HARVARD COLLEGE
LIBRARY
GIFT OF THE
GOVERNMENT
OF THE UNITED STATES
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE
NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA— Part 2
HEARINGS
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMEEICM ACTIVITIES
HOUSE OF EEPEESENTATIYES
EIGHTY-FOUKTH CONGKESS
SECOND SESSION
SEPTEMBER 26, 1956
Printed for the use of the Committee on Un-American Activities
(INCLUDING INDEX)
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
84046 WASHINGTON : 1956
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
United States House of Repeesentatives
FRANCIS B. WALTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman
MORGAN M. MOULDER, Missouri HAROLD H. VELDE, Illinois
CLYDE DOYLE, California BERNARD W. KEARNEY, New York
JAMES B. FRAZIER, Je., Tennessee DONALD L. JACKSON, California
EDWIN E. WILLIS, Louisiana GORDON H. SCHERER, Oliio
RiCHABD Ahens, Director
II
CONTENTS
Page
September 24, 1956: Testimony of—
Bert David Gilden 5585
Harold Kent 5599
Bert D. Gilden (resumed) 5599
Harold Kent (resumed) 5605
Afternoon session:
Oliver R. Arsenault 5612
Frank Henrv Fazekas 5623
William Pistey 5631
Milton Weinberg 5636
Frank Peterson 5642
September 25, 1956: Testimony of —
Saul Kreas 5647
Worden C. Mosher 5653
Saul Kreas (resumed) 5654
Worden C. Alosher (resumed) 5656
Samuel Richter 5668
Afternoon session:
Harold W. Mosher 5678
Charlotte Richter (Mrs. Samuel Richter) 5685
Konstant ine Jakowenko 5689
Hyman Steinberg 5695
PAET 2
September 26, 1956: Testimony of — ■
Irving Dichter 5701
Josephine \\'illard 5712
Rowena R. Paumi 5725
Josephine Wiilard (resumed) 5726
Rowena R. Paumi (resumed) 5727
Joesph Barnes 5736
Lois Barnes (Mrs. Joseph Barnes) 5739
Afternoon session:
Samuel Davis 5742
Emma Davis (Mrs. Samuel Davis) 5745
Paul Bloom 5749
Doris Bloom (Mrs. Paul Bloom) 5751
Bernard Burg 5754
Saul Kreas (resumed) 5759
Samuel Gruber 576 1
Rowena R. Paumi (resumed) 5765
Samuel Gruber (resumed) 5765
Index I
III
Public Law 601, TOth Congress
The legislation under which the Plouse Committee on Un-American
Activities operates is Public Law 601, 79tli Congress (1946), chapter
753, 2d session, which provides :
Be it enacted hy 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
17. Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine members.
Rule XI
POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
(q) (1) Committee on Un-American Activities.
(A) Un-American Activities.
(2) The Committee on Un-American Activities, as a whole or by subcommittee,
is authorized to make from time to time investigations of (i) the extent, charac-
ter, 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
attacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitu-
tion, and (iii) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in
any necessary remedial legislation.
The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to the
Clerk of the House if the House is not in session) the results of any such 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. Subpoenas 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.
V
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
POWERS 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 diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American prop-
aganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and
attacks the principle of the form of government as guai-anteed by our Constitu-
tion, and (3) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in
any necessary remedial legislation.
The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to the
Clerk of the House if the House is not in session) the results of any such investi-
gation, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable.
For the purpose of any such investigation, the Committee on Un-American
Activities, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized to sit and act at such times
and places within the United States, whether or not the House is sitting, has
recessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, to require the attendance of
such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, and to
take such testimony as it deems necessary. Subpenas may be issued 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.
VI
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE
NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA— Part 2
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1956
United States House of Representatives,
Subcommittee of the
Committee on Un-American Activities,
New Haven^ Conn.
PUBLIC HEARING
A subcommittee of the Committee on Un-American Activities met
at 10 a. m., pursuant to recess, in the United States Courthouse, New
Haven, Conn., Hon. Edwin E. Willis (chairman of the subcommittee)
presiding.
Committee members present: Representatives Edwin E. Willis,
of Louisiana, and Bernard W. Kearney, of New York.
Also present: Representative Albert W. Cretella, of Connecticut.
Staff members present : Richard Arens, director ; Raymond T. Col-
lins, investigator.
Mr. Willis. The subcommittee will come to order.
Counsel will call the first witness.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Irving Dichter, please come forward.
Kindly remain standing while the chairman administers an oath
to you, sir.
Mr. Willis. Raise your right hand, please.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will
be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?
Mr. Dichter. I do.
TESTIMONY OF IRVING DICHTER
Mr. Arens. Kindly have a seat.
Mr. Dichter. Thank you, Mr. Arens.
Mr. Arens. Please identify yourself by name, residence, and occu-
pation.
Mr. Dichter. My name is Irving Dichter, my residence is 555
Trumbull Avenue, Bridgeport, Conn., and I am the executive board
member of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter
Workers.
Mr. Arens. Are you appearing today, Mr. Dichter, in response
to a subpena which was served upon you ?
Mr. Dichter. Yes, Mr. Arens.
Mr, Arens. And you approached me a while ago and advised me
that you did not have counsel ?
5701
5702 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. DicHTER. That is correct.
Mr. Arens. At that time, I advised you with reference to the right
which you have under the Constitution, and I sliould like to do so
again on this record, namely, that if I ask you a question, the answer
to whiclx, in your honest judgment, if truthfully given would furnish
information which might be used against you in a criminal proceedings
you have the privilege of declining to answer that on the basis of
the provisions of the fifth amendment to the Constitution of the
United States against self-incrimination.
Do you understand ?
Mr. DiCHTER. I do, sir.
Mr. Arens. Spell your name for us, would you, please ?
Mr. DicHTER. My name is Irving, I-r-v-i-n-g, Dichter, D-i-c-h-t-e-r,,
sir.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever been known by any name other than
the name Dichter ?
Mr, Dichter. No, sir.
Mr. Arens. Where and when were you born ?
Mr. Dichter. I was born in Austria on May 23, 1913.
Mr. Arens. Wlien did you come to the United States ?
Mr. Dichter. In 1921, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you come to the United States at that time as a
permanent resident ?
Mr. Dichter. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Are you a citizen of the United States ?
Mr. Dichter. I am, sir,
Mr. Arens. Was that by derivation or by naturalization?
Mr. Dichter. By derivation.
Mr. Arens. Your father is a citizen, I take it.
Mr, Dichter, My father is deceased,
Mr. Arens, Your father was a citizen ?
Mr, Dichter. Yes.
Mr. Arens. As of what date did you procure citizenship by deriva-
tion?
Mr. Dichter. I believe it was in 1926; I am not certain of the date
of my father's citizenship, but I am sure it was 5 years after he
arrived in this country.
Mr. Arens. Kindly tell us, if you please, a word about your
education.
Mr. Dichter. Well, public school.
Mr. Arens. Where, please, sir?
Mr. Dichter. In New York City and high school in New York
City, and 2 years I believe, or 2i^ years of college, sir.
Mr. Arens. '\Yliere did you attend college ?
Mr. Dichter. At New York University, sir, and at City College.
Mr. Arens. When did you complete your formal education?
Mr. Dichter, 1933,
Mr, Arens, Did you receive a degree of any kind?
Mr. Dichter, No, sir.
Mr, Arens, Did you receive or have you received since 1933 any
formalized instruction of any kind, character, or description?
Mr. Dichter. You mean have I gone to school since then?
Mr. Arens. Yes ; any formalized training of any kind, character, or
description.
I
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5703
Mr. DiCHTER. No, sir.
Mr. Arends. Have you attended any classes ?
Mr. DicHTER. It's a rather broad question. May I exercise tlie
privilege of the fifth amendment, sir ?
Mr. Arens. In your honest judgment, if you would give a truthful
answer to that question with reference to any specialized training
you may have had, do you feel you might be supplying information
which could be used against you in a criminal proceeding?
Mr. DiCHTER. Could I think the answer out a minute, Mr. Arens?
Mr. Arexs. Surely.
Mr. DiCHTER. I would stick to my former answer, Mr. Arens.
Mr. Arens. Now kindly tell us, if you please, sir, what was your
occupation as soon as you had completed your formal education in
New York ?
Mr. DiCHTER. "Well, I worked as a house painter. I didn't have
really an occupation. It was during the depression.
Mr. Arens. Give us, if you please, sir, the principal occupations
which you have had since you completed your formal education.
Dr. DiCHTER. Well, I don't think I have had any — my principal
occupation has been as representative of the International Union of
Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers.
Mr. Arens. When did that occupation commence ?
Mr. DiCHTER. 1941, sir.
Mr. Arens. "Wliere ?
Mr. DiCHTER. In, I believe, Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Arens. Who was your immediate superior ?
Mr. DiCHTER. A Mr. Edward Cheyfitz, C-h-e-y-f-i-t-z.
Mr. Arends. What was your duty or responsibility when you as-
sumed your position ?
Mr. DiCHTER. I was international representative, which is the broad
title for a representative.
Mr. Arens. Were you located in Cleveland or were you assigned
elsewhere and then sent to Cleveland ?
Mr. DiCHTER. No, I was engaged in — well, I worked in Cleveland;
is that what you are asking me ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir.
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, sir ; I worked in Cleveland.
Mr. Arens. In what line of work were you engaged when you as-
sumed your task as an employee of the International Union of Mine,
Mill, and Smelter Workers in Cleveland ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Prior to that, sir, I worked in Pottstown, Pa., for
the Dohler Diecasting Co.
Mr. Arens. At the time you were working for the Dohler Diecast-
ing Co., were you affiliated with the International Union of Mine,
Mill, and Smelter Workers ?
Mr. DiCHTER. No, the union was then an independent union ; it was
the International Association of Diecasting Workers.
Mr. Arens. Was that subsequently incorporated in the Interna-
tional Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, it was subsequently incorporated.
Mr. Arens. How long were you engaged in Cleveland, Ohio, with
the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers ?
Mr. DiCHTER. I don't have exact dates.
84046— 5&—pt. 2 2
5704 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Arens. Your best estimate?
Mr. DiCHTER. My best estimate would be about a year, sir.
Mr. Arens. Then where did you go ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Then I came to Connecticut, sir.
Mr. Arens. Have you been continuously so engaged in Connecticut?
Mr. DiCHTER. No, sir.
In 1945, 1 believe I was assigned to New York.
Mr. Arens. By whom ?
Mr. DiCHTER. By the international union.
Mr. Arens, You came to Connecticut in 1942 ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Approximately.
Mr. Arens. Approximately 1942?
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. What was your assignment at that time?
Mr. DiCHTER. Well, my assignment was to service local unions and
to organize.
Mr. Arens. How long were you so engaged here in Connecticut?
Mr. DiCHTER. Until 1945, 1 believe, sir.
Mr. Arens. Then what happened ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Then I was assigned to New York, sir.
Mr. Arens. In the same capacity ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, to represent the international union.
Mr. Arens. How long were you so engaged in New York City ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Five years, sir.
Mr. Arens, Wliat happened at the end of the 5 years?
Mr. DiCHTER. I was reassigned by the international umon to Con-
necticut, sir.
Mr. Arens. Have you been continuously employed here since that
time?
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, I have.
Mr. Arens. What is the total strength of the International Union
of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers?
Mr. DiCHTER. Nationally, sir ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir.
Mr. DiCHTER. Well, I would say about, it varies from month to
month, but I would say around sixty-five, sixty thousand.
Mr. Arens. The total strength internationally is about 85,000,
is it not ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Mr. Arens, I am not sure of these figures. If I had
them in front of me, I could give them to you.
Mr. Arens. In addition to the strength of the International Union
of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in the United States, are there
substantial numbers in Canada ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. There is an interlocking relationship between the Cana-
dian and the American International Unions of Mine, Mill and
Smelter Workers, is that not correct ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. How many members are there of the International
Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in the Connecticut area ?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5705
Mr. DicHTER. In the Connecticut area at the present time ?
I should say about 2,700, sir.
Mr. Arens. As an official of a labor organization, did you sign the
Taft-Hartley non- Communist affidavit?
Mr. DicHTER. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Was that signature and that affidavit true ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Sir, here I am getting into hazardous ground. I
would ask the privilege of the fifth at this point.
Mr. Kearney. I would like to ask the gentleman what he means by
"hazardous ground."
Mr. Dichter. Well, since I don't have counsel here, it is difficult
for me to consult on these questions. I would much rather have had
counsel, but he is not available; that is, the counsel for the interna-
tional union.
]Mr. Arens. Is that Nathan Witt ?
Mr. Dichter. That is right. This is the first time I have appeared
before a committee. I have some idea of what
Mr. Kearney. Of course you are not suggesting to this committee
that you are being interrogated against your will to have counsel?
Mr. Dichter. No, no ; I am not saying that at all, Mr. Kearney —
I see the nameplate in front of you — I am going to take the privilege
of the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. I personally would rather have us lean over backward
than take advantage of a man without counsel.
How many affidavits did you sign; Taft-Hartley affidavits?
Mr. Dichter. I believe two.
Mr. Arens. And the essence of that affidavit was that you were not
then a member of the Communist Party; isn't that correct?
Mr. Dichter. Again I would like to
Mr. Arens. I asure you that is a perfectly innocent question. The
essence of the affidavit is that you were not at the time of signing the
affidavit a Communist ; isn't that correct ?
I am not asking you now whether you were a Communist at the time
you signed the affidavit. I am only asking you, for the purpose of the
record, if the affidavit which you signed did not, in effect, state that
you were not at the time of the signing a Communist ?
Mr. Dichter. Sir, I would like to invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Normally, we would insist on an answer to that ques-
tion, but in view of the fact that you are without counsel, I shall not
ask the chairman to direct you to answer.
Did you take any official action immediately prior to the signing of
the non-Communist affidavit in accordance with the provisions of the
National Labor Relations Act ?
Mr. Dichter. I am again invoking the privilege of the fifth.
Mr. Arens. Did you resigii technical membership in the Commu-
nist Party immediately prior to signing the affidavit ?
Mr. Dichter. I am invoking the privilege of the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. Where are the 2,700 members in Connecticut; in what
entities do they labor?
Mr. Dichter. In Stamford, Conn.; Ansonia, Conn.; Torrington,
Conn., and in Thomaston, Conn.
Mr. Arens. Who are the other officials of the International Union
of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers in this area ?
5706 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. DicHTER. We have no other officials. We have international
representatives.
Mr. Henry Rapuna, Mr. Edward Coleman
Mr. Arens. Where is Mr. Henry Rapuna located ?
Mr. DiCHTER. In Ansonia, Conn.
Mr. Arens. What is his position?
Mr. DiciiTER. He is an international representative.
Mr. Arens. Do you know whether or not he signed a Taft-Hartley
non-Communist affidavit ?
Mr. DicHTER. Again I want to invoke the privilege of the fifth
on this.
Mr. Arens. What is the other person's name ?
Mr. DicHTER. Mr. Edward Coleman.
Mr. Arens. Where is he located?
Mr. DiCHTER. Ansonia ; that is where our headquarters are.
Mr. Arens. In what type of work are the men engaged who are
members of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter
Workers ?
Mr. DicHTER. In brass fabricating, sir.
Mr. Arens. In what plants?
Mr. Dichter. The American Brass Co., Ansonia, and Torrington ;
the Plume & Atwood Co. in Thomaston, Conn.; and the Stamford
Rolling Mills Co., in Stamford.
Mr. Arens. Does the shop steward system prevail in the opera-
tions of the International Union of Mine, Mills, and Smelter Workers ?
Mr. Dichter. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Under the shop steward system, a person who is a
member of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Work-
ers has access to all employees of that particular shop in which he is
engaged ; is that not correct ?
Mr. Dichter. Well, I don't know whether he has access to all the
employees. He services the employees in his department.
Mr. Arens. He has access to the physical facilities of the plant?
Mr. Dichter. He is an employee of the company; yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. He is an elected official of the local organization, is
he not?
Mr. Dichter. Yes; he is.
Mr. Arens. In practice, the officials from top to bottom generally
are in concert and companionship as they are in a political party ; is
that not correct ?
Mr. Dichter. Sometimes they are, sir, and sometimes not.
Mr. Arens. Wliat is the system that now prevails in Connecticut in
that respect ?
Mr. Dichter. They are elected by the people in their departments.
Mr. Arens. By and large, are the shop stewards of the same bent
or same allegiances as those in the higher echelon in the Intei'national
Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers ? i
Mr. Dichter. Sir, there are so many variations ■
Mr. Arens. How many shop stewards are there ?
Mr. Dichter. I have to think about this for a moment.
Mr. Arens. What is your best estimate ?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5707
Mr. DicHTER. My best estimate is that there are probably about
105 or 110 total shop stewards, sir.
Mr. Arens. Now tell this committee whether or not Henry Rapuna
is, to your certain knowledoe, a member of tlie Communist conspiracy ?
Mr, DiCHTER. I invoke the privilege of the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. You understand, do you not, that if you honestly ap-
prehend that an answer to that question, if truthfully given, could be
used against you in a criminal proceeding, you have the right to invoke
the privilege ?
Mr. DiciiTER. I am trying to understand these proceedings to the
best of my ability.
Mr. Arens. Tell us whether or not the second gentleman you men-
tioned, Edward Coleman, is to your certain knowledge a member of
the Communist conspiracy ?
Mr. Dichter. Again I want to invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you know Maurice Travis ?
Mr. Dichter. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Who is Maurice Travis ?
Mr. Dichter. Maurice Travis is the former secretary-treasurer of
our union.
Mr. Arens. Where is he now ?
Mr. Dichter. Just at the moment, sir, I couldn't tell you where he is.
Mr. Arens. What is his status with the law now ?
Mr. Dichter. Mr. Travis was convicted in Denver ; is that what you
are asking me, sir ?
Mr. Arens. Yes ; if you have knowledge of his status.
Mr. Dichter. That is his status.
Mr, Arens. He was convicted in Denver of what ?
Mr. Dichter. I don't know what you would call it.
Mr. Arens. It was not a traffic offense.
He was convicted in Denver of what ?
Mr. Dichter. The Taft-Hartley affidavit, sir. He false
Mr. Arens. Falsified his Taft-Hartley affidavit. He said he was
not a Communist as an official of the International Union of Mine,
Mill, and Smelter Workers, but he was ; isn't that correct ?
Mr. Dichter. I want to invoke the fifth on this.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever served in a closed Communist Party
meeting with Maurice Travis ?
Mr. Dichter. I want to invoke the fifth.
Mr. Arens. What is the extent of control by the leadership of the
International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers over the
organization?
I am not asking the nature of the control ; I am asking the extent
of the control.
Mr. Dichter. Perhaps if you want to phrase it some other way.
Mr. Arens. You phrase it your way, Mr. Dichter,
Mr. Dichter. Well, every one of our members, sir, is an entity unto
himself.
Mr, Arens, Were you elected to your present post ?
Mr. Dichter, Yes, sir,
Mr. Arens. By whom ?
Mr. Dichter, By the membership,
Mr. Arens, Is there an executive board over you ?
5708 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, sir.
Mr, Arens. Who is on the executive board ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Mr. John Clark, president of the union ; Mr. Orville
Larson, a vice president of the union ; Mr. Asbury Howard, vice presi-
dent of the union; Mr. Albert Pezzati, vice president of the union;
Mr. Alton Lawrence, board member ; Mr. Ray Dennis and Mr. Chase
Powers and Mr. Joseph Chavez.
Mr. Arens. Are any of those men, to your certain knowledge, not
members of the Communist conspiracy ?
Mr. DiCHTER. I invoke the privilege of the fifth.
Mr. Arens. Are you conversant with the investigation made by the
United States Senate Internal Security Subcommittee 3 years ago of
the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers when
we had hearings and in which I happened to be a participant, centering
in Denver, Colo. ?
Mr. DiCHTER. No, sir ; I am not.
Mr. Arens. Salt Lake City, Utah ?
Mr. DiCHTER. I know of them.
Mr. Arens. Are you conversant with the findings and conclusions
of the United States Senate Internal Security Subcommittee that the
International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers is controlled
lock, stock, and barrel by the Communist conspiracy ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Sir, I did not
Mr. Arens. Are you conversant with those conclusions ?
I am not asking you whether or not those are correct.
Mr. DiCHTER. I am not conversant with those conclusions.
Mr. Arens. Are you conversant with the fact that there was an
investigation ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, Mr. Arens, I know that.
Mr. Arens. Is the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter
Workers controlled lock, stock, and barrel by the Communist con-
spiracy ?
Mr. DiCHTER. I am invoking the fifth on that question, sir.
Mr. Arens. I put it to you as a fact and ask you to affirm or deny the
fact that the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Worlvers,
with 2,700 members in the State of Connecticut, is controlled lock,
stock, and barrel by the Communist conspiracy ?
Mr. DiCHTER. I am invoking the fifth, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Arens. During the course of the discharge of your official
duties as an international representative of the International Union
of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, have you taken directions and
orders from a person who, to your certain knowledge, was a member of
the Communist conspiracy ? ^
Mr. DiCHTER. I am taking the fifth, sir. *T^
Mr. Arens. Are you presently a member of the Communist
conspiracy ?
Mr. DiCHTER. I respectfully take the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of Elsie Willcox ?
Mr. DiCHTER. I take the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of Verne Weed?
Mr. DiCHTER. I take the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. You say you take the fifth. You mean, do you not,
that if you gave us a truthful answer to that question you would be
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5709
supplying information which might be used against you in a criminal
proceeding ; is that correct ?
Mr. DiciiTER. I am sorry, I have to take the fifth.
Mr. Arens. Do you honestly apprehend that if you told this
committee whether or not you know Elsie Willcox and Verne Weed,
you would be supplying information which could be used against you
in a criminal proceeding ?
Mr. DicnTER. I am sorry, sir ; I am going to have to take the fifth.
Mr. Arens. If you do not so apprehend, I assure you I am going to
ask the chairman to direct you to answer the question.
Mr. DicHTER. I so apprehend, sir. I get your point.
Mr. Arexs. Do you know a man by the name of Harold Kent ?
Mr. DiCHTER, I take the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Kent, would you kindly come forward, please?
Look over your right slioulder and tell us whether or not you know
that man.
Mr. Dichter. Are you talking to me, sir ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir.
]Mr. Dichter. I take the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Kent laid his liberty on the line before this
committee and testified under oath that while he was an undercover
agent in the Communist conspiracy he knew you as a member of the
concealed board of the Communist Party in the State of Connecticut.
Look him in the eye now and tell him whether he was lying or telling
the truth when he so testified.
Mr. Dichter. I take the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. Thank you, Mr. Kent.
What publication is circulated here in Connecticut, by the Inter-
national Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers ?
Mr. Dichter. Their union newspaper, sir.
Mr. Arens. What is the name ?
Mr. Dicpiter. The Union.
Mr. Arens. Is that the publication of which John Clark is the
editor ?
Mr. Dichter. Well, I am not sure. Clark is the president of the
union. I think the man assigned for editorial policy is a Mr. Pezzati,
secretary-treasurer.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever served in closed Communist Party meet-
ings with Mr. Clark ?
Mr. Dichter. I take the fifth.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever served in a closed party meeting with
Pezzati.
Mr. Dichter. I take the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you ever serve in the Armed Forces of this country ?
Mr. Dichter. No, sir.
Mr. Arens. Why ? What was your status at the time ?
Mr. Dichter. I am single-vision, sir. I can't see out of one eye,
and, therefore, I was not accepted.
Mr. Arens. I put to you as a fact, sir, and ask you while you are
imder oath to affirm or deny the fact that you are presently an agent
of the International Communist conspiracy operating via the arm of
the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers in this
State. If that is not so, deny it while you are under oath.
5710 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. DiCHTER. I take the fifth.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that would con-
clude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. Wn.Lis. Any questions ?
Mr. Kearney. Is your organization part of the CIO-AFL ?
Mr. DiciiTER. No ; we are not, sir.
Mr. Kearney. Did you ever apply for membership in that great
organization ?
Mr. DiCHTER. We were in the CIO, sir. We would like to be back
in again.
Mr. Kearney. You would like to be back in, but would the CIO
like to have you back?
Mr. DiCHTER. Sir, that question I can't answer.
Mr. Kearney. As a matter of fact, your union was expelled from
the CIO, was it not ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, sir.
Mr. Kearney. Can you tell the committee the reason why it was
expelled ? ,
Mr. DiCHTER. Well, w^e had some sharp differences with the CIO on
a number of questions.
Mr. Kearney. Was one of them the issue of communism ?
Mr. DiCHTER. It didn't look to us that way at the time.
Mr. Kearney. But it does now ?
Mr. DiCHTER. I wouldn't want at this time to go into just what all
the differences were.
Mr. Kearney. I did not expect that you would.
As a matter of fact, being truthful to yourself and to the commit-
tee, is it not a fact that the reason why you cannot obtain membership
with the CIO-AFL is because your union is Communist-dominated ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Sir, we had some real differences witli the CIO, and
the principal difference was that we felt our union should be run by
our own membership. We felt that they should decide the policy of
our organization. At that time there were some differences in policy
between us and the CIO, and that resulted in our being put out of
the CIO.
Mr. Kearney. Now, as a matter of looking for information, the
fact was, as I said, that while you desired to run your own member-
ship
Mr. DiCHTER. No, sir ; we desired our membership to run our union.
Mr. Kearney. Is that true? Does your membership run your
anion ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Well, sir, our membership votes on practically every-
thing that comes before our organization.
Mr. Kearney. All 2,700 members ?
Mr. DiCHTER. No, sir. I wish we could get everybody to vote, but
unfortunately
Mr. Kearney. I think it would be rather bad for you if you did.
Mr. DiCHTER. Sir, I would Avelcome it. I would welcome-it.
Mr. Kearney. Well, what I am getting at, and I go back to it again;
is it not a fact tliat you were expelled from membership in the CIO
because your membership was Communist-dominated by your officers?
Mr. DiCHTER. Mr. Kearney, I don't want to indicate my difference
of opinion from yours. This has become the generally accepted idea
as to why we were expelled at the time. We had differences with the
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IX NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5711
CIO as to any number of things. We had differences with them, as,
for example, politics. We had differences with them on the extent to
which they should intrude into the affairs of our union.
I am sorry that those differences were not resolved at that time. It
has become the generally accepted shibboleth; that is what every
paper writes, and that is ostensibly the reason.
Mr. Kearney. Has the International Union of Mine, Mill, and
Smelter Workers ever denied that ?
Mr. DiCHTER. Yes, we have, sir.
]\Ir. Arens. Mr. Dichter, it is a fact, is it not, that the reason given
by the CIO for expelling the International Union of Mine, Mill, and
Smelter Workers was that the (^10 found, in effect, that the Inter-
national Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers was controlled
by the Communist conspiracy ; is that not a fact ?
!Mr. Dichter. Mr. Arens, I haven't read the official reasons. This
is the commonly accepted reason, which is in all of the newspapers and
everything else.
Mr. Arens. Would you tell us, then, if you haven't read that fact,
is the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers con-
trolled by the Communist conspiracy?
!Mr. Dichter. I will have to invoke the fifth.
;Mr. Arens. Have you ever announced to the membership whether
or not you are a member of the Communist conspiracy?
Mr. Dichter. I will have to invoke the fifth.
Mr. Arens. Do you know if Travis has ever announced to the mem-
bership whether or not he is a member of the Communist conspiracy ?
]\Ir. Dichter. I will have to invoke the fifth.
Mr. Arens. Do you knoAv if John Clark has ever announced to the
membership whether or not he is a member of the Communist
conspiracy ?
Mr. Dichter. I will have to invoke the fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. You recognize now, do you not, that you are under oath
and you are subject to the pains and penalties of perjury if you do
not tell us the truth?
Mr. Dichter. Sir, I recognize that.
Mr. Arens. When you are released from your oath here and your
obligation to tell the truth, do you anticipate that you are going to
announce to the membership, "Of course I am not a Communist. Of
course I have never been a Communist, but I am not going to tell that
witch-hunting committee I am not a Communist" ? Is that what you
propose to do ?
Mr. Dichter. Sir, I don't know what I propose to do.
Mr. Arens. Why do you not stand up right now like a red-blooded
American and deny that you are a member of the Communist Party
while you are under oath ?
INIr. Dichter. Are you asking a question ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir.
Mr. Dichter. I invoke the fifth.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that would con-
clude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. AViLLis. Call your next witness, please,
^f r. Arens. Josephine Willard, please come forward.
I
84046— 56— pt. 2 3
5712 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Please remain standing while the chairman administers an oath to
you.
Mr. Willis. Will you raise your right hand, please ?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will
be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I do.
Mr. Chairman, may I respectfully suggest that the cameras be
turned off ? I am not very photogenic.
TESTIMONY OF JOSEPHINE WILLARD, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
VINCENT ZANELLA, JR.
Mr. Arens. Please, identify yourself by name, residence, and occu-
pation.
Mrs. WiLLARD. My name is Josephine Willard. I live in Bridge-
port at 44 Eric Street, and at present I am doing some office work.
Mr. Arens. Where are you engaged ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Where am I engaged ?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
Mrs. WiLLARD. Well, I would like to — I feel that that question, in
my opinion, violates my rights under the first, fourth, fifth, ninth and
tenth amendments.
Mr. Willis. What is the question ?
Mr. Arens. Where she works. She said she does office work.
I respectfully suggest that the witness be directed and ordered to
answer that question.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I haven't finished my answer, Mr. Chairman.
I further decline to answer the question because I feel that the
information sought by this question is a matter of public record avail-
able to the public generally, and I think that the question seeks to
entrap me.
Well, those are my reasons.
Mr. Arens. Tell this committee before we proceed if any Com-
munist wrote your answer on that card from which you are reading ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. What was the question ?
Mr. Arens. Did any Communist participate in the formulation of
that answer which you j ust gave to the committee ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Did a Communist write this ?
Mr. Arens. Yes. Did any Communist formulate that answer
which you just gave to the committee ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I would like to consult with my attorney, please.
Mr. Arens. Surely.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. I would like to invoke the first amendment and the
fifth amendment on that question.
Mr. Arens. Are you appearing today in response to a subpena served
upon you by the House Committee on Un-American Activities?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Are you represented by counsel ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Yes, I am.
Mr. Arens. Will counsel kindly identify himself ?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES EST NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5713
Mr. Zanella. Vincent Zanella, Jr., Bridgeport, Conn., 1115 INIain
Street, Bridgeport.
Mr. Arens. Please tell this committee where you are employed.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I decline to answer based on my previous reasons.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that this record
be cleared and that the witness be ordered and directed to answer that
question.
Mr, AViLLis. You are directed to answer that question.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. Do I have to ask every time to consult my counsel ?
Mr. Willis. You may consult counsel any time you wish.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. What was the question again in relation to my em-
ployment ?
Mr. Arens. Where do you work ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I invoke the fifth and first amendments.
Mr. Arens. Now the record is clear that you have been ordered and
directed to answer that question.
Mrs. WiLLARD. Yes.
Mr. Arens. How long have you been employed in your present
occupation ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I decline to answer, based
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully ask that the witness be
directed and ordered to answer that question.
Mr. Willis. You are directed to answer the question.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I decline to answer, based on the first and fifth
amendments.
Mr. Arens. What was your occupation prior to your present
occupation ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Well, I was out of work for a year and a half.
Mr. Arens. "Wlien were you out of work ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Prior to going to work in my present job.
Mr. Arens. What year was that ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I refuse to answer, based on my previous answer.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully ask that the witness be
ordered and directed to answer.
Mr. Willis. You are directed to answer the question.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I decline to answer, based on the previous reasons.
Mr. Arens. What was your employment prior to being out of work
for a year and a half ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I decline to answer, based on the previous reasons.
Mr. Arens. Do you honestly apprehend that if you told this com-
mittee what your work was prior to the time you became unemployed
for a year and a half, you might be supplying information which
might be used against you in a criminal proceeding ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I decline to answer, based on the previous reasons,
and I also decline to answer because I believe that this question, as I
said before, this information is of general knowledge, it is available to
the public generally, and I think the question is seeking to entrap me.
I further decline to answer this question because I believe that this
question seeks to elicit information which is beyond the scope of the
permissible inquiry granted, authorized to this committee by congres-
5714 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
sional resolutions, by the statutes, and by the United States Con-
stitution.
Mr. Kearney. Just a minute ; that is a very nice speech.
Mrs. WiuL-ARD. I don't mean to make a speech. Congressman. I am
trying to give my reasons for declining to answer.
Mr. Kearney. Well, we will give you 10 more minutes to make a
speech if you want to.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I don't intend to make a speech.
Mr. Kearney. How could that simple question, asking where you
were employed, entrap you ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Well, you see, questions of this type are available to
the public generally. They are a matter of public record, and I don't
know what you are going to lead into, and therefore I must invoke my
privileges under the Constitution.
Mr. Kearney. If you do not know what we are going to lead into,
why do you not invoke the fifth amendment on every question ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. It is my privilege. If I feel
Mr. Kearney. It certainly is your privilege.
Mrs. WiLLARD. If there is an avenue that I am not aware of.
Mr. Arens. I respectfully suggest, Mr. Chairman, that the witness
be ordered to answer the last principal question, namely, whether or
not she has an honest apprehension with respect to the preceding
question.
Mr. Willis. That question you are ordered to answer, and the Chair
informs you, although you have counsel, that that question is a simple
test of your honesty as to whether you are invoking the protection of
the fifth amendment in a legal, constitutional way.
Mrs. WiLLARD. What was the question that it was referring to ?
Mr. Arens. To clear the record, you were asked to give us the occu-
pation in which you were engaged in a certain period of your life.
You declined to do so and invoked the fifth amendment.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I invoked the first and fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Yes, ma'am.
Then we asked you if you honestly apprehended that if you gave us
a truthful answer to that question, you would be supplying informa-
tion which might be used against you in a criminal proceeding. You
have thus far declined to answer that last question.
We are insisting on an answer to that last question.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. Yes, my answer to that question is "yes."
Mr. Willis. Your answer is Yes, you do apprehend ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Yes ; I do.
Mr. Arens. Ma'am, I will not ask you when but where were you
born.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I was born in Italy.
Mr. Arens. When did you come to the United States ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I came when I was 1 year old.
Mr. Arens. Are you a citizen of the United States ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Yes ; I am.
Mr. Arens. Is that by derivation or naturalization ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. My father died before we were able to derive it, so
I became naturalized.
Mr. Arens. When were you naturalized?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I was naturalized in 1941.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5715
^Ir. Arexs. At the time you were naturalized, did you take an oath
to sui)port and defend the Constitution of tlie United States?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Yes; I did.
Mr. Arkxs. Did you have any mental reservations at that time?
Mrs. WiLLARD. None whatever.
Mr. Arens. At that time were you a member of an organization
dedicated to the overthrow of the United States and of the Constitu-
tion by force and violence?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I decline to answer, based on all my previous reasons.
^Nlr. Arens. What was your employment immediately preceding
this period that you will not talk about ; this blackout period ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I don't know what you mean by "blackout period."
Mr. Arens. This period that is sort of shrouded in secrecy. What
was your employment prior to the time you were unemployed for a
year and a half?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Wliat is the period that is shrouded in secrecy ?
Mr. Arexs. This period that you will not tell us about.
Mrs. WiLLARD. About the year and a half, or now ?
Mr. Arens. The employment you had immediately prior to the year-
and-a-half period of your unemployment.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I thought I answered that question before when you
asked me where did I work.
Mr. Arens. Answer it again, please.
Mrs. WiLLARD. Excuse me.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. I decline to answer, based on all my previous reasons.
Mr. Arens. Please tell us where you were educated.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I was educated in Bridgeport.
Mr. Arens. Tell us the nature of your education.
Mrs. WiLLARD. Well, what do you refer to ?
Mr. Arens. Did you go to high school ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Did you graduate from high school ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. No ; I wasn't able to.
Mr. Arens. How many years did you complete in high school ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I believe I was in my fourth year when I had to
leave.
Mr. Arens. What year was that ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I believe it was 1932. It might be 1931, but I think
it was 1932.
Mr. Arens. Please pick it up there and tell us your occupation im-
mediately after you concluded in high school in 1932.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. It is rather difficult. It is quite a distance away.
Mr. Arens. Just your best recollection, the first principal employ-
ment.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I remember having to leave high school because my
father was quite ill, and we helped him in the store, a hardware and
bicycle store.
Mr. Arens. Where was that?
Mrs. WiLLARD. In Bridgeport. We have lived all our life in
Bridgeport.
5716 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Arens. How long were you engaged in the hardware store after
you left high school ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Gee, I don't remember.
Mr. Arens. Would it be a matter of 4 or 5 years ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Not that long.
Mr. Arens. Three years?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Possibly.
Mr. Arens. Two years?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I am not sure.
Mr. Arens. As much as 2 years ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I would say so, but I am not sure about that period.
Mr. Arens. Then what was your next employment after you left
the hardware store?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Frankly and honestly, I don't remember exactly
where I went to work. I have had several jobs in various factories in
the city of Bridgeport but, if I were to give you an honest answer, I
just couldn't tell you. There were several.
Mr. Arens. What is the first job about which you do have an honest
recollection ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I know I worked but whether it's the first, fourth, or
fifth, I really couldn't tell you.
Mr. Arens. Tell us some of the employments that you have had.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I have worked in Casco's.
Mr. Arens. What is Casco's?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Casco Products in Bridgeport.
Mr. Arens. What is that establishment, please ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. They make auto cigarette lighters, one of the
products.
Mr. Arens. Tell us what other employment you had in, say, the late
thirties.
Mrs. WiLLARD. As I say, I am not going to pin myself. You say
late thirties ?
Mr. Arens. Your best recollection.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I do remember working in, oh, where they make
parts for brake linings, Raybestos. I remember working there.
Mr. Arens. ^Vhat was your occupation there, clerical ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. No ; I was doing some inspection work at the time.
Mr. Arens. Is there another establishment that comes to your mind
where you worked during this period of time ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I really don't remember.
Mr. Arens. Let us move on in the chronology of your life.
What is the next principal employment that comes to your mind ?
(The witness conferred Avith her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. I think, well the next period, there may have been
other places, and I don't remember them, but the next period that I
remember, I worked in the garment industry.
Mr. Arens. Where was that, please ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. There were several small places in the city.
Mr. Arens. Here in Connecticut?
Mrs. WiLLARD, I worked in Bridgeport all the time.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5717
Mr. Arens. Has all of your employment been in Bridgeport during
your adult life ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Yes.
Mr. Arens. At least focalized there ?
Mi-s. Willard. It has been in Bridgeport as far as I remember.
Mr. Arens. "VAHiat did you do in the garment industry?
Mre. Willard. I was an operator.
Mr. Arens. How long were you engaged in the garment industrj^ ?
Mrs. Willard. Well, we were unemployed so often, it was on and
oflf, I don't remember.
Mr. Arens. Was it into the forties, or are we still in the thirties?
Mrs. Wn.LARD. I would say it went into the forties.
Mr. Arens. What was your next principal employment ?
Mrs. Willard. That I decline to answer.
Mr. Arens. Is there any period, beginning after 1940 until the
present da}^, when you have been employed in an occupation you can
tell us about without furnishing information which could be used
against you in a criminal proceeding ?
Mrs. Willard. Would you mind repeating that again ?
Mr. Arens. Is there any period of your life after 1940 in which you
have been engaged in an occupation concerning which you can tell
us without giving information which could be used against you in a
criminal proceeding?
Mrs. Willard. After 1940?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
Mrs. Willard, I told you I worked in the garment industry into
the forties.
Mr. Arens. How late into the forties did you work in the garment
industry ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Willard. May I respectfully request that you ask the question
again ?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
Is there any period in your life from the time that you left the
garment industry until the present time when you have been
engaged in an occupation concerning which you could not tell us
without disclosing information which might be used against you in
a criminal proceeding?
Mrs. Willard. In an occupation ?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Willard. The answer to that is "No."
Mr. Arens. Then every occupation in which you have been en-
gaged since the early forties is an occupation concerning which, if you
told us, you would be supplying information which could be used
against you in a criminal proceeding ; is that true ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Willard. I invoke the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. Arens. I do not believe you understood it.
Mrs. Willard. Maybe. Perhaps you ought to repeat it.
Mr. Arens. Is every occupation in which you have been engaged
since you left the garment industry in the early forties of such nature
5718 COMIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
that, if you told us about it, you would be supplying information
wliicli could be used against you in a criminal proceeding ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. I decline to answer
Mr. Arens. I respectfully suggest, Mr. Chairman, the witness be
ordered and directed to answer that question.
Mr. Willis. You are dii-ected to answer the question.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I invoke the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. Arens. Now, in the course of your labors in the vineyard,
were you connected Avith the United Electrical, Eadio and Machine
Workers Union ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I didn't get that question. Something about the
vineyard ?
Mr. Arens. Well, your labors, your occupations. Have you been
employed in the United Electrical Workers Union ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Have I been employed by the United Electrical?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
Have you been identified, been a member of, or affiliated with, the
United Electrical Workers, UE ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. I invoke the first and fifth amendments and all of
the other reasons that I have given previously.
Mr. Arens. Do you honestly apprehend if you told this committee
whether or not you have ever been identified with the Electrical
Workers, you would be giving information which could be used against
you in a criminal proceeding?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. The answer is "Yes."
Mr. Arens. You have also been an author in the course of your
career ; have you not ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I invoke the first and fifth amendments. I don't
know what avenue you are going to get involved with.
Mr. Arens. Have you been an author ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. In what sense, a formal sense ?
Mr. Arens. Have you written articles ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I invoke the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. Arens. Would you tell this committee now if you have a recol-
lection about your happiest birthday? Did you have one birthday
in your life that stands out as one of the happiest birthdays ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I must confess, sir, that every birthday of mine is
a very, very happy one and we have a good time.
Mr. Arens. Did you have one that stands out in your mind above
all others ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. It's not my 16th.
Mr. Arens. Was there one that does stand out in your mind as being
your happiest birthday ?
Mrs. WiLLARD, Well, I must repeat that all my birthday parties,
and I have had them every year, have been very happy and gay ones,
and I hoped everybody had a gay time. I know I always did.
Mr. Arens. But is there one that stands out in your mind as being
one of your most happy occasions ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I always feel the last one was the happiest.
Mr. Arens. Did you write an article about your happiest birthday ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5719
Mr. Arens. Perhaps this might refresh your recollection.
I am going to lay before you an article which appears in a publica-
tion called Contact. Did you ever hear of that publication, Contact ?
( The witness conferred with her counsel. )
iVIr. Arens. This article is entitled "My Happiest Birthday . . .
and Why," by Josephine Willard.
For about five years I was the section chairman of my division, where about
300 women and 40 men manufactured the electric blanket. We are noted for
having the best stewards, highest pay, and best working conditions of any
division in the whole plant. This is no accident. We have led in every struggle
for better working conditions.
As a member of the Executive Board for the past 5 years, I held many responsi-
ble positions in the imion. I was chairman of the legislative and educational
committee, editor of the shop paper, and publicity director during the strike.
What is a Communist?
In 1946, I ran for State Representative on the Communist Party ticket. While
the majority of the people of my division and the whole shop knew I was a
Communist, still some were surprised and even shocked. The stewards of my
division — all non-Communists — decided that their people should learn what
Communism is — not from a non-Communist but from a member of the Party.
Two days later I was handed a petition with about 150 names, requesting a sec-
tion meeting to answer the following questions :
1. Why are you a Communist?
2. What is Communism?
3. What is the difference between the Communist Party and a union?
More than 100 men and women attended the meeting. Non-Communists spoke
during the discussion, saying that for the first time in their lives they had
heard an explanation of Communism. * * *
Then the article speaks about Red baiting and hysteria, and the
whole city buzzed with anti-Communist hysteria. Then it winds up
with a birthday greeting :
"A Happy Birthday to our champion, Joe Willard, who labors day and night
so that others may have life, liberty, and happiness. We of the second shift
Automatic Blanket wish you good luck and the fullest realization of your fondest
dreams."
I lay this article before you. I have read only a few excerpts from
it, but I would like you to tell this committee whether or not that re-
freshes your recollection of your literary pursuits during the course
of the blackout period, concerning which you cannot give information
because it could be used against you in a criminal proceeding. Does
that refresh your recollection?
Mrs. Willard. About my happiest birthday, you mean ?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
Mrs. Willard. I have had many happy birthdays. I refuse to
answer that question.
Mr. Arens. Do you recall that happy birthday occasion that you
wrote about ?
Mrs. Willard. I refuse to answer that question, based on the first
and fifth amendments.
yir. Arens. Are you the author of the article ?
Mrs. Willard. I refuse to answer.
Mr. Arens. I put it to you as a fact, and ask you to affirm or deny
it is a fact, that you are the author of that article, and that you were
a Communist and that this was written by yourself in the Communist
pul.ilication. Contact. If it is not true, please deny it under oath.
84046— 56— pt. 2 4
5720 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mrs. WiLLARD. I refuse to answer that question, based on the 1st,
4th, 5th, 9th, 10th, and 14th amendments.
Mr. Arens. Could you tell us some of your political activities during
this period about which you do not want to talk ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. My political activities?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I refuse to answer that question, based on the
previous reasons I have just given.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever sacrificed yourself on the altar of public
service, as a candidate ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I refuse to answer that question, based on my pre-
vious reasons.
Mr. Arens. Now I should like to lay before j^ou a photostatic copy
of an article appearing in the Sunday Herald of Bridgeport, Conn.,
February 23, 1947, "Commie Fight Linked With National Drive," in
which, among other things, the following appears :
Mrs. Josephine Willard, who ran for State representative on the Communist
ticket last November * * *
Would you kindly look at that and tell us whether or not you are the
Josephine Willard alluded to there as the person who ran on the Com-
munist Party ticket in November 1946 ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Willard. I invoke the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. Arens. Did you ever bring a suit against the Sunday Herald for
defaming your character, saying that you were actually a Communist
as they say here ?
Mrs. Willard. Did I bring a suit against the Herald ?
Mr. Arens. Yes.
Mrs. Willard. I refuse to answer.
Mr. Arens. You know, do you not, that if a person calls another
person a Communist, and he is not, the one who calls him a Commmiist
is subject to a libel action ; do you know that ?
It is a pretty awful thing these days to call a person a Communist.
Now you know, ma'am, that as a witness before this committee you are
entitled to certain pay. I think you get $7 or $9 a day, but in order to
do so you have to sign a pay voucher. Would you care to sign that
pay voucher while you are under oath ?
Mrs. Willard. My understanding of the rules of this committee is
that you only get paid after you are through testifying.
Mr. Arens. Do you care to sign your pay voucher now ?
Mrs. Willard. If you ask me to sign beforehand, wouldn't that be a
violation of the rules of the committee ?
Mr. Arens. Would you care to sign that pay voucher now ?
COlSmUNIST ACTIVITIES IX NEW ILWEX, CONN., AREA 5721
There is nothing' in the rules about when you should sign it, but
before we pay you, you have to sign. Would you care to sign while you
are under oath?
Mrs. WiLLARD. Why must I sign now ?
Mr. Arens. I ask if you care to sign the pay voucher now ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. You insist that I take my money first ?
Mr. Arens. I ask if you will sign your name to the pay voucher now
so we can see your signature.
Mrs. WiLLARD. You want to see my sigiiature ?
Mr. Arexs. We want to see your signature.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I will be glad to do that.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mr. Kearney. It is a very polite hearing, at least.
Mrs. WiLLARD. He is very polite.
Where would you like me to sign, or does it matter ?
Mr. Arens. Eight there where it says "Payee" ; that is the voucher.
Mrs. WiLLARD. How much is the witness fee ?
Mr. Arens. $7 or $9.
Mrs. WiLLARD. Let me sign first so that you can see my name.
Where does this tell about how much money we are going to get?
Mr. Collins. Right on the next page.
Mrs. WiLLARD. On this sheet?
Mr. Collins. Yes.
Mrs. WiLLARD. $9, Mr. Arens.
Mr. Arens. I do not know ; Mr. Collins handles those matters.
Mr. Kearney. Whatever it is, you will get it.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I signed, so I imagine I will get it.
Mr. Arens. This is your signature which you have just aflixed to this
voucher.
Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that this voucher be marked
"Willard Exhibit No. 1" and incorporated in the record.
Mr. Willis. It may be incorporated.
(The document referred to, marked "Willard Exhibit No. 1," was
incorporated in the record.)
Mr. Arens. Now I should like to show you a photostatic copy of a
nominating petition for 1946 elections for State representative of the
Communist Party, bearing the signature of one Josephine Willard.
The first name on this nominating petition is Josephine Willard, 555
5722 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
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Westfield Avenue. I ask you if that is your signature on that docu-
ment ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. WiLLARD. I invoke the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. Arens. Would you care to compare the signatures and see if,
on the basis of any past recollection, the two signatures look alike ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I invoke the first and fifth amendments.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that the photo-
static copy of the signature on the nominating petition I have just
presented to the witness be marked "Willard Exhibit No. 2" and in-
corporated in the record.
COM.MUXIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW ILWEN, CONN., AREA 5723
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5724 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Arens. Mrs. Willard, I lay before you a photostatic copy of a
leaflet or flyer with a photograph on it. Unfortunately, the photo-
graph is not too clear. Do you usually photograph better than this?
Mrs. Willard. I usually don't photograph well. That is why I
asked the cameramen not to take my picture.
Mr. Arens. This reads "Jo Willard, a workers' candidate for State
representative. Vote Communist. Pull fifth lever."
It was issued by the Communist Party of Bridgeport, 231 Fairfield
Avenue, telephone 5-2613.
Tell us whether or not you are the person whose photograph appears
there, and whether or not you are the person alluded to in that
exhibit.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Willard. I invoke the first and fifth amendments, sir. Would
you like to have this back ?
Mr. Kearney. Was that a petition to run on the Communist Party ?
Mr. Arens. This last document, General, was a flyer bearing a
photograph which was not too flattering.
Mr. Kearney. Is that a political party, the Communist Party?
Mr. Arens. The preceding exhibit is a nominating petition for
State representative on the Communist Party for one Josephine Wil-
lard, bearing a signature which, curiously enough, has a striking re-
semblance to the signature which appears now on the pay voucher for
the instant witness.
Mr. Kearney. This Communist Party; is that a political party?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Willard. Did you ask me if I believe that the Communist
Mr. Kearney. I asked, is the Communist Party a political party?
Mrs. Willard. To my understanding.
Mr. Kearney. Then why are people so secretive when they run
for office on the Communist Party ticket that they always invoke the
fifth amendment ?
Mrs. Willard. You see, sir, the Constitution guarantees that we
do not have to talk about our religion and our politics, and I feel that
it is an infringement on my personal rights.
Mr. Kearney. I should think, for the benefit of your party, and
assuming you are a member of the Communist Party, it would be
rather hard to campaign on the ticket when you did not even know
your own members.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mr. Kearney. That would be in contrast, would it not, to the two
great political parties of our Nation today ?
Imagine if all the Democrats and all the Republicans were hiding
in secrecy. How would these candidates running for office know who
to approach to ask them to vote for them ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Willard. Mr. Kearney, I believe that there will come a time
when people will be very glad and proud to tell about their politics, and
many other things that they believe in, but it's rather difficult in a
period of hysteria to go into things of that sort.
Mr. Kearney. Now that is old stuff.
Mrs. Willard. I hope it's old stuff.
COMAIUXIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5725
Mr. Kearney. I read it in the paper this morning.
Mrs. WiLLARD. I hope things will be better for everybody.
Mr. Kearney. I read in the paper this morning about a witness who
I think was the first witness we had before us. He said that these hear-
ings here today are worse than the Salem witch hunts.
How many votes did you get when you ran for State representative
on the Communist ticket ?
Mrs. WiLLARD. I invoke the first and fifth amendment, sir
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that in the pres-
ence of this witness, another witness be requested to come forward and
be sworn.
Miss Rowena Paumi, would you kindly come forward?
Remain standing while the chairman administers an oath to you.
Mr. Willis. Raise your right hand, please.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give
will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help
you God ?
Miss Paumi. I do.
TESTIMONY OF ROWENA R. PAUMI
Mr. Arens. Kindly identify yourself by name, residence, and occu-
pation.
Miss Paumi. Rowena R. Paumi, 83 DeForest Avenue, Bridgeport,
Conn. I am now a Bridgeport hairdresser.
Mr. Arens. Miss Paumi, I expect subsequently in the proceedings
today to interrogate you at length, but I should like at this time to
ask you if you have ever been a member of the Communist Party ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. And over what period of time have you been a member
of the Communist Party ?
Miss Paumi. Well, when I joined the Communist Party, it was in
1941, the latter part of August, but I first was a member of the Young
Communist League in 1941.
Mr. Arens. Then give us, if you would, please, just a thumbnail
sketch of your career in the Communist Party.
Miss Paumi. Well, I was in the Communist Party until the latter
part of 1942, and then I became inactive.
Mr. Arens. You were at that time ideologically identified with the
party ?
Miss Paumi. That is right.
Mr. Arens. Tell us what happened subsequently.
Miss Paumi. Subsequently to that I broke with the party, and I
was approached by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and they
asked me if I would rejoin the party at their request, and I did.
Mr. Arens. How long were you in the Communist Party at the be-
hest of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ?
Miss Paumi. I was in until the latter part of 1945, and I had to
become inactive because of the death of my parents. Then I joined
again, in the latter part of 1948. I was reactivated by Mike Rui^so.
Mr. Arens. You served in the party until when ?
Miss Paumi. To the week that I testified.
5726 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES EST NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Arens. In this year, 1956?
Miss Paumi. That is right.
Mr. Arens. From 1943 on, all of your service in the Communist
Party was solely and exclusively for the purpose of serving your
Government to procure information which was transmitted to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation; is that correct?
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
Mr. Arens. As I say, I expect to interrogate you at length on other
matters, but for the present I should like to ask you if, in the course
of your service in the Communist Party, you had occasion to make
the acquaintanceship of a person by the name of Josephine Willard?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Wliere did you know that person as a Communist ?
Miss Paumi. In Bridgeport, Conn.
Mr. Arens. And in what capacity did you know that person as a
Communist?
Miss Paumi. When I first met her in 1941, 1 knew her as an execu-
tive board member of the Communist Party in Bridgeport.
Mr. Arens. Do you see in the courtroom today the person whom
you knew as a member of the Communist Party ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Would you please point her out to the House Connnittee
on Un-American Activities ?
Miss Paumi. She is sitting on my left.
Mr. Arens. Is there any doubt in your mind ?
Miss Paumi. No, sir.
TESTIMONY OF JOSEPHINE WILLARD— Resumed
Mr. Arens. Now, Mrs. Willard, would you please look at the lady
who just testified under oath, and tell us whether or not she was lying
or whether she was telling the truth when she identified you as a mem-
ber of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Wn-LARD. Her?
Mr. Arens. Yes. Was she lying or was she telling the truth?
Look her in the eye.
Mrs. WiLi.ARD. Look her in the eye and tell her or you ?
Mr. Arens. Look her in the eye.
Mr. Willis. Tell it to your conscience. You are under oath before
this committee.
Mrs. Willard. I refuse to answer that question, based on the first
and fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. That will be all for the moment. Miss Paumi.
Have you, Mrs. Willard, ever known a person by the name of W. C.
Mosher?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mr. Arens. Worden Mosher ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Willard. I have to take the first and fifth, sir.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Mosher yesterday took an oath and laid his liberty
on the line and testified before this committee that he knew you when
he served as an undercover agent for the Federal Bureau of Investi-
gation in the Communist Party. He knew you as a member of the
Communist conspiracy. Was he lying or was he telling the truth ?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5727
Mrs. "WiLLARD. I refuse to answer, based on the first and fifth
amendment.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Kent, would you kindly stand up back there, please,
sir?
Would you please look over your right shoulder, Mrs. Willard, at
that man and tell us whether or not you have ever seen him before ?
Mrs. Wtllakd. The one standing up?
Mr. Arens. Yes, wearing tlie blue suit.
Mrs. Willard. I refuse to answer, based on the first and hfth
amendment.
Mr. Arens. That man laid his liberty on the line and testified under
oath before this committee 2 days ago that while he was an under-
cover agent for the FBI in the Communist Party he knew you as a
member of the Communist Party. While you are under oath, tell us,
was he lying or was he telling the truth ?
Mrs. Willard. I refuse to answer that question, based on the first
and fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. I put it to you as a fact and ask you to affirm or deny
it is a fact that you are presently a Communist.
Mrs. Willard. I refuse to answer that, based on all the reasons I
have previously given.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that would con-
clude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. Willis. The witness will be excused.
Mrs. Willard. Thank you.
Mr. Willis. The committee will take a 5-minute recess.
(A short recess was taken.)
Mr. Willis. The subcommittee will come to order.
Counsel will call the next witness.
Mr. Arens. Miss Rowena Paumi, kindly resume the witness stand.
TESTIMONY OF ROWENA R. PAUMI— Resumed
Mr. Arens. Miss Paumi, you previously have been sworn and stated
the facts respecting your Communist Party affiliations, did you not?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Now, would you kindly tell us the various posts which
you held in the Communist Party, particularly while you were an
undercover agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation ?
Miss Paumi. Well, at one time I collected dues for my group, and
another time I served on the membersliip committee, on the pi'ess com-
mittee, and social committees; another time on the Browder Brigade.
There were so many committees, I can't think of all of them at the
moment.
Mr. Arens. Would you kindly tell us the units, fractions, or cells of
the Communist conspiracy to which you were attached ?
Miss Paumi. Wlien I first joined the Communist Party, I was
attached to the Decca branch.
Mr. Arens. Where was that ?
Miss Paumi. Bridgeport, Conn.
Mr. Arens. Decca Records ?
Miss Paumi. It was a small branch of Decca Records, consisting of
S4046 — 56 — pt. 2 5
5728 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
the members worked in Decca, Communists belonging to the Decca
branch.
Mr. Arens. Will you please do this : as you identify a group, branch,
fraction or cell, will you kindly tell us the names of the persons who,
to your certain knowledge, were Communist Party members of each ?
Miss Patjmi. In the branch that I was in in Decca, starting in chron-
ological order first ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, please.
Miss Paumi. At that time, I recall they were myself, Harriet Gold-
ring
Mr. Arens. Spell that last name and spell any name that is not
easily ascertainable.
Miss Paumi. G-o-l-d-r-i-n-g.
Ther.i was a Jack Finn.
Mr. Arens. F-i-n-n ?
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
Mr. Arens. What year was this, please ?
Miss Paumi. Oh, I would say in the latter part of 1941.
There was a Jack Wyman for a short time, W-y-m-a-n.
Mv. AnENS. Have you told us the principal leaders of the cell ?
Miss Paumi. Well, yes. It was such a small branch. Later we
became the Decca-Columbia branch.
Mr. Arens. Now, please tell us of any other units with which you
were identified in the Communist Party.
Miss Paumi. Later I belonged to Decca-Columbia branch, and after
that we became the Bridgeport Club.
Mr. Arens. The Decca-Columbia branch went througli a transition
into the Bridgeport Club; is that correct?
Miss Paumi. That is right.
Mr. Arens. Can you give us the names of any persons who, to your
certain knowledge, were identified with the Bridgeport Club?
Miss Paumi. Mostly everybody in Bridgeport belonged to the
Bridgeport Club.
Mr. Arens. You mean most of the Bridgeport Communists ?
Miss Paumi. That is right.
You see, before we became the Bridgeport Club, I forgot to men-
tion, we were a few branches, such as the North End branch and East
End branch, and that didn't last long, and then we became one branch,
which was the Bridgeport Club.
Mr. Arens. Give us the names of those who, to your certain knowl-
edge, were members of the Bridgeport Club and were Communists.
Miss Paumi. There were Josephine Willard, Frank Peterson, Lou-
ise Sito, S-i-t-o, Esther Bailin, B-a-i-1-i-n, Frank Fazekas, Bill Pistey,
Oliver Arsenault.
From the GE, let's see, now, there were quite a few from there.
Mr. Arens. Have you given us the principal names occurring to
you at the present time ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. How recently were you in the Bridgeport Club ?
I
COMMUNIST ACTR'ITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5729
Miss Paumi. Till 10-15, when we had a transition then from the
Commnnist Political Association to the (^onnnunist Party.
Mr. Arexs. Is there another unit with M'liich you were identified in
the Communist Party?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir. When I was reinstated in the latter part of
1948, I was put in the 12-1^ branch, and then from there East End
branch, then from the East End branch we went back to a small group
which consisted of the Yellow Mill Village, the Success Park, and
12-B together. Then we became a Aery small group which consisted
mainly of a few people from Success Park, East End, and 12-B.
^Ir. Arexs. Do you have a recollection of those who, to your cer-
tain knowledge, were Communist members of that unit?
Miss Paumi. Yes ; they were Lois Barnes in this latter group, Louise
Sito, ]Mary Farkas, Addie and Harold Rogers in that group, and for
a short time Jean Lindsey and Louise Sito were in that group.
Mr. Arexs. How recently did you know Lois Barnes as a member of
the Communist Party ?
Miss Paimi. Until the time I testified in 1956.
Mr. Willis. That is this year.
Miss Paumi. This year.
Mr. Willis. Just a few months ago.
Miss Pau^ii. That is right, sir.
Mr. Arexs. Is there another group with which you were identi-
fied in the Communist Party ?
]Miss Paumi. Yes; I was in a small group which was Pearl Russo's
group. I Avas in with her for a short time.
Mr. Arexs. Where was that?
Miss Paumi. That was in Bridgeport, Conn.
Mr. Arexs. Who else was in that group?
jNIiss Pai MI. Well, it was Pearl, myself, Emmett Sykes, S-y-k-e-s,
Al Sutton, FoxAvorth, a man from the Brass and I forget his first name.
]\Ir. Arexs. Are those the principal persons AA-hose names come to
your mind ?
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
Mr. Arex's. Do you here and now identify each of those persons
you haA'e just named as a person who, to your certain knowledge,
was a member of the Communist conspiracy ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arexs. Is there another group or unit Avith which you Avere
identified (
Miss Paumi. Well, the East End, AAdiich Avas the East End branch,
■ consisting of YelloAA^ Mill Village and the 12-B. There Avere quite
a feAA- in that branch and they were — I recall some of them at this
time, they AA'ere Mike and Grace Yiichnick
Mr. Arexs. Spell that last name, please, ma'am. At least giA'^e us a
phonetic spelling.
Miss Paumi. Y-u-c-h-n-i-c-k. There was a Joe Thompson, and I
can't seem to recall all of them at this time aa'Iio were in that branch.
Mr. Arexs. Did you haA^e an affiliation AAdth the State entity of the
Communist Party ?
Miss Paumi. Well, I Avas asked to sit in on some of the State com-
mittee meetings.
5730 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. -Arens. Were those closed meetings?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Aeens. Permissible only to Commmiists?
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
Mr. Arens. To your certain knowledge, are there other persons, not
identified during these proceedings, who were members of the Com-
munist conspiracy, Statewise?
Miss Paumi. No, sir.
Mr. Arens. Do you have information respecting the activities and
techniques of the Communist Party underground in Connecticut ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Give us a brief description of the functions and activi-
ties oi the underground operations of the Communist Party in
Connecticut.
Miss Paumi. Well, I believe they started in 1950, around the time
of the first arrest of the 10 — 11, it was. When they were first ar-
rested, we started to take security measures. We were told not to
use the phones for contact because they were always afraid somebody
would tap the phones, and we were contacted. At any closed meetings,
we were contacted personally. We weren't using the mail as much as
we had used it previously. If it was an open meeting, we would send
fliers out, or letters, at that time, and also, if it was a closed meeting,
they would call us up and say to be at somebody's house at a certain
time. We would be picked up and then we would go to the meeting,
wherever it was.
Mr. Arens. Do you have any information respecting change of
identity, appearance of any of the comrades ?
Miss Paumi. I have known of instances where some tried.
Mr. Arens. Could you give us a few illustrations of that ?
Miss Paumi. I do know of one instance where I was asked to
change the appearance of one of the leaders of the Conununist Party
in Connecticut.
Mr. Arens. Did you have any information respecting an alert to the
comrades in the area that the House Committee on Un-American
Activities proposed to come to this area a few years ago?
Miss Paumi. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Tell us about that.
Miss Paumi. We were told at that time that if anyone approached
us from the House Un-American Activities Committee, or any kind
of investigation committee that we should contact our lawyer, which
was Sam Gruber at that time.
Mr. Arens. Do you know whether or not Sam Gruber was a mem-
ber of the Communist Party ?
Miss Paumi. Well, I have seen him at one closed party meeting.
Mr. Arens. ¥/as that meeting open only to people who were
Communists?
Miss Paumi. As far as I know ; yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Is there any other information you care to give us with
respect to the proposed visit by the House Committee on Un-
American Activities?
Miss Paumi. That is all, sir, I could think of right now.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5731
Mr. Arens. What is the ohjective of the Communist Party ?
Miss Paumi. Well, the objective of the Communist Party is to —
their main concentration was in the industrial plants to get as many
Communist Party members in industrial plants so that we could re-
cruit more members into the Communist Party, and also the Com-
munist Party feels that socialism will be here very soon.
Mr. Arens. By socialism, they mean communism, do they not?
Miss Paumi. Communism. We were taught at a recent class, I
would say in 1953, that war was inevitable between connnunism and
capitalism.
Mr. Arens. Plow serious is the (^ommunist conspiracy, particularly
in the Connecticut area of which you have knowledge ?
!Miss Paumi. To my knowledge, I would say it is a serious threat
to the industrial part of Connecticut and to the United States.
Mr. Arens. ISIiss Paumi, you at one time actually were ideologically
identified with the Communist Party, were you not ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Could you tell this committee in a casual way, informal
way, what makes a Communist ?
Miss Paumi. Well, I would say that if they were the intellectual type
of person, I would say that it is a change for them ; that they want to
see a change, and that is their way out. Also, I would say it is a
person who has had some disappointment in life or has some sort of
complex or has something in their background that they want to hide,
and where they are not welcome in society.
Mr. Arens. Are they dedicated ?
Miss Paumi. I would say 90 percent are dedicated, but some are
not.
Mr. Arens. Is there any doubt in their minds but that they are
going to overthrow the Government of the United States and eventu-
ally control the world ?
Miss Paumi. I wouldn't say that there is any doubt in their minds
about that. I think they believe that.
Mr. Arens. Did you, during the course of your experience in the
Communist Party, know a person by the name of Elsie Willcox?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you know her as a Communist ?
Miss Paumi. I couldn't say for sure whether she was or not.
Mr. Arens. Did you ever attend meetings with her ?
Miss Paumi. I have attended many meetings with her, but they were
the Connecticut Peace Council.
Mr. Arens. Those were open meetings ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you have occasion to know a person by the name
of Verne Weed?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you know her as a Communist ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you attend closed party meetings with her ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Do you here and now identify her as a person who, to
your certain knowledge, was a member of the Comnmnist conspiracy ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
5732 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Arens. Did you know a person by the name of Bernie Bui^i' ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you know him as a Communist ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Do you here and now identify him as a person who,
to your certain knowledge, was known by you to be a member of the
Communist conspiracy ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Do you know Lois Barnes ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you know her as a Communist ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. How recently did you know her as a Communist ?
Miss Paumi. Until 1956.
Mr. Arens. Did you serve in closed party meetings with her ?
Miss Paumi, Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you know a person by the name of Saul Kreas ?
Miss Paumi. I knew him. I saw him at the convention in 1945.
Mr. Arens. Open convention meetings or closed convention meet-
ings ?
Miss Paumi. It was a Communist convention, but they were open to
guests.
Mr. Arens. How recently was this ?
Miss Paumi. This w^as in 1945.
Mr. Arens. Do you recall the approximate season of 1945 ?
Miss Paumi. That was in the summer.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that w^ould con-
clude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. Willis. General Kearney ?
Mr. Kearney. Just one question.
Is there any doubt in your mind that the Communist Party of our
country is a part and parcel of the International Communist con-
spiracy ?
Miss Paumi. There is no doubt in my mind about that.
Mr. Arens. Have you information as to any fronts which were
controlled by the Communist Party during your experience in Con-
necticut ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir. They were the Civil Rights Congress, the
Connecticut Peace Council. Then at times, whenever the occasion
arose, we formed a different committee, like the Aid to the Wives
of the Smith Act Victims, then the Amnesty Committee, and then the
Smith Act Committee, and also the recent one was the Connecticut
Volunteers for Civil Eights and the Connecticut Peace Council.
Mr. Arens. Thank you very much.
That will conclude the staff interrogation, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Willis. Was there a chapter here, or movement, an organiza-
tion, to raise funds to secure justice for the Rosenbergs?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Willis. Will you describe some of the functions of that par-
ticular group, because this was the subject of quite a searching investi-
gation by this committee in Washington. We found that, nationwide,
all the huUaballoo about the organization was to secure a pardon for
COMAIUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5733
the Rosenbergs, wlio, of course, passed atomic secrets to the Soviets,
and it developed that the head people of the organizations were strictly
controlled, inspired, and used by the Comnmnist conspiracy.
I am -wondering if you could tell us a few words about the chapter
here in this area.
Miss Paumi. Well, during the time of the Rosenberg trial, we were
asked to send some money to the fund, or whatever we could spare.
There were so many funds going on that sometimes it was difiicult
to spread your money to different fund drives that were going on.
We were also asked to picket the White House.
Mr. Willis. Did you go to Washington?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir ; I did.
Mr. Willis. You may have been one of those I saw with my own
eyes, a bunch of Commies, picketing the President's residence, the
President of the United States.
Tell us, how did you liappen to go?
Miss Pau3ii. We had a drive on at that time to get all the members
of the Communist l^irty, and some of the members of the Connecticut
Peace Council also weni. Every day we hud different people ^oing
from Cmuiecticut to picket, and every day there was a picket line
around there.
I remember I went at night, 6 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday,
and got there about 9 o'clock in the morning, and we walked till about
5 or G o'clock, and then we went home. But that is the way it worked,
with ditTerent groups going every day.
Mr. Willis. Do you recall any of the people who went with you by
bus ?
Miss Paumi. I recall that nearly everyone in Connecticut who be-
longed to the party went.
Mr. Kearney. Was the witness, Richter, who created a demon-
stration in the courtroom yesterday, one of the picketers?
Miss Paumi. Well, I don't know if he went, but I do know his wife
went down one day ; Charlotte did.
^Ir. Kearney. In other words, he let others do the dirtj work for
him.
]\Ii.ss Pauimi. He may have gone, but I don't remember if he did.
yh\ Kearney. I did not mean to interrupt the chairman here, but
we did have, as he said, a very extensive investigation. I was quite
interested in the drive for funds in the State of Connecticut, or the
reason, and I can stand coi-i-ected on this.
I was informed, after tlie searching inquiry, that over $500,000 was
collected for this campaign, justice for the Rosenbero-s, and out of that
$500,000, $1,300 was left to the children. Where did the rest of the
money go?
Miss Paumi. AYell, they claim that they used it for literature and for
the lawyer, for propaganda.
Mr. Willis. And, actually, part of the propaganda was to raise
funds for the education of those children whom they paraded before
TV in Washington and elsewhere ?
Miss Paumi. That is correct.
Mr. Willis. Do you remember who had charge or made a bus tour
from here ?
5734 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Miss Paumi. I don't know who had cliar^^e of the bus, but I do know
that it seemed like everybody liad charge of everything. I know when
I was approached to go for picketing, I was contacted by 2 or 3 differ-
ent people at that time. I know that I went down with the Weinbergs.
I was at the Weinbergs' home that night and I saw
Mr. Willis. Do you recall any ladies beside yourself?
Miss Paumi. Who went that particular day ?
Mr. Willis. Yes ; the leader of the group.
Miss Paumi. Let's see. The day that I went, I went down with
Sam Tomach, and Joe Barnes, and a fellow by the name of Callanan,
and Ida Sito, but she is not a member of the party.
Mr. Willis. Do you know others ?
Miss Paumi. I know Elsie Willcox.
Mr. Willis. What connection did she have ?
Miss Paumi. She was sympathetic to the Rosenbergs.
Mr. Willis. But she was on the trip ?
Miss Paumi. She was on 1 or 2 trips, that I know. She had told me
that.
Mr. Willis. Was there anyone on that bus who was not sympathetic
to the Rosenbergs or to the cause of communism.
Miss Paumi. I wasn't on the bus, sir, but the car that I was in, we
were all sympathetic at that time.
Mr. Willis. The purpose of the trip, and this was only par.t of a
nationwide trek, was to pressure the United States to pardon the
Rosenbergs.
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
Mr. Willis. As a matter of fact, the people pressured two Presi-
dents, first President Truman and then President Eisenhower ; is that
not correct ?
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
Mr. Kearney. And Members of Congress ?
Miss Paiimi. That is right, sir.
Mr. Kearney. During the period that these committees were work-
ing in behalf of justice for the Rosenbergs, there were special trains
coming into Washington, caravans of buses, and automobiles. Who
paid for all this ; do you know ?
Miss Paumi. AVhy, I imagine all the front groups for the Com-
munist Party.
Mr. Kearney. Did they pay their own individual fares?
Miss Paumi. I did. Some of the others, their expenses were paid,
but I don't know who paid for them individually. Some paid and
some didn't.
Mr. Kearney. Those who did not, who paid their way ?
Miss Paumi. Well, that I can't say for certain.
Mr. Kearney. The Communist Party?
Miss Paumi. I imagine so.
Mr. Willis. Part of the hue and cry during that time, through leaf-
lets and agitation and handbills, was that the Rosenbergs had not been
granted justice and somehow they are two of the few people who were
lucky enough to be able to have their case come before the Supreme
Court seven times, and still they said they were being railroaded.
That was part of the propaganda, was it not ?
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
COTMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IX NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5735
]Mi'. WiLi.is. Is that tlic nature of the v>ork done by the so-called
front group ^
Miss Paumi, Yes.
Mr. Willis. In other words, the Rosenbergs were just typical of the
current issues that they pick up and agitate about ^
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
Mr. Willis. Is that what you meant a while ago about these front
groups which Avere created and put in front of the hard core leaders in
the Communist conspiracy?
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
Mr, Willis. That is the typical work of so-called front organi-
zations?
Miss Pau3ii. That is right, sir.
]Mr. Willis. Now, you worked for the Government of the United
States for a total of approximately how many years?
Miss Paumi. Since 1943.
]Mr. Willis. And you disassociated yourself from that work this
year?
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
Mr. Willis. Why?
Miss Paumi. Because I testified and it became obvious.
^Ir. Willis. In other words, you finally came out in the open as an
employee of your Government?
Miss Paumi. That is right, sir.
Mr. Willis. In fact, that is all you were; is that not true?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Willis. You were in constant commmiication with the Fed-
eral Bureau of Investigation, were you not?
Miss Paumi. I was.
Mr. Willis. And made periodic reports.
Miss PxVU3ii. That is right.
Mr. Willis. I suppose you realize, having been associated with the
FBI, that you had been thoroughly investigated, too ? Did you know
tliat ?
Miss Paumi. I imagined I was.
Mr. Willis. You imagine that, do you not?
Miss Paumi. Yes.
^Ir. Willis. Now, it has not been the habit of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation to put an ad in the paper or to send out telegrams
that it is investigating communism or any other type of work in which
it is engaged. It is not the habit of the Bureau to advertise that, is it ?
Miss Paumi. No, sir.
Mr. Willis. So when witnesses refer to you sometimes as an in-
formant, that burns us up on this committee to hear you described
simply as an informant without explaining the nature of the informa-
tion you are supplying. You are doing it at the suggestion of the
FBI ; is that not correct ?
Miss Paumi. That is right.
Mr. Willis. This committee recognizes the high caliber and ef-
ficiency of the FBI. Some of the investigators on this committee
are former s})ecial agents of that fine organization. One of them here,
Mr. Ray Collins, is a former special agent of the FBI as well as hav-
5736 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
ing had a brilliant war record as a fighter pilot. He sort of smiles
when you people engaged in obtaining information for yonr Govern-
ment are referred to as informers. In my book you are all right, and I
speak for the Committee on Un-American Activities. We liave been
created by Congress; we come up for review by the Congress every
year. We make our report each year. Congress has nearly always
voted unanimously to provide the funds for our work.
We get used to jeers and sneers and insinuations and intemperate
scenes, as we saw here day before yesterday, but we do not ever per-
mit ourselves to be goaded into not continuing with our work.
I want to compliment you for the contribution you have made on
behalf of our committee and others in making that work lighter and
more pleasant.
Mr. Kearney. I do not think I have anything to add to that state-
ment. I think that statement is powerful enough. These individuals
talk about your being an informer, but in my humble opinion you have
just done your patriotic American duty. You have more thoughts for
your country than these individuals who come here and to other
cities and take the fifth amendment. These are the people I call the
fifth- amendment Americans. I have only the utmost contempt for
them. If they have nothing to fear, they could testify, testify truth-
fully. They have the privilege, of course, and no one denies it to them.
But you notice the form of their answers, time and time again, not only
in the cities of New Haven, Washington, New York, but throughout the
Nation. So do not be concerned about people saying those things.
Mr. Willis. Along that line, on the question of loss of employment,
we read that people lose their jobs because they invoked the fifth
amendment.
That is not an accurate statement. If anyone here loses his job
as a result of his appearance before our committee, is it not more ac-
curate to describe the situation, perhaps, that the employers so con-
cluded because they were openly identified by live, true witnesses under
oath as being, or liaving been, members of the Communist conspiracy,
in addition to their invocation of the fifth amendment?
Thank you very much.
We are pressed for time and I think we will have to call another
witness before lunch, if you do not mind. We must conclude today.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Joseph Barnes please come forward.
Kindly remain standing while the chairman administers an oatli
to you.
Mr. Willis. Raise your right hand, please.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will
be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?
Mr. Barnes. I do.
TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH BARNES, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
RALPH LOCKWOOD
Mr. Arens. Please identify yourself, sir, by name, residence, and
occupation.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5737
^Ir. B.vRNES. My name is Joseph Barnes, and I live at 606 Trumbull
Avenue, Bridgeport.
Mr. Arexs. Occupation?
jNIr. Barnes. I am a set-up man.
Mr. Arens. Where are you employed ?
JNIr. Barnes. Siniier Manufacturing Co., Bridgeport.
^Ir. Arens. Are you api)earing today in response to a subpena v» hich
was served upon you by the House Committee on Un-American
Activities?
Mr. Barnes. That is right.
Mr. Arens. You are re]:)resented by counsel ?
]Mr. Barnes. That is right.
Mr. Arens. Will counsel identify himself, please ?
Mr. LocKwooD. Ealph Lockwood, 1188 Main Street, Bridgeport,
Conn.
Mr. Arens. How long have you been employed at the Singer Manu-
facturing Co. ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Barnes. Six months.
Mr. Arens. What was your employment immediately prior to the
period of your present service?
Mr. Barnes. May I consult with counsel ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir,
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Barnes. I respectfully invoke my rights under the fifth amend-
ment and decline to answer that question.
Mr. Arens. How long was A^our employment which immediately
preceded your present employment at Singer ?
Mr, Barnes. May I consult?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir ; at any time.
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Barnes. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that the witness
be directed and ordered to answer that last principal question.
Mr. Willis. Yes. You are directed to answer that question.
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Barnes. I would like to decline to answer the question, but I
think that even to state my reasons for declining to answer the question
may lead to further questions which might tend to incriminate me, I
must invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens, W^hat was your employment immediately prior to the
employment concerning which you cannot tell us without giving in-
formation which could be used against you in a criminal proceeding?
Mr, Barnes, May I consult?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr, Barnes, Same answer; fifth amendment.
Mr, Arens. Wliere were you born ?
Mr, Barnes, Springfield, Mass.
Mr. Arens. When?
Mr. Barnes. February 9, 1920,
5738 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Arens. Give us a word, please, about your education.
Mr. Barnes. I attended public schools in Springfield — grammar
school, junior high school. I attended high school for 2 years and
then left to go to work.
Mr. Arens. When did vou leave high school ?
Mr. Barnes. In 1936. "
Mr. Arens. What high school did you you attend ?
Mr. Barnes. Technical High School.
Mr. Arens. What city ?
Mr. Barnes. Springfield.
Mr. Arens. What was your first employment after you left school ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Barnes. I very respectfully invoke the protection of the fifth
amendment and decline to answer.
Mr. Arens. Was there any employment from 1036 until the present
time that you can tell us about w^ithout supplying information which
could be used against you in a criminal proceeding ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Barnes. No, sir.
Mr. Arens. Is it a fact that all of your employment since 1936 is of
such a nature that if you told this committee about it you would be
supplying information which could be used against you in a criminal
proceeding ?
(The witness conferred with his comisel.)
Mr. Barnes. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Were you ever employed at the Alfred Heckman Dis-
tributors ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Barnes. I am respectfully invoking my protection under the
fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Were you ever employed in an establishment located
at 24-6 Old Post Road, Fairfield, Conn. ?
Mr. Barnes. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever been identified with the Connecticut
Volunteers for Civil Kights ?
(The witness conferred ^vith his counsel.)
Mr. Barnes. I respectfully invoke my privileges under the first
amendment and the fifth amendment and decline to answer.
Mr. Arens. I put it to you as a fact and ask you to affirm or deny
the fact that at one time you were the principal moving official of the
Connecticut Volunteers for Civil Rights.
Mr. Barnes. I respectfully invoke my privileges mider the fifth
amendment and decline to answer.
Mr. x\rens. Have you been engaged in the dissemination in Con-
necticut of literature of some kind, character or description ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Barnes. I invoke the first and fifth amendments and decline
to answer.
Mr. Arens. During 1953, 1 put it to you as a fact that you were the
literature director for the Communist Party for Connecticut. If it is
not so, deny it while you are under oath.
Mr. Barnes. I decline to answer under the first and fifth amend-
ments.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HLWEN, CONN., AREA 5739
Mr, xVrens. Do you know a person by the name of Harold Kent ?
JNIr, Barnes. I decline to answer under the first and fifth amend-
ments.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of Rowena Paumi ?
Mr. Barnes. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Kent and Miss Paumi, would you kindly stand up ?
Would you please, Mr. Barnes, look over your right shoulder at
those two people and tell us whether or not you have ever seen them
before ?
Mr. Barnes. I decline to answer under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Barnes, Harold Kent and Eowena Paumi testified
under oath before this connnittee that they knew you as a member
of the (.'ommunist Party. Were they lying or Avere they telling the
truth?
Mr. Barnios. I decline to answer imder the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. For the purposes of identification, are you the husband
of Lois Barnes?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Barnes. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that would con-
clude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. Willis. The witness will be excused.
Mr. Arens. Mrs. Lois Barnes, please come forward ?
Kindly remain standing while the chairman administers an oath to
you.
Mr. Willis. Will you please raise your right hand ?
Do 3'ou solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will
be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?
Mi-s. Barnes. I do.
TESTIMONY OF LOIS BARNES, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL
RALPH LOCKWOOD
Mr. Arens. Please be seated and kindly identify yourself by name,
residence, and occupation.
Mrs. Barnes. Lois Barnes, 606 Trumbull Avenue, housewife.
Mr. Arens. Are you the wife of Joseph Barnes, who just vacated
the witness chair ?
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer under the privileges guaranteed
me under tlie fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you honestly apprehend that if you told this com-
mittee whether or not you are the wife of Joseph Barnes that you
would be supplying information which could be used against you in
a criminal proceeding ?
Mrs. Barnes. I think I might. I don't know, but I think I might.
Mr. Arens. You are appearing today in response to a subpena
which was served upon you by the House Committee on Un-American
Activities ?
Mrs. Barnes. That is right.
Mr. Arens. Are you represented by counsel ?
Mrs. Barnes. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Will counsel kindly identify himself ?
5740 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. LocKwooD. Ralph Lockwood, 1188 Main Street, Bridgeport,
Conn.
Mr. Arens. Where are you employed, Mrs. Barnes ?
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer on the grounds previously stated.
Mr, Arens. What is the nature of your employment ?
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer that.
Mr. Arens. How long have you been in your present employment?
Mrs. Barnes. Same answer as before.
Mr. Arens. ^Vliat was your employment innnediately pieceding
your present employment ?
Mrs. Barnes. Same answer as before.
Mr. Arens. Where were you born 'i
Mrs. Barnes. I was born in Ware, Mass.
Mr. Arens. Give us a word, please, about your education.
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer that.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest the witness be
ordered and directed to answer that question.
Mr. Willis. You are directed to answer that question. We aru
simply seeking information to which we are entitled.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Barnes. I went to grammar schools in Prescott and Green-
wich.
Mr. Arens. Are you used to speaking in public?
Mrs. Barnes. Well, do you want me to answer the question ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, please; answer this question.
Are you used to speaking in public ?
Mrs. Barnes. Do you withdraw
Mr. Arens. I do not comprehend why you are so reluctant to raise
your voice. You have been a public speaker in the past, have you
not?
Mrs. Barnes. May I answer the first question ?
Mr. Arens. Answer the second one now. We will withdraw the
first one for the moment.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer that under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. You have been quite a proponent of peace, have you
not, a very laudable objective ?
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer that under the first and fifth
amendment.
Mr. Arens. You were chairman of the Bridgeport Women for
Peace ?
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer that on the basis of the first and
fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. I put it to you as a fact, and ask you to affirm or deny
it is a fact, that you were chairman of the Bridgeport Women for
Peace.
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer that on the basis of the first and
fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. You are not ashamed of being a proponent of, or a par-
tisan for, peace, are you ?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5741
(The Avitness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Baknes. I decline to answer that on the same grounds.
Mr. Arexs. I should like to lay before you now a photostatic copy
of an article appearing in the Communist Daily Worker of May 15,
1952, "Bridgeport, Conn. — 400 Jam PP Election Rally for Peace
at Bridgeport.'' which, among other speakers, has listed a Mrs. Lois
Barnes, cliairman of the Bridgeport Women for Peace.
1 should like to ask you to glance at that article and tell us whether
or not that might refresh your recollection as to any of j'our speak-
ing activities and public appearances ?
(The Avitness conferred with her counsel.)
]\Irs. Barnes. I decline to ansAver on the basis of the first amend-
ment and the fifth amendment.
]Mr, Arexs. IVIr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that this docu-
ment be marked '"Lois Barnes Exhibit No. 1" and incorporated by
lef erence in the record.
Mr. Willis. It will be so incorporated.
(The document referred to, marked ''Lois Barnes Exhibit No. 1,"
Avas incor}Jorated by reference in the record.)
]SIr. Arexs. You have also been an author in your time, have you
not ?
Mrs, Barnes. I decline to answer on the basis of the first and fifth
amendment.
Mr. Arexs. I lay before you now a photostatic copy of an article
appearing in the Communist Daily Worker, Monday, December 19,
1955, Avith reference to certain publications
Mr. Willis. Do you mean the date of issue is 1955 ?
]Mr. Arexs. December 19, 1955, with reference to certain publica-
tions AA'hich are available at a Workers' Bookshop, including publica-
tions by a Lois Barnes, and ask you if you are the person alluded to
in that article.
( The witness conferred wdth her counsel. )
Mrs. Barxes. I don't recall ever being that Lois Barnes, I am sorry.
]Mr. Arexs. Have you been a coauthor of any works with Ernest
Hemingway?
]Mrs. Barxes. Not to my knowledge.
Mr. Arexs. Do you know a person by the name of Harold Kent ?
Mrs. Barx-^es. I decline to answer that on the basis of the fifth
amendment?
Mr. xVrexs. Do you know a person by the name of Eowena Paumi ?
]\Irs. Barxes. I also decline to answer that on the same basis.
Mr. Arexs. Mr. Kent and Miss Paumi, would you kindly stand up ?
Would you kindly look over your right shoulder and tell this com-
mittee whether you have ever seen them before ?
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer that on the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arexs. Mr. Kent and Miss Paumi testified under oath before
this committee that they knew you as a member of the Communist
conspiracy. Were they lying or were they telling the truth ?
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer that on the basis of the fifth
amendment.
5742 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Arens. Miss Paumi stated that you were a member of the city
committee of the Communist Party in Bridgeport from 1952 until
1956. Was she lying or was she telling the truth ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Barnes. I decline to answer on the basis of the first and fifth
amendments.
Mr. Arens. Have you had any employment since 1936 concerning
which you can tell us without giving information which could be used
against you in a criminal proceeding?
Mrs. Barnes. This is an area which I don't wish to go into, and
therefore I wish to say "No."
Mr. Arens. Let us get this record clear.
You wish to state, do you, that there is no activity, no employment,
in which you have been engaged since 1936 concerning which you can
tell us without giving us information which could be used against you
in a criminal proceeding?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Barnes. Well, this appears to be a fairly innocent question,
but I don't want to be led into an area which I don't wish to discuss
because it might be something that I don't want to
Mr. Arens. Why would you not want to discuss it ?
Mrs. Barnes. If it might be used against me in a criminal prosecu-
tion, of course.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I would respectfully suggest that would
conclude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. Willis. The committee will stand in recess until 1 : 30.
(Whereupon, at 12 : 20 p. m., September 26, 1956, tlie subcommittee-
recessed, to reconvene at 1 : 30 p. m. of the same day.)
AFTERNOON SESSION, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1956
Mr. Willis. The subcommittee will come to order.
Counsel will call the next witness.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Sam Davis, please come forward.
Remain standing while the chairman administers an oath to you.
Mr. Willis. Kindly raise your right hand, please.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give
will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help
you God ?
Mr. Davis. I do.
TESTIMONY OF SAMUEL DAVIS, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
CHARLES HENCHEL
Mr. Arens. Please identify yourself by name, residence, and occu-
pation.
Mr. Davis. Samuel Davis, 24 Beverly Road; occupation, dental
technician.
Mr. Arens. You are appearing today, Mr. Davis, in response to a
subpena served upon you by the House Committee on Un-American
Activities ?
Mr. Davis. That is right.
Mr. Arens. Are you represented by counsel ?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5743
Mr. Davis. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Will counsel kindly identify himself ?
Mr. Henchel. Charles Henchel, H-e-n-c-h-e-1, 152 Temple Street,
New Haven.
Mr. Arens. AVhere are you employed, Mr. Davis ?
Mr. Davis. Self-employed.
Mr. Arens. Where ^
Mr. DA^^s. Davis Dental Lab.
Mr. Arens. Are you the sole proprietor of the establishment ?
Mr. Davis. That is right.
Mr. Arens. How long have you been so employed ?
Mr. Davis. Since 1939.
JVIr. Arens. And what was your employment prior to 1939 ?
Mr. Davis. As a dental technician.
Mr. Arens. Where?
Mr. DA^^s. Well, I worked for close to 12 years at the New Haven
Dental. Prior to that, I worked for 5 years at another laboratory,
United Dental ; is that right ? It is so long back I can't remember.
Mr. Arens. Where w^ere you born ?
Mr. Davis. Riga, Latvia.
Mr. Arens. When?
Mr.DA\^s. April 26, 1904.
Mr. Arens. Wlien did you come to the United States ?
Mr. Davis. July 1921.
Mr. Arens. Were you admitted for permanent residence ?
Mr. Davis. That is right.
Mr. Arens. Are you a citizen of the United States ?
Mr. Da-s^s. That is right.
Mr. Arens. By derivation or by naturalization ?
Mr. Davis. Naturalization.
Mr. Arens. When were you naturalized ?
Mr.DA^^s. In 1930.
Mr. Arens. Where?
Mr. Davis. In New Haven.
Mr. Arens. At the time you were naturalized, did you take an oath
of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States ?
Mr. Davis. I did.
Mr. Arens. Did you have any mental reservations at the time you
took that oath of allegiance ?
Mr. Davis. No, I didn't have any reservations whatsoever.
Mr. Arens. At the time you took the oath of allegiance, were you a
member of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Davis. I will have to invoke my rights mider the Constitution
of the United States under the fifth amendment.
?vrr. Kearney. We cannot hear the witness.
Mr. Davis. I will have to invoke my constitutional right under
the fifth amendment on this question.
Mr. Arens. Now tell us a word about your education. Were you
educated in the old country ?
Mr. Davis. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Hovv^ old were you when you arrived here ?
Mr. Davis, I had very little formal education, what you may call
it. I had the equivalent of a Hebi-ew high-school education.
Mr. Arens. How old were you when you arrived ?
5744 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Davis. Seventeen ; 1904 to 1921.
Mr. Arens. Give us, if you please, sir, just a thumbnail sketch of
your principal employments since you have been a permanent resident
of the United States.
Mr. Davis. Only at my profession. I worked for 1 week at a gas
station when I came here, and I couldn't get a job at my own work so
I had to work at a gas station for about 1 week. The rest I worked
at my trade.
Mr. Arens. How long have you lived in New Haven, Conn. ?
Mr. Davis. Since I came here.
Mr. Arens. Where did you reside immediately prior to coming to
New Haven, Conn. ?
Mr. Davis. Riga, Latvia.
Mr. Arens. You came directly to New Haven ?
Mr. Daves. That is right.
Mr. Arens. Did you have a relative here at the time you came
to the United States ?
Mr. Daais. That is right.
Mr. Arens. "\Vho was that ?
Mr. Davis. My sister.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever belonged to a labor organization ?
Mr. Davis. I don't understand the question.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever been a member of a labor organization?
Mr. Davis. A union, you mean ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir.
Mr. Davis. Well, I wouldn't call it exactly a labor organization
because the dental technicians for a short period of time belonged to
the jewelers union just for a very short time, 6 months or so, and then,
belonging to the dental association. Dental Laboratory Association,
I was affiliated with that organization, but otherwise I was not.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever been associated with an organization
in the State of Minnesota ?
Mr. Davis. I was never there.
Mr. Arens. Of what organizations are you presently a member?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Davis. On this question I would invoke my right under the fifth
amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you belong to any organizations which are of the
nonsensitive variety, namely, those you can tell us about without
giving information which could be used against you in a criminal
proceeding?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Davis. I would refuse to answer that on my constitutional right,
fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of W. C. Mosher ?
Mr. Davis. I will refuse to answer that on my constitutional right
of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Mosher testified before this committee that while he
was an undercover agent in the Communist Party at the behest of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he knew you as a Communist.
Was he lying or was he telling the truth ?
Mr. Davis. I still invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of H. W. Mosher,
the son of W. C. Mosher ?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5745
Mr. Davis. Same answer.
'Sir. Arkns. Do you know a person by the nanie of Rowena Paumi ?
Mr. Davis. Same answer.
Mr. Arexs. Both Miss Paumi and H. W. Mosher testified that they
knew you as a member of the Communist Party. Were they lying
or were they telling the truth ?
Mr. Davis. Same ansAver.
Mr. Aeexs. What have been your political activities since residing
ill New Haven, Conn. ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Davis. I would invoke my right under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arexs. Were you a presidential elector back in the thirties?
]Mr. Davis. I Avill use my right under the fifth amendment.
Mr. AnExs. I lay before you now a photostatic copy of lists of the
Communist caiidiclates for November elections of 1930, 1932, 1934,
1936, and 1938, including a list of the presidential electors for 1932
and 1936, and ask you to look at that document and tell us whether or
not you are the Sam Davis alluded to as one of the presidential electors
of the Communist Party ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Davis. May I have that question, please ?
Mr. Arexs. Read the question, Mr. Reporter.
(Tlie pending question was read by the reporter.)
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Davis. On this question, I will have to invoke my rights under
the fifth amendment.
Mr. AnExs. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that would con-
clude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. Willis. The Avitness may be excused.
Call the next witness.
Mr. Arexs. Emma Davis, please come forward.
Please remain standing while the chairman administers an oath
to you.
]Sf r. Willis. Raise your right hand, please.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will
be the trutli, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you
God ?
Mrs. Davis. I do.
TESTIMONY OF EMMA DAVIS, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL, "
CHARLES HENCHEL
Mr. Arexs. Will you be seated, please.
^Irs. Daais. May I request that the television cameras be turned
off.
yh\ Arexs. Kindly identify yourself by name, residence, and occu-
pation.
Mrs. Davis. My name is Emma Davis, 24 Beverly Road; I am an
office worker.
Mr. Arexs. Are you related to the witness who just left the witness
chair ?
Mrs. Davis. Yes; T am his wife.
Mr. Arexs. Where were you born?
Mrs. Davis. I was born in Poland.
5746 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Arens. Are you appearing today in response to a subpena
served upon you by the House Committee on Un-American Activities ?
Mrs. Davis. Yes; I am.
Mr. Arens. Are you represented by counsel.
Mrs. Davis. Yes ; I am.
Mr. Arens. Will counsel kindly identify himself ?
Mr. Henchel. Charles Henchel, 152 Temple Street, New Haven.
Mr. Arens. When did you come to the United States?
Mrs. Davis. I came here in 1913 at the age of 4.
Mr. Arens. Are you a citizen of the United States ?
Mrs. Davis. I am.
Mr. Arens. Is that by derivation or by naturalization ?
Mrs. Davis. By derivation.
Mr. Arens. When did you acquire the status of a citizen of the
United States?
Mrs. Davis. In 1923.
Mr. Arens. Where are you employed?
Mr. Henchel. If the chairman would permit me to address the com-
mittee on this question for the purpose of making an offer?
I have an affidavit prepared and signed and sworn to by this witness
as to her present employment. The only purpose for making this offer,
rather than have her respond orally, is to avoid embarrassment, pub-
licity, notoriety to her employers, who are two prominent surgeons in
the city of New Haven and who are aware of the fact that she has been
subpenaed to appear here.
Mr. Arens. Would you answer further the question as to whether
these two employers are aware of the fact that she has been identified
by three live witnesses, undercover agents for the FBI, as a member
of the Communist conspiracy ?
Mr. Henchel. I have no way of knowing their knowledge.
May I ask that the Chair rule on that. I would like to submit the
affidavit.
Mr. Willis. Counsel has a purpose in asking these questions.
Mr. Arens. Now, please tell this committee where you are em-
ployed ?
Mr. Henchel. May I make a comment for the record ?
Mr. Willis. You are not permitted.
Mr. Arens. Please tell this committee where you are employed.
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Davis. Mr. Arens, I would like to have the privilege of present-
ing this in writing for the same reasons that my counsel gave.
Mr. Arens. Now, please respond orally to the question. Where are
you employed?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Davis. I am employed by Dr. Maxwell Lear and Dr. Harry
Noble.
Mr. Arens. TVTiere?
Mrs. Davis. 1172 Chapel Street.
Mr. Arens. What capacity?
Mrs. Davis. Secretary-receptionist.
Mr. Arens. How long have you been so employed ?
Mrs. Davis. Going on 7 years.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5747
Mr, Arens. What was your employment immediately prior to tliis?
Mrs. Davis. I was a housewife and a mother raising a family.
Mr. Arens. IVliat was your employment immediately prior to the
time that you assumed your housewifely duties and responsibilities as
a mother?
Mrs. Davis. I was an office worker.
Mr. Arens. Where?
Mrs. Davis. In a dental supply office.
]Mr. Arexs. Are you presently a member of the Communist Party ?
(The witness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Davis. I decline to answer that and invoke my privilege of the
fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Are you presently under Communist Party discipline?
]Mrs. Davis. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever run for public office ?
( The Avitness conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Davis. I decline to answer and I invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Were you a one-time candidate for State treasurer on
the Communist Party ticket ?
Mrs. DA^^s. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. I lay before you now a document which we have pro-
cured from the secretary's office of the State of Connecticut, listing
the names of persons who were candidates for public office on the Com-
munist Party ticket, November election, 1932, on which appears the
name of Emma Davis as the candidate for the office of treasurer.
I ask you if you are that person ?
( The witness conferred with her counsel. )
Mis. DA^^s. I decline to answer that and invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. I respectfully suggest, Mr. Chairman, that this docu-
ment be marked "Emma Davis Exhibit No. 1" and incorporated by
reference in the record.
Mr. Willis. It will be so incorporated.
(The document referred to, marked "Emma Davis Exhibit No. 1,"
was incorporated by reference in the record.)
Mr. Arens. I lay before you now a photostatic copy of a comparable
document procured from the office of the Secretary of State of Con-
necticut, listing the presidential electors for 1936, and the candidates
for Congress on the Communist Party ticket, including Congressman
from the Third Congressional District, Emma Davis, 160 Gilbert
Avenue, New Haven, Conn. I ask you if you are the Emma Davis
referred to in that document ?
Mrs. DA^^s. I decline to answer that and invoke the fifth.
Mr. Arens. I respectfully suggest, Mr. Chairman, that that docu-
ment be marked "Emma Davis Exhibit No. 2" and incorporated by
reference in the record.
Mr. Willis. It will be so incorporated.
(The document referred to, marked "Emma Davis Exhibit No. 2,"
was incorporated by reference in the record.)
Mr. Arens. I lay before you now a nominating petition for Novem-
ber 1946 elections under tlie designation of the Communist Party, bear-
ing a signature, Emma Davis, 458 Fountain Street, Ward 30. I ask
you if you Avill kindly tell us whether or not that is your signature
appearing on this photostatic copy of that nominating petition?
5748 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
(The witness conferred -vvith her counsel.)
Mrs. Daa^s. Same answer.
Mr. Willis. Does counsel offer that document ?
Mr. Akens. Yes.
Mr. Willis. It will be appropriately marked and incorporated by-
reference.
(The document referred to w^as marked "Emma Davis Exhibit No.
3," and incorporated by reference in the record.)
Mr. Arens. Mrs. Davis, do you know a person by the name of W. C.
ISIosher ?
Mrs. Davis. I invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of H. W, Mosher ?
Mrs. Davis. Same answer.
Mr. Abens. Do you know a person by the name of Rowena Paumi ?
Mrs. Daves. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. Miss Paumi, would you kindly stand ?
Mrs. Davis, would you please look over your right shoulder and tell
us whether or not you recognize that lady standing there ?
Mrs. Davis. I decline to answer and invoke my privilege of the
fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. That lady testified under oath that she knew you while
she was an undercover agent in the Communist conspiracy. Was she
telling the truth or was she lying ?
Mrs. Daves. I invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. W. C. Mosher and his son, H. W. Mosher, both testi-
fied under oath before this committee that they knew you as a member
of the Communist Party while they were undercover agents for the
Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Communist Party. Were
they lying or were they telling the truth ?
Mrs. Davis. I refuse to answer that and invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. I respectfully suggest, Mr. Chairman, that would con-
clude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. Henchel. May I note in the record that in 1936 Mr. Cretella
was not the incumbent.
Mr. Kearney. Let me ask you a question. Counsel.
I understand you are a city judge in the city of New Haven.
Mr. Henchel. That is right.
Mr. Kearney. When you preside, do you allow attorneys in your
court to carry on like that ?
Mr. Henchel. We conduct our court in a more or less informal
manner.
Mr. Willis. Next witness, please.
Mr. Arens. If the chairman please, Mr. Paul Bloom kindly come
forward.
Mr. Cretella. I might say to counsel, while I am not a member
of the committee, I am most gracious to the chairman for his generosity.
Mr. Willis. Will you raise your right hand, please ?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will
be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help
you God ?
Mr. Bloom. I do.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5749
TESTIMONY OF PAUL BLOOM, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
CATHERINE G. RORABACK
Mr. Arexs. Kindly identify yourself by name, residence, and
occupation.
Miss RoRABACK. Might I request that there be no television or
cameras ?
Mr. Arens. Kindly identify yourself by name, residence, and
occupation.
Mr. Bloom. My name is Paul Bloom and I live at 17 Asylum Street,
New Haven, Conn. I am a clerk in an investment house.
Mr. Arens. Are you appearing today in response to a subpena which
was served upon you by the House Committee on Un-American
Activities.
Mr. Bloom. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Are you represented by counsel ?
Mr. Bloom. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Will counsel kindly identify herself ?
Miss RoRABACK. Catherine G. Roraback, 185 Church Street, New
Haven, Conn.
Mr. Arens. Wliat is the nature of your employment ?
Mr. Bloom. Clerk.
Mr. Arens. In what establishment ?
Mr. Bloom. Brokerage house in the city of New Haven.
]Mr. Arens. What is the name of the brokerage house ?
Mr. Bloom. Gruntal & Co.
Mr. Arens. "Wliat do you do as clerk at the brokerage place?
Mr. Bloom. I handle the cash, I take in securities, and hand out
securities, take in cash, and make out checks.
Mr. Abens. How long have you been so employed ?
Mr. Bloom. I have been employed in brokerage houses
Mr. Arens. How long have you been employed in the present estab-
lishment ?
Mr. Bloom. 1950.
Mr. Arens. What was your employment immediately prior to your
j)resent employment ?
Mr. Bloom. I worked for Eisel, King, Labarie, Stout & Co.
Mr. Arens. Is that a brokerage firm ?
Mr. Bloom. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Where is that located ?
Mr. Bloom. It was located at 177 Church Street, New Haven.
Mr. Arens. How long did you work there ?
Mr. Bloom. The exact dates I don't know, because they succeeded
another house and took over another house at the same time.
Mr. Arens. What is your best estimate as to the period of time that
you were employed ?
Mr. Bloom. I think it was 1942 or 1943.
Mr. Arens. What was your employment prior to that time?
Mr. Bloom. Before that, with Labarie, Stout & Co.
Mr. Arens. Is that a brokerage firm ?
Mr. Bloom. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Was that located in New Haven ?
Mr. Bloom. Same address.
Mr. Arens. How long were you employed there ?
5750 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Bloom. I think tliey came in, I can't recall, the late thirties,
maybe 1938.
Mr. Arens. What was your employment immediately preceding the
employment in 1938 ?
Mr. Bloom. Slepack & Co.
Mr. Akens. What was the nature of the business ?
Mr. Bloom. Investments.
Mr. Arens. Where located ?
Mr. Bloom. I think the address was 197 Church Street.
Mr. Arens. How long were you employed with them ?
Mr. Bloom. Well, they had a partnership that broke up. I can't
remember, maybe 1935 or 1934, I can't remember the dates.
Mr. Arens. Wliat was your employment imediately prior to that
employment ?
Mr. Bloom. Prentiss & Slepack.
Mr. Arens. What was the nature of the employment ?
Mr. Bloom. Investment house.
Mr. Arens. How long were you employed by them ?
Mr. Bloom. I was employed by them since 1931.
Mr. Arens. Where were you born ?
Mr. Bloom. New York City.
Mr. Arens. A word, please, sir, about your education,
Mr, Bloom, I attended grammar school 2 years in New York City,
and the rest of my education in New Haven, at the grammar school,
New Haven High School, and Yale College,
Mr, Arens, Did you graduate from Yale College?
Mr, Bloom, Yes,
Mr, Arens. When did you graduate from Yale ?
Mr, Bloom, 1930,
Mr, Arens, What degree did you receive ?
Mr. Bloom, Bachelor of science.
Mr. Arens. I take it from the dates which you have enumerated
that you went from Yale to the brokerage firm; is that correct?
Mr, Bloom. At that time there was a big depression on, so I was
unemployed for about a year,
Mr, Arens, Then your first employment was with the brokerage
firm?
Mr, Bloom, Right with the brokerage firm,
Mr, Arens, For the purposes of identification, are you the hus-
band of Doris Bloom ?
Mr. Bloom. That is right.
Mr. Arens. To what organizations did you belong when you were
at Yale?
Mr. Bloom. I didn't belong to any that I can recall.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Bloom, I lay before you now a photostatic copy of
the Nominating Petition under the title of the Communist Party
for Representative at Large, Michael Russo, containing the signa-
tures of a number of persons. This is dated 1946, November, and it
includes a signature of a person by the name of Paul Bloom.
I ask you if that is your signature,
(The witness conferred with his counsel,)
Mr. Bloom. I must invoke the privileges of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Did you ever live at 701 Howard Avenue ?
COMJVIUXIST ACTIVITIES IX NEW HAVEX, COXX., AREA 5751
yir. Bloom. I did.
Mr. Arexs. Was that in the fifth ward?
Mr. Bloom. Yes.
Mr. Arexs. I respectfully suggest, Mr. Chairman, that the docu-
ment be marked "Paul Bloom Exhibit No. 1" and incorporated, by
reference, in the record.
Mr. Willis. Let it be so marked and incorporated.
(The document referred to, marked "Paul Bloom Exhibit No. 1,"
was incorporated by reference in the record.)
Mr. Arexs. I lay before you now a photostatic copy of a nominating
petition for State Senator, on the Communist Party, Sidney S. Tay-
lor, November 1946, bearing the signature, among others, of Paul
Bloom, 701 Howard, and ask you if you can identify that signature.
Mr. Bloom. I must invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of W. C. Mosher?
Mr. Bloom. I invoke the privileges of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of H. W. Mosher ?
Mr. Bloom. I invoke the privileges of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. These two gentlemen under oath before this committee
stated that they had known j'ou as a member of the Communist Party.
AVere they lying or were they telling the truth ?
Mr. Bloom. I invoke the privileges of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of Rowena Paumi ?
Mr. Bloom. I invoke the privileges of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Miss Paumi, would you kindly stand ?
Would you look over your right shoulder and tell us whether or not
you have ever seen that lady before?
Mr. Bloom. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Bloom, Miss Paumi testified before this committee
this morning, and named a number of people, including yourself,
whom she knew as Communists while she was an undercover agent for
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Was she lying or was she tell-
ing the truth ?
Mr. Bloom. I invoke the privileges of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. I respectfully suggest, Mr. Chairman, that that would
conclude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. Willis. The witness will be excused.
Mr. Arens. Mrs. Doris Bloom, please come forward.
Kindly remain standing while the chairman administers an oath
to you.
Mr. Willis. Please raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will
be the truth, tlie whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?
Mrs. Bloom. I do.
TESTIMONY OF DORIS BLOOM, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
CATHERINE G. RORABACK
Mr. Arens. Will jou kindly identify yourself by name, residence,
and occupation ?
Miss RoRABACK. May I also request that there be no pictures or
television.
5752 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Arens. Kindly identify yourself by name, residence, and
occupation ?
Mrs. Bloom. My name is Doris Bloom, 17 Asylum Street, New
Haven, Conn., and I am a bookkeeper,
Mr. Arens. Where are you employed ?
Mrs. Bloom. I am employed by the Wrentham Co.
Mr. Arexs. Where is that ?
Mrs. Bloom. That is at 12 Whiting Street, New Haven.
Mr. Arens. You are appearing today in response to a subpena
served upon you by the House Committee on Un-American Activities ?
Mrs. Bloom. That is right.
Mr. Arens. Are you represented by counsel ?
Mrs. Bloom. I am.
Mr. Arens. Will counsel kindly identify herself ?
Miss RoRcVBACK. Catherine G. Eoraback, 185 Church Street, New
Haven, Conn.
Mr. Arens. How long have you been in your present employment?
Mrs. Bloom. Six months.
Mr. Arens. What was your employment immediately preceding the
present employment ?
Mrs. Bloom. I was employed in another office as a bookkeeper.
Mr. Arens. Where was the other office ?
Mrs. Bloom. It was called the Tom Thumb Novelty. They are out
of the business, 1044 Thomas Street.
Mr. Arens. How long were you so employed ?
Mrs. Bloom. About 8 months.
Mr. Arens. Wliat was your employment prior to that ?
Mrs. Bloom. Prior to that, I was doing temporary office work.
Mr. Arens. Where was that ?
Mrs. Bloom. With the Manpower. I was on call.
Mr. Arens. You mean the Federal Government ?
Mrs. Bloom. No, no; it's an organization called Manpower, Inc.,
where they call you for temporary office work and you are sent to
different offices on a temporary basis.
Mr. Arens. Prior to that time, what was your last principal em-
ployment ?
Mrs. Bloom. I only worked during the summer months because I
have young children. I couldn't work other than during the summer
months. Prior to that, I worked also during the summer in 1943,
A. C. Gilbert, as a drill-press operator.
Then for 10 years prior to that, I did not work because I was raising
a family.
Mr. Arens. Where were you born ?
Mrs. Bloom. New Haven, Conn.
Mr. Arens. Have you lived here all your life ?
Mrs. Bloom. I have lived here all my life.
Mr. Arens. Can you give us a word about your education ?
Mrs. Bloom. I went to elementary school and graduated from high
school in 1932.
Mr. Arens. Did you graduate from high school in 1932 in New
Haven ? ■
0
I
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5753
Mrs. Bloom. In New Haven.
Mr. Arens. Did that complete your formal education ?
Mrs. Bloom. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Have you received any specialized training since ?
Mrs. Bloom. Well, during the war, 1941 to 1942, 1 decided to go to
•work in a factory, and I took a special course that the Government was
giving at the time, a 200-hour course, on machines. I completed that
course in order to be able to go into the factory and work, since I hadn't
worked.
Mr. Arens. Have you received any special instruction or courses
other than those you have just recited to us ?
Mrs. Bloom. I have not.
Mr. Arens. I should like to lay before you now, a photostatic copy of
a nominating petition of November 1946, bearing the signature of
a number of persons, nominating for the Communist Party for Kepre-
sentative at Large, Michael A. Russo. Included thereon is the signa-
ture of Doris Bloom, 701 Howard Avenue.
Will you kindly tell us whether or not that is your signature ?
Mrs. Bloom. I invoke my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Did you live at 701 Howard Avenue in November 1946 ?
Mrs. Bloom. I did.
Mr. Arens. I lay before you now a photostatic copy of a 1946 nomi-
nating petition for State Senator for the Communist Party, Sidney
S. Taylor, bearing the signature of a number of persons, including that
of Doris Bloom, 701 Howard Avenue, and ask you whether or not that
is your signature ?
Miss Eoraback. We requested that no pictures be taken. I wonder
if the photographers would be kind enough to respect that request?
Mr. Willis. Yes.
]Mrs. Bloom. I invoke my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. I respectfully suggest, IVIr. Chairman, that the two
documents be marked "Doris Bloom Exhibits Nos. 1 and 2," respec-
tively, and incorporated by reference in the record.
Mr. Willis. It will be so marked and incorporated.
(The documents referred to, marked "Doris Bloom Exhibits Nos.
1 and 2," respectively, were incorporated by reference in the record.)
Mr. Arens. Mrs. Bloom, do you know a person by the name of W. C.
]\Iosher ?
Mrs. Bloom. I invoke the privilege of the fifth amendment.
Mrs. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of H. W. Mosher ?
Mrs. Bloom. I invoke my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Each of these persons took oath and swore before this
committee that while undercover agents for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation in the Communist Party, they knew you as a Commu-
nist. Were they lying or were they telling the truth?
Mrs. Bloom. I invoke my privilege under the fifth amendment,
Mr. Arens. Miss Paumi, would you kindly stand ?
Mrs. Bloom, would you kindly look over your right shoulder at the
lady standing there, and tell us whether you have ever seen her before ?
Mrs. Bloom. I invoke my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Miss Paumi swore before this committee this morning
that while she was an undercover agent for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation in the Communist Party, she knew you as a member
of the Communist conspiracy.
5754 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mrs. Bloom. I invoke my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that would con-
elude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. Willis. The witness will be excused.
Mr. Arens. Would Mr. Bernard Burg kindly come forward ?
Please remain standing while the chairman administers an oath
to you.
Mr. Willis. Raise your right hand, please.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will
be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?
Mr. Btirg. I do.
TESTIMONY OF BERNAED BURG, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
CHARLES HENCHEL
Mr. Arens. Please be seated.
Mr. Burg. I would like to request no pictures, and no recording for
radio.
Mr. Arens. Kindly identify yourself by name, residence, and occu-
pation.
Mr. Burg. My name is Bernard Burg, 38 Allen Road, New Haven,
and I am a salesman.
Mr. Arens. For what firm ?
Mr. Henchel. May I make the same offer for the record of an affi-
davit disclosing his present employers merely
Mr. Willis. No ; you may not.
Mr. Henchel. Very well.
Mr. Burg. Zemel Bros.
Mr. Arens. "What is the nature of that firm ?
Mr. Burg. Electrical appliance store.
Mr. Arens. Are you appearing today in response to a subpena served
upon you by the House Committee on Un-American Activities ?
Mr. Burg. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Are you represented by counsel ?
Mr. Burg. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Will counsel kindly identify himself ?
Mr. Henchel. Charles Henchel, 152 Temple Street, New Haven.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever been known by any name other than the
name Bernard or Bernie Burg?
Mr. Burg. No, sir.
Mr. Arens. Wliere were you born ?
Mr. Burg. Brooklyn, N. Y.
Mr. Arens. When, please, sir ?
Mr. Burg. May 8, 1920.
Mr. Arens. And a word, please, about your education.
Mr. Burg. I attended grammar school and high school in Brooklyn.
Mr. Arens. Did that complete your formal education ?
Mr. Burg. Except for some Army courses.
Mr. Arens. What year did you complete your training at the high
school ?
Mr. Burg. I was supposed to graduate in 1937; however, I had to
leave and go to work. I went back and graduated at night and
graduated in 1941.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5755
Mr. Arexs. Where were you working in the daytime when you were
going to school at night ?
yiv. Burg. Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York City.
Mr. Arexs. Tell us, if you please, sir, the employment w^hich you
had after completion of your high school education in 1941.
Mr. Burg. Subsequently, I went into the service after leaving tlie
Navy Yard.
Mr. Arens. In what branch of the service ?
Mr. Burg. Originally the Air Force, and finally the Infantry.
Mr. Arexs. Did you receive a commission ?
Mr. Burg. Yes, sir ; I did.
Mr. Arexs. As a prerequisite to receiving that commission, did you
take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United
States against all enemies, foreign and domestic?
Mr. Burg. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you have any mental reservations ?
Mr. Burg. No, sir. And I might say I resent that.
Mr. Arexs. Were you a member of the Communist conspiracy wdien
you took that oath ?
Mr. Burg. No, sir ; I know of no conspiracy.
^Ir. Arexs. Were you a member of the Communist Party w^hen you
took tliat oath ?
Mr. Burg. No, sir.
]\Ir. Arexs. Are you now^ a member of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Burg. I might say that the Constitution protects my rights of
political and personal association, and I further invoke the fifth
amendment.
Mr. Arexs. Were you a member of the Communist Party at any
time during the period of your service in the Armed Forces ?
Mr. Burg. No, sir.
Mr. Arex'S. "\^nien w^ere you separated from the Armed Forces ?
Mr. Burg. August 1946, separated with honorable discharge.
Mr. Arexs. What w^as your employment then, beginning in August
1946 or as soon as you could gain employment ?
]Mr. Burg. Salesman, house-to-house.
Mr. Arexs. What firm ?
^Ir. Burg. Fuller Brush.
Mr. Arexs. Where?
Mr. Burg. New Haven.
Mr. Arex'^s. How long w^ere you engaged as a Fuller Brush sales-
man ?
Mr. Burg. For approximately 2 years.
]\Ir. Arexs. Then your next employment ?
]Mr. Burg. I then worked for a short time for the People's Party of
Connecticut.
Mr. Arexs. In what capacity ?
Mr. Burg. Oh, I forget the exact title, but it was in relation to the
election campaign for Wallace and Taylor in the Third Congressional
District.
^[r. Arexs. Were you a member of the Communist Party while you
were engaged as a Fuller Brush salesman from August 1946 to August
1948?
(The witness conferred with his connsel.)
5756 COMIMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Burg. I believe that my right to political affiliation and personal
association is being violated by this type of question, and furthermore,
1 must invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Were you a member of the Communist Party on Janu-
ary 1,1947?
Mr. Burg. Same answer, sir.
Mr. Arens. Were you a member of the Communist Party in August
of 1946?
Mr. Burg. Same answer, sir.
Mr. Arens. Were you a member of the Communist Party at any
time within a month of the date you were discharged from the Armed
Forces?
Mr. Burg. I feel that once again my rights to political and per-
sonal association are being violated, and further, I must invoke the
fifth.
Mr. Arens. Were you a member of the Communist Party at any
time prior to the period you were in the Armed Forces?
Mr. Burg. I believe that my political beliefs, as well as my religious
views, are my own to hold personally, with no one having the right to
delve into this, and I invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Were you a member of the Communist Party at any
time during the time you were in the Armed Forces ?
Mr. Burg. I said "No, sir."
Mr. Arens. Did you resign from the Conmaunist Party when you
went into the Armed Forces ?
Mr. Burg. This is a trick question. I must say that once again
this involves my political and personal rights and I would take the
fifth amendment also.
Mr. Arens. What year did you enter the Army ?
Mr. Burg. Summer of 1943.
Mr. Arens. Do you recall the month ?
Mr. Burg. Not ofi^hand. It was in the summertime.
Mr. Arens. Within a month?
Mr. Burg. Excuse me ; may I consult with my counsel ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, you have that privilege.
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Burg. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Were you a member of the Communist Party any time
during the year 1943 ?
Mr. Burg. I must say once again, even though you are making
political associations seem to be a terrible criminal thing, I must
invoke my rights under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you regard membership in the Communist Party
only as a political activity ?
Mr. Burg. I would like to know under what law that has been
outlawed.
Mr. Arens. Would you answer that question ? ^
Is it your contention that the Communist Party is only a political
party ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Burg. Yes, sir ; I do.
Mr. Arens. Well, then, tell us the political party of which you are
presently a member?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5757
Mr. Burg. Once again, this is delving into my personal views,
politics, which I don't feel is the business of this or any other Govern-
ment agency. I must invoke the rights of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you now belong to a conspiratorial apparatus ?
Mr. Burg. I have never knowingly, and do not now knowingly,
belong to any conspiratorial apparatus.
Mr. Arens. Do you now belong to an organization which is con-
trolled by a foreign power?
Mr. Burg. I do not now belong to any organization controlled by
a foreign power.
Mr. Arens. Do you now belong to the Communist Party ?
Mr. Burg. I can see what your inferences are, Mr. Counsel, but
because the position is relative between you and me, I must take the
fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. How were you engaged to work for the People's Party
of Connecticut? Who assigned you that job, or who employed you"?
Mr. Burg. I was employed — I don't remember the official body, but
it was some official body of the Third Congressional District.
Mr. Arens, Who was the person or persons who employed you ?
Mr. Burg. I don't recall at this time who specifically employed me.
Mr. Arens. How long were you engaged by the People's Party ?
Mr. Burg. Just for a few months, about 5 months, I would say,
approximately ; a short period of my life.
Mr. Arens. Who were the members of the executive board or the
directors of the People's Party here ; could you tell us ?
Mr. Burg. Mr. Arens, this w^as a short period in my life.
Mr. Arens. If you have no recollection of it, just say so.
Mr. Burg. I just can't.
Mr. Arens. What w^as your next employment immediately after
you ceased your operations with the People's Party ?
Mr. Burg. Well, being out of work, and desperately in need of
A\ork, I applied for every job I could get, and the next job I got was
working for a plumbing concern.
Mr. Arens. How long were you so employed ?
Mr. Burg. A couple of months. I don't remember exactly.
Mr. Arens. What year are you in now^, 1948 ?
Mr. Burg. 1948-49, around there.
Mr. Arens. "Wliat was your next employment ?
Mr. Burg. Detroit Steel Co. in Hamden, Conn.
Mr. Arens. In w^hat capacity?
Mr. Burg. As a machine operator.
Mr. Arens. How long were you employed there ?
Mr. Burg. For a year, just about; I don't remember exactly. I
want to make clear that that is to the best of my recollection.
Mr. Arens. Your next employment, please, sir ?
Mr. Burg. After, I acquired my present job.
Mr. Arens. The present establishment with which you work, this
Radio Center?
Mr. Burg. It is known under both names.
Mr. Arens. "\A^iat is the other name ?
Mr. Burg. Zemel Bros, and Radio Center, Inc., under both names.
Mr. Arens. Have you, in the course of your employment in the
Radio Center, used on a loan basis some of the equipment of the Radio
5758 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Center for any purpose for which you were not given remuneration
or rental pay or compensation ?
Mr. Burg. I don't understand the nature of the question, sir. You
will have to be more specific.
Mr. Arens. To be more specific, have you used some of the equip-
ment of the Radio Center, such as speakers and audio equipment, for
meetings, assemblages, under the auspices of the Communist Party?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Burg. I must answer that, to the best of my recollection on this,
I have never done so.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of W. C. Mosher ?
Mr. Burg. Well, I must say on this that Mr. Mosher was identified
as an informer during the Smith Act trial, and Jewish moral law for-
bids association with informers. Under that law I would be de-
graded. I also would have to invoke the right to the fifth amend-
ment-
Mr. Arens. What would be your attitude toward Khrushchev? Is
he not the greatest informer of all time, to inform on Stalin ?
Mr. Burg. I don't feel qualified to comment on Mr. Khrushchev.
If you want to have a political discussion
Mr. Arens. If you want to talk about the Communist Party.
Are you a member of the Communist Party ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Burg. Under the present circumstances, I feel this is an illegal
invasion into my rights as a private citizen, and I must invoke the
fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you know W. C. Mosher ?
Mr. Burg. I previously answered that question, sir.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever had any information about, or associa-
tion with, W. C. Mosher other than what you read in the paper.
Mr. Burg. I believe I previously answered that question.
Mr. Arens. Answer it again.
Mr. Burg. All right.
I believe that my own personal associations are protected by the
first amendment in the Constitution, and it is just a question of simple
human morality of delving into private business, and I must protect
myself by using the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you honestly apprehend that if you told this com-
mittee whetlier or not you knew W. C. Mosher you might be supplying
information that might be used against you in a criminal proceed-
ing?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Burg. This is a question that has been asked of many people
here.
Mr. Willis. Yes, and it is a valid question.
Mr. Burg. Yes, I am not denying the validity of the question.
Mr. Willis. You can put it any way you want, but we are just test-
ing whether you are honestly invoking the protection of the fifth
amendment. If you are honestly invoking it, you have absolutely that
right.
Mr. Burg. Yes, sir.
Mr. Willis. But, in order to invoke it, you must be within the con-
stitutional provision.
Mr. Burg. Yes, sir.
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5759
Mr. Willis. Which, in essence, means that you cannot be compelled
to be a witness against yourself.
Mr. Burg. Yes, sir.
Mr. Willis. It will not do for you to come here and make little
speeches in advance, because of this and that, and finally plead or
invoke the privileges of the fifth amendment. The question is a
perfectl}^ proper one. You force it on yourself and you have to answer
it.
Mr. Burg. In connection with speeches, I have heard speeches all
day long by people on this side. I don't intend to make a speech, but
because I feel the implications of this answer which I intend to give,
it should be explained that some people were tried here
Mr. Willis. You answer the question.
Mr. Burg. Can I then explain the answer, sir?
Mr. Willis. There is a very sinq^le question before you and you
know the constitutional provision involved.
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Burg. I must say that not under unj feeling or implication of
guilt, the answer must be "Yes."
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of Harold Mosher ?
Mr, Burg. I believe he is the person I heard referred to by James
O'Connor Shea as a sneak and paid sneak.
Mr. Arens. Would you tell us, then, in addition to being a sneak and
a paid sneak, was he a liar when he said he knew you as a Communist?
Mr. Burg. I must say that this represents an invasion of my rights
and I invoke the privilege of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of Rowena Paumi ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Burg. Once again I must say that I feel that my personal as-
sociations are my own business, and I must invoke the fifth amend-
ment.
Mr. Arens. W. C. Mosher, Harold Mosher, and Rowena Paumi
testified under oath that they knew you as a member of the Com-
munist conspiracy. Were they lying or were they telling the truth ?
Mr. Burg. I have answered this question many ways, many times,
so far, sir.
Mr. Arens. Answer it again so the record is clear as to whether or
not you want to deny being a Communist.
Mr. Burg. I will say that once again I am not ashamed of my polit-
ical and personal beliefs, but they are made to appear as criminal
before this hearing. I must invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Mr. t'hairman, I respectfully suggest that would con-
clude the staff interrogation of this witness.
INIr. Willis. The witness will be excused.
Mr. Arens. May we have a 5-minute recess, Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Willis. Yes.
(A sliort recess was taken.)
Mr. Willis. Come to order, please.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Kreas, would you kindly come forward a minute?
TESTIMONY OF SAUL KREAS— Resumed
Mr. Arens. We have liere a letter from you requesting an oppor-
tunity to be heard with reference to certain statements you say
were made by Mr. Mosher, which you wanted to deny under oath. We
are presently in recess awaiting the arrival of the last witness of the
5760 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
session here. I understand he will not be here until about a quarter
of 4.
I want this record to show that we would be very glad to hear you
now, but you have advised me unofficially that your attorney is not
presently available. Therefore, the only other alternative we have
is to hear you in Washington at a later date.
Mr. Willis. I think I should say this :
After the noon hour, I talked to Mr. Kreas' counsel, Mr. Bingham.
At that time I told him we had six or more witnesses to be heard
this afternoon ; that I doubted very seriously that we could reach you ;
that, because we still have some outstanding subpenas, witnesses who
did not show up, that the chances are we will be hearing from other
■witnesses in this area ; and that, therefore, the record will be left open
and in due time we would hear from you and give you an opportunity
to be heard again.
It develops that, since another witness is late, we are remaining
here later than we thought, and we now find ourselves in a position to
hear you. We still have about an hour to do it. I am not pressing
you. I want the record to be perfectly clear to you and to the
committee.
Mr. Kreas. I regret very much. First, I appreciate your attitude
of giving me the opportunity to grant my request. However, without
a counsel, I don't feel I should do it, and the counsel might have
stayed here, if you would state to him what you just stated. He was
definitely under the impression that the business you would have, you
would not be able, and this is why he left.
So I accept the promise that you will give me the opportunity.
Mr. Willis. We do not know where or when that will be.
Mr. Kreas. Yes.
Mr. Willis. But we do have, how many outstanding subpenas ?
Mr. Arens. Three that have not been served.
Mr. Willis. Three outstanding subpenas, witnesses whom we have
not heard from. This is a continuing investigation, and it is quite
likely that there will be more witnesses to be heard, and at that time
you will be notified.
Mr. Kreas. Well, of course, what I estimated it would take me only
about 2 minutes.
Mr. Willis. If you want to testify, or even if you want to phone your
lawyer, it is perfectly all right with us.
Mr. Kreas. Thank you very much.
Mr. Willis. Mr. Kreas, would you want to phone your lawyer?
Mr. Kreas. I just want to inform you that my lawyer lives in New
London, so even if I should be successful, it would take him better
than an hour to get here.
Mr. Willis. All right.
(A recess of approximately 1 hour was taken.)
Mr. Willis. The subcommittee will come to order.
Counsel will call the next witness.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Samuel Gruber, please come forward and remain
standing while the chairman administers an oath to you, please.
Mr. Willis. Raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give
will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help
you God?
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES EST NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5761
Mr. Gruber. I do.
Mr. Chairman, I don't know whether there are television pictures
being taken of me. May I request that they not be taken ^
Mr. Willis. That is the rule, that if you object to television, it will
be respected.
TESTIMONY OF SAMUEL GEUBER, ACCOMPANIED BY COUNSEL,
CATHERINE G. EOEABACK
Mr. Arens. Kindly identify yourself by name, residence, and occu-
pation.
Mr. Gruber. My name is Samuel Gruber. My residence is Stamford,
Conn., and I am an attorney.
Mr. Arens. Are you appearing today in response to a subpena which
was served upon you by the House Committee on Un-American Activi-
ties?
Mr. Gruber. That is correct.
Mr. Arens. Are you represented by counsel ?
Mr. Gruber. Miss Roraback.
Mr. Arens. Will counsel kindly identify herself ?
Miss Roraback. Catherine G. Roraback, 185 Church Street, New
Haven, Conn.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever been known by any name other than the
name Samuel Gruber ?
Mr. Gruber. I was served by the name Sam Gruber.
Mr. Arens. Have you been known by any other name ?
Mr. Gruber. No.
Mr. Arens. Where and when were you born ?
Mr. Gruber. November 11, 1906, Stamford.
Mr. Arens. A word about your education, if you please, sir.
Mr. Gruber. I graduated from high school in Stamford in 1923.
I went to Columbia College and graduated there in 1927. I went to
Columbia Law School and graduated in 1933, I believe. There was a
hiatus there, as you can see, when I wasn't at law school.
Mr. Arens. Where are you admitted to practice, please, Mr. Gruber ?
Mr. Gruber. In Connecticut.
Mr. Arens. Is that the only State in which you are admitted to
practice ?
Mr. Gruber. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Are you admitted to practice in the Federal court?
Mr. Gruber. I am.
Mr. Arens. Have you practiced continuously since you received
your degree from Columbia in 1933 ?
Mr. Gruber. Yes.
Mr. Arens. You took the bar that year ?
Mr. Gruber. No. I took the bar 2 years later.
Mr. Arens. Where did you take the bar examination?
Mr, Gruber. Connecticut.
Mr. Arens. As a prerequisite to being admitted to the bar, did you
take an oath to defend and support the Constitution of the United
States?
Mr. Gruber. I am sure I did.
5762 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Arens. Plave you at any time since taking the oath to defend
and support the Constitution of the United States been a member of
an organization dedicated to the destruction of the Constitution of
the United States and the forceful overthrow of the Government of the
United States ?
Mr. Gruber. Well, Mr. Chairman, I would like on that to say that
I think that that question is an unconstitutional invasion
Mr. Kearney. Mr. Chairman, I would suggest that the witness
answer the question and not make a speech.
Mr. Gruber. I am not proposing, sir, Mr. Kearney, to make a
speech. I have no intention of making a speech and oration. I merely
want to give my reasons for declining to answer the question.
May I?
Mr. Kearney. As far as I am concerned, so long as it is not a speech.
Mr. Gruber. It won't be a speech, sir. I decline to answer the ques-
tion on the ground that, under the first amendment, it's an invasion of
my rights of speech, belief, and association, and in addition, I claim
the privilege under the fifth amendment not to be a witness against
myself.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Gruber, have you ever been a member of the Na-
tional Lawyers' Guild ?
Mr. Gruber. Yes, I am now a member.
Mr. Arens. When did you join the National Lawyers' Guild?
Mr. Gruber. I don't recall. I would think that it was perhaps
1940, to the best of my recollection, maybe a little later, maybe earlier.
Mr. Arens. Have you continuously been a member of the National
Lawyers' Guild since 1940 ?
Mr. Gruber. If that is the date, yes.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever held an office in the National Lawyers'
Guild?
Mr. Gruber. No, I have not.
Mr. Arens. Have you consistently paid dues in the National
Lawyers' Guild ?
Mr. Gruber. Yes, I believe so.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that the citation
of the National Lawyers' Guild, appearing in the Guide to Subversive
Organizations and Publications of the House Committee on Un-
American Activities, on page 85, appear at this point in the testimony.
Mr. Willis. The citation will appear in the record at this point.
(The matter referred to is as follows :)
Cited as a Communist front whicli "is tlie foremost legal biilwai'k of the Com-
munist Party, its front organizations, and controlled unions" and which "since
its inception has never failed to rally to the legal defense of the Communist Party
and individual members thereof, including knovpn espionage agents." (Con-
gressional Committee on Un-American Activities, Reiwrt on the National
Lawyers Guild, H. Rept. No. 3123, September 21, 1950 (originally released
September 17, 1950).)
Mr. Gruber. May I see what that is ?
Mr. Arens. It is the citation of the National Lawyers' Guild by the
House Committee on Un-American Activities, pursuant to which the
National Lawyers' Guild is cited as a Communist front, and in which
it is also described as being the foremost legal bulwark of the Com-
munists in their attempt to control unions, and wdiich, since its incep-
tion, has never failed to rally to the legal defense of the Communist
COMIVIUNIST ACTIVITIES EST NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5763
Pailj, and individual membei-s thereof, including known espionage
agents.
Have you been a meml)er of the Citizens Committee To Free Earl
Bixiwder ?
Mr. Gruber. The same answer to that question as to the previous
one.
Mr. Willis. In other words, you are invoking the first and fifth
amendments ?
]Mr. Gruber. Yes.
May I, when I say
Mr. Willis. It will be satisfactory. We are lawyers and there
were intervening questions.
Mr. Gruber. I meant that answer, and if I may, Mr. Chairman,
I would like to use that in answering.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever been identified with the International
Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers?
Mr. Gruber. It seems to me I have done law work for the Mine,
Mill.
JNIr. Arens. Have you ever been a member of the International
Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers ?
Mr. Gruber. No ; I don't believe so. I was only their attorney.
Mr. Arens. I lay before you a photostatic copy, Mr. Gruber, of the
•Communist Daily Worker, New York, March 16, 1942. I direct your
attention to an article entitled "Unionists in Five States Say Free
Browder," which lists the names of a number of persons who have
petitioned for the freeing of Earl Browder, including a person identi-
fied here as Samuel Gruber, International representative. Interna-
tional Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers. I ask if you would
kindly glance at that article to see if it refreshes your recollection.
Tell us whether or not you are the individual alluded to in that article.
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Gruber. Yes.
Mr. Arens. Did you sign the petition to free Earl Browder?
Mr. Gruber. The same answer, sir.
IVIr. Arens. Now please tell this committee
Mr. Willis. The answer to the previous question was "Yes".
Mr. Gruber. I am sorry ; that is correct.
Mr. Willis. I just want the record clear. I do not expect you to
repeat it word for word.
You mean again the invocation of the first and fifth amendments ?
Mr. Gruber. I do, sir.
Mr. Arens. Please tell the committee the organizations to which
you have belonged since 1945.
Mr. Gruber. Since 1945?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir.
Mr. Gruber. Well, if you would be more specific?
]\Ir. Arens. You are a member of the bar association?
Mr. Gruber. I am.
Mr. Arens. Can you recall any other organization of which you
were a member ?
Mr. Gruber. If you would be more specific
Mr. Arens. Can you now recall the organizations of which you
have been a member since 1945 ?
5764 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Grubee. Well, if you are asking about the Communist Party
or any other organizations like that, then I give you the same answer
as I did before.
Mr. Arens. Tell us of any organizations of the non-Communist
variety of which you may have been a member since 1945.
Mr. Gruber. I didn't say that I was a member of any Communist
organization, Mr. Arens ; those are your words. I am trying to think
of organizations that
Mr. Arens. You belong to the bar association here, you say ?
Mr. Gruber. Yes.
Mr. Arens. How long have you belonged to the bar association ?
Mr. Gruber. I really can't tell.
Mr. Arens. You belong to the National Lawyers' Guild. You have
told us about that.
Mr. Gruber. Yes. I have belonged to the bar association, oh, for
quite a number of years. I just don't remember.
Mr. Arens. At least since 1945 ; is that correct ?
Mr. Gruber. I would think so. I belong to the Stamford Bar
Association.
Mr. Arens. Are there any other organizations of which you have
been a member since 1945 ?
Mr. Gruber. At the moment I can't think of any. If you would be
good enough to enlighten me, or if you have anything in mind, I would
be very glad to tell you.
Mr. Arens. Do you know a person by the name of W. C. Mosher,
M-o-s-h-e-r?
Mr. Gruber. I know of him.
Mr. Arens. Did you ever meet him ?
Mr. Gruber. Well, in view of the fact that, as I understand it, he
has appeared here as a witness — I haven't heard him nor have I
seen him — I would invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever seen him or have you ever heard of him ?
Mr. Gruber. The same answer.
Mr. Arens. Did you ever hear of a man by the name of Mike
Spencer ?
Mr. Gruber. Who?
Mr. Arens. Mike Spencer.
Mr. Gruber. It seems to me that I was representing a group in
Washington who appeared before the — I don't recognize the name.
I thought I might have. I am not sure.
May I, Mr. Chair^man, ask a question of Mr. Arens ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, you may ask me.
Mr. Gruber. I came in, and of course I knew that I would have
to appear right away. I didn't have the opportunity to hear fi'om
you or to ask if you would be good enough to enlighten me as to
what the specific purpose of this inquiry is.
Mr. Arens. You do not ask that in a serious way, I am sure.
This is the House Committee on Un-American Activities charged by
the United States Congress to develop facts in connection with the
Communist conspiracy. We are here for that purpose.
Tell us whether you know a person by the name of Rowena Paumi ?
Mr. Gruber. May I just say one thing before you go on ?
The reason I raised it, Mr. Arens, was that I have read in the
press that one of the reasons why this committee came here was
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5765
that it was a followup on the Smith Act trials, at which I was for a
short time counsel. Now, is that so ?
Mr. Arens. Now kindly tell us whether or not you know a per-
son by the name of Eowena Paiuni ?
Mr. Gruber. Since, as I understand it, she has appeared here, too, I
would decline to answer that.
jMr. Arens. INIiss Paumi, would you kindly come forward ?
Be seated, please. You have already been sworn.
TESTIMONY OF EOWENA R. PAUMI— Eesumed
Mr. Arens. During the course of your membership in the Com-
munist Party at the behest of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, did
you have occasion to know a person by the name of Samuel Gruber ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir.
Mr. Arens. Did you know whether or not Samuel Gruber was a
member of the Communist conspiracy ?
]\Iiss Paumi. I have attended a closed meeting with him in 1945,
and other meetings,
Mr. Arens. Did you know Samuel Gruber as a Commmiist ?
Miss Paumi. As far as I know.
Mr. Arens. Do you now see in the courtroom that person whom you
knew as a Communist ?
Miss Paumi. Yes, sir,
Mr. Arens. Point him out.
Miss Paumi. The man on my left.
Mr. Arens. Thank you. Miss Paumi.
TESTIMONY OF SAMUEL GRUBER— Resumed
IVIr. Arens. Will you look at this lady, Mr. Gruber, and tell us while
you are mider oath whether or not she was lying or telling the truth
when she identified you as a person known to her to be a Communist?
JMr. Gruber. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. Now, Mr. Gruber, W. C, Mosher took an oath before
this committee and stated in effect that while he was an undercover
agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Communist
Party, he knew you as a Communist. Was he lying or was he telling
the truth ?
Mr. Gruber. I would appreciate it, Mr. Arens, if you would ex-
plain what you mean when you say "in effect" ? Did he
Mr, Arens. You are not going to quibble with me now.
Do you want to deny that W. C. Mosher was telling the truth when
he said he knew you as a Communist ?
Mr. Gruber, It was your statement; not mine. You said he said
"in effect," Now you are a lawyer and I am a lawyer. I understand
a little bit as to what words mean.
Did Mr. Mosher say it or did he not? I would like to know,
Mr. Arens. Mr. Mosher said he knew you as a Communist.
Now, would you tell us, was Mr. Mosher lying or was he telling the
truth?
Mr. Gruber. Is that what he said ?
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that the witness be
ordered and directed to answer that question.
5766 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Willis. Yes, you are directed to answer the question, particular-
ly since you have a choice, independently of what Mr. Mosher might
have said or not said, to come forward on your own and affirm or deny
the fact.
Mr. Gruber. May I consult for just a minute?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Gruber. May I have the question ?
Mr. Arens. Mr. Keporter, will you please read the question?
(The pending- question was read by the reporter.)
Mr. Gruber. The same answer as before, sir.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever been a member of a legal commission of
the Communist Party?
Mr. Gruber. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. Have you ever been a member of the State executive
board of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Gruber. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. I put it to you as a fact, and ask you to affirm or deny
the fact, that you were a member of the State executive board of the
Communist Party of the State of Connecticut.
Mr. Gruber. The same answer.
Mr. Arens. Are you now a Communist ?
Mr. Gruber. Same answer.
Mr. Arens. Are you presently under Communist Party discipline ?
Mr. Gruber. Am I what?
Mr. Arens. Are you presently under Communist Party discipline ?
Mr. Gruber. Would you explain what you mean by "under Commu-
nist Party discipline" ?
Mr. Arens. Yes, sir.
Are you presently receiving orders and directions from the Com-
munist conspiracy with respect to any activity by yourself?
Mr. Gruber. Let me make it perfectly clear, Mr. Arens, that in my
20 years of practice as an attorney, I have never received orders from
anyone in the legal profession, in the representation of clients, in doing
what I could to help them as I saw their needs and problems.
Mr. Kearney. Are you now a member of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Gruber. I have declined to answer that, sir.
Mr. Kearney. Have you ever been a member of the Communist
Party?
Mr. Gruber. I have said the same answer.
Mr. Kearney. Your voice has been so low I did not hear you.
Mr. Gruber. I am sorry, sir. I would really like to have some
water. My lips are awfully dry.
Mr. Arens. Certainly.
Have you consulted with anyone known to you to be a member of
the Communist Party with reference to your appearance before this
committee today ?
Mr. Gruber. I decline to answer, sir.
Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that would con-
clude the staff interrogation of this witness.
Mr. Willis. The witness will be excused.
The Chair wishes to make this statement.
The accomplishments of an investigating committee such as the
House Committee on Un-American Activities cannot adequately be
appraised statistically. By the very nature of its work, we are dealing
COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA 5767
with something which is intangible though very real, and though real,
it is illusive.
What we have witnessed here in the past 3 days, I believe, revealed
the following:
First, we have seen additional parts of a pattern of Communist tech-
nique. All of the parts of the mosaic are not completely visible, but
there has been revealed additional light on the Communist drive to
colonize industrial areas. We have heard former undercover agents
of the FBI testify concerning the extent and strength of the con-
spiracy in this area. We have learned a bit more about the current
organizational pattern of the Communist Party, its groupings, and the
focal points of its emphasis.
Secondly, we have, I believe, brought to the attention of tlie people
of this area the serious nature of this conspiracy, and the hard fact
of its present existence in various fabrics of our society. This problem
is a problem not only for the Federal agencies of our Government, but
it is a rightful concern of all loyal Americans.
Third, we have, I hope, struck another blow at the conspiracy by
bringing a few more Communists to the light of day.
Fourth, we have additional material with which to reappraise the
many laws which undertake to cope with the ever-changing, devious
Communist operations in our land.
Now I wish to thank the many who have made our visit pleasant,
including tlie United States marshal and his assistants; the district
attorney, Mr. Cohen ; Judge Anderson, for the facilities of his court-
room; the other officials of the court; and the press, the radio, and
others who have been so gracious to us.
I wish to add on a personal note that this subcommittee was happy
to have with us during most of our hearings our colleague from this
area. Congressman Cretella. We appreciate his presence and his
interest in the work of this committee.
Now I wonder if General Kearney would care to add any specific
remarks?
Mr. Kearney. No; I have nothing specific to add, Mr. Chairman.
I wholeheartedly agree with your statement, particularly with refer-
ence to the courtesies that have been extended to us by Mr. Cohen and
the United States marshals, and also the members of the press, the
cameramen, and the TV men. As you say, Mr. Chairman, we ap-
preciate the presence of our colleague, Mr. Cretella, who has shown
such an interest in this fight against communism, not only here but
in the Halls of Congress.
Mr. Willis. Mr. Counsel, I understand that you have no further
witnesses ?
Mr. Arens. That is correct, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Willis. I have already brought out the fact that we have 2
or 3 more outstanding subpenas. Mr, Kreas was afforded an op-
poi'tunity to be heard again this afternoon, but, unfortunately, his
counsel was not present; so I am quite sure that the persons under
these outstanding subpenas, as well as some other witnesses our investi-
gators might want to interview in this area at a time and place to be
announced, will be heard at a later date.
We will call the hearings to a conclusion.
I should be happy to have a word from our colleague, Mr. Cretella.
5768 COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., AREA
Mr. Cretella. Mr. Chairman, as a Member of Congress represent-
ing this Third Congressional District of Connecticut, it was a pleasure
for me to have had you in our midst with this very serious under-
taking, this very important investigation that you have been con-
ducting. During the course of the year, this same Un-American Activ-
ities Committee, of which you are now chairman of the subcommittee,
has had extended hearings throughout the country. You have taken,
I know, a great deal of verbal abuse and otherwise, and so have your
predecessors in the same chairmanships, and we have gone down
through the years with the same abuse heaped on us.
I think every Member of Congress is vitally interested in this prob-
lem that is confronting this Nation, and I am appalled to find that in
our very midst in this beautiful and grand State of Connecticut we
have such an infiltration of people so disloyal to a fine country. I
hope that in the next Congress, if the need arises to further strengthen
the laws against communism and infiltration of disloyal individuals,
that legislation will be passed.
I was glad to have welcomed you here, and I hope you enjoyed
your stay.
Mr. Willis. Thank you, Mr. Cretella.
(Whereupon, at 4 : 20 p. m. Wednesday, September 26, 1956, the
suDcommittee recessed, subject to the call of the Chair.)
INDEX
Individuals
Page
Alpert, Yetta 5659
Arsenault, Oliver 5608, 5612-5623 (testimony), 5625, 5626, 5633, 5635, 5728
Bailin, Esther 5728
Barnes, Joseph 5607,5608,5611,5664,5734,5736-5739 (testimony)
Barnes, Lois (Mrs. Joseph Barnes) 5607,
5608, 5611, 5664, 5729, 5732, 5739-5742 (testimony)
Bingham, Alfred M 5647, 5760
Bloom, Doris (Mrs. Paul Bloom) 5658,5750,5751-5754 (testimony)
Bloom, Paul 5658-5660, 5682, 5749-5751 (testimony)
Browder, Earl 5644, 5763
Brunin. (See Kreas, Saul.)
Burg, Bernard (Bernie) 5664, 5680, 5682, 5732, 5754-.5759 (testimony)
Burke, Barney 5661
Brunswick, Rose 5684
Callanan 5734
Carter, Helena 5684
Chapman, Cal 5607
Chavez, Joseph 5708
Cheyfitz, Edward 5703
Clark, John 5708, 5709, 5711
Coleman, Edward 5706, 5707
Cruckray, Max 5659
Davis, Emma (Mrs. Samuel Davis) 5659,
5660, 5682, 5683, 574.5-5748 (testimony)
Davis, Samuel 5659, 5683, 5742-5745 (testimony)
Demow, Joseph 5607, 5660, 5663, 5683
Demow, Lil (Mrs. Joseph Demow) 5683
Dennis, Ray 5708
Dichter, Irving 5607, 5701-5711 (testimony)
Ekins, Bob 5607
Farkasi, Mary 5i729
Farmer, Estelle (Mrs. Leonard Farmer) 5663
Farmer, Leonard ^ 5663
Fazekas, Frank 5607,5608,5623-5631 (testimony), 5633, 5634,5663, 5728
Finn, Jack 5728
Foxworth 5729
Gibbs, Jimmy 5607, 5680
Gilden, Bert David 5585-5598 (testimony), 5599-5605 (testimony), 5608, 5611
Gilden, Kateha (Mrs. Bert Gilden) , 5607, 5608
Goldberg, Dave 5664
Goldring, Harriet 5728
Goldring, Jake 5605, 5607
Green, Fanny 5660, 5664
Gruber, Samuel 5663, 5683, 5730, 5761-5766 (testimony)
Hawley, Celeste 5680
Hemingway, Ernest 5741
Henchel, Charles 5742, 5745, 5754
Howard, Asbury 5708
Hubbell, Harvey 5605
Hubblebank, Diane 56.59
Jakowenko, Konstantlne 5689-5695 (testimony), 5696
Kaplan, Harry 5684
Kaplan, Lillian (Mrs. Harry Kaplan) 5660,-5684
1
ii INDEX
Page
Kaufman, Mary M 5612, 5623, 5631
Kavser, Arlene. ( See Resnick, Arlene. )
Keating, William 5686
Kennedy, Bob 5662
Kent, Harold 5597,
5559 (testimony), 5605-5612 (testimony), 5620-5622, 5627-5629,
5635, 5641, 5645, 5666, 5676, 5677, 5688, 5709, 5727, 5739, 5741.
Krasnogorsky, Sholem. (See Kreas, Saul.)
Kreas, Pauline (Mrs. Saul Kreas) 5659
Kreas, Saul (real name Sholem Krasnogorsky, also known as Brunin) 5647-
5653 (testimony), 565^5656 (testimony), 5659, 5665-5667, 5681,
5732, 5759, 5760, 5767.
Larson, Orville 5708
Lawrence, Alton 5708
Lear, Maxwell 5746
Lindsey, Jean 5662
Lockwood, Ralph 5636, 5736, 5739
Marder, Al 5661
Margolin, Louise 5659
Margolin, Oscar 5659, 5662
McDonough, James 5662
McLeach, Bert 5608
Meites, Thelma 5660
Mosher, Harold W 5650,
5661, 5678-5685 (testimony) , 5744, 5745, 5748, 5751, 5753, 5759
Mosher, Worden C (also known as Mike Spencer) 5627,
5645, 5650, 5653-5654 (testimony), 5655, 5656-5668 (testimony),
5678, 5726, 5744, 5745, 5748, 5751, 5753, 5758, 5759, 5764-5766.
Noble, Harry 5746
Paumi, Rowena R 5597,
5604, 5621, 5622, 5627, 5628, 5635, 5641, 5645, 5650, 5654, 5666, 5677,
5688, 5694, 5699, 5725-5726 (testimony), 5727-5736 (testimony),
5739, 5741, 5745, 5748, 5751, 5753, 5759, 5764, 5765 (testimony).
Peterson, Frank 5610,5642-5646 (testimony), 5664, 5728'
Pezzati, Albert 5708, 5709
Pistey, William 5608,5631-5636 (testimony), 5728
Powers, Chase 5708
Rabinowitz, Victor 5668, 5685, 5689, 5690, 5695, .5696
Rapuna, Henry 5706, 5707
Raymond, George Russell 5663
Resnick, Arlene (Mrs. Sidney Resnick, nee Kayser) 5680
Resnick, Sidney 5680
Richter, Charlotte (Mrs. Samuel Richter) 5607,
5610, 5678, 568.5-5689 ( testimony ), 5733.
Richter, Samuel 5610, 5635, 5668-5678 (testimony) , 5685, 5690, 5696, 5733
Rogers, Addie 5729
Rogers, Harold 5729
Roraback, Catherine G 5585, 5642, 5749, 5751, 5761
Rosenberg, Ethel 5732-5734
Rosenberg, Julius .5732-5734
Russo, Michael A 5725, 5750, 5753
Russo, Pearl 5729
Shea, James O'Connor 5759
Simons, Irv 5680
Simons, Virginia 5680
Sito, Ida 5734
Sito. Louise 5728, 5729
Small, Priscilla 5661, 5680
Soyka, Joseph 5659
Spector, Sarah (Mrs. Isadore Spector) 5659
Spector, Isadore 5659
Spencer, Mike. {See Mosher, Worden C.)
Stahl. Dave 5664
Steinberg, Hyman 5690,5695-5700 (testimony)
Sutton, Al 5729
Sykes, Emmett 5729
INDEX iii
Sykes, Mattie 5608, 5636
Tate, Jim 5607
Taylor, Sidney S 5607, 5662, 5751, 5753
Thompson, Joe 5729
Tomac-h, Sam 5734
Towies, Burl 5680
Travis, Maurice 5707, 5711
Trudeau, Clyde 5681
Ward, Roosevelt 5607
Weed, Verne 5708, 5709, 5731
Weinberg. Milton I 5610,5636-5641 (testimony), 5734
Weinberg, Mrs. Milton 5734
Weissman, Sol 5683
Willard, Josephine 5605, 5607, 5608,
5619, 5663, 5664, 5712-5725 (testimony), 5726-5727 (testimony), 5728
Willcox, Elsie 5708, 5709, 5731, 5734
Witt, Nathan 5705
Wyman, Jack 5728
Young. Al 5607
Yuchniek, Grace 5729
Yuchnick, Mike 5729
Zanella, Vincent, Jr 5712
Organizations
AVCO Manufacturing Corp 5610, 5636, 5642, 5660
Aid to Wives of the Smith Act Victims 5732
Amnesty Committee, Connecticut 5732
Bridgeport Women for Peace 5740,5741
Civil Rights Congress 5732
Communist Party :
Connecticut 5657
Executive Committee 5606, 5766
Negro Commission 5606, 5607
State Board (concealed) 5606,5607,5609
State Committee 5606, 5663
University of Connecticut cell ._ 5681
Bridgeport 5608, 5610, 5611, 5724
Bridgeport Club 5728
Cell within General Electric Co 5607, 5611
City Committee 5606, 5607
Decca Branch 5727, 5728
Decca-Columbia Branch 5728
East End Branch 5728, 5729
Executive Board 5726
North End Branch 5728
12-B Branch 5729
New Haven 5658, 5661
A. F. of L. Club 5663
Branford Club 5662
CIO Club 5063
Dixwell Club 5660
Finance Committee 5657
Grand Avenue Club 5661, 5662
Hill Club 5658, 5682
Howe Street Club 5659, 5664, 5683, 5684
Industrial Club 5662, 5663
Organization and Education Committee 5<)57
Professional Club 5663, 56(54
Railroad Club 5662
Section Committee 5679, 5681
Yale Club 5663, 5679, 5680
Youth Club (group) 5661, 5664, 5679, 5680, 5682
Communist Political Association 5729
Connecticut I'eace Council 5731-5733
Connecticut Volunteers for Civil Rights 5732, 5738
Diecasting Workers, National Association of 5703
iV INDEX
Page
Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, United : Local 208,
Bridgeport. Conn 5617, 5618, 5625, 5626, 5630, 5644
Executive Board 5618
Electrical Workers, International Union of . 563S
Freedom of the Press Committee 5693
General Electric Co., Bridgeport, Conn 5594, 5596, 5605,
5610, 5613, 5615, 5617, 5624, 5625, 5631, 5632, 5643, 5660, 5728
Jefferson School of Social Science 5606
Labor Youth League 5680, 5682
March of Labor (publication) 5630
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, International, Union of _-__ 5701, 5703-5707, 571 1
Executive Board 5708
National Lawyers Guild 5762
Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America, Brotherhood of,
A. F. of L. : Local 186 5649
People's Party, Connecticut 5592, 5-595, 5608, 5619, 5755, 5757
Progressive Party 5592
Reliable Steel Dx-um Co., Bridgeport, Conn 5669
Singer Manufacturing Co., Bridgeport, Conn 5596, 5737
Young Communist League 5725
o
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