ?
Mrs. Ivatz. I again refuse to answer the question under the previ-
ously stated grounds.
Mr. Nittle. Do you know Abe Strauss ?
Mrs. IC\TZ. I refuse to answer the question on the previously stated
grounds.
Mr. Nittle. Were you the executive secretary of the Civil Rights
Congress in Cleveland, Ohio ?
Mrs. Katz. I decline to answer the question, again on the previously
stated grounds.
Mr. Nittle. Mr. Chairman, I would like to read into the record a
reference to the Civil Rights Congress as it appears in the committee's
Guide to Subversive Organizations and Publications.
There is a footnote on page 44, as follows:
lu response to a petition from the Attorney General for an SACB order I'equir-
ing the Civil Rights Congress to register as a Communist-front organization,
the SACB held hearings between November 1954 and June 1955 * * *. There-
after, the Civil Rights Congress moved to dismiss the Attorney General's petition
on the ground that the organization had dissolved on January 6, 195G. The
SACB denied the request to dismiss the petition, stating that the Civil Rights
Congress had "failed factually to establish its dissolution, and in any event, that
under the proper application of the [Internal Security] Act dissolution of the
respondent would not divest the Board of jurisdiction."
Now^, I ask you, Mrs. Katz, as its executive secretary, was the Civil
Rights Congress in Cleveland dissolved by the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Katz. I must decline to answer this question on the previous
grounds stated.
Mr. Nittle. Are you not presently the secretary of the Ohio Bill
of Rights Conference?
Mrs. Katz. I must decline to answer that question, on previously
stated grounds.
]Mr. Nittle. And was not that local organization a counterpart of
the national organization titled "Civil Rights Congress" ?
1086 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mrs. Katz. I again decline on previously stated grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. I state to you as a fact that your name appears in the
City Directory of Cleveland as secretary of the Ohio Bill of Rights
Conference, 2014 East 105th Street, Room 202.
Mrs. Katz. I must again decline to answer the question on the
previously stated grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Now, Mrs. Brown testified that about the mid-1950's,
the Communist Party headquarters, which was then operating under
the disguise of its front names, had moved its quarters from Euclid
Avenue to 2014 East 105th Street, Room 202.
Do you affirm or deny that testimony ?
Mrs. Katz. I shall again decline to answer the question on the
previous grounds stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are not the Civil Rights Congress and the Ohio Bill
of Rights Conference one and the same organization?
Mrs. Katz. I must again decline to answer the question on the
grounds stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was not this a case of the same Communist group in
Cleveland operating under different disguises and names to confuse
the public ?
Mrs. Katz. I repeat my declination on the grounds previously
stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. And did not tlie Communist Party succeed in duping
many Negro people in that area ?
Mrs. Katz. I have already indicated my reasons for declining to
answer. I do not see the point in the continued making of such state-
ments. I am declining to answer under my rights under the first
amendment to the Constitution, and the fifth amendment, not to
incriminate myself.
Mr. NiTTLE. The staff has no further questions, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Are there any questions ?
The witness is excused.
Mr. NiTTLE. Would James Wells please come forward ?
The Chairman. Will you raise your right hand ?
Do you swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God ?
Mr. Wells. I do.
TESTIMONY OF JAMES WELIS, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
JOHN HAEMON
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you state your name, please.
]Mr. Wells. James Wells.
Mr. NiTTLE. I see you are represented by counsel, Mr. Wells.
Will counsel please identify himself ?
Mr. Harmon. My name is John Harmon. I am a volunteer at-
torney for the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Chairman. Located where?
Mr. Harmon. Washington, D.C.
Mr. NiTTLE. Where do you presently reside, Mr. Wells ?
Mr. Wells. Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. NiTTLE. Wliat is your occupation ?
Mr. Wells. Well, it has been for the last 5 years making a living
any kind of way I could, because there was no job.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1087
Mr. NiTTLE. You are presently unemployed ?
Mr. Wells. I am.
Mr. NiTTLE. And how old are you ?
Mr. Wells. 1 am 54 years old.
Mr. NiTTLE. I show you a copy of a letter identified as Wells Ex-
hibit No. 1. It is dated December 21st, 1955, and the letterhead bears
the legend, "Ohio Bill of Rights Conference, Affiliated with Civil
Rights Congress, Cleveland 6, Ohio," on which appears the signatures
"James Wells, Chairman," and "Frieda Katz, Executive Secretary."
I ask you first to examine that.
(Document was handed to the witness.)
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Have you had an opportunity to look at that, Mr.
Wells?
Mr. Wells. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. I see that your attorney and you together examined
it ; is that correct ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Wells. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. What is the extent of your education, Mr. Wells?
Mr. Wells. Well, 4th grade.
Mr. NiTTLE. And you went no further than the 4th grade.
Did you see the previous witness who identified herself as Frieda
Katz, well-dressed and evidently highly educated, appearing just
before you ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
jNIr. Wells. I don't understand that question.
The Chair:max. Did you see the witness who preceded you ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Wells. I want you to relate to me the pertinency of the
question.
The ChairMz\n. What did you say ?
Mr. Wells. I want to know the pertinency of the question.
The Chairma:n^. You are directed to answer the question.
Mr. Wells. Well, under the fifth amendment, I refuse to answer
the question because I cannot be forced to testify against myself. I
mean under the fifth amendment.
The Chairmax. I want to make sure that you know what you are
doing. The question was : Did you see the preceding witness ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Wells. I am not acquainted with how that question was ex-
plained, and how it related to me.
The Chairman. I could not hear you. TYliat was your answer?
Mr. Harmon, let the witness answer the question.
Mr. Wells. I want to know : How did that question relate to me?
The Chairman. I direct you to answer the question : Did you see
the witness who preceded you ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Wells. I refuse to answer the question under the fifth
amendment.
]\Ir. NiiTLE. Your name ap]:)ears on Exhibit No. 1 as James Wells,
chairman of the Ohio Bill of Riglits Conference, does it not?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
86790— 62— pt. 2 2
1088 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. Wells. Well, what I want you to explain — how that relates
to my appearance here.
The Chairman. You are directed to answer the question.
Mr. Wells. I refuse to answer on — I mean under the first amend-
ment and the fifth.
(Document marked "Wells Exhibit No. 1" and retained in com-
mittee files.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you in fact the chairman of the Ohio Bill of
Eights Conference?
Mr. Wells. I refuse to answer for the reasons previously stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. Now, Mr. Wells, I am going to ask you to read that
letter.
Mr. Wells. I refuse to read it.
Mr. ScHERER. Wliere is the letter now ?
The point counsel was trying to make was the fact that a man with-
out educational attainments could not possibly write this letter. Is
that the point you are trying to make ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes, Mr. Scherer. That is exactly the point.
Mr. ScHERER. It is signed by James Wells, chairman, and Frieda
Katz, executive secretary.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you know that Frieda Katz was a member of the
Communist Party at the time you were acting with her as an official
of the Ohio Bill of Rights Conference ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. NiTTLE. I ask, Mr. Chairman, that the record indicate that
counsel has talked to the witness. Will you answer that question ?
Mr. Wells. I refuse to answer it, under the first and fifth amend-
ments, because under the first it violates my rights of freedom, speech
and associates, and under the fifth, it is the privilege, under which
I don't have to incriminate myself.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mr. Wells, will you tell us whether you felt in your
own mind that you were able to act as chairman of the Ohio Bill of
Rights Conference ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Wells. Well, I want to Imow how that relates to my appearance
here.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you feel you had sufficient knowledge and ability
and education to act as chairman of this propaganda operation ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Wells. I refuse under the fifth amendment.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was it your desire to serve the Communist Party in
some capacity at that time ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Wells. I object to that question under the first amendment, and
I refuse to answer it under the fifth.
Mr. Scherer. Did you ask the witness. Counsel, with reference to
his own Communist Party membership ?
Mr. NiTTLE. I have not, Mr. Scherer. I will proceed to do so.
Are you now a member of the Communist Party ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Wells. I refuse to answer the question under the fifth amend-
ment.
Mr. Scherer. Counsel, I do not recall whether the witness Julia
Brown identified this man as a member of the Communist Party.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA l089
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes, sir, she did. She positively identified him and re-
lated the extent of his activities.
Mr. ScHERER. Mr. Wells, you were in the room when Julia Brown
identified you as a member of the Communist Party and told about
your activities in the Communist Party, were you not ?
Mr. Wells. I refuse to answer, under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Sciierer. I did not ask you anything except wliether you were
in the room when she testified.
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Wells. I still refuse under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Scherer. Was anything that Julia Brown said about you
untrue ? Now, this is your chance.
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Scherer. Tell us whether anything she said about you and your
membership in the Communist Party and your activities in the Com-
munist Party was untrue.
Mr. Wells. For the reasons previously stated under the fifth
amendment, I still refuse.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you participate in any of the activities of the Pro-
visional Organizing Committee for a Marxist-Leninist Communist
Party, known as the POC, on or about 1958, or thereafter?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Wells. That question violates my first amenchnent right, and
I refuse to answer it under the fifth.
Mr. Nittle. Mr. Chairman, the staff has no further questions.
(The witness was excused.)
The Chairman. Call your next witness.
Mr. Nittle. Would Julia Brown please resume the stand?
TESTIMONY OF JULIA C. BROWN— Resumed
Mr. Nittle. Mrs. Brown, the committee would like to turn briefly to
the organization of the Communist Party structure in Cleveland, Ohio.
This committee last November received a great deal of testimony
with respect to the Comnuuiist Party organization nationally and
with respect to its international ties. Your long experience in the
Communist Party would indicate that you miglit well add some de-
tails, at least, to our store of knowledge, or miglit confirm certain
conclusions that can be reached based upon such testimony.
The evidence indicates that the party today persists as it was origi-
nally conceived by Lenin, and slavishly operates upon the principles
laid down by him. Lenin pointed out that the party was not a party
of reform. He confirmed that it was not a democratic party, but a
revolutionary organization, organized for rebellion and agitation and
must therefore be, and I now quote Lenin :
* * * A small, compact core, cousistiug: of reliable, experienced and hardened
workers, with responsible agents in the principal districts and connected by all
the rixles of strict secrecy * * *.^
He further stated that it must consist of people who "will devote
to the revolution not only their spare evenings but the whole of their
iHCUA, "Facts on Communism," Vol. 1, p. 79, H. Doc. No. 336 (86th Cong.), December
1959.
1090 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
lives," and must consist chiefly of persons engaged in revolutionary
activities as a profession.
This kind of party, he declared, must be organized "from the top,"
a "strictly centralized," chain-of-command type of organization, and
disciplined like an army.
We should like to record your experience, and in order to establish
your further competency to testify, at least with respect to certain
echelons of the Communist Party hierarchy, I ask you the question :
Did you obtain an official position of leadership of any kind in the
Cleveland area organization of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Brown. I was treasurer of five clubs in the Northeast Section,
and also treasurer of the Sojourners for Truth and Justice.
Mr. NiTTLE. As treasurer of five clubs, you may well be described as
section treasurer ; is that correct ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes. That is right.
Mr. NiTTLE. Who was the chairman of the section during the time
you were section treasurer ?
Mrs. Brown. Jean Krchmarek.
Mr. NiTTLE. When did you become section treasurer ?
Mrs. Brown. In the middle lOSO's.
Mr. NiTTLE. And remained as section treasurer until when?
Mrs. Brown. Until 1960.
Mr. NiTTLE. And did Jean Krclunarek, who is the wife of Anthony
Krclimarek, the Ohio party chairman, remain also as section leader
during the period you were acting as section treasurer ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, she did.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was she acting in that capacity at the time you left
Cleveland and went to the West Coast ?
Mrs. Brown. She was.
Mr. ScHERER. Is that the witness who just testified here a few mo-
ments ago?
Mrs. Brown. This afternoon she testified.
Mr. NiTTLE. What was the location of this section ? What area did
it cover in Cleveland ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, the central area was included in the Northeast
Section, and it was in the Glenville area of Cleveland.
Mr. NiTTLE. May we refer to the section of which you were treas-
urer then, hereafter, as the Northeast Section of the Communist Party
organization in Cleveland?
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you have what was known as a Section Commit-
tee?
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. What did that consist of ?
Mrs. Brown. It consisted of the heads of the five clubs and officei-s
of the section.
Mr. NiTTLE. The Section Committee, did I understand you to say,
consisted of the heads or leaders of each of the five clubs and the sec-
tion officers ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
]Mr. NiTTLE. When the leadei-s of tlie five clubs would meet together
with you and Jean Krchmarek, that was known as a Section Committee
meeting?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1091
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. SciiERER. These meetings you are talking about — can you dis-
tinguish them from the social gatherings that you talked about?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, sir. Yes, indeed.
Mr. SciiERER. Were they entirely different?
Mrs. Brown. Entirely different. The section and club meetings
are secret meetings that no one else can attend.
Mr. ScHERER. But the social gatherings, you said this morning, are
attended by Communists and non-Communists ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, mostly Communists; a few non-Communists.
Mr. Scherer. That is where you said they raised money ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. Scherer. I was wondering how they raised money at these
social gatherings.
Mrs. Brown. Well, they sold liquor and food.
Mr. Scherer. Sold liquor?
Mrs. Brown. And food ; drinks and food. They sold them by the
drinks.
Mr. Scherer. Did they raise their money any other way?
Mrs. Brown. Well, they did have a donation at the door, too.
Mr. Scpierer. Is that all 'I
Mrs. Brown. Well, that is all I can think of at this time.
Mr. Nittle. The club leaders who met with you and Jean
Krclimarek at a meeting, which would be called a Section Committee
meeting — would that group have any privileges with respect to laying
down club policy ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. Nittle. What matters would you discuss in section meetings ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, just how to operate the clubs, and the dis-
tributing of leaflets, and the different social affairs that were to be
given to raise money for the clubs and the Communist Party, and what
places to infiltrate, and directions for infiltration.
Mr. Nittle. Who told the club leaders in the section meetings what
was to be done ?
Mrs. Brown. Jean Krchmarek was the head of the section, and the
orders came from Jean Krchmarek.
Mr. Nittle. Do you mean to say that the final decision rested with
Jean Krchmarek, when you say that orders came from her?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, for the section ; yes, indeed ; and then they were
handed down to the leaders of the clubs.
Mr. Nittle. So that the section meeting was simply a means of
bringing the club leaders into conference with Jean Krchmarek, so
that she could direct them as to the activities they would undertake ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. Nittle. Now, where did Jean Krclimarek get her orders?
Mrs. Brown. Well, I didn't see anyone give Jean Krchmarek her
orders, but I am sure she got them from the next top, which was the
state, or the district.
Mr. Nittle. Was that her husband, Anthony Krchmarek, chairman
of the Communist Party of the State of Ohio, that you are referring
to?
Mrs. Brown. Anthony Krclimarek is the husband of Jean
Krchmarek, yes.
1092 COIVIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. Where would her husband, Anthony Krclimarek, get
his orders ?
Mrs. Brown. Anthony Krchmarek would get his orders from the
national office, in New York.
Mr. NiTTLE. So that the orders originated at the national head-
quarters of the Communist Party, were then transmitted down to the
Ohio District of the Communist Party, the chairman of which was
Anthony Krchmarek. He would pass that order down to the section
leader, who was Jean Krchmarek, and she would pass this order
down, then, to the club leaders, who wouki inform finally the people
who constituted the clubs, the rank and file.
Mrs. Brown. That is correct. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. I might note for the record, Mr. Chairman, that the
committee hearings last November showed where the National Com-
mittee of the Communist Party got its orders. I think the hearings
conclusively established that the orders to the headquarters of the
National Committee of the Communist Party in the United States
came directly from Moscow.
Mr. Doyle. As a matter of fact, the Supreme Court upheld the
constitutionality of the registration and disclosure provisions of the
Internal Security Act of 1950, in its recent decision in the case of
the Communist Party of the United States, Petitioner v. Subversive
Activities Control Board (367 U.S. 1), decided June 5, 1961.
At page 111 f ., the Supreme Court pointed out that the Congress in
1954 enacted the Communist Control Act (68 Stat. 775), which de-
clares in its second section :
The Congress hereby finds and declares that the Communist Party of the
United States, although purportedly a political party, is in fact an instrumen-
tality of a conspiracy to overthrow the Government of the United States. . . .
[T]he policies and programs of the Communist Party are secretly prescribed for
it by the foreign leaders of the world Communist movement. . . . [I]ts role as the
agency of a hostile foreign power renders its existence a clear present and con-
tinuing danger to the security of the United States. . . .
At page 112, the Supreme Court declared :
First: We have held, supra, that the congressional findings that there exists a
world Communist movement, that it is directed by the Communist dictatorship
of a foreign country, and that it has certain designated objectives, inter alia,
the establishment of a Communist totalitarian dictatorship throughout the world
through the medium of a world-wide Communist organization, §2(1), (4), are
not open to re-examination by the Board. We find that nothing in this violates
due process.
Mr. NiTTLE. As section treasurer, did you actually have anything
to do with party policy ?
Mrs. Brown. No, indeed, I did not.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you get your orders also from Jean Krclimarek ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, I did.
Mr. NiTTLE. What were your duties as treasurer of the section ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, when we would have the section meetings, the
heads of the clubs would pay dues, give me the dues from the club
members, with 10 percent taken out; and then I would take out 20
percent and give it to the state treasurer.
Mr. NiTTLE. Who was the state treasurer ?
Mrs. Brown. Betty Cliaka.
Mr. NiTTLE. C-h-a-k-a?
COMlVrUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1093
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
]Mr. Doyle. Who got the 10 percent?
JNIrs. Brown. The chibs kept the 10 percent and the section kept
20 percent ; and we used that for parties and
]Mr. Doyle. Did yon handle tliat money, or was it someone else?
ISIrs. Brown. 1 liandled the money that I received. I always kept
the 20 percent, and the other was given, whenever I felt like taking
it to her, Betty Chaka, the state treasurer.
Mr. NiTTLE. Who was the husband of Betty Chaka ?
Mrs. Brown. Ed Chaka.
Mr. NiTTLE. Also known as Edward Chaka ?
Mrs. Brown. Edward Chaka.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mr. Chairman, I think the record should show that
Edward Chaka was a member of the National Conunittee of the Com-
mmiist Party, and that he was in attendance at the I7th National
Convention of the Communist Party in December 1959, which was
held in New York City. He attended that convention as a delegate
from the Ohio District of the Commmiist Party.
Did you know Edward Chaka ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, I did.
Mr. NiTTLE. How long have you known Edward Chaka ?
Mrs. Brown. I have known Edward Chaka since 1948.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you deliver this money personally to Betty Chaka ?
IMrs. Brown. I certainly did.
Mr. NiTTLE. And she was the state treasurer ?
Mrs. Brown. She was.
Mr. NiTTLE. Could you tell us the names of the leaders of the five
clubs in that section? I just want the names of the leaders.
Mrs. Brown. Ruth Lend was one.
Mr. NiTTLE. You have already identified her, yes.
Mrs. Brown. Harry Spencer.
Mr. NiTTLE. Of course, you have stated he was a Communist club
leader.
Mrs. Brown. That is right.
Sally Clark was a chairman.
Mr. NiTTLE. Sally Clark, C-1-a-r-k?
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
And of course Bert Washington, who is deceased.
Mr. NiTTLE. Bert Washington was at one time a club leader ? When
did he die ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, sometime in 1960.
And there were Laura and Fred O'Neal.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was Jean Krchmarek a club leader, as well as acting
in her capacity as section chairman?
Mrs. Brown. Well, you hardly knew what leadership Jean Krch-
marek was in, because she led everything and everyone, as far as the
clubs were concerned.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was a gentlemen named Hugh Statten in your area?
Mrs. Brown. At one time Hugh Statten was in the club, in a club
office. But he moved back to Chicago.
Mr. NiTTLE. Wlio succeeded him, if anyone?
Mrs. Brown. Well, it was the central area that Hugh Statten had
charge of. He was sent from Chicago by the Communist Party to
1094 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Cleveland, to reorganize the Negroes in the central area and in Cleve-
land proper.
Mr. NiTTLE. I believe you have also spoken of a Harry A. Spencer,
did you?
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. What position did he occupy ?
(At this point Mr. Walter left the hearing room.)
Mrs. Brown. He was one of the leaders of his club. I think it was
the 124 Club.
Mr. NiTTLE. In what section was that located ?
Mrs. Brown. In the Northeast Section.
Mr. NiTTLE. That was in your section as well ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, it was.
Mr. NiTTLE. You mentioned an Edith and Lloyd Gaines as being
active in the party.
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were they in your section ?
Mrs. Bro\vn. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you regard them as club leaders in that area?
Mrs. Brown. Oh, yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. Now, did you have occasion to attend any state con-
ventions of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. The state convention was the next highest level above
the section?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. This is where leaders obtained their information as
to party policy to carry down to the section level ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. So that as treasurer and a section leader, you were
selected as a delegate to the state convention ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was it at the state convention that the delegates had
an opportunity to leani what orders the state party chairman was
instructed to give you ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. Then at the state convention, the only matter you
would debate was how to carry out the orders received from higher
headquarters, which was the national grouping?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. DoTLE (presiding). And you were elected to attend the state
party convention in Ohio while you were an FBI informant ?
Mrs. Brown. Oh, sure. That was the only time I did my work,
when I was with the FBI.
Mr. DoTLE. Did not any of your brother or sister Communists
suspect you were an informant for the FBI ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, I am very sure they didn't know it. One or two
had accused me of writing names down at one of the state conventions,
and claimed that I was under suspicion, but they never let up on me.
They still kept using me.
Mr. NiTTLE. You have indicated that the Communists in party
meetings usually met secretly. How did they maintain their secrecy
when they would have to meet in larger numbers at a state convention ?
COIMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1095
Mrs. Bkowx. Well, you had to be known us a Communist. You
had to be a Communist, and somewhat of a dedicated Communist, to
be elected to the state convention; state meetings, if you want to say.
And there would always be someone at the door to let you in, and
they would know always whether you were a Communist or not.
Mr. Kittle. "Were you delegates, who attended the state convention,
ever explicitly informed or clearly informed of the place where the
meeting was to convene?
JMi-s.^Brow^n. Not often. Maybe once I was informed. But I have
stood on the sidewalk in the cold and snow for hours, waiting for
someone to pick me up to take me to the meeting. They don't tell
you where the meetings are. They have them at secret places, and
the members are picked up and carried to this place.
Mr. NiTTLE. I noted you indicated that the club meetings usually
took place in private homes.
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. I believe some of the evidence here has indicated that
these meetings lasted into the late hours of the evening and the early
morning of the next day.
Mrs. Browx. That is correct.
Mr. ScHERER. Which ones went on that long? The social, or the
business meetings?
Mrs. Brow^n. Well, they had social affairs and business meetings,
mixed. They would have a business meeting early in the evening
in the party, and then after the party was over, they would have
another meeting, sometimes in the early mornings, 6 and 7 o'clock,
where some would go from the meeting to their jobs to prepare for
meetings the next evening.
Mr. ScHERER. Wliat would you do all that time?
Mrs. Brown. Well, they are just like termites. They are working
all the time.
Mr. NiTTLE. What kind of place would be selected for the state
conventions ?
Mrs. Brow^n. Some hall, secret hall, where they thouglit no one
would know they were there, very often some hall — that is what I
learned — on Kinsman Avenue. And then they began to stop them
from having it there, and they began to have it at some other secret
place where I have been at least three or four times. But as a rule, I
never went directly there on my own.
Mr. Doyle. What do you mean by that answer?
Mrs. Brown. Well, I mean that" most of the times I was picked up
by a Communist and driven there in their car.
Mr. Scherer. You mean you didn't know in advance where the
meeting was to be held ?
Mrs. Brown. No, I did not.
Mr. Johansen. Well, how many persons out of a group that were
meeting — how many of those individuals would know where the meet-
ing was ? Just one person ?
Mrs. Brow^n. Well, maybe a few of the heads, the state heads, would
naturally know ; and maybe Jean Krchmarek would know.
Mr. Johansen. It would be one of your superiors in the hierarchy?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct, yes. That is right.
Mr. Doyle. But there would not be a large attendance at these meet-
ings ? Perhaps 25 or 50 people ?
1096 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mrs. Brown. Well, 50 would be a large attendance. Maybe 20;
and never over 30, I don't think they can trust 50 of them.
Mr. NiTTLE. This is the assemblage of what Lenin has described as
the hard-core workers, the hardened workers, who were bound to rules
of secrecy ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. Persons you have described as dedicated Communists ;
termites was another expression you used to describe them.
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. ScHERER. Were there more women than men, usually, at these
meetings ?
Mrs. Brown. Just about 50-50.
]Mr. N1TTI.E. Can you recollect some of the persons who were in at-
tendance from the Ohio area at the state convention meetings with
you ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, Frieda Katz, Dave Katz, Jean Krchmarek and
Anthony Krchmarek, and JNIartin and Sally Chancey, the Winters
girl, Sally Winters, Pearl Levin, Regina Sokol, and others.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did Ethel Goodman attend any of the state conven-
tion meetings?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, Ethel had attended.
Mr. DoTLE. Counsel, the reporter is asking for a 3-minute recess,
so the committee will stand in recess. That will also give the witness
a short rest.
(Short recess.)
(Members present after recess: Representatives Doyle (presiding),
Johansen, Bruce, and Schadeberg.)
Mr. DoYLE. The commitee will please come to order. Let the record
show that a quorum of the subcommittee is present.
Mr. NiTTLE. We would like to touch upon the Ohio Smith Act trials
that opened on October 31, 1955. Certain leading Communists in
the Ohio area were prosecuted for alleged violations of that Act,
which in brief prohibits the advocacy of the violent destruction of
the Government of the United States.
We would like to explore for a moment the manner in which Com-
munists may turn court proceedings into propaganda vehicles.
Some years ago there was set up in ]\Ioscow an organization then
titled the International Red Aid, which established an American sec-
tion named the International Labor Defense, for the purpose of
assisting in the legal defense of Communists in the United States.
This organization issued a pamphlet entitled Under Arrest^ which
stated among other things, and I shall now read from the pam-
phlet
Mr. Doyle. What is the date of it?
Mr. NiTTLE. About 1933.
A Communist must utilize a political trial to help on the revolutionary struggle.
Our tactics in the public proceedings of the law courts are not tactics of defense
but of attack. Without clinging to legal formalities, the Communists must use
the trial as a means of bringing his indictments against the dominant capitalist
regime and of courageously voicing the views of his party.
The Subversive Activities Control Board has found that the Civil
Rights Congress succeeded to the role of the International Labor
COMIVIUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1097
Defense as the Communist Party's legal arm. The Civil Rights
Congress organized in Ohio an affiliate or branch titled the Ohio Bill
of Rights Conference, an organization investigated by the Ohio State
Commission and denominated a Communist front.
The evidence indicates that such organizations are established to
conduct propaganda activities and to obtain financial assistance from
non-Communists, under the disguise of civil rights organizations, for
the support of Communist defense efforts.
I show you a letter identified as Brown Exhibit 14, distributed in
March 1955 by the Ohio Bill of Rights Conference, which, in the let-
terhead is in fact designated as affiliated with the Civil Rights Con-
gress. This letter advises that an "Amiual Freedom Banquet" will be
held on March 19, 1955, at Chin's Restaurant in Cleveland, and that
the donation will be $1.50 per plate ; that a purpose of this banquet was
to "honor" the 11 men and women being brought to trial under the
Smith Act. The letter is issued under the signatures of James Wells,
as chairman, who testified a moment ago, and Frieda Katz, as executive
secretary.
Now, you have already told us about Frieda Katz, a Communist
leader in the State of Ohio. You have already told us about James
Wells, who was active in the Communist Party in the Cleveland
area.
Will you tell us in a word or two what knowledge you have of the
Ohio Bill of Rights Conference ?
Mrs. Brown. The Ohio Bill of Rights Conference and the Civil
Rights Congi'ess is one and tlie same.
Mr. NiTTLE. I now hand you a copy of a circular letter, dated March
19, 1956, marked for identification as Brown Exhibit 15, and issued
by the Ohio Bill of Rights Conference, with leaflets attached. One
of those leaflets is titled "Guilt By Dissociation," and the other is
titled "The People Score A Victory."
I would like to ask whether you participated in the Communist effort
to give distribution to such letters and leaflets during the course of
the Smith Act litigation.
Mrs. Brown. I did.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were many of sucli leaflets distributed ?
Mrs. Brown. They were.
(Documents marked "Brown Exhibit Nos. 14 and 15," respectively,
and retained in committee files.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you in fact in attendance at the Ohio Smith Act
trials in which the 11 Communist leaders were prosecuted?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, I was.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you present at any of the conferences of the
defendants during the course of tlie trial ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. Could you tell us how the defendants reacted to their
prosecutions ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, they certainly were not worried. They seemed
to have felt that they would soon get out of it after the trial. And in
fact they felt very sure that after it reached the Supreme Court, they
would be freed.
Mr. NiTTLE. They did not regard the Smith Act as a serious obstacle
to the progress of their organization ?
1098 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mrs. Brown. Will you repeat that question, please?
Mr, NiTTLE. Did they regard the Smith Act as a serious obstacle to
the organization ?
Mre. Brown. At first they did, because there hadn't been a Cleve-
land arrest there recently. At first they were pretty frightened. But
later, when the trials began, they seemed to feel more sure of their
exoneration.
Mr. NiTTLE. As you have heard, the resolution authorizing this
hearing indicates that one of the legislative purposes of this hearing
by the committee is to determine the need for an amendment to the
Internal Security Act, and whether or not it should be amended in a
manner so as to make unlawful membership in the Communist Party
of the United States.
The committee presently has before it a bill which was introduced
in the House on January 30, 1962, by Congressman Doyle of Cali-
fornia, which is now pending and has been referred to the Committee
on Un-American Activities; and Mr. Doyle has explained that the
purpose of this bill is to do just that, that is, to make unlawful
membership per se in the Communist Party.
Did you observe whether or not the prosecutions under the Smith
Act were effective toward impeding Communist Party activities in
the Cleveland area ?
Mrs, Bkown. IVliat prosecution?
Mr. NiTTLE. Of the 11 leading Communists.
Mrs. Brown. In the beginning ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Did this affect in any way the strength of the Com-
mmiist organization in the Cleveland area ?
Mrs, Brown. Well, it did cause some of them to go underground,
and it seemed that they were determined that they would work harder.
I may not be able to answer that question which was asked. But
the 11, 1 am sure, were not worried, because they had not been prose-
cuted. They were only arrested and tolerated. And they felt that
they could go on with their work successfully.
I am sure that they do that. They work with all the confidence
in the world, because they feel that v/henever they are arrested, there
will be nothing done when it goes to the Supreme Court,
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you or other Commmiist Party members in-
structed to demonstrate in any way within the court room during the
course of the Smith Act trials ?
Mrs. Brown. Not during the course of the Smith Act trials. Nat-
urally, everyone was afraid there. You couldn't breathe at those
trials. They had proper police protection and all other kinds of
protection, and the Communists wouldn't dare issue any orders for
the Smith Act trials. It is only for the Committee on Un-American
Activities that we are advised to demonstrate,
Mr. JoHANSEN, Does your answer apply to activities outside of
the courthouse, as well as the statement you have made? In other
words, you did not have orders to demonstrate outside of the court-
house during the Smith Act trials ; is that correct?
Mrs, Brown. Well, they did have picket lines. They picket quite
a bit. But I don't remember — there were no picket lines during the
Smith Act trials that I can remember.
COIMIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1099
INIr, JoiiANSEN. And there was no attempt at disturbance in the
courtroom?
Mrs. Brown. I should say not. No, indeed. They would throw
them all in jail if they did anj^thing there.
Mr. JoHANSEN. That recalls to me, Mr. Chairman, that a Federal
judge made a remark to me on seeing a certain film, regarding what
happened in San Francisco, that if that were attempted in his court,
they would be jailed immediately. And I recall that there is legislation
on that matter before the Congress.
Mr, DoTLE. Do you mean you were instructed to raise a disturb-
ance while this particular committee, the House Committee on Un-
American Activities, was holding hearings?
Mrs. Brown, That is correct.
Mr, DoTLE. Who gave you that instruction ?
Mrs. Brown, We got instructions — I remember I got some from a
Communist Party meeting, Frieda Katz issued one order, I remember
very well, that we were to demonstrate, to jeer, and boo, and laugh.
Mr. DoTLE. Well, did you ever boo and laugh ?
Mrs, Brown. Well, I didn't demonstrate so much. I was still
in the service of the FBI, and I tried to probably applaud in the
wrong places.
Mr. DoTLE. Did you not even demonstrate a little bit, as an FBI
agent ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, yes, I did a little bit, but not too much.
Mr. DoYLE. Did any of the others ?
Mrs. Brown. They tried it. They tried it for a while. But the
subversive squad began to close in on them, and they stopped that.
Wliere order is demanded, they are pretty quiet. They only demon-
strate when you allow them to.
Mr. DoYLE. "Wlien were these hearings of the committee that you
refer to held ? Do you recall ?
Mrs. Brown. Not the exact dates, but it seemed to me there was a
hearing in the early 1950's.
IVIr. Doyle. This was in Cleveland ?
Mrs. Brown. One was in Cleveland, conducted by the Ohio Com-
mission on Un-American Activities; and in the morning when the
Smith Act defendants were arrested, we were going to Akron to jeer
and boo there, in Akron, Ohio.
Mr. Doyle. At committee hearings ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you attend committee hearings held by the Senate
Internal Security Subcommittee, as well as the Committee on Un-
American Activities in the Ohio area ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. Ntttle. Over the years ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. I now return for a moment to the activities of the Ohio
Bill of Rights Conference.
I call your attention to a meeting which, according to information
in the possession of the committee, occurred on October 12, 1952, titled
"Rally for Freedom," sponsored by the Ohio Bill of Rights Confer-
ence, and held at the Jewish People's Fraternal Order Home, on Kins-
man Road, Cleveland.
1100 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Simon Gerson, legislative director of the New York Communist
Party, and then a candidate for Congress from Brooklyn, spoke at
that meeting, together with Isadore Begun, a former schoolteacher,
and leader of the Bronx Communist Party. Other speakers were
E. C. Greenfield, also known as Elvador C. Greenfield, whom you
previously identified as a member of the Communist Party, who was
running for the office of Governor of Ohio. The chairman of the
meeting was Frieda Katz.
We wonder whether you could enlighten us with respect to the
candidacy for public office of such Communist candidates.
William Z. Foster said in 1928 :
We are not going into the national election campaign solely for the purpose
of getting votes. * * * But we also have other, bigger objectives in the national
election campaign. Our aim must be to arouse the class-consciousness of the
masses in a political sense and to mobilize them for struggle on all fronts. Vote-
getting is only one aspect of this general mobilization of the workers.^
What conclusion did you reach with respect to the activities of the
Communist Party candidates for public office?
Mrs. Brown. They don't have any idea at all that they are going
to win. They run in order to find out how many members the Com-
munist Party has, and how many people are sympathetic to the Com-
munist cause. That gives them a reason, when they are running, really
to find out more about the people that are sympathetic to the Com-
munist cause. They have no intention of winning.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do they also use the political platform as a vehicle for
agitation and the dissemination of Commmiist propaganda ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, yes, they do.
Mr. NiTTLE. Foster said, "Our aim must be to arouse class con-
sciousness." I will ask for your opinion, whether he meant by that,
that the objective of political campaigns conducted by Communists,
was "to stimulate," as Lenin previously urged, in the minds of the
people, the thought that the entire government of the country was
ineffective and objectionable. Did you find that to be so ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you reach the conclusion, which I think we are
bomid to reach upon the evidence you have presented here, that the
Communist effort, propaganda-wise, is to lay the basis among our
people for a state of mind receptive to the suggestion of rebellion,
which will pave the way either for the revolution which the Com-
munists hope to lead, or will disaffect our people to such degree that
they would not defend the United States if it were challenged by the
Soviet Union ?
Mrs. Brown. I am sure of that.
Mr. DoTLE. May I interrupt there, at that point. Counsel?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes, sir.
_ Mr. Doyle. Why do you give that answer, Mrs. Brovni ? It wor-
ries me. Is it your opinion, that it is a fact, that at least the Com-
munists that you knew would not respond to a call to defend the
United States of America in the event of a war, if Kussia was our
enemy ? Is that your opinion ?
1 Acceptance Speech of William Z. Foster, delivered at the National Nominating Conveji-
tlon of the Workers (Communist) Party of America, May 25-27, 1928, New York City.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1101
Mrs. Browx. My opinion is if they were called, tliey would be our
enemies right here on our own shores. And they would not stop for
anything.
Mr. JoHANSEX. Does that mean sabotage and espionage?
Mrs. Brown. Anything.
Mr. Doyle. AVhen you say "anything,'" do you mean they would do
anything against the United States of America ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. Doyle. If our enemy was Soviet Russia; is that con-ect?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct. And regardless of who our enemy
was.
The Communist Party here in the United States, within our own
country, is our great enemy. Whether Soviet Russia or any other
comitry, the Communists would still be our enemies.
Mr. JoHANSEN. I assume that that statement carries the further
suggestion that certainly in case of a war involving Soviet Russia,
their loyalty would be to Soviet Russia. Is that correct ?
Mrs. Brown. It certainly would.
Mr. JoHANSEN. Well, that pretty well reduces to an absurdity any
claims that some of these witnesses make that they are merely exer-
cising the right of political association and political freedom.
Mrs. Brown. They don't know what they are talking about when
they say it.
I don't know too much about the theory of communism. I was too
busy with practical experience. And I know what the Commies will
do.
Mr. Doyle. My question was directed to just those that you had
personal knowledge of; in other words, the Conmiunists that you
dealt with.
Do you have any opinion as to the general rmi of Communists, over
and above those that you personally knew? And apparently you
knew hundreds of them personally.
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. Doyle. How many Communists do you suppose you loiew more
or less personally ? Have you ever counted them ?
Mrs. Brown. Mr. Chairman, I have never counted them. I guess I
just couldn't count them.
Mr. Doyle. Counsel, is it a fair question for me to ask you at this
point, as long as I am digressing : About how many individuals will
Mrs. Brown identify as Communist, according to her own personal
knowledge, in these hearings ?
Mr. Nittle. In the open hearing today ?
Mr. Doyle. Well, today and yesterday and tomorrow.
Mr. NiTTLE. I asked Mr. Wetterman to keep a record, and perhaps
he may at this point have a summary.
One of the representatives of the press advises me that Mrs. Brown
has already, in the course of the hearings, identified over 100 persons
as members of the Communist Party.
Mr. Doyle. In Cleveland ?
Mr. NiTTLE. In the Cleveland area. And we must bear in mind,
Mr. Chairman, that we have confined ourselves very carefully and
scrupulously in this hearing toward identifying as Communist Party
1102 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
members only those with whom Mrs. Brown was in attendance at
closed Communist Party meetings.
Mr. Doyle. Closed Communist Party meetings.
Mr. NiTTLE. Closed Communist Party meetings. Nor have we al-
lowed her to exhaust all of her sources of information or knowledge.
Mr. Bruce. Counsel, I think at this point it might be well to re-
member also that we are dealing here with the Communist Party, and
indeed the front apparatus of the Communist Party, and in proper
perspective, it might be well for us to inject the thought here that
has been expressed b}' the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investi-
gation, that for every member identified with the Communist Party,
there are 10 others ready, willing, and able to do the bidding of the
Communist Party.
So membership numbers in the party make a nice game, which is
played constantly. But if there are 10,000 members identified, ac-
cording to the statement of Mr. Hoover, you had to multiply that by
10 to really understand the impact of an arm of a foreign-directed
conspiracy on the soil of the United States,
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes, sir, I think that is a very important observation.
Mrs, Brown. I would like to make a correction, Mr. Bruce.
There are more than 10,000 Communists in the United States.
Mr. Bruce. I simply pulled that figure out. I said if you used
the figure of 10,000.
Mrs. Brown. Well, so many have said that. Now the number is
much less than it used to be, but where are the other Communists?
They are still Communists and working under orders from Moscow,
and they have infiltrated every stratum of American society. They
have gone into organizations pretending to fight on our side.
Mr. DoTLE. Counsel, proceed.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mrs. Brown, at the I7th National Convention of the
Communist Party, held in December 1959, a resolution was adopted
on party organization, subsequently published in the official Com-
munist theoretical organ, Political Affairs^ of March 1960. The resolu-
tions of the convention, of course, establish official party policy.
The 1959 resolution of the I7th National Convention, the last con-
vention that they have held, enjoined upon the party leadership the
conduct of a "united front" policy in the following language of the
resolution, from which I now quote :
Mastery of the theory and practice of the united front policy is the key task
before the whole Party — before every organization, every member.
The united front is the basic style and method of our mass ivork.
Practical leadership must be directed first of all to helping members, clubs and
sections solve problems of developing the united front. The absence of attention
and guidance to work in the mass organizations must be overcome.
Of course, this resolution was upon the very point about which you
were expressing an opinion in response to a committee member inquiry.
This resolution, at the last National Convention, did not plainly
define the policy of "united front," which is well understood by Com-
mmiists from long usage, but J. Edgar Hoover, in his volume. Masters
of Deceit, makes the matter clear when he explains it as follows :
A revolutionary tactic designed to secure the support of noncommunists for
Party objectives. This generally involves Party manipulation of noncommunist
groups, usually on some current issue such as "peace" or "civil rights," whereby
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1103
the Party, while maintainiug its independeut role, cooperates with others to
work for certaiu goals. To iioncomumnists, the goal is advancement of the good
of society ; To commimists, the revolution.
One aspect of the united front is the policy known as infiltration,
sometimes described as "united front from below." It is derived from
the doctrines and practices of Lenin. It is an old tactic which is
utilized diirin<^ periods or in countries where the Communist Party
is either illegal or unpopular, because under such circumstances the
party would not very likely receive much support if it were openly to
bid for cooperation from non-Communist groups or individuals.
Xow, did you receive any particular orders with respect to executing
a program of infiltration subsequent to the 1959 action at the National
Convention of the Communist Party? Do you remember receiving
any order, direction or instruction at your section level?
Mrs. Browx. In the early part of 19G0, we were ordered to infiltrate
every organization, fraternal organization, neighborhood clubs,
churches, and every organization that we could go in. We were not
restricted on an3' one organization. If you had a neighborhood club
that the Commies didn't know anything about, you w^ere to infiltrate
that on 3'our own accord. But any organization, the Communist
Party members were to infiltrate.
At one time the Communists were not too successful in their infil-
tration, because it seems when they first went in, they tried to take
over too fast. So in 19G0, they were asked to go in and take it easy.
Just go in and work with the organization, and then come back and
report the policies and activities of that organization.
Mr. Doyle. Who gave that order to infiltrate to you ?
Mrs. Brown. That order was given to me by Jean Krchmarek and
Bert Washington.
]Mr. DoTLE. And who were they at that time, in the Communist
Party?
Mrs. Brown. Jean Krchmarek was head of the Northeast Section,
and Bert Washingion, who is now deceased, was one of the officials.
At a section meeting, the order was given to people there.
Mr. JoHANSEx. Were you instructed as to specific types of activities
that you were to carry on within these groups?
Mrs. Browx. We were to just go in at first, in this 1960 order, and
be with the group, work with the group.
Mr. JoHAxsEx. In other words, establish a base.
Mrs. Broavx. That is correct.
Mr. Doyle. Well, what did you do about it ? Did you infiltrate ?
Mrs. Browx. I didn't take part in their infiltration.
Mr. Doyle. Did any of the others, to your knowledge ?
Mrs. Browx. Not to my knowledge, because I had at that time come
under suspicion, and I was trying to get out of there as fast as I could.
I was losing my health because of the tension.
Mr. JoHAXSEN. This was just before you terminated your services
as an undercover informant in the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Browx. That is right.
Mr. JoHAXSEX. I mean as an undercover informant for the FBI.
Mrs. Browx. That is right.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you find your mission for the FBI a very trying
one?
86790 — 62— pt. 2 3
1104 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mrs. Brown. It was trying, but it was a privilege and an honor.
Mr. NiTTLE. You are a good soldier.
Mr. JoHANSEN. Well, I would like to say at this point, Mrs. Brown,
that I think you brought honor to the FBI.
Mr. Doyle. I think, Counsel, this might be a good place to terminate
our hearings for the day, until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.
The committee therefore will stand in recess until 10 o'clock tomor-
row morning.
(Whereupon, at 4 :20 p.m., Tuesday, June 5, 1962, the subcommittee
was recessed, to reconvene at 10 a.m., Wednesday, June 6, 1962.)
C03OIUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO,
AREA
Part 2
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 1962
United States House of Eepresentati'stes,
Subcommittee of the
Committee on Un-American Activities,
Washington, B.C.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
The subcommittee of the ComLmittee on Un-American Activities met,
pursuant to recess, at 10 a.m., in the Caucus Eoom, Old House Office
Building, Hon. Francis E. Walter (chairman) presiding.
Subcommittee members present : Representatives Francis E. Walter,
of Pennsylvania ; Clyde Doyle, of California ; Gordon H. Scherer, of
Ohio; August E. Johansen, of Michigan; and Donald C. Bruce, of
Indiana.
Committee members also present : Representatives William M. Tuck,
of Virginia, and Henry C. Schadeberg, of Wisconsin. (Appearances
as noted.)
Staff members present: Francis J. McNamara, director; Frank S.
Tavenner, Jr., general counsel ; Alfred M. Nittle, counsel ; and Neil E.
Wetterman, investigator.
The Chairman. The committee will come to order.
Mr. Nittle, will you call your first witness ?
Mr. Nittle. I would like to recall Mrs. Brown.
The Chairman. All right.
Mr. Nittle. Mrs. Julia Brown, will you please resume the stand ?
The Chairman. Mrs. Brown has been sworn.
TESTIMONY OF JULIA C. BROWN— Resumed
Mr. Nittle. Mrs. Brown, when the committee adjourned last eve-
ning you were discussing Communist Party tactics of infiltration
pursuant, particularly, to a resolution adopted at the I7th National
Convention of the Communist Party held at New York in December
1959.
By that resolution there was enjoined upon the party leadership
the conduct of a united-front policy. We had mentioned that the
tactics of infiltration were not new, that the origin of this policy goes
as far back as Lenin's day. However, that resolution was placing a
renewed emphasis upon the policy of "united front."
1105
1106 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Now, I would like to take you back to one of the incidents that oc-
curred during the early 1950's. Do you recollect a party which took
place at the home of Margaret Wlierry ?
Mrs. Browist. Yes, I do.
Mr. NiTTLE. I discussed this matter with Mrs. Wlierry when she
was on the stand yesterday. Can you tell us about that particular
party ?
Mrs. Brown. In the early fifties — I don't remember the exact year —
a barbecue party was given by Margaret TVlierry for her church. It
was a public party where eveiyone was invited. There were drinks
sold and food sold. In the recreation room were people and in the
back yard there was a lawn party.
There were at least 150 or 200 people attending from around 6 o'clock
until around 4 o'clock in the morning. Most of the members of the
Communist Party were present. There were Communists and non-
Communists.
Mr. NiTTLE. What was the purpose of this party ? I do not recollect
whether you stated that.
Mrs. Brown. It was to raise money for the church that Margaret
Wlierry had infiltrated.
Mr. NiTTLE. That was the stated purpose ?
Mrs. Brown. That is right. Invitations went out to that effect.
Mr. NiTTLE. Proceed.
Mrs. Brown. There was around $800 raised. There were several
members of the party attending.
Mr. NiTTLE. Could you name some of those that immediately occur
to you ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, Myrtle Dennis and Sam Handelman, James
Smid, Bertha and Milton Tenenbaum, Sally and Martin Chancey,
Eugene Brudno and his wife, Shirley Saferstein and her husband,
Sanford, Eegina Sokol, Jean and Anthony Krchmarek, and numbers
of others and non-Communists.
Mr. NiTTLE. Wlien you refer to non-Communists, do you mean mem-
bers of this church ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, members of the church and people that I did
not know as members of the Communist Party. It was around 4 or
4 :30 o'clock in the morning Frieda called me upstairs to a meeting in
Margaret's bedroom.
Mr. NiTTLE. AAHien you say Frieda, whom do you mean ?
Mrs. Brown. Frieda Katz, and we had a meeting there as to what
to do with the proceeds of this party.
Mr. NiTTLE. Wlio were in attendance at this meeting in the bedroom
of Margaret Wherry ?
Mrs. Brown. Frieda and David Katz, Margaret Wlierry, Ethel
Goodman, Myrtle Dennis.
Mr. NiTTLE. Now, tell the committee what occurred in the course
of that meeting.
Mrs. Brown. Well, Margaret had this barbecue for the church and
she wanted to give the proceeds to the church, and Frieda suggested
that she give a third to the church, and a third went to the Myrtle Den-
nis defense fund, and a third went to Marie Reed Haug's campaign
for the school board. Margaret was very dissatisfied with that, but
that was what she had to stand for.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1107
INIr. Doyle. Hadn't there been a public announcement of some sort
that t he proceeds would go to the church ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, yes, that was what the invitations announced,
that the party was given for this church.
Mr. Bkuce. May I ask a question ?
"Was there any indication that this was a party that was officially
sanctioned by the church, or was it rather a move on the part of
Margaret Wherry on her own ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, it was understood by the church that this
barbecue party would be given for the church because the church
members were all there participating.
Mr. Bruce. What church was that ?
Mrs. Brown. It was the Methodist Church at Abell and 126th.
Mr. Bruce. The reason I ask that question is you mentioned that
there were drinks sold. You mean alcoholic beverages?
Mrs. Brown. Oh, sure.
Mr. Bruce. The reason I asked that question was it would be ex-
tremely difficult for the IMethodist Church, which has as one of its
basic tenets a total opposition to the use of alcoholic beverages, to
publicly sanction a party wherein alcoholic beverages were sold.
Mrs. Brown. That is if they know it.
Mr. Bruce. That is the point I am getting at.
Mrs. Brown. Drinks were in the basement, and they had a lawn
party outside where people that didn't participate could go out on
the lawn or in the house.
Mr. Bruce. But it was not an official church function, as such ? It
was rather a party sponsored by Margaret Wherry to raise funds for
the church ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. Bruce. Thank you.
(At this point Mr. Schadeberg entered the hearing room.)
Mr, NiTTLE. Do you have any personal knowledge as to whether or
not Margaret ^Vlierry was instructed by Frieda Katz or any other
known Communists to hold this party ?
Mrs. Brow^n. I am sorry, I couldn't tell you. I don't know.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was Marie Haug successful in her candidacy for the
school board ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, she did not win.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was the Communist Party making an effort to have
her elected to that important office ?
Mrs. Brow^n. Yes. I happened to be one in the campaign, and we
all worked pretty hard to have her elected, get her elected.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you very successful in interesting voters in your
immediate neighborhood, or district, to vote for and support Marie
Haug ?
Mrs. Brown. No.
Mr. NrrTLE. Did the Communist Party hold any meeting thereafter
to discuss the failure of Marie Hang's candidacy ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes. They did.
Mr. NiTTLE. Where did t^hat meeting take place ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, the first meeting took place at Don Kothen-
berg's home. I was called by Don Rothenberg to attend a meeting
1108 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
to reevaluate the campaign and just what was the cause of Marie
having failed to win the election to the school board.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you recollect who were in attendance at the meet-
ing Don Kothenberg had called ?
Mrs. Brown. I think I do.
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you name the persons present ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, Hugh DeLacy, Margaret Wherry, Myrtle Den-
nis, Elsie Tarcai, and Sam Handelman.
Mr. NiTTLE. So that at the meeting the only persons in attendance
were persons known to you to be members of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Brown. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. Could you give us the substance of the discussions at
that meeting ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, Hugh DeLacy was chairman of that meeting
and he was explaining to us that the reason he thought that Marie
Haug did not win was because the peoj^le that campaigned for Marie
were too timid in identifying themselves as members of the Commu-
nist Party.
Mr. NiTTLE. Now, I would like to turn to another subject for a
moment.
Yesterday I was questioning Margaret Wherry with respect to her
attendance at a banquet in the Polish Embassy. Can you tell us about
that?
Did I say Margaret Wlierry?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, you did.
Mr. NiTTLE. I meant to say Pauline Taylor.
Mrs. Brown. I was called by Elsie Zazrivy in the middle fifties,
early fifties, I would say, and asked if I would come to Washington
here to a banquet at the Polish Embassy, and she told me that Pauline
Taylor would be going, and I was delighted to accept the invitation.
Pauline met me in Cleveland, Ohio, and we went to Washington to the
Polish Embassy for the banquet.
Mr. NiTTLE. Wlio paid your expenses for attendance at this ban-
quet in the Polish Embassy ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, the Communist Party paid part of it and I
paid the other part.
Mr. NiTTLE. How many were in attendance at this banquet ?
Mrs. Brown. Oh, several hundred people. Maybe what I saw was
probably two or three hundred in the room where I was.
The Chairman. Do I understand you to say that this banquet was
arranged by the Polish Government ?
Mrs. Brown. It certainly was.
The Chairman. The expenses of the Americans who attended this
banquet were borne by the Communist Party of the United States ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, this is what I do know: Pauline Taylor was
sent by the Communist Party and I was sent by the Communist Party
to the Polish Embassy.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you recollect any other persons from the Cleve-
land area who were in attendance there ?
Mrs. Brown. Paul Eobeson was there.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did he sing on that occasion ?
Mrs. Brown. I didn't hear him.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was he at that time a resident of Cleveland ?
COIMIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1109
Mrs. Brown. No.
Mr. NiTTLE. You are referring to him merely as being present ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. In addition to your presence and that of Pauline Tay-
lor, do you recollect others, if any, from the Cleveland area who were
in attendance ?
IVIrs. Brown. Well, no. It was such a crowd, I really don't remem-
ber anyone else at this time. I think we were the only two sent from
Cleveland.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you know whether this was a meeting of American
Communists at the Polish Embassy ?
Mrs. Brown. Well, I was introduced to quite a number of them.
Pauline introduced me to one of the heads there, and he did take us
around and introduced me to a number of people, but really I don't
know whether they were Communists or non-Communists and I don't
remember the names,
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you introduced to any officials of the Polish
Embassy staff ?
Mrs. Brown. Yes, yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. Could you tell us who made those introductions, if you
remember?
Mrs. Brown. Pauline Taylor introduced me to some and she asked
some man to introduce me to some, and he introduced her to some of
them. It was a big crowd.
Mr. NiTTLE. That concludes the staff interrogation of Mrs. Brown,
Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Do you know whether or not the Polish Govern-
ment is still engaged in entertaining American Communists at its
embassy here and elsewhere ?
Mrs. Brown. I do not.
The Chairman. All right, Mr. Nittle.
Are you finished with this witness ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. I want to thank you on behalf of the committee
and the Congress and the American people for making the contribution
that you have made in this struggle. It is indeed fortunate that there
are people like you who are willing to come forward and assist. I
know it wasn't easy and you are entitled to the thanks of all of the
American people.
Mrs. Brown. Thank you all.
The Chairman. All right, Mr. Nittle?
Mr. NiTTLE. Samuel Handelman.
The Chairman. Will you raise your right hand? Do you swear
that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Handelman. I do.
TESTIMONY OF SAMUEL HANDELMAN, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
JOSEPH FORER
Mr. NiTTLE, Would you state your name for the record, please?
Mr. Handelman. Samuel Handelman,
Mr. Nittle. I see that you are represented by counsel. Will counsel
please identify himself ?
1110 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. FoRER. Joseph Forer, Washington, D.C.
Mr. NiTTLE. "VVliere were you born, Mr. Handelman ?
Mr. Handelman. Born in Glasgow, Scotland.
Mr. NiTTLE. Where do you presently reside?
Mr. Handelman. Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. NiTTLE. And how long have you lived in Cleveland, Ohio?
Mr. Handelman. Oh, approximately since 1915.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you a citizen of the United States ?
Mr. Handelman. Counsel wouldn't have to ask that question if
he knew I was a practicing lawyer. The answer is "yes."
Mr. NiTTLE. You are a practicing lawyer by profession ?
Mr. Handelman. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. Of what bars are you a member?
Mr. Handelman. jSIember of the Ohio Bar.
Mr. NiTTLE. How long have you practiced law in Ohio?
Mr. Handelman. Since 1930.
Mr. NiTTLE. The witness whom you have heard on the stand and
who has immediately preceded you, namely, Mrs. Julia Brown, has
identified you as a member of the Communist Party. Are you at this
instant a member of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Handelman. Mr. Chairman, I refuse to answer this question
under the first and fifth amendments of the Constitution.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mr. Handelman, I believe you did not refuse to answer
that question when it was asked of you by the Governor of the State
of Ohio, Thomas J. Herbert, on April 2, 1948, At that time, in order
to refresh your memory, you were appearing at the Governor's man-
sion, together with a Paul Shepard, who was then a member of the
CIO United Electrical Workers union, and another lawyer named
Jerome Land, the son of Yetta Land, who has been identified as a
member of the Communist Party by Mrs. Brown.
The Governor of Ohio asked, according to this United Press report
of April 2, "Are you men Communists?" Handelman and Shepard
replied that they were not. Land, according to the Governor, hesi-
tated, then said, "I would rather be excused from answering that ques-
tion."
Were you then a member of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Handelman. I refuse to answer the question on the same
ground as previously stated.
Mr. ScHERER. When the Governor of Ohio asked you that question
you were not under oath, is that right ?
Mr. Handelman. Mr. Scherer, I can't even recall this incident.
Mr. Scherer. You can't what ?
Mr. Handelman. I can't even recall this incident and I can't be re-
sponsible for what the newspapers say in their press comments.
Mr, Scherer. You don't recall the incident at all in the Gover-
nor's
Mr. Handelman. No.
Mr. Scherer. Did you know Governor Herbert?
Mr. Handelman. I wouldn't say I knew him, no. I knew who he
was when he was Governor.
Mr. Scherer. You never were in the Governor's mansion in Ohio ?
Mr. Handelman. If I was I have no recollection of it.
Mr. Scherer. You don't recollect ? Well, I would.
COMIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1111
The Chairman. Go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Nittle, Are you, Mr. Handelman, a member of the National
Lawyers Guild ?
Mr. Handelman. I am.
Mr. Nittle. And have you been active in the affairs of the National
Lawyei-s Guild, serving in various official capacities for that lawyers'
association ?
Mr. HL\ndelman. Not for many years.
Mr. Nittle. Beg pardon ?
Mr. Handelman. Not for many years.
Mr. Nittle. Mr. Chairman, I would like at this point to have noted
in the record the extract relating to the National Lawyers Guild which
appears in the Guide to /Subversive Organisations and Publications^ a
publication of this committee.
The Chairman. Let it be made a part of the record.
(The document referred to follows :)
National Lawyers Guild
1. Cited as a Communist front.
(Special Committee on Un-American Activities, House Report 1311 on
the CIO Political Action Committee, March 29, 19Jf4, p. 149-)
2. Cited as a Communist front which "is the foremost legal bulwark of the
Communist Party, its front organizations, and controlled unions" and which
"since its inception has never failed to rally to the legal defense of the Com-
munist Party and individual members thereof, including known espionage
agents."
(Committee on Un-American Activities, House Report 3123 on the Na-
tional Lawyers Guild, September 21, 1950, originally released Septem-
ber 17,1950.)
3. "To defend the cases of Communist lawbreakers, fronts have been devised
making special appeals in behalf of civil liberties and reaching out far beyond
the confines of the Communist Party itself. Among these organizations are
the * * * National Lawyers Guild. When the Communist Party itself is under
fire these offer a bulwark of protection."
(Internal Security Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee,
Handbook for Americans, S. Doc. Ill, April 23, 1956, p. 91.)
Mr. Nittle. Were you in attendance at the National Lawyers Guild
convention of July 28 to 31, 1960, at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Fran-
cisco, California?
Mr. Handelman. Mr. Chairman, I don't see the materiality of this
question for any purpose this committee can have, but I was not in
attendance.
Mr. Nittle. I show you Handelman Exhibit No. 1, the 1962 Law-
yers Referral Directory of the National Lawyers Guild, in which your
name appears, and your office is listed as 1110 Euclid Avenue, Cleve- '
land, Ohio. I ask if that is a correct listing ?
Mr. Handelman. I don't have to see it. I know it. I don't have
to see the exhibit. I know where my office is located.
The Chairman. Is that correct ?
Mr. Nittle. That is correct. That is on there.
Mr. Johansen. The witness' answer was that that is the correct
address ?
Mr. Handelman. Oh, yes, of course, yes, certainly.
Mr. Nittle. You also appear upon the directory with Elsie R. Tar-
cai, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. Do you know Elsie R. Tarcai?
]VIr. Handelman. Yes, I know Elsie Tarcai.
1112 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you know Elsie R. Tarcai to be a member of the
Communist Party ?
Mr. EUndelman. I refuse to answer on the same grounds as stated
before.
Mr. NiTTLE. There also appears upon the Referral Directory of
the National Lawyers Guild the name of Violet J. Tarcai. Do you
know Violet J. Tarcai ?
Mr. Hakdelivian. Yes, I know Violet J. Tarcai.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you know her as a member of the Communist
Party ?
Mr. Handelman. I refuse to answer on the same grounds as previ-
ously stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. There also appears upon the directory the name of
Thelma C. Furry, attorney from Akron, Ohio. Do you know Thelma
C. Furry as a member of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Handelman. I refuse to answer on the same grounds as previ-
ously stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. I put it to you as a fact, Mr. Handelman, that you do
know those persons as members of the Commmiist Party. Will you
affirm or deny or explain that statement ?
Mr. Handelman. I refuse to again on the same grounds as previ-
ously stated. I refuse to answer rather.
Mr. NiTTLE. On what grounds do you base your answer ?
Mr. Handelman. Same grounds as originally stated.
The Chairman. It is understood that when you say "the same
grounds" you mean by that, that you invoke the privileges of the fifth
amendment and the first amendment.
Mr. Handelman. That is for you to state, Mr. Chairman.
(Document marked "Handelman Exhibit No. 1" and retained in
committee files.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you in attendance at a party in the early fifties
at the home of Margaret Wlierry which was described a moment ago
by Mrs. Brown ?
Mr. Handelman. I have no recollection of being there.
Mr. NiTTLE. You do not deny being there ?
Mr. Handelman. I have grave doubts about it, but I go many
places. I have no recollection.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you know Don Rothenberg ?
Mr. Handelman. Yes, I know Don Rothenberg.
Mr. NiTTLE. And do you know him to be a member of the Com-
munist Party?
Mr. Handelman. I refuse to answer on the same grounds as previ-
ously stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mrs. Brown has testified, immediately before you ap-
peared upon the stand, that you were in attendance at a meeting in
the home of Don Rothenberg after the failure of Marie Haug to be
elected to the board of education in Cleveland.
Mr. Handelman. I have no recollection of this incident either, and
it is just characteristic of the broadside accusations and charges made
by this witness.
Mr. ScHERER. Do you deny the statement of Julia Brown?
Mr. Handelman. I have no recollection and I so stated that.
Mr. ScHERER. Do you deny her testimony ?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1113
Mr. Handelman. I have no recollection of being there.
Mr. ScuERER. That isn't my question.
The Chairman. lie has answered.
Mr. Handelman. I cannot recall.
The Chairman. Go ahead.
Mr. NiTTLE. I will show you an item, identified as Handelman
Exhibit No. 2, which appeared in the Daily Worker for August 13,
1952, at page 8, in which you are identified as one of 45 "prominent
American attorneys" who liave signed a statement on behalf of an
organization titled "Council of Greek Americans," addressed to the
Premier of Greece, demanding a civilian trial for Tony Ambatielos
and nine other leaders of the Greek maritime unions sentenced to
death in 1948 "for their trade union activities."'
Will you examine that please?
(Witness handed document.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you, in fact, one of the 45 "prominent American
attorneys" who had executed a statement or petition of that sort ?
Mr. Handelman. Well, of course, it is flattering to be referred to
as prominent. This I deny. I am not prominent.
]\Ir. Nittle. I was merely quoting the Daily Worker.
Mr. Handelman. I object to the question. It is completely imma-
terial to an}^ purpose that this committee can have.
Mr. Nittle. It is not if you were engaged
Mr. PIandelman. Well, that is your statement.
Mr. Nittle. — engaged in signing that petition as a member of
the Communist Party of the United States, seeking to influence a
foreign government friendly to the United States which was then
resisting Communist aggression and was involved in civil war insti-
gated by comrades in Russia.
Did you, as a member of the Communist Party pursuant to instruc-
tions by Communists known to you, execute this petition in order
to influence the Greek Government, a friendly power?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Handelman. The answer is no.
Mr. Nittle. Did you execute that petition?
Mr. Handelman. I have no recollection of it.
The Chairman. Do you know of the case of these people who were
on trial in Trieste?
Mr. Handelman. All I can tell you is that many lawyers, myself
included, are asked, from time to time, to sign petitions for different
things and I may have signed it. I have no recollection of it.
The Chairman. Yes, I am sure that is correct.
Mr. Handelman. Of course you know that is correct.
The Chairman. Lawyers are very careful about what they sign
usually, unless they are doing it deliberately. Tell me, do you know
the names of these people who were arrested by the Greeks?
Mr. Handelman. As I say, Mr. Chairman, I have no recollection of
even signing this thing, let alone knowing the names of the persons
involved ; but it would appear to have been, as stated for the record
and as appears from the article, an attempt to save someone's life.
That's what it says. I don't recall it though, but apparently some-
one was facing execution and an appeal was made for their lives.
That is what if: says.
1114 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. Was not that council to which I have referred a Com-
munist front ?
Mr. Handelman. I have no knowledge.
Mr. NiTTLE. Apparently the Attorney General thought so. It was
designated under Executive Order No. 10450 on July 15, 1953.
The Chairman. What paper did this appear in ?
Mr. NiTTLE. The Daily Worker, Mr. Chairman, August 13, 1952.
Mr. ScHERER. If the witness says that he can't remember the Gov-
ernor of Ohio at the Governor's mansion asking him whether he is a
Communist, you don't expect him to say that he can remember this.
Mr. NiTTLE. I ask, Mr. Chairman, that the exhibit to which I refer
be admitted in the record.
The Chairman. It will be admitted and made a part of the record.
Go ahead with your questions,
(Document marked "Handelman Exhibit No. 2" and retained in
committee files.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Durmg the 1949 convention of the CIO in Cleveland,
Ohio, was there not a caucus meeting of the Communist Party
group held in your law office while the convention was in session,
the purpose being to assign specific resolutions to members of the
Communist Party who were convention delegates ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Handelman. I have no recollection or knowledge of such an
incident.
(At this point Mr. Johansen left the hearing room.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you deny that it took place ?
Mr. Handelman. I said I have no recollection or knowledge of it.
Mr. NiTTLE. The staff has no further questions of this witness. It
is quite apparent that he is not going to remember anything.
Mr. FoRER. I object to that statement, Mr. Chairman.
I don't think it is proper for counsel to make such a derogatory
remark. I ask it be stricken.
The Chairman. It is not derogatory. It is simply a statement of
fact. It is obvious that he doesn't remember.
Mr. FoRER. He didn't say that, Mr. Chairman. He said it is obvious
he is not going to remember, which carries a very different implication.
Mr. Scherer. That is obvious to me also.
Mr. FoRER. It may be obvious to you, but a lot of things that are
obvious to you aren't so, Mr. Scherer.
The Chairman. All right. Call another witness.
Mr. NiTTLE. James Smid.
The Chairman. Will you stand up please ?
Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give will be the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Smid. I do.
(At this point Mr. Johansen returned to the hearing room.)
TESTIMONY OP JAMES SMID, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
JOSEPH FORER
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you state your name please ?
Mr. Smid. James Smid.
Mr. NiTTLE. I note you are represented by counsel. Will counsel
identify himself ?
COIMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1115
Mr. Fori-:r. I am still Josepli Forer, of Washington, D.C.
Mr. Ni'nxE. Mr. Smid, Julia Brown, who appeared on the stand
earlier this morning and who is present here in the Caucus Room,
has identified you as a member of the Communist l*arty and a very
active one during the period she resided in Cleveland and after her
reception into the Connnunist Party in 1947 or thereabouts. Are you
at this instant a member of the Communist Party ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
The Chairman. You don't have to get legal advice to answer that
question. You know whether or not you are a member of the Com-
munist Party. Are you a member of the Communist Party ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer on the grounds that this question is
not pertinent. I also refuse
The Chairman. Not pertinent to what ?
Mr. Smid. It is not pertinent to anything.
The Chairman. Well, it is pertinent to the security of the United
States. That may not be anything to you, but it is a great deal to
most of us. Go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. ScHERER. I ask that he be given a direction to answer.
The Chairman. Yes, you are directed to answer the question.
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer the question on the gi'ounds that the
question is not pertinent ; also on the basis of my rights under the first
amendment and the privilege under the fifth amendment. This in-
quiry has no legitimate legislative program.
The Chairman. Purpose you mean, not program. You didn't un-
derstand your lawyer.
Mr. Forer. Are you agreeing with him, Mr. Walter ?
The Chairman. No, but you were talking a while ago about obvious
things. It was obvious to me when he came here with you that he
wasn't going to testify, because you don't come to a hearing with a
Communist lawyer and expect to get
Mr. Forer. Mr. Walter, that is an improper remark to make and I
ask you to withdraw it.
The Chair]vian. I will admit that is improper. A lot of things that
happen around here are improper. Go ahead and answer the
question.
Mr. Nittle. I state as a fact that on October 11 and 12, 1941, you
attended the State Conference of the Communist Party at Finnish
Hall on Franklin Avenue. Will you affirm or deny that statement ?
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for the reasons I stated before.
Mr. Nittle. I state as a fact that you attended the State Convention
of the Communist Party on April 30, 1944, which was held in Public
Hall in Cleveland, Ohio. Will you affirm or deny that statement ?
Mr. SiMiD. I refuse to answer for the reasons given before.
Mr. Nittle. I state as a fact that you attended the June 17 and 18,
1944, sessions of the Ohio State Communist Party Convention in
Cleveland, Ohio. Will you affirm or deny that statement ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for the same reasons as stated before.
Mr. Nittle. I show you passport application No. 162666, identified
as Smid Exhibit No. 1, in w^liich you made application for a passport
1116 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
on January 17, 1935, and stated that your purpose was to go abroad —
and to return to the United States within 2 years — to visit Russia and
setting forth that you might reside there. Did you, in fact, make
application for such a passport, stating your purpose to be a visit to
Russia with a possible intent to reside there ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
The Chairman". Go ahead.
Mr. NiTTLE. I hand you Exhibit No. 1 and ask you to identify
that.
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for the same reasons as stated before.
(Document marked "Smid Exhibit No. 1" and retained in coimnit-
tee files.)
The Chairman. I notice that "Rush" is written on there. Did you
write that on there ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for the same reasons as given before.
Mr. ScHERER. Were you born in Czechoslovakia, sir ?
Mr. Smid. I was born in Czechoslovakia.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you a naturalized citizen ?
Mr. Smid. I am.
Mr. NiTTLE. "Wlien were you naturalized ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. It is approximately in the year of 1922 or 1924.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you a member of the Communist Party at the
time you were naturalized ?
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for the same reasons as I stated before.
Mr. NiTTLE. As a matter of fact, Mr. Smid, were you not natural-
ized at Cleveland, Ohio, on September 19, 1930, by petition No. 42073,
and issued Certificate No. 3391446?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. FoRER. Do you expect him to remember all that ?
Mr. NiTTLE. I ask him to remember the date of his naturalization.
Mr. FoRER. Ask him the date then.
Mr. NiTTLE. I have asked him whether that was the date.
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. SMro. Your date that you quote could be possible. My first
mention of 1922 or 1924 — I said it was approximate.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you visit Russia, in fact, during the year 1935 ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for tlie same reasons as stated before.
The Chairman. Let's get this straight.
You refuse to answer the question as to whether or not you visited
Russia in 1935 on the grounds that the answer might subject you to a
criminal prosecution ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. I stated my reasons.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you, in fact, visit Russia and while there attend
any schools for indoctrination in communism?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. No.
Mr. NiTTLE. You did not ?
Mr. Scherer. You asked him two questions. Did you go to Russia ?
COM^IUNTST ACTmriES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1117
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for tlie same reasons I stated before.
Mr. NiiTLE. Did you attend any schools of indoctrination in com-
munism in Russia during the period 1935 ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. No.
Mr. NiTrLE. Did j'ou, in fact, visit Russia in 1935 ?
JNIr. Smid. I refuse to answer for the same reasons I stated before.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you in attendance at a party given by Margaret
Wherry for a Methodist Church in Cleveland in the early 1950's?
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for the same reasons as stated before.
Mr. XiTTLE. I have no further questions of this witness, Mr. Chair-
man.
Mr. ScHERER. You subsequently received another passport, did you
not, in June of 1949 and went to Czechslovakia for 3 months ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for the same reasons I have given
before.
Mr. SciiERER. Well, did you make an application for a passport in
June of 1949 in which you said you intended to go to Czechoslovakia
and stay for 3 months?
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for the same reasons as I have given
before.
Mr. ScHERER. Pursuant to the issuance of this passport, did you
actually go to Czechoslovakia ?
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answer for the same reasons as given before.
The Chairman. Are there any further questions ?
Mr. Bruce. I believe in response to a question by counsel as to
whether you had attended what he described as a school of in-
doctrination you replied "no." Am I correct ?
Mr. Smid. I said "no."
Mr. Bruce. Did you attend any educational institution in the So-
viet Union ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. No.
Mr. Bruce. Have you ever attended or received instruction in any
Communist school or center of instruction ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Smid. I refuse to answ^er the question for the same reasons as
stated before.
Mr, Bruce. I have no further questions. '
The Chairman. All right.
Call your next witness.
Mr. NiTTLE. Frida Kreitner, come forward please.
The Chairman. Will you raise your right hand? Do you swear
the testimony you are about to give will bo the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mrs. lijiEiTNER. I affirm that I do.
TESTIMONY OF FRIDA KREITNER, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
JOSEPH FORER
Mr. NiTTLE. Will you state your name^ please, for the record ?
Mrs. Kreitner. My name is Frida Kreitner.
1118 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. N1TTI.E. I see you are represented by counsel. Will counsel
please identify himself for the record ?
Mr. FoRER. Joseph Forer.
The CHAmMAN. What is your last name ?
Mrs. IvREiTNER. Kreituer, K-r-e-i-t as in Tom, n as in no, e-r.
Mr. Forer. K as in refusal to answer.
Mrs. Kreitner. Amen.
Mr. NiTTLE. You are married ?
Mrs. Kreitner. I am.
Mr. Nittle. And Frida.Ivreitner is your married name ?
Mrs. Kreitner. Yes.
Mr. Nittle. Since you have been married, Mrs. Kreitner, and have
been using the name Kreitner, have you used any other names ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Kreitner. I refuse to answer that question on the ground that
it is, firstly, not pertinent and, secondly, on the right given to me under
the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. Nittle. jNIrs. Brown
Mr. Forer. You got the wrong name.
Mr. Nittle. — has testified before this committee that in the fifties
you operated a bookstore titled "One World Bookshop" at 5103 Eu-
clid Avenue. Did you in fact operate a bookshop titled "One World
Bookshop" at that address ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Kreitxer. I refuse to answer on the previously stated grounds.
Mr. Nittle. While you were operating that bookshop, I put it to
you as a fact that the name which appeared upon the door was that of
Frida Smith. Is that correct?
Mrs. Kreitner. I refuse to answer on previously stated grounds.
Mr. Nittle. Why were you disguising your identity ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Kreitner. I consider that a loaded question. I have never
admitted or said or impugned that I have ever disguised my name.
The Chairman. What was your maiden name?
Mrs. Kreitner. Smith.
The Chairman. Go on.
Mr. Nittle. At the time the name Frida Smith appeared upon that
door, were you then married or single ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Kreitner. I refuse to answer that question on the previously
stated grounds.
Mr. Nittle. Mrs. Brown has identified you as a member of the
Communist Party, known to her to be such, in the Cleveland area.
Are you as of this instant a member of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Kreitner. I refuse to answer on the previously stated grounds.
Mr. Nittle. Mrs. Brown has testified further tliat you were in-
structed by persons known to you to be Communists to infiltrate the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Will
you affirm or deny that allegation?
COMIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1119
Mrs. Kreitner. I refuse to answer on the first and fifth amend-
ments.
]Mr. Ni'm.E. Did you, in fact, engage in activity within the NAACP
with the objective of infhioncing its policies or conduct on behalf of
the Communist Party ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Kreitner. I refuse to answer that question on the previously
stated grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was it the policy of the Communist Party to capture
or to destroy the NAxiCP ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Kreptker. I have absolutely no knowledge of any such thing.
Mr. NiTruE. After the office at 5103 Euclid Avenue was closed in
the middle fifties, did you have other employment ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Kreitner. Are you ready?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes.
Mrs. Kreitner. I consider that a loaded question. I never testified
to having that office.
Mr. Nittle. Well, did you have that office?
Mrs. Kreitner. I refuse to answer on the previously stated grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Have you ever visited at that office ?
Mrs. Kreitner. I refuse as before on the previously stated grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you presently a salaried functionary of the Com-
munist Party?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
ilrs. Kreitner. I consider that impertinent, in fact, and I refuse
to answer on the ground of the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. Nittle. No further questions, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Any questions ?
Mr. Doyle. No questions.
The Chairman. All right.
Call the next witness.
Mr. Nittle. Mr. Martin Chancey.
The Chairman. Will you raise your right hand ?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give
will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help
you God.
Mr. Chancey. I do.
TESTIMONY OF MAETIN CHANCEY, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
JOSEPH FORER
Mr. Nittle. Would you state your name for the record, please?
Mr. Chancey. My name is Martin Chancey, C-h-a-n-c-e-y.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to call your attention to a communica-
tion I sent to Congressman Doyle and Congi^essman Johansen, in
which I informed them — and I think I should inform the committee
as a whole — that I have strongly protested my being called again to
86790 — 62— pt. 2-
1120 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
this committee. I was called here less than a year ago. My business
was ruined. I was called to an executive session and, a month before
I ever appeared, information was leaked to the newspapers and my
business was destroyed and now, less than a year after that, I am
called here again.
Again the information has leaked to the newspapers, and you can
be sure that my efforts to rebuild my little business are again de-
stroyed.
Congressman Doyle, as you will remember at that last hearing less
than a year ago, you expressed your deep concern at the ruin to my
business. Now, why the committee should go ahead and drag me
here again with the same consequences, again leaking information to
the newspapers, I don't think it is humane, I don't think it is decent,
and I don't see why it is being done to me.
The Chairman. You will be given an opportunity now to clarify
the atmosphere so that your business will be flourishing.
Mr. Chancet. Your Honor, this information was given to the
papers contrary to your own rule not to reveal this information. I
think the rule is XVI of your Rules of Procedure.
I also want to call this to your attention. Last year before I was
informed as to the purpose of the hearing, the Cleveland Press already
announced the purpose. Then the hearing was postponed. I wasn't
informed of the postponement, my counsel wasn't, and the Cleveland
Press had this information ; and before I appeared here, the Cleveland
Press said it was an executive session.
The Chairman. I would like to tell you that the committee is dis-
turbed by this sort of thing and that we have conducted investigations,
and are still investigating, in order to find out how this information
has been leaked, if it has been, and we are going to leave no stone
unturned in order to prevent it in the future, if it means firing every-
body on the committee and starting out with a new staff or having
Western Union do the same thing.
Mr. Chancet. Mr. Doyle remembers last year, when I raised the
question of the information being leaked to the Press, Mr. Doyle very
carefully questioned the staff and each one very strongly denied know-
ing anything about it, and yet the same thing exactly is being repeated
now. Now, it couldn't be all these accidents happening time and
again.
The Chairman. The fact of the matter is you went to the Press
yourself, didn't you ? I have in my hand a letter from the Cleveland
Press stating that you had gone to the city editor regarding the
subpena and that you provided the newspaper with the details of
how you received the subpena.
Let's go on, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Nittle. Yes.
Mr. Chancet. I might say. Your Honor, that
The Chairman. All right.
Mr. Chancet. All right, sir.
The Chairman. We want to be fair, but we expect you to be fair,
and honest, incidentally.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1121
Mr. CiiANCEY. Since I communicated with members of your com-
mittee, I tlioijo-ht you should know about that.
The Chairman. All right. Go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Nittle. ISIr. Chancey, are you at this moment a member of the
Communist Party ?
Mr. Chancey. I am sorry that I will have to refuse to answer this
question.
The Cpiairman. You don't have to refuse to answer. You are not
under any compulsion at all.
Mr. Chancey. I think I should refuse to answer it, because I think
my own political beliefs are my own business under the first amend-
ment and I don't think any congressional committee has any business
to inquire into it; and the Supreme Court ruled a couple of weeks
ago, when they threw out the six contempt citations, that Congress
cannot legislate in the field of opinion and belief and association and,
therefore, has no right to investigate in that field.
The Chairman. Well, we will find out.
Mr. Chancey. That is one reason. Secondly, I think under the
fifth amendment, not to testify against myself, I don't think I have
to answer this question, I think this question is not pertinent to any
legislative inquiry I can think of, and I think this whole investigation
is illegitimate to any legislative purpose. I think it just does to other
people as it does to me. I think it destroys their business.
The Chairman. You have answered the question. You refuse to
answer because of your privileges under the Constitution of the United
States.
Mr. Chancey. All right, sir.
The Chairman. Go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Nittle. I suggest, Mr. Chancey, that you are a hard-core Com-
munist and that the tears in your voice are quite unbecoming. "Would
you comment on that ?
Mr. Chancey. I don't think as a counsel you have any business to
speak about my tears or any such insinuations.
The Chairman. Ask him questions.
Mr. Chancey. I thirds: we are here for serious business and not to
cast aspersions on my tears or anything like that.
Mr. Nittle. When were you born, Mr. Chancey ?
Mr. Chancey. I was born on July 26, 1908.
Mr. Nittle. "Wliere were you born ?
Mr. Chancey. I was born in New York City,
Mr. Nittle. During the year 1934 were you a candidate of the.
Communist Party for Assemblyman for the 12th District of New
York.
Mr. Chancey, I refuse to answer for the reasons already stated,
Mr, Nittle, Were you the Communist Party secretary of the York-
ville Section in New York during 1936 ?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer for the reasons given.
(At this point Mr. Tuck left the hearing room.)
1122 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. Is it not a fact that you were the organizational sec-
retary of Section 28 of the New York Communist Party from 1932
to 1936?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer for the reasons already stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. In the year 1937, did you become the Communist Party
organizer for Washington, D.C.?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer for the reasons already given.
Mr. NiTTLE. During the period 1937 to 1943, did you not also hold
the positions of city secretary, executive secretary, section organizer,
and district organizer of the Communist Party for the District of
Columbia?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer for the reasons already stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. During the year 1937 did you recruit Henry Thomas
into the Communist Party and give him his instructions ?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer for the reasons already stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you not select and send Henry Thomas to a Com-
munist Party school in New York City ?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer for the reasons given.
Mr. NiTTLE. As city secretary of the Commiuiist Party in Wash-
ington, D.C., did you not send $500 to the national headquarters of
the Commimist Party in New York in the year 1940 ?
Mr. Chancey. I have no such recollection.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you deny that you did?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer this question on the reasons given.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you not testify before the Special Committee on
Un-American Acti\dties in Washington on October 6, 1939?
Mr. Chancey. I remember having been at such a committee. I
haven't the faintest idea what took place there. It was a long, long
time ago.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you asked this question at that hearing by the
chairman :
Suppose we were at war with Russia, what would be your position as between
the United States and Russia? Would you favor the United States or Russia?
And did you reply to that inquiry :
I would wait for such a thing to happen.
Mr. Chancey. I have no recollection of that. That was 23 years
ago and it is a long time ago. Incidentally, I think the committee
should know that the previous witness was fired from his job, Mr.
James Smid lost his job, when he was served a subpena at his place
of employment. I think the committee should also know that half of
those subpenaed were served either on the job or in their place of
business, and why such a thing should happen is very hard to imder-
stand, unless the committee is interested in economic strangulation
of its witnesses. As one whose little business was destroyed
The Chairman. No. These witnesses had an opportunity to testify
and they invoked the fifth amendment. Now, go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. NiTTLE. On November 8, 1942, were you not the chainnan of
the 25th Soviet Anniversary Celebration in Washington, D.C. ?
COlSOrUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1123
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer that question on the grounds
stated; and it also just occurred to me, in reference to your previous
question, that a short time after the war started I was drafted into
the Army. I was overseas for about 2i/2 years, I received five battle
stars and a Certificate of Merit, and if there is any question about
my patriotism, I think I can square myself with anybody in this room.
Mr. ScHERER. Was that the Second World War ?
Mr. CiiANCEY. That was the Second World War,
Mr. ScHERER. We were a co-belligerent of Russia at that time.
Mr. Chancey. I fought in defense of my country and I will do so
any time my country is attacked.
Mr. ScHERER. I understand that. At that time Russia was an ally.
I say a co-belligerent.
Mr. Chancey. I fought because I was drafted.
The Chairman. Were you a Communist at that time ?
Mr. Chancey. Sir, I am sorry, I can't answer the question for the
reasons given, but I was an American. I am an American. I will
always fight when my country is attacked and I will fight for what
our country stands for, and I hate to see those principles dragged out
into the mud.
The Chairman. All right. Go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Nittle. Following your separation from the armed services
in May of 1945, I assert as a fact that you were then directed by the
Communist Party to lead certain organizational activities for them
in the State of Ohio. Will you affirm or deny that fact ?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer this question on the same grounds.
Mr, XiTTLE, During the year 1946 did you not select La Verne
Slagle to reorganize tlie North End Club of the Communist Party in
Franklin County, Ohio?
Mr. Chancey. I haven't the faintest recollection of any such thing.
Mr. Nittle. As a matter of fact, I assert that in 1946 you were the
Ohio State organizational secretary of the Communist Party. Will
you affirm or deny that statement?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer that question on the same grounds.
Mr. Nittle, Did you also hold by virtue of that office various posi-
tions as member of the State Board of the Communist Party, member
of the State Committee of the Communist Party, and labor organizer
for the State of Ohio?
Mr, Chancey. I decline to reply on the grounds given.
Mr. Nittle, Did you not hold the position of secretary of the Com-
munist Party in Ohio until the latter part of 1949 or the early part
of 1950?
Mr. Chancey. Wliat is the purpose of going into all other stuff? I
thought in this country people have a right to belong to any organiza-
tion they please, that it is not the concern of Congress to investigate
into their political activities. Do I ask whether you are a Democrat
or a Republican? I belong to whatever organization I feel I want to
belong as an American. That is my right under the Constitution.
Why do you have to inquire into that ?
1124 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. ScHERER. I ask that you direct the witness to answer.
The Chairman. You are directed to answer.
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer on the grounds already given.
The Chairman. All right. Go ahead.
Mr. NiTTLE. I put it to you as a fact that one Kobert Gunkel in
1947, who was then the Hamilton County chairman of the Communist
Party, called a special meeting to hear you discuss, and make a report
of, a Communist meeting which you had attended in New York City.
Will you affirm or deny that ?
Mr. Chancey. I have no recollection of any such event.
Mr. Nittl/e. On October 11, 1947, did you not address the State
Convention of the Communist Party at the Ukrainian Labor Temple
on Auburn Avenue in Cleveland ?
Mr. Chancey. I have no recollection of it. I might say that you
get witnesses here, your friendly witnesses, who have phenomenal
memories, who can recite a hundred names of people and what they
did in the last 20 years. I don't have any such memory. I am just
a normal human being.
The Chairman. Didn't it strike you as significant that when the
people named were called and asked about the recollection of this
witness they invoked the fifth amendment ?
Mr. Chancey. I think they were perfectly right in doing so be-
cause it is not the business — furthermore, I think, Your Honor
The Chairman. We don't care what you think. If I would inquire
into what you think, you would accuse me of violating your consti-
tutional right.
Go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Chancey. I don't care what you think. I think it is your pri-
vate business what you think. Wliy should any congressional com-
mittee probe my mind. That is my affair.
The Chairman. We are not probing your mind at all. We are
asking you about a course of conduct over the years which indicated
to us that you were in a position to supply this committee with infor-
mation which would be helpful in the drafting of legislation designed
to make us more secure in this cold war that we are engaged in.
Mr. Chancey. I am very much concerned with the security of our
country and any information which I can give which would help I
would be glad to do so.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1125
The Chairman. All right. Now you are going to be given the
opportunity.
Proceed.
Mr. NiTTLE. I show you a publication, marked for identification as
Chancey Exhibit No. 1, which is a publication tilled Contact^ issued
by the National Organization and Education Commissions of the Com-
munist Party, U.S.A., and I ask if you authored the article on page 11
thereof, as shown by your byline, in the August 1947 issue of that
publication.
Mr. Chancey. I have seen it.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you make that contribution to this leading Com-
munist Party theoretical organ ?
Mr. Chancey. I have to decline for the reasons given.
Mr. NiTTLE. The question to which you addressed yourself in that
article, as set forth on page 11 thereof, is as follows :
To what extent can the group system help solve the tough problem of how to
overcome the gap between the active and inactive sections of our membership?
Then you go on to say :
With some 700 new members as a result of the present recruiting drive, we are
faced with the problem of making guarantees that these comrades will be drawn
into the life and activities of our clubs.
Were you referring to 700 members in the Cleveland area, or for
the entire State of Ohio ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Chancey. As you well know, I did not say that I wrote the
article and, therefore, I think it is a loaded question. I also think that
much of the proceedings going on here about parties being held and
people running for political office
The Chaikman. You haven't been asked about this at all. Mr.
Nittle, proceed.
Just a minute. You answer the question you are asked. Don't
comment on the questions that have been asked of other witnesses.
Go ahead.
Mr. Chancey. I shall answer. I did not admit to having written
this article and, therefore, I think your question — whether I made
such-and-such a statement — I think is irrelevant and I decline to
answer it.
Mr. NriTLE. For the reasons previously stated ?
Mr. Chancey. For the reasons previously stated.
(Docmnent marked "Chancey Exhibit No. 1" follows :)
1126 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
e
«
E ?
o c
M L^ C>
S 9
0 O) .in
T3 -
Era >
01 p o
So"
S "-a
X ^ ^
-c "S «
■- £ 5
c ,
c
&
0) ra CO
t. 3 t.
u o C
ra >
*j C13
o -^
12
I ii .5 ^
.2 a*
o oj c >
5 £'3 4)
♦- c
5 o c
on?
X a; g £
w 3 * c
3^2 £
•- c £^
•o o -c 0)
. O ■" J2
X S 5 c 3
*. •" .- u
•r! _ >._
™^Sx
0 -
01 C
« X -5
(fl 0) ,^
01 ^ "O
•°l -^
wO :
Q. -^
3 ^ o
o a> o
!r, -^ t
«; &^
££ S
= _ E
eg ^H
J- CO oj
U CO
a c £
" o; ■" «
J3
3 ,_
> 01
en C
_ K
&c>£E
1 ^ tX 01 1^ k.
; 3 c j: 5fi o
• o •£ - -S ""
1 I- E
b
. CO ^ 1) ^
CO
-t: ii = S£
c
lX O o
tj CO
•" '" !C
^ 01 o
> —
c - o
„ 0) a —
>» 01
o '5
o i: c
E E«
w C 3
-^°
« §2
x >^
" s: -c
3 — M
CO-- 3
^ ? o
>i,
0) ,. o
OJ 01 t^
C I. •" .3
OJ oi
!n ■S -i £ 3
iu CO r" •- M 0)
01 y fo 01 x
3 « _>J
"cO C Q.
> O k4
O CO
<0 ,_, CO
41 a
t. C CO
Ul 3 CO
0.2?
4; j=
0 " 3
•^ > o
.2 :? M
01 u -3
^^ §
3 S C
C ^S,
C
O 3
« o S
■*-• O w
M u, —
C D O
•go c
3 a
CO a>
01 X)
C C
E-3
41
o 5
•a -5 £
. .2 So;
■ - &^
c _
O o;
^ CO
01
E 2 2; t.
£ .- 4J
E
>> O CO
3 o£
££3
4!x ?; V.
£ o 5 o
g2SS
X 4; flj
? 2 o =
i3O.^'O0>4)toCAT3*-<
pi CO -* . — *-* ™ .
oc--2s-s.>b-5^S
: t E
J § a
i -x
I 4> -"^
1 ra i5
1 4) g
JJ O ** CO ^ .Q
OJ 3 o 4) 3 C
o
X ■
•if £ T) .S ,
4) > C ?
X O CO ui
41 ^
41 1:
- c S c o 3
O , C „ 3 CO c
3— Cl-,i03t,
O -O - M S o OJ
„x?iCoi™'sb
X j: »^ Er 3 >> .
c|2^.S« £■§«
-Ecoj-oeS., «
41 X C S ■" «J ^,
-i;-«x^£«
§ *• 2 « m'5
.5 5 s; f § •! S -a
> ■— rt ? rt CI o .b
COM^IUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1127
coo
— JZ m
a. a ■■ -•
2 §2
3 W u.
o-S
a ■
<D
una
C !/j X
"V 3 .
§'6.S
" (U (U
o o c g
w .
to
lU §
0) ^
i3
TS '*~' H~i
C >> o
3
o c
;; p
C]
3 C.i ft
5 s^.i
i: c ra
6gE
^ -"^ —
to '^ 3
" « s
o to •— '
*^ (J
(U TI X V-.
t^ 1) O
O Jli J=
— I, tj i:
(0 p u
> IB
»M ^
IeI-^
x " e 2
c >..9 «
<U CO ■•-> o
a E
«
T3 -J ^
^ c --. c
P 1; o o
Qj ^ rt n
^ CQ qO O
^ o g >.
5.2.0
c -a c
S&^
-4 >,
■o 5
P ra 2 «-
S S S o
O 01
•a o £
3 m
o 3 J=
o
a M
E.S
to to
■5; ja
to ■
> S c <^
c "^ i> u
O ?i3 3
O
se
I.
'5
01 3 fci "
CO _
a —
3 »i
o
£0
<^ ^ to JO
-' *" CI -*
c ra S o
-f^ .2 J=
(Lt " *.» wl
^ X tj
C ft OJ 01
N nj vj
*-* 'l^ te C
o -■ -
t) .-. 1*
3c^
lU o 10
.^ .C q;
•S tU E
3 > 4)
to '.3 C
3 *=
to tj 0)
^ X —
. O'
> 0) °
■^5 E
3
o o .2
X x;
0; ^ -
o 5
jO CO
_3 -Q -o
0) S 60
5^.B
en -^ C
O OJ T3
t:^- a.
0) ■£ 3
^^ p 2
^•Sc-
O
o ^
Q 0> — ^^ -*
C 0) t- aj I- to *>
„ S-o
3 o
O E
~ -C
a
o
j:
to ba
0) 5
o XI
O > — i
to CO P
E ^„
> 01 ■
C CO
CO XI
73 = x:
- S C
S ^ «<
CO j:: a;
, .« CO
3
to
C C _ cj
o tn CO 3
3 '
= ^•1
' s " s 5
3 £ 3 .S
C w J-
^oo£
CJ
i — .i2 C
*-■ o — ^
&0 M "D C
^ <3j ^ r
<" 3 to -C C ■§
J;^ « 2 "» =
5 f- ^ ^ c c
5=^e5S
'^ OJ 3 0* n) ^
01
■0.2 !=
0) —
£ «
w; U. 4J [o
.« 0 o :S
D. O
•tg 3
-So
■5 01 o
§^
E- i
e o g
c
o o
E.2
Et;
c -r
-£
^§
>;_
.— to
> JZ
"£2
t; 3 S
0) p X)
5-1-
•o
O tU3
■^ C
v» —
£
o
1128 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiiTLE. Certainly none but those highest in the Communist
Party ranks in the country would have available to them the mem-
bership lists of the Communist Party in the State of Ohio. Would
you comment upon that statement ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Chancey. I have no comment to make.
Mr. NiTTLE. During the year 1948 were you not reelected to the
State Committee of the Communist Party at its Stata Convention?
Mr. Chancey. I decline to answer for the reasons already stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. Is it not a fact that at the same convention you were
one of the principal speakers and reported to the delegates on "Party
Organization" and "The Fight for the Communist Party" ?
Mr. Chancey. I decline to answer for the reasons already given.
Mr. NiTTLE. Didn't this report deal with the call to membership
and leadership of the party for the important task of building the
party as the "vanguard of the working class"?
Mr. Chancey. I didn't say I made that report and, therefore, I think
your question is a loaded one and I don't see any reason to answer it.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did not the convention report which you made direct
every party member to pay "miswerving personal attention to the
moulding and the processing of the party clubs in every shop and
factory"?
Mr. Chancey. I think you are just making speeches. I don't think
you are asking any question.
Mr. NiTPLE. Did you or did you not make that report, and did I not
quote your language ?
Mr. Chancey. I already said I refuse to answer this question, so
why do you ask me whether I said these things ? I said I refuse to
answer that I made that report, so why are you making speeches here
like that ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you not also at that convention elected a delegate
to represent the Ohio Communist Party at the succeeding National
Convention of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Chancey. Let me ask you, do you have anything of any crimes
that I committeed there that you are so serious about ?
Mr. ScHEKER. I ask you to direct the witness to answer the question.
The Chahiman. You are directed to answer the question.
Mr. Chancey. I decline to answer it for the reasons given.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mr. Chancey, I show you an unassigned Communist
Party membership card for the year 1948, No. 103218, on w^hich ap-
pears the signature of Gus Hall as state chairman and your own name,
Martin Chancey, underneath. Is that your signature or a facsimile
of it?
Mr. Chancey. I decline to answer on the reasons already given.
(Document marked "Chancey Exhibit No. 2" and retained in
committee files.)
The Chairman. Chancey. Is that the name under which you were
bom?
Was your name changed when you were naturalized ?
Mr. Chancey. I anglicized my name. I was not born under that
name.
Mr. NiTTLE. May I ask you at this point w-hat was the extent of
your formal education ?
COMIVIUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1129
Mr. CiiANCEY. I graduated elementary school, high school, and I
went to NYU.
]Mr. NiTTLE. Where did you graduate from high school ?
Mr. Chancey. New York City.
Mr. NiTTLE. And following high school you went to New York
University ?
Mr. CiiANCET. I went to New York University and I went to the
law school there and I received a
Mr. NiTiLE. "Wait a moment. Did you go to college at New York
University, or directly to law school?
Mr. Chancey. It is a college, a prelaw, and then I went to law
scliool.
Mr. NiTTLE. You went to college. Did you get a degree at college?
Mr, Chancey. I got a B.S. degree at college.
Mr. NiTTLE. You had how many years in college?
Mr. Chancey. About six. I received a doctor of jurisprudence de-
gree after graduating law school from NYU.
Mr. NiTTLE. You got a B.S. degree in college. Then you went to
law school?
Mr. Chancey. That is right.
Mr. NiTTLE. How many years did you spend at law school ?
Mr. Chancey. They had some sort of a package deal. I think it
was 6 years altogether.
Mr. NiTT'LE. Six years at law school ?
Mr. Chancey. No, prelaw and law.
I don't remember exactly how it divided up.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you get a doctor of jurisprudence degree?
Mr. Chancey. That is right.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you admitted to the practice of law anywhere?
Mr. Chancey. I w^as.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you now a member of the bar ?
Mr. Chancey. No. I am not.
Mr. NiTTLE. To what bar were you admitted to practice law ?
Mr. Chancey. New York Bar.
Mr. NiTTLE. How long did you practice law at the New York Bar?
Mr. Chancey. I didn't practice law.
Mr. NiTTLE. "What year were you admitted to the New York Bar?
(Tlie witness conferred with counsel. )
Mr. Chancey. I don't quite know what purpose, legislative pur-
pose, all this questioning will lead to, how it will help this country
draft good laws.
The Chairman. Ask another question, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. NinxE. Would it be correct to say, Mr. Chancey, tliat the ma-
jor part of your activities within the Communist Party in the past
has been directed to organizational activities and with respect to the
colonization of industry by Communists?
Mr. Chancey. This is obviously a loaded question. I did not an-
swer to being a member of the party or being active and now you are
asking me what my activities consisted of.
Mr. Nittle. You are given the opportunity to respond.
Mr. Chancey. I have already stated my reasons why I would re-
fuse to respond.
1130 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you during April 1950 as state secretary of the
Communist Party attend a Communist Party meeting at the head-
quarters of the Fur and Leatlier Workers Union, 1064 Flint Street in
Cincinnati, Ohio?
Mr. Chancey. I haven't the faintest recollection.
Mr. NiTTLE. You do not deny your attendance there?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer this question on the gi'ounds
given.
Mr. NiTTLE. On March 17, 1952, John Janowitz testified before
the Ohio Un-American Activities Commission that you were the per-
son in the party for issuing directives to all echelons of the Commu-
nist Party in the State of Ohio. I will give you an opportunity to
affirm or deny that testimony.
(Witness conferred with coimsel.)
Mr. Chancey. I decline to answer this question on the grounds
given.
Mr. NiTTLE. On April 21, 1952, John C. Mitchell testified before
the Ohio Commission that all reports made by him as a member of
the Communist Party were sent to Martin Chancey as state secretary
of the Communist Party. Was that testimony correct ?
Mr. Chancey. I will not answer this question on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. On September 13, 1954, Arthur Strunk testified before
this House Committee on Un-American Activities that during his last
years in the Communist Party, and as late as the year 1952, he col-
lected membership dues which were then sent on to you in Cleveland,
Ohio, from Dayton.
Mr. Chancey. I think it will save a lot of time
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you receive dues collected by Arthur Strunk in
Dayton ?
Mr. Chancey. Your Honor, it will save a lot of time if I will just
say that I refuse to answer statements made by paid informers, people
who work for money and have to lie for that purpose, and I don't see
any reason why you have to spend hours of time. These paid in-
formers who are given
The Chairman. They are not paid informers at all. They are
statements of reputable witnesses under oath, and you have seen fit
not to deny the sworn testimony of these witnesses.
Now, there are other questions that we would like to ask you about
your activities.
Go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Chancey. As you Imow, Mr. Walter, if these people would pro-
duce their FBI reports and be subject to cross-examination this would
be statutory, but this is a very one-sided proceeding here that you
subject the witness to.
The Chairman. Proceed.
Mr. Nittle. How much are you being paid by the Communist
Party at this time ?
Mr. Chancey. Well, do you expect me to answer such a question ?
Mr. Nittle. Are you on a salaried basis with the Communist
Party?
Mr. Chancey. I refuse to answer the question. As the committee
knows, I am trying to run a little business, if I am given the chance
to do so, to make a living for myself and my family.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1131
The Chairman. Go ahead.
Mr. ScHERER. He hasn't answered that question.
Mr. CiiANCEY. I decline to answer for the reasons already stated.
The Chairman. All right. Go ahead.
Mr. NiTTLE. Testimony was given during the Dayton hearings of
this committee that you came to Ohio to help plan the strategy for the
Communist-instigated Univis Lens strike which was in progress from
May to August of 19-18. Will you affirm or deny that testimony?
Mr. Chancey. I decline to answer for the reasons given.
Mr. Scherer. That Univis strike was the one, was it not, Counsel,
where it got so bad they had to call out the National Guard ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. When did you go to Ohio from New York ?
Mr. Chancey. After I was discharged from the Army, my family
and I moved to Ohio.
The Chairman. When ?
Mr. Chancey. 1946.
Mr. Scherer. You were in Dayton, w^eren't you, during the Univis
strike ?
Mr. Chancey. I am sori-y, I have to decline to answer this question
for the reasons given.
Mr. Scherer. Where were you living? TVhat was your residence
address at the time of the strike ?
Mr. Chancey. I have to decline to answer this question.
Mr. Scherer. It wasn't Dayton, Ohio, was it?
Mr. Chancey. Sorry, sir, I decline to answer this question.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mrs. Julia Brown testified that she knew you as a
member of the Communist Party in the Cleveland, Ohio, area and
that you were active on behalf of the Communist Party there. Do
you affirm or deny her testimony ?
Mr. Chancey. I decline to answer this for the reasons already
stated.
The Chairman. Are there any further questions ?
All right, the witness is excused.
Mr. Chancey. I hope I will be given a chance to rebuild my busi-
ness here and not be directed here time after time with all the publicity
that is accompanying this. It makes it very hard on a person trying
to support his family.
The Chairman. Yes, I hope that you do rebuild your business. I
am sure that the people in your community will take into considera-
tion all of the help you have been in trying to protect the opportunity
for private business such as you are engaged in.
Mr. Chancey. Thank you, sir.
The Chairman. The committee will stand recessed, to meet at 10
o'clock tomorrow morning.
(Whereupon, at 11 :50 a.m., Wednesday, June 6, 1962, the hearing
recessed, to reconvene at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 7, 1962.)
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO,
AREA
Part 2
THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1962
United States House of Representatives,
Subcommittee of the
Committee on Un-American Activities,
Washington^ D.C.
public hearings
The subcommittee of the Committee on Un-American Activities
met, pursuant to recess, at 10 a.m. in the Caucus Room, Old House
Office Building, Hon. Clyde Doyle presiding.
Subcommittee members present : Representatives Francis E. Walter,
of Pennsylvania; Clyde Doyle, of California; Gordon H. Scherer, of
Ohio; August E. Johansen, of Michigan; and Donald C. Bruce, of
Indiana.
Committee members also present: Henry C. Schadeberg, of Wis-
consin. (Appearance as noted.)
Staff members present: Francis J. McNamara, director; Frank S.
Tavenner, Jr., general coimsel; Alfred M. Nittle, counsel; and Neil
E. Wetterman, mvestigator.
Mr. Doyle. The subcommittee of the House Committee on Un-
Ajnerican Activities, as a matter of cooperation with another House
committee which wants to use this room because they will have a large
attendance, will adjourn now to 1304 of the New House Building
across the street.
That is the Public Works Committee Room. That is 1304 across
the street. The witnesses had been subpenaed to be in this room.
Elsie Tarcai. Is Miss Tarcai here ? Did you hear my announce-
ment?
Miss Elsie Tarcai. Yes, I did.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you. And Violet Tarcai?
Miss Violet Tarcai. Yes, I heard it.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you.
Regina Sokol?
Mrs. SoKOL. I heard it.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you.
And Milton Tenenbaum?
Mr. Tenenbaum. Yes, sir.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you.
And Ruth Emmer?
Mrs. Emmer. Yes, sir.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you.
Eugene Bayer?
1133
1134 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. FoRER. He is scheduled for this afternoon. I will get the word
to him.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you. Mr. Forer is counsel.
Mr. NiTTLE. I do not remember agreeing to have liim scheduled
this afternoon.
Mr, FoRER. Remember I spoke to you and asked if it would be okay
for him to be in the afternoon because he w^anted to fly in, so he is on
his way.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mr. Joseph Forer, attorney for Eugene Bayer, is pres-
ent and they will be in attendance in the afternoon.
Mr. Doyle. Abraham Strauss?
Mr. Strauss. Yes, sir.
Mr. Doyle. Sylvia Strauss ?
Mrs. Strauss. Yes.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you. Then will you witnesses please adjourn
to Room 1304. That is across the street in the new building. The
subcommittee will convene there.
(A brief recess was taken.)
(The subcommittee reconvened in Room 1304, New House Office
Building, Hon. Francis E. Walter (chairman) presiding, with the
following members present: Representatives Walter, Doyle, and
Johansen.)
The Chairman. The committee will be in order.
Call your first witness.
Mr. NiTTLE. Sylvia Strauss, please come forward.
The Chairman. Will you raise your right hand please? Stand
up. Do you swear the testimony you are about to give will be the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mrs. Strauss. Yes.
TESTIMONY OF SYLVIA STEAUSS, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
NOEMAN HELLEE
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you state your name for the record, please ?
Mrs. Strauss. Sylvia Strauss.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you represented by counsel, Mrs. Strauss?
Mrs. Strauss. Yes, I am.
Mr. NiTTLE. Would counsel please identify himself for the record ?
Mr. Heller. Norman Heller, member of the Bar of the District
of Colmnbia, volunteer attorney for the American Civil Liberties
Union.
The Chairman. Mr. Heller, did this witness request 3'ou to appear ?
Mr. Heller. She requested an attorney from the American Civil
Liberties Union, not me specifically, no, sir.
The Chairman. All right.
Mr. NiTTLE. What was the date and place of your birth, Mrs.
Strauss?
Mrs. Strauss. July 10, 1910, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mr. NiTTLE. What is your present residence ?
Mrs. Strauss. 2801 Avondale Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Mr. NiTTLE. How long have you lived in Cleveland, Ohio ?
Mrs. Strauss. 16 years.
Mr. NiTTLE. I beg your pardon ?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1135
Mrs. Strauss. 16 years.
Mr. Ni'iTLE. Mrs. Brown testified in this hearing tliat she knew
you to be a member of tlie Communist Party while she herself resided
ni the Cleveland area. I would like to ask, Mrs. Strauss, whether you
are at this moment a member of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Strauss. I decline to answer on the basis of the first and fifth
amendments.
Mr. NrriLE. Do you wish to avail yourself of the opportunity being
now offered you to affirm or deny the testimony of Mrs. Brown ?
Mrs. Strauss. I decline to answer on the basis of the first and fifth
amendments.
Mr. NrrTLE. Mrs. Bi-own testified that shortly after her induction
into the Comnmnist Party in Cleveland during the Christmas holidays
of 1047 she was assigned to a group or cell of the Comnmnist Party for
the purposes of instruction and indoctrination and that you were the
teacher of that group. She further testified that she met frequently
in your home, together with other persons who were receiving similar
instructions from you.
Mrs. Strauss. I decline to answer on the basis of the fii*st and fifth
amendments.
The Chairman. Did you ever conduct any classes anywhere, any
instructions on communism ?
Mrs. Strauss. I decline to answer on the basis of the first and fifth
amendments.
Mr. NiiTTLE. I understand further that you have been vei-y active in
support of Communist activities. Would you care to affirm or deny
that statement?
Mrs. Strauss. I decline to answer on the same reasons.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you on June 11, 1960, attend a farewell party at
the American-Russian Hall at No. 13700 Kinsman Road, Cleveland,
Ohio, which was given "in honor" of Elizabeth Hall, wife of Gus
Hall, who was leaving to join her husband in New York ?
Mrs. Strauss. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you know Gus Hall personally ?
Mrs. Strauss. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. NiTTiJi. I put it to you as a fact that you have for many years
past worked together in association with Gus Hall to advance the ob-
jectives and purposes of the Communist Party. Will you affirm or
deny that statement?
Mrs. Strauss. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you a member of an organization in the Cleveland
area known as the Council on Human Relations ?
Mrs. Str.\uss. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. NiTTLE. As a matter of fact, you were named to the board of
trustees of that Council, were you not, at or about the mid-fifties?
Mrs. Strauss. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. NiT'n.E. The Council on Human Relations was a successor to
an organization known as the National Conference of Christians and
Jews in your area, was it not ?
Mrs. Strauss. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. NirrLE. The Council on Human Relations and the National
Conference of Christians and Jews are not known as Communist
organizations, nor do I imply that. Do you feel that it would in-
8G790— 62— pt. 2—5
1136 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
criminate you to admit your membership at that time in that non-Com-
munist organization ?
Mrs, Strauss. It is possible it may tend to incriminate me. I do
not know.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you instructed by any person known to you to be
a Communist to infiltrate the Comicil on Human Relations or the
National Conference of Christians and Jews?
Mrs. Str.\uss. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. NrrTLE. No further questions, Mr. Walter.
The Chairman. Any questions ?
Mr. DoTLE. No questions.
The Chairman. The witness is excused.
Mr. NiTTLE. Abraham Strauss, please come forward.
The Chairman. Mr. Strauss, will you raise your right hand ? Do
you swear that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. Strauss. I do.
TESTIMONY OP ABRAHAM STKAUSS, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
NOEMAN HELLER
Mr. NiTTLE. For the purposes of the record, Mr. Strauss, would you
state your full name?
Mr. Strauss. Abraham Strauss.
Mr. NiTTLE. I note that you are represented by counsel.
Mr. Strauss. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. Will counsel please identify himself for the record?
Mr. Heller. Norman Heller, member of the Bar of the District
of Columbia, a volunteer for the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Chairman. Mr. Heller, may I ask you : Are you aware of the
type of people that you are representing here?
Mr. PIeller. I understand what they have been accused of by other
people and I also understand that they have certain rights which I
have advised them of.
The Chairman. We understand that entirely, but this last witness
quite obviously was connected with the international Communist
movement. I am interested in knowing whether or not your organ-
ization has adopted a policy of representing people who are identi-
fied with this movement. We are not complaining about your ap-
pearance here. What I am interested in knowing is whether or not
your organization has adopted a policy of identifying itself with
people who have been identified under oath as members of the inter-
national conspiracy.
Mr. Heller. My understanding is that the American Civil Liberties
Union will represent anyone who claims that their civil liberties are
threatened by the courts or any congressional committee, and that is
my purpose in representing Mr. and Mrs. Strauss. They have made
that claim, and I am here to advise them as to their rights under the
Constitution.
The Chairman. All right.
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you state the date and place of your birth, Mr.
Strauss ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1137
Mr. Strauss. I was born in Rumania 60 years ago, that is in No-
vember of 1902.
Mr. NrrTLE. Can you state specifically whether your birth date was
November 20, 1902?"
Mr. Strauss. I can't make a I'ccollection of the exact year, but
it was 1902. I know that I will be 60 on November 20, 1962.
Mr. NiTaxE. Are you a citizen of the United States ?
Mr. Stilvuss. I am.
Mr. NiTTLE. What is your present residence ?
Mr. Strauss. 2801 Avondale Street, Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Mr. NiTi'LE. How long have you lived in Cleveland ?
Mr. Strauss. 16 years.
Mr. NiTTLE. You are the husband of the prior witness, Sylvia
Strauss ?
Mr. Strauss. Yes, I am.
Mr. NiTTLE. Prior to coming to Cleveland, Ohio, 16 years ago, where
did you live?
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the grounds of the first and fifth
amendment of the Constitution.
The Chairman. You are directed to answer that question.
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Strauss. I resided in Pittsburgli.
The Chairman. Where in Pittsburgli ?
Mr. Strauss. Nicholson Street. Frankly, I cannot recollect the
number, the address. It was Nicholson Street on Squirrel Hill.
Mr. NiTTLE. I noted that you hesitated to tell us of your residence
in Pittsburgli. Is the reason for your hesitancy the fact that you
were during your residence in Pittsburgh a member of the National-
ity Commission of the Communist Party of Western Pennsylvania ?
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the grounds of the first and
fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. Perhaps you could tell us something about the purposes
of the Nationality Commission, which performs a particular function
within the Communist Party organization ?
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the grounds of the first and
fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. If I were to state that the function of the Nationality
Commission of the Communist Party liierarchy is to interest immi-
grants in the objectives of the Communist Party and to cause their
disaffection from the country of their adoption, would you affirm
or deny that ?
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the grounds of the first and
fifth amendments.
Mr. Nittt.e. Have you been active both in Pennsylvania and in the
Cleveland area on behalf of the Communist Party toward endeavoring
to attract immigrant persons and groups to the cause of the Commu-
nist Party?
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. NiTTLE. As a matter of fact, you were assigned by the Com-
munist Party to leave the Pittsburgh area, after Steve Nelson's
conviction in the courts of Pennsylvania for sedition, to take up
Communist Party activities in Cleveland. Woidd yon affirm or deny
that assertion ?
1138 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. NiTTLE. Pursuant to your activities as an immigrant leader
on behalf of the Communist Party, you have assumed the role of
reporter for a newspaper directed toward immigrants known as the
Morning Freiheit^ have you not?
Mr. Strauss. I declme to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NittijE. You are presently a reporter for the Morning Freiheit'^i
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the same grounds.
The Chairman. Are you employed ?
(Counsel conferred with witness.)
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTi'LE. The committee is interested in obtaining information
which will confirm or explain its findmgs or testimony previously
received. In our Guide to Subversive Organizations and Puhlications,
the Committee on Un-American Activities has listed the Morning
Freiheit as a subversive publication, based in part upon a finding of
the Subversive Activities Control Board, which is a quasi-judicial
body set up under the Internal Security Act of 1950. The Subversive
Activities Control Board found that the Communist International
"subsidized * * * the founding of the CPIJSA's newspaper, Freiheit^
As one familiar with the operations of the Morning Freiheit, would
you care to comment upon this finding of the Subversive Activities
Control Board?
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. The Communist International was organized in 1919
by the Soviet Union as the international organization of Communist
parties in all countries so as to make possible Soviet leadership of the
world Communist movement. Do you affirm or deny that the Morn-
ing Freiheit is an instrumentality of Moscow leadership?
Mr. S'lTJAuss. Are you through with your question ?
Mr. XiTTLE. Yes.
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. According to affidavits filed by the business manage-
ment of the Morning Freiheit under the act of Congress requiring a
statement of average paid circulation, the officials of the Morning
Freiheit as of September 26, 1961, indicated that the paid circulation
of the Morning Freiheit totals 7,896.
Now, while that may be the national paid circulation of the news-
paper, I would like to ask you whether you could enlighten the com-
mittee and the American people as to the extent of the circulation of
the Morning Freiheit within Cleveland itself ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. While 7,896 is the total paid circulation, am I correct
in saying that many more copies of this newspaper are disseminated
free of charge ?
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Have you yourself engaged in the free distribution
of the Moiling Freiheit within the Cleveland area on behalf of the
Communist Party leadership of the State of Ohio?
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mi-s. Brown in the course of her testimony told the
committee that offices were maintained by the Communist Party on
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1139
behalf of its activities, first, at 5103 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland
and that subsequently the headquarters were moved to 2014 East 105th
Street in Cleveland in the mid-fifties. We understand that the Com-
munist Party maintained a bookshop at that address called the One
World Bookshop, the objective of which was to disseminate Com-
munist literature and propaganda with the view of influencing Com-
munists and non-Communists.
Did you have anything to do with the managment or operation
of the One World Bookshop at the address, namely, 2014 East 105th
Street, Cleveland, Ohio?
Mr. Str^vuss. I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. I put it to you as a fact that you have operated out
of that address as a propagandist amongst immigrant persons in
the Cleveland area. Will you affirm or deny that assertion of fact?
Mr, Strauss. I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. I have no further questions, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. JoHANSEN. One question, Mr. Chairman. Counsel, does your
investigation disclose whether this newspaper, the Morning Freiheit^
is circulated through the mails?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes, Mr. Johansen, we understand that the Morning
Freiheit is circulated through the mails. The main publishing house
is located in New York City.
Mr. Johansen. And therefore they enjoy special rates to which
second-class mail newspapers are entitled ?
Mr. NiTTLE. I would agree with that statement.
Mr. JoiiANSEN. Mr. Strauss, w^ould you care to advise us whether
the newspaper enjoys second-class rates which are extended generally
to newspapers, which amounts, in effect, to a subsidy by the taxpayers?
Mr. Strauss. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. Johansen. That is all.
The Chairman. The witness is excused.
Mr. NiTTLE. Ruth Emmer.
The Chairman. Stand up please and raise your right hand. Do you
swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mrs. Emmer. I do.
TESTIMONY OF RUTH EMMER, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
JACK REDDEN
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you please identify yourself for the record ?
Mrs. Emmer. My name is Ruth Emmer.
Mr. NiTTLE. I see you are represented by counsel. Will counsel
please identify himself ?
Mr. Redden. My name is Jack Redden. I am in the Warner Build-
ing, Washington. I am representing Mrs. Emmer at her request and
at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union.
(At this point Mr. Schadeberg entered the hearing room.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you state the place of your bn-th and the date
of your birth?
Mrs. Emmer. Cleveland, Ohio, October 23, 1922.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you married or single?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
1140 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mrs, Emmer. I am married.
Mr. NiTTLE. Is your husband named Jack Emmer ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Emmer. Yes.
Mr. Nittle. Are you also the sister of Eugene Bayer ?
(Witness conferred with counsel. )
Mrs. Emmer. Yes.
Mr. Nittle. Do you know Regina Sokol ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the grounds that the question
violates my rights guaranteed by the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. Nittle. Are you at this moment a member of the Communist
Party?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the grounds of the first and fifth
amendments.
Mr. Nittle. Is Regina Sokol, to your certain knowledge, as of this
moment a member of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. Nittle. In tlie early fifties you were very active on behalf of the
candidacy of Hugh DeLacy for the office of State representative for the
State of Ohio, were you not ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. Nittle. And you were active on his behalf as a member of the
Communist Party of the United States, were you not ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the grounds of the first and
fifth amendments.
Mr. Nittle. Did you not in that campaign circulate five petitions
on his behalf ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for the reasons already stated.
Mr. Nittle. These petitions were notarized by a notary, Elsie Tar-
cai, is that correct ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. Nittle. I thought you had nodded previously. You were
merely nodding to indicate that you had heard my question ?
Mrs. Emmer. That is correct.
Mr. Nittle. Did you know Elsie Tarcai to be a member of the
Communist Party at the time those documents were notarized?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for the reasons already stated.
Mr. Nittle. As a matter of fact, I put it to you that you" know that
as of this moment Elsie Tarcai is a member of the Communist Party.
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the grounds of the first and fifth
amendments.
Mr. Nittle. Is there a civic organization in the Cleveland area
known as the Mount Pleasant Community Council ?
(Witness conferred with counsel. )
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for the reasons already stated.
Mr. Nittle. I wish no inference to be taken that the Mount Pleasant
Community Council is a Communist organization. So far as our
knowledge is concerned, it is not that kind of organization. It is a
civic organization. Are you presently a member of that organiza-
tion ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the same grounds.
The Chairman. I direct you to answer that question.
(Witness conferred with'counsel.)
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1141
Mr. Kedden. What was the last question ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Would the reporter kindly read it to the witness?
(The reporter read the question.)
The Chairman. I directed the witness to answer the question as
to whether or not she was a member of whatever the organization is.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mount Pleasant Community Council, Mr. Chairman.
(Counsel conferred with the witness.)
Mrs. Emmer. I prefer not to answer for the reasons already stated.
The Chairman. Now, you say you prefer not to answer. Do you
decline or refuse to answer?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the grounds of the fifth amend-
ment.
The Chairman. I think it is my duty to warn you that you have
been advised by counsel that this organization about which you are
being interrogated is not a Communist organization. Nobody believes
that it is. There has never been any charge that it is and to invoke
the fifth amendment, might subject you to some difficulties with this
committee. I think it is my duty to so warn you.
Go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. NiT'i'LE. While you were a member of the Mount Pleasant Com-
munity Council did you also know as members of that organization the
following named individuals : Regina Sokol, Pearl Levin, and Eugene
Brudno?
Perhaps you better read that question back to her.
(The reporter read the question.)
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for the reasons already stated.
Mr. Nittle. Mrs. Brown has testified that she knew Regina Sokol
to be a member of the Communist Party. I assert as a fact that you,
too, know that Regina Sokol was a member of the Communist Party
as Mrs. Brown testified. Do you wish to affirm or deny that fact or
explain it in some way ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the grounds of the first and
fifth amendments.
Mr. Nittle. Mrs. Brown testified that she knew Pearl Levin as a
member of the Communist Party. I say that you, too, know Pearl
Levin as a member of the Communist Party. Do you wish to affirm or
deny that assertion ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. Nittle. Mrs. Brown has also identified Eugene Brudno as a
member of the Communist Party. I put it to you as a fact that you,
too, know Eugene Brudno to have been a member of the Communist
Party, as Mrs. Brown testified. Would you affirm or deny that
statement?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the grounds of the first and fifth
amendments.
Mr. NiTTi.E. Mrs. Brown also testified that members of the Com-
munist Party in the Cleveland area had received instructions to infil-
irate non-Communist organizations — churches, educational institu-
tions, public offices, and other non-Communist groups. I ask. Did
.you receive instructions from the Communist Party to infiltrate the
Mount Pleasant Community Council?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for the reasons already stated.
1142 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE, Mrs. Emmer, if you did not receive those instructions
how could that possibly incriminate you ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you be able to tell us what the objective was of
the Communist directive to infiltrate civic organizations ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for reasons already stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. In asking you that question, Mrs. Eimner, I assumed
that you had knowledge of the purposes of the Communist Party.
Was I correct in my assumption ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. NiTTLE. How could it possibly incriminate you if you did not
have knowledge of such purposes ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. The committee, Mrs. Emmer, has had a great deal of
testimony on certain aspects of Communist policy and how that policy
is carried out. We would, however, like you to enlighten us, if you
will, as to the methods utilized by Communists to stimulate "class
struggle" within or by the use of civic organizations. By "class strug-
gle" I refer to agitation or the atomization and disintegration of a
social group, the setting of people against each other, or the creation of
excessive burdens and demands upon the government of the area, or
of the United States? Would you tell us how this is done?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for reasons already stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was it not your purpose to do just that in your activi-
ties in the Mount Pleasant Community Council ?
Mr. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the grounds of the first and
fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. I do not recollect if I asked you whether you are at this
instant a member of the Communist Party. I believe I did.
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the grounds of the first and fifth
amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you, while pursuing your Communist objectives,
participate in a picket line demonstration on January 16, 1962, at the
Federal Building in Cleveland on behalf of a Communist-front or-
ganization, the Cleveland Committee to Secure Justice for Morton
Sobell?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer under my rights under the first
and fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. As a matter of fact, you drove Helen Sobell, the wife
of Morton Sobell, to the site of that demonstration in the car of Milton
Tenenbaum, did you not ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Morton Sobell was a co-defendant with Ethel and
Julius Rosenberg, the notorious atom spies who jeopardized the se-
curity of this Nation for many years to come.
The Chairman. Ask the next question.
Mr. NiTFLE. Did you not as recently as January 16, 1962, partici-
pate, at the behest of the Communist Party of the Cleveland area, in
setting up a picket line demonstration before the Federal Building
at Cleveland, Ohio, on that date ?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the grounds of the first and
fifth amendments.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1143
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you know Milton Tenenbaum, whose car, I charge,
you drove to the demonstration ?
IMrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mrs. Brown has identified him as a member of the Com-
munist Party during her activities in that party between 1951 and
1960. I state that you knew, and now know, Milton Tenenbaum as a
member of the Communist Party in the Cleveland area. Will you
affirm or deny that assertion of fact?
Mrs. Emmer. I refuse to answer for reasons already stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. I have no further questions, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. All right. Any questions ?
Mr. Doyle. No questions.
The Chairman. Call your next witness.
Mr. NiTTLE. Milton Tenenbaum, please come forward.
The Chairman. Will you stand up and raise your right hand ? Do
you swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I do.
The Chairman. The committee will stand in recess for 5 minutes.
(A brief recess was taken.)
The Chairman. Are you ready, Mr. Nittle ?
Mr. Nittle. Yes, Mr. Chairman.
TESTIMONY OF MILTON TENENEATJM, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
CLEMENT THEODORE COOPER
Mr. Nittle. For the purpose of the record, would you please state
your name ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. Milton Tenenbaum.
Mr. Nittle. You are represented by counsel ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I am.
Mr. Nittle. Will counsel please identify himself for the record.
Mr. Cooper. My name is Clement Theodore Cooper. I am a mem-
ber of the State Bar of Michigan and the District of Columbia. I
am representing Mv. Tenenbaum through the American Civil Lib-
erties Union as a volunteer attorney.
The Chairman. May I ask you whether or not you know that the
purpose of your organization is the abolition of this committee, its
stated purpose in its literature ?
Mr. Cooper. I am not at liberty, Mr. Chairman, to give any informa-
tion on that point, inasmuch as I am not a spokesman for the Amer-
ican Civil Liberties Union.
The Chairman. No, you are not a spokesman. I just wondered if
you know that is the purpose of your organization and whether or not
one of the things it is doing to bring this about is preventing witnesses
from testifying.
Mr. Cooper. With all due respect to the chairman, I don't believe
that that is a correct connotation or interpretation of the American
Civil Liberties Union practice. Basically we are concerned with pro-
tecting the civil liberties of any persons where those liberties have been
brought into question.
Mr. Scherer. Chiefly Communists, though, is it not ?
86790—62 — pt. 2-
1144 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. Cooper. I would respectfully object to that question because,
basically, I am not here as a subpenaed witness ; number two, that it
is repugnant to the very purpose why I am here. The American Civil
Liberties Union does not support any particular movement. It is
concerned with protecting the civil liberties of all persons. We do
not inquire into the political or social beliefs of any person. We are
concerned with his legal rights and his protection.
The Chairman. What about my civil liberties when I attempt to
speak in New York and Los Angeles and have mobs there to try to
prevent me? Does your organization ever raise its voice? I have
the right to speak under the Constitution, just as well as your clients
or other Communists. I never heard you raise your voice about that.
Mr. Cooper. That would be very true, Mr. Chairman. However,
it is only in a case where you seek the help of the American Civil
Liberties Union. In this case, Mr. Tenenbaum has sought the Amer-
ican Civil Liberties Union help and that is the reason why I am here
and that is the reason why we are part of these proceedings.
The Chairman. All right.
Mr. Scpierer. The American Civil Liberties Union has appeared
amicus curiae on behalf of Communist causes and individuals time and
time again in courts in this countiy without any request when the
Communists (under indictment) were represented by their own law-
yers. You have voluntarily gone into court in support of Communist
causes when you were not asked.
]Mr. Cooper. It is not because of blanket association with commu-
nism, socialism, or any other type of ideology inasmuch as we are con-
cerned with the protection afforded under the Constitution of the
United States, these civil liberties.
Mr. Doyle. In other words, it is to protect the alleged liberties of a
man or woman that is known to be part of the international Communist
conspiracy to destroy this form of government.
Mr. Cooper. I would not go so far as to say that.
Mr. Doyle. The Supreme Court has said that is the purpose of the
Communist Party of the United States — you know that — on June 5.
Mr. Cooper. I am quite aware of the Supreme Court ruling but we
are departing from the very purpose of the American Civil Liberties
Union, which was the original question asked by the chairman and by
other members of the committee.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1145
The Chairman. It just seemed significant to us that these people
who are strangers to you — I am sure they never heard of you, and I
am here all the time and I never hoard of you or any of these other
members of tlie bar that wore here this morning — should single you
out, know all about you, and have you come here at this hearing. Go
ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Nittle. '\^^len and whore were you boiTi ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. New York City, January 15, 1915.
Mr. NiTTLE. Where do you presently reside ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. 3085 Lincoln Boulevard, Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
j\[r. Ntttle. What is your occupation ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. Tlie first amendment guarantees my rights of as-
sociation, and I respectfully decline to answer that question on those
grounds.
Mr. ScHERER. Mr. Chairman, I ask you to direct the witness to an-
swer that question. For the purpose of identification we are entitled
to know the occupation of this witness.
The Chairman. You are directed to answer the question.
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question on the grounds
previously stated and, in addition, under the rights guaranteed me by
the fifth amendment of the Constitution.
Mr. Scherer. Do you feel. Witness, to answer the question as to your
occupation might lead to a criminal prosecution ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question under the rights
granted me by tlie fifth amendment.
Mr. Scherer. Mr. Chairman, I am merely testing whether he is
using the fifth amendment in good faith ; and if he does feel that it
might lead to a criminal prosecution, he must so state. He can't invoke
the fifth amendment to that question. I ask you to direct the witness
to answer the question.
The Chairman. You are directed to answer the question as to your
occupation.
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question on the grounds
that it might be incriminating and I do this under the fifth amend-
ment.
The Chairman. Go ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Nittle. Are you a paid functionary of the Communist Party?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question under the rights
granted to me by the fifth amendment.
Mr. Nittle. Are you as of this moment a member of the Com-
munist Party?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question for the reasons
already stated.
Mr. Nittle. How long have you lived in Cleveland ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. Approximately 15 years.
Mr. Nittle. Prior to that where did you live?
Mr. Tenenbaum. In New York City.
1146 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. In 1945 did you sign a Communist Party nominating
petition on behalf of Benjamin J. Davis for the office of councilman
of the city of New York in the Borough of Manhattan ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question under the first
amendment and fifth amendment.
(At this point Mr. Bruce returned to the hearing room.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you know Benjamin J. Davis, the national secre-
tary of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question for the reasons
just given.
Mr. NiTTLE. At the time you executed that petition on behalf of
Ben Davis were you then a member of the Communist Party?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
IVIi'. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question for the reason
this might be self-incriminating.
Mr. NriTLE. Wliy did you change your residence from the city of
New York to the city of Cleveland ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I don't quite know what the pertinency of the
question is. However, I moved because I took on a job in the city
of Cleveland.
The Chairman. What was your occupation in New York before
you went to Cleveland ?
(Witness conferred with comisel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question under the rights
granted to me by the first and the fifth amendments.
jNIr. NiTTLE. Were you directed on behalf of any person known to
you to be a Communist to leave the New York area and to take up
your abode in the Cleveland area ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. Mr. Chairman, I have a statement that I would
like to read to this committee. It is a short statement.
The Chairman. You leave the statement. We will look at it and
decide whether or not it is responsive to any of the queries that we
have made.
Mr. Tenenbaum. I think it might obviate the necessity for many of
these inquiries.
The Chairman. We will decide whether or not it is necessary. Go
ahead, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Nittle. I might also suggest, ]\fr. Chairman, that our rules
provide that that any statement be submitted at least 48 hours be-
fore the witness appears heiore the committee.
Tlie Chairman. We are not going to follow that. You just leave
your statement, and I will look at it. If it is in reply to the questions
that you have just refused to answer, we will be very happy to make
that a part of the hearing.
Mr. JoHANSEN. I believe there is an outstanding question, Mr.
Counsel.
Mr. Tenenbaum. May I hear the question, please ?
Mr. Nittle. Would "you repeat the question to the witness, Mr.
Reporter ?
( Question read by reporter. )
Mr, Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question on the ground
of the fifth amendment.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1147
Mr. NiTTLE. Were yon sent to Cleveland, Ohio, for the purpose,
among others, to oro;anize the ProoTessive Party in that area ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. ScriERER. You mean. Counsel, sent by the Communist Party
to Cleveland?
IMr. NiTTLE. Yes, sir, I would, and the question is amended to in-
clude what you have said, Mr. Scherer.
Mr. TE>rEXBATar. I refuse to answer that question under tlie first
and fifth amendments.
Mr. XiTTLE. As a matter of fact, Mr. Tenenbaum, you have been a
fund raiser for the Progressive Party in the Cleveland area, have
you not?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer tliat under the rights granted
to me by the first amendment and that it might tend to incriminate
me.
Mr. NiTTLE. Our investigation discloses that at a meeting in the
Music Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, on Ai)ril CO, 1940, it was announced that
you were among the largest contributors to the Progressive Party.
Was that announcement correct?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I wouldn't remember it, but if I did I would re-
fuse to answer on the same grounds.
^Ir. NiTTLE, Do you deny that you were in attendance at that
meeting ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that on the grounds of both
the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you not circulate a ]3etition on behalf of the can-
didacy of Hugh DeLacy, who was a candidate for that party, seeking
the office of State assemblyman ?
]Mr. Tenenbaum. Might I ask counsel if this is pertinent to this
investigation ? Is the Progressive Party a legal party ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes, it is pertinent because we have f omid
The Chairman. Never mind arguing.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you deny that the Progressive Party was Com-
munist dominated and controlled?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that under the grounds of the
first and fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. You were also in attendance at a concert sponsored
by the Progressive Party at JMusic Hall on March 20, 1950, which
featured Paul Robeson, were you not ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that under the rights granted
to me by the first and fifth amendments.
]Mr. NiiTLE. I note you did not state you did not remember being
in attendance at that meeting.
j\[r. Tenenbaum. Mr. Counsel, I have attended many, many con-
certs and many, many places and I would not be able to identify the
dates or the times of any of them unless they happened within the
last week, as I am certain you wouldn't either.
Mr. NiTTLE. ('ertainly you would never forget hearing the voice of
Paul Robeson.
]Mr. Tenenbaum. That is very true. I have heard him many, many
times.
fe
1148 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. Perhaps you will remember making a contribution
openly at that concert of $25 toward the Progressive Party. Did
you make such a contribution ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question by the rights
granted to me under the first and fifth amendments of the Constitu-
tion.
Mr. NiTTLE. You were also in attendance at another fund-raising
affair for the Progressive Party at Paradise Hall in Cleveland on
May 6, 1952, which likewise featured Paul Robeson, and this concert
was sponsored by the Cleveland branch of the National Negro Labor
Council, of which Mrs. Brown has told us in detail.
Did you not attend that concert likewise ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. ScuERER. It seems to me the question should be put to the wit-
ness as to whether he attended these Progressive Party fmictions
as a functionary of the Communist Party.
Is that not so. Witness ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question on the same
grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you of your own knowledge know how the funds
were distributed that were received at that concert?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question on the same
o:rounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you also engaged in other activities on behalf
of the Communist Party in the Cleveland area ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I decline to answer on the same grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you a member in Cleveland, Ohio, of the Cleve-
land Council of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. Are you finished ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes.
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question on the same
grounds.
Mr. NiTrLE. Did you hold any position of leadership in the Cleve-
land Council of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. That question abridges my rights to freedom of
association, and I respectfully decline to answer on those grounds
and that of my rights under the fifth amendment.
Mr. NiTTLE. I state as a fact that the Cleveland Council of the
Arts, Sciences, and Professions was an affiliate of the National Council
of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions.
Do you have knowledge of that fact ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question on the same
grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. This committee has cited the National Council of the
Arts, Sciences, and Professions as a Communist front. Do you dis-
agree with that finding?
(Witness conferred with coimsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question on the same
grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. You were also active on behalf of the Ohio Committee
To Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case, were you not ?
COMJVrUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1149
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question under the rights
granted to me by the first and fifth amendments of the United States
Constitution.
Mr. NiTTLE. You were also active in the Cleveland area on behalf
of another Communist-front organization known as the Cleveland
Council of American-Soviet Friendship?
("Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question under the first
and fifth amendments.
Mr. Nittle. One of the events sponsored by that organization was
the showing of two Soviet Russian films on March 14, 1952, at No.
14101 Kinsman Road. Our information indicates that you were in
attendance at that event. Will you affirm or deny that statement?
("Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. Mr. Counsel, I have gone to see many movies in
my life. I don't remember seeing this particular one, but if I did
I would still refuse to answer under the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. NittIjE. "We are not censoring movies, but we are interested in
knowing what are the activities of the Commnnists in the Cleveland
area on behalf of advancing the interests of a foreign power. Now,
will you help us in this investigation %
]\Ir. Tenenbaum. Mr. Counsel, I would help you if I could, but I
have nothing to help you with so I refuse to answer any of those ques-
tions under the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. You could help us if you would testify truthfully about
your activities on behalf of the Communist Party.
Mr. Tenenbaum. That is a loaded question. I refuse to answer
that under the grounds of the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. NiTTLE. If you did not engage in these activities and told us
truthfully that you did not, that would be an end of the inquiry.
Mr. Tenenbaujm. I asked earlier that I be permitted to read a state-
ment which would explain precisely this.
Mr. NiTixE. Let me ask, is it not a fact that the Cleveland Comicil
of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions, the Ohio Committee To Secure
Justice in the Rosenberg Case, and the Cleveland Council of Ameri-
can-Soviet Friendship are paper names covering the activities of
the same Communists in the Cleveland area ?
("Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I will refuse to answer that question under the
rights granted me by the first and fifth amendments of the Constitu-
tion.
Mr. XiTTT.E. I state as a fact that you know the answer to that ques-
tion. "Will vou affirm or denv that statement ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I will refuse to answer that question under the
rights granted to me by the fifth amendment.
(At this point Mr. Bruce left the hearing room.)
Mr. Nm'EE. As a matter of fact, did not a meeting of the steering
committee of the Ohio Committee To Secure Justice in the Rosenberg
Case take place at your home on December 17, 1 952 ?
("Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. That question abridges my rights of freedom of
association and speech, and I decline to answer on those grounds and
also under the rights granted to me under the fifth amendment.
1150 COJVIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. I put it to you that on April 15, 1961, you participated
ill a "Walk For Peace" sponsored by the Cleveland Committee for a
Sane Nuclear Policy. Did you or did you not participate in the
'•Walk For Peace" on April 15, 1961 ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. ScHERER. And did you not do that in connection with your
duties as a functionary of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I object to that question on the grounds that I
can't see no pertinency here; further, that it abridges my rights of
association ; further, that it abridges my rights under the fifth amend-
ment.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you engage in that "Walk For Peace" with the
express purpose of advancing Communist policy and in support of the
aggressions of Soviet foreign policy ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
(At this point Mr. Johansen left the hearing room. )
Mr. Tenenbaum. Mr. Counsel, this question and many of the others
designed to hold me up to public ridicule. I think this is not a legal
question. I think that I have the right of free association under the
first amendment and under the fifth amendment and I respectfully
decline to answer on those grounds.
Mr. NiTTLE. On January 16, 1962, did you entrust your automobile
to Ruth Emmer for the purpose of conveying Helen Sobell to the
picketing demonstration at the Federal Building and then to return
her to your home ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question under the
rights
Mr. NriTLE. Do you know Ruth Emmer to be a member of the
Communist Party ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I object to the pertinency of the question and I
refuse to answer it under the rights granted me under the first and
fifth amendments of the Constitution.
Mr, NiTTLE. Mrs. Brown testified that she attended closed Commu-
nist Party meetings at your home. Will you aiSirm or deny her
testimony ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. Mrs. Brown evidently testified to this committee
that every social, civic, religious meeting she ever attended was a
Communist Party meeting.
Mr. ScHERER. That wasn't the question.
The Chairman. You are mistaken about that. Go ahead, Mr.
Nittle.
Mr. Nittle. Will you please answer the question ?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question under the rights
granted to me under the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. Scherer. The question is, Did you hold closed Communist
Party meetings at your home, irrespective of whether Mrs. Brown
testified so or not?
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question under the rights
granted to me under the first and fifth amendments.
CO]\rMTJNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1151
Mr. NiTTLE. And at these closed Communist Party meetings were
the following persons at one time or another meeting with you: Yetta
Land, Jerome Land, Frieda Katz, and Sam Handelman?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Tenenbaum. I refuse to answer that question mider the rights
ffranted to me by the first and fifth amendments of the Constitution.
Mr. jSTittle. Xo further questions, Mr. Chairman.
The CiiAiRMAX. All right. The witness is excused.
i\Ir. Tenenbaum. May I leave this statement with the committee?
The Chairman. Yes, please.
Call the next witness.
Mr. NiTTLE. Regina Sokol.
Mr. Day. i\Ir. Chairman, will it be all right if Mrs. Sokol sits to my
right ? She has a hearing difficulty.
The Chairman. Certainly. Eaise your right hand, Mrs. Sokol.
"Will you stand up and raise your right hand ?
Do you swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
]Mrs. Sokol. I do.
TESTIMONY OF EEGINA SOKOL, ACCOMPANIED EY COUNSEL,
JACK G. DAY
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you state your name, please.
Mrs. Sokol. Regina Sokol.
Mr. Xittle. When were vou bom and where ?
Mrs. Sokol. May 26, 1917, Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. NiTTLE. Where do you presently reside ?
Mrs. Sokol. 3457 Westbury Road, Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Mr. NiTTLE. How long have you resided in Cleveland ?
Mrs. Sokol. All my life.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you have a residence elsewhere for any period of
time ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. SoKOL. I decline to answer that question on the basis of the
first and fifth amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
Mr. NiTTLE. You just said you lived in Cleveland all your life. Now
when I asked you whether you lived elsewhere you now invoke the
fifth amendment. Do you ?
The CHAiR:NrAN. Ask another question.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mrs. Sokol, are you a member of the Communist
Party?
Mrs. SoKOL. I decline to answer on the basis of the first and fifth
amendment to the United States Constitution.
Mr. NiTTLE. I put it to you as a fact that you are at this moment a
member of the Communist Party. Will you deny, affirm or explain
that assertion ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. Sokol. I decline to answer on the basis of the first and fifth
amendment to tlie United States Constitution.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you know Mrs. Julia Brown ?
Mrs. Sokol. I decline to answer that question on the basis of the
first and fifth amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
1152 CORIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN" THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
The Chairman. All right. Mr. Nittle, it is obvious that this woman
isn't going to testify.
Mr. Nittle. Are you presently teaching school ?
Mrs. SoKOL. I decline to answer that question on the basis of the
first and fifth amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
Mr. Nittle. You are a teacher at Westwood School in Cleveland,
Ohio. Is that correct ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. SoKOL. I decline to answer that question on the basis of the
first and fifth amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
The Chairman. I direct you to answer that question.
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. SoKOL. I decline to answer that question on the basis of the
first and fifth amendments to the United States Constitution.
The Chairman. Do you honestly feel that if you answer the ques-
tion of whether or not you are teaching in a particular school you
might be subjected to a criminal prosecution ?
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mrs. SoKOL. I decline to answer that question on the basis of the
fifth amendment.
The Chairman. All right.
Mr. Nittle. Mrs. Sokol, I state as a fact that you were in your
younger days the Ohio State administrative secretary of the Young
Communist League and a member of the Communist Party.
Will you affirm or deny that fact ?
Mrs. SoKOL. I decline to answer that question on the basis of the
first and fifth amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
Mr. Nittle. You have been known by various names, among others
by the name of Eena Farrell. Have you not ?
Mrs. SoKOL. I decline to answer that question under the first and
fifth amendments to the Constitution.
(Mr. Johansen entered the hearing room.)
(Mr. Schadeberg left the hearing room.)
Mr. Nittle. How long have you been a member of the Communist
Party?
Mrs. SoKOL. I decline to answer that question on the basis of the
first and fifth amendment to the United States Constitution.
Mr. Nittle. No further questions.
It is quite obvious, Mr. Chairman, that this witness will not respond.
The Chairman. Yes. Did you identify her lawyer's name?
Mr. Nittle. I don't think I did.
Mr. Day. No, sir. I think you did not. My name is Jack G.
Day. I am attorney in Cleveland, Ohio, with offices at 1748 Stand-
ard Building, Cleveland. Mr. Chairman, is the witness excused now ?
The Chairman. Yes, the witness is excused.
Call the next witness.
Mr. Nittle. Elsie Tarcai, would you please come forward.
The Chairman. Will you raise your riglit hand, please? Do you
swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Miss Tarcai. I do.
C0]\OrUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1153
TESTIMONY OF ELSIE E. TAKCAI, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
JOSEPH FORER
Mr. NiTTLE. Will you state your name for the record, please.
Miss Tarcai. Elsie R. Tarcai^
Mr. NiTTLE. I see you are represented by counsel. Will counsel
identify himself for the record ?
Mr. FoRER. Joseph Forer, 711 14th Street NW., Washington, D.C.
Mr. NiTTLE. Where were you born, Mrs. Tarcai ?
Miss Tarcai. I am Miss Tarcai.
Mr. NiTTLE. You are Miss Tarcai ?
Miss Tarcai. Yes.
Mr. NiTTLE. "Wliere were you born and when ?
Miss Tarcai. I was born in Budapest, Hungary, May 9, 1909.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you presently a citizen of the United States?
Miss Tarcai. Yes, I am.
Mr. NiTTLE. What is your occupation?
Miss Tarcai. I am an attorney.
]\lr. NiTTLE. Are you as of this moment a member of the Communist
Party of the United States?
Miss Tarcai. I do not think that question is pertinent. This com-
mittee does not have any right to inquire into my political beliefs
under the first amendment, and I claim the privilege of the fifth
amendment.
The Chairman. By that you mean that you decline to answer the
question ?
Miss Tarcai. Under the first and fifth amendments.
The Chairman. All right.
Miss Tarcai. Of the Constitution of the United States.
The Chairman. Go ahead.
(At this point Mr. Bruce entered the hearing room.)
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you know Mrs. Julia Brown ?
Miss Tarcai. To the best of my recollection, I do not.
Mr. NiTTLE. I will ask Mrs. Brown to come forward, please.
Mrs. Julia Brown, would you come forward ?
The Chairman. Just stand up. That is all right.
Do you know that lady?
Miss Tarcai. I do not say with certainty that I do.
The Chairman. All right,
Mr. NiTTLE. You do not deny knowing her?
jSIiss Tarcai. I think I answered that question to the best of my
ability.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you a member of the Communist Party in 1942 ?
Miss Tarcai. I think that is a loaded question. I have not admitted
membership.
Mr. Johansen. Mr. Chairman, I ask that the witness be directed to
answer the question, whether it is loaded or not.
The Chairman. Yes. It is a very direct question.
Miss Tarcai. I refuse to answer under the first and fifth amend-
ments.
The Chairman. All right. Mr. Nittle, it is obvious that this witness
is not going to testify to anything. I suggest that you call another
witness.
1154 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. NiTTLE. Violet Tarcai.
The Chairman. Will you raise you right hand?
Do you swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing Jbut the truth, so help you God?
Miss Tarcai. I do.
TESTIMONY OF VIOLET J. TARCAI, ACCOMPANTEI) BY COUNSEL,
JOSEPH FORER
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you state your name for the record, please?
Miss Tarcai. Violet J. Tarcai.
Mr. NiTTLE. And you are represented by counsel?
Miss Tarcai. Yes, I am.
Mr. NiTTLE. Would counsel identify himself for the record ?
Mr. FoRER. Joseph Forer.
Mr. NiTTLE. Will you state the date and place of your birth. Miss
Tarcai?
Miss Tarcai. I was born November 1, 1916, in Chicago, 111.
Mr. NiTTLE. "Where do you presently reside?
Miss Tarcai. 2929 East Overlook Koad, Cleveland Heights 18,
Ohio.
Mr. NiTTLE. Wliat is your occupation?
Miss Tarcai, I am an attorney.
Mr. NiTTLE. To what bars are you admitted to practice?
Miss Tarcai. I am admitted to practice with the Cleveland Bar
Association ; the Cuyahoga Bar Association. I am sorry.
Mr. NiTTLE. Wliere do you maintain your offices ?
Miss Tarcai. I operate through my home.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you a member of the National Lawyers Guild ?
Miss Tarcai. Yes, I am a member of the National Lawyers Guild.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you Imow Mrs. Julia Brown ?
Miss Tarcai. To the best of my recollection, I have never seen Mrs.
Brown up until yesterday in the committee room. I believe that I
did not ever meet her.
Mr. NiTTLE. I will ask Mrs. Brown to stand.
Do you recognize the lady who has just stood, whom we identified
as Mrs. Julia Brown ?
Miss Tarcai. I do not know her.
The Chairman. Are you a member of the Communist Party?
Miss Tarcai. I refuse to answer that question.
I believe my political beliefs are my own business and this commit-
tee has no right to interrogate me on such matters.
The Chairman. For what reason do you decline to answer ?
Miss Tarcal. I refuse to answer on the ground of the first amend-
ment. My political beliefs are my own business and I refuse to answer
on the grounds of the fifth amendment.
The Chairman, Have you ever been a Communist ?
Miss Tarcai. I would refuse to answer that question on the same
grounds.
The Chairman. This witness is excused.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1155
The Chairman. Call another witness, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. Nittle. Eugene Bayer.
Mr. FoRER. He is the one for this afternoon.
Mr. XrrTLE. What time will you have him here?
]\Ir. FoRKR. What time do you want him ?
The Chairman. Is he the last witness ?
]SIr. Nittle. He is the last witness.
The Chairman. Mr. Forer, you and I have an understanding about
this. You have him at the committee room this afternoon. Is there
only one more witness ?
Mr. Nittle. Yes.
The Chairman. I thought there were two more.
Mr. Nittle. No, sir; he is the last one for public session.
The Chairman. You have your witness at the committee room when
he gets in.
Mr. Forer. I am pretty sure he is in already. He was due in. What
time did you want him there ?
The Chairman. I would say 2 o'clock.
Mr. Forer. 2 o'clock?
The Chairman. Yes.
Mr. Forer. Fine. At the committee room.
The Chairman. Yes.
This public session is recessed.
(Whereupon, at 12 : 05 p.m., Thursday, June 7, 1962, the hearing
was recessed to reconvene at 2 p.m. the same day.)
AFTERNOON SESSION— THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1962
The subcommittee reconvened at 2 p.m., in Room 226, Old House
Office Building, Hon. Clyde Dojie, of California, presidhig.
Subcommittee members present: Representatives Doyle, Johansen,
and Bruce.
Committee members also present : Representative Schacleberg.
Staff members present: Francis J. McNamara, director; Alfred M.
Nittle, counsel ; and Neil E. Wetterman, investigator.
Mr, Doyle. Are you ready to be sworn ?
Mr. Bayer. Yes, sir.
Mr. Doyle. Will you raise your right liand, please.
Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Bayer. I do.
Mr. Doyle. Let the record show a quorum of the subcommittee is
present and, while this is theoretically in executive session, it was
really called in this manner, as you probably know, Counsel, as an
accommodation to Ijotli the connnittee and the witness and his counsel.
Mr. Rein. ^Mr. Forer told me that.
Mr. Johansen. This is, in fact, an extension of the public liearings.
Mr. Doyle. It is an extension of the public hearings because ]\Ir.
Bayer wasn't here yet, so we were glad to accommodate liim and his
counsel in this manner.
Proceed, Counsel.
1156 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
TESTIMONY OF EUGENE BAYER, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
DAVID REIN
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you state your full name for the record ?
Mr. Bayer. Yes, sir. Eugene Bayer.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you represented by counsel ?
Mr. Bayer. Yes, sir.
Mr. NiTTLE. Will counsel kindly identify himself ?
Mr. Rein. David Eein, R-e-i-n, 711 14th Street N.W., Washing-
ton, D.C.
Mr. NiTTLE. Where and when were you born, Mr. Bayer ?
Mr. Bayer. Jmie 16, 1918, Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. NiTTLE. Have you resided in Cleveland, Ohio, since your birth
there to the present time ?
Mr. Bayer. Yes, sir.
Mr. NiTTLE. AVhat is the extent of your formal education ?
Mr. Bayer. I am just now completing my formal education at
college.
Mr. NiTTLE. Will you state the schools you have attended in the
course of your life to the present time ?
Mr. Bayer. Well, I graduated from the public schools of Cleveland,
Ohio.
Mr. NiTTLE. What year ?
Mr. Bayer. In 1934, graduated from high school. I attended
Western Reserve University for a year in 1934 and I attended Ohio
State University.
Mr. NiTTLE. During what time ?
Mr. Bayer. 1935.
Mr. NiTTLE. When did you attend Ohio State University ?
Mr. Bayer. 1935. Then I didn't go to college for a while and
then I entered Cleveland College of Western Reserve University,
probably in the late thirties, which was broken by my entering into
the service, and I just resumed education about a year ago when I
felt I wanted to get my degree and I now attend Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. NiTTLE. 'Wlien did you enter the service ?
Mr. Bayer. June of 1943.
Mr. NiTTLE. And how long did you remain in the service ?
Mr. Bayer. Approximately 30 months.
Mr. NiTTLE. What is your present employment or occupation?
Mr. Bayer. I am a tobacco distributor, sell tobacco wholesale.
Mr. NiTTLE. Are you the proprietor and sole owner of the Bayer
Candy & Tobacco Co., 13912 Union Street, Cleveland ?
Mr. Bayer. JNIy wife and I.
Mr. NiTTLE. ]\Ir. Bayer, are you at the present time a member of
the Communist Party?
Mr. Bayer. Sir, on the basis of the privilege granted to all citizens
by the Constitution and its Bill of Rights, which guarantees against
any intrusion into a man's beliefs and guarantees to each person the
privilege of not being forced to testify against himself, I must de-
cline to answer that question.
Mr. NiTTLE. Mrs. Julia Brown, who was a witness before this com-
mittee, testified that she knew you as a member of the Communist
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1157
Party during the time she was active in tliat organization between
the iy50's and 1960, and until tlie time she left the party.
Do you care to allirm or deny her testimony or to oiler any
explanation i
Mr. liAYEK. No, sir; for the reasons I stated I must refuse to
answer.
Mr. JoHANSEN. Mr, Chairman, just to clarify the record, the witness
says he must refuse to. You are not under any compulsion to do it.
Do 1 understand you mean that you do elect to decline to answer ?
Mr. Bayer. Well, sir, you nmst understand I have given this much
thougiit. When I say "I must,*" it is a form of the word "'elect."
1 do this with what 1 consider my necessary interpretation of the
Constitution and the Bill of Eights. I elect.
Mr. JoHAxsEx. You are decidmg to do it, not under compulsion?
Mr. Bayer. No outside compulsion. This is my own decision.
Mr. Doyle. That is the way 1 mterpreted your answer.
Mr. Bayer. That is what I am telling myself I must do; not an
outside force, no, sir.
Mr. NiTTLE. Were you a member of the Communist Party during
the year 1936?
Mr. Bayer. I decline to answer that question based on the privilege
I enjoy given in the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution
of not being forced to testify against myself.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you know David Katz, who has been identified
by Mrs. Brown as a member of the Communist Party and a very active
functionary during the period she was within that organization?
Mr. Bayer. I decline to answer for the same reason.
Mr. NiTTLE. Have you met in any closed Communist Party meetings
with David Katz at any time during your residence in Cleveland ?
Mr. Bayer. I decline for the reason stated to answer the question.
Mr. NiTTLE. Do you know Don Rothenberg to be a member of the
Communist Party ?
Mr. Bayer. I decline to answer that question on the ground I pre-
viously stated.
Mr, NinxE. Do you know Martin Chancey as a member of the
Communist Party ?
Mr. Bayer. I decline to answer for the reasons previously stated.
Mr. NiTTLE. I assert as a fact that you have been active with Mar-
tin Chancey and associated with him in Communist Party activities in
the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Do you affirm or deny that assertion?
Mr. Bayer. I decline to answer based on my rights under the fifth
amendment.
Mr. Doyle. Do I understand. Counsel, that you asked the witness
about 1936, something about the year 1936 ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes, sir. I inquired whether the witness was a mem-
ber of the Communist Party during the year 1936 at a time w^hen he
would appear to be 18 years old.
j\lr, Doyle, I thought I heard those years and if you were in the
Communist Party when you were 18 years old, it is terrible, a young
American like you to get in at that age. I am not going to lecture
you. Have you any other business ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Counsel has no further questions, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Doyle. Committee members ?
1158 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr, Bruce, Yes, I would like to ask a question,
Mr. Bayer, is your business being utilized as a front for the Com-
munist Party ?
Mr. Bayer. No, sir,
Mr, Bruce, Does the Communist Party have any direction over the
affairs or operation of your business ?
Mr, Bayer, No, sir,
Mr, Bruce, There is no connection between your business enter-
prise and the Communist Party ?
Mr, Bayer, No, sir,
Mr. Doyle, Mr, Schadeberg, do you have any questions?
Mr, Schadeberg. No questions.
Mr. Doyle. Mr. Johansen ?
Mr. Johansen. No questions.
Mr. NiTTLE. May I ask two more questions as a result of the
inquiry of the committee member ?
Mr. Doyle. Yes.
Mr. Bayer. ]\Iay I be excused for a moment ?
Mr. Doyle. Yes.
(Witness conferred with counsel.)
Mr. Johansen, Is there a pending question ?
Mr. Bruce. The counsel has a question,
Mr. NiTTLE. I withdraw my request.
Mr. Johansen. To refresh my memory, are you presently a mem-
ber of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Bayer. I decline to answer that, sir, because of the constitu-
tional provision which makes such an inquiry an intrusion and the
constitutional protection which does not require me to give testimony
on that.
Mr. Johansen. I have no further questions,
Mr. Doyle. Any other questions. Counsel ?
Mr. NiTTLE. No, sir.
Mr. Doyle. You are excused. Witness, and Mr. Rein,
Mr, Bayer, Thank you.
Mr. NiTTLE, Mr, Wetterman will be the next witness.
Mr, Doyle, Do you solemnly swear you will tell the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr, Wetterman, I do,
TESTIMONY OF NEIL E. WETTERMAN
Mr. NiTTLE. Would you state your name for the record, please ?
Mr. Wetterman. Neil E. Wetterman.
Mr. NiTTLE. And what is your occupation ?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1159
Mr. Wetterman. I am an investigator with the Conuiiittee on Un-
American Activities.
Mr. NiTTLE. And you have been employed in that capacity for what
period of time?
JNlr. Wettermax. Since December 5, 1960.
Mr. NiTTLE. You were in the Caucus Room on Monday, June 4,
1962, at which time a person named William Henry Cooper was called
to testify ?
Mr. Wetterman. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE, Did you have occasion to identify him prior to his ap-
pearance in the Caucus Room on that day ?
Mr. Wetterman. Yes. We had testimony from Mrs. Julia Brown,
and also statements to me personally from Mr. Cooper during a trip to
Cleveland, the week of April 2, 1962.
Mr. NiTTLE. Prior to April 2, 1962, did you know William Henry
Cooper ?
Mr. Wetterman. No, I did not.
Mr. NiTTLE. Will you tell us when you first met him and what were
the circumstances ?
Mr. Wetterman. It was during the week of April 2, 1962. I was in
Cleveland, Ohio, on routine business for the committee and had de-
cided to call on the William Cooper family, basing the call on infor-
mation that Mr. Cooper might possibly be a cooperative witness for
the committee. That afternoon I spoke with Mrs. Cooper and ques-
tioned her with regard to Communist activities in the Cleveland area.
Mr. NiTTLE. Was her husband at home ?
Mr. Wetterman. No, he was not at home. He was at work during
the day. Mrs. Cooper stated that she had been a member of the
Progressive Party. On further questioning with regard to Commu-
nist Party activities, she appeared rather hazy and sort of reluctant
to make any comments. I returned later that evening when Mr.
Cooper was home and asked him similar questions of his party ac-
tivities, which he initially denied. On the presentation of various
evidence and following with questions on pertinent points of activity
he had been engaged in, he finally admitted that he had been a mem-
ber of the Communist Party from 1944 until the mid-1950's.
Mr. NiTTLE. When you say he "finally admitted" Communist Party
membership, will you state for the record what the conversation was
as accurately as you can state it ?
Mr. Wetterman. Well, I had a number of confidential reports of
Mr. Cooper's activities, and I informed him the committee had re-'
ceived testimony that he had been a member of the Communist Party.
Upon presenting him with that information he finally admitted that
lie became a member in 1944, had a party memberehip card in the late
forties, and that he had gotten out of the party around 1955 or 1956 at
the time of the Smith Act trials in Cleveland. I also asked Mr.
Cooper at that time if he had knowledge of Joe Hill and Albert Young
and if he had been active in Young's political campaign. He stated
that he had never heard of them before.
Upon his admission of party membership, he did state that Frieda
Katz had come to his home in the middle fifties when he was attempt-
ing to get out of the party and had told him that he should remain in
the party because it was an organization fighting for the civil rights
86790— 62— pt. 2 7
1160 COM]VIUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
of Negroes and it was important he remain a member. He stated to
me that he began to realize he was being used by the Communist Party
and that it was not for the civil rights of the Negro people and, hence,
his gradual disassociation. I told Mr. Cooper that it might be neces-
sary for him to come to Washington and so testify and he finally
agreed to do so, though rather reluctantly.
My next contact with Mr. Cooper was on May 7, 1962, when I called
at the Cooper residence, again in the afternoon, and Mr. Cooper was
not there. I talked to some extent with Mrs. Cooper in a general way,
and it so happened that her daughter, Winnie Cruise, was there. I
asked Mrs. Cooper if I could talk with Winnie Cruise and would she
leave us alone. I asked Winnie Cruise how long it had been since she
left the Communist Party. She said that she had left the party in
the latter forties or early fifties ; she didn't recall.
Mr. JoHANSEN. That is she herself, the daughter ?
Mr. Wetterman. She, Winnie Cruise, the daughter. I asked her
if it was not a fact that she attended a Communist Party school in New
York City and she said yes, she had, but it had been so long ago she
didn't have too much recollection. She said that she had been quite
ill of health and, as a result, was never a functionary of the party.
Those are her exact words. She stated that the j)arty only wanted peo-
ple who were healthy and could work day and night for the cause and,
therefore, she was not accepted as a functionary of the party and grad-
ually withdrew from it.
I returned that evening, and Mr. Cooper was there. I told him that
we would like to have him in Washington to testify and all that was
necessary for him to do was to tell the complete truth the way he had
told it to me. He agreed to do so and then he volunteered the infor-
mation to me that he had campaigned for Joe Hill and Albert Young.
I said to him, "Well, Mr. Cooper, the last time I was at your home you
denied that you even knew them," and he said, "Oh, yes, I campaigned
for them," and he also told me that he knew them to be members of
the Communist Party. He stated he knew Dave Katz, Frieda Katz,
the Krchmareks, and other lesser leaders of the Communist Party
and that he would cooperate with our committee in giving such infor-
mation. I told Mr. Cooper I would arrange for his transportation and
would meet him at the airport on Sunday, June 3. Arrangements were
made. I was at the airport on June 3. He did not arrive on the flight
as scheduled.
Checking with the airlines I discovered he had canceled his reserva-
tion and arrived on a 9 :30 flight the day prior. I did not see Mr.
Cooper until he entered the hearing room on Monday, June 4.
Mr. NiTTLE. Did you make an effort to determine his presence or the
reason why he had not appeared ?
Mr. Wetterman. Yes. I called a number of hotels, taking a chance
of locating him. I was unable to do so, so I phoned him on a person-
to-person basis in Cleveland. I got the answer that he was in Wash-
ington, D.C.
Mr. NiTTLE. To whom did you speak ?
Mr. Wetterman. The operator was speaking with Mrs. Cooper, and
this is a conversation I heard. She said he was in Washington, D.C,
and since we were not able to get a definite address from her I asked
COIVIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1161
to speak with Mrs. Cooper. I said to Mrs. Cooper, "What has hap-
pened ? I did not meet Mr. Cooper at tlie plane."
She said, ''Oh, he was very anxious not to be late and he decided to
come up one day earlier and he was going to get in touch with you
the minute he got in Washington." Of course, I never did hear from
Mr. Cooper at any time on Saturday or any time Sunday.
Mr. NiTTLE. When was the first time you saw or heard from him ?
Mr. Wetterman. You mean after my meeting with him on May 7 ?
Mr. NiTTLE. Yes.
Mr. Wetterman. Well, the first time following that date, I saw
him when he entered the hearing room on Monday morning, June 4,
in company with his attorney.
Mr. Johansen. In other words, the third time you saw him there-
after was when lie entered the hearing room in the company of
counsel ?
Mr. Wetterman. That is correct.
Mr. NiTTLE. To the committee ?
Mr. Wetterman. That is correct. I would just like to add this on
the record. I came to know the Cooper family pretty well and, based
on the conversations with Mr. Cooper and his attitude with regard
to the subject at hand, I had every confidence in the w^orld that Mr.
Cooper was going to be a cooperative witness, and certainly nothing
could have changed that other than fear or intimidation. I still feel
that Mr. Cooper is going to reconsider and that he will come before
this committee at some later date and be willing to cooperate. I
have that confidence in him.
Mr. ScHADEBERG. Is it your opinion that Mr. Cooper was contacted
by some one up in Cleveland, or after he got to Washington ?
Mr. Wetterman. It is my definite opinion that Mr. Cooper was
contacted by some member of the Communist Party following the
appearance of his name in the Cleveland Press. We know for a fact
that another party whose name appeared in the newspaper article
was contacted by Dave and Frieda Katz and urged to appear with
counsel,
Mr. Johansen. And would you feel that his arrival in Washington
ahead of the time that he had scheduled with you was the result of
that contact ?
Mr. Wetterman. I would certainly think so because Mr. Cooper
would never have arranged that day-early arrival on his own. I am
quite sure of that.
Mr. Schadeberg. You feel that there was some matter of threat ? .
Mr. Wetterman. I think there was either fear or intimidation.
Mr. Nittle. Did you have any discussions with Mr. Cooper relating
to his financial ability to appear here as a witness when you talked to
him?
Mr. Wetterman. Yes, I did. I asked him if he had sufficient money
until such time as he would be reimbursed. He said no, that he had
very little money, and I asked him if he could raise about $20, which
would cover him for his hotel one night and meals, and I would see
that he had his transportation in advance. Of course, when he came
a night earlier that meant a couple of nights here, and I don't know
how he financed it unless he was given money from another source.
1162 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA
Mr. Doyle. Mr. Speiser stated, did he not, that he was there for
the American Civil Liberties Union ?
Mr. Wetterman. Yes.
Mr. Doyle. And did not Mr. Scherer ask if he had any offices other
than the office he related, the American Civil Liberties Union, and
didn't Speiser answer no ?
Mr. NiTTLE. That is in the record, Mr. Doyle.
Mr. Doyle. Is it not a fact that these other witnesses from Cleve-
land, with certain exceptions all had attorneys from the American
Civil Liberties Union.
Mr. Wetterman. That is correct.
Mr. Doyle. So that they made the arrangement either at Cleveland
or in some way so that the Civil Liberties Union office in Washington
provided volunteer attorneys for all these other Cleveland witnesses
excepting, I think, those represented by Mr. Forer, the attorney for
the Communist Party. Is that not true ?
Mr. McNamara. Sir. Forer was counsel for a good many of them.
I have forgotten the exact count now.
Mr. Doyle. Have you any other questions. Counsel, or committee
members ?
Mr. JoHANSEN". Mr. Wetterman, am I correct in the impression
that the problem which was encountered with respect to Mr. Cooper
gives validity to the feeling that the work of this committee is im-
peded when, as was evidently the situation in this case, there is a
leak and disclosure of the identity of witnesses who have been or are
to be subpenaed before the committee ?
Mr. Weti'erman. That is most definitely a true statement. With-
out a doubt the leaking of the names to the press by someone outside
the committee prevented us from having a witness to corroborate the
testimony of Mrs. Julia Brown. The loss of this witness, I would
say, did irrevocable damage to this particular investigation.
Mr. Johansen. And yet these disclosures have been twisted and
distorted by witnesses before the committee and cast in the light of
being an effort on the part of this committee to injure and violate the
rights of the subpenaed witnesses ? Isn't it true that the exact oppo-
site is true, that the work of the committee itself is hampered and that
it would be self-defeating for this sort of thing to be engineered or
planned by the committee ?
Mr. Doyle. It also was apparently a deliberate interference with
the procedure of the committee.
Mr. Wetterman. Such a leak would benefit the Communist Party,
because they can contact these witnesses in advance and use the fact of
the names being released as a propaganda move against the committee.
Mr. Schadeberg. Is there some prospect that if any of the Commu-
nist group had received a subpena he would report back naturally
and contact all of their membership or the contacts they have and ask
them?
Mr. WETTERMAisr. I would think that all of the members of the
party who did not intend to come up and cooperate with the com-
mittee would, in one way or another, get in touch with one another
following the release of names, but with respect to any cooperative
witness, it would be the last move that person would make.
COIVOrUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, AREA 1163
Mr. ScHADEBERG. The party may not know who is going to be co-
operative or not.
Mr. Bruce. They find out about it.
Mr. "Wetterman. They find out in a hurry.
Mr. JoHANSEN. Did not Mr. Frank Wilkinson, in an interview that
was recorded and inchided in the House document on the film "Opera-
tion Abolition," make a statement that one of his assigned duties was
to contact persons who were being subpenaed by the committee?
Mr. Wetterman. That is correct, and Frank Wilkinson was also
in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 18 for that very purpose and held a meet-
ing with individuals who were subpenaed.
Mr. JoiiANSEX. And also I might say, according to the information
that came to me, he appeared for an interview on a television station in
Cleveland because the newsman for that station called me and asked
me to comment on Mr. Wilkinson's statement.
Mr. Bruce. I was also called for a comment.
Mr. JoHANSEN. Which I might say I declined to do.
(At this point Mr. Bruce left the hearing room.)
Mr. Doyx,e. I think the evidence here today clearly shows the perti-
nence and propriety of jNIr. Walter, as chairman of our committee, hav-
ing promptly sent to the Attorney General of the United States a letter
asking their immediate and full investigation and prosecution, if
the person or persons who made the leak were ascertained, on the
grounds that it clearly is an interference and tampering with the wit-
ness mider subpena from this committee and a definite hindrance to
our conunittee functioning, as stated by the witness today. Any other
questions ?
Mr. NiTTLE. No, sir.
Mr. Doyle. If not, the committee will stand in adjournment.
(Whereupon, at 3 :20 p.m., Thursday, June 7, 1962, the committee
was recessed subject to call of the Chair.)
INDEX
Individuals
A
Page
Abernathy, Mamie (Mrs. Foster McCurdy) 998, 1002, 1030, 1061
Ambatielos, Tony 1113
B
Bass, Charlotta A 1025, 1055
Bayer, Eugene 998, 1002, 1003, 1133, 1134, 1140, 1155, 1156-1158 (testimony)
Begun, Isadore 1100
Berry, Abner W 1046
Bethencourt, Albert 1067
Bethencourt, Lucille (Mrs. Albert Betbencourt) 1067
Black, Nona 1068, 1069
Brown, Julia C 989, 990, 993-1012 (testimony), 1015, 1016-1069 (testimony),
1071-1076, 1078, 1083-1086, 1088, 1089-1109 (testimony), 1110,
1112, 1115, 1118, 1131, 1135, 1138, 1141, 1143, 1148, 1150, 1151,
1153, 1154, 1156, 1159.
Brown, Roland 1008
Brownlee, Oscar 1056
Brudno, Eugene 998, 1002, 1106, 1141
O
Caldwell, Jimmy Lee 1031, 1032
Caldwell, Mrs. Jimmy Lee 1031
Careathers, Benjamin S 1034, 1037, 1038
Chaka, Betty (Mrs. Edward Chaka ; alias Jean E. Horner) 1092
Chaka, Edward (alias John Horner) 1093, 1106
Chancey, Martin 1051, 1052, 1058, 1096, 1106, 1119-1131 (testimony), 1157
Chancey, Sally (also known as Sadie; Mrs. Martin Chancey) 1051,
10.52, 1058, 1096, 1106
Childress, Alice 1025
Clark, Sally 1093
Clark, Tom C 1083
Cooper, Clement Theodore 1143
Cooper, Elizabeth (Mrs. William Henry Cooper) 994,996-998,1159-1161
Cooper, William Henry 990,
994, 996-998, 1000, 1004, 1008, 1010, 1012, 1013-1015 (testimony),
1016, 1026, 1027, 1056, 1159-1161.
Cooper, Winnie Cruise 1160
Crater, Robert (W.) 1053
Cvetic, Matthew 998, 999, 103$
D
Davis, Benjamin J., Jr 1001, 1002, 1146
Day, Jack G 1151, 1152
Decavitch, Victor 1045
Decker, Robert 1035, 1036, 1048
DeLacy, Hester Sondergaard. {See Sondergaard, Hester.)
DeLacy, Hugh 1006, 1007, 1108, 1140, 1147
Delaney, Thomas F 995
Dennis, Myrtle (Mrs. Raymond Dennis) __ 989, 997, 999, 1002, 1005, 1007, 1017-
1019, 1030, 1031, 1033-1035, 1037, 1044, 1074, 1106, 1108
i
li INDEX
Page
Dennis, Raymond (Ray) 997,999,1044
Dickerson, Angle , 1031, 1042
Dolsen, James (H.) 998
Dougher, Florence (Mrs. Joe Dougher) 1067
Dougher, Joe 1067, 1068
E
Eleff, Abraham 1057
Elliott, Willis E. (Rev. Dr.) 1052,1053
Emmer, Jack 998, 1003, 1140
Emmer, Ruth (Mrs. Jack Emmer) (nee Bayer) 998,
1002, 1003, 1133, 1139-1143 (testimony), 1150
F
Farrell, Rena. (See Sokol, Regina.)
Forer, Joseph 1063, 1077, 1084, 1109, 1114, 1117, 1119, 1134,
1153-1155, 1162
Fortson, Oscar 993
Foster, William Z 1100
Furry, Thelma C 1112
G
Gaines, Edith 1094
Gaines, Lloyd 1094
Gardner, Fred 1044, 1045, 1047
Gardner, Lee (Mrs. Fred Gardner) 1044
Garfield, David W. (also known as Paul Stone, Frank Williams, and
"John") 1050
Gates, John (W.) (alias Irving Regenstreif) 1062
Gerson, Simon W 1100
Gisser, Libby 1049, 1066
Golden, Hamp L 1038
Goodman, Ethel L. (Mrs. Lew Jennings) 1044,
1048, 1061, 1062, 1065-1069, 1069-1073 (testimony), 1074, 1096, 1106
Graham, Shirley (Mrs. W. E. B. Dubois) 1025
Grayson, Josephine 1025
Greenfield, Elvador C 1034, 1035, 1100
Grubbs, Carlos 1049
Grubbs, Vivian (Mrs. Carlos Grubbs; nee Washington) 1049
Guukel, Robert 1124
H
Haber, Bill 1034, 1035, 1057
Halamak, Anton (Anthony) 1049
Hall, Elizabeth (Mrs. Gus Hall) 1078,1135
Hall, Gus (alias for Arva Halberg) 992,1078,1128,1135
Hallinan, Vincent 1055
Hallinan, Vivian (Mrs. Vincent Hallinan) 1055
Handelman, Samuel (Sam) 1033, 1034, 1106, 1108, 1109-1114 (testimony), 1151
Hardin, Mel 1028, 1029
Hardin, Virginia (Mrs. Mel Hardin) 1029
Harmon, John 1086
Harris, Freida 1040
Hashmall, Frank 1049, 10.50
Haug, Fred 1045, 1061
Haug, Marie Reed (Mrs. Fred Haug) 1045, 1061, 1075, 110&-1108, 1112
Heller, Norman 1134, 1136
Herbert, Thomas J 1110
Hight. Carlotta Ruf us. ( See Ruf us, Carlotta. )
Hill, Joe 994-996, 1015, 1159, 1160
Hirshberg, Herbert 1045
Hood, William R 1046
Hoover, J. Edgar 1102
Himton, Dorothy 1025
Hybloom, Morris 1057
INDEX iii
J
Page
Jackson, James 10{i(;
Jackson, James E 1028, lOGG
Janowitz, John Edward 1051, 1057, 1130
Jennings, Etliel L. Goodman. (See Goodman, Ethel L.)
Jennings, Lew 1048
K
Kahn, Mr 1012
Kamen, Joseph 1057
Kamen, Norma Shedroff (Mrs. Joseph Kamen). (See Shedroff, Norma.)
Kaplan. Louis L. (Lou) 905,1015
Katz, David 907, 909, 1074, 1085, 1096, 1106, 1157, 1160, 1161
Katz, Frieda (Mrs. Dave Katz). (See Zucker, Frieda.)
Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich 1062, 1063, 1068
Kllpatrick, Admiral 1050, 1063-1065, 1067, 1068
Krause, Joseph 1050
Krause, Mildred (Mrs. Joseph Krause) 1050
Krehmarek, Anthony (also known as Mike Meadows) 097,008,1000,
1026-1028, 1064, 1090-1092, 1096, 1 106, 1160
Krehmarek, Jean (Mrs. Anthony Krehmarek) 907,908,1000,
1005, 1028, 1035, 1064, 1077-1078 (testimony), 1090-1093, 1095, 1006,
1103, 1106, 1160.
Kreitner, Frida (nee Smith) 1005, 1006, 1020, 1061, 1062, 1081,
1117-1119 (testimony)
Kreitner, Morris 1005, 1061, 1081
Kres, Cheda (Mrs. Joseph Kres) 1050
Kres, Joseph (Joe) 1050
L
Land, Jerome 1110, 1151
Land, Yetta 1008, 1000, 1034, 1040, 1050, 1110, 1151
Lawson, Sonora B 1025-1029
Lend, Ruth 1051, 1064, 1093
Lenin, V. I. (alias for Vladimir Il'ich Ul'ianov ; also known as Nikolai
Lenin) 1089, 1096, 1100, 1103, 1105
Levin, Pearl K. (Mrs. Sak Levin) 998,1002,1096,1141
Levin, Sak 998, 1002
Livingstone, Blanche (Mrs. William A. Livingstone) 1010,1050
Livingstone, William A 1050, 1051
Lumer, Edith (Mrs. Hyman Lumer) 997,999,1049,1061
Lumer, Hyman (alias Robert Harold Meyers) 007,999,1000
M
MagMowitz, Ann 998, 1000
Mallard, Amy 1025
Markward, Mary Stalcup 1052
Marx, Karl 1039
McCastle, Catherine 908, 1000, 1008
McCurdy, Foster 998, 1002
McCurdy, Mamie. (See Abernathy, Mamie; Mrs. Foster McCurdy.)
McGee, Rosalie 1025
McMillan, James 1018
McMillan, Sarah Roberts. ( See Roberts, Sarah ; Mrs. James McMillan. )
Mehrl, Emma (Mrs. Fred Mehrl) 1066
Mehrl, Fred 1066
Mitchell, Bessie 1025
Mitchell, Hortense (Mrs. Melbourne Mitchell) 1036,10.37
Mitchell, John C 1130
Mitchell, Melbourne 1036, 1037
Moore 1030, 1040, 1041
Morillas, Sally Winters. (See Winters, Sally.)
Moss, Paul 1008
N
Nelson, Steve 1137
iV INDEX
O
Page
O'Neal, Fred 1031, 1032, 1093
O'Neal, Laura (Mrs. Fred O'Neal) 1032,1093
Patterson, Louise Thompson (Mrs. William L. Patterson). 1019, 1025, 1029, 1038
Patterson, William Lorenzo 1019, 1029
Petraus, Joe 1066
Probst, Mae 1059
R
Raffick, Sadie 1030
Rautio, Martha (Mrs. Uno Rautio) 1051
Rautio, Uno 1051
Redden, Jack 1139
Rein, David 1156
Richardson, Beulah 1019, 1021, 1025, 1029, 1031
Roberts, Sarah (Mrs. James McMillan) 1017,1018,1030,1031,1035
Robeson, Eslauda Goode (Mrs. Paul Robeson, Sr.) 1025
Robeson, Paul, Sr 1055, 1056, 1108, 1147, 1148
Romig, Florence 1048
Rosenberg, Ethel (Mrs. Julius Rosenberg, nee Greenglass) 1142
Rosenberg, Julius 1142
Rothenberg, Donald (Don) 1005, 1006, 1009-1011, 1035, 1036, 1045, 1074, 1107,
1108, 1112, 1157
Rothenberg, Mildred (Mrs. Donald Rothenberg) 1074
Rufus, Carlotta 1044, 1048, 1061
S
Saferstein, Sanford 998, 1002, 1106
Saferstein, Shirley (Mrs. Sanford Saferstein) 998,1002,1106
Shanks, Hershel 1073
Shedroff, Norma (Mrs. Joseph Kamen) 1057
Shepard, Paul J 1051, 1110
Siegel, Henry R 1058
Slagle, La Verne 1123
Sloan, David E 1069
Smid, James 1042, 1051, 1074, 1106, 1114-1117 (testimony), 1122
Smith, Frida. (See Kreitner, Frida.)
Sobell, Helen (Mrs. Morton Sobell) 1142,1150
Sobell, Morton 1142
Sokol, Regina__ 998, 1000, 1001, 1096, 1106, 1133, 1140, 1141, 1151-1152 (testimony)
Sondergaard, Hester (Mrs. Hugh De Lacy) 1007,1032
Speiser, Lawrence 1013, 1014, 1162
Spencer, Harry A 1093, 1094
Stalin, Josef (losif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) 992,1039,1063,1068
Statten, Hugh 1028, 1029, 1093
Strauss, Abe 997-999, 1085, 1134, 1136-1139 (testimony)
Strauss, Sylvia (Mrs. Abe Strauss) 995-
1000, 1002, 1004, 1007-1009, 1016, 1019, 1035, 1049, 1051, 1057,
1059, 1060, 1062, 1064, 1134-1136 (testimony), 1137.
Strunk, Arthur Paul 995, 1130
T
Tarcai, Elsie R 1059, 1074, 1108, 1111, 1112, 1133, 1140, 1152, 1153-1154 (testi-
mony).
Tarcai, Violet J 1059, 1112, 1133, 1154 (testimony).
Taylor, Pauline 1018, 1019, 1025, 1029, 1078-1083 (testimony), 1108, 1109
Tenenbaum, Bertha (Mrs. Milton Tenenbaum)__ 1008, 1009, 1034, 1040, 1059, 1106
Tenenbaum, Milton 1008, 1009, 1034, 1040, 1059, 1106, 1133, 1142, 1143-
1151 (testimony).
Thomas, Henry 1122
Thomas, Myron 1059
Thompson, Louise. {See Patterson, Louise Thompson.)
INDEX V
Pas©
Till, ( Knimett) 10 Ii:, 1013
Tomsik, George 1059,' 1060
Truman, Harry S 1010
Truth, Sojouruer 1022, 1024, 1025, 1037
Tubmau, Harriet 1019, 1021, 1022, 1024, 1025
Turner, Mary 1034, 1035
W
Wallace, Henry A 1006, 1009
Washington, Bertram A. (Bert) 998, 1044, 1048, 1019, 1061, 1093, 1103
Weinstock, Louis 1046
Wells, James 1035, 1066, 1067, 1086-1089 (testimony), 1097
Wettermau, Neil E 1027, 1101, 1158-1163 (testimony)
Wherry, Margaret (Mrs. Robert Wherry) 990,996-999,1002,1007,
1017-1019, 1029-1031, 1035, 1044, 1048, 1059, 1073-1076 (testimony)
1106-1108, 1112, 1117.
Wherry, Robert 1019
Whitbeck, Pauline 1008
Wilkins, Roy 1047
Wilkinson, Frank 1163
Williams, Bob 1065, 1066
Williams, Esther (Mrs. George Williams) 1065
Williams, Frances 1025
Williams, George 1065
Winters, Sally (Sally Winters Morillas) 1057,1096
Wnewrosphsky, Peter. (See Wnorowski, Peter.)
Wnorowski, Peter (also spelled Wnewrosphsky in some instances) 1056, 1057
Y
Young, Albert 989, 994-996, 1159, 1160
Young, Coleman A 1060
Z
Zazriry, Elsie 1005, 1006, 1017, 1019, 1030, 1031, 1038, 1061, 1108
Zucker, Frieda (Mrs. Dave Katz) 995-
1000, 1002-1011, 1016, 1019, 1026, 1027, 1034, 1035, 1038, 1040,
1042-1044, 1048, 1049, 1051, 1056-1060, 1065, 1074, 1083. 1084-
1086 (testimony) 1087, 1088, 1096, 1097, 1099, 1100, 1106, 1107,
1151, 1159-1161.
Organizations
A
American Civil Liberties Union 1014,
1027, 1053, 1073, 1086, 1134, 1136, 1139, 1143, 1144, 1162
American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born 1005, 1031
American Russian Institute (San Francisco) 1082, 1083
Americans for Democratic Action 1053
Automobile, Aircraft, & Agricultural Implement Workers of America,
United (UAW) :
Local 600 (Detroit) (Ford) 1046
B
Bayer Candy & Tobacco Co. (Cleveland, Ohio) 1156
CIO. {See Congress of Industrial Organizations.)
Civil Rights Congress' 1003
1005, 1006, 1035, 1038, 1042, 1074, 1085-1087, 1096, 1097
Cleveland Committee To Secure Justice for Morton Sobell. (See National
Committee To Secure Justice for Morton Sobell in the Rosenberg Case. )
Cleveland Council of American-Soviet Friendship. {See entry under
National Council of American-Soviet Friendship. )
^ Used interchangeably with Ohio Bill of Rights Conference in some instances.
vx
INDEX
Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy ( SANE ) : Paee
Cleveland Committee 1150
Communist International. ( See International III. )
Communist Party of the United States of America 1092
National Structure :
National Commissions :
Education Commission 112.5, 1126
Organization Commission 1125, 1126
National Committee 992, 1000, 1066, 1092, 1093
Executive Committee 1000, 1028
National Conventions and Conferences :
Seventeenth Convention, December 10-13, 1957 (New York
City 989, 1026, 1093, 1102, 1103, 1105
Districts '
Ohio' District 1026, 1028, 1064, 1092, 1093
States and Territories :
District of Columbia 1052,1122
New York State 1100
Section 28 1122
New York City Area :
Bronx County 1100
New York County (Manhattan) :
Yorkville Section 1121
Ohio 1000, 1049, 1090-1092, 1115, 1123
State Board 1123
State Committee 1050, 1123, 1128
Convention, October 11-12, 1941 (Cleveland) 1115
Convention, April 30, 1944 (Cleveland) 1115
Convention, June 17-18, 1944 (Cleveland) 1071, 1115
Convention, October 1947 (Cleveland) 1124
Convention, 1948 1128
Cleveland :
Northeast Section 1000, 1001, 1010, 1078, 1090, 1094, 1103
Section Committee 1090, 1091
Southeast Section 1001, 1009-1011
Pneumatic Branch 1057
Tom Paine Branch 1085
Franklin County :
North End Club 1123
Hamilton County 1124
Pennsylvania :
Pittsburgh 998,999
Central Committee 1038
Western Pennsylvania :
Nationality Commission 1137
Communist Party, Soviet Union :
Congresses :
Twentieth Congress, February 1956 (Moscow) 1063
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) 1047, 1061
Council of Greek Americans 1113
Council on Human Relations 1135
D
Defense Committee for Mrs. Myrtle Dennis 989, 1033, 1034
E
Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, United (UE) 995,
1045, 1061, 1110
F
Freedom Committee 1034
Fur & Leather Workers International Union 1130
H
Harriet Tubman Center 1019, 1021
INDEX vll
Initiating Committee of the Sojourn for Trutli and Justice to Washington,
D.C. (Sec entry under Sojourners for Truth and Justice.)
International. Ill (Communist) (also known as Comintern and Inter- Page
national Workers' Association) 1138
International Labor Defense 1096
International Red Aid (MOPR) (also known as Red International of
Labor Defense) 1096, 1097
Jewish Peoples Fraternal Order (IWO) :
Cleveland 1099
M
Mount Pleasant Community Council 1140-1142
Myrtle Dennis Defense Committee. (See Defense Committee for Mrs.
Myrtle Dennis.)
N
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)_ 1027-
1029, 1041, 1047, 1060, 1062, 1118, 1119
National Committee To Secure Justice for Morton Sobell in the Rosen-
berg Case :
Cleveland Committee 1142
National Committee To Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case :
Ohio Committee To Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case 1148, 1149
National Conference of Christians and Jews 1135
National Council of American-Soviet Friendship :
Cleveland Council 1149
National Council of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions 1148
Cleveland Council 1148, 1149
National Lawyers Guild 1111, 1112, 1154
National Negro Labor Council 989, 1017, 1044-1049, 1055, 1060
Cleveland Branch 1044, 1045, 1047, 1055, 1061, 1062, 1071, 1148
New York University (New York City) 1129
O
Ohio Bill of Rights Conference 989,
1003, lOOr,, 1006, 1016, 1031, 1034, 1035, 1042, 1074, 1085-1088,
1097, 1099.
Ohio Committee for Protection of Foreign Born 989, 1005, 1006, 1017, 1061
Ohio Committee To Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case. (See entry
under National Committee To Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case.)
Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) 1156
Ohio Women for Peace 1082
One World Book Shop (Cleveland, Ohio) 1081,1118,1139
P
Progressive Party 989,
1005. 1006, 1009, 1032, 1055, 1056, 1081, 1083, 1147, 1148, 1159
Provisional Organizing Committee for a Marxist-Leninist Communist
Party (POO 989, 1048, 1050, 10.56, 1062-1069, 1072. 1089
National Conference, August 16-17, 1958 (New York City)__ 1063, 1067, 1068
S
Sojourners for Truth and Justice 989,
1017-1019, 1021, 1030, 1031, 1033-1035, 1037-1039, 1041, 1043, 1048,
1061, 1074, 1090.
Initiating Committee of the Sojourn for Truth and Justice 1019,
1021, 1025, 1026, 1029
Sojourn for Truth and Justice to Washington, D.C, September 24,
1951 1021-1025
Soviet Peace Committee 1082
viii ESTDEX
U
Page
United States Employment Service 1080
United States Government :
Justice, Department of:
Federal Bureau of InvestigaHon 994, 1011, 1012
Subversive Activities Control Board 1085, 1092, 1096, 1138
Supreme Court 1092, 1121
Univis Lens Co 1131
W
Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio) 1156
Westwood School (Cleveland, Ohio) 1152
Workers (Communist) Party of America (August 1925 to March 1929) :
Nominating Convention, May 25-27 (New York City) 1100
World Peace Congress (also known as World Congress of Partisans for
Peace and World Congress of Defenders of Peace) :
Second Congress, November 13, 1950, ShefBeld, England ; November
16-22, 1950, Warsaw, Poland 1082
Y
Young Communist League 1049,1066,1152
Publications
A
Atlanta Independent (Atlanta, Ga.) 1002
C
Cleveland Press (Cleveland, Ohio) 993,1053,1120,1161
Contact 1125-1127
M
Morning Freiheit 998, 1138, 1139
N
National Republic 995
P
Political Affairs 1102
S
Statement issued by the Conference of Representatives of 81 Communist
Parties, Moscow, December 1960 992, 1039
U
Under Arrest 1096
V
Vanguard 1063
W
Worker, The 1028, 1056
o
RnqJON PUBLIC LIBRARY
.jlllllllllll,
3 9999 05706 3115
This book should be returned to
the Library on or before the last date
stamped below.
A fine is incurred by retaining it
beyond the specified time.
Please return promptly.
k.
i
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11