HARVARD COLLEGE
LIBRARY
GIFT OF THE
GOVERNMENT
OF THE UNITED STATES
INVESTIGATION OF THE AWARD BY
THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
(PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA.)
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMIITEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIYES
EIGHTY-FOURTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
JULY IS, 1956
Printed for the use of the Committee on Un-American Activities
(INCLUDING INDEX)
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
83005 WASHINGTON : 1956
HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY
DEPOSITED BY THE
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
United States House of Representatives
FRANCIS B. WALTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman
MORGAN M. MOULDER, Missouri HAROLD H. VBLDE, lUInois
CLYDE DOYLE, California BERNARD W. KEARNEY, New York
JAMES B. FRAZIER, JR., Tennessee DONALD L. JACKSON, California
EDWIN E. WILLIS, Louisiana GORDON H. SCHERBR, Ohio
RiCHABD Abbns, Director
U
CONTENTS
July 18, 1956 : Testimony of — Page
Maureen Black Ogden 5457
Afternoon Session :
Isaac J. Sheppard 5484
Henry Hemsley 5494
Judge George C. Corson 5503
Emily Livezey Crawford 5510
Lillian Tapley (Mrs. Paul Tapley) 5514
Index i
nz
r Public Law 601, 79th Congress
i
The legislation under which the House Committee on Un-American
Activities operates is Public Law 601, 79th Congress (1946), chapter
753, 2d session, which provides :
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, * * *
PART 2— RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Rule X
SEC. 121, STANDING COMMITTEES
****** 0
17. Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine members.
Rule XI
POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
****** 0
(q) (1) Committee on Un-American Activities.
(A) Un-American Activities.
(2) The Committee on Un-American Activities, as a whole or by subcommit-
tee, is authorized to make from time to time, investigations of (i) the extent,
character, 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 attaciJS
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 neces-
sary remedial legislation.
The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to the
Clerlv 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 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
designated by any such chairman or member.
RULES ADOPTED BY THE 84TH CONGRESS
House Resolution 5, January 5, 1955
Rule X
STANDING COMMITTEES
1. There shall be elected by the House, at the commencement of each Congress :
*******
(q) Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine members.
*******
Rule XI
POWEES AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
*******
17. 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 diifusion within the United States of subversive and un-American propa-
ganda 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 thei
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, hasi
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'
designated by any such chairman or member.
mi
INVESTIGATION OF THE AWARD BY THE FUND FOR
THE REPUBLIC, INC.
(Plymouth Meeting, Pa.)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 1956
United States House of Representatives,
Subcommittee of the
Committee on Un-American Activties,
Philadel'phia^ Pa.
PUBLIC HEARING
A subcommittee of the Committee on Un-American Activities met,
pursuant to recess, in District Court Room No. 5, United States Court-
house, Philadelphia, Pa., Hon. Francis E. Walter, chairman, pre-
siding.
Committee members present: Representatives Francis E. Walter,
of Pennsylvania, and Gordon H. Scherer, of Ohio.
Staff members present : Richard Arens, director, W. Jackson Jones,
K. Baarslag, Richard S. Weil, and Mrs, Dolores Scotti.
The Chairman. The committee will be in order.
The committee wishes to examine another aspect in connection with
the activity of the Fund for the Republic, whose largess in this instance
has reached into the Philadelphia area. The committee wishes to
know more about the factors which prompted the Fund for the Repub-
lic to consider the retention of a Communist, a defense of "democratic
principles" worth $5,000 of its tax-exempt money.
The Communists and their dupes will undoubtedly try to distort our
inc^uiry into appearing as an interference with the great freedom of
religion. I want to emphasize at this time that the committee is not
interested in inquiring into any of the activities of a religious organi-
zation. Our sole concern is with the seemingly dubious ventures of
the Fund for the Republic, Inc.
Call your witness, Mr. Arens.
Mr. Arens. Miss Maureen Black, please come forward.
Kindly remain standing while the chairman administers an oath.
The Chairman. Do you swear that the testimony you are to give will
be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?
Mrs. Ogden. I do.
TESTIMONY OF MES. MAUREEN BLACK OGDEN, ACCOMPANIED BY
COUNSEL, BETHUEL M. WEBSTER
Mr. Arens. Please identify yourself by name, residence, and
occupation,
5457
5458 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mrs, Ogden. Maureen Black Ogden — I have gotten married since
you issued the subpena — 59 Lakeview Avenue, Shorthills, N. Y., re-
searcher for the Fund for the Republic.
Mr. Arens. Are you appearing today in response to a subpena by
the House Committee on Un-American Activities ?
Mrs. Ogden. I am.
Mr. Arens. Are you represented by counsel ?
Mrs. Ogden. Yes ; I am.
Mr. Arens. Will counsel kindly identify himself.
Mr. Webster. My name is Bethuel M. Webster. I am a lawyer, a
member of the New York bar. I am counsel to the Fund for the
Republic. I am also counsel to Mrs. Ogden.
Just a minute, please. You asked me to identify myself.
Mr. Arens. To identify yourself ; yes.
Mr. Webster. I am also counsel to Mrs. William E. Stevenson, a
director of the Fund for the Republic, who is here, has come here
from Mexico City, for the purpose of telling the facts about the
Plymouth Meeting Award.
I request, Mr. Chairman, an opportunity for her to be heard.
The Chairman. We will hear Mrs. Stevenson in due course, but it
doesn't fit into the program arranged for today. I understand that
the House of Representatives will vote tomorrow on a very important
bill, and Mr. Scherer and I are both anxious to be recorded. So these
hearings will be terminated this afternoon and we will give Mrs.
Stevenson, as I told you, I think on three occasions, an opportunity
to be heard.
Mr. Webster. Mr. Chairman, I want to apologize for raising my
voice a moment ago. It is not my habit to raise my voice. I did so
only because there was a good deal of noise in the room.
Mrs. Stevenson is a responsible person. She is the director
The Chairman. I don't doubt that for a moment.
Mr. Webster. I want to explain in connection with my representa-
tion of Mrs. Ogden that Mrs. Ogden is a respected and valued
employee
The Chairman. You don't have to explain.
Mr. Webster. But she is not
The Chairman. No lawyer ever explains representing a client.
Mr. Webster. The board of the Fund made this award, Mr. Chair-
man, and I respectfully implore you to hear Mrs. Stevenson today.
The Chairman. No; we will be unable to hear her today because
it doesn't fit into the program, Mr. Webster. We are going to conduct
this according to our plans, and that does not fit into the plans.
Mr. Webster. Mr. Chairman, as you know, we have repeatedly
asked for an opportunity, an equal opportunity, to be heard.
The Chairman. And I have told you repeatedly, and I told direc-
tors of the Fund repeatedly, that they are going to be heard.
Mr. Webster. But j^ou have only called
The Chairman. We are conducting this inquiry our way.
Mr. Webster. I understand that you are, sir ; but I implore you to
give the witnesses for the Fund for the Republic, the board and the
officers, an opportunity to be heard.
The Chairman. I will be delighted to, and I am sure that some of
them have already talked to me about being heard, and we are talking
about arrangements for them.
AWARD BY THE FT'XI) F01{ THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5459
Proceed, Mr. Arens.
Mr. Arkxs. Mrs. Ogdeii, you are an employee of the Fund for the
Republic. That is clear on this record ; is it not ?
Mrs. Ogden. That is correct.
Mr. Arens. The subpena which was served npon you is a subpena
duces tecum, as we say in the law, requiring you to produce certain
documents. Do you have in your custod}' and control the documents
which were referred to in the subpena?
Mrs. Ogden. No ; I do not.
Mr. Arens. Where are those documents?
Mr. "Webster. Mr. Chairman
The Chairman. You advise your client, ]Mr. Webster.
Mr. Arens. Kindly tell us where those documents are, those referred
to in the subpena.
Mr. Webster. As far as you know, I have them.
Mrs. Ogden. I believe Mr. Webster has them because I have no
leofal responsibility for them.
Mr. Arens. Did you have those documents at the time the subpena
was served upon you?
Mrs. Ogden. No, I don't have any control of the documents.
Mr. Webster. Mr. Chairman, I must explain
The Chairman. Mr. Webster, please sit down.
Mr. Webster. INIr. Chairman
The Chairman. Will you please sit down ?
Mr. Webster. I have the documents here, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Let Mr. Arens conduct this examination.
Mr. Webster. Mrs. Ogden is not the secretary of the Fund for the
Republic. She is not an officer of the Fund for the Republic.
The Chairman. We will develop all that. Proceed, Mr. Arens.
Mr. Webster. I have not only given Mr, Arens all the information
he has asked for— I have now produced the documents.
The Chairman. All right, fine.
Mr. Webster. ]Mrs. Ogden is not in possession of the documents,
Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Please give them to her.
Mr. Arens. If you will kindly restrain yourself I will interrogate
the witness.
Mr. Websit-r. She is not authorized to deal with these documents for
the Fund for the Republic.
Mr. Arens. ]Mrs. Ogden, did you yourself prepare certain of these
documents which are referred to in the subpena duces tecum ?
Mrs. Ogden. I prepared a report after a trip down to Plymouth
Meeting and examining other documents ; that is right.
Mr. Arens. To wliom did you submit those documents?
Mrs. Ogden. I submitted my report to David F. Freeman, who was
then secretary of the Fund for the Republic.
Mr. Webster. Mr. Chairman, may I submit a cop}'' of the re])ort
that Mr. Arens just asked about.
The Chairman. No ; we wall get around to that.
Mr. Arens. We Avill develop that in due course, Mr. Webster.
Kindly restrain yourself.
Mr. Webster. Mr. Arens, I hope I am restrained.
83005—56 2
5460 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
*
Mr. Arens. Mrs. Ogden, what other documents did you have in your
custody and control other than the report which you prepared ?
Mrs. Ogden. I saw Mr. Sprogell's memorandum. I was given Mr.
Sprogell's memorandum and told to read it and go down to Plymouth
Meeting and check the veracity of it, which I did.
Mr. Webster. Mr. Arens, I am sure you don't mind _
The Chairman. Mr. Webster, in a court of law, if I did what you
are doing here now, I would be fined for contempt of court. Now
please sit down.
Mr. Webster. In a court of law, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. You have been in the practice of the law long
enough to know just exactly proper courtroom deportment.
Mr. Webster. This is not a courtroom.
The Chairman. I know that.
Mr. Webster. I regret to say this is not a courtroom. The documents
referred to were submitted to you weeks ago.
Mr. Arens. Mrs. Ogden, would you kindly tell the committee
whether or not you have caused to be transmitted to your counsel any
of the documents which were in your custody and control and alluded
to in the subpena ?
Mrs. Ogden. I don't have to transmit them because they never were
in my custody and control, because, as I understand it, when I sub-
mitted the report to Mr. Freeman it then became a Fund document,
and I am not the secretary of the Fund for the Republic.
The Chairman. Does your counsel to your knowledge have in his
possession this morning the documents called for in the subpena
duces tecum ?
Mrs. Ogden. Yes.
The Chairman. Will counsel kindly produce the documents ?
Mr. Webster. Mr. Chairman, as counsel for the Fund, I produce the
papers called for in the subpena duces tecum served on Mrs. Ogden.
The Chairman. I think the record will show that without your
stating it.
Mr. Webster. It won't do any harm to say it again.
The Chairman. I know.
Mr. Arens. Thank you, sir.
How do you spell your name, Mrs. Ogden ?
Mrs. Ogden. 0-g-d-e-n.
Mr. Arens. Give us, if you please, a brief sketch of your educational
background.
Mrs. Ogden. I was graduated from Kent Place School in Summit,
N. J., in 1946, from Smith College with a bachelor of arts in 1950.
Mr. Arens. Did that complete your formal education ?
Mrs. Ogden. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Kindly tell us of your employment record since com-
pletion of your formal education.
Mrs. Ogden. I started working at the Ford Foundation in either
January or February of 1951. I went to work for the Fund for the
Republic May 1, 1953, on a 1-year leave of absence from the Ford
Foundation and in 1954 I assumed that my employment with the
Fund for the Republic became permanent.
Mr. Arens. Were you assigned to investigate the facts surrounding
the emj)loyment of Mary Knowles as a librarian in the William Jeanes
Memorial Library at Plymouth Meeting, Pa. ?
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5461
Mrs. Ogden. No; I wasn't supposed to investigate the facts con-
cerning her employment. I was supposed to investigate the story as
presented in Harry Sprogell's memorandum of — what is the date,
Mr. Webster? I think we received it in April of 1955. There isn't
any date on it.
Mr. Arens. I lay before you, please, the document entitled "Memo-
randum: Plymouth Monthly Meeting," and ask you if that is the
Sprogell memorandum or document to which you have just alluded.
Mr. Webster. We have a copy of that.
Mrs. Ogden. Yes ; it certainly seems to be.
Mr. Webster. Just a moment. I just want to be sure. There are
some pencil notes, Mr. Chairman, on this and I just want to know
whether or not Mr. Arens has asked Mrs. Ogden to identify those notes
as well as the typewritten document.
The Chairman. Proceed, Mr. Arens.
Mr. Webster. May I ask if the notes
Mrs. OoDEK. I don't believe those are my notes. Those are not my
handwriting.
INIr. Webster. The witness says those are not her notes, Mr. Chair-
man.
]\Ir. Arens. Will you kindly tell the committee just what were your
specific instructions ?
]Mrs. Ogden. I was given this memorandum by Mr. Sprogell
Mr. Arens. Pardon the interruption. WTien was that, please ?
Mrs. Ogden. I guess it was the last week of April of 1955, because
I went to Plymouth Meeting on May 2, 1955. I was told to go down
to Plymouth Meeting and to check this memorandum and see that it
correctly stated the case.
Mr. Arens. To check whether or not the memorandum, the Sprogell
memorandum, we will call it, correctly stated the facts ?
JNIrs. Ogden. That is correct.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that this Sprogell
memorandum, which has been identified by Mrs. Ogden, be marked
"Ogden Exhibit No. 1" and incorporated in the record.
The Chairman. Mark it and incorporate it in its entirety in the
body of this record.
Ogden Exhibit No. 1
Speogell Memokandum : Plymouth Monthly Meeting
Plymouth Monthly Meeting, located at Plymouth Meeting, Pa., is one of the
con.stituent bodies of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends commonly called
Quakers. The Meeting is in a situation of a conspicuous target of public criticism
and of potential serious financial embarrassment because it has taken and main-
tained a position likely to encourage civil liberty.
Some 20 years ago the Meeting was the recipient of a bequest of considerable
size to establish and maintain a free public library. With part of the money a
small library building was erected on the Meeting grounds ; an endowment was
created with the remainder. The care of the library was entrusted to a com-
mittee of members appointed annually by the Meeting.
During the late years of the depression the endowment fund shrank substan-
tially and it became necessary to find other annual funds if the library was to be
preserved. This was done in two ways : An organization known as Friends of
the Jeanes Library (the benefactor had been named Jeanes) was formed and
funds were obtained by annual appropriation from Plymouth Township (the local
governmental unit) and Whitemarsh Township adjoining. Each of these con-
tributed $500 annually and the School Districts of Plymouth and Whitemarsh
5462 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Townships each contributed $200 annually. As a condition to obtaining public
funds two representatives designated by the Supervisors of Plymouth Township
were added to the committee.
In 1953 the Library Committee, seeking a temporary librarian because of illness
of its permanent employee, received an application from Mary Knowles, a fully
qualified librarian. Mrs. Knowles had been a .secretary at the Samuel Adams
School in the suburbs of Boston from 1945 to 1947. She had then taken employ-
ment as librarian in a Massachusetts commimity. While she was employed there
Herbert Philbrick gave testimony concerning her before the Jenner Committee.
It is generally assumed that he testified that she had been a member of the Com-
munist Party while at the Samuel Adams School. The governing body of the
Library where Mrs. Knowles was employed asked the Jenuer Committee to call
her before it to "clear her name," but when she was summoned to a public hearing
she declined answering questions, pleading the Fifth Amendment. She also
declined a loyalty oath which was required of her by Massachusetts law. She
was thereupon fired, it is believed in about 1952, and was unable to obtain employ-
ment elsewhere because she disclosed these facts frankly to all prospective
employers.
When she applied to the Meeting, disclosing these facts as was her custom,
the Meeting conducted a careful investigation into her conduct since 1947,
obtained from her a written statement that she had not been a member of any
subversive organization since 1947 (she also gave this statement later in no-
tarized form), found that she was a fully qualified librarian whose conduct had
been irreproachable since 1947, concluded that such a person should not be
denied the opportunity of rehabilitation, and hired her. Her employment has
since been made permanent.
Ever since that time the Meeting has been the object of repeated onslaughts
by a small deternained group in the community whose object is to compel the
Meeting to dismiss Mrs. Knowles. One of the public representatives on the
committee first tendered Mrs. Knowles a Pennsylvania loyalty oath which she
declined and then arranged to have discontinued the contribution by the
Plymouth Supervisors. The Whitemarsh appropriation due in July 1954, was
paid before the unroar began l)ut it is expected will not be renewed. The
School Directors of Plymovith and Whitemarsh Townships have withdrawn all
school children from using the library (classes have visited the library in the
past for instruction in the use of reference works) and it is supposed will not
renew their contributions. The estimated annual loss from these sources will
be $1,400.
An energetic member of the community has formed a de facto organization
called "Americans Alerted" and has deluged the community with press releases,
mimeographed mailing pieces, sultscriptions to Facts Forum and the American
Mercury, reprints from those magazines and private letters in great volume. She
has arranged to have the American Legion and the DAR pass resolutions re-
questing the removal of the librarian. She has presented petitions to the Meet-
ing asking that the librarian t.e removed. She has urged members of the
community to dissociate themselves from Friends of the .Teanes Library Associa-
tion in order to put economic pressure upon the Meeting. Her latest attack
upon the problem is to attempt to persuade the community that the librarian's
incumbency is not the choice of the Meeting itself but of certain willful mem-
bers of the Library Committee who are assertedly forcing their will upon the
other members — in short the present form of her effort is to disunite the Meeting
itself.
Actually, the circulation of the library has increased largely but there has
been some falling oft of contributions and the Meeting and its committee are
.somewhat at a h^ss to know how the operation of the library is to be continued.
Neither is it entirely certain at the moment whether the issue of the librarian's
continuing is fully settled. There are some members of the Meeting who have
supported the Committee's stand on principle but if this stand should cause the
closing of the library because of shortage of funds it is conceivable that these
members might take the position that the principles involved in keeping the
library open to the public were more important than the principles involved in
rehabilitating an individual suspected by .some in the community.
A file of the newspaper articles, mimeographed releases and letters to the
editor which have appeared can be made available for inspection. The Meet-
ing has defended its position clearly and with dignity taking the stand that the
librarian is entitled to be judged on her loyalty by her actions and present
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5463
dc'clarutious and nut by past association nor by any specific test such as an
elaborate loyalty oath. The attaclis upon this position have become steadily
more intemperate and are being directed more and more at the Meeting itself
and at certain of its members.
Mr. Arens. Were you given any specific instruction in addition to
tlie instruction you liave just stated, that you were to check on the
accuracy of the facts portrayed in Ogden Exhibit No. 1 ?
Mrs. Ogdex. Specific instructions from whom ? You mean someone
in the Fund^
Mr. Arexs. Who gave you your instructions in the Fund ?
Mrs. Ogden. David Freeman.
Mr. Arens. Was he your immediate superior in the Fund ?
Mrs. Ogden. That is right.
Mr. Arens. What position did he occupy ?
Mrs. Ogden. He was then the secretary of the Fund.
Mr. Arens. Kindly tell the committee, in your own words, what
you did after you received your instructions from the Fund.
Mrs. Ogdex. In addition to the instructions from Mr. Freeman he
had received a letter from Mr. M. Albert Linton, who is a director of
the Fund for the Republic, chairman of the board of the Provident
Mutual Life Insurance, suggesting that when someone went down
to Plymouth Meeting to check on this memorandum, they speak to
John Archibald, Irvin Poley, of the Germantown Friends School,
and Fred.Gloeckner. So I called up Mr. Poley and he said I should
certainly see John Archibald who was tlie Clerk of the ^Meeting. He
said — I believe it was he who said — ''Don't bother to go see Mr. Gloeck-
ner because he would only tell you the side of the library committee
more enthusiastically than most." He said to see a Mr. Evans in a
law firm in Philadelphia because one of his associates had made an im-
partial study of the case, and this associate was Mr. Philip Bregy;
only it developed he had not made the impartial study.
Mr. Arens. How many days ?
Mrs. Ogden. He hadn't made any.
Mr. Arens. How many days '?
Mr. Webster. Did you get that correction ?
Mrs. Ogden. Before I went down
Mr. Arens. Excuse me. You go right ahead.
Mrs. Ogden. I also talked to Richard Bennett, of the community
relations program of the American Friends Service Committee. I
believe he lives near Plymouth Meeting. He told me what he knew
of the situation. I also spoke to Frank Loescher, who attends the
Friends meeting at the city of Radnor, Pa., because he was a consultant
to the Fund for the Republic. However, he didn't have anything fur-
ther to add to the memorandum of Mr, Sprogell.
Mr. Arens. May I interrupt to clear the record? Are these con-
versations you are recounting noAv, conversations which transpired
prior to the time that you actually ari-ived ?
Mrs. Ogdex. Prior to my going to Plymouth Meeting.
Mr. Arens. Proceed, if you please.
Mrs. Ogdex. So when I went down first to Philadelphia on INIon-
day. May 2, 1955, 1 spoke to ^Iv. l^i-egy, who was the one who was sup-
posed to have made an impartial study but had not made any study at
all, and he told me that he knew people on both sides of the dispute
but that he had written a letter to the library committee to say he was
5464 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
thoroughly in agreement with their stand and that 9 out of 10 people
in Plymouth Meeting felt as he did.
Then after I left Mr. Bregy's office I went to see Mr. Sprogell be-
cause he was the author of the memorandum. He is a Philadelphia
lawyer. After that I went out to Plymouth Meeting, and I spoke for
several hours with Mrs. Mary Chappie, who is one of the members of
the library committee.
Mr. Arens. You have now arrived at Plymouth Meeting.
Mrs. Ogden. Yes.
Mr. Arens. May I interrupt for a moment the sequence of your
recitation. How much time did you spend in the Plymouth Meeting
area in the course of your investigation ?
Mrs. Ogden. I actually spent 1 day. However, when I left Plymouth
Meeting I took with me a complete file which the library committee
had, which contained all the mimeographed statements that had been
sent out to the community by Alerted Americans, Mrs. Corson's group.
It contained all the newspaper articles, specifically a series I think of
five articles in the Conshohocken Recorder which contained interviews
with people who were against Mrs. Knowles' being retained as the
librarian.
Mr. Arens. Did you, in the course of your investigation at Plymouth
Meeting, have access to the minvites of the library committee ?
Mrs. Ogden. I believe — no, not all the minutes. I believe that they
gave me the minutes pertinent to Mrs. Knowles' employment.
Mr. Arens. Did you have access to the minutes of the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting itself, as distinguished from the library committee?
Mrs. Ogden. No. As I just said, I don't know. I don't believe I
ever saw all those minutes. I was just interested in seeing the excerpts
of the minutes which concerned Mrs. Knowles and the library commit-
tee's stand on her employment.
Mr. Arens. Tell us with whom you actually conferred, or inter-
viewed during your investigation.
Mrs. Ogden. You mean in Plymouth Meeting ?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
Mrs. Ogden. I actually talked for several hours to Mrs. Mary
Chappie, who is a member of the library committee, Mrs. Lillian
Tapley, who is the chairman of the library committee, Mr. John
Archibald, the clerk, I talked for a couple of minutes to Mrs. Knowles.
I spoke to Miss Ambler. I called up Mrs. Corson because I wanted to
make an appointment with her. She said she couldn't see me that day.
I believe she said she couldn't see me the next day. She couldn't see
me for several days, she said. So I asked her if she wanted to make a
statement about her position, and she said that her organization,
Alerted Americans, which had approximately 30 people in it
Mr. Arens. This is Mrs. Corson speaking ?
Mrs. Ogden. This is Mrs. Corson.
Had no desire to persecute Mrs. Knowles but she was a security risk
as defined by President Eisenhower and that she was in a position
Mr. Webster. I don't believe the chairman is hearing this.
Mrs. Ogden. And that she was in a position to do harm if she wanted
to, in a sensitive position to do harm if she wished to.
Mr. Arens. Did you see Dr. Gloeckner ? Did you talk to her?
Mrs. Ogden. No, I didn't.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, ENC. 5465
Fred Gloeckner, I believe is her husband and is the one suggested
by Mr. Linton,
Mr. Arens. Did you speak to any one, by telephone other than with
Mrs. Corson, who was hostile to Mrs. I&iowles ?
Mrs. Ogden. No. I asked Mrs. Corson who I should see to represent
her case. I asked her if I should see Mrs. Cooper — I think her name is
Mrs. Cooper — who I understood was Mrs. Corson's lieutenant. But
she said no ; she said see Mrs. Sawyer, who was the ex-librarian.
Mr. Arens. Did 3'ou see or was there displayed to you the letter from
Isaac Sheppard in which he resigned from the library committee after
33 years' service?
Mrs. Ogden. I don't remember whether I saw that letter or not,
because
Mr. Arens. Did you ascertain the number of people who were op-
posed to Mary Knowles' retention ?
Mrs. Ogden. You mean in the library ?
Mr. Arens. In your investigation did you ascertain the proportion-
ate number of people at Plymouth INIeeting who were opposed to Mary
Knowles ?
Mrs. Ogden. When you say "Plymouth Meeting," do you mean
Plymouth jMonthly Meeting or Plymouth Meeting, the community?
Mr. Arens. Either one or both. Let's take them both.
Mr. Webster. Is your question the proportion or the number ?
Mr. Arens. Did you ascertain the number or proportion of people at
Plymouth Monthly Meeting who had evidenced a disapproval of the
retention of Mary Knowles as librarian?
Mrs. Ogden. I knew that there were some people in the Monthly
Meeting of the Society of Friends, and I gathered from my talks with
Mrs. Chappie and Mrs. Tapley that it was about half a dozen, or 10,
or 12 people.
Mr. Arens. As a matter of fact, over 22 people at the Pl5^mouth
Monthly Meeting had signed a petition protesting the retention of
Mary Knowles. Isn't that correct ?
Mrs. Ogden. Well, I think here we were talking about active mem-
bers. You see, there is a great difference between people who come to
regular meetings and those who are members of the Meeting and might
not even live in Plymouth Meeting any more, who sign petitions, as I
understand it.
Mr. Arens. Did you ascertain that a petition with 600 names had
been submitted, of which 22 were members of the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, protesting the retention
of Mary Knowles ?
Mrs. Ogden. I believe that I read in the mimeographed statement
of Mrs. Corson's that she had collected a petition in the community of
approximately 458 names. I don"t know that it said how many mem-
bers of Plymouth Monthly Meeting, Quaker group, were on that
petition.
Mr. Arens. Among these newspaper articles which I understood
you to say you took back with you in the course of your investigation,
did you take back with you the article of the Conshohocken — I may not:
be pronouncing that correctly — Recorder of March 31, 1955 —
Mr. Webster. The chairman will help you pronounce that.
Mr. Arens. In which there is set forth an article entitled "463 Sign
Petition Urging Replacement of Librarian."
5466 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mrs. Ogden. That is probably where I got
Mr. Arens. I lay this article before the witness. I ask if you actu-
ally took that newspaper article back with you.
Mr. Webster. You don't mind my looking at it, too ; do you ?
Mrs. Ogden. I assume that this is
Mr. Webster. Examine it.
Mrs. Ogden. I will tell you first, Mr. Arens, that this material that I
had was extremely voluminous, and it took me more than a day to read
through it. I haven't read through it since May of 1955 :
The Chairman. May I interrupt at this point. You said you ex-
amined the pertinent minutes of the meeting. What do you mean by
the pertinent minutes '(
Mr. Ogden. I don't think I said pertinent minutes. I think I
said
The Chairman. I wrote it down.
Mrs. Ogden. I said pertinent excerpts from the minutes which the
library committee gave me.
Mr. Arens. Did you take back with you the newspaper article
from the Conshohocken Recorder of March 31, 1955, entitled "463
Sign Petitions Urging Replacement of Librarian"? Did you take
that back with j^ou '(
Mr. Webster. Mr. Chairman, I want to be sure the record is right
on this. She said she saw pertinent extracts of the minutes relating
only to the case of Mrs. Knowles.
The Chairman. Right. That is what this connnittee attempted to
subpena, and then we were charged with attempting to violate some
provision of the Constitution.
Mr. Arens. AYould you kindly tell us whether or not you actually
took back with you and reported to the Fund for the Republic, among
those newspaper clippings that you took, that ai'ticle indicating that
463 had signed a petition urging the replacemejit of Mary Knowles
in the library ^
Mrs. Ogden. Shall I read it over 'I
Mr. Arens. If you have a recollection of it, tell us. If 3'ou don't
have a recollection of it, I would appreciate your just saying you
don't have a recollection.
Mrs. Ogden. As I answered a question, a few questions back^I said
I tliought it was around 460 people that Mrs. Corson had on her peti-
tion from the community of Plymouth Meeting, so I assume that I
either got it from the article which is headlined that way or else
I got it from n mimeogi-aphed statement of Mrs. Corson's.
Mr. Arens. Did you take back with you the article from the Ambler
Gazette of March 31, 1955, "468 Ask Library Committee to Discharge
Mrs. Knowles as William Jeanes Librarian'' ? Did you take that back
with you?
Mrs. Ogden. I just can't be sure about these articles, Mr. Arens. I
mean, there were so many.
Mr. Arens. I can ap])reciate you might luive difficulty recollect-
ing the particular article, but do you recall that you took back articles
of this nature^
Mrs. Ogden. Yes ; surely. Of course.
Mr. Arens. Now I lay before you another article from this same
publication, the Conshohocken Recorder of Thursday, December 23,
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5467
in which the headline reads : "Sheppard Brothers and Henry Hemsley
Reiterate Their Specific lleasons for liesigning as Friends Library
Officials."
Did you take back articles from the newspapers indicating the
resignation of those gentlemen from the library committee and the
recitation of their reasons ?
Mrs. Ogden. I am not sure about this specific article, but I know
I was aware of why they resigned and that they had resigned and
what their stands were.
Mr. Arens. Kindly tell the committee, if you please, those you
interviewed in the area who were hostile to the retention of Mary
Knowles as librarian besides the person with whom you talked on
the telephone, namely, Mrs. Corson.
Mrs. Ogden. As I said, in my conversation with Mrs. Corson she
didn't want me to see Mrs. Cooper, if that is that woman's name, and
I believe it is. She suggested that I see Mrs. Sawyer. I felt from
Mrs. Sawyer I would get an opinion and that I was interested in
getting the facts. My thought when I left Plymouth Meeting at
the end of being there 1 day was that I would go back to the Funcl for
the Republic and read all the material that I was taking with me,
the complete file, and if I had any further questions I would come
back to Plymouth Meeting to ask them of the proper persons or else,
if the officers had any questions of me, they would direct me to come
back.
Mr. Arens. All of those you interviewed in the Plymouth Meeting
area, with the exception of Mrs. Corson, were favorable to the retention
of Mary Knowles in the library ; were they not ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Ogden. The answer to that is "Yes." However, in my judg-
ment I obtained all the facts I needed to verify Mr. Sprogell's memo-
randum, which was my job in going to Plymouth Meeting.
Mr. Arens. Did you have suggested to you the possibility of inter-
viewing Isaac Sheppard ?
Mrs. Ogden. Who do you think — I mean who
Mr. Arens. Isaac Sheppard, who is a lifelong member of the
Plymouth Meeting, a leading citizen of the community.
Mrs. Ogden. I know who he is. Who are you inferring should
have suggested that I see him ?
Mr. Arens. I was wondering if it was suggested to you in view of
the investigation that you made, suggested by anyone, that you go see
Isaac Sheppard, one of the prominent members of the community,
because he might shed some illuminating light on the Mary Knowles
matter.
Mrs. Ogden. No ; I don't recall anyone telling me that. However,
in my report I state Mr. Sheppard's position and his resignation from
the library committee.
Mr. Arens. Did you ascertain that most of the people in the
Plymouth Monthly Meeting who registered their views were in opposi-
tion to the retention of Mary Knowles in the library? Did you
register that in your report ? I haven't, of course, had an opportunity
to see your report because your counsel just now produced it.
(The witness conferred witli her counsel.)
Mrs. Ogden. Are you talking
83005— 5G 3
5468 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, ESTC.
Mr. Webster. By the way, facts are stated on page 4 of this report,
if the chairman wishes to follow it.
Mrs. Ogden. Could you repeat the question, please ?
Mr. Arens. When you made your own report, which you submitted
to the Fund for the Republic checking on the accuracy of the Sprogell
memorandum, identified as Ogden Exhibit No. 1, did you in that report
tell the Fund for the Republic that most of the people in the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting who registered an opinion on the retention of Mary
Knowles were opposed to the retention of Mary Knowles as librarian ?
Mrs. Ogden. No. I said that there were some people who were
against it, but it is not my knowledge to this day that most of the
people were.
Mr. Arens. It is your position as of this day that most of the
people in the Plymouth Monthly Meeting who registered a view on
the retention of Mary Knowles were favorable to the retention of
Mary Knowles. Is that correct ?
Mrs. Ogden. In October of 1954, the October 19 meeting, the mem-
bers present at that meeting unanimously agreed with the library
committee's employment of Mrs. Knowles, no opposition, and made
her permanent.
Mr. Arens. Is that the temporary employment ?
Mrs. Ogden. That is permanent employment.
Mr. Arens. Did you report that? Is that part of the report you
made to the Fund for the Republic ?
Mrs. Ogden. Yes.
Mr. Arens. I want this record to be absolutely clear on this. Is it
your position now and was it your position in the submission of your
report that most of the folks in the Plymouth Monthly Meeting, who
registered a view on the retention of Mary Knowles, were favorable
to the retention of Mary Knowles in a permanent capacity?
Mr. Webster. Just to be fair about it
Mr. Arens. Would you kindly answer the question, Mrs. Ogden?
Mr. Webster, May I ask, Mr. Chairman, if he is referring to the
meeting of the congregation or the parish or is he referring to the
community ?
The Chairman. The question is very clear.
Mr. Webster. Some of these questions relate to the community.
Mr. Arens. To the congregation.
Mrs. Ogden. How do you mean people who registered an opinion ?
Do you mean actually in writing, wrote a letter, or spoke to people?
Mr. Arens. Tell us in your own words. I may be confusing you
here. I don't intend to, I assure you. What did you say to the Fund
for the Republic as to the attitude or position of the people in the
congregation toward the retention of Mary Knowles as librarian?
In essence what did you say to the Fund for the Republic ?
Mrs. Ogden. I said that the Meeting had taken unanimous action
to make her employment permanent in October of 1954, and that it
was my knowledge that tne majority of the Meeting when I went
there in May of 1955 was still in favor of the movement of Mrs,
Knowles, that there was some dissent but that it was certainly very
much in the minority.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5469
Mr. Arens. I lay before you a document entitled "Citizens for Phil-
brick, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.," dated February 15, 1955, beginning
at least in this respect :
Accompanying this letter are tlie signatures of 243 patriotic Americans who
request that you replace the present librarian at the Jeanes Library.
addressed To The Society of Friends, Plymouth Meeting, Pa., sub-
mitted by Mrs. Philip L. Corson. I ask you now, if you please,
whether or not you took that document or the information from that
document back to the Fund for the Eepublic.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Ogden. Of course when I wrote my report I said that there
weren't 245. I said 468 or whatever the number was. Again this
is a question of the community itself and not the Meeting.
Mr. xVrens. Did you know, that that particular petition containing
243 names was presented to the Plymouth Monthly Meeting of the
Religious Society of Friends by Judge George C. Corson ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Ogden. Mrs. Corson sent out an awful lot of papers that looked
very similar to that.
Mr. Arens. Did you report to the Fund for the Republic either by
taking back a sample copy of this petition or by giving an oral or
written report respecting this petition which was presented to the
Society of Friends Plymouth Meeting by Judge Corson ?
Mrs. Ogden. I don't know that the Meeting as such has ever actually
received a petition from Mrs. Corson. I think it is a question that you
should ask the chairman of the library committee or the clerk of the
Meeting.
Mr. Arens- In the course of your investigation did you learn
whether or not
]\Irs. Ogden. I know Mrs. Corson has sent stories to the newspapers
and she sent out these mimeographed statements, but whether she
actually presented that at the Meeting I think is a different thing.
Mr. Arens. Did you ascertain in the course of this investigation
which you made for this Fund for the Republic whether or not this
petition was filed or presented to the Plymouth Meeting ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mr. Webster. Would you mind reframing that question? I am
sorry I interfered.
Mrs. Ogden- No, I didn't ascertain that, but furthermore, Mrs.
Corson is not a member of the Meeting.
Mr. Arens. I ask you if you sent back to the Fund for the Republic
the essence of this language which appears in the petition :
In other ways, too, Mrs. Knowles does harm. Longtime friendships are being
strained and shattered as neighbors fight each other over her rights and beliefs.
To promote domestic harmony, some husbands and wives who disagree have
even found it necessary to make a pact with each other not to discuss the matter.
Did you report that type of allegation in this petition back to the
Fund for the Republic in the report which you made of your investi-
gation ?
Mrs. Ogden. Well, I did not use Mrs. Corson's phraseologv there.
Certainly my report said there was some dissent within the Meeting
and talk about the petition in the community itself. However, I also
5470 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
asked various j^eople that I talked to whether they thought an award
from the Fund would make the situation more bitter, and everyone
said "No."
Mr. Arens. Did you talk to the people who were opposed to the
retention of Mary Knowles and pose that question to them ?
(The witness conferred with her counseL)
Mrs. Ogden. No ; I didn't.
Tlie Chairman. May I ask a question ?
Mrs. Ogden. However, most of these people w^ere not in the Meet-
ing.
The Chairman. You say that you did report that there was dissent
in the Meeting ?
Mrs. Ogden. Yes.
The Chairman. How do you reconcile that with your former testi-
mony that the people in the Meeting were unanimously in favor of it ?
Mrs. Ogden. Well, apparentl}^ the peo])le who were dissenting in
May of 1955, did not attend the Monthly Meeting for business in
October of 1954, where it was discussed and furthermore a special
notice of meeting was sent out concerning the meeting.
Mr. Arens. We might just as well clear the record on the point at
this time. It is a fact, is it not, that Mary Knowles was never em-
ployed, either temporarily or permanently, by the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Ogden. I couldn't say that for sure, but as far as I know her
employment was made permaneiit September 1 of 1954 by the library
committee and this action was co.nfirmed by the Meeting itself in
October.
Mr. Arens. Did the Plymouth Monthly Meeting, on the basis of
your investigation, employ Mary Knowles at any time ?
Mr. Webster. Isn't that a technical question?
The Chairman. Do you know ?
Mrs. Ogden. As I just said, I understood that the library conunit-
teo employed her and that her employment was confirmed by the
Meeting.
Mr. Arens. 'Wliat is the relationship, if you please, ma'am, between
the library committee and the Plymouth Monthly Meeting ?
Mr. Webster. If 3^011 know.
Mrs. Ogden. I believe that the library was left by William Jeanes
to the two trustees who were to be elected by the Meeting and that
its policies were to be directed by the library committee itself.
Mr. Arens. The Plymouth Monthly Meeting designates, does it not,
two members to serve as trustees on the library committee? Isn't
that correct ?
Mrs. Ogden. Yes.
Mr. Arens. By and large, the library committee is autonomous, is
it not ? It makes its own decisions.
Mrs. Ogden. Yes ; except that it is elected by the Meeting.
Mr. Arens. I have here a copy of an original document, addressed to
the Society of Friends, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, April 19,
1955 (reading) :
Five hundred and sixty-one local residents have novp signed letters asking you to
remove the present Jeanes librarian * * * These 561 persons signed these re-
quests in the quiet of their own homes where no one influenced their decisions in
-any way.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5471
1 will skip a sentence or so because it is not pertinent to the point.
Mr. Webster. Could I have a copy to follow ?
Mr. Arens. You may look at it right here with me in case I impinge
in any way upon her constitutional rights.
Mr. Webster. I am not suggesting that.
Mr. Arens (reading) :
Many of the 561 are long-time friends and neighbors of yours. Surely they
deserve more Christian love and consideration from you than one lone 5th
Amendment User who has deliberately gone out of her way to create and foster
this bitter strife and dissension among us.
Now I ask you, if you took back to the Fund for the Republic that
document, or if you took back the essence of the information contained
in that document after you made your investigation, over the course
of 1 day?
Mrs. Ogden. I don't know whether I did or not. Furthermore, Mr.
Arens, the date on this is April 19. I think it is possible that this
might not have been included, Mr. Ai'ens ?
Mr. Webster. Do you want the answer ?
Mrs. Ogden". Are you listening to my answer ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, ma'am.
Mr. Webster. The answer thus far is
Mr. Arens. I hear the witness, counsel.
Mrs. Ogden. Since this is dated April 19, toward the end of April,
I don't know whether this would have been included in the file that
was given to me by the library committee or not.
Mr. Arens. So you don't know whether or not you took that infor-
mation back to tlie Fund for the Republic
Mrs. Ogden. I don't know whether I did.
Mr. Arens. As a result of your 1-day investigation ?
Mrs. Ogden. But I still want to tell you that there were certainly
many statements that Mrs. Corson sent out either on blue or yellow
or pink paper like that, all saying practically the same thing.
Mr. Arens. How did you ascertain tliat the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting confirmed the retention of Mary Knowles or the employment
of Mary Knowles as librarian? How did you ascertain that fact?
Mrs. Ogden. From excerpts from the minutes of October 1954.
Mr. Arens. The minutes of what ?
Mrs. Ogden. Plymouth Monthly Meeting.
Mr. Scherer. Did you actually see the minutes? Did they show
them to you ?
Mrs. Ogden. I believe they took out excerpts and sent them to
me or gave them to me when I went back to the Fund to read them.
Mr. Scherer. Did you examine the original minutes ?
Mrs. Ogden. No, I didn't see the original.
Mr. Scherer. They gave you copies of the minutes or those parts
of the minutes that referred to the controversy ?
Mrs. Ogden. That is right.
Mr. Scherer. They were given to you freely, were they not ?
M)-s. Ogden. Well, yes.
Ml-. Scherer. Xobody suggested that you didn't have a right to
them ?
Mrs. Ogden. No. I didn't subpena them.
Mr. Scherer. You were a private agency asking for the minutes,
were you not ?
5472 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mrs. Ogden. Yes.
Mr. ScHERER. It is so different when the Congress of the United
States asks for them. We can't see them.
Mr. Webster. It certainly is.
The Chairman. Were these the minutes of the library committee ?
Mrs. Ogden. Of the Meeting.
Mr. Scherer. It depends on who wants to read the minutes, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Arens. Did you in the course of your study and investigation
of 1 day in this area ascertain that the congregation has what they
call, or what I would call from an outsider characterizing it, a policy
of unanimity, namely, that basic decisions will not be arrived at unless
there is a unanimity of opinion ?
Mrs. Ogden. I don't believe that I understood it quite that way,
not being a Quaker myself. I don't believe that I understood how
unanimous the action did have to be.
Mr. Arens. Did you deal with that issue at all in your report to the
Fund for the Republic respecting the actions of the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting, that by the policy of the congregation vital decisions, if
not all decisions, have to be on the basis of unanimity ? Did you make
any reference to that at all in your report to the Fund for the Republic ?
Mrs. Ogden, No, I didn't, because I don't believe there was any
occasion in my report to refer to that. What I was supposed to do
was check Mr. Sprogell's memorandum. I wasn't sup])osed to write
about the policy of the Meeting or how they conducted their meetings
and that sort of thing.
Mr. Arens. In his memorandum — and I will not burden the record
at the moment with a complete recitation of it — did Mr. Sprogell
allude to or were you advised by the Fund in oral conversation that
there was considerable dissension in the Plymouth Monthly Meeting
group over the retention of Mary Knowles as librarian ?
Mrs. Ogden. Not considerable.
Mr. Arens. Were you advised in the report of Mr. Sprogell or by
oral conversation that the decisions of the Plymouth Monthly Meet-
ing, pursuant to the policy of the congregation, must be on the basis
of unanimity ?
Mrs. Ogden. No, I don't believe complete unanimity ; I knew there
was supposed to be substantial agreement, but exactly what that meant
in numbers I never knew.
Mr. Arens. You never ascertained that ?
Mrs. Ogden. I never ascertained it.
Mr. Arens. I lay before you a document entitled "My Suggestions
on the Jeanes Library Controversy, Proposed by Edith C. Shoemaker
at Plymouth Friends Meeting April 1955," and ask you whether or
not you took back to the Fund for the Republic either that document
or a copy of that document or the essence of the information in that
document.
Mrs. Ogden. I do believe that I say this. I referred to it in my
report by saying that Mrs. Chappie and Mrs. Tapley were disturbed —
I will read what I said here. O. K. ?
Mr. Arens. While you are reading that — excuse me. Counsel —
may I see this document.
Mr. Webster. Just read that whole paragraph.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5473
Mrs. Ogdex. I will read the whole paragraph here. This comes
under my heading "The Stand of Plymouth Monthly Meeting."
Mr. Webster. Can you hear this, Mr. Chairman ?
The Chairman. Yes.
Mrs. Ogden. This is talking about people of the library committee.
I said :
These people are essentially conservative. It is their deep religious convic-
tions and not wild-eyed idealism that has persuaded them to retain Mrs. Knowles
as librarian
Mr. Webster. May she finish ?
Mr. Arens. Will the counsel wait a minute.
Are you alluding there to the Plymouth Monthly Meeting or to the
library committee ?
]Mrs. Ogdex. I am talking about the library committee.
Mr. Arens. This exhibit which I have just laid before you pertains
to the Plymouth Monthly Meeting.
Mr. Webster. But this refers
Mrs. Ogden. This is my report and just in the previous paragraph
I describe the people I talked to on the library committee.
Mr. Arens. Would you address yourself to the question at issue?
Mrs. Ogden. This is what I am saying right here. I don't want to
read it out of context.
Mr. Arens. All right.
Mrs. Ogden. Talking about the library people —
They are greatly disturbed by the inability of some of the members of the
Meeting to agree with their acceptance of Mrs. Knowles. The Quakers' de-
sire for peace — to be true Friends — and their opposition to loyalty oaths, are in
direct conflict.
The leaders of the Meeting are currently thinking of asking other Friends to
visit Plymouth Monthly Meetings to lend their spiritual strength. Mrs. Chap-
pie hopes that the rift within the Meeting can be healed with as much under-
standing and as little loss as possible.
Mr. Arens. Would you kindly address yourself to the questions at
issue, namely
Mr. Webster. Mr. Arens, is that a fair characterization ?
Mr. Arens. I respectfully suggest counsel be advised that under the
rules of the committee your sole and exclusive function is to advise
your client.
Now I ask you whether or not you told the Fund for the Republic
of the protest which was made by Mrs. Shoemaker on the Jeanes
Library controversy entitled "My Suggestion" etc. dated April 1955.
Mrs. Ogden. I didn't call Mrs. Shoemaker. I didn't quote her
name as such. I said :
They are greatly disturbed by the inability of some members of the committee
to agree with their acceptance of Mrs. Knowles.
Mr. Arens. How extensive did you find public criticism to be of
the employment and retention of Mary Knowles ?
Mrs. Ogden. You mean in Plymouth Meeting ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, let's take it that way. Let's take Plymouth
Monthly Meeting first.
Mrs. Ogden. I didn't make a poll of the members of the Meeting,
if that is what you are suggesting.
5474 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mr. Arens. As a matter of fact, you only talked to 1 person who
was opposed to Mary Knowles and that was 1 person by telephone,
isn't that true ?
Mrs. Ogden. That is true except I saw the statements of the other
people in the newspapers and in the file that I have.
Mr. Arens. Now could you tell the committee your appraisal as to
how extensive public criticism was of the retention of Mary Knowles?
What was your appraisal of the extent of the public criticism on the
retention of Mary Knowles ?
Mrs. Ogden. What do you mean by public? Do you mean this
community ?
Mr. Arens. I mean only which is alluded to in the report which you
were either to confirm or investigate.
Mrs. Ogden. From what Mrs. Corson said I gathered that she had
the names of 468 people who were opposed to Mrs. Knowles. How-
ever, the only people whose opinions really matter are the people in
the Meeting,
Mr. Arens. How many people in the Meeting did you interview
who were opposed to the retention of Mary Knowles ?
Mrs. Ogden. I didn't interview any of the people.
Mr. Arens. Now, I invite your attention to the assertion in the
so-called Sprogell memorandum which we have identified as "Ogden
Exhibit No. 1" of your testimony
Mr. Webster. I want to keep this straight. Is the Sprogell re-
port No. 1 or is Mrs. Ogden's report No. 1 ?
Mr. Arens. which memorandum we have identified as Ogden
Exhibit No. 1, during your testimony in which Mr. Sprogell says
Mr. Webster. What page, please, Mr. Arens ?
Mr. Arens. Reading from page 2 — apparently, I assume from the
context, referring to the Monthly Meeting :
the Meeting conducted a careful investigation into ber conduct since 1947.
Did you make an investigation yourself to ascertain whether or not
this assertion contained in the Sprogell memorandum was true ?
Mr. Webster. Would you mind reading the rest of it ? The question
isn't really intelligible, Mr. Arens, I submit.
Mr. Arens. Does the witness understand that I am alluding to the
Sprogell memorandum in which Mr. Sprogell says that the Meeting
conducted a careful investigation into Mrs. Knowles' conduct. Now,
I am asking you as to whether or not you made an ascertainment as to
whether the Plymouth Monthly Meeting did make a careful investiga-
tion into Mrs. Knowles' conduct since 1947.
Mrs. Ogden. While I am not absolutely positive, I believe that I say
the statement that they presented to the Monthly Meeting concerning
their employment of Mrs. Knowdes, saying they had made this inves-
tigation.
Mr. Arens. Did you ascertain whether or not a careful investi-
gation
Mr. Scherer. Pardon me. You say a statement. "Where did you
get this statement that they presented to you ?
Mrs. Ogden. From the library committee.
Mr. Scherer. From the library committee ? The Meeting presented
it to the library committee ?
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5475
Mrs. Ogdex. No; tluit the library conimittee had presented to the
Meeting concerning their employment of Mrs. Knowles.
Mr. AiiENs. Did you, during your l-day investigation, inquire as to
whether or not in this investigation of Mary Knowles' conchict
Mrs. Ogdex. I didn't say it was a 1-day investigation.
Mr. Arens. There was an inquiry as to ]Mary Knowles' conduct
before a Senate committee ?
Mrs. Ogdex. Could you repeat that one, sir?
Mr. Arexs. Mr. Sprogell in his memorandum says that there was a
careful investigation conducted by the Plymouth ISIonthly Meeting
with reference to Mrs. Knowles' conduct since 1947. I am now asking
you, in view of the fact that you were to check on these facts, whether
or not you ascertained if this investigation included an inquiry as to
Mary Knowles' conduct before a Senate committee. Did you ask any-
one here if they made an inquiry into Mary Knowles' conduct before
the Senate committee?
Mrs. Ogdex. May I have a minute here to look.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mr. Arexs. In the event you may be a little confused by the
question, I am only asking you whether or not when you were in the
Plymouth Meeting area you made an inquiry to ascertain the nature
of the investigation wdiich Mr. Sprogell said had been made by the
Plymouth Monthly Meeting concerning Mary Knowles' conduct.
Mrs. Ogdex. I just saw the statement that they had given to the
Meeting saying they had made this investigation.
Mr. Arexs. Who had made the investigation ?
ISIrs. Ogdex. The members of the library committee.
Mr. Arexs. And did you ascertain w^hether or not it was a careful
investigation, and whether or not it was an investigation which encom-
passed the attitude and conduct of Mrs. Knowles before the Senate
committee ?
I^Irs. Ogdex. I didn't go into the details of their investigation but
I assume if they were satisfied and the members of the Meeting were
satisfied with their investigation
Mr. Webster. Wliich meeting are you talking about?
Mr. Arexs. Counsel will have to be advised again your sole and
exclusive function is to advise your client.
The Chairmax. Have you answered the question ?
Mrs. Ogdex^. I said that I had not determined the methods or the
details of the investigation of the library committee, but I assumed,
since these people who were upstanding citizens in their communities
had made this investigation to the best of their conscience and that
the Monthly Meeting had accepted their findings, that it was a bona
fide investigation.
Mr. Scherer. Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question ?
Did you know at the time you were making this investigation that
Mrs. Knowles had appeared before the Internal Security Subcom-
mittee of the Senate of the United States ?
Mrs. Ogdex. In 1953 ?
Mr. SciiERER. When were you making this investigation ?
Mrs. Ogdex. Wlien was that? It was in May 1953, that she ap-
peared before the Jenner committee ; M^asn't it ?
83005—56 4
5476 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mr. Arens. She appeared before you came to this area. You knew
that.
Mrs. Ogden. Yes.
Mr. ScHERER. In May 1953. That is the public record. I have the
testimony here.
Mrs. Ogden. I believe that is here in Mr. Sprogell's memorandum.
Mr. ScHERER. Did you know at that time, then, that she had ap-
peared before the Senate committee?
Mrs. Ogden. Yes.
Mr. Arens. There is confusion on this record which I think ought
to be cleared at this point. Mr. Sprogell in his report says the Meet-
ing conducted a careful investigation into her conduct since 1947.
You found no evidence that the Meeting had conducted a careful in-
vestigation into her conduct, did you ? The investigate on that you were
alluding to was the interrogation of Mrs. Knowles by the library com-
mittee ; isn't that correct ?
Mrs. Ogden. To the best of my recollection it was the library com-
mittee that conducted the investigation but, after all, the library com-
mittee is elected by the Meeting and they are acting as their repre-
sentatives.
Mr. Arens. Then Mr. Sprogell was at least, let us say, in slight
error when he said that the Meeting had conducted the investigation ;
is that correct ?
Mr. Webster. Mr, Chairman, is that a fair question ?
The Chairman. I think the record speaks for itself.
Mr. ScHERER. I want to come back for just a minute to my question.
You knew when you made this investigation that Mrs. Knowles had
testified before a committee of the Senate of the United States; did
you not ?
Mrs. Ogden. I believe I read that in Mr. Sprogell's memorandum ;
yes. The first page.
Mr. ScHERER. When you read that, did you get a copy of her testi-
mony before the
Mrs. Ogden. No ; because I wasn't investigating Mrs. Knowles. I
was simply verifying this memorandum.
Mr. ScHERER. You didn't think it was necessary in the verification
of a memorandvim which purported to investigate the whole circum-
stances surrounding Mrs. Knowles' retention, to take a look for yourself
at the report of the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee? You
didn't even read that testimony ?
Mrs. Ogden. I didn't think it was my business to investigate Mrs.
Knowles' past. It was my business to investigate
Mr. ScHERER, No, but you were investigating a report which re-
ferred to a so-called impartial investigation of this woman, were you
not ? That is what you were doing?
Mrs. Ogden. That is right.
Mr. ScHERER. How could you make such an investigation unless
you read what I would consider at least a very, very important public
document in determining your report to the Fund for the Republic;
namely, her testimony before the Senate of the United States.
Did you know that she had invoked the fifth amendment ?
Mr, Webster. It tells in here, Mr. Congressman, that she
Mr. ScHERER. I am just asking the witness what she did. You ad-
vise her as to her constitutional rights.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5477
Mrs. Ogden. I understand, as it says here in Mr. Sprogell's mem-
orandum, that she invoked the fifth amendment in 1953 before the
Jenner committee.
Mr. ScHERER. All right. All I wanted to know is whether or not
you yourself read her testimony as a result of the information you ac-
quired from reading the Sprogell memorandum.
Mrs. Ogden. No; I didn't, because I wasn't concerned with Mrs.
Knowles' past.
INIr. ScHERER. Therefore, you did not discuss this matter with any of
the stati' of the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee; did you?
Mrs. Ogdex. No. I was simply supposed to find out what was go-
ing on in Plymouth Monthly Meeting.
Mr. ScHERER. Do you not think that the staff of the Senate Internal
Security Subcommittee might have as much information or pertinent
information, at least as much as the Meeting had, whose minutes you
did investigate ?
Air. Webster. Mr. Scherer, that is pretty speculative.
Mr. Scherer. I am asking the witness. Didn't it occur to you,
even if you didn't read the testimony that was available, that you
might go and discuss the matter with the staff of the Senate Internal
Security Subcommittee or any member of that committee?
Mr. Webster. May I refer to the memorandum a minute Mr.
Scherer ?
Mr. Scherer. No. I am asking the witness some questions.
Mr. Webster. I want to point out it contains the facts that she was
asked to investigate in the memorandum. I can hand that up to you,
sir.
The Chairman. Instructions to her? Is that what the memo is?
Mr. Webster. No. The memorandum of Mr. Sprogell is the mem-
orandum which she has testified she was
The Chairman. Is it a memorandum given to her with instructions
as to what to inquire into ?
Mr. Webster. No.
Mr. Scherer. It is the memorandum that she was to investigate and
determine whether or not that memorandum was correct. That mem-
orandum, as I understand, contains — I have never seen it but from
listening to the testimony — contains an allegation that this woman did
appear before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, and did
testify, and did invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Webster. Mr. Scherer, may I ask you just to take a moment
and read it?
The Chairman. Yes, I will.
Mr. Scherer. I don't wish to read it at this point. I understand
from the testimony that it does contain such an allegation. I am
merely asking this witness if that report, about which she was to de-
termine the truth or falsity, contained such an allegation.
]Mr. Webster. I am handing you my copy, Mr. Scherer.
Mr. Scherer. And whether or not this witness, with that informa-
tion before her, didn't see fit at least to read tlie record of this woman's
testimony before the committee or whether or not she didn't even go
to talk to some member of the staff or some member of the committee
of the Senate, who certainly knew more about this situation, perhaps,
than the Friends Meeting.
5478 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mrs. Ogden. I understood I was to go to Plymouth Meeting to find
out what the situation was there at the present. I didn't understand
that I was to find out what Mrs. Knowles had said before a Senate
committee or to investigate her past. The library committee had done
that themselves.
Mr. SciiERER. But, Madam, you just said that you were to investi-
gate the truth or falsity of the Sprogell memorandum, w^liich contains
certain allegations.
Mrs. Ogden. Concerning the events in Plymouth Meeting.
The Chairman. Let me read the pertinent section of the memoran-
dum furnished you which you were to investigate.
In 1953 the Library Committee, seelcing a temporary librarian because of
illness of its permanent employee, received an application from Mary Knowles, a
fully qualified librarian. Mrs. Knowles had been a secretary at the Samuel
Adams School in the suburbs of Boston from 1945 to 1947. She had then taken
employment as librarian in a Massachusetts community. While she was em-
ployed there Herbert Philbrick gave testimony concerning her before the Jenner
Committee. It is generally assumed that he testified that she had been a member
of the Communist Party while at the Samuel Adams School.
Did you investigate this assumption, or weren't you concerned
about that?
Mrs. Ogdex. I understood "generally assumed"— that it is phrased
that way because it was an executive hearing.
The Chairman. Executive hearing ? Here is the printed hearing.
It is a public document. It is United States Government Printing
Office document.
Mrs. Ogden. Has it been released since the library committee made
its investigation ?
The Chairman. This is a public document.
Mrs. Ogden. Has it always been one ?
The Chairman. From the time it was printed. I suppose 20 min-
utes after the hearing was closed it was in the hands of the printer.
It is generally assumed that she testified. Didn't you make inquiry
into the facts or into the statement in order to determine whether or
not it was correct ?
Mrs. Ogden. That was not what I was supposed to do in Plymoutli
Meeting.
The Chairman. The fact of the matter is, neither you nor the Fund
for the Republic was concerned with whether or not she had ever been
a Communist?
Mrs. Ogden. I can't speak for the Fund for the Republic. You
will have to ask their officers.
Mr. Arens. Also in the Sprogell report I see the following para-
graph :
Ever since that time the Meeting has been the object of repeated onslaughts by
a small determined group in the community whose object is to compel the Meeting
to dismiss Mrs. Knowles.
Did you investigate as to whether or not the opposition to Mrs.
Knowles' retention as librarian came from a small group or what
Mrs. Ogden. Mrs. Corson told me on tlie telephone that the number
of her group of Alerted Americans was 30 at that point.
Mr. Arens. Did you take back to the Fund for the Republic these
accounts of hundreds of people signing petitions protesting the reten-
tion of Mary Knowles ?
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5479
Mi'S. Ogden. Are you talking about active members of the position ?
Tliere is a difference between active people working to oust
Mr. Arens. Mr. SprogelFs report says, "a small determined group
in the community" is opposing Mary Knowles.
Mrs. Ogden. That means actively working, which was the Alerted
Americans.
Mr. Arexs. Did you report to the Fund for the Kepublic in effect
that the opposition to Mary Knowles in the community was a small
group ?
Mrs. Ogden. I said it was small. I also told the number who had
signed petitions.
Mr. Arens. Did you report to the Fund for the Republic that only
28 of the total membership of 108 in 1955 are on the record at a Ply-
mouth Monthly Meeting as approving the retention of Mary Knowles?
Did you report that fact to the Fund for the Republic in your report?
Mrs. Ogden. No.
Mr. Arens. Was it a fact ?
Mrs. Ogden. I don't know.
Mr. Arens. Did you undertake to ascertain what the facts were with
reference to the number of members of Plymouth INIonthly Meeting
who were on record as approving the retention of Mary Knowles ?
Mrs. Ogden. I didn't make a numerical count of the pro and con
in the Meeting.
Mr. Arens. Did you make any investigation to ascertain the situa-
tion with reference to the librarian who was the predecessor to Mary
Knowles ? Her name slips my mind at the moment.
Mrs. Ogden. Mrs. Sawyer.
Mr. Arens. Did you make an investigation to ascertain what had
happened to Mrs. Sawyer?
Mrs. Ogden. I understood that she had fallen down and broken her
hip and had become incapacitated and that Mrs. Ivnowles was em-
ployed temporarily as librarian.
Mr. Arens. And then Mrs. Sawyer resumed her occupation?
Mrs. Ogden. Mrs. Sawyer got better and came back. I also under-
stand that Mrs. Sawyer was either at or beyond the age of retirement
and had been talking about retiring for several years.
Mr. Arens. Did you ascertain any information respecting allega-
tions that Mrs. Sawyer, notwithstanding her long years of service, was
in effect being forced out of her job as librarian by the pro-Mary
KJnowles faction? Did you make any ascertainment on that issue?
Mr. Webster. Mr. Chairman, is that a fair question? May I ask
you just in the interest of fairness
The Chairman. Let us withdraw the question and let me ask a
question.
Did you know that when Mrs. Knowles testified before the Senate
Internal Security Subcommittee it was because of a request made
Mrs. Ogden. When was this, Mr. Walter ?
The Chairman. The only time she appeared, the only time she
testified.
(Representative Scherer left the hearing room.)
Mrs. Ogden. You mean in 1953 ?
The Chairman. Yes. This was Thursday, September 15, 1955,
Mrs. Ogden. Excuse me, Mr. Walter. What is the exact date of
that?
5480 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
The Chairman. September 15, 1955.
Mrs. Ogden. That is after the Fund award was made, and that is
after my report.
Mr. Akens. The record shows that Mrs. Knowles appeared before
the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, I believe, on 3 occasions,
at least 1 or 2 of which were before the award was made and before
your investigation. There is no question about that.
Mrs. Ogden. Is that the same report you were referring to before,
Mr. Walter?
The Chairman. I think it is, yes.
Mr. Webster. May I ask, Mr. Walter, if that is not the report of
1955 that relates to Mrs. Knowles' most recent Senate appearance long
after the award was made ?
The Chairman. This is part 14.
Mrs. Ogden. That is after the award was made and after my report.
Mr. Arens. It was after Mrs. Knowles had appeared before the
Senate Internal Security Subcommittee and long before you made
your investigations, isn't that correct? You know, of course.
Mrs. Ogden. In May of 1953, that is right.
Mr. Arens. Tell this committee
The Chairman. Let's get the record straight. I was mistaken.
Thursday, May 21, 1953.
Mr. Arens. Now tell this committee whether or not in the course
of your investigation of the Mary Knowles controversy you learned
that there was also in the controversy the issue as to the reasons why
Mrs. Sawyer was going to leave her job.
Mrs. Ogden. I assume she was going to leave it because she was
either, as I said, at the age of retirement or beyond and wasn't fully
recovered from her accident.
Mr. Arens. Were you advised or did you learn from any of your
interview's that the charges were brought that Mrs. Sawyer was being
forced out of her job ?
Mr. Webster. Mr. Chairman, that is the same question.
Mr. Arens. It is not the same question.
Mr. Chairman, this witness has been testifying all day what she
learned from interviews. I am only asking whether she learned
Mrs. Ogden. No, I never learned that Mrs. Sawyer was being
forced out of her job.
Mr. Arens. That is the answer to the question.
Did you report to the Fund for the Republic on the basis of j'our
investigation as to the number of the members of the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting who resigned from the Meeting in protest against
the retention of Mary Knowles? Did you report that to the Fund for
the Republic?
Mrs. Ogden. "N^Hien did they resign ?
Mr. Arens. I just ask you whether or not you ascertained that fact
and reported it to the Fund for the Republic, that members of the
Plymouth Monthly Meeting resigned in protest.
Mrs. Ogden. Oh. Well, 1 laiow that INIr. Sheppard resigned.
Mr. Webster. Was that the reason?
Mrs. Ogden. I don't know if that was quite the reason. I have
heard another reason given.
Mr. Arens. Did you know and did you report to the Fund for the
Republic that in the aggregate 884 persons in the general community
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, LNC. 5481
of the Jeanes Librar}^ signed petitions asking that Mary Knowles
be dismissed?
Mr. Werster. 800 different persons?
]Mr. Arens. 884 different persons.
Mr. Webster. Or 800 signatures?
Mr. Arens. Counsel, kindly let us conduct the hearing.
Mrs. OoDEN. As I told you before — can I answer this question?
Mr. Arens. Yes, please.
Mrs. Ogden. As I told you before, the latest information I had \Yas
the report from Mrs. Corson, either her mimeographed statement of
a newspaper story, saying that she had the petitions of 468 people.
Mr. Arens. Did you not report that there were 884 persons who
had signed various petitions in the aggregate protesting the reten-
tion of JMary Knowles?
Mrs. Ogden. I never saw such a statement. Was there such a state-
ment in existence in May, May 2, 1955?
Mr. W^EBSTER. May I ask Mr. Arens if he is reading from a paper
we can use to refresh Mrs. Ogden's recollection.
The Chairman. If she does not know, the answer is "I do not re-
member.'"
Mr. Arens. What is the date on which you completed your in-
vestigation?
]\Ir. Webster. The question implies that Mr. Arens has some special
information.
The Chairman. There is no such implication. Let Mr. Arens ask
the question.
(Representative Scherer returned to the hearing room.)
Mr. Arens. Now, would you tell us the date on which you com-
pleted your investigation and made your report?
Mrs. Ogden. The date of my report is May 9, 1955.
Mr. Arens. Did you subsequently learn after you had submitted
your report that one of the members of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting
had sent a letter under date of March 6, 1956, to Robert Hutchins, of
the Fund for the Republic, stating in effect that the Plymouth jNIonthly
Meeting did not deserve the proposed award since the majority were
opposed to Mary Knowles and that the Meeting had not accepted the
award and that it was being held in escrow and that if the Fund had
properly investigated the facts it would have ascertained that the
majority was in opposition and the award unjustified for the purpose
stated in the presentation speech ?
Mr. Webster. May I ask Mr. Arens for the date of that letter ?
Mr. Arens. March 1956. Did you know that, Mrs. Ogden ?
Mrs. Ogden. And the person by whom it was written. March 1956.
Mr. Arens. By Carroll Corson.
Mrs. Ogden. However, Mr. Arens, let me say at this moment that
the minutes of the meeting reflect that in June of 1955 when the JMeet-
ing was told of the award that was going to be made by the Fund for
the Republic they were given a description of the work of the Fund,
they were told by the directors of the Fund, and no one raised any
objection. The only question asked was by Carroll Corson, who asked
if any money was involved.
Mr. SciiERER. Did you see those minutes? Did you yourself see
those minutes or have excerpts given to you ?
5482 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mrs. Ogden. I have seen excerpts and I have been told by Mrs.
Chappie, of the library committee, that this is what happened.
Mr. SciiERER. They wouldn't give our investigator any information,
w^ouldn't let her see the minutes or records or anything else.
Mr. Webster. Unlike the Fund for the Republic, which gave com-
plete information.
Mr. Arens, Now, may I ask you this : Has the award actually been
accepted by the Plymouth Monthly INIeeting ?
Mrs. Ogden. No ; it is being held in escrow. But may I say some-
thing further. May I say that in March of this year there was a yearly
meeting, I believe the 276th yearly meeting, at which 500 delegates
of 93 Meetings unanimously upheld the decision of the Civil Liberties
Committee in providing a legal defense fund for Mrs. Knowles, and
that at that meeting there were people from Plymouth Monthly Meet-
ing and I believe also that Carroll Corson was there then and he didn't
raise any objections. I think these people w^ho object should object in
the meeting.
Mr. Arens. May I read you this letter addressed to Robert M.
Hutchins, president of the Fund for the Republic, under date of March
6, 1956, and ask you whether or not in your judgment on the basis of
your investigation this recites the facts. Counsel, kindly restrain your-
self while I address the question to the witness.
Dear Dr. Hutchins : Through my association at Haverford College with Gil-
bert White I have gained the impression that you are a very understanding person.
Last year when the Fund for the Republic gave the Plymouth Monthly Meeting
a check for .$5,000 for their courageoiis stand, unfortunately I was in Europe.
This gift was never brought before the Monthly Meeting before it was pre-
sented
Mrs. Ogden. He was at a Monthly Meeting in June, however, where
they were told the Meeting was to receive an award, and Carroll Corson
was there.
Mr. Arens (continuing reading) :
as I attended the meeting in June. At the time the award was made, a majority
of the adult nieml)ers, after the Jenner committee reports had been made
known, requested that Mrs. Knowles be dismissed.
Was that an accurate representation of the facts?
Mrs. Ogden. What does it say, after the award was made a
majority?
Mr. Arens (reads) :
At the time the award was made, a majority of the adult members, after
the Jenner committee reports had been made known, requested that Mrs.
Knowles be dismissed.
Mrs. Ogden. Can I ask you a question first, Mr. Arens? I was
called here today, wasn't I, in connection with a report I wrote?
Mr. Arens. I am only asking you whether you know this is a fact.
Mrs. Ogden. This is something that occurred after I wrote the re-
port.
Mr. Arens. If you do not know just say "I do not Imow," and that
will end that inquiry.
Mr. Webster. The occurrence as such occurred afterwards.
Mr. iVRENS. I understand.
Mrs. Ogden. No ; I don't know that to be a fact.
AWARD BY THE FITND FOR THE REPUBLIC, ESTC. 5483
Mr. Akens. May I read more of the lan<ruao-e of this letter, some
of which pertains to matters which transpired prior to the time you
made your investigation,
Mr. Webs ILK. May I have a copy of the letter ?
Mr. Arens (readin<T) :
Last year I was chairman of tlie Finance Committee and I could liave simply
mailed the check back, which was cashed by an overzealous convinced Friend
without the permission of the Treasurer or by myself.
The Treasurer refused to accept the check and unfortunately the bank did
cash it. Not wanting to create further publicity, I did not send the money back,
but asked the Meeting what they wanted to do with it. Finally it was decided
to put it in escrow. The money now lies there, bearing no interest, serving no
useful I urp'ose, and since it takes unanimity t<i take such a move when such
a minute is passed, I would suggest you ask the Meeting to either accept it or
send it back so that it can he put to some useful purpose.
ir is extremely unfortunate that your committee did not really investigate the
facts, and it has widened the split and made the Meeting most ineffectual. I
think you can realize by accepting this gift that Mary Knowles would liave a life
position and. frankly, it will never he accepted. It is quite possible that the
Meeting may finally come to some decision on Mary Knowles, but as long as this
gift hangs over it, it is impossible.
I regret very much the unfortunate publicity.
and so forth,
Mr, Webster. May we see it ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir,
Mrs. Ogdex. First, I would like to comment that I don't see how
Mr. Corson could have sent the money back as chairman of the finance
committee. If it took an action of the Meeting to accept the money,
it seems to me it would take an action of the entire Meeting unani-
mously to send it back,
Mr. Arens. Did you report to the Fund for the Republic that
because of Mary KnoAvles' employment in the library there had been
withdrawn from the library fund contributions from the township,
from the community chest, from the school board, and that the school
board forbade the teachers to bring the children to the library ? Did
you report all that to the Fund for the Republic ?
Mrs. Ogden. I did. Yes,
Mr. Arens, Mr, Chairman, I respectfully suggest that will conclude
the staff interrogation of this witness.
The Chairman. Off the record.
(Off the record,)
Mr. Arens. Is Mr. Sheppard here, please ? Could you kindly step
forward just a minute, Mr. Sheppard? You were scheduled to be
the next witness. The hour now being 12 : 30, the committee is disposed
to recess, and we wonder if you could conA'eniently return at 2 o'clock ?
Mr. Sheppard. Yes ; that is all right.
The Chairman. The committee will stand in recess until 2 o'clock.
( Wliereupon, at 12 : 30 p. m., the committee was recessed, to recon-
vene at 2 p. m. the same day.)
AFTERNOON SESSION, WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 1956
The Chairman. The committee will come to order.
Call your next witness, Mr, Arens.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Isaac Sheppard, kindly come forward. Remain
standing, please.
8.3005 — 56 5
5484 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
The Chairman. Do you swear that the testimony you are about to
give will be the truth, the whole trutli, and nothing but the truth, so
help you God ?
Mr. SHErPARD. I do.
TESTIMONY OF ISAAC J. SHEPPARD
Mr. Arens. Kindly identify yourself by name, residence, and
occupation. -, ,^
Mr. Sheppard. My name is Isaac J. Sheppard. My residence is
15531 Sandy Hill Road, Norristown, Pa. My occupation is president
of the Peerless Paper Mills.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Sheppard, are you a member of the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting ?
Mr. Sheppard. Yes ; I am.
Mr. Arens. Kindly describe what is the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting.
Mr. Sheppard. It is the Religious Society of Friends and I am a
birthright member.
Mr. Arens. Would you kindly indicate just in passing what is a
birthright member of the Society of Friends ?
Mr. Sheppard. It is one whose father and mother were members of
the Society of Friends when the person was born.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever been identified with the William Jeanes
Memorial Library ?
Mr. Sheppard. Yes, I have.
Mr. Arens. Please tell us in what capacity you have been identified
with that library?
Mr. Sheppard. The bequest for the library under the will of Mary
R. Miller became available in 1926. I was appointed to the library
committee at that time and served as chairman until 1933, at which
time the library was opened and I was treasurer of the library from
1933 until September 1, 1954.
Mr. Arens. What happened at that time? I don't mean all the
facts, but what occasioned your disassociation from the treasurer-
ship in 1954? _ .
Mr. Sheppard. The primary reason was the decision of the library
committee to employ Mary Knowles on a permanent basis.
Mr. Arens. May I ask you this: Did you resign at that time?
That is what I want the record to reflect at this time; how you
happened to become disassociated.
Mr. Sheppard. I registered a protest vote and resigned at that time
to become effective September 1, 1954.
Mr. Arens. Kindly tell us, if you will, please, sir, the relationship
between the library committee and the Plymouth Monthly Meeting.
Mr. Sheppard. The Plymouth Monthly Meeting appoints the trust-
ees who have charge of the endowment fund, and they also appoint the
library committee who run and operate the library.
Mr. Arens. Is the library committee wliat we might characterize
as autonomous? Can it make decisions independently of contirmalion
or rejection by the Plymouth Monthly Meeting?
Mr. Sheppard. Yes, they can.
Mr. Arens. Does it customarily make its decisions on a basife of
autonomy ?
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5485
Mr. Sheppard. Yes, they do.
Mr. Arens. Before we proceed further, did the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting :xt any time hire Mary Knowles ^
Mr. Sheppard. Xo.
Mr. Arens. Did the Plymouth Monthly Meeting at any time con-
firm by formal action the hiring of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Sheppard. I have no direct knowledge of that.
Mr. Arens. Did tlie Plymouth Moiithly Meeting at any time ac-
cept an award from the Fund for the Republic?
]Mr. Sheppard. I understand the award was not accepted but is
hekl in escrow.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Sheppard, did tiie young lady who appeared this
morning, whose maiden name was Maureen Black and whose married
name, according to the record, is Maureen Black Ogden, at any time
during the course of her appearance in the Plymouth Meeting area
interview you ?
Mr. Sheppard. No.
Mr. Arens. Tell us just a word about your public service. I appre-
ciate normal modesty in a person talking about his career of public
service, but could you just allude to some of the offices and posts you
have held in this community in addition to your long tenure of treas-
urership of the library committee?
Mr. Sheppard. I have had several civic activities over the period of
the years. I was Secretary of the Commissioners of Plymouth Town-
ship from 1921 until 1953, a period of 32 years. I am presently on
the Zoning Board of the township. I am presently on the Board of
Health, serving as secretary, and have been since 1925.
Mr. Arens. Have you been identified as a director of a bank in the
community?
Mr. Sheppard. I am a director of the People's National Bank of
Norristown.
Mr. Arens. In 1955 did you receive any public recognition of your
service to the community?
Mr. Sheppard. I received I guess you would call it an outstanding
citizen award from the Plymouth-Whitemarsh Junior Chamber of
Commerce.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Sheppard, is tliere an American Legion post which
is named in honor of your son who sacrificed his life for this country?
Mr. Sheppard. The Casey Sheppard Post is named partially in
honor of my son, yes.
Mr. Arens. Now woidd you kindly tell us in your own w^ords the
events which transpired leading up to the temporary engagement of
Mary Knowles by the library committee?
Mi\ Sheppard. In the summer of 1953 the then present librarian,
Edith Sawyer, was injured while she was on vacation, which required
her hospitalization. The library tried to get along for a few weeks
with the emloyment of many substitutes to take her place on a part-
time basis. The committee decided that they needed to employ some-
one as a substitute until Mrs. Sawyer was restored to health and could
return as librarian. In October 1953, Mary Knowles appeared before
the library committee and told of her qualifications. She also told
of her connection with the Samuel Adams School, stating that she
served as secretary to the head of the school, that she had been called
5486 AWARD BY thp: fund for the republic, inc.
before a Senate investigating committee and had refused to testify
because she feared she would intimidate some of her friends.
Mr. Arens. ]\Iay I interpose this question at this place, please, Mr.
Sheppard.
Mr. Webster. Did you mean ''incriminate"?
Mr. SheppxSlrd. Yes, incriminate.
Air. Arens. Will counsel kindly restrain himself so we can proceed
in orderly fashion.
Who on the library committee was charged with the responsibility
of engaging a librarian to temporarily replace Mrs. Sawyer?
Mr. Sheppard. I think we were all charged with the responsibility.
Lillian Tapley was the one who made the investigation, and I believe
it was at her instigation that Mary Knowles appeared before the com-
mittee for the temporary position.
Mr. Arens. Was there at that time in October of 1953 any opposi-
tion registered within the library committee itself to the hiring on a
temporary basis of Mary Knowles?
Mr. Sheppard. No, there was not.
Mr. Arens. After the engagement of Mary Knowles on the tempo-
rary basis was that action by the library committee at any time con-
firmed by the Plymouth Monthly Meeting ?
3.1r. Sheppard. Not to my knowledge.
Mr. Arens. While the regular librarian, Mrs. Sawyer, was home
convalescing, did you have any occasion to discuss witli her the security
of her position as soon as she had completely recovered her health?
Mr. Sheppard. Mrs. Sawyer was in the hospital at the time Mary
Knowles was engaged on a temporary basis, and she became somewhat
disturbed by a rumor that Mrs. Knowles was going to be employed
permanently and she would be out of a position. I assured her that
that was not my understanding, that it was my understanding that
Mary Knowles was only employed temporarily until such time as
Mrs. Sawyer would be able to return and take over the activities of
librarian again.
Mr. Arens. Tell us, please, who is Judge Corson ?
Mr. Sheppard. He is judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Mont-
gomery County.
Mr. Arens. What relationship or identity does he have with respect
to the Plymouth Monthly Meeting?
Mr. Sheppard. I feel that Judge Corson is a rather pi-ominent mem-
ber of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting.
Mr. Arens. Did you take up with Judge Corson tlie issue as to
whetlier or not Mrs. Sawyer would be reengaged by the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting as soon as she had recovered her health ?
Mr. Sheppard, I became somewhat concerned by the attitude of
certain other members of the library committee wlio wanted to retain
Mary Knowles on a permanent basis, and I went to Judge Corson and
explained the sitruition and explained what I knew at that time about
Mary Knowles' background.
Mr. Arens. Was the matter taken up in the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting as to whether or not Mrs. Sawyer would be reinstated in her
job as librarian as soon as she had recovered her health?
Mr. Sheppard. I believe it was, because Mrs, Sawyer Avas subse-
quently reinstated.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5487
Mr. Arens. How long was Mrs. Sawyer out with her pliysical ini-
pairment, a broken hip, 1 believe it was stated?
Mr. Sheppard. She was out from her vacation period in August
until, I believe, around the early part of April 1954 although I have a
letter from her physician which is dated January 25, 11)54, stating
that —
Mrs. Sawyer is now quite well and able to resume her duties as librarian be-
ginning on a half-time schedule immediately.
Mr. Arens. In any event, in approximately April of 1054, it is your
testimony, is it not, sir, that Mrs. Sawyer resumed her duties and re-
sponsibilities and I take it assumed the pay of librarian again?
Mr. SiiEPPARD. That is right.
Mr. Arens. How long did Mrs. Sawyer then maintain her status as
librarian after she had returned to the library in April ?
Mr. Sheppard. Until September 1, 1954.
Mr, Arens. In the interval between the time Mrs. Sawyer returned
in April 1954 until the time of her departure, to your observation did
anything transpire with reference to her status in the library?
Mr. Sheppard. The library committee drew up what I felt was a
very unfair contract or agreement for Mrs. Sawyer to sign and abide
by, laying down certain rules, regulations, and so forth, as to how she
should conduct the library, the specific hours that she should be there,
and so forth, to which I objected because the library had been open for
more than 20 years and no librarian had ever been subject to any such
contract before.
Mr. Arens. Do you recall whether or not Mrs. Sawyer was under
suggestion by any member of the library committee as to what she was
to say if anyone inquired respecting Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Sheppard. I was told by Mrs. Sawyer that she was informed
by a member of the library committee that if anyone asked if Mary
Knowles was a Communist she should say "No."
Mr. Arens. To your knowledge what did Mrs. Sawyer say in re-
sponse to that direction ?
Mr. Sheppard. I believe Mrs. Sawyer answered that she did not
know one way or the other and she couldn't answer the question.
Mr. Arens. To your knowledge could you tell us where Mary
Knowles was, where did she go or what did she do, after Mrs. Sawyer
returned to her job in April of 1954?
Mr. Sheppard. I haven't the slightest idea,
Mr. Arens. Do you know why Mrs. Sawyer resigned ?
Mr. Sheppard. I feel that it was prompted primarily by the unkind
action of certain members of the library committee. Mrs. Sawyer had
never intimated the thought of resignation before she returned as
librarian about April 1,
Mr. Arens. After Mrs. Sawyer resigned, what happened from the
standpoint of producing a librarian for the library committee?
Mr. Sheppard. The library committee had knowledge that Mrs.
Sawyer was going to retire on September 1, and Mrs. Tapley, I
believe, was charged with the responsibility of inserting certain ad-
vertisements, I believe, in the American Library Journal, or some
library publication, in other words, a help-wanted ad, and received
some applications as a result of that advertising.
5488 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mr. Arens. Please go ahead with the theme of your narrative. Was
a librarian procured, and if so, who?
Mr. Sheppard. At a meeting — I don't recall whether it was the
latter part of July or early August — Mrs. Tapley presented the ap-
plications that she had received to the library committee. They were
not acceptable to any of us by reason of inexperience, salary demands,
and they were all rejected. Mrs. Tapley then informed me that they
had decided, meaning of course, the four other members of the library
committee who were then present — they had decided anyway to em-
ploy Mary Knowles on a permanent basis.
Mr. Arens. Tell us, if yon please, sir, how many members were
there of the library committee on this date. This was in July of 1954 ;
was it not?
Mr. Sheppard. Yes. I believe there were eight members at that
time.
Mr. Arens. How many were in attendance at the meeting where
it was announced that Mrs. Knowles would be reemployed on a
permanent basis ?
Mr. Sheppard. There were five.
Mr. Arens. Who were the three who were not present ?
Mr. Sheppard. The three who were not present were Henry
Hemsley, Lewis Sheppard
Mr. Arens. Excuse me. Is he your brother ?
Mr. Sheppard. He is my brother. They were representatives of the
Commissioners of Plymouth Township. Under the laws of the State
of Pennsylvania it is a legal necessity for a municipality making
appropriations to a library to be represented by at least two members
of the board on the committee. The other member who vras not present
was Mrs. Browning.
Mr. Arens. B-r-o-w-n-i-n-g ?
Mr. Sheppard. That is right.
Mr. Arens. What was your attitude toward the employment of
Mary Knowles on a permanent basis ?
Mr. Sheppard. My attitude was in opposition to it.
Mr. Arens. What was the attitude of Mr. Hemsley, if you know,
toward the employment of Mrs. Knowles on a permanent basis?
Mr. Sheppard. Mr. Hemsley was not present at the meeting.
Mr. Arens. I understand, but do you know what his attitude was
toward the employment of Mary Knowles on a permanent basis ?
Mr. Sheppard. His attitude was in opposition to the employment.
Mr. Arens. Do you know what the attitude of the other Mr. Shep-
pard was toward the employment of Mary Knowles on a permanent
basis ?
Mr. Sheppard. His attitude was also in opposition.
Mr. Arens. Do you know what the attitude was of Mrs. Browning
toward the employment of Mary Knowles on a permanent basis?
Mr. Sheppard. Only by hearsay, I understand that she was opposed.
Mr. Arens. Then of the 8 members of the library committee, is it
your judgment that 4 were opposed to the employment of Mary
Knowles on a permanent basis and 4 were in agreement to the employ-
ment of Mary Knowles on a permanent basis ?
Mr. Sheppard. Yes ; that is right.
Mr. Arens. I will have to ask you in a rather informal way to ex-
plain a rule to me tliat I didn't know a thing about until just the
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5489
recent past when I began studying this matter. Is there a rule of
unanimity which operates within tlie Society of Friends whereby
major decisions are not arrived at unless there is unanimous agree-
ment on the decision ?
Mr. Sheppard. Yes ; there is.
Mr. Arens. That governs, I take it— if I am delving into a matter of
sacred design that you would rather not answer, say so — I take it that
would govern a proposition such as the hiring of an individual ; would
it not?
Mr. Sheppard. It should.
Mr. Arens. Does the rule of unanimity apply in the Plymoutli
Monthly Meeting ?
Mr. Sheppard. I understand that it does.
Mr. Arens. Does the rule of unanimity or policy or practice of
unanimity apply in the library committee ?
Mr. Sheppard. It did not in this case.
Mr. Arens. Does it otherwise apply, or did it otherwise apply?
Mr. Sheppard. It always had heretofore.
Mr. Arens. What did you do after you received the announcement
from Mrs. Tapley that Mary Knowles was to be employed on a perma-
nent basis?
Mr. Sheppard. I announced my opposition and I also announced
that under the circumstances I would be forced to resign as a trustee
of the Mary R. Miller Fund and as a member of the library committee
to be effective September 1, 1954, the reason for the delay being that
I wanted my books audited before I turned them over to my successor.
Mr. Arens. Did you ask that your opposition to the employment
of Mary Knowles on a permanent basis be recorded in the minutes of
the library committee ?
Mr. Sheppard. I did.
Mr. Arens. Was that opposition to your knowledge so recorded?
Mr. Sheppard. I have no knowledge whether it was or not.
Mr. Arens. How long had you been on the library committee ?
Mr. Sheppard. From about 1027 to 195-1 — 27 years.
Mr. Arens. During those 27 years, did you ever see the rule of
unanimity or the policy of unanimity violated in the library com-
mittee i
Mr. Sheppard. No; because all of our decisions were reached in a
unanimous manner. I mean there w^as no opposition. They were
minor things. Shall we buy certain books? Shall we do this or
that? There was never any occasion for what you might call a split
vote.
Mr. Arens. I have asked you this question in another form before,
but I want the record absolutely to reflect without any possible doubt
what your answer would be to tliis question : Was either the temporaiy
or the pei-manent hiring of Mary Knowles ever placed before the
members of the Plymoutli Monthly Meeting for their approval, to
your knowledge ?
Mr. Sheppard. I have no knowledge of that.
Mr. Arens. Maj I ask you this : Do you have knowledge respecting
(lie submission of the pei-manent or temporary hiring, as the case may
be, of Mary Knowles before tlie Plymouth Monthly Meeting?
Mr. Sheppard. I understand that after the action taken by the
library committee at this last meeting that I attended, which was
5490 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
either late July or early August 1954, the matter was placed before
the Plymouth Monthly Meeting in October 1954. I have no direct
knowledge of that.
Mr. Arens. Is your information that when the matter was dis-
cussed within the Plymouth Monthly Meeting that a majority of the
members of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting registered an opposition
to the employment of Mary Knowles on a permanent basis?
Mr. Sheppard. I have no knowledge of that. I did not attend the
meeting.
Mr. Arens. Have you at any time registered within the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting— and here again I suggest to you that if I intrude
at any place on a matter of secrecy or sanctity within your religious
activities, just please say so and we will get away from that area —
but have you registered your opposition to the employment of Mary
Knowles on a permanent basis at any time within the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting ?
Mr. Sheppard. I have not attended any of the Plymouth Monthly
Meetings at which this question arose. Furthermore, the question of
the employment of the librarian, to my knowledge, had never come
up before the Plymouth Monthly Meeting before. We had been func-
tioning for twenty-odd years. We had employed two librarians before
that without the sanction of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting.
Mr. Arens. Did you on July 2, 1955, Mr. Sheppard, address a letter
to the treasurer of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting, Mr. Frank J. C.
Jones, with respect to the question of depositing the award money
which was made by the Fund for the Republic ?
Mr. Sheppard. Yes ; I did.
Mr. Arens. I should like, if I may, please, sir, to lay before you
what I understand is a copy of that letter and ask you if that is a
true and correct copy of the letter which you sent under that date.
Mr. Sheppard ( after examinin^j document ) . Yes ; that is.
Mr. Arens. Did the Plymouth Monthly Meeting at any time to your
knowledge accept the award which was made to it by the Fund for
the Republic ?
Mr. Sheppard. No, not to my knowledge ; they have not.
Mr. Arens. May I rea^d, Mr. Chairman, the letter which tliis gen-
tleman has identified as the one he directed under date of July 2, 1955,
to Mr. Jones. Who is Mr. Frank J. C. Jones ?
Mr. Shet'pard. He is the treasurer of the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting.
Mr. Arens (reading) :
I am writing to urgently request that the depositing of the check for $5,000
which is to he presented to the Plymouth Monthly Meeting by the so-called
Fund for the Republic (what Republic I do not know) be withheld until this
"gift" is either approved or rejected by the Monthly Meeting.
What an insult to loyal American citizens the acceptance of this money
would be.
Should the Monthly Meeting or library be rewarded because a minority of the
members of the Meeting uphold the employment of a person of questionable
loyalty, one who has by the sworn testimony of Herbert Philbrick been a
member of a Communist "cell" ; one who has hidden behind the fifth amendment
and refused to testify regarding her affiliations with the Communist Party;
one who has refused to sign a simple oath of loyalty to our country ; and one who,
when questioned by a member of the library committee regarding possible
present connections with the Communist Party or other subversive organizations,
refused to answer before the committee, stating that she would never divulge
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5491
either her political or religious aflaiiation? I for oue want no further con-
nection with the Plymouth Meeting Society of Friends, and I am confident there
are many members of the Meeting who feel likewise. Is the policy of the Monthly
Meeting to continue to be dictated by the will of a small minority? Is the policy
of Friends to take action only after unanimous agreement to be voided, as it was
on the Jeanes Library Committee?
I am reminded of Romans, chapter 16, the 17tb and 18th verses, which reads :
"Now I beseech you, Brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences
contrary to the doctrine which Ye have learned ; and avoid them. For they
that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly ; and by good
words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." I am one of the
simple, but am not deceived.
Did you receive a reply from Mr. Jones in response to that letter
which I have just read urging him not to accept or to take within his
custody the check from the Fund for the Eepublic ?
Mr. SHErpARD. No; I did not receive a reply from Mr. Jones. I
talked to Mr. Jones after having written that letter and he informed
me that the check had been taken out of his hands and deposited by,
let's say, an overzealous member of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting.
Mr. Webster. Let's say by you.
Mr. Aeens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that this person
be admonished to contain himself so as not to disrupt the orderly
proceeding of this hearing.
The Chairman. This sort of conduct does not deceive anybody.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Sheppard, may I ask you, on the basis of your
extensive contacts within the community, are you in a position to
express to the committee today the general sentiment of the majority
of the members of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting with reference to
the retaining of Mary Knowles on a permanent basis in the library ?
Mr. Sheppard. From my observation I think the overwhelming
majority of the residents of the community are opposed to the hiring
and continuing of Mary Knowles as librarian.
Mr. Arens. In your judgment, on the basis of your extensive experi-
ence and contact in the community with reference to the community
itself, what is the general sentiment of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting
members themselves ?
Mr. Sheppard. The only persons who have expressed themselves
favorably toward the continued employment of Mary Knowles have
been certain members of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting. Everyone
else to whom I have talked — I do not bring the subject up to them,
they bring it up to me — has been outstandingly opposed to IMary
Knowles.
Mr. Arens. "VVliat is the official attitude of the township with respect
to the retention of Mary Knowles on a permanent basis in the Plymouth
community ?
Mr. Sheppard. The townships withdrew their annual appropriation
to the library, both Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships, both
Plymouth and Whitemarsh School Boards, and the Conshohocken
Community Chest.
Mr. Arens. ^Yhs^t is the official attitude of the Community Chest
toward the retention on a permanent basis of Mary Knowles?
Mr. Sheppard. I think the fact that they withdrew their appropri-
ation expresses their opinion.
83005-
5492 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mr. Arens. What is the official attitude of the school board toward
the retention of Mary Knowles as a permanent librarian ?
Mr. Sheppard. The school board has, I believe, expressed their
opinion by forbidding the teachers to take classes to the Jeanes Library
for library instruction, and so forth.
Mr. Arens. On the basis of your extensive experience and as a person
who has been an outstanding civic leader in the Plymouth Meeting
area, I ask you what is your opinion and your judgment as to the effect
within the Plymouth Monthly Meeting group of the award which was
tendered to the Plymouth Monthly Meeting by the Fund for the Re-
public, without solicitation ?
Mr. Sheppard. I think it has caused considerable dissension among
the members of the Plymouth Meeting Society of Friends, I think
the Meeting is pretty well split on the issue. The award is in escrow.
If the present attitude continues, I think it will remain in escrow for
years and years and years.
Mr. Arens. Do you know whether it was brought to the attention of
the young lady who made the investigation in behalf of the Fund
for the Republic that some 800 people in the community of Plymouth
Meeting, eight-hundred-odd people — I don't have the exact number
now, I had it this morning — were protesting the retention of Mary
Knowles as librarian ?
Mr. Sheppard. I have no knowledge of that.
Mr. Arens. You know, of course, do you not, that such protests
were lodged ?
Mr. Sheppard. Oh, yes.
Mr. Arens. But you don't know whether or not the fact of the lodg-
ing of those protests was brought to the attention of the Fund ?
Mr. Sheppard. No ; I do not.
Mr. Arens. Do you know that only 28 of the total membership of
108 in 1955 of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting were on record as
approving the retention of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Sheppard. I didn't know that exact number ; no-
Mr. Arens. Is that approximately correct so far as your recollec-
tion?
Mr. Sheppard. I think that it would be approximately correct.
Mr. Arens. That out of 108 in the Plymouth Monthly Meeting only
28 are on record as approving the retention of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Sheppard. I think that would be a])proximately correct.
Mr. Arens. Wliat has this award of the Fund for the Republic done
for this spirit of unanimity and this policy of unanimity which I
understood has been the prevalent attitude and practice in the Ply-
mouth Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends ?
Mr. Sheppard. I think temporarily at least it has destroyed it.
Mr. Arens. Do you have any information that the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting made an investigation, a thorough investigation of
Mary Knowles as, I say parenthetically, was reported in the report
of the gentleman from the Fund for the Republic ?
Mr. Sheppard. I have no information about any investigation made
of Mary Knowles except Mary Knowles' own statement to the library
committee.
Mr. Arens. Were you present when Mary Knowles was interro-
gated by the library committee itself ?
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5493
Mr. Sheppard. I was present when she was interrogated for the
position of temporary or substitute librarian.
Mr. Akens. Were you present when she was interrogated with re-
sjDect to possible permanent employment?
Mr. Sheppard, No, I was not.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Slieppard, I have asked you, as is quite obvious, a
considerable number of questions here. I want to ask if there are any
other items of information pertaining to the subject matter under
scrutiny by this committee which you would like to bring to the atten-
tion of the committee and recite for this record.
Mr. Sheppard. There is only one thing, Mr. Arens. I have heard
the minutes of the library committee read for twenty-seven-odd years,
and to my recollection there has never been anything of a purely reli-
gious nature in those minutes. That has been strictly library business.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that this con-
cludes the staff interrogation of this witness.
The Chairman". In view of the fact that it has been very generally
known that this contribution, if that is what it is, was not accepted,
the thing I can't understand is why the Fund has not requested that
it be returned. Has there ever been any request made to return this
money which is not being used ?
Mr. Sheppard. I don't know, Mr. Walter,
The Chairman. Any questions?
Mr. ScHERER. I liave no questions.
Mr. Webster. May I ask a few questions ?
The Chairman. The witness is excused,
Mr, Webster. Mr. Chairman, may I ask a few questions?
The Chairman. No, You have interrupted us quite enough.
Mr. ScHERER. Mr. Chairman
Mr, Webster. In view of the witness' very distressing exposure
today
The Chairman, You will have your opportunity,
Mr. Webster. I should like an opportunity
The Chairman. You will have your opportunity,
Mr, Sgherer. Mr. Webster, one member of this committee at least
feels that you have been in contempt of this committee. You have
interrupted without right. You have so interrupted on four different
occasions and have been admonished by the chairman of this com-
mittee. You are an eminent member of the bar. You know the rules
of the committee. And your conduct has certainly been contemptuous.
The Chairman. It is quite familiar,
Mr, Webster, May I answer that ?
The Chairman. The committee is in recess for 5 minutes.
(Brief recess,)
The Chairman, Call your next witness.
(Members of the committee present: Representatives Walter and
Scherer,)
Mr. Arens, Mr, Henry Hemsley, please come forward.
The Chairman, Mr. Hemsley?
Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth ?
Mr. Hemsley. I do.
5494 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
TESTIMONY OF HENRY HEMSLEY
Mr. Arens. Will you kindly identify yourself, if you please, sir, by
name, residence, and occupation.
Mr. Hemsley. Henry Hemsley, 513 Plymouth Road, Plymouth
Township, Pa.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Hemsley, do you hold any public office?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes. I am at the present time a commissioner, chair-
man of the Board of Commissioners of Plymouth Township.
Mr. Arens. How long have you occupied that post ?
Mr. Hemsley. I have been chairman of the board since 1950.
Mr. Arens. Were you a member of the library committee of the
William Jeanes Memorial Library?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Were you a member of the library committee by virtue
of your office as a commissioner of Plymouth Township?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes, sir ; by the appropriation of money the board
appointed two of us commissioners.
Mr. Arens. Are you presently a member of the library committee ?
Mr. Hemsley. No, I am not.
Mr. Arens. When did your service to the library committee ter-
minate ?
Mr. Hemsley. I think it would be our action of November 15, 1954,
that the board of commissioners withheld appropriation from the
library until further notice, therefore terminating my trusteeship
as a trustee.
Mr. Arens. Can you tell us how long you were on the library
committee ?
Mr. Hemsley. Approximately I think it was the third year. We
made 2 years' appropriation, and the third year in November of 1954
it was withheld.
Mr, Arens. How long have you personally, as a citizen of the
Plymouth community, maintained an interest in the library and under-
taken to promote its welfare?
Mr. Hemsley. I w^oulcl say it goes back 10 or 12 years. At one time
I was cochairman on the community chest and at that time I got very
much interested in the library, its financial support.
Mr. Arens. Prior to the fall of 1954, the period in which I under-
stood you to say you resigned from the library, could you tell the com-
mittee what outside contributions or funds were received by the
library?
Mr. Hemsley. The community chest. At one time I think the
appropriation was in the neighborhood of $500.
Mr. Arens. Per year?
Mr. Hemsley. For a given year. The school board I understand
appropriated approximately $100 from both Plymouth and White-
marsh Townships. Whitemarsh matched our fund of $500 which
was given by the board of commissioners. It being a joint commu-
nity library, I had spoken to several and I think our friend Isaac
Sheppard had some influence too, as to getting Wliitemarsh to do
likewise, appropriating $500 annually.
Mr. Arens. Are those funds and is that support presently being
contributed toward the library by these sources which you have just
enumerated ?
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5495
Mr. Hemslet. No, not one of them.
Mr. Arens. What occasioned the fact that this support is no longer
being contributed to the library ?
Mr, Hemsley. The fact of Mrs. Mary Ejiowles was basically the
reason for withdrawing the appropriation.
Mr, Arens. To your knowledge did the Plymouth School Board
take any action toward instructing the teachers in any manner per-
taining to the library?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes. They have forbidden
Mr. Arens, What action was taken there ?
Mr, Hemsley, The school board I understand, with only one dis-
senting vote, at the following meeting which we held — a public meet-
ing at which we heard the library committee — the board of commis-
sioners I am now referring to of Plymouth Township, October 11,
1954, we held a public hearing and Mrs. Chappie was the spokes-
man for the library committee. We held a lengthy discussion, and
one of the school board members who happened to be present at the
board of commissioners asked if he could stay. I said, "Yes, you
would be most welcome," that any one was welcome to stay at our
hearings. The following night, which would be September 13, no —
I think it was, but let me check my minutes. The hearing was October
11, so October 12, 1954, the school board had a meeting and Dr. Kirk-
patrick, who is a member of that school board, brought it to the at-
tention of the school board and at that meeting the school board
withheld its appropriation and also forbade its teachers and the chil-
dren to use the library under the guidance of the teachers,
Mr, Arens. As a former member of the library committee can you
tell us whether or not the library committee in its meetings met on a
fixed day each month or did it, on the other hand, meet just occasion-
ally upon call and upon notice?
Mr. Hemsley. I know for a fact that when Mrs. Sawyer was li-
brarian we always received a card about a week prior to the meeting,
but after Mrs. Sawyer's illness and during her temporary miemploy-
ment, while she was ill, sometimes Mrs. Tapley, who was chairman
of the committee, would imdertake to call us for a special meeting,
Mr. Arens. Did you personally receive any notice of a meeting,
Mr. Hemsley, of the library committee for the purpose of engaging
a substitute librarian after Mrs, Sawyer injured herself in her fall?
Mr. Hj:msley. At one trustee meeting after Mrs. Sawyer fell and
broke her hip, it was brought up that we were to advertise in the local
guild to hire a librarian, but the meeting was set for that following
Thursday. I think it was the third Thursday in the month. It was
either the second or third. But I was not present when Mrs, Knowles
was hired.
Mr. Arens. You are speaking of temporary hiring?
Mr. Hemsley. That is right, the temporary hiring of Mrs. Knowles.
Mr. Arens. When Mrs. Knowles was hired on a permanent basis
did you in advance of that event receive a notice?
Mr. HJEMSLEY. No, sir.
Mr. Arens. Do you know whetlier or not Lewis Sheppard, one of
your board members, received a notice?
Mr. Hemsley. He told me himself he had not received any notice
of that meeting.
5496 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mr. Akbns. Had you, prior to that time, registered your views in
opposition to the permanent hiring of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. Quite frequently.
Mr. Arens. Had Lewis Sheppard registered his opposition prior
to the meeting?
Mr. HJEMSLEY. At one meeting of the trustees I attended, yes; he
was opposed to it.
Mr. Arens. Did you and Mr. Sheppard customarily receive notices
of the meetings scheduled to be held, except in this instance?
Mr. Hemsley. Except in this instance. I can speak for myself.
Mr. Sheppard I couldn't speak for, other than the fact that he did
verify, when I asked him if he received notice and he said he had not.
Mr. Arens. Under what circumstances and how did you first hear
or gain knowledge that Mary Knowles had been hired permanently
by the library board or library committee ?
Mr. Hemsley. Through Mr. Isaac Sheppard, who is a member of
the board, at my place of business.
Mr. Arens. Before we proceed further in the chronology of events
concerning which I should like to interrogate you, if you please, sir, do
you have knowledge respecting the treatment accorded Mrs. Sawyer
after she had resumed her permanent position as librarian ?
Mr. Hemsley. After her illness, you mean ?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
Mr. Hemsley. Yes; I do.
Mr. Arens. Can you, just in your own words, recount to this com-
mittee the treatment, if you know, which was accorded Mrs. Sawyer
after she resumed her permanent employment as librarian?
Mr. Hemsley. All indications — particularly Ray Riday who was
a member of the library committee — drew up a set of rules and regula-
tions in regard to governing Mrs. Sawyer's return, the things they
should do and the things that she shouldn't do. I said, "I think it is
very unusual and unfair after 14 years of service that we have to put
things in writing."
He said, "Henry, we would like to replace Mrs. Sawyer when her
contract expires as of September 19 — " I may be wrong in these dates,
1953 or 1954, when her annual contract expired.
I said, "Then, in other words, you are planning on replacing Mrs.
Sawyer?" He said, "Yes. Until we do we want the library run the
way it has when Mrs. Knowles had it temporarily."
Mr. Arens. During the course of your service on the library com-
mittee, do you care to give an appraisal of the efficiency and compe-
tency of Mrs. Sawyer as a librarian?
Mr. Hemsley. I think she did a wonderful job after all these
years, but as we progress we all know there are new methods and
ideas. I think we all had in mind that some day Mrs. Sawyer would
retire, but generally speaking for myself, I didn't hope to have part of
pushing her out.
Mr. Arens. In your judgment, was she pushed out?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Was she pushed out by those people on the library com-
mittee who were instrumental in engaging Mary Knowles as the
librarian ?
Mr. Hemsley. I think some tactics were used that aren't commonly
engaged in, in everyday form of life.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5497
Mr. Arens. Did you attend a library committee meeting following
the one in which Mary Knowles was engaged permanently?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Where and when was this meeting held ?
Mr. Hemsley. The meeting was held in the home of Mrs. Tapley
on Plymouth Road. The time — I think if I can explain myself, it
was my whole desire to keep all undue publicity — the public from
realizing any past of Mrs. Knowles because I did sit when she was
temporarily hired at some of the meetings at the library and Mrs.
Knowles was a very efficient liljrarian. That I will verify. But I did
not know of her Communist activities or background of her past until
Mr. Isaac Sheppard brought my attention to it after she had been
rehired permanently. At that meeting at Mrs. Tapley's which was
prior to October 11, 1954 — I think it was in the early fall and I
know the place was Mrs. Tapley's — but exactly the month, the date,
I can't verify because I have no minutes of that particular meeting.
But I could name you the committee who were present at the meeting.
Mr. Arens. Just tell us in essence w^hat happened at this meeting
which followed the meeting in which Mary Knowles was employed
permanently.
Mr. Hemsley. She opened the meeting and Mrs. Knowles was pres-
ent. I said, "Mrs. Knowles, there are a few questions I would like
to ask and I hope you don't think that I am being too personal or
dominating." I said, "We are just a small community trying to help
the library."
I said, "Unfortunately, I happen to be a commissioner and there is
a question of a loyalty oath involved." I said, "Perhaps, maybe, we
could overlook it. It has been brought to my attention that in the
past you were a member of the Communist Party." To that she made
no reply. Then following that I said, "Mrs. Knowles, are you now a
member of the Communist Party?" To which I received no reply.
It sort of — well, to break it a little bit, to try to make the woman
at ease, I took it for gi-anted she was a Christian woman, being the
Friends Society engaged her and Mrs. Tapley on whom I relied for
quite a number of years. I asked her, "Are you a Christian woman?"
and at that Mrs. Knowles said her political, her religious life was
none of my business or anyone else's.
At that she picked up her folder and left the room.
Mr. Arens. Did you thereafter call to the attention of the Ply-
mouth Township commissioners the events which had transpired up
to this point ?
Mr. Hemsley. I did.
Mr. Arens. Tell us what happened insofar as action was concerned
by the Plymouth Township commissioners.
Mr. Hemsley. After our public hearing on October 11, it was on
September 13 that we had a lengthy discussion in regard to Mrs.
Knowles. One of the commissioners in particular was Ray Brodwick,
who now has left the township — he sort of impressed on me that
maybe this woman was unduly accused. Therefore we secured this
copy of the Jenner committee —
Mr. Arens. That is the Senate committee ?
Mr. Hemsley. The committee that investigated Mrs. Knowles. I
understand some members of the library committee had that report,
although I had never seen it, when they temporarily hired Mrs.
5498 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Knowles. So after the discussion at the board of commissioners, Ray
B rod wick felt more time should be allowed to get the overall picture
so the commissioners did not unjustly accuse this woman of her past.
So no action was taken. There was open discussion. There was
no action taken until our November meeting, November 15, 1954. On
the motion of myself to the board of commissioners, which Lew Shep-
pard, a fellow trustee, seconded, it was the unanimous decision that
we withhold the appropriation from the library committee.
Mr. Aeens. Now may I ask you to explain in your own words — I
have also asked this question of Mr. Sheppard, but I want to have
the record clear on your judgment— did the Plymouth Monthly Meet-
ing at any time employ Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. To my knowledge ; no.
In fact, I was always under the impression that the library was a
separate function from the Monthly Meeting.
Mr. Arens. That is the next question I was going to ask you. Was
the library committee separate, what we lawyers would call
autonomous ?
Mr. Hemsley. I never knew — in the 3 years I was trustee — of any
question that was ever raised about the Friends Meeting.
Mr. Arens. How many people were on the library committee when
Mary Knowles was hired ?
Mr. Hemsley. Eight of us.
Mr. Arens. How many were for the hiring of Mary Knowles on
a permanent basis?
Mr. Hemsley. To my knowledge I can't recall other than the fact
that I know the ones who were not present. I have never seen the
minutes nor heard the minutes read at a meeting.
Mr. Arens. Did you know tliat of the eight, your brother was
opposed to the hiring of Mary Knowles ? Was Lewis Sheppard op-
posed to hiring Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes; because we had a meeting and when I asked
Mrs. Knowles if she had ever had any Communist connections. Lew
Sheppard was present at that meeting.
Mr. Arens. Did you know that Lew Sheppard's brother was op-
posed to the hiring of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Did you know that Mrs. Browning was opposed to the
hiring of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. And you, of course, were opposed to the hiring of
Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Then hiring of Mary Knowles was by four people; is
that correct?
Mr. Hemsley. That is right, sir.
Mr. Arens. And it is an abstract that the Plymouth Meeting did
not hire Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. As far as my knowledge they never hired her.
Mr. Arens. Did the Plymouth Monthly Meeting to your knowledge
ever confirm the hiring of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. No.
Mr. Arens. You are a member of the Society of Friends ?
Mr. Hemsley. No ; I am not.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5499
Mr. Arens. You are not a member of the Society of Friends ?
Mr. Hemsley. No; I have very high regard for them.
Mr. Arens. I understand. You are not a member of the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting, then?
Mr. Hemsley. No; I am a member of the Cold Point Baptist
Church.
Mr. Arens. On the basis of your background and experience in this
community, would you care to express to this committee what the pre-
vailing sentiment was in May of 1955 with respect to the hiring on a
permanent basis of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hebisley. Any people I had any contact with seemed to raise
the question as to why a controversial issue in a small conmnniity — if
there was any question on a person's reference she was to be hired.
There seemed to be a question outside the meeting — I am not talking
about the Friends Society; I am talking about a public in general — as
to why you hire someone whose character M'as in question to be put in
public trust.
Mr. Arens. After the action that you have described by the counnis-
sioners did anyone on behalf of the library committee request a hear-
ing for the connnittee ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Was that hearing held ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Tell us in your own words, if you know, what happened.
Mr. Hemsley. Mrs. Chappie was the spokesman for the group. All
of us, I think, were under the impression that Mrs. Chappie was com-
ing with the library committee to state their side, their views as to why
they hired Mrs. Knowles. But to our surprise there were approximate-
ly 30 or 40 people who attended this meeting. So we adjourned the
meeting and held it in the large outside auditorium.
Mr. Arens. When did the Plymouth Township Commissioners vote
to withdraw their contribution to the library? November 15, 1954,
was it not?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Do you recall the essence of the resolution which was
passed by the Plymouth Township Commissioners as to why they were
withdrawing their support of the library ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes. Basically it was due to the librarian failing to
answer certain questions and also failing to sign a loyalty oath, that
the appropriation was withheld. It was a unanimous vote of the five
commissioners.
Mr. Arens. Now I want to allude to language which already has
been identified in the record from a document which we call by label
the Sprogell memorandum, "Ogden Exhibit No. 1," that "the Meet-
ing," the Plymouth Monthly Meeting, "conducted a careful investiga-
tion into her" — I use parentheses (Mary Knowles) — "conduct since
To your knowledge, did the Plymouth Monthly Meeting conduct a
careful investigation as to Mary Knowles' conduct since 1947?
Mr. Hemsley. Only what you hear in the papers and radio ; I had
no personal contact with anyone.
Mr. Arens. The Sprogell memorandum, Ogden Exhibit No. 1, also
says on page 2 that the opposition to Mary Knowles' engagement on a
5500 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
permanent basis was by a small, determined group in the community.
In your judgment, was the opposition by a small, determined group,
or was the proportion a little bit different?
Mr. Hemsley. To my way of thinking and fi-om the public opinion,
I think it was a rather broad issue.
Mr. Arens. Are you conversant with a resolution which was passed
by the Casey-Sheppard Post 895, of the American Legion, of Plym-
outh Township respecting Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes ; I saw a copy. I had a copy of that shown to me.
Mr. Arens. I lay before you now, if you please, sir, a resolution and
ask you if that is the resolution which was passed by this post of the
American Legion.
Mr. Hemsley. Yes ; this is the resolution.
Mr. Arens. Do you recall approximately when that was passed ?
Mr. Hemsley. I think it was shortly after the action of the board of
commissioners.
Mr. Arens. Does this resolution vigorously oppose the engagement
of Mary Knowles
Mr. Hemsley. Yes ; it does.
Mr. Arens. Until such time as the matter of her loyalty to our
country has been cleared up by the proper authorities.
Mr. Hemsley. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Was this resolution a matter of public property at the
time that the representative of the Fund for the Republic came into
this community to investigate whether or not the Sprogell report was
true?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes. That resolution, if I remember correctly, was
published in the local newspaper.
Mr. Arens. Do you also have information, sir, respecting the action
taken by the Valley Forge Chapter of the Daughters of the American
Revolution with respect to this matter ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes ; I had a copy of that sent to me in the mail.
Mr. Arens. TYhat was the essence of the position and announcement
of the Daughters of the American Revolution on that matter ?
Mr. Hemsley. Almost identically the same as the Casey-Sheppard
Post. They were opposed.
Mr. Arens. Was that a matter of public property ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Was that available prior to the time that the young lady
from the Fund arrived to make this study to check on the accuracy or
truthfulness of the Sprogell memorandum ?
Mr. Hemsley. I think is was, sir.
Mr. Arens. After the action of the township committee which you
have described, did any member of the library committee invite you
to meet with the committee to enlist your aid for the restoration of
the township's contribution ?
Mr. PIemsley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. What happened ?
Mr. Hemsley. I think it was on a Sunday afternoon I was invited
to attend a meeting at the library of some- members of the commit-
tee— it is a little vague in my mind — at the time for the purpose, after
the meeting progressed — I thought it was a regular committee meeting
of the library, but if I recall, Mrs. Tapley was there. Miss Ambler,
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5501
there was a lawyer. I don't know whether his name was Sprogell.
There were quite a few people. While the meeting was in progress I
got the impression that they were soliciting, trying to get me more
or less to endorse JNIrs. Knowles. I think Lew Sheppard was there,
because Lew brought out the fact that if Mrs. Knowles signed a loyalty
oath, he would be satisfied. I was maybe a little more in opposi-
tion to it.
Mr. Arens. May I intervene with this question : By the loyalty oath
do you mean the Pennsylvania loyalty oath ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes, sir; the Pennsylvania loyalty oath which all
public officials are supposed to sign.
Mr. ScHERER. Is that under the laws of Pennsylvania ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes.
Mr. AiiENS. She declined to sign that ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you address a question to Mary Knowles at that
session ?
Mr. Hemsley. I can't recall now whether Mary Knowles was even
at that session, I don't think Mary Knowles was at that session.
Mr. Arens. Did you thereafter address a question to Mary Knowles
respecting whether or not she was a Communist ?
Mr. Hemsley. Oh, yes; at Mrs. Tapley's home, at a trustee meeting.
Mr. Arens. Tell us where and when that meeting took place. You
said Mrs. Tapley's home. Now tell us when.
Mr. Hemsley. It was some time in the early fall, prior to the meeting
when Mrs. Chappie attended — the commissioners — for a public
hearing.
Mr. Arens. Did you at that session address a question to Mary
Knowdes ?
Mr. He^isley. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. "Wliat was the question you addressed to her?
Mr. Hemsley. I asked her if she had been a former member of the
Communist Party.
Mr. Arens. What was the response she made ?
Mr. Hemsley. No reply.
Mr. Arens. Did you address any other question to her?
Mr. Hemsley. I asked Mrs. Knowles if she was now a member of
the Communist Party.
Mr. Arens. And what reply did she give you ?
Ml". Hemsley. I received no answer.
Mr. Arens. Did you address any other questions to her ?
Mr. PIemsley. Yes. I asked Mrs. Knowles — I said, "Apparently
we seem to be very dominating. Perhaps if I could ]^hrase something
that if you are a Christian Avoman then we would be lesser Christians
if we didn't su])port you regardless of your ]:)ast. If you are willing
to help yourself, then per]ia))s we can help you now."
Mr. Arens. Your attitude was one, I take it, if I am not mistaken
in construing it, of one of seeking to rehabilitate a person who may
liave l)een enmeshed in the Communist conspii'acy ?
Mr. Heijisley. Rather than a persecutor.
Mr. Arens. The connnittee does that all the time, I advise you,
ti-ying to rehabilitate people.
Ml-. Hemsley. In our own wny Ave Avere trying to help the woman,
not to persecute her in au}^ way, shape, or form.
5502 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mr. Arens. Then what happened ?
Mr. Hemsley. At that Mrs. Knowles stated that her political and
religious life was her own personal affairs and therefore picked up her
folder and left the room. The only time I ever heard religion brought
into the question of the library in all the time I served on it was at
the same meeting at Mrs. Tapley's home when the question was raised
about the Stars and Stripes, I think an Army magazine, being on
display in the library. Miss Ambler I think raised the question.
Mr. Arens. Did you or any member of your family receive any
communications in a threatening vein because of your opposition to
the retention of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes; I received two anonymous letters. They were
not signed. >
Mr. Arens. Tell us the vein of those, if you please, sir.
Mr. Hemsley. More or less felt that I was using my position to
persecute an innocent woman and what right did I have to question
her background when she was already proven by the library committee
to be very adequate. Neither letter was signed. I did receive them
through the mail and received several phone calls which were anony-
mous likewise.
Mr. Arens. Wliat is the size of the community serviced by this
library ?
]Mr. Hemsley. You mean the area involved ?
Mr. Arens. Yes. How many people would you say would be patrons
of the library?
Mr. Hemsley. Three or four thousand.
Mr. Arens. Of this 3,000 or 4,000, how many to your knowledge have
actually signed petitions protesting the retention on a permanent basis
of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. The last report I had from Mrs. Philip Corson was
approximately between 800 or 850.
Mr. Arens. How many to your knowledge have registered them-
selves in favor of the retention of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. That I have no matter of record.
Mr. Arens. ^Vliat is your judgment as to the general opinion and
feeling within the community, as you see it, and not through your
work and through your associations, with reference to the retention
on a permanent basis of Mary Knowles ?
Mr. Hemsley. You want my own personal feelings ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir.
Mr. Hemsley. I think it is very detrimental to the community to
divide a community of such long standing. To be honest, I have heard
quite a few say "let your conscience be your guide." To me I cannot see
Mrs. Knowles putting a value on a librarian job, regardless of the
amount of money involved, that would divide a community of such
old traditions and standings, to separate families and people, and let
no one fool you, it is divided.
No job to me, in my own personal opinion, regardless of the amount
of money involved, is justifiable to split a community.
Mr. Arens. What has been the effect of this whole proceeding upon
Mrs. Sawyer, who served the library so faithfully for so many years?
Mr. Hemsley. I imagine it would be a very trying ordeal after serv-
ing a number of years in a community, giving your best, and then at
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5503
the last moment through accident to have a committee, one or more of
that committee, to indicate they would like for you to quit. Although
perhaps there is no written record of it, Mrs. Sawyer did phone me and
express that she had been called on by various members of the com-
mittee who thought she should quit and get out for the good of the
library.
Mr. Arens. Was that during her illness?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes; while she was in bed.
Mr. Arens. I respectfully suggest that concludes the staff interroga-
tion of this witness.
The Chairman. Any questions ?
Mr. Scherer. Just one.
Did any one representing the Fund for the Republic, when it was
making its investigation of this controversy in your connnunity, con-
tact you?
Mr. IIesfsley. Xo, sir.
Mr. Sciierek. Did you receive a questionnaire from the Fund for
the Republic to fill out? Were you sent a questionnaire by the Fund
for the Republic?
Mr. Hemsley. No, I received none.
Mr. Scherer. I have no further questions.
The Chairman. Does this library committee keep minutes of its
meetings?
Mr. Hemsley. Yes. sir ; for the last — while I was on up until — even
when Mrs. Sawyer was on she more or less gave a written report, but
I never actually received a copy, which is customary. In the Lions
Club and various other associations if you are a member of the board
or a member of the executive committee you receive a copy of the min-
utes. I never received any, although some were read by Miss Ambler.
I never actually received a copy or have known it to be a fact of minutes
kept at the trustees meetings.
The Chairman. Was there anything of a religious nature in the
minutes of the library committee ?
Mr. Hemsley. I never heard the question of religion brought up in
all the time I was trustee, until the hiring of Mrs. Knowles and then
relio;ion became very prominent.
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Hemsley.
Call your next witness, Mr. Arens,
Mr. Arens. Judge George C. Corson, kindly come forward.
The Chairman. Will you raise your right hand, please. Do you
affirm that the evidence you give will be the truth, the wliole truth, and
nothing but the trutli, so help you God ?
Judge Corson. I do so affirm.
TESTIMONY OF JUDGE GEORGE C. CORSON
Mr. Arens. Kindly identify yourself, sir, by name, residence, and
occupation.
Judge (/ORSON. Let me say first that I have a very bad throat. I will
do the best I can, but I have had some trouble.
George C. Corson, Butler Pike and Plymouth Road, Cold Point, Pa.
Post office, Plymouth Meeting. I live between Cold Point Baptist
Church on the hill and the Plvmouth INIeeting on the other end of the
5504 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
street. And I am a judge by occupation, profession, whatever it
may be.
Mr. Arens. Just in passing, in which court do you preside ?
Judge Corson. The Court of Common Pleas of the 38th Judicial
District of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Arens. Judge, are you a birthright Quaker as was the gentle-
man who preceded you at the stand a little while ago ?
Judge Corson. A fourth generation birthright Quaker and my son
is a fifth generation birthright Quaker.
Mr. Arens. Are you a member of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting?
Judge Corson. I have been since birth.
Mr. Arens. Have all four generations of your family been members
of the Plymoutli Monthly Meeting?
Judge Corson. On both sides.
Mr. Arens. Judge, do you recall having a conversation with Mr.
Isaac Sheppard in February of 1954 respecting the desire of certain
members of the library committee to replace Mrs. Sawyer, the regular
librarian who had been temporarily incapacitated ?
Judge Corson. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Can you tell us, in your own words, what transpired in
that regard ?
Judge Corson. Well, I can't tell exactly what happened with regard
to that, except that Mr. Sheppard was so worried that he wanted me
to suggest to the Monthly Meeting at its next meeting that the Meeting
surrender any connection with the library and turn it over to the
Orphans Court of Montgomery County to let the Orphans Court ap-
point trustees and take any stigma that might be attached to Commu-
nist associations and things of that kind.
Mr. Arens. Did tlie Plymouth Monthly Meeting concern itself
about that time with the question as to whether or not Mrs. Sawyer
should be reengaged on a permanent basis ?
Judge Corson. There was a meeting and at that meeting there was
considerable discussion.
Mr. Arens. What was the consensus of opinion of the members of
the Meeting ? I say to you now, Judge, as I said to the other gentle-
men : If I, in any sense, intrude on anything of a religious nature or
anything Vvdiich is in the confidence of your denomination, just decline
to speak ud on that point and we will proceed on something else.
Judge Corson. I stated to the Meeting that I felt that, in any event,
Mrs. Sawyer should be allowed to serve out the term of her contract
which ended for that year in September, I believe, 1954. That was
finally agreed to.
Mr.. Arens. That was the consensus of opinion of the Meeting?
Judge Corson, Yes ; so found by the clerk.
Mr. Arens. Judge, can you, in your words, as a lawyer express in
succinct form the relationship between the Plymouth Monthly Meet-
ing and the library committee from the standpoint of autonomy of the
committee?
Judge Corson. They are absolutely distinct. The library was cre-
ated under the will of Mary Miller — she Avas named Miller when she
died, the widow of William Jeanes. She left $80,000 to build a li-
brary and the balance to be for endowment, preferably to be built
upon the grounds of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting. This was done,
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5505
and also in the deed of trust or the will, as it was, it was provided
certain rights in Plymouth Meeting to appoint members of the com-
mittee having charge of tlie administration and operation of the
library. That is the only connection of the Meeting. The Meeting
does not under the will have the power to hire or fire anyone.
Mr. Akens. Did the Plymouth Monthly ISleeting — this is the same
question I asked you that I have asked other witnesses — you are a
lawyer and a judge and I think your testimony on this point would be
of importance on this record— did the Plymouth Monthly Meeting at
any time hire ^lary Knowles ?
Judge CoKsox. Not only it did not, but it could not under any con-
sideration have done so. They could not spend the Meeting's money
to take the iplace of money that is provided under the will of Mary
Jeanes Miller.
Mr. Arens. Did the Plymouth Monthly Meeting at any time con-
firm the employment of Mary Knowles ?
Judge CoRSox. There was a lot of discussion, but I would never
know what the minutes would show. I remember on one occasion
somebody suggested 2 for and 2 against Mary Knowles ba appointed as
a committee to investigate. When the clerk read the minutes it was,
it had been suggested that 2 people who believe in Friends' principles
and 2 people who do not believe in Friends' principles be appointed
as the committee. That was the change made after the suggestion.
So I couldn't tell what the minutes would say.
Mr. Arexs. a reward, as you know, Judge, or a gift of $5,000 was
directed to the Plymouth Monthly Meeting by the Fund for the Re-
public. You know that, do you not ?
Judge CoRsox. Yes.
Mr. Arexs. Did the Plymouth Monthly Meeting, which you say
never hired Mary Knowles, never confirmed the hiring of Mary
Knowles, ever accept the award which was directed to it by the Fund
for the Republic ?
Mr. ScHERER. Did you say "reward" ?
Mr. Arexs. xiward. If I said "reward" that was a slip of the
tongue.
Judge CoRsox. It never has been so accepted, although there have
been many very bitter battles over such question. I might say also
that it was said in one letter written by Carroll Corson that one mem-
ber of the Meeting had taken the check from Frank Jones and cashed
it. That is not, I believe, true. The member of the Meeting in ques-
tion received the check from somebody and, rather than turn it over to
the treasurer, he took it to the Conshohocken Bsuik and endorsed it
for deposit to the credit of the treasurer of Plymouth Meeting. That
is the way it got into the Meeting's account, and the treasurer knew
nothing about it.
Mr. Arens. In the so-called Sprogell memorandum, which is marked
"Ogden Exhibit jSTo. 1" of this particular record, it is stated that the
Plymouth ISIonthly Meeting made a careful investigation into Mary
Knowles' conduct since 1947. Is that true ?
Judge Corsox. The Meeting as such never did so, and the only sug-
gestion that it should do so was the appointment of a committee of
four, two of which were to be for and two against, which was ignored
and nothing happened.
5506 AWARD BY THE FtTND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mr. Arens. This so-called Sprogell memorandum, Ogden Exhibit
No. 1, likewise says that the opposition or, as they say here, the on-
slaught against the retention of Mary Knowles comes from a small
determined group in the community. Is that a true statement or is it
false?
Judge Corson. It came from within the Meeting from one of the
leaders of the Meeting, the person who has spoken and been the spirit-
ual leader for many, many years, Mrs. Shoemaker, and many others
in the Meeting. At one time there were 61 members, I understand, out
of 108 who petitioned for her removal.
Mr. Arens. Would you give us that last statistic again ?
Judge Corson. 61 out of 108 members.
Mr. Arens. 61 out of 108 members of the Plymouth Monthly Meet-
ing petitioned for the removal of Mary Knowles ; is that correct ?
Judge Corson. That is correct.
Mr. Arens. How many of the remaining members have expressed
themselves in any kind of petition on the subject matter?
Judge CoRSON. None that I know of in a petition. They certainly
expressed themselves loud and long.
Mr. Arens. Are a majority of the members of the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting opposed to the retention of Mary Knowles?
Judge CoRsoN. In my opinion, absolutely.
Mr. Arens. Now, sir, I lay before you a document entitled "My
Suggestions on the Jeanes Library Controversy," proposed by Edith
C. Shoemaker. This was alluded to this morning during the testimony
of Mrs. Ogden. Have you ever seen that document before?
Judge CoRsoN. I have not only seen it, but I heard it read to the
Meeting at the time it was read by Mrs. Shoemaker.
Mr. Arens. Mrs. Shoemaker in that document voices strenuous op-
position to the retention of Mary Knowles, does she not ?
Judge Corson. There is no question about that.
Mr. Arens. What is Mrs. Shoemaker's general station or general
position within the community of the Society of Friends?
Judge Corson. Up to the time this happened she was the most
respected member of Plymouth Monthly Meeting of Friends. She
was leader of the council, the s])iritual council of ministers and elders
of the Meeting. She has since resigned, I believe, from that as a result
of the treatment she has received since this award of the Fund for
the Kepubiic.
Mr. Arens. Judge, do you recall presenting a circular letter of
February 15, 1955, with two-hundred-and- forty-odd, 242 or 248, sig-
natures requesting that Mary Knowles be replaced ?
Judge Corson. I presented a petition, and I believe there were that
many names upon it. It was handed to me immediately before I went
into the meeting by someone. I have forgotten whom. It was given
to the clerk and it was summarily stated that it would be turned over
to the library committee for consideration and that was the last heard
of it.
Mr. Arens. In passing, may I ask whether or not you were ever in-
terviewed by a representative of the Fund for the Republic prior to the
time that the award was tendered to Plymouth Monthly Meeting
Judge Corson. I never heard of the award.
Mr. Arens. For retaining Mary Knowles, which it didn't do ?
Judge Corson. I never heard of the award until I saw it in the
papers that there was a meeting to be held to accept it. But there was
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5507
a statement here that the Meeting was told of the award, but what they
were told was this, that they were being considered for an award.
Mr. Arens. And was the reason for it explained 'i
Judge Corson. No. It may have been. Maybe Mrs. Tapley can
tell. But at the time they said we were being considered 1 feel sure the
award had been made. But they were afraid to bring it up at this time
because — well, I don't know.
Mr. Arens. Judge, may I invite your attention si)eciiically to this
exhibit which I am now laying before you allegedly, according to the
face of the exhibit, bearing the signatures of 248 people requesting that
Mary Knowles be removed. Did you read that petition to the Plym-
outh Monthly Meeting!;
Judge Corson. 1 did, with a list of names.
Mr. Arens. Did this ])etition have appended to it the names of 248
people who were protesting!'
Judge Corson. I did not count the names, but that was the state-
ment that was made and there was no question raised about the
number by anyone.
Mr. Arens. Judge, in April of 1955 did your cousin, Martha Sher-
ron, circulate a petition on the Mary Knowles matter?
.Fudge Corson. I am not sure as to that, whether that was the one
that had the 61 names on it or not.
Mr. Arens. I lay before you now, if you please, sir, another exhibit
Avhich purports on its face to be a petition calling for the removal of
Mary Knowles from her post as permanent librarian, and ask you
whether or not that refreshes your recollection.
Judge Corson. That is true, there were many — these were being
})resented to the Meeting at every meeting.
Mr. Arens. There was a series of these ?
Judge Corson. There was a series, with additional names, addi-
tional petitions.
Mr. Arens. Were there any petitions pi-esented to the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting, any at all, to your knowledge, calling on the Monthly
Meeting to confirm the appointment of Mary Knowles or to take a
stand to retain Mary Knowles?
Judge Corson. None whatever that I have ever heard of.
Mr. Arens. Then is it true that all of the petitions which were
presented to the Plymouth Monthly meeting to your knowledge were
])etitions opposing the retention of Mary Knowles?
Judge Corson. That is true.
Mr. Arens. How many members of the Plymouth Monthly Meet-
ing, to your knowledge, ex]3ressed themselves in any mode as being
in favor of the retention of Mary Knowles?
Judge Corson. That is impossible to say because there have been
diU'erent people expressing those thoughts at different meetings.
Mr. Arens. What is the consensus of opinion among the members of
the Plymouth Monthly Meeting as to the retention of Mary Knowles?
Judge Corson. Well, in my belief the majority of the Meeting are
very much against her retention and have been, and also very niuch
against the acceptance of the award. However, if the Fund had given
the award to the committee as such, the Meeting would not have any
jjower whatever to refuse it. The Meeting could not have prevented
its beiiig accepted by the conmiittee for the library.
5508 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mr. Arens. That is because the committee is autonomous isn't that
correct?
Judge Corson. Yes, as a contribution to the library, but the Meeting
objects to being stigmatized by such an award.
Mr. Arens. It is a fact, Judge — May I summarize the situation
and correct me at any point where I may be wrong — it is a fact that
the library committee, four members of which hired Mary Knowles,
is not the recipient of the award from the Fund for the Republic ?
Judge Corson. That is true. They are not.
Mr. Arens. It is a fact, is it not, Judge, that the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting to which the Fund for the Republic directed its check for
$5,000 didn't hire Mary Knowles and didn't confirm the hiring of
Mary Knowles ?
Judge Corson. And has no control over her. Absolutely they can-
not force the committee to hire or fii-e. They can only recommend at
the best.
Mr. Arens. Is it your judg-ment that the direction of this check by
the Fund for the Republic does stigmatize the good people in the
Plymouth Monthly Meeting ?
Judge Corson. That is exactly the feeling.
Mr. Arens. Is it further your opinion— I am just summarizing
here and if I deviate one iota from the truth you stop me, is it further
your opinion that the majority, overwhelming majority of the people
in the Plymouth Monthly Meeting are opposed to the retention of
Mary Knowles 'i
Judge Corson. If we could get rid of the $5,000 Fund for the Re-
public money, I think maybe we all would fall on each other's necks
and say "Let's forget it all and let the woman stay." But it is the
$5,000 that holds everything up because everybody says, "What did
you ever do to get a Communist $5,000? Everybody is stigmatized.
Are you all Conmiunists?" Unfortunately, it is drawing people who
come to the Meeting who are rather different from people who have
been accustomed to coming.
Mr. Arens. I lay before you now, if you please, sir, a document
and ask you if you can identify that document.
Judge Corson. I can.
Mr. Arens. Describe that document for this record.
Judge Corson. It is a letter that I wrote to the Committee of the
Overseers and the Ministry and Council of Plymouth Meeting to be
held on May 10.
Mr. Arens. Judge, without our taking time at this instant to com-
pletely read all of the letter, you being a lawyer could give a fair
summary I am sure of the essence of that letter. Would you kindly
do so?
Mr. Webster. May we have a copy ?
Judge Corson. I wanted to make my position so clear on com-
munism that I wrote this letter so it could be made a part of the
record as to how I stood at least. I said: "The really sad part, of
course, in the whole matter is the fact that the employment of a for-
mer Communist has besmirched our Meeting as communistic and cre-
ated such a division, not only in the neighborhood but among the
members of the Meeting itself, that it may cause a more or less com-
plete breakup of Plymouth Meeting. Is it worthwhile that the Meet-
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5509
ing should be ruined merely in a martyrdom crusade and complex of
the library committee to support a so-called civil right that does not
and never has existed ?"
Mr. xVrexs. Judge, are you conversant with the contents of a letter
sent to the president of the Fund by Carroll Corson requesting the
Fund please to withdraw its $5,000 check?
Judge Corson. Yes; I am. I think that is the letter where he
said that it has been cashed — I tliink he meant deposited — by the
member whose name has not been mentioned.
Mr. Arens. Wlien the meetings of the Monthly Meeting were re-
sumed in September of 1955, did you attend and offer any proposal
which in your judgment, was for the good of the Meeting?
Judge Corson. I proposed at that time that perhaps we could get
along with ]\Irs. Knowles if we were convinced that she was no longer
a Communist, but I felt that we should adopt a minute and I would
be satisfied to ^o along with Mrs. Knowles if we would adopt a minute
that this Meeting takes the position that it is against communism and
the Communist conspiracy.
Mr. Arens. Excuse me, Judge.
Judge Corson. There was laughter from the benches to the left,
and I mean to the left, [Laughter.]
Mr. Arens. What has been the effect in your judgment on the
community, not the Plymouth Monthly Meeting, but the conmiunity,
by this check for $5,000 being sent by the Fund for the Eepublic to
the Plymouth Monthly Meeting? T^Hiat has been the effect on this
community, Plymouth Meeting community?
Judge Corson. I think the community would survive but the Meet-
ing I doubt. I don't know what is going to happen to the Meeting.
I haven't been to the Meeting for 7 months, the last 7 months. I have
lost a period of happiness.
Mr. x\rens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that this con-
cludes the staff interrogation of this witness.
The Chairjian. Judge Corson, are you acquainted with the minutes
of Plymouth Meeting?
Judge Corson. I was clerk for 2 years, several years ago.
The Chairman. Do they contain anything of a religious nature?
Judge Corson. The only thing in the minutes that might refer
to something of a religious nature is that after a period of silence
the meeting concluded. Certainly the Friends worship is in silence,
exce]>t when someone is moved to speak. So I suppose the reference
to silence might be a reference to a method of worship, but I don't
think there is any secret about it that it would harm the committee
to know about.
The Chairman. Are you acquainted with the minutes maintained
by the library committee?
Judge Corson. I am not.
The Chairman. The preceding witness I think was on that com-
mittee, and I think he was the secretary of it, testified that there was
nothing of a religious nature in those minutes.
Judge Corson. I wouldn't know why there would be.
Tlie Chairman. The only reason why I bring this up is because
in advance of the testimony a person subpenaed as a witness made
the statement that we were violating some sort of privilege with
5510 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
respect to religion, and I assure you that those of us on this commit-
tee who are lawyers know just exactly what the limits are and have
never knowingly or otherwise violated any of the rights people have
under the Constitution in that respect.
Call your next witness.
Mr. Arens. Thank you, Judge.
Mrs. Emily Crawford, will you kindly come forward ?
The Chairman. Do you affirm 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. Crawford. I do so affirm.
TESTIMONY OF MRS. EMILY LIVEZEY CRAWFORD
Mr. Arens. Please identify yourself by name, residence, and occupa-
tion.
Mrs. Crawford. My name is Emily Livezey Crawford, 1415 Mark-
ley Street, Norristown, Pa. I am a housewife.
Mr. Arens. Are you a birthright Quaker?
Mrs. Crawford. I am.
Mr. Arens. For how many generations has your family be«n a
birthright Quaker?
Mrs. Crawford. Four to my knowledge.
Mr. Arens. How long have you been a member of the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting ?
Mrs. Crawford. Sixty -two years last week.
Mr. Arens. Have any of your forebears been members of the
Plymouth Monthly Meeting ?
Mrs. Crawford. All of them.
Mr. Arens. Are you a member of any other Quaker Meetings ?
Mrs. Crawford. No.
Mr. Arens. How far do you live from the place of assembly of the
Plymouth Meeting ?
Mrs. Crawford. Four miles. I live in Norristown.
But I do not drive.
Mr. Arens. Do you have difficulty getting to the meetings?
Mrs. Crawford. At the time my mother and I moved from Plymouth
Meeting it was difficult, so she and I, living across from the Norris-
town Meeting, naturally attended that regularly as a matter of con-
venience.
Mr. Arens. But you were not a member of the Norristown Meet-
ing?
Mrs. Crawford. Never.
Mr. Arens. You have continuously been a member of the Plymouth
Meeting?
Mrs, Crawford. I have.
Mr. Arens. In the course of the last few years have you been at
least in occasional attendance at the Plymouth Monthly Meetings ?
Mrs. CRi^^wFORD. Occasionally.
Mr. Arens. Do you Imow a lady by the name of Edith Shoemaker?
Mrs. Crawford, Very well.
Mr, Arens. Kindly identify her, please,
Mrs. Crawford. Edith Shoemaker is the most beloved Friend that
I have ever heard of. She has been a minister in the Friends Meeting,
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5511
at Plymouth Meeting;, for years. Every one loves her and respects
her.
Mr. ^Vrens. Has she been in conversation with yon respecting her
efforts to restore peace and unity within the Plymouth Monthly Meet-
ing religious groups ?
Mrs. Crawford. Yes, on many occasions.
Mr. Arexs. Did she enlist your services and good offices to further
this noble objective?
Mrs. (vRAWFORD. I offered my services.
Mr. Arens. Then did you attend the meetings more regularly of
the Plymouth ^Meeting even at your own inconvenience?
Mrs. Crawford. I did.
Mr. Arens. Were you present when Mrs. Lillian Tapley, chair-
man of the library committee, read her yearly report at the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting?
Mrs. Crawford. I was there when she read her yearly report in May
1955 and again May 1956. I don't know which you are alluding to.
Mr. Arens. Did she in either of those reports, particularly the one
in May 1956, make any reference to Mary Knowles in the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting?
Mrs. Crawford. No, her report was a very glowing one, that the
library circulation had increased, the membership had increased
amazingly. I got to my feet and remarked "Well, couldn't some of
that be due to the increase in the population, because new com-
munities are going up all around our beloved Meeting?"
Mr. Arens. Was any reference made at any time in the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting by Mrs. Tapley to an investigation conducted by the
library committee of Mary Iviiowles ?
Mrs. Crawford. Yes.
Mr. Arens. AVhat did she say ?
Mrs. Cr.\wford. After her report at the May meeting, 1955, she had
several papers there and she said that the library committee had in-
vestigated Mary Knowles before they hired her as a permanent li-
brarian, that Mary Knowles told them at an interview that she had
been called to Washington and questioned.
Mr. Arens. Did she at any time recite to the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting that of the 8 members of the library committee only 4 were
in favor of the employment of Mary Knowles ?
Mrs, Crawford. Never in my hearing.
Mr. Arens. Plow did you receive knowledge of the award or the
check which was being directed to the Plymouth Monthly Meeting by
the Fund for the Republic ?
Mrs. CRAWFftRD. By the press. My husband brought me home a
Philadelphia paper, and it was in large headlines. That was my first
knowledge.
Mr. Arkxs. Did you take any action relative to tlie acceptance of
the award by the Plymouth Monthly Meeting ?
Mrs. Crawford. Not until Jul}' 2.
Mr. Arens. What happened then ?
Mrs. Crawford. I called John Archibald, our then clerk of the
Monthly Meeting, on the phone at his home Saturday, July 2, 1955.
I asked him about the presentation of this $5,000 award, and I said,
"John, this cannot be accepted. It has not been brought up before
our Monthly Meeting."
5512 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
He questioned it, I said, "But, Jolin, our Monthly Meeting has to
act on this award before it can be accepted. Having no Monthly
Meeting in the month of July or August regularly, he then consented
to say that it would be acted upon at our September Monthly Meet-
ing, 1955.
Mr. Arens. Was it ever acted on by the Plymouth Monthly Meeting
from the standpoint of accepting the award ?
Mrs. Crawford. It came up at our Monthly Meeting in September,
just as he promised.
Mr. Arens. Was it accepted ?
Mrs. Crawford. No.
Mr, Arens. What happened?
Mrs. Crawford. There was a great controversy over it, pro and con.
Our respected Judge Corson got up and said — and I agree with what
he just told us — that he did not approve. A great many of our
Meeting felt the same way about it. They felt it should be sent back.
Carroll Corson, who wrote that letter, got to his feet and said the
trustees have just had a meeting and they had agreed to send it back.
But there was just a turmoil in the Meeting.
Mr. Arens. Did you ever request an opportunity to inspect the
minutes of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting ?
Mrs. Crawford, I did,
Mr. Arens. Were you accorded that privilege ?
Mrs. Crawford. I was. At that time it was the privilege of any
member of a Friends Meeting at any time to consult the records of any
meeting.
Mr. Arens. What did you find in the minutes with reference to the
resignation of Isaac Sheppard i
Mrs. Crawford. Only in the October minutes of 1954 it was briefly
announced that Isaac Sheppard had resigned as treasurer and member
of the William Jeanes Library Committee, and it had been accepted
with regret.
Mr, Arens, Was there any statement in there as to the reason ?
Mrs, Crawford. No.
Mr. Arens. Did you find recorded any place in the minutes Judge
Corson's presentation of a petition requesting the removal of Mary
Knowles ?
Mrs. Crawford. That he handed to the Monthly Meeting?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
Mrs. Crawford. No.
Mr. Arens. Did you see any reference in those minutes to petitions
presented by Martha Sherron?
Mrs. Craavford. No,
Mr. Arens. Was Mrs. Shoemaker's plea in April of 1955 for the
restoration of unanimity in the Meeting by replacing Mary Knowles
recorded in the minutes ?
Mrs. Crawford. It was very briefly mentioned.
Mr. Arens. Did you see in the minutes any record of Mrs. Shoe-
maker's presentation of petitions requesting that Mary Knowles be
replaced ?
Mrs. Crawford. No.
That should have been in the September minutes, 1955.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5513
Mr. Ajrens. Did you see in the minutes any reference to Judge Cor-
son's proposal that the Meeting go on record as opposed to Com-
munists ?
Mrs. Crawford. No, only — may I tell this or am I taking too much
time ?
]Mr. Arexs. You go right ahead please.
Mrs. Crawford. That came up at the September Monthly Meeting,
as he has just told you. Feeling that there was a possibility that
that would be omitted from the minutes like lots of other things that
came up in our meeting, I particularly listened to the reading of our
September minutes at the October meeting. There was no mention
of that. So I got to my feet when they asked if there should be any
corrections to the minutes.
Mr. Arens. Who makes the minutes ? Who keeps the minutes of the
Meeting ?
Mrs. Crawford. The clerk.
Mr. Arens. "WHio is he or she ?
Mrs. Crawford. In 1955 it was John Archibald. At present it is
Dr. Louise Gloeckner.
Mr. Arens. What has been the attitude of each of those two with
respect to the retention of Mary Knowles ?
Mrs. Crawford. John Archibald was a member of the library com-
mittee up until the first of this year.
Mr. Arens. What was his position on Mary Ejiowles ?
Mrs. Crawford. Definitely for her.
Mr. Scherer. Wliat was his position on accepting the award from
the Fund for the Republic ?
Mrs. Crawford. I think it was their plan to accept it if it hadn't
been called to their attention that it could not be accepted without
first coming before our Monthly Meeting.
Mr. Arens. Did you find recorded in these minutes any mention at
all of the protests to the hiring of Mary Knowles, the petitions de-
manding that slie be removed or replaced ?
Mrs. Crawford. I did not consult the minutes of every month
from 1953, but, Mr. Arens, the minutes that I just hurriedly glanced
through had no mention of Mary Knowles in it.
Mr. Arens. Since the tender of this $5,000 check to the Plymouth
Monthly Meeting by the Fund for the Republic for the hiring, which
it did not do, of Mary Knowles, can you tell us, have any of the mem-
bers of the Plymouth Monthly Meeting resigned ?
Mrs. Crawford. Definitely.
Mr. Arens. About how many, to your certain knowledge, have re-
signed after this check from the Fund for the Republic was sent to the
Plymouth Monthly Meeting for hiring Mary Knowles, which it did
not do?
Mrs. Cr^^wford. One family of five ; another family whose resigna-
tion yet has not been read— it has been presented — of four. Then
there have been 5 individuals.
Mr. Arens. Incidentally, do you have knowledge as to how many
people have resigned from the library committee, of the eight, or
do you know ?
Mrs. Cr\wford. Oh, yes. Isaac Sheppard, who is a member of the
Meeting. Helen Browning resigned. Henry Hemsley and Lewis
Sheppard, who represented the township.
5514 AWAKD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mr. Arens. Then half of the library committee have resigned;
is that correct ?
Mrs. Crawford. Yes, but John Archibald, somewhere along the
line before I attended the Monthly Meetings regularly, became a
member.
Mr. Arens. Then do you think it is quite fair and honest to char-
acterize the opposition to Mary Knowles in this community as a small,
determined group or would you say that the opposition to the reten-
tion of Mary Knowles was not from a small, determined group?
Mrs. Crawford. You mean from the Meeting or the community ?
Mr. Arens. From the community.
Mrs. Crawford. Well, of course I am living in Norristown. I am
not conversant with the community. But I do know that up to date
Mrs. Corson has had over 884 signed petitions.
Mr. Arens. In the community?
Mrs. Crawford. And our Meeting is included. The members of
our Meeting are included.
Mr. Arens. Plow many petitions have been signed urging the reten-
tion of Mary Knowles?
Mrs. Crawford. I personally have received four from the mem-
bers of our Monthly Meeting.
Mr. Arens. Four who want to retain Mary Knowles and eight-
hundred-ancl-some-odd who do not want to retain her, is that correct?
Mrs. Crawtford. Well, I can only speak for those who actually sent
me letters or signed a slip that they wanted her retained, and there
were four.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that will con-
clude the staff interrogation of this witness.
The Chairman. You are excused, Mrs. Crawford, with the thanks
of the committee.
Call your next witness.
Mr. Arens. Mrs. Lillian Tapley, would you kindly come forward ?
The Chairman. Do you swear or affirm the testimony you are
about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you God ?
Mrs. Tapley. I do so affirm.
The Chairman. Proceed.
TESTIMONY OF MRS. LILLIAN TAPLEY, ACCOMPANIED BY
COUNSEL, HARRY E. SPROGELL
Mr. Arens. Will you kindly identify yourself, if you please, by
name, residence, and occupation?
Mrs. Tapley. I am Lillian Tapley, Mrs. Paul Tapley, 134 Plymouth
Road, Plymouth Meeting, combination of housewife and business-
woman.
Mr. Arens. Mrs. Tapley, are you or have you been connex^ted with
the William Jeanes Memorial Library of Plymouth Meeting?
Mrs. Tapley. I have.
Mr. Arens. I beg your pardon, counsel. I apologize ; I should have
recognized you.
You are represented today by counsel ?
Mrs. Tapley. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Counsel, will you kindly identify yourself ?
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5515
Mr. Sprogell. Harry E. Sprogell. May I address the Chair, Mr.
Walter?
The Chairman. No. You may advise your client.
Mrs. Tapley. May I ask something? May I make a statement
before we go on ?
The ChairjMax. Just answer the questions, please. If you have
any statement, under the rules of this committee you may submit
it to the committee and we will examine it and if we find it germane
we will make it a part of the record.
Mr. Sprogell. That was done, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. x\rens. Will you kindly tell us what connection you have had
with the William Jeanes Memorial Library at Plymouth Meeting?
Mrs. Tapley. Mr. Walter, this statement was made and delivered
to the chairman — you are chairman, I believe — of the committee
yesterday, and, therefore, I ask that I may read it.
The Chairman. Was it delivered to me or to the Philadelphia
newspapers ?
Mrs. Tapley. I believe to Mr. Leo Lilly, Clerk of the Court, for
delivery to you.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, in fairness I should say that there has
been directed to my attention in the course of the last 24 hours,
perhaps the last 48 hours, a statement which was submitted by Mrs.
Tapley, but in view of the press of these hearings I haven't had a
chance to read the statement. I undei-stand it is right here.
The Chairman. It may be made a part of the record.
Mr. Arens. Here is the statement, Mr. Chairman. It is a mimeo-
graphed statement of considerable length.
Mrs. Tapley, There are also documents which accompany it, and I
wish that they also may be made part of the record.
Mr. Arens. They will be submitted for the record, as the chairman
has said.
Perhaps, Mrs. Tapley, we can start at the beginning of where
we left off. What is and what has been your connection with the
William Jeanes Memorial Library ?
Mrs. Tapley. Could I interrupt again? I want to make it clear,
has the chairman granted my request that this be made a part of
the record, the statement and the documents ? ^
Mr. Arens. That is a matter for determination of the committee.
The Chairman. I did, and so did Mr. Ai-ens.
Mrs. Tapley. Thank you very much.
Mr. Arens. Now let's start all over again, if you please, so this
record is clear. Perhaps you have answered the question, but let us
have it again so we have the proper sequence here. What is and has
been your connection with the William Jeanes Memorial Library at
Plymouth Meeting ?
Mrs. Tapley. I was appointed to the library committee sometime
in the early forties, I think 1941. I was made chairman of the com-
mittee in 1952, 1 believe.
Mr. Arens. Have you seii'ed continuously since then as chairman
of the committee?
Mrs. Tapley. Since then, yes.
1 The statpmont and documonts submitted by Mrs. Tapley, as "Tapley Exhibit No. 1,"
appear on pp. 5524-5536.
5516 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mr. Arens. Are you chairman of the committee at the present
time?
Mrs. Tapley. I am.
Mr. Arens. Are you also a member of the Plymouth Monthly
Meeting ?
Mrs. Tapley. I am.
Mr. Arens. Are you also one of the trustees appointed by the
Plymouth Monthly Meeting, in addition to being the chairman of the
library committee ?
Mrs. Tapley. I am.
Mr. Arens. As trustee, what are your functions, in addition to your
service as chairman of the library committee?
Mrs. Tapley. My present function is to be a part signer of checks
and to oversee or help oversee what takes place in our Meeting and to
keep an eye alert for things that go on in our library, just as the rest
of the committee do. We are all on an equal basis, except for the
signing of checks.
Mr. Arens. There are two trustees ; are there not?
Mrs. Tapley. At the present. That is not indicated in the will.
Mr. Arens. Who is the other trustee, please ?
Mrs. Tapley. Ray Eiday.
Mr. Arens. How long have you been a trustee, in addition to being
chairman of the library committee?
Mrs. Tapley. I think about 1952 also.
Mr. Arens. Are you conversant with the fact that Isaac Sheppard
resigned from the library committee in September of 1954?
Mrs. Tapley. I am.
Mr. Arens. Is it true that Mr. Sheppard was treasurer of the com-
mittee for approximately thirty-some years?
Mrs. Tapley. Yes; he was.
Mr. Arens. How many people resigned from the library committee
in 1954?
Mrs. Tapley, Well, that is a matter that I might say this way:
That we had a committee.
Mr. Arens. Of how many members ?
Mrs. Tapley. Wliich ostensibly included Mrs. Browning and also
Isaac Sheppard and his brother, Lew, and Henry Hemsley, but Isaac
and Henry were never appointed by the Meeting. They existed
purely in an honorary capacity which Isaac Sheppard assured us
they would do when we accepted the money from the commissioners.
Mr. Arens. How many members were there on the library com-
mittee ?
Mrs. Tapley. I beg your pardon. Did I say Isaac ? I meant Lewis
Sheppard was an honorary member.
Mr. Arens. How many members were there on the library com-
mittee in 1954?
Mrs. Tapley. I think there were eight.
Mr. Arens. How many resigned from the library committee in
1954?
Mrs. Tapley. If we assumed that Lew and Henry were only hon-
orary members, just the one resigned and that is Mrs. Browning.
Mr. Arens. Did Henry Hemsley resign from the library com-
mittee even though it was from an honorary status ?
Mrs. Tapley. He didn't come to meetings any more.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5517
Mr. Arens. Did I^wis Sheppard disassociate himself from the
library committee in 1954?
Mrs. Tapley. He did not come to meetings any more.
Mr. Arens. Did Mrs. Browning disassociate herself from the li-
brary committee?
Mrs. Tapley. Not on that account, I believe. She told me when
I called her — I used to call the members of the committee when meet-
ings were arranged and necessary, either regular or special to advise
them, and she told me that her husband was in a business that she
really couldn't leave home at night
Mr. Arens. Did she then disassociate herself ?
Mrs. Tapley. Yes. She was not able to come very much and she
finally didn't come at all.
Mr. Arens. And Mr. Isaac Sheppard disassociated himself?
Mrs. Tapley. He definitely resigned.
Mr. Arens. Which means that of the 8 members on the board, 4 in
1954 disassociated themselves for some reason or other; is that
correct ?
Mrs. Tapley. That is correct.
Mr. Arens. Of those four persons who disassociated themselves
in 1954, how many were opposed to the engagement on a permanent
basis of Mary Knowles?
Mrs. Tapley. Definitely Isaac Sheppard and Henry Hemsley and
Lew Sheppard. Mrs. Browning never expressed herself in too lengthy
a manner. She is a nice, quiet, unassuming person.
Mr. xVrens. These four people who disassociated themselves from
the board were replaced with others ; is that correct ?
Mrs. Tapley. No ; our board exists now with the remaining members
of the committee.
Mr. Arens. Then there are now four members of the board ?
Mrs. Tapley. There are five, I believe.
Mr. Arens. Then someone must have been added because there
were only 8 and 4 disassociated themselves.
Mrs. Tapley. Yes ; one was added.
Mr. Arens. Who was that ?
Mrs. Tapley. That was Mrs. Charles Chappie, Mrs. Mary Chappie.
Mr. Arens. Did you in the course of your chairmanship of the
library committee undertake to conduct an investigation with respect
to one Mary Knowles ?
Mrs. Tapley. Yes ; we did.
Mr. Arens. Just tell us now what you did toward conducting that
investigation.
Mrs. Tapley. We knew of the background of Mary Knowles from
what she had told us.
Mr. Arens. I beg your pardon ? I didn't hear that.
Mrs. Tapley. We knew in a sense of her background. She told us
that she had appeared before a congressional committee and that she
could not from that time on answer questions about that particular
thing since she had refused to answer a congressional committee. We
asked her if she was a Communist and she said no, she definitely was
not.
Since we are in the Friends Society we don't use oaths. The truth
is sufficient.
Mr. Arens. I understand.
5518 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mrs. Tapley. Then she gave us the names of her former employers,
or an employer I should say, in the Norwood Library to whom we
wrote. She wrote us a letter— I don't want to use the word "fulsome"
but it was a very fine letter regarding everything that Mary Knowles
had ever done in her 5 years' experience.
Mr. Arens. When you say "we," was this investigation you are
talking about participated in by all of the library committee or by a
subcommittee of the library committee ?
Mrs. Tapley. It was participated in by four of the members, the
others not being too interested.
Mr. Arens. Of the four members of the library committee who con-
ducted this investigation, how many were of the persuasion that Mary
Knowles should be engaged permanently ?
Mrs. Tapley. Could I change that a bit. It might have been five
members. I think Mrs. Chappie was on the board then when we were
personally investigating Mrs. Knowles. I am a little vague on that.
At any rate, will you repeat that question ? I didn't quite get it.
Mr. Arens. In view of the fact that there was a change in your
answer there, I will disregard the question for a moment. Did you
solicit information from the United States Senate Internal Secu-
rity Subcommittee ?
Mrs. Tapley. We heard about that and we did have copies of it;
yes ; very definitely.
Mr. Arens. Did you write to the United States Senate Internal Se-
curity Subcommittee, as you wrote to her former employers and solicit
from them information respecting Mary Knowles ?
Mrs. Tapley. One of our committee interviewed a member of the
FBI, talked with him, and we were
Mr. Arens. You didn't answer my question. Did you solicit infor-
mation from the United States Senate Internal Security Subcommittee
before which Mary Knowles was interrogated ?
Mrs. Tapley. No ; we had the newspaper reports.
Mr. Arens. Did it not cross your mind that that might be a good
source of information since you solicited information from the nu-
merous employers or the people who knew about her past employment ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, could we have order, please ?
The Chairman. The committee will be in order.
Before you proceed, when you interrogated this lady for prospec-
tive employment, did you ask her about her employment at the Samuel
Adams School in Boston ?
Mrs. Tapley. Yes ; we did.
The Chairman. What was her reply about that ?
Mrs. Tapley. Her reply was that as she had been interrogated by
a congressional committee and used the fifth amendment her counsel
had told her she could not answer anything about her life prior to
that time.
The Chairman. You were inquiring into her qualifications? She
told you that she was employed by the Samuel Adams School?
Mrs. Tapley. Yes ; that is correct.
The Chairman. Didn't you know that the Samuel Adams School
was an adjunct of the Communist Party in Boston ?
Mrs. Tapley. Only that she told me that.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC. INC. 5519
The Chairman. It is a matter of public record.
Mrs. Tapley. I am sorry.
The Ch AiKMAN. And she told you that ?
Mrs. Taplky. She told me that, that it was put on the subversive list.
The Chairman. She told you that she was employed by this ad-
junct of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Tapley. That is ri^ht. No ; she said nothing about the Com-
munist I*arty. She said she was secretary for the Snmuel Adams
School.
Mr. xVrens. At the time of your interrogation or at any time did
you ascertain that the Samuel Adams School was an adjunct of the
Communist conspiracy ?
Mrs. Tapley. I read it in the newspaper.
Mr. Arens. Did you know it as of the time you interrogated her ?
Mrs. Tapley. No; I did not.
Mr. Arens. ^^Hien did you read it in the newspaper or acquire the
knowledge.
Mrs. Tapley. I can't tell you that.
Mr. Arens. AVas that subsequent to the engagement of Mary
Knowles or prior to the engagement '^
Mrs. Tapley. It was prior to her permanent engagement, subsequent
to her tempoi-ary engagement.
Mr. Arens. Did you interrogate her as to whether or not when she
was before the Senate committee she declined to tell the Senate com-
mittee about other persons known by her to have been members of the
Communist conspiracy ?
Mrs. Tapley. We read the testimony.
Mr. Arens. Did you interrogate her about that ?
Mrs. Tapeey. No ; I did not.
Mr. Arens. Was this interrogation M'hich you conducted of Mary
Knowles in the presence of the entire membersliip of the library com-
mittee ?
Mrs. Tapley. The first was just she and I alone when she divulged
to me, without being asked, that she thought possibly we might not be
interested in her employment on account of this background.
Mr. Apjens. How did you first know of Mary Knowles ? How did
you first make contact with her ?
Mrs. Tapley. Our librarian, Mrs. Sawyer, had this accident and, as
has been said before, we got along until October with various substi-
tutes, and in October we just discovered or found that the substitutes
were not able to continue. Tliey had children. They had jobs. They
had this and that. They just could not continue. So we had to look
around for someone to take the job. I called various schools. I called
Drexel Library School and I called the University of Pennsylvania
Library; I called the Freeley Library and I believe the Mercantile
Library — everybody that I could think of that would help me. I could
get no one there that we were able to engage. One of them told me
that I might call this Mr. Beatty at the library of the College of
Physicians, and I did. He told me that he had a couple of people in
his files who might do. He gave me two names I think and I called and
they were both completely impossible. I mean they were older and
couldn't come over for some reason. So I called him again. I said,
"Have you any idea who I can get?"
5520 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
He said, "Well, I have another woman in my files and she sounded
very good to me. Her ability seems to be just about the best. Why
don't you go and see her ?"
That is how I found Mary Knowles.
Mr. Arens. Did you correspond with her and invite lier to come to
see you or did you call ?
Mrs. Tapley. No ; I telephoned her and made an appointment and
went over to see her and within 5 minutes of my arrival she told me
of her background, that much of her background.
Mr. Arens. Did she tell you that she had been a member of the
Communist conspiracy ?
Mrs. Tapley. She did not.
Mr. Arens. When was the next interview that you or any one to
your knowledge connected with the library conunittee had with Mary
Knowles ?
Mrs. Tapley. I went to our library committee and told them that
we had contacted or I had contacted a possible librarian but there
was a doubt because she had told me she had used the fifth amendment,
and what did they think. They said, "Well, we might interview
her." I had her come over and they interviewed her and they de-
cided to employ her.
Mr. Arens. Inviting your attention to the proposition of the perma-
nent employment of Mary Knowles, that is, before she was perma-
nently employed, did you request information from the United States
Senate Internal Security Subcommittee before which she was inter-
rogated with respect to her background and activities ?
Mrs. Tapley. No ; we did not. We read the reports.
Mr. Arens. Who read the reports ?
Mrs. Tapley. I think most of the committee read them,
Mr. Arens. Was she interrogated by the committee members prior
to the time that she was engaged permanently ?
Mrs. Tapley. No more than we had already done. We had abso-
lutely fine references about her from everyone who had employed her
outside of the Samuel Adams School whom, of course, we didn't
contact.
Mr. Scherer. You say you had fine references from everyone ?
Mrs. Tapley. When I say everyone, the references that came from
the Norwood School included references from the schools where she
had worked before for many years.
Mr. Scherer. You received replies as a result of the inquiries you
had sent out ?
Mrs. Tapley. Written inquiries that we sent out to these specific
people.
Mr. Scherer. Did you send out those inquiries about the time you
read the report of the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee ?
Mrs. Tapley. This was in October of 1953. No, wait a minute. Yes,
October 1953.
Mr. Scherer. You did not write or contact the Senate Internal Se-
curity Subcommittee ?
Mrs. Tapley. We did not.
Mr. Scherer. To ask for whatever information they might have ?
Mrs. Tapley. No.
Mr. Arens. Did you have the information that she had been dis-
charged from the Norwood Library ?
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5521
Mrs. Tapley. We did. She told us.
Mr. Ari:xs. Does the rule of unanimity or the policy of unanimity
prevail in the library committee as it does, so we have been told, in the
Plymouth Monthly Meeting ?
Mrs. Tapley. Not to the extent it does in the Monthly Meeting.
Certainly we always agree on policies.
Mr. Akens. Did you cause to be sent to each member of the library
committee a notification of the meeting in which Mary Knowles was
to be engaged permanently ?
Mrs. Tapley. I believe so. That is hard for me to remember. I
used to do the calling myself in those days, until, of course, when
Mary Knowles took over permanently ; she sends out all notices. But
1 think up to that time I did the telephoning.
Mr. Arens. Did you call the two Sheppards?
Mrs. Tapley. I called Mr. Isaac Sheppard, but Mr. Isaac Shep])ard
had told me in the beginning that I was not ever to bother to call Lewis
Sheppard because he would always see that he was advised. I called
Henry Hemsley continually at his place of business. He has a gaso-
line operator place and I called and left messages for him always when
we were having a meeting. I did it mostly by telephone because I was
very busy and it was easier to do it that way.
Mr. ScHEREK. Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question ?
The Chairmax. Mr. Scherer.
Mr. Scherer. ^Mrs. Tapley, when did you first learn that the Fund
for the Republic was going to make an award as a result of the library
board meeting retaining Mary Knowles?
Mrs. Tapley. It was either April or May.
Mr. Scherer. Of what year ?
Mrs. Tapley. Of last year.
Mr. Scherer. How did you learn about that?
Mrs. Tapley. My fellow committee member, Mrs. Chappie, called
me and said that she had heard that we were possibly to be sent this
award if we were considered properly.
Mr. Scherer. Was that before any public announcement ?
Mrs. Tapley. Oh, heavens, yes.
Mr. Scherer. How long before any public announcement?
Mrs. Tapley. This was either April or May. Then after that, I
think in May, early May, she called me again and said that she had
had word that Miss Maureen Black was coming to make an investiga-
tion and could I be present to help answer the questions.
Mr. Scherer. So you had knowledge of a possible award before Miss
Black came ?
Mrs. Tapley. No. Well, just the very few words that I had intro-
duced the subject.
]Mr. Scherer. Do you know with whom Mrs. Chappie had her con-
tact in the Fund for the Republic ?
Mrs. Tapley. I don't know. I think it was Mr. Sprogell w^ho told
Mrs. Chappie. That is all I can tell you. I knew nothing about it.
To me it just sounded like a very lovely fairytale.
Mr. Scherer. Mr. who told Mrs. Chappie?
Mrs. Tapley. Mr. Sprogell.
Mr. Sprogell. I.
Mr. Scherer. Who is Mr. Sprogell? Is he connected with your
church ?
5522 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Mrs. Tapley. He is a member of the Society of Friends ; yes.
Mr. ScHERER. Do you know who contacted him originally ?
Mrs. Tapley. We heard afterward, but not until after the award
was made. We were always curious.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Tapley. Then it is only a matter of gossip and not a matter
of my knowledge, so I don't think I should say it.
Mr. ScHERER. Did Mr. Sprogell tell you who contacted him?
Mrs. Tapley. No; he did not. I just asked him should I tell who
I heard in a gossipy way, but I don't think I should repeat what I
don't know to Ibe actually the case.
Mr. Scherer. That is the thing this committee would like to know.
At least this member of the committee would like to know more than
anything else. How was this contact made by the Fund ? What was
the purpose behind it?
Mr. Sprogell. I will be happy to testify, Congressman.
Mr. Sgiierer. I am asking the witness.
Mrs. Tapley. I heard, but I don't know officially. It is like so
many other things you hate to repeat, I hate to repeat gossip, some-
thing that doesn't come to me as I believe it should.
Mr. Scherer. How many weeks was it before the investigator for
the Fund appeared in the community that you heard this rumor that
an award would be made ?
Mrs. Tapley. It was possibly 2 weeks, maybe not even that long.
It is a little hard to tell, you know, when you are trying to think
back.
Mr. Scherer. With how many representatives of the Fund did you
personally have conversations?
Mr. Tapley. At any time ?
Mr. Scherer. Yes.
Mrs. Tapley. Well, on the first occasion just with Miss Black to
whom we gave all our records, both pro and con, both anti and for.
She had everything. We concealed nothing about the horrible attacks
which were being made on us.
Mr. Scherer. You mean by other members of the congregation?
Mrs. Tapley. And the DAR and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
She had all the information.
Mr. Scherer. Did you give her excerpts from the minutes of your
meetings ?
Mrs. Tapley. That I am not at all sure of. We only gave her
information, as I remember. We might have given her
Mr. Scherer. Were you here this morning when she testified ?
Mrs. Tapley. Yes ; I was.
Mr. Scherer. She testified she was given excerpts from the minutes
dealing with this subject.
Mrs. Tapley. That is correct. So we must perhaps have copied our
decision and given that to her.
Mr. Scherer. Did you talk to the investigator on that particular
day that she came to the community for the purpose of making that
investigation ?
Mrs. Tapley. That is correct.
Mr. Scherer. How long did you talk with her?
Mrs. Tapley. For a matter of possibly 3 hours.
AWARD BY THK FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5523
Mr. ScHEKER. Have you ever seen her since i
Mrs. Tapley. Yes ; I saw her when the award w^is made.
jNIr. SciiEiiER. That was a formal presentation of the award?
Mrs. Tapley. That is correct. Yes.
Mr. ScHERER. Did you discuss with anyone else from the Fund for
the Republic the giving of this award and the reasons for it?
Mrs. Tapij:y. Xo; 1 did not. As I say, until the award was made
to me it was just a fa iry tale in the sky.
Mr. SciiEREK. It is a fairytale to this committee, too.
Mrs. Tapley. I know, but it is a wonderful fairytale, and I must tell
you tliat at that time I did not know who the Fund for the Kepublic
were, so you can see how very stupid I was.
Mr. ScuEREK. The only conversation Avhicli you have ever had, as
I understand it, directly with any representative of the Fund for the
Republic, is your ;>-hour conversation witli the investigator when she
came to your comnuniity, and then you luippened to see her again when
the award was made (
Mrs. Tapley. Xo; I saw lier on two other occasions. I saw her the
night before the award was made when she came over to make it.
Mr. ScHERER. That was after the award was already decided upon ?
Mrs. Tapley. And I met
Mr. SciiERER. Did you have any conversation with her at that time
as to wliy the Fund for the Republic Avas doing this ?
Mrs. Tapley. Xo.
The Chairmax. "Were }()u subpenaed to bring the minutes of the
library committee ?
Mrs. Tapley. I was.
The Chairmax. Did you announce to the press on yesterday that
you were not going to comply with the subpena because
Mrs. Tapley. ^ly statement from my counsel so announced, be-
cause we had a special meeting of our Plymouth Friends Meeting, and
they did not feel it would be a proper thing to do, that it was rather a
violation of the first amendment.
The CiiAiRMAX. In view of the fact that there is nothing of a re-
ligious nature in these minutes, 1 am surprised, to say the least.
Mrs. Tapley. You say, Mr. Walter
The Chairman. I am only rei)eating it because of what the mom-
bei's of the committee have testified to.
Mrs. Tapley. They coinpletely overlook, I think, the fact of the
spiritual values of our minutes.
Mr. Scherer. You had no hesitancy, however, in giving to an in-
vestigator of the Fund for the Republic, about which you knew very
little, excerpts from those minutes, though, did you ?
Mrs. Tapley. Well, that was a request for information.
The ("mairmax. That is what this subpena was.
Mrs. Tapley. That is a completely dilierent thing, a command and
a request.
The Ckairmax. I will tell you how it is different. This happens to
be a committee of the Congress of the United States
Mrs. Tapley. I understand that.
Tlie Chainnan (continuing) . Charged with doing a very unpleasant
task.
Mrs. Taplky. I can see that.
5524 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
The Chairman. That is a very mild statement, I assure you. The
other people who looked at the records have no responsibilities at all.
You had no obligation whatsoever but you were perfectly willing to
show them the record, but when a committee of the Congress of this
Kepublic asks you, then you invoke a section of the Constitution of the
United States.
Mrs. Tapley. You are wrong, Mr. Walter. I did not refuse. The
Meeting refused. I am merely their servant.
The Chairman. I thought the Meeting has nothing to do with the
library committee.
Mrs. Tapley. Yes; it has. Every committee functions under the
care of the Meeting— the school committee, the property committee, the
library committee.
The Chairman. I do not want to argue with you. I will accept
what you say.
Mrs. Tapley. Thank you.
The Chairman. Mr. Arens, is there anything further ?
Mr. ScHERER. May I ask one further question?
The Chairman. Mr. Scherer.
Mr. Scherer. Is your counsel a member of the community and of
the church?
Mrs. Tapley. He is a member of the Friends Meeting but not our
Friends Meeting or our locality.
Mr. Scherer. He was the one who brought to you originally the
information ?
Mrs. Tapley. Not to me.
Mr. Scherer. Well, to your group.
Mrs. Tapley. Yes.
Mr. Scherer. The fact that the Fund for the Kepublic had inter-
ested themselves in this project?
Mrs. Tapley. I think so.
Mr. Scherer. That is all.
The Chairman. That will be all.
The committee wishes to thank the judge who so generously per-
mitted us to use the courtroom and the court officials who have co-
operated, as well as the press, for the very good coverage of this
hearing.
The hearing is adjourned.
(Whereupon, at 4 : 35 p. m., Wednesday, July 18, 1956, the commit-
tee was recessed subject to the call of the Chair.)
Tapley Exhibit No. 1
Statement of Mrs. Luxian P. Tapley
(Filed with Un-American Activities Committee, 9 a. m., July 17, 1956)
An inquiry into why the Fund For The Republic should have made an award
to Plymouth Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends necessarily
raises the question why the Meeting should have employed Mrs. Mary Knowles
in a library under its care. The award was made for that action. .
All the actions of Plymouth Monthly Meeting and of the Library Committee
which conducts a part of the Meeting's affairs have been intended to express
Christian beliefs of the Religious Society of Friends. A question concerning those
actions is an inquiry into those beliefs and their practice.
The considerations which inspired the Meeting's conduct have been stated in
materials made public by the Library Committee in the past: A letter to the
Commissioners of Plymouth Township dated September 22, 1954; a report of
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5525
the Library Committee prepared in October, 1954; and a letter to the Ambler
Gazette dated March 7, 1955.
The position of the Religious Society of Friends is evidenced by advices
prepared by a called meeting of Friends at Scattergood School in Iowa on the
2d to 4th of 4th Month 1954 ; a statement concerning civil liberties adopted by the
Abington Quarterly Meeting of Friends held 5th Month 7tli, 1953 ; a statement
on civil liberties issued by the Representative Meeting of Philadelphia Yearly
Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends on 4th Month 20th, 1956; and a
statement on civil liberties adopted by the Philadelphia Yearly Meetings on
March 27, 1954.
I ask that a copy of each of these documents be made a part of the transcript
and printed in the record of these hearings.
Mrs. LnxiAN P. Tapley.
[From Norrlstown Times Herald, September 24, 1954]
Open Letter on Libkaky Fund Sent Plymouth Commissioners
In response to the action of the Plymouth Township Commissioners to defer
a $500 appropriation for the William Jeanes Memorial Library, Plymouth Meet-
ing, the following letter was received by the Times Herald:
September 22, 1954.
Open Letter to the Commissioners of Plymouth Toivnship:
We, of the Library Committee of the Jeanes Memorial Library, feel that an
explanation of our responsibilities and policies would be helpful to you in
arriving at a decision as to whether or not you will continue your appropriation.
In the original bequest for the library, it is stated that the library shall be
operated as a free or public library under the care of trusteees appointed by
Plymouth Monthly IMeeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), on
the grounds of the Meeting or on land purchased for the purpose by the Meet-
ing. It has been so operated since 1933, for 2 years in a rented building and
since then in a building constructed for the purpose on the grounds of the
Friends Meeting. The Committee consists of the appointed trustees and three
other members of the Religious Society of Friends. On this appointed Com-
mittee rests the administration of the library, the employment of those who
work there, the purchase of books, the raising and guardianship of funds, the
services to the schools, etc. In recent years the income from invested funds has
been inadequate to meet the increased costs. You, the AVhitemarsh Supervisors,
and the Conshohocken Community Chest, have been a very great help to us in
continuing this public service. Certainly, as the appropriators of public funds,
you are entitled to know our policies and to receive a copy of our budget and
report.
Ynur question as to the employment of Mrs. Mary Knowles as stated in the
Norristown Times Herald, Tuesday, September 14, is a matter of policy and we
welcome this opportunity to make known our position in this matter.
First, we should like to point out that we share with you a strong conviction
that no subversive person should be employed in any role of service to the public,
and that we have made every effort to arrive at the facts — so that our policJes
might be based on reality rather than prejudice and fancy.
You may have heard that Mrs. Knowles invoked the Fifth Amendment when
called to Washington by the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was called in
connection with the investigation of an adult school in Boston. Mrs. Knowles
informed the full Jeanes Library Committee of the investigation and her role in
it when she was first interviewed as a substitute by us in October 1953. At that
time she was acrented as a substitute and served ably, and with the full sup-
port of the Committee, until the return of the regular librarian in April of 1954.
Before employing her as the regular librarian, September 1 of this year, the
Jeanes Library Committee completely satisfied itself as to her loyalty. Mrs.
Knowles has at all times cooperated fully with our Committee in such things as
obtaining Government-issued transcripts of the Judiciary Committee's proceed-
ings, etc. Her qualifications as a librarian are excellent, particularly in the area
of services to the children of our community, and the Library Committee feels that
it is indeed fortunate in obtaining so experienced, well recommended, and able
a person.
We are aware of the fact that to have accepted someone else, perhaps less
qualified but politically unquestioned, for the position would have presented fewer
5526 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
problems, but it is a matter of deep couvictioii with us tliat to do so would have
been an evasion of both responsibility and justice.
The following condensed quote from the Friends Committee on National Legis-
lation perhaps expresses more clearly our position than we could ourselves :
"We regard the preservation of civil liberties as an integral part of our common
responsibility as citizens. Moreover, we hold that individual liberty is precious
in a free society, and that it should not be sacrificed (without due process of law) .
Our law presupposes certain basic rights of each person : the right to confront
and cross-examine an accuser ; the right to legal counsel ; the assumption of inno-
cence before the hnv until proven guilty ; protection from guilt by association in
the absence of proof of individual guilt ; freedom to differ from the majority ;
and protection for the privacy of one's homes and one's conversation unless au-
thorized by a particular warrant. These rights are today being violated by irre-
sponsible accusations * * * and are being threatened by hysteria and prejudice.
We condemn treason or spying or any disloyal act. At the same time we highly
value free thought, free speech, and free association. We feel these latter to be
essential to the elimination of error or wavering loyalty."
That a person as well qualified as Mrs. Knowles for the position of librarian
should be denied her rightful role in the conmiunity for reasons no better than
rumor, suspicion, prejudice, or fear would be to us, and we hope to you, a mis-
carriage of the basic ideals on which democracy is founded.
On the basis of evidence we have at hand we will continue to regard Mrs.
Knowles as a loyal, concerned, and conscientious citizen.
The Library Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank the Com-
missioners for their support in the past, and to hope that their relationship to
the Library may again be a satisfying one.
(Signed) Mary R. Chapple
( For the Library Committee ) .
Mrs. Paul Tapley, Trustee.
Mr. Ray Riday, Trustee.
Miss Alice Ambler.
Mr. John Archibald.
Mrs. Charles Chapple.
Report of the Library Committee
(October 1954)
Most of you are familiar with Mrs. Knowles' professional qualifications.
Briefly they are as follows :
Beginning as a page, during her high school years in the Watertown, Mass.
Library she worked there 15 years, becoming successively general assistant,
Children's Librarian at their East Branch ; and finally head of the Children's
Department of the Watertown Library system which consists of a main library
and four branches. This service dated from the year 1923 to 193S.
While she was at college and again during the early years of her role as a
wife and mother she worked part time at the Bates College Library-
Taking up full-time employment again in 1945 she was a member of the ofl5ce
personnel of the Samuel Adams School for Social Science for 2% years. From
there she went, as librarian, in 1948 to the Morrill Memorial Library in Nor-
wood, Mass., where she served for a period of nearly 5 years.
While at the Morrill Library (1948—53) she represented the library on the
Norwood Board of the Boston Family Service Society. She was secretary-
treasuier for 2 of these years of the Round Table of Librarians for Young
Adults — a statewide organization affiliated with the Massachusetts State Library
Association, and the American Librai-y Association.
Mrs. Knowles was awarded a certificate on the basis of examination for pro-
fessional competency as a librarian by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
From Norwood she came to Philadelphia and was referred to us by the
librarian at the College of Physicians. Beginning in October of last year she
was employed by us as a substitute during the illness of our regular librarian
and served ably from October of 1953 to April 1954. Upon the retirement of our
regular librarian, Mrs. Sawyer, on September 1st of this year, Mrs. Knowles
was asked to fill the vacancy.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5527
Appointment as librarian and retention after appointment require not only
professional competence but involve the aflBrmative obligation of being diligent
and loyal in citizenship.
Ordinarily this latter question vrould not come up in seeking a librarian for
the Jeanes Library — but Mrs. Knowles' very honest and direct statements to
us when she was first interviewed, to the effect that she had been accused of past
membership in the Communist Party and that she holds a conviction, as ;i loyal
American, that to take a required oath is not a meaningful demonstration of
good citizenshiii — places upon the committee employing her the need to estab-
lish beyond doubt her qualifications.
We are satisfied that Mrs. Knowles meets the requirements of citizenship,
professional competence, and character — and that having fully met these
standards is entitled to the confidence and protection of the Committee.
We have read the testimony of Herbert Philbrick, a worker in the Cambridge
Youth Council, who volunteered his services to the FBI as an undercover agent
in the Boston area. He named in his report many people associated with the
Samuel Adams School for Social Sciences. Among them were Dr. Harley of
Simmons University and Professor Struik of MIT. In the records of the Velde
Committee (of the House) and the .Jeuner Committee (of the Senate) we found
no one connected with the school who had not availed themselves of the pro-
tection of the Fifth Ampudiiient.
The Association of American Universities issued a statement pertinent to these
hearings and though Dr. Harley was listed as Director of the School (during INIrs.
Knowles' employment there) and Dr Struik was listed as a member of the
faculty — both were retained by Simmons and MIT, respectively — and are at
present so employed.
In connection with this hearing we note that Senator Welker stated in open
session that "once yoia open up the subject matter you are not permitted to call
a stopping point in your testimony (by invoking the Fifth Amendment)."
This ruling led many of those who had not invoked the Fifth Amendment into a
position of having to name associates — understandably a thing some of them
were reluctant to do. Whether this influenced Mrs. Knowles' decision we can-
not state as a fact. We believe it did.
Philbrick's testimony to tlie Senate Judiciary Committee was given in 19.53,
between 5 and 6 years after Mrs. Knowles had left the Samuel Adams School
to become librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library at Norwood. In his testi-
mony to the House Un-American Activities Committee in 19.jl he did not men-
tion Mrs. Knowles; in 1953 he said, in executive session, that she had been a
party member in about 194.5-47.
As to loyalty oaths, Herbert Philbrick offered the following testimony to
the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 7, 1953 (Mary Knowles appeared
May 21, 1953) :
"When the question came up in Massachusetts about the teachers' oath law
* * * Communist Party members publicly, of course, carried on a great cam-
paign against the teachers' oath law, saying this was going to kill academic
freedom * * * but inside cell meetings they were told to sign the oath and, in
fact, to be the first to sign the oath, and that is actually what happened" (p. 765,
pt. 7).
"I think the evidence will prove that the Communist Party members did, in
fact, follow those instructions and that everyone of them signed the oath
because the oath meant nothing to them" (p. 765, pt. 7 "Subversive Influences in
the Education Process," Committee on the Judiciary).
The following are statements from letters in our files of people who were
thoroughly familiar with Mrs. Knowles' immediate background and who, of
course, knew her personally.
I. To Miss Ambler (Secretary of the Jeanes Library Committee) from Henry
J. Cadbury, Chairman of the American Friends Service Committee and Professor
Emeritus of Theology at Harvard University, October 1953 :
"I think there is every reason for you to expect the best of Mrs. Mary Knowles.
Her alertness, her easy approach to people, her skill in librarianship * * *
make her a i)erson too good not to be well employed."
"Edna Phillips who has worked intimately with her has never detected any
hint of dishonesty or even secrecy in all other matters. If you escape the
bogey of a distant past and her use of the Fifth Amendment (my guess is that
she was defending others rather than herself) you will have secured I think a
very competent worker,"
5528 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
II. To Miss Ambler from Edna Phillips, Librarian at Morrill Memorial
Library, Norwood, Mass., October 1953:
"During nearly 5 years (1948-53) Mrs. Knowles' record with us was excel-
lent. ( I heard of her through the Massachusetts Division of Library Extension,
and had high commendation of her from her former chief, the Librarian of the
Watertown, Mass., Public Library.)
"I have found her, in her life and work with us, very intelligent, well-read,
capable, and unusually considerate of others — both our readers and her fellow
staff members. She is gifted in her work with young people and has a fine
sense of humor * * * i can heartily recommend her for the position you men-
tion."
III. To Miss Ambler from Hannah Severns, Librarian, Moorestown Free
Library, Moorestown, N. J., May 4, 1954 :
"It is with real disappointment and regret that I feel I would like to write
you of the decision of our Library Board in regard to the nonappointment of
Mary Knowles.
"In fairness to each individual member, I feel the Board has given deep con-
sideration to the problem involved. None of us, with the exception of one
member, feels satisfied with the decision, I am sure.
"Mary Knowles is coming out tonight * * * and I feel after talking with
her last Sunday that her understanding and acceptance of our decision is
another evidence of her rare spirit and magnanimity. I am still hoping that
some library will be big enough to recognize the outstanding qualifications of
Mary Knowles, and that we ourselves may some day be big enough and fortunate
enough to have such a person as Mary Knowles as a member of our staff."
Although the taking of a loyalty oath is not required of our librarian, either
by the Committee or by the State of Pennsylvania — Mary Knowles made the
following statement as to her personal convictions pertaining to such an oath;
and although the Library Committee does not necessarily share her views on
this we defend her right to such a conviction :
"I have been aware of the need to offer prospective employers some degree
of assurance as to my present status, in fact I have felt it necessary to do so.
If you will recall, in October when I first met with the Committee, I told them
that since leaving the Samuel Adams School I have had no connection formal
or otherwise, with any so-called leftwing or "subversive" organization, and that
I do indeed uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of
Independence. When I met with you last week I again offered this. I would
like to submit to the Committee, in writing, the same statement, voluntarily and
freely given.
"On the matter of loyalty to the United States, I believe it is one of the
responsibilities of a mature citizen to be actively aware of and engaged in
the demonstration of such loyalty at all times. I think the imposition of a
loyalty oath robs a citizen of such responsibility, and weakens the need for
active participation on the part of the individual.
"Further, I find that conscientiously and consistently I cannot sign an oath
which I believe to be at variance with the very documents I do uphold, the
Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I am also extremely reluct-
ant to be a means of introducing to an institution, and thereby extending the
scope of, a measure, namely the Loyalty Oath, which does not apply under State
laws to that institution, whether or not such a procedure would be used only in
this instance.
"I do want to express to the Committee my appreciation of their understand-
ing and their willingness to explore the possibilities in this situation ; and of
their warm support and confidence in my work during the past 3 months. I
feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with the Committee,
and have had great pleasure in becoming acquainted with people in the
community and in the thought that I may have been able to be of some service
to them."
Enclosed in that letter was the following statement :
"I believe firmly in the United States of America and in the documents upon
which it is founded, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the
United States, and do support, obey and defend them. I do also support the con-
stitution of the State of Pennsylvania.
"Since leaving the Samuel Adams School I have had no connection, formal or
otherwise, with any so-called leftwing or 'subversive' organization" (February
8,1954).
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5529
For the further assurance of the Library Committee, she also made a notarized
statement as follows :
"Mary Knowles, being duly sworn according to law deposes and says that she
is not a Communist or a member of any subversive organization."
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
County of Delaware.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 22d day of September 1954.
C. I. Parks, Notary Public.
In summary, the issues with which the Committee has been confronted and the
conclusions which it has reached are these :
1. Should an accusation of past membership in the Communist Party be dis-
qualification for employment? We think it should not. An individual is entitled
to be judged by what he is now, not by what he has been in the past. If accusa-
tions of past membership in the Party make existence diflScult, persons will be
discouraged from leaving the Party ; we prefer that they be encouraged to leave.
2. Is it a disqualification for employment if a loyalty oath is declined? We
think not. A loyalty oath is a fixed form, a doubtful means at best of ascertain-
ing loyalty, and there are some who find it impossible for conscientious reasons
to take such an oath. We respect the right of a person to hold such a view whether
we agree with it or not. The pertinent evidence must be weighed; the form of
the evidence is immaterial.
3. Should a plea of the Fifth Amendment give rise to unfavorable inferences?
We think not. The Fifth Amendment reflects the great principle that every man
is innocent until proved guilty ; it states the constitutional right of every citizen
not to give evidence which might incriminate him. If from his silence an unfav-
orable inference is drawn — that is, if one assumes from that fact that he is
guilty — the spirit of the amendment is violated just as much as if he were com-
pelled to answer. The Fifth Amendment presupposes, and we know, that there
are valid reasons for an innocent person's declining to give evidence ; we think it
a mistake to assume in any case that an answer is declined for a bad reason.
In employing Mrs. Knowles we have recognized that a careful inquiry into her
present views would be wise. We have made that inquiry. It has seemed proper
to us that she should be judged for what she is, not for what she may have been.
In estimating her we have tried to set aside vague suspicion and to apply fair
standards rather than arbitrary tests. In our view Mrs. Knowles meets those
standards beyond question.
As small a pinpoint as Plymouth Meeting is on the map of these United States,
and as minute an issue as this appears to be in the overall support of Democracy
itself * * * your Library Committee feels it to be an opportunity to demonstrate
the faith of this community in the validity of a Democracy in which individual
freedom and the general welfare are safe from violation, infringement and exploi-
tation.
We are deeply disturbed at the increasing encroachments on the freedom and
integrity of the individual by irresponsible accusations, by pressures for conform-
ity in thinking, by charges of guilt by association, rather than the presumption of
innocence. All of these have their origin in fear and insecurity. Such practices
strike at the root of American political philosophy.
"There is a line — sometimes difficult to identify but always a vital demarca
tion — between punishing for individual acts of subversion and punishing for adher-
ence to political sentiments. Up to now, the American machinery for justice has
operated on the premise that an individual can and should be punished for com-
mitting specific wrongs, but not solely for holding an opinion that is heretical to
our concept of democracy. Stealing State secrets, conspiring to advocate the
forceful overthrow of Government or encouraging sabotage are included in the
category of specific, punishable wrongs. Indicating an interest in Marxist philos-
ophy or holding a membership card in the Communist Party have not been so
included" (Time Magazine, September 27, 1954, quoting from the Providence
Journal-Bulletin).
Submitted by the Library Committee, William Jeanes Memorial Library,
Plymouth Monthly Meeting of Friends.
5530 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
Public Statement of the Library Committee of Plymouth Monthly
Meeting
March 7, 1955.
To the Editor of the AmUer Gazette, Mr. William E. Straslmrg:
Dear Mr. Stkasburg: You have asked the Committee of the William Jeanes
Library to restate its beliefs and policies on employing Mrs. Mary Knowles.
The Committee feels a great responsibility to all our neighbors who live in
and around our community and who use and enjoy the William Jeanes Library.
There are involved in this appointment principles which we hold most precious
as members of the Religious Society of Friends, as well as citizens of the United
States.
Before we employed Mrs. Knowles we discussed her background, beliefs and
associations, with her and investigated them fully by other means. We were
aware of her use of the Fifth Amendment. We were aware of an accusation of
past association with the Communist Party. These things sharpened our
inquiry. Despite that we found Mrs. Knowles thoroughly competent and were
fully satisfied as to her trustworthiness and loyalty to her country. If at any
time evidence is presented to the contrary, Mrs. Knowles is here working every
day in Plymouth Meeting and is avilable to the already informed officials.
There has arisen no question about her ability. We have never had a better
library service. Other issues with which we have been confronted are these :
Should an accusation of association with the Communist Party 8 years ago be
disqualification for employment? We think it should not. Certainly, in a
Christian and democratic nation, the individual has a right to be judged on
the merits of his particular case. If he is a person of evident character and
there is nothing to indicate any recent association with the Communist Party,
it would be a denial of the very ideals on which our form of government is
founded, to so disqualify him.
Is it a disqualification for employment if a loyalty oath is declined? Loyalty
is a fact which goes beyond any particular form of words. The State does
not require a loalty oath of Mrs. Knowles. As Friends we have not, and shall not
require an oath of her, believing that truth is no stronger under oath.
Should a plea of the Fifth Amendment give rise to unfavorable inferences?
We think not. The right to be silent (Fifth Amendment) is equal to the right of
free speech, free press and freedom of religion (First Amendment) . These rights
must be respected for all persons or they are endangered for each of us.
Finally it is suggested that one who does not cooperate with a Congressional
Committee should be penalized by exclusion from employment in his chosen
field. But, when silence is the exercise of a constitutional right, to penalize
that silence would jeopardize that constitutional right. We think it impossible,
in the name of the defense of democracy to penalize in any way the exercise
of rights guaranteed by our Constitution. Such rights, however unpopular,
must be available without penalty to all, or they will mean nothing to any of
us.
Few persons today are in a situation more uncomfortable than one accused,
rightly or not, of association with the Communist Party. However casual the
connection, whatever the motive, no matter what he may do to purge himself, he
remains, for many suspect. No situation requires more Christian forbearance
and understanding. These we have tried to employ.
The Library Committee would like to express its gratitude to the community
for the intelligent consideration, good will and faith extended us in this matter.
That we have not made ourselves understood everywhere is inevitable, but from
these principles we cannot in conscience turn aside.
The Library Committee of the William Jeanes Memorial Library
(Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) :
Mrs. Paul Tapley, Chairman.
Mr. John Archibald.
Miss Alice AitBLER.
Mrs. Charles Chappel. (sic)
Mr. Ray Riday.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5531
A Statement Concerning Civil Liberties
Adopted By The Abington Quarterly Meetings Of Friends Held Fifth Month 7,
1953.
During the past 300 years the Religious Society of Friends (commonly called
Quakers) has frequently felt called upon to give expression to ideas and to
perform acts that have gone counter to prevailing opinion. These meetings,
composed of some 2,300 Friends in northern Philadelphia and lower Mont-
gomery and Bucks Counties, find themselves at this time impelled to make public
protest against a practice and an attitude that are coming to be acceptable to
more and more of our fellovp citizens. The practice we refer to is the attempt
to investigate and to test loyalty by various State and Federal bodies. The
attitude is the commonly held belief that such testing is a necessary part of our
fight against Communism.
Though we are aware that in so doing we lay ourselves open to a charge of
being impractical and unrealistic, yet we affirm that perfect love does indeed
cast out fear and that only through the power of love can trust and understand-
ing be fostered between neighbors, as between governments. Further, it seems
to us clear that loyalty can never be enforced. Only when our institutions,
through their integrity to their highest ideals and through honest practice of
their principles shall have deserved it, will they obtain the loyalty of freemen.
We see a need — and find it difficult to understand why others do not see this
need so clearly — for all men to be allowed to speak what they conceive to be
the truth, even when we abhor the purpose and meaning of such expression.
We regret the tendency, which seems to be growing, to set neighbor against
neighbor because of differences of opinion. Such differences, it is clear to us,
are the lifeblood of our communities, and they should be freely and fearlessly
expressed.
As Friends, we attempt to practice our belief that "There is that of God in
every man." As citizens of the United States we are strongly attached to our
belief that honest opinions honestly arrived at must be heard. We are deeply
troubled by the growing threats to these beliefs.
Thomas L. Knight,
Thomas S. Ambler,
Clerks.
Coulter Street Meeting House
47 W. Coulter Street
Germantown, Philadelphia
-5532 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
A QUERY AND ADVICES
ADDRESSED TO ERIENDS
ON CIVIL LIBERTIES
• Prcpaed by a called meeting of Friends at ScalUrgood
School in \owa on the 2nd to 4th of Fourth Month, 1954.
"I BELIEVED THAT LI BERTY TAS THE NATURAL RIGHT OF ALL MEN EQUALLY." - John Waolman
'If THEY KEEP TO TRUTH. THEY CAN NEITHER TAKE ANY OATHS NOR PUT ANY OATHS TO ANYONE." -
George Fox
"HE THAT FEARS UNTRUTH NEED NOT SWEAR, BECAUSE HE WILL NOT LIE... AND HE THAT DOTH NOT FEAR
UNTRUTH, WHAT IS HIS OATH WORTH'" - Williarn Peru,
"WE UTTERLY DENY ALL OUTWARD WARS AND STRIFE, AND FIGHTINGS WITH OUTWARD WEAPONS, FOR ANY
END, OR UNDER ANY PRETENCE WHATEVER; THIS IS OUR TESTIMONY TO THE WHOLE WORLD.
"THAT SPIRIT OF CHRIST BY WHICH WE ARE GUIDED, IS NOT CHANGEABLE, SO AS ONCE TO COMMAND US FROM
A THING AS EVIL, AND AGAIN TO MOVE US UNTO IT.
"FOR THIS WE CAN SAY TO ALL THE WORLD, WE HAVE WRONGED NO MAN'S PERSON OR POSSESSION^ WE HAVE
USED NO FORCE NOR VIOLENCE AGAINST ANY MAN, WE HAVE BEEN FOUND IN NO PLOTS, NOR GUILTY OF SEDITION,
WHEN WE HAVE BEEN WRONGED, WE HAVE NOT SOUGHT TO REVENGE OURSELVES. WE HAVE NOT MADE RESISTANCE
AGAINST AUTHORITY; BUT WHEREIN WE COULD NOT OBEY FOR CONSCIENCE-SAKE. WE HAVE SUFFERED... AND THE
CAUSE OF ALL THIS OUR SUFFERING. IS NOT FOR ANY EVIL. BUT FOR THE THINGS RELATING TO THE WORSHIP OF
OUR GOD. AND IN OBEDIENCE TO HIS REQUIRINGS OF US. -A Declaration from the people called Quakers presented to
Charles U, upon the 21st day o/ Eleventh Morah. 1660,
RELIGIOUS FAITH AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
From its beginnings 300 years ago the Religious
Society of Friends has opposed the use of force or
violence between individuals or nations. Because we
believe in conciliation, based on respect and love for
all peoples, it is equally impossible for us to advocate
the overthrow of any government by force and violence,
or to support the war-making effort of any government.
Our belief in that of God in every man, and in the
essential sacredness of the individual, is unalterably
opposed to the totalitarian way of life and its resul-
tant totalitarian state.
Moreovei, our nation is
"this nation
under God'
and V
»e reaffirm o
ur unshaken con
vice
ion that ou
highes
t allegiance
s to God. If there
is a conflic
"we o
ight to obey G
od rathe
r than men
Am
erican democ
acy wa
s foundec
or
a deep re
ligious
faith in the
ultimate
worth of
nan
a faith tha
man ha
s rights and r
esponsi
bilities gi
ven
by God; tha
free a
en will seek
truth
ind right
and
will choose
them
laiher than e
ror; th<
t men ne
ed
not fear "tc
follow
truth whereve
r It may
lead, nor
to
olerate erro
SO long as reason is left free to combat it". The
founders believed that a government whose power to
interfere with personal liberty is limited, is safer and
better than one which prescribes conformity to any
orthodox doctrine. We affirm our agreement with these
principles.
Today in a time of great social and political ten-
sioD many Americans are losing touch with the ideals
and sources of strength upon which this
rests. In response to the fears and hates of wa
fear even of their own weapons of war, they are lo
faith in man and his relation to God; they are lo
faith in the power of ideas freely arrived at to
and displace error. They are losing touch with
needs and aspirations of people in most of the re
the world. Indeed, in their fear of Co
are losing faith in democracy.
Civil liberties are founded on God's gift to man of
the ability to sc'irch for truth and the freedom to act
on what truth he finds. This freedom can only be fully
expressed in the social group and it should be to
maintain the conditions most favorable to man's ex-
ercise of his God-given rights that governments exist.
A government which carries out this responsibility
well is, as William Penn said, "a part of religion it-
self, a thing sacred in its institutions and end."
If we remember that God and not the state is the
source of the truth men seek, then any attempt on the
part of government to determine what men may or may
not believe, may or may not say, will be recognized
as a pervision of the government's function.
The threat of Communism has caused us to forget
these eternal truths. Yet. Communism jeopardizes our
way of life not so much by its political and economic
theories as by those totalitarian practices which de-
stroy moral fiber, erase human conscience and abolish
human freedom. A democratic government which
attempts to protect itself aga
ing totalitarian measures is i
des
t Con
reby
at it
fears,
threat
m by adopt-
bing to the
No amount
of war can
n the freedom and in-
spon
think
ible a
ng, by
charges of
they
of international tension, inti
justify measures which are ui
Increasing encroachment;
legrity of the individual by
by pressures for conformity
guilt by association, by insistence on assertions of
loyalty, and by the assumption of guilt, rather than the
presumption of innocence, all have their origin in fear
and insecurity, growing in large part out of the threat
of war and of Communism and out of the emphasis on
military strength and military secrecy. These are
essential features of totalitarianism. They create an
image of the state as the source of all truth and the
object of unqualified loyalty. This is Idolatry, and
strikes at the root of both American political philo-
sophy and of basic Quaker principle.
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
5533
A QUERY
Do Friends and Friends' meeiinQS seek faithfully to uphold our civil and religious
iibertie^. not only for ourselves but for all men?
ADVICES TO FRIENDS
In the light of these, our ancient Truths, Friends are advised:
X, To reaffirm their faith in the living God whose spirit
works in the hearts of ail men and to recognize that
God *orks to preserve the rights and liberties of men
• s He works through them; and also to examine once
more the underlying principles of our democracy.
2. Since the fear of controversy often impedes us in
the pursuit of truth, Friends are advised to welcome
coocroversy when it arises from differing opinions
honestly held. We should aim to develop a corporate
witness on freedom which will match the clarity of our
other testimonies. Through the creative use of con-
troversy we can discover new truth,
3- Friends are urged to be alert to dangers inherent in
censorship, and in conditions which would limit the
freedom of teachers to discuss current problems, and
in movements which would seek to enforce a narrow
orthodoxy of thought and expression.
Since freedom of expression has no meaning unless
there is a place where people can express their views,
Friends are specifically encouraged to provide fa-
cilities for the serious discussion of important, con-
troversial issues in an atmosphere of creative goodwill.
4. The influence of each individual in the local com-
munity is of great importance. Monthly Meetings
should encourage members to be alert and faithful in
their witness to Truth, providing for group action when
indicated. Yearly Meetings or national committees on
civil liberties, peace or other matters can never suc-
ceed unless the ground is prepared in the home com-
munities. It is hoped that Friends' publications
and organizations will give special attention to pro*
blems of civil liberties during the critical period ahead.
5. Friends should continue their efforts:
To secure equal treatment for all conscientious
objectors to military service, whether on religious or
other grounds;
lo change the law and the regulations to provide
mote favorable treatment for those with conscientious
scruples against registration for compulsory military
service;
To seek redress in the courts for violation of these
rights by government in order to establish more firmly
the legal rights of conscience and to curb abuses in
the administration of these laws.
Friends generally should support individuals who
have suffered loss of their livelihood by acting under
conscience in resisting conscription, or in opposing
loyalty oaths, or for seeking to uphold basic civil
and religious liberties.
6. Friends should deal with Communists, individuals
accused of Communism, or persons rejected by
society for other reasons, as human beings. Without
embracing false philosophies or condoning any error.
Friends should still regard all people as children of
God. If in prison they should be visited; and where
there is need, arrangements made for their families.
7. In the face of increasing pressure toward conformity
• a exemplified in non*disloyalty oaths. Friends
should re-examine their traditional testimony against
oaths which test loyalty by words instead of deeds,
intensify fear and suspicion, and imply guilt unless
innocence is proven, not to mention implying a double
standard of truth. True loyalty and allegiance can be
attained only by conviction, not by coercion. In the
words of the Five Years Meeting of Friends in 1945.
allegiance is to God and if this conflicts with any
convulsion by the state we serve our country best by
remaining true to our higher loyalty."
8. Friends are encouraged to exercise the responsi-
bility of citizenship by examining carefully specific
national issues affecting civil liberties and civil rights
and by taking action as appropriate. ^e view with
apprehension: the lack of protection of individual
rights in some Congressional Committee procedures;
the current proposals to permit wiretapping; the
operation of the Federal Loyalty-Security program; the
investigation of beliefs and associations by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the limitations
placed on the issuance of passports and visas with
adverse effect, among other things, on the holding of
scientific and religious conferences in this country,
as well as the free travel of American citizens abroad.
We encourage programs of education and legislation to
remove racial and religious discrimination and to
guarantee equal opportunities and rights to all citi-
zens. We advocate support of the International De-
claration of Human Rights.
9. In making statements to investigating officers and
agencies, friends should be especially careful for
the reputation of others, speaking only the objective
facts known to them, and guarding against misquo-
tation by making statements in writing where possible.
10. Finally, Friends are reminded that the loss of
civil liberties is an inevitable consequence of
the
olenc
the
curity. They have, therefore, an inescapable re-
sponsibility to work unceasingly for the elimination of
war through the establishment of a just economic and
political order, disarmament and the creation of true
world
WITH A PROFOUND SENSE OF HUMILI FY THAT WE HAVE
FALLEN SO FAR SHORT OF THE IDEAL REVEALED IN
THE LIGHT GIVEN UNTO US. AND WITH A CORRESPOND-
ING SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR FELLOW WEN
WE CALL ON ALL FRIENDS TO JOIN WITH US IN THE
PURSUIT OF THESE GOALS.
<A conference on Civil Libert!
Friends World Committee, at the
Yearly Meeting. 57 Friends were
20 Yearly Meetings, The Ameri
Committee, the Friends Committc
lation, the Friends World Committ
Association. This statement wg
all Friends.)
s was called by the
uggestion of Pacific
present representing
an Friends Service
- on National Legis-
e, and the Lake Erie
I issued by them to
F.CN.L. - I5m - April. 19^4
Copies are available free from:
"FRIENDS WORLD COMMITTEE=
American Section and Fellowship Council
20 South Twelfth Street
Philadelphia 7. PennsyUania
5534 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
STATEMENT ON CIVIL LIBERTIES ADOPTED BY THE
PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETINGS, 3/27, 1954
The Religious Society of Friends arose in days of conflict and persecution three
hundred years ago. Today the complex problems of national security and the preservation
of individual liberty present an issue of vital concern to all of us. Our belief in the
infinite worth of the individual human being and in "that of God in every man" carries
with it a corresponding responsibility to society as a whole.
We are deeply disturbed at the increasing encroachments on the freedom and
integrity of the individual by irresponsible accusations, by pressures for conformity in
thinking, by charges of guilt by association, by insistence on assertions of loyalty, and
by the assumption of guilt, rather than the presumption of innocence. All of these have
their origin in fear and insecurity. Such practices strike at the root of both American
political philosophy and Friends' basic concept of man's relationship to God.
We must reaffirm our belief in man's integrity; we must reawaken in our fellow
men a real faith in their spiritual nature. We appeal to all men to build with Divine
Guidance a democracy in which individual freedom and the general welfare are safe
from violation, infringement and exploitation.
A Statement on Civil Liberties Issued by the Representative Meeting of
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Fkiends
To the Monthly Meetings:
The Representative Meeting, which was originally constituted as a Meeting
for Sufferings to help Friends and others who were suffering from persecution
by protecting their legal rights, appealing to authorities and promoting remedial
legislation is again concerned with the protection of civil liberties. Since civil
liberties have been a primary concern of the Society of Friends from its beginning
we believe it is useful for us to review from time to time our testimony on this
subject, especially at present when our thinking requires clarification because we
are confronted with this old issue in a new and more threatening form.
One aspect of this concern as presented to us today is not new. Friends have
throughout their history been concerned with upholding the civil rights of the
Negro as a human being entitled to the same privileges and opportunities as
other races. Our position on this question is clear and needs no further clarifica-
tion at this time though some will want to bring about a quicli change for the
better through the enforcement of law and others will favor more gradual
changes as being more likely to succeed.
Our book of Faith and Practice (1955) quoting from a statement adopted in
1934 by both Philadelphia Yearly Meetings, states (p. 38) "that very individual
of every race and nation is of supreme worth ; that love is the highest law of life,
and that evil is to be overcome, not by further evil, but by good.* * * AVe believe
in those principles, not as mere ideals for some future time, but as part of the
eternal moral order and as a way of life to be lived here and now. * * * We
affirm the supremacy of conscience. We recognize the privileges and obligations
of citizenship ; but we reject as false that philosophy which sets the state above
the moral law and demands from the individual unquestioning obedience to
every state command. On the contrary we assert that every individual, while
owing loyalty to the state, owes a more binding loyalty to a higher authority — the
authority of God and conscience."
In accordance with these principles we are concerned by the threat to civil
liberties today due to the fear caused by the rise of Communism as a world power.
In order to check the growth of Communism, methods have been used which
endanger our freedom and create in our country an atmosphere of suspicion
and mistrust. As Friends we strongly oppose Communism because, for one
reason, it uses these same methods to produce uniformity of thought and action.
A beginning has been made in the use of these methods in America which may
be an entering wedge to a much greater effort.
Friends in the past have made great sacrifices on behalf of civil and religious
liberty, especially during the early years of Quaker history when governments
both in England and America sought to produce unif(n-mity by the suppression
of minorities. As Friends were the most radical of these minorities they
aroused the most opposition and the most persecution. Friends suffered severely
because of their disobedience to a law prohibiting attendance at a Friends
AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC. 5535
meeting, because of their refusal to pay tithes to the established church, and
because of their refusal to take an oath. This oath included a statement of
belief aimed primarily at Catholics. In this respect, it was similar to the loyalty
oath today directed against Communists. Because of this refusal Friends were
sometimes confused with those against whom the oath was directed just as they
are today. Friends objected to the oath not only because of Christ's conunand
against swearing but also because of its futility, its temptation to dishonesty,
and its recognition of a double standard of truth. In the Ameri( an Revolutionary
and Civil AVars, Friends refused to take the test oaths alth )ugh affirmation
instesid of swearing was allowed. In their refusal to submit to conscription for
military service they held to their principle that they must obey God leather than
man. Friends when brought before the courts did not hesitate to take advantage
of every possible means provided by law for their protection. This included in
a number of cases the exercise of the legal right to refuse to answer questions
which might incriminate them, a right much older than the Fifth Amendment.
The Society of Friends played an important part in the long struggle for
religious and civil liberty. For example, the philosopher. Whitehead, writes,
•'The apostles of modern tolerance, insofar as it exists, are Erasmus, the Quakers,
and John Locke." (Adventures of Ideas, p. 63.) The Charter granted by Penn
to Pennsylvania declared "no person or persons * * * shall be in any case
molested or prejudiced in his or their person or estate because of his or their
conscientious persuasion or practice."
In carrying forward this concern for civil liberty today we should remain
faithful to our past inheritance. The following I'ights are among those which
should be defended and extended :
(1) Every man has a right to believe whatever he thinks is true. The Con-
stitution guarantees freedom of belief and freedom of conscience. A man should
not be convicted because of his beliefs but only because of illegal actions. Mem-
bership in an organization of any kind should not determine guilt. AVe do not
recognize guilt by association.
(2) The right to employment should be based solely on fitness for the job
and not on past beliefs, actions, or associations. Men can and do change quite
radically and this possibility should always be taken into consideration.
(3) The exercise of the privilege against self-incrimination, as allowed by
the Fifth Amendment, is no evidence of guilt. Witnesses, whether guilty or
not guilty of a crime, may exercise this privilege in order to avoid being con-
victed of contempt of Congress when they refuse to answer certain questions
before Congressional investigating committees. Accordingly, the right to em-
ployment should not be abridged simply because of an appeal to the Fifth Amend-
ment. This position was recently taken by the American Association of Uni-
versity Professors, and also by the Supreme Court of the United States in the
Harry Slochower case on Fourth month 9, 1956.
(4) Friends should uphold those who cannot conscientiously testify to the
political beliefs and associations of others.
(5) Persons who have not been convicted of any guilty action or who may
even be guilty only of being liberal or internationally minded or who may,
quite innocently, have been associated with groups or persons suspected of
being subversive, sometimes suffer severe hardship because of vague suspicions
that they are sympathetic with Communism. While public opinion in this respect
appears to be improving we must continually remain alert and do whatever Is
possible to create in our country a feeling of mutual trust and confidence without
which successful democracy is impossible.
Because of the nature of our method of opposing Communism we may be
unfairly accused of being passive and inactive in the struggle for personal
freedom and the recognition of the supreme value of the individual as compared
with that of the state. But as Paul says, "The weapons of our warfare are
not carnal." We believe that falsehood can be fought only with truth, that
hatred can be vanquished only by love, and that evil can be overcome only by
good. The use of force whether under law or in war is not, as history shows,
successful in the conflict with ideas.
It is pointed out by those in favor of what is sometimes called "the free-enter-
prise system" that it is only in an atmosphere of freedom that new and creative
ideas can develop. A society dominated by the fear of being different from
generally accepted beliefs and standards of behavior is a dead, static society.
Friends have frequently dared to be unconventional and so have become pioneers
in many social reforms. The pressure exerted in America today toward mass-
5536 AWARD BY THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC.
mindedness and conformity must be resisted by those who remain faithful to
our American ideal of civil liberty, a religious inheritance which found its first
great expression in Penn's Holy Experiment. For the Society of Friends thi»
Ideal is based on our conviction that in every man there is a divine Source of
Truth.
Fourth month 20, 1956.
INDEX
Individuai,s
Page-
Ambler, Alice 5464, 5500, 5502, 5503, 5526-5528, 5530
Ambler, Thomas L 5531
Archibald, John 5463, 5464, 5511, 5513, 5514, 5526, 5530
Beatty 5519
Bennett, Richard 5463
Black, Maureen. ( See Ogden, Maureen. )
Bregy, Philip 5463, 5464^
Brodwick, Ray 5498
Browning, Helen 5488, 5498, 5513, 5516, 5517
Cadbury, Henry J 5527
Chappie, Mary (Mrs. Charles Chappie) 5464,
5465, 5472, 5473, 5482, 5495, 5499, 5517, 5518, 5521, 5526, 5530-
Cooper, Mrs 5465, 546T
Corson, Carroll 5481-5483, 5505, .5509, 5512"
Corson, George C 5469, 5486, 5503-5510 (testimony), 5512, 55ia
Corson, Mrs. Philip L 5464-5467, 5469, 5471, 5474, 5478, 5481, 5502, 5514
Crawford, Emily Livezey 5510-5514 (testimony)
Evans 5463
Freeman, David F 5459, 5460, 5463
Gloeckner, Fred 5463, 5465.
Gloeckner, Louise (Mrs. Fred Gloeckner) 5464,5513
Harley (Harrison) 552T
Hemsley, Henry 5467, 5488, 549^5503 ( testimony ), 5513, 5516, 5517, 5521
Hutchins, Robert 5481, 5482"
Jeanes, William 5470, 5504
Jones, Frank J. C 5490, 5491, 5505-
Kirkpatrick (Dr.) 5495
Knight, Thomas L 5531
Knowles, Mary 5460, 5462,.
5464-5492, 5495-5503, 5505-5509, 5511-5514, 5517-5521, 5524-5530-
Linton, M. Albert 5463, 5465
Loescher, Frank 5463
Miller, Mary R. (Mrs. William Jeanes) 5484,5504,5505-
Ogden, Maureen (nee Black) 5457-5483 (testimony), 5485, 5506, 5521, 5522
Parks C. I _ _ _ _ 5.529'
Philbr'ick, Herbert'l _Jl_JlJlVrJlJl~~_~__~~Jl_'l~__~Jl~l__~ 5462, 5478, 5490, 5527
Phillips, Edna 5527, 5528-
Foley, Irvin 546a
Riday, Ray 5496, 5516, 5526, 5530
Sawyer, Edith 5465, 5467^
5479, 5480, 5485-5487, 5495, 5496, 5503, 5504, 5519, 5520, 5526
Severns, Hannah 5528
Sheppard, Isaac I 5465, .5467, 5480, 5484-
5493 (testimony) , 5496, 5497, 5504, 5512, 5513, 5516, 5517, 5521
Sheppard, Lewis 5488, 5495, 5496, 5498, 5501, .5513, 5.516, 5517
Sherron, Martha ^ 5507, 5512
Shoemaker, Edith C 5472, .5473, 5506, 5510, 5512
Sprogell, Harry E 5460, 5461, .5463, 5464,
5467, 5468, 5472, .5474-5479, 5499, 5500, 5505, 5506, 5.521, 5-522
Stevenson, Mrs. William E 54.58
Strasburg, William E 5530
Struik (Dirk Jung) 5527
i
li INDEX
Page
Taplev, Lillian P. (Mrs. Paul Tapley) 5404, 54G5, 5472. 5480-5489, 5495, 5497,
5500-5502, 5507, 5511, 5514-5524 (testimony), 5524-5536 (statement)
Webster, Bethiiel M 5457
White, Gilbert 5482
Organizations
Americans Alerted 5462, 5464, 5479
American Friends Service Committee. ( See Religious Society of Friends. )
American Legion (Casey-Sheppard Post 895) 5485,5500
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) 5522
Valley Forge Chapter 5500
Ford Foundation 5460
Friends Committee on National Legislation. {See Religious Society of
Friends, Committee on National Legislation.)
Friends of the Jeanes Library Association 5461, 5462
Friends World Committee. (.S'ee Religious Society of Friends.)
Fund for the Republic, Inc 5457-5536
Germantown Friends School 5463
Jenner Committee. (See United States Government, Senate Internal
Security Subcommittee. )
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 5527
Moorestown Free Library 5528
Morrill Memorial Library (Norwood, Mass.) 5518,5520,5526,5528
Norwood Library. ( See Morrill Memorial Library. )
Plymouth Monthly Meeting. {See Religious Society of Friends.)
Religious Society of Friends 5484, 5489, 5531
Abington Quarterly Meeting of Friends 5525, 5531
American Friends Service Committee 5463, 5527, 5533
Committee on National Legislation 5526, 5533
Friends World Committee 5533
Lake Erie Association 5533
Pacific Yearly Meeting 5533
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting 5461, 5525, 5534
Plymouth Monthly Meeting 5457-5536
Samuel Adams School 5462, 5478, 5485, 5518-5520, 5526, 5527
Simmons University 5527
United States Government, Senate Internal Security Subcommittee 5462,
5475-5477, 5480, 5518
"Veterans of Foreign Wars 5522
William Jeanes Memorial Library 5460,
5484, 5491, 5492, 5498, 5499, 5515, 5525
Library Committee 5462, 5464, 5467, 5470, 5473-5475,
5478, 5484-5401, 5494-5500, 5503, 5507, 5508, 5511-5521, 5524-5530
Publications
Ambler Gazette__^ 5466, 5525, 5530
Conshohocken Recorder 5464-5466
Norristown Times Herald 5525
o
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