us a
HARVARD COLLEGE
LIBRARY
GIFT OF THE
GOVERNMENT
OF THE UNITED STATES
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES,
NEW YORK AREA— PART IV
HEARINGS
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMEEICAN ACTIVITIES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
EIGHTY-FOURTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
MAY 5 AND 6, 1955
Printed for the use of the Committee on Un-American Activities
INCLUDING INDEX
HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY
DEPOSITED BY THE
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
AUG 17 1955
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTINO OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1955
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
Uniteid States House of Representatives
FRANCIS E. WALTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman
HAROLD H. VELDE, Illinois MORGAN M. MOULDER, Missouri
BERNARD W, KEARNEY, New York CLYDE DOYLE, California
DONALD L. JACKSON, California JAMES B. FRAZIER, Jh., Tennessee
GORDON H. SCHERER, Ohio EDWIN E. WILLIS, Louisiana
Thomas W. Bbale, Sr., Chief Clerk
n
CONTENTS
Page
May 5-6, 1955 :
Testimony of Mildred Blauvelt 911
Index i
(Testimony of Mildred Blauvelt, beard on May 3-4, 1955, is printed in Part III
of tiiis series.)
PuBLio Law 601, 79th Congress
The legislation under which the House Conunittee on Un-American
Activities operates is Public Law 601, 79th Congress [1946], chapter
753, 2d session, which provides :
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, * * *
PART 2— RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
RuleX
sec. 121. standing committees
17. Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine members.
Rule XI
POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEE
(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)
if 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. 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.
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 Con-
gress, the following standing committees :
(q) Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine members.
* * * « * * •
Rtxle 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 malse from time to time, investigations of (i) the extent, char-
after, and objects of un-American propaganda activities in the United States,
(ii) the diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American prop-
aganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and
attacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitu-
tion, and (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 inves-
tigation, together with such recommendations as it dems 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 such chairman, and may be served by any person desig-
nated by any such chairman or member.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES,
NEW YORK AREA— PART IV
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 1955
United States House of Kepresentatives,
Subcommittee of the
Committee on Un-American Activities,
Washington^ D. G.
PUBLIC hearing
A subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10 a. m. in the caucus
room, Old House Office Building, Hon. Morgan M. Moulder (chair-
man) presiding.
Committee members present : Representatives Morgan M. Moulder
and Harold H. Velde.
Staff members present : Frank S. Tavenner, counsel, and George C.
Williams, investigator.
Mr. Moulder. Proceed, Mr. Tavenner.
TESTIMONY OF MRS. MILDRED BLAUVELT— Resumed
Mr. Tavenner. Mrs. Blauvelt, at the close of yesterday's session,
you were telling us of your experience in the Communist Party with
respect to fund drives. You have described in some detail the great
emphasis that was placed upon rank and file members of the Com-
munist Party making substantial contributions to the work of the
party. You have described large quotas that were given to the various
sections and clubs of the Communist Party. Will you now continue
with your experience in the fund drives.
Mrs. Blauvelt. At the beginning of August 1950 the party started
another emergency fund drive and I met with Al Neptune, the educa-
tional director of the Boro Hall section August 17, 1950, at which time
he stated to me that the main task confronting the clubs was to raise
as much money as possible for the party's current fund drive by Sun-
day evening, August 20.
He stressed the need for the clubs to complete the fund drive as
promptly as possible, explaining that the money was needed on sec-
tion, county, and national levels.
He said the Boro Hall section had been forced to give up head-
quarters at 363 Fulton Street, the Kings County staff had been reduced
by two-thirds and full-time party workers had been going without
pay, and that the national committee needed funds to carry on the fight
for the defense of the party leaders.
Mr. Tavenner. Do you consider that that difficulty in making pay-
ment of the salaries to the Communist Party officials was due to the
911
912 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
spending of Communist Party funds for the defense of persons being
tried under the Smith Act ?
Mrs. Blatjvelt. Yes, sir; that was my understanding, that most
funds were being diverted for that purpose. Again on August 22,
1950, Al Neptune, explained the need for funds on a national scale,
saying that the defense of the party's leadership had practically
exhausted all funds and it was necessary to get more money to carry
on the fight to appeal the case. He also said that the Daily Worker
was operating in the red and all orders for the paper would have to be
made in advance as credit could no longer be extended.
The fund drive for 1951 began officially on March 15, and Ruth
Perloff, the section coordinator of the Jay-Smith Clubs Nos. 1 and 2
stated that the Boro Hall section had been given a quota of $7,000 and
the Jay-Smith Clubs $750. She stated that every comrade was being
asked to contribute a week's salary, plus a second week's salary if pos-
sible, and the comrades must be asked to make personal sacrifices for
the sake of helping the Daily Worker and the party, which was in dire
need of money to carry on its activities in the promotion of socialism
and the defense of its leaders.
She gave us a further report on April 11, 1951, at which time she
stated that she had attended a meeting of county leaders on April 9,
at 3200 Coney Island Avenue, where it had been decided that in view
of the imminence of the Communist Party having to register under the
McCarran Act and its being considered an illegal organization, steps
must be taken to complete 100 percent of the fund drive by the com-
ing weekend, while it was still possible for the money to go through
the channels from the membership through the section and county com-
mittees to the State and national committees without interference.
However, 100 percent of this fund drive was not met at that time and
a further report was made to the club on May 8, 1951, by Francis Sco-
ville, organizer of the Boro Plall section, who announced that Kings
County had $39,000 more to go to complete its quota of $100,000, and
the sections approximately $2,000 each. This was a very slow-moving
fund drive. It was difficult at this time to get the members to fulfill
their pledges. Money was not coming in.
Mr. Tavenner. Can you assign any reason for that ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, sir. Because aside from the annual fund
drives which had been held for the past couple of years there had been
any number of emergency fund drives indicated in the testimony I
have given. And the comrades were just being bled. They just didn't
have the resources, especially in my particular area, and I say that
that would be indicative of most of the areas in Brooklyn at least at
that time, because the fund drive was running very «lowly in that entire
area.
Of course we were given peptalks frequently on this particular fund
drive and once again on May 24, 1951, at a meeting of the Jay-Smith
Club No. 1, Charles Marshall, who was on the section staff, stated that
although the comrades might have to make contributions to other mass
organizations, the party came first, because it was the basis for those
mass organizations and that without the party they would not have
come into existence, nor would they be able to f miction.
Mr. Tavenner. During the course of your testimony you have em-
phasized the insistence that was being placed upon organizing of Com-
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 913
munist Party groups within industry. Will you tell us now, please,
what efforts the Communist Party made to increase its activities within
industry ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Probably by way of explanation I should say that
during the time of the Communist Political Association which covered
the latter period of the war, the party was operating on a commimity
club basis. Most of the industrial units had been dissolved, and after
the war the party did attempt to reconstitute the industrial work of
the party and did attempt to get the members back into industrial
branches. However, this activity was not proceeding too well, and
finally in the beginning of 1949 some very concrete action was being
taken and this action was reported on at a meeting of the Boro Hall
section which was held on March 1, 1949. At this meeting Sam Cole-
man of the party's State educational committee was supposed to have
addressed the meeting on the reorganization and the reorientation of
the party on the basis of industrial units, but inasmuch as he had
failed to appear, Bea Sacks, who was a member of the county commit-
tee as well as being organizer of the Boro Hall section, spoke in his
place. She announced that the party had decided to reorganize on an
industrial basis instead of the present community setup.
She said that during the war under the influence of Browder, the
party had dissolved its industrial units and had gone in for com-
munity work, and although after the war it had attempted to reestab-
lish some of its industrial units, it had become apparent that no
progress had been made ; that community work remained the bulk of
the party's activity, and it was therefore necessary to have a complete
reorganization along industrial lines. This, she explained, called for
the comrades to get into basic industries where they could do party
work from within rather than from outside, and that officeworkers also
would be asked to do industrial work.
With this general explanation she then informed the members of
how the Boro Hall section would be affected in the party reor-
ganization. She began by speaking of the longshoremen's strike
which had taken place a few months previously, admitting that it
had been the Communists who had given it its impetus, and in the
present reorganization, she said it had been decided to make party
activity among the longshoremen one of the key concentrations in
Brooklyn. To this end the Waterfront, Bay Ridge, Boro Hall,
Fort Greene, and 12th assembly district sections of the Brooklyn
party were being combined into one regional section, with longshore
work its major activity under the direction of a regional director, Ben
Davis, who had formerly conducted the Brooklyn party's election
campaigns.
She further announced that the Boro Hall and Fort Greene
sections would be consolidated whereby Boro Hall section would
be augmented by 60 members of the Fort Greene section, and Bob
Ehrlich of the Fort Greene section would be the organizational sec-
retary of the enlarged Boro Hall section.
Mr. Tavenner. Is the Ben Davis you are mentioning the Benjamin
J. Davis, Jr., who was elected to the council of the city of New York?
Mrs. BLAirvTJLT. No, sir ; this is an entirely different person.
Bea Sacks also stated that the Boro Hall section would devote
itself to four major concentrations : namely, longshore activity on the
914 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
docks, industrial activity at such factories as the Gem Razor Blade
Co. and Merganthalers, activity among the Puerto Rican residents of
the section, and activity among the Negroes.
The entire membership would be interviewed to see in which activity
they should be placed. Special emphasis was to be placed on placing
comrades in the longshore units, and all clubs were to be called uj)on
to give their assistance to this particular unit, in addition to whicli
the activity of all members would be diverted to whichever concentra-
tion was most in need of help. She announced that the party's re-
cruiting drive was now beginning and it was imperative to recruit
new members from among the longshoremen so that the longshore
unit could be established and its activity started. There was some
discussion at this meeting and I don't know whether you want me
to go into any of the detail of it.
Mr. Tavenner. I think not.
Mrs. Blauvelt. The party did hold an all-day conference at the
Hotel Diplomat on industrial concentration on March 5, 1949, and
credentials were given to one comrade from each club to attend as
the club's delegate, and from my particular club Harry Shapiro was
the delegate to this conference inasmuch as he was also a member of
the section staff. In connection with this particular activity on the
part of the Jay- Smith Club, we were told that we had to become
active around some industrial plant in the neighborhood and we
therefore started to make a survey of what factories were in our par-
ticular neighborhood at which we could sell the Daily Worker and
distribute leaflets on the outside.
Mr. Tavenner. Mrs. Blauvelt, I ask you at this time to identify
the membership of the Jay-Smith Club of the Communist Party, and
to state the period of your membership ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. I was a member of the Jay-Smith Club from the
end of June 1947 to the time of my expulsion.
Mr. Tavenner. Of course we expect you to follow the same criterion
given before in naming only those persons known to you to be members
of the Communist Party.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, sir. [Reading:]
There was Mary Ella Barnes, 555 Warren Street. Some of the group meetings
of the club were held in her home.
Dorothy Bregman, 193 Clinton Avenue. Dorothy Bregman had been assigned
to be the leader of the group called the American Youth for Democracy, which
was operating in our particular vicinity. She stated that she worked in a
nursery school of the department of welfare. She was at many meetings of
the club.
Stanley Bregman, 193 Clinton Avenue. He also attended many meetings of
the club.
Ann Bryant, 426 Baltic Street in the Gowanus housing project. She was at
one time treasurer of the club and did undergo deportation proceedings and was
deported in 1954 to Canada.
Walter Bryant, 426 Baltic Street in the Gowanus housing project, was litera-
ture director of the Jay-Smith Club for a time.
John Burke, 323 Pearl Street ; in 1948 he stated that he had been in the party
for 24 years, that he had been secretary of the International Labor Defense,
had made a national tour for it, and that he had once been a member of the
national review commission of the party.
Violet Burke, 323 Pearl Street. She bad been treasurer of the Jay-Smith Club
for a while.
Ethel Chilton, 594 Clinton Street. She joined the party in the latter part of
1949 and then in the latter part of 1950 moved to Emporium, Pa.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEV^ YORK AREA 915
George Chilton who was also known as Skippy, 594 Clinton Street. He was a
group captain in the club, stated that he was a member of the Young Progres-
sives of America. He also stated he was a chemist by profession and in the lat-
ter part of 1950 moved to Emporium,. Pa., to work for the Sylvania Co.
Bernie Chudnousky, 335 State Street. He had been transferred to the Jay-
Smith Club, stating that he had formerly worked in the Crown Heights and
Sheepshead Bay sections of the party.
Gus Contogenis, also known as Contes, 570 Baltic Street. He attended some
of the meetings of the club. He was one of the Greek comrades of the club.
Fred Dawn, 388 Pacific Street. He moved to 268 Dean Street and finally to
111 South Third Street. He had been transferred to the Jay-Smith Club from
Corona, Queens. He was literature director of the club for a while and also its
educational director for a while. When he moved to 111 South Third Street,
which was in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, there was some doubt
about his receiving a transfer. They thought probably the circumstances of his
entering the party were suspicious and were going to investigate but I do not
know what happened. He said he was a member of the laundry workers union.
Jo Ann Dawn, 388 Pacific Street, moved to 268 Dean Street, then to 111 South
Third Street, joined the party in April 1949 and attended meetings and the same
was true with her as Fred Dawn.
Bud Dell said he was also known as BudnofP, which is a phonetic spelling.
He lived at 188 Congress Street. He stated that he had been a psychologist in
the Army.
He was expelled from the party in March 1950 and at that time was supposed
to be moving to Boston and arrangements were made to have the party in Boston
notified so that they would not register him in the party in that area.
Mr. Tavexner. Do you know the reason for his explusion ?
Mrs. Blatts'elt. He was expelled — he had first been dropped be-
cause of misuse of funds or money which had been placed in his hands
by some of the comrades. And he was dropped with the understand-
ing that if he proved himself loyal to the party he could at some future
time ask to be reconsidered for reregistration. However, a case did
come up in which he was charged with white chauvinism and it was
on the charge of white chauvinism that the procedure to expel him
was conducted. [Reading :]
Christine Dell, wife of Bud Dell, 183 Congress Street. She was transferred
to an industrial unit called branch 2-C of the white collar workers of New
York County. She also was involved in the charges of white chauvinism and
expelled along with Bud Dell.
Mr. Tavenner. Does that mean she was an employee of the city of
New York?
Mrs. Blauvelt. No, sir. She was simply a member of another unit
in the party. This would be called one of the industrial units.
[Reading :]
Irving Feuer, 238 Bond Street, Gowanus housing project. He had been trans-
ferred from the Claremont Club in the Tremont section of the Bronx in Decem-
ber 1949.
He was literature and press director of the Jay-Smith Club for a time, one of
its group captains, and was made the organizer of the Jay-Smith Club No. 1
also for a while. He stated that he had attended conventions in 1936 and 1938,
which had been held by the American Youth Congress, that he had been a mem-
ber of the Young Communist League, American Youth for Democracy, Young
Pioneers and the International Workers Order.
He was to have been active in the Gowanus housing tenants' council. He said
he went into the Communist Party adult group in 1945 upon his discharge from
the Army. He worked for the Israeli Steamship Co. as a clerk and it was in his
apartment that I had my interrogation and expulsion.
Nettie Feuer, 238 Bond Street in the Gowanus housing project. She also had
been transferred to the Jay-Smith Club December 1949 from the Claremont Club
in the Bronx. She was cochairman of the Gowanus tenants' council. She also
stated that she had been a member of the Young Pioneers, YCL, AYD, and IWO,
and she had joined the Communist Party in 1944.
916 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Jerry Fields, 423 Baltic Street in the Gowanus housing project. He was a
veteran receiving monthly checks from the Veterans' Administration and at one
time he told me that he was planning on moving to New Jersey about September
1951.
He was a member of the Social Science McKelvey White Group of Brooklyn
College ; transferred from this group to the Jay-Smith Club.
Laura Fields, 42.3 Baltic Street, Gowanus housing project, transferred from
the youth group of the party to the Jay-Smith Club. She was recording secretary
of the Gowanus housing coimcil.
Dr. Trygve Forland, 5718 Fort Hamilton Parkway. He was press director of
the Jay-Smith Club and attended Long Island College Hospital. He was married
in July of 1948 and went to California and just recently I happened to see his
name listed in the Brooklyn Telephone Directory at the same address, 5718 Fort
Hamilton Parkway, which may indicate he is back in the city.
Paulette Frishkoff, 142 Henry Street : At the time when some of the members
were taken out of the Jay-Smith Club to form a new unit, which was to do
Italian concentration work, she became its treasurer. She moved to California
in 1949.
George Georgia : He was given membership card No. 14096 for 1948. He did
attend a meeting at which he paid me dues.
Etta Graham, 479 Adelphi Street : She joined the party in August 1948. She
did attend meetings.
Myra Greenberg lived on Dean Street between Hoyt and Bond, near the corner
of Bond Street. She stated she was attending Jefferson School in 1951 and that
she was also attending New York University. She was a member of the party's
youth division and had been placed in the Jay-Smith Club for the purpose of
receiving adult guidance and her assignment by the party was to be active in
the Labor Youth League and also in the student group at NYU.
Nils Gustafson, .386 Bergen Street : He was given membership card No. 14095
for 1948.
Georgia Lee Hall, 764 Greene Avenue : She was recruited on May 4, 1948, by
Charles Marshall and given membership card No. 14155 for 1948. She was a
member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and was later trans-
ferred to a club in the neighborhood in which she lived.
Caroline Hausman, 68 Hanson Place: She was transferred to the Jay-Smith
Club November 1949. She stated she was kindergarten teacher for the Depart-
ment of Welfare, that she had joined the Young Communist League in 1939 and
that she became a naturalized citizen in 1947.
She also stated she was a member of the local 555 of the teachers' union.
Mr. Tavenner. You say she was emploj^ed as a kindergarten teacher
in the department of welfare ?
Mrs. Blauyelt. Yes^, sir.
Mr. Tavenner. Do you know whether she was so employed in 1949 ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes ; at the time that I knew her she was.
Mr. Tavenner. Do you know whether she is still employed by the
welfare department ?
Mrs. Blatrt^lt. I do not, sir.
Mr. Tavenner. You have knowledge one way or the other ?
Mrs, Blauvelt. I have no knowledge one way or the other.
Mr. Moulder. What department of welfare?
Mrs. Blauvelt. In New York City. [Reading:]
Morris Highliger. 264 Bergen Street: He stated that he had come from the
Virgin Islands in 1905, and that he had joined the Communist Party in 1947,
having been recruited by Harry Shapiro. He received membership card No. 14314
for 1948.
Fred Holmstrom, 75 St. Marks Avenue: He stated that he had come from
Sweden about 1905 : that he had done party work around 1934 to 1940, canvassing
with the Daily Worker in the Bay Ridge area. He stated that he had worked for
the party on the waterfront in the early 1930's and was a member of the Amer-
ican Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born : member of the American
Labor Party, Bay Ridge branch ; member of the Furniture Workers Union, Local
140, and worked for Kollmorgen Optical Co., 2 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 917
Mr. Tavenner. Did you gain any information as to the date of his
naturalization ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. No, sir ; I did not. [Reading :]
Joseph Jenkins, 330 Bergen Street : He attended meetings.
Irving Katz was the owner of a delicatessen at 66 Fourth Avenue and was
one of the members from whom substantial contributions were received for fund
drives. He was transferred to Kings Highway section where he had his resi-
dence around June 1948. It was at this particular time that he stated that he
had been a member of the Communist Party for 11 years.
Claire Kessler, 3131/2 State Street: She had been transferred to Jay-Smith
Club from the lower West Side section in Manhattan in error. She was on the
rolls of the club for a while but was retransferred to a professional group in
June of 1949. She stated she was a member of the musicians union but not of
local 802, which was one of the famous locals of the musicians union. She gave
piano lessons to adults on Tuesday and Wednesday nights at her home.
Mr. Tavenner. Can you give any further identification of the pro-
fessional group of the Communist Party to which she was transferred ?
Mrs. Blau\'ei-t. No, sir; I cannot. [Reading:]
Caryll Lasky, 39 Sidney Place : She was financial secretary of the Boro
Hall section, acting membership director for a while, and in the latter part of
1950 became organizational secretary of the Boro Hall section. She was a
very active member in the party.
Bernice Landau, 275 Smith Street : She was registered into the party for 1949
at a meeting held on November 23, 1948. She worked for a nursery school,
she said, in the department of welfare in the vicinity of Knickerbocker Village
and was a member of the United Public Workers Union. As a matter of fact,
Bernice Landau was not too active within the Jay-Smith Club itself, preferring
to work in what she called an industrial unit and I think for that reason was
eventually transferred from the club.
Mr. Tavenner. Do you know whether she is still employed by the
department of welfare ?
Mrs. BLAU^^SLT. No ; I do not . [Reading :]
Sara Rubinsky Lewis, 568 Vanderbilt Avenue: She was transferred to the
Jay-Smith Club from Hinsdale Club of the 24th A. D., her transfer card being
signed by L. Davis for the Hinsdale Club and which designated her member-
ship card number to be 21998 for 1948. She was later transferred to the Flat-
bush section at her own request.
Betty Luschinsky : She used the party name Michaels. She lived at 437
Pacific Street. Betty Luschinsky is rather an interesting case so far as our
particular club was concerned, and it might be of interest to you to know some-
thing about it. She was a member of the Parent Teachers Association in public
school 47 and in December of 1949 at the time
Mr. Tavenner. Excuse me. Did you say she was a member or did
she hold any official position in the PTA ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. She was executive secretary, I think she told me.
She did not wish to reregister into the party for 1950 stating she did
not feel very close to the party. She wasn't sure whether or not she
was undergoing an ideological change in her political thinking and
therefore wanted to drop from the party for about a year to give her-
self time to think this matter over, at the end of which slie would
decide whether she wished to remain in the party or not.
She did say that she was an executive member of the Parent
Teacher Association, that she did not want to be known in tlie neigh-
borhood as a Communist and had become inactive in the party, even
refusing to do American Labor Party work during the last election
campaign. All of this was reported to the staff of the Boro Hall sec-
tion and after due consideration it was decided that she must be kept
918 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
in the party because she was a member of the PTA and it was only-
through her contact with the party that she would be able to function
correctly as a Communist in the PTA.
Bea Sacks, the organizer of the Boro Hall section, went to see
her regarding her refusal to reregister and although she had still re-
fused, ]3ea Sacks was sure she would be able to convince Betty to stay
in the party. Betty however did continue to refuse to reregister but
in spite of that fact was retained on the rolls of the Jay-Smith Club as
a member of the party upon orders of the section inasmuch as the sec-
tion felt that every effort must be made to keep her in the party be-
cause she was a member of the PTA and represented the party's con-
tact with what was considered a mass organization in the community.
Mr. Tavenner. Do you know whether she performed any service of
any character for the Communist Party after the time that you have
mentioned ?
Mrs. Blau^^lt. I had to see her myself when I visited her on
August 24, 1950, and at that time she again stated she hadn't changed
her mind about remaining in the party since her refusal to register
last year. She said she wasn't out of sympathy with it, still believed
in its principles, even had a subscription to the Sunday Worker and
kept up with her reading but she still didn't want to be a member of
the party because she didn't want to be active in it and didn't want to
be forced or have to force herself to party activity. But she said
she was secretary of the PTA and a member of the American Labor
Party and although she refused to register as a member of the Com-
munist Party if there was anything she could do to be of service to
the party without committing herself as a Communist, she would
try to help out. She gave me a small contribution to the fund drive
being conducted at that time.
I don't know what happened to Betty Luschinsky because at the
time of my expulsion I think she was in process of moving from the
section and I lost contact with the case at that time. [Reading :]
Other members were Geneva Mack, 581 Warren Street, who paid dues to the
party but did not attend meetings because of illness.
Laverne Mack, 581 Warren Street, recruited by Selma Shapiro in March 1949.
Audrey Mailman, 140 Dean Street, transferred to the Jay-Smith Club from
the Riverdale section of the Bronx Communist Party and at the time of her
transfer to the Jay-Smith Club was named educational director of the club.
She stated that she was attending, or had attended, rather, the Marxist in-
stitute of the Jefferson School and that she belonged to the American Students
Union iE 1938, where she had been membership secretary.
She also had been a member of the Young Communist League. She was a
member of the American Labor Party, tenants council. United Office and Pro-
fessional Workers of America.
In July of 1950 she was transferred to the Longshore Club inasmuch as that
club needed forces to help out in its work.
Harold Mailman, 140 Dean Street. He also was transferred to the Jay-Smith
Club from the Riverdale section of the Bronx Communist Party. He had been
an organizer for the American Labor Party, stated he had been a paid or-
ganizer for the Progressive Party, had been in charge of tickets for the rally
that had been conducted by the American Labor Party at Yankee Stadium dur-
ing the Wallace campaign, that he had gone to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., for organiza-
tional work and fund raising in connection with the Progressive Party.
He also was transferred to the Longshore Club in July 1950 because that
club needed forces.
Charles Marshall, 34.3 Bergen Street. Joined the Communist Party in 1947.
He became literature director of the Jay-Smith Club, then was made its mem-
bership director, then its organizer, and held the position of group captain at
various times.
I
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 919
He was released for 6 weeks in 1949 from all party activities to attend the
county training class. He was made a member of the section staff as its press
director and upon reorganization of the party in the latter part of 1950, became
area director of the La Pasionaria Club and Unit 338, the industrial unit of
the food workers.
Marjorie Marshall, 343 Bergen Street. She was made club organizer of Jay-
Smith Club No. 2 when the club was broken into 2 groups.
Anna Maslowski, 224 Dean Street. She said she had been active in Communist
Party work in Hoboken in 1939 where she had lived with her first husband, and
that she had been a member of the Communist Party in Germany.
Seenie McCantes, marriage name was Brace, 553 Warren Street. She was
one of the comrades in whose home we held group meetings.
Wallace McNab, 92 Atlantic Avenue. He joined the Communist Party in
June 1948, he was a member of the local 85, Building Workers Union, and stated
he was an elevator operator.
Jimmie Monroe, 551 Warren Street. He was not too active a member.
Minnie Monroe, 551 Warren Street. Minnie Monroe was a delegate from the
Jay-Smith Club to many Communist Party and Communist Party front delega-
tions which were conducted at the time that I was a member of the club.
Mary Moore, 161 Third Avenue ; and —
Ira Moore, 161 Third Avenue. Some meetings were held in their home and
they did attend meetings of the party.
John Mougianis, 274 Dean Street. He was president of his Greek chapter of
the IWO, International Workers Order. He was a member of the Food Workers
Union of the A. F. of L. He bought a home in Jamaica, Long Island, and moved
there about June 1951.
Leona Mougianis, 274 Dean Street. She naturally moved to Jamaica, Long
Island, also.
Abe Osheroff ; he had been former organizer of the Brownsville section, and
at the time that I became a member of the Jay-Smith Club was the organizer of
the Boro Hall section. He had been made a member of the Jay-Smith Club.
He was transferred to the Boro Park section in around June 1948, I believe, and
later became organizer of the Bay Ridge and Boro Park sections, and also became
a member of the county committee. He also was a member of the Veterans of
the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
Ruth PerlofE; she had lived at 323 Pearl Street when I first knew her and then
moved to 355 Pacific Street. She had once been the oi-ganizer for the Jay-Smith
Club. She acted at one time as the section treasurer of the Boro Hall section
and became a member of the section committee.
She was educational director of Jay-Smith Club No. 1 for a while, and upon
reorganization of the party in the latter part of 1950 became section coordinator
of the Jay-Smith Clubs Nos. 1 and 2. She stated that she had joined the party
in 1937, had been a member of the Christian Youth Organization, the American
Youth Congress, and had done party work in Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania,
and had worked in the party bookshop in Ohio. For a while she was a member
of the Helen Horton Club in 1950, but just a brief period.
Mr. Tavenner. Have you any way of identifying the bookshop in
Ohio?
Mrs. Blauvelt. No, I have not. [Reading :]
George Polimeris, 335 Pearl Street. He attended some of the meetings of the
Jay-Smith Club at which I was present.
Tony Poiilos, 355 Pacific Street. He was press director and literature director
of the Jay-Smith Club No. 2 and was employed at the Long Island College
Hospital.
Sophie Poulos, 355 Pacific Street. She was also known as Steiner. She con-
ducted a mimegraphing business. It was called at one time the Steinmil Letter
Shop, 530 West 136 Street, New York City. Then she moved and had the Stein-
mil Mimeograph Co. at 343 West 164 Street.
She was press director of the Jay-Smith Club and was membership director
for a very long period of time of the Jay-Smith Club. She became the adviser
and director of the local branch of the American Youth for Democracy which
was operating in the area of the Jay-Smith club.
She was also a group captain, and membership director and financial secretary
for .Jay-Smith Club No. 2.
Murray Roman. His true name was Morris Romanofsky, though he always
was known as Murray Roman.
920 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
He lived at 215 Bergen Street, but later moved to 149 I.enox Road. He had
been transferred to the Jay-Smith Club in November 1947. He stated that he
was assigned by the county committee of the Brooklyn Party to the American
Labor Party and that he was publicity director for the Kings County ALP, that
he worked for local 19 of the United Ofhce and Professional Workers of America,
and that in 1949 he had been in the Communist Party for 17 years. He had
been an MP while in the Service.
Nettie Roman, also known as Romanofsky. She also lived at 215 Bergen
Street and later moved to 149 Lenox Road. She stated that she had conducted
a section training class, had been instructor of classes held in her own home,
had been educational director in the Red Hook section, and that she had been
city press director of Hartford during the war, that she had done educational
work for the Waterfront branch and had done party work in the Brighton Beach
and Coney Island sections, that she had helped organize the United Electrical
Radio and Machine Workers of America in a factory in Hartford where she had
been working during the war.
Nellie Rouse, 343 Bergen Street.
Eleanor Schor, maiden name was Woolman. She lived at 42 Livingston Street
and subsequently moved to 144 Willow Street. At one time she was assigned
to work in the American Labor Party in the Fort Greene housing project. She
was the organizer of the Jay-Smith Club when I became a member of it and
from there became organizational secretary of the Boro Hall section.
Dr. Gerald Schor, 42 Livingston Street, subsequently 144 Willow Street. He
stated he had been a member of the Young Communist League. He became a
doctor of medicine in June of 1948 after studying at the Long Island College
Hospital, and around that period was transferred to a professional group inas-
much as he had become a full-fledged doctor. He was interning at the Jewish
Hospital in 1951.
Mr. Tavenner. Are you able to identify the professional group to
which he was transferred ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. This was in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of
Brooklyn and I understand that some of the members of the staff of
the Jewish Hospital were included in that professional group. [Read-
ing:]
Harry Shapiro. He was known by the name of Brockman in the party ; 124
Lincoln Place. He had moved to some place on Gibson Street in Far Rockaway
where he was transferred to the Far Rockaway Club and then did move back
to the Boro Hall section and was retransferred back to the Boro Hall section.
He acted as the organizer of the Jay-Smith Club for a while. He was a mem-
ber of the section staff of the Boro Hall section and had been assigned to work
with both the Plaza Club and the La Pasionaria Club, the Puerto Rican club.
Selma Shapiro, also known as Brockman in the party and also known by
the name of Herbst. She lived at 124 Lincoln Place and the same procedure was
true in her case of moving to Gibson Street in Far Rockaway and then moving
moving back to the Boro Hall section, being retransferred back to that section.
She held the positions of press director, educational director, membership direc-
tor, for the Jay-Smith Club at various times. She was a group captain and
educational director in the Jay-Smith Club No. 2 and for a while had been
assigned to work also in the La Pasionaria Club.
Blanche Siegel, 62 Hoyt Street. She moved to the Sedgewick project in the
Bronx in July 1950. She stated she had done work for the national oflSee of the
United OfBce and Professional Workers of America, and that in 1948 she was
working for local 1217 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of
America.
Milton Siegel, also 62 Hoyt Street, he had been transferred to the Jay-Smith
Club from the Bronx where he had been doing canvassing work for the party in
the Hunts Point section.
He moved to the Sedgewick project in the Bronx in July 1950. At the time
I knew him, he was attending New York University under the GI bill of rights.
This was in the period 1948 and 1949. He stated that he had been active in the
students union, Young Communists League, and American Youth for Democracy,
and had gone on the delegation to the American Peace Mobilization to Chicago
held in 1940.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 921
Bertha Silas, 2G4 Bergen Street, given membership card No. 14284 for 1948.
Nick Silas, 274 Dean Street. He had been transferred to the Jay-Smith Club
from the Hill section of Pittsburgh, Pa., in September 1949. He has subsequently
been deported to Poland.
Mr. Velde. What was the reason for his being deported ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. The Immigration and Naturalization Service held
proceedings against him based on membership in the party and the
fact that he was an alien and not naturalized. I testified in that case
in Chicago in February 1954.
Mr. Velde. Did you say he was a naturalized citizen ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. He was not a naturalized citizen and was subse-
quently deported to Poland. I do not know just when it was but it was
some time last year. [Reading :]
John Stuart, 20 Sidney Place. He had been transferred to the Jay-Smith Club
in August 1948 to be its educational director and he was transferred out of the
Jay-Smith Club in the latter part of 1949. He had at one time worked for
New Masses. On March 31, 1953, he appeared before the Senate Internal Security
Subcommittee and when asked about his Communist affiliations in general, and
the Jay-Smith Club in particular, he claimed the fifth amendment.
Charles Toback, 39 Sidney Place. He was transferred to the Jay-Smith Club
in June of 1948 upon the request of Eleanor Schor. He was transferred from the
industrial unit in local 65 of the Wholesale Workers Union because his previous
experience in the Bronx among Negroes fitted him for the Jay-Smith Club's needs.
Steve Tsermegas, 274 Dean Street. He was also deported to Poland last year.
Mr. Velde. On the same grounds, Communist membership ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, sir ; I testified in his case.
Nick Silas was the case in which I testified in February 1954.
[Reading:]
Eileen Wilson used the party name of Bryant. She lived at 294 Clinton Street.
She had been recruited into the party by Dr. Trygve Forland. It was around
March 1948. Dr. Schor added his recommendation to that of Dr. Forland. She
was given membership card No. 14266 for 1948. She worked at the Long Island
College Hospital as research assistant and bacteriologist. She was made the
organizer of the Jay-Smith Club No. 1 for a certain period of time ; was also one
of its group captains. She moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., about June 1950.
Dr. William Wilson used the party name Bryant, 294 Clinton Street. He had
been recruited by Dr. Forland and the same procedure as I mentioned for Eileen
Wilson.
Mr. Tavenner. When you say Dr. Wilson used the name Bryant,
do you mean that was a Communist Party name he used ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes. When these two people, Eileen Wilson and
Bill Wilson were first recruited into the party, I had to handle their
membership applications and they used the name of Bryant on that,
and they were very commonly referred to as just Eileen Bryant and
Bill Bryant.
However, it was subsequently learned that their true name was Wil-
son and I think we often referred to them as the Wilsons. Schor, Wil-
son and Forland were all medical students at the same time in the Long
Island College Hospital, which was the reason for the recruitment of
Forland and Wilson into the party at this particular time.
Mr. Tavenner. Did all three of these doctors use party names dif-
ferent from their own names ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. In the case of Schor he was, when I first came into
the Jay-Smith Club, commonly referred to as Woolman, which was
his wife's maiden name, but that was subsequently dropped and he was
called Schor.
63968 — 55— pt. 4 2
922 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Forland at one time gave me a subscription to the Worker which he
had signed in the name of Thompson, saying that was his father's
name. So I don't know whether I can attribute that to being his name
or not ; I don't know what the circumstances were behind that. We
never referred to Trygve Forland by any other name than that.
Mr. Tavenner. But it is quite evident that in the case of each of
these three doctors they were endeavoring to cover up their true
identity ?
Mrs, Blauvelt. Yes, I would say so. Bill Wilson was later trans-
ferred to the medical students unit of New York University which
was in the student section. I happened to be at his home on the night
of November 15, 1949, when he telephoned his acceptance of interne-
ship at Santa Barbara, that acceptance to take effect in June, and he
subsequently moved to Santa Barbara in June of 1950. [Reading:]
Joseph Zinghini, 126 State Street: he had been given membership card No.
14097 for 1948 ; he was a member of the American Labor Party. He contributed
to one of the fund drives. I had to eventually put through a transfer through
the Boro Hall section for him to be transferred to the Orange Street club inas-
much as he was living outside of the immediate confines of the Jay-Smith area.
Frances Zockowitz, 215 Bergen Street : I met her at a meeting of the Jay Smith
club held on August 15, 1947, but she was very soon after that transferred to
another club inasmuch as she had moved to Harlem.
She was, I believe, the sister of Nettie Roman, whom I mentioned
previously.
Mr. Moulder. The committee will stand in recess until 1 : 30.
(Whereupon, at 12 noon, the committee was recessed, to reconvene
at 1 :30 p. m. the same day.)
AFIERNOON" session, may 5, 1955
Committee members present: Representative Moulder (presiding).
Mr. Moulder. Proceed, please.
Mr. Tavenner. You have indicated, Mrs. Blauvelt, in the course
of your testimony, that the Communist Party put great stress on its
members engaging in community activities. I would like you to dis-
cuss that subject more fully and tell the committee how the Communist
Party brought pressure to bear on its members to engage in Commu-
nist Party activities, and the nature of those Communist activities.
Mrs. Blauvelt. These activities were conducted on issues which
were felt would have the most appeal to the people in the communities,
and directives usually would be handed down from the section to the
clubs as to just what activities were to be participated in.
Now, for instance, when I was in the Parkside club, which was a
club in the Flatbush section, following a section convention, a report
was made to the Parkside club by Jeanette Rosenfeld on March 5,
1946. She stated that at this particular section convention, Shirley
Auerbach, literature director for the section, had made a report on
the activities which the section should undertake. The Communist
party was to be representative of a cross-section of the community and,
therefore, the Communists just become active among the working and
laboring classes and the Negro and Jewish people of the community.
The county committee had suggested to the section that they con-
duct activity on the FEPC and this was done to a certain extent.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 923
Also the question had been raised about establishing a third party
in opposition to the two-party system and consideration of this angle
was given and it was thought that the best results could be achieved
through the American Labor Party.
Of course, the Communists, the comrades were told, must assume
leadership in the American Labor Party and be the vanguard in initi-
ating a movement for a third party.
At this particular time in 1946, and in the beginning of 1947, a
great deal of activity was conducted to retain the OPA and, of course,
there was a good deal of activity on the question of price control.
In connection with that, there had been a buyers' strike in the Flat-
bush section held on August 12 to 20 in 1946, and Dorothy Liff re-
ported to the members of the Lincoln Koad club her participation in
that strike as the representative of the Lincoln Road club ; she being
the specific representative because she had been assigned the task of
organizing a consumers council.
The headquarters for this particular strike activity was at 959 Flat-
bush Avenue, which was the headquarters of the American Labor
Party, and Jerry Weltfish, who was a member of the Flatbush section
of the Communist Party and who was also in the leadership of the
American Labor Party, was in charge of that strike committee.
The Lincoln Road club was particularly engaged in an attempt to
organize consumers councils and several of the members had been
assigned to that particular task.
In addition to which Rhoda Cahn, one of the members, had been
assigned to the task of trying to establish a permanent day nursery,
this being one of the issues around which they felt they could rally the
people.
She reported to the Lincoln Road club on January 7, 1947, that
plans were taking shape for establishing a permanent organization for
a day nursery and that petitions to Governor Dewey asking that child
care centers be continued on a permanent basis were being circulated.
Mr. TA^^:NNER. You spoke of the part that the Conununist Party
played in the consumers strike.
Here is a throwaway sheet. Was that used in connection with that
strike ?
Mrs. Blatjvelt. Yes. This is a throwaway which was issued in
the name of the Flatbush Clubs of the Communist Party of 848 Flat-
bush Avenue, and it is on the subject of price control, intended to get
the people in the neighborhood to participate in a consumers strike.
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to offer the document in evidence and ask
that it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 22," for identification pur-
poses only, and to be made a part of the committee files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
Mr. Ta\t:nner. With reference to rent control, which you have
mentioned, were throwaway sheets used in that campaign also ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, sir ; they were.
Mr, Tavenner. I hand you one and ask if you can identify it.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes. This is a throwaway which was issued by
the New York State Communist Party on the subject of rents and call-
ing for the organization of the people against the increasing of rents,
and to maintain rent ceilings.
924 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Mr. Tavenner. Attention is directed to coupon in lower left corner
inviting inquiries from the Communist Party.
I desire to ofl'er tlie document in evidence and ask tliat it be marked
"Blauvelt Exhibit No. 23," and that it be incorporated in the tran-
script of the record.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
(The exhibit referred to is as follows :)
Blauvelt Exhibit No. 23
51-255
lAniJb io.
SAVE RENT CEILINGS
Newspaper headlines: Rents going up ... up . . .10%, 15%, 80% ... who knows how nscb?
The real estate boys are out to get all they can. At Herbert U. Nelson, btg shot m the National An'n of
Real Estate Boards said. "HELL. WE'RE GOING TO WIPE OUT RENT CONTROLS AND THE WHOLE
DAMN BUSINESS THIS TIME." (The language i« Mr. Nekon't.)
Real estate has made the biggest profits in history. Apartnnenfs have been rented 100%. Service*
have been cut. It's the tenants who need relief— iwf the big landiordsl Small homeowners should receive
adjustments in taxes.
Can you afford a 30% increase in rent? Especially when prices on all gooilt— shoes, clothing, btitter;
soap, textiles, furniture, automobiles, household appliances— are taking another big jump?
The Republican sweep in Congress has made Big Business very coclcy. And President Truman hds
surrendered again by Hfting price controls and indicating that RENTS MAV ALSO HAVE TO BE
"ADJUSTEDI"
ORGANIZE NOW!
You didn't vote for higher rentsi Everybody promised to keep ceilings on rent»— before Bectian D«y.
MAKE TRUMAN AND DEWEY LIVE UP TO THEIR PROMISES!
RENT INCREASES CAN BE STOPPED — IF THE PEOPLE ACT . . . FAST ... AND TOGETHERI
a Get together with the other tenants in your building. Bring pressure on President Truirian TO KEEP
RENT CEILINGS AS THEY ARL Don't rely en Dewey and the State Uw. It wiU not protect you 51
rent ceilings are raised. Pledge that you wil not pay rent increases. If you and other tenants (Kcl
together, increases cannot be put overl
• Organize huge mass rallies and demonstrations in your community and shops. Vi«t your newly elecfed
Congreumen and State Legislators. Demand that they join the fight to keep rents controlled.
LABOR AND ALL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS MUST WORK TOGETHERI
UNITE TO
Mail This Coupon Today
New YoHt State Communist Party
35 East 12th St., New York 3, N. Y.
I WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION.
City
KEEP A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD
BY KEEPINO CEILINGS ON RENTSf
Issued by:
New York St«t» Communitt Party
35 East 12th St.. New York 3, N. Y.
Mr. Tavenker. Will you proceed, please.
Mrs. Blauvelt. This activity on community issues was discussed at
a meeting on March 11, 1947. This was a meeting of the Lincoln
Koad club in the home of Rhoda and Bill Cahn. Rhoda Cahn stated
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 925
slie felt the community issues of rent control, school and day nur-
series offered the Communists the opportunity to reach the people.
Gerald Goodman, one of the members, felt that the comrades should
be made alert to the immediate issues that arose from day to day such
as the present demand of the teachers and the administration's pro-
posed loans to Greece and Turkey, and that the members be directed
to send telegrams and letters on these issues, and that once they were
made aware of the necessity of their acting as individuals in such
matters, they would be in a position to involve others and this process
would eventually activate them in broad mass activities.
We received further directives in connection with activity in the
community from Sidney Wang, one of the organizers of the section,
at a meeting held by the section on April 8, 1947. He instructed that
the comrades must work in the mass organizations in the community
such as the American Labor Party, American Jewish Congress, the
Civil Rights Congress, tenants councils, all of which he said had Com-
munists in them.
He said although the American Labor Party was bringing the is-
sues of the day to the people, he felt the comrades in other organiza-
tions should do better party Avork and make the members of those
organizations aware of what they should fight for.
This would make them politically conscious and teach them to vote
correctly so that the Fascists and reactionaries would be defeated.
That about constituted the type of activity that was conducted on
a community level in the Flatbush section. Then when I came into
tlie Boro Hall section when I was made a member of the Jay-Smith
club, I attended my first meeting there on June 20, 1947, which was
a membership meeting of the Boro Hall section held at the Livingston ;
and Abe Osheroff , section organizer at that time, stated that the county
was going to concentrate on the Boro Hall, Williamsburg, Bedford-
Stuyvesant and Waterfront sections in order to organize these sections
and recruit new members into the party.
The Boro Hall section had several factories within its boundaries
and activity in this section was to be concentrated on these key points.
The comrades in the Boro Hall section were to be called upon to
do organizing work in the industries to carry out this plan.
The Squibbs plant and the Gem Razor plant were considered very
vital places. He outlined the procedure to be used in organizing these
and other industries in the section, namely, that the comrades dis-
tribute leaflets at the gates of these factories, be ready to answer any
questions asked of them and concentrate on those workers who showed
the most interest.
Then at a meeting of the executive committee of the Jay-Smith Club
held October 13, 1947, Harry Shapiro, who was acting as temporary-
chairman of the club at that time, announced that the Boro Hall
section wanted the clubs to conduct a propaganda campaign rather
than the agitational campaign they had been conducting in the past
months. This called for discussion of the difference between agitation
and pro])aganda and it was explained that in an agitation campaign
the people were called upon to act in a specific manner.
For example, in leaflets on housing and rents, people were urged to
write to their Congressmen asking for legislation that would furnish
housing programs and rent controls. A propaganda campaign, how-
ever, was for educational purposes and in leaflets on the subject of
926 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
housing and rents the people would be informed of housing conditions^
what caused them and how they could be rectified.
In line with this directive from the section, Harry Shapiro felt that
the club should continue its work in the neighborhood on the issues of
housing, rents, and prices, but that from that time on, any leaflets
issued should be on the propaganda or educational nature.
Following a section convention held by the Boro Hall section on
June 19, 1948, it was announced at the club that the Boro Hall sec-
tion was going to concentrate activities upon the Negroes and Puerto
Kicans in the section, and in line with this, one of the members of the
club by the name of Tony Poulos, was selected to be the representative
of the club at a meeting being held by the party at Central Plaza Hall
on February 13, 1949, to plan organizational work in Puerto Rican
communities.
Other activities sometimes consisted of what we would call emer-
gency mobilizations and one such mobilization occurred on June 4, 194&
when Sophie Poulos, membership director of the Jay-Smith Club, in-
formed me that she had received directives from the section that on
this particular day the section was conducting a distribution of flyers
on the jailing of John Gates, Henry Winston, and Gus Hall, the dis-
tribution to take place that afternoon in the shopping area along
Fulton Street, Brooklyn ; that on Monday, June 6 the party was con-
ducting a picket line at Foley Square in protest of this jailing; and
that on June 7 the party was conducting a mass demonstration at
Union Square also in protest of this jailing.
But on this particular afternoon of June 4 Sophie Poulos and I went
to the section where we picked up some of the flyers for distribution
and we actually went in front of one of the department stores and
distributed them for about half an hour in the afternoon.
Then on August 23, 1949, a meeting of the Jay-Smith Club was held
at which there was some discussion on the local issue of discrimina-
tion against Negro longshoremen in Local 968 of the ILA (Interna-
tional Longshoremen Association).
This was considered a good subject to discuss with contacts because
it was close to home and understandable.
In addition to this, Charles Marshall, the club organizer, announced
that his suggestion of organizing an unemployment council in the
neighborhood to deal with the issues of jobs and relief, had been
approved by the section, and as soon as somebody could be found to
give such an organization technical advice, the attempt would be made
to launch it in the neighborhood.
There was another rather fast mobilization of membership which
occurred on August 29, 1949. Sophie Poulos had been to the section
headquarters and received the directive that the club's membership
meeting which was scheduled for the following day, was to be can-
celed so that the membership could be notified to attend the rally at the
Golden Gate ballroom at 140th Street and Lenox Avenue, on "August
30 in protest against a riot which had taken place in Peekskill on Aug-
ust 27, when Paul Eobeson gave a concert. Sophie had been given a
batch of the August 29 issue of the Daily Worker which contained
articles on the Peekskill incident and these were to be distributed to the
club members so they would read about the riot and be f ullv informed
and duly aroused to the point of wanting to attend that protest rally
at Golden Gate ballroom.
I
mVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 927
Petitions in protest against the riot had been mimeographed and
were to be sent directly to Governor Dewey as soon as the comrades
had secured signatures to them.
Then in the latter part of 1949 when the Jay-Smith Club had been
broken up into two gi-oups, Jay-Smith No. 1 Club received the direc-
tive that it was to work on an Italian concentration, and Al Neptune
of the section staff explained to the club at a meeting on December 6,
1949 that in order to accomplish the task of integrating the Italian
people in the community into a progressive force, and eventually into
the Communist Party, a campaign must be conducted to canvass spe-
cific streets in the neighborhood to find out who were the progressive
people and just what their needs were.
With this information, he said, the club would be in a position to
organize such groups as tenants councils which would be the basis for
building an American Labor Party branch in the neighborhood which
was one of the aims of the club.
He maintained that one could not immediately approach these peo-
ple with the ideology of socialism as a solution to their economic needs
because they were not prepared for such a long-range program, but
that by helping them to achieve fairly immediate benefits in their con-
stant day-to-day struggles through such organizations as tenants coun-
cils, they would be educated to socialism.
Now there was another project undertaken by Jay-Smith Club No. 2,
and on February 15, 1950, a joint executive committee of the Jay-Smith
Clubs Nos. 1 and 2 was held so that the members of club No. 1 could
be informed of this particular activity on the part of club No. 2.
Al Neptune, who had now become the section educational director,
had suggested that club No. 2 form a committee composed of the
people in tlie neighborhood who were willing to fight for the employ-
ment of Negroes in community industries, and Charles Marshall and
Sophie and Tony Poulos had visited contacts in the neighborhood to
ask them to join a committee which would carry on a fight to see that
the shops and factories in the communities, and particularly the
Borden Milk Co., hired unemployed Negroes in the neighborhood for
available jobs. They reported receiving the consent of several people
to serve on such committee.
The next step to be taken was a meeting of these people at which a
plan of action could be drawn up. The executive members of Club
Jay-Smith No. 2 were to attend the meeting and be prepared to direct
the discussion into the correct channels of organization and activity.
But it was also agreed by the comrades that it must not appear
that they were taking over the meeting but that the contacts should
be encouraged to express their ideas and make suggestions.
They were particularly anxious not to have the committee labeled
lied in any way.
Then in 1951 on May 4 at a regional meeting of the club organizers
of the Boro Hall, Waterfront, Boro Park and Bay Eidge, 12th A. D.,
Bensonhurst and Bath Beach sections, held in the headquarters of the
Bath Beach section, at 2166 86th Street, it was announced that the
main concentration of the Brooklyn Communist Party was the long-
shoremen and in line with this a leaflet discussion was being con-
durted every Thursday morning on the docks of the waterfront.
Beginning with the spring of 1950 the party began an intensive
peace campaign and that continued unabatingly. Part of the activ-
928 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
ity of the clubs in all sections for that matter was the attempt to form
peace committees in the neighborhood, and this was the major activity
when I was expelled from the party.
Mr. Tavenner. I will want to question you more in detail about the
peace campaigns later.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, sir.
Mr. Tavenner. During the course of hearings we have received a
great deal of testimony regarding rallies and demonstrations con-
ducted by the Communist Party. Tell us briefly regarding the rallies
and demonstrations held by the several Communist clubs of which
you were a member.
Mrs. Blauvelt. There were very many that did take place, but
probably some that might be of interest. I could go through them
as briefly as I can.
There was one which occurred while I was a member of the Flat-
bush Club, and at a meeting of the club held on Mai-ch 20, 1945, Nat
Rosenbluth announced that on April 25, 1945, the day the San Fran-
cisco meeting of the U. N. was to take place, the Flatbush Club in
conjunction with various other organizations in the community would
stage a rally at Erasmus Hall High School, and he called on the mem-
bers to see him about contacting the heads of the various community
organizations to urge them to cooperate in making the rally a success.
He later reported that this rally was going along as scheduled. It
was being sponsored in the name of the Americans United for World
Organization. And when the rally was held, the chairman was
Charles Murphy; speakers were Peter De Burr of the newspaper
guild; Fannie Hurst, who was introduced as an internationalist of
the first water ; and Congressman John M. Coffee.
Now later in the year another rally was held at Erasmus Hall High
School and also in the name of the Americans United for World
Organization.
Mr, Moulder. You said Coifee ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. C-o-f-f-e-e.
Mr. Moulder. When was he a Member of the Congress ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. It must have been around 1945.
On December 6, 1945, an anti-Kankin rally was held. It was held
in the name of the Americans United for World Organization and
held at Erasmus Hall High School.
In connection with this rally, there was a great deal of activity per-
formed by the Flatbush Club. Abe Feingold had asked for volun-
teers to help him with the publicity of this particular rally. He was
the representative of the club in the Flatbush Chapter for the Ameri-
cans United for World Organization.
Following this meeting a report was made by Jack Mogolescue, who
had worked on the committee to arrange for the rally, and he said
that the Communists liad done well in making the affair a success.
Now, in March and particularly on March 7, 1946, the party held
a rally at Union Square in protest against Churchill's anti-Soviet
speech which had been made just about that time. The National
Secretariat of the Communist Party had issued a statement in pro-
test of ChurchilFs speech and copies of this statement had been made
at county headquarters and the Flatbush section itself prepared leaflets
for distribution prior to the rally.
Mr. Taa^nner. I hand you two leaflets relating to that subject mat-
ter. Will you identify them, please.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 929
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes. One of these was issued by the Joe Stember
Youth Club of the Communist Party, with the address 848 Flatbush
Avenue.
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to offer the document in evidence and ask
that it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 24," and that it be incorpo-
rated in the transcript of the record.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
( The exhibit referred to is as follows : )
Blauvelt Exhibit No. 24
51-183
A\\[RI: lYDOJ
i:ri;a\\ld
Th« 'boys have no oconer come heme from fighting an antl-fasclet
war, but the war-mongera are trying to Involve us In an Imperialist
struggle.
This is the only path that the "get totigh with the Soviet hoys"
and Churchill's speech can lead to.
ChMTchlll has a lon^ record of reaction 'behlad hla. In 1920 ho
sent Siigllsh treops to fight the then struggling Soviets. Althottgh
that adventure failed, thousands of English and American trtops died.
Churchill's praise of Franco and I'ftissollnl are well known and emphA»l«e
the type of man and the reactionary alms he has. He Is trying to win
America's support for the dying British Ikplre. K) YOU ffAiTT TO DIS IN
KHAKI FOR THAT?
At home our own imperialists led hy Byrnes and Vandenberg* play
this dangerous game. Flay it with our lives.
Is there any Justification for their actloneT
WHAT CAN Ton 1»T
URITl! AND WIRB THE STATU PZPARTMHTT COTOBMNING CHDRCHILL'S SPSaSHIS.
TmSE YOUa COliGRSSStttIT TO STAND BEHIWH AMSaiCAN-SOYET BSUTIOITS.
SUPPORT AND JOIN THE FUTBUSH COMMCHftST PARTY TOICH IS TICHTINO
AGAINST A THIRD 1>R1D WAR AND FOR DEMOCRATIC FREEDOMS AT HOME I
Joe Stember Youth Club
CoBmunlBt Party
848 Flatbush Avenu*
te «eet every Ttaupsday Wight,
930 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Mrs, Blaun^lt. In addition to that particular throwaway, there is
this petition to the President of the United States issued by the Flat-
bush section of the Communist Party at 848 Flatbush Avenue in protest
against Churchill's speech.
Mr. Tax'enner. I desire to offer the second document in evidence
and ask that it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 25," and that it be
incorporated in the transcript of the record.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
(The exhibit referred to is as follows :)
Blauvelt Exhibit No. 25
Protest Churchill's Speeches — Urge Congressmen to Stand Behind
American-Soviet Relations
To the President of the United States
Honorable Harry S. Truman :
The American people are worried by Churchill's war inciting speeches. His
provocative remarks followed closely the ''get tough with Russia" policy outlined
by Secretary of State Byrnes, and UNO delegate, Senator Vandenberg. Your
presence at Fulton, Mo., when Churchill spoke, gave his inflammatory statements
official American sanction.
Churchill does not speak for the British people who repudiated him at the
polls only a short time ago. He does not speak for the American people who
fought and won World War II as the allies of the Russian people ; who elected
President Roosevelt on a program of friendship with the Soviet Union. Churchill
speaks only for British and American monopolists who see their profits and
privileges endangered by the democratic advances of the people.
We urge that you publicly reject Churchill's war incitations ; that you re-
establish American-Soviet friendship as the only guaranty of maintaining the
peace and building a United Nations of peace-loving, democratic countries.
Name Addeess
Issued By : Flatbush Section, Communist Party, 848 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn,
N. Y.
Mr. Moulder. Going back to the reference to the Member of Con-
gress, was his name John Coffee?
Mrs. Blauvelt. John M. Coffee.
Mr. Moulder. Was he at a rally or was he the speaker at the rally?
Mrs. Blauvelt. It is my recollection to that effect. I don't have
the throwaway that was
Mr. Moulder. Do vou know whether he knew it was a Communist
rally?
Mrs. Blauvelt. I will tell you, sir. At this time the Americans
United for World Organization I think was accepted as a very legiti-
mate organization. It did have on its roster the names of very well-
known people all through the United States.
Mr. MouiJDER. That is the point I wanted to clarify.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Later, though, many of these sponsors removed
their names. However, the announcement was made at that time in
the Flatbush club that it was continuing without sponsorship of these
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 931
I think I told you before that in 1946 the party was conducting a
campaign to save OPA, and on April 24, 1946 a demonstration to save
the OPA was held at Union Square under the auspices of the New
York State Committee of the Communist Party and the speakers at
this demonstration were William Norman, organizational secretary
of the New York State Communist Party, who was chairman ; Irving
Goff, chairman of the New York State Communist Party Veterans
Committee; June Gordon, introduced as a member of the consumers
council, and the IWO; John Williamson, national secretary of the
Communist Party ; Dr. Bella V. Dodd, legislative director of the New
York State Communist Party; Hal Simon, leader of the United
Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers, CIO, and chairman of the
trade union committee of the New York State Communist Party;
Claudia Jones, member of the national board of the Communist Party ;
and Robert Thompson, chairman of the New York State Communist
Party. ^
Mr. Tavenner. I hand you two throwaway sheets and ask if you
can identify them with that particular demonstration.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, sir. One was an advertisement of the de-
monstration to be held on April 24 and the other was a leaflet which
was distributed at the rally itself. It was in connection with what can
be done to save the OPA and it also called upon members to join the
May Day parade on May First and "March with your Communist
Party club or trade union or mass organization."
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to offer in evidence the first throwaway
sheet as "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 26," for identification purposes only
and to be made a part of the committee files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to offer the second document in evidence and
ask that it be marked Blauvelt exhibit 27, and that it be incorporated in
the transcript of the record.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
(The exhibit referred to is as follows:)
932 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Blauvelt Exhibit No. 27
51-195
1, Get at least TWENTY other people (frcm your family, apartment building,
shop, office, campus) to seild WIRES AND LETTERS AT ONCE to Senators
Robert F. Wagner and Charles Tobey demanding real price control, with
no crippling amendments.
2, Help map out a program in your shop, or community, or organization
these are suggestions for ACTION:
* Telegrams - Petitions - Letters — Help collect them, and see that
they arie sent'.
* Emergency conferences, including all organizations in your area.
Send representative delegations to your individual Congressman de-
manding a real FIGHT for OPA.
* Plan community parades or outdoor rallies. . .big, and well-organized,
with placards and sound-trucks where possible.
* Set up tables at busy street corners to collect signatures on peti-
tions or telegrams. Ask for permission to make an appeal at your
local movie for action to save OPA...
* Special appeal to the women's organizations. Ask every housewife who
has a 'phone to telephone others, appealing for letters and tele-
grams.
3, Lend your strength to enforce OPA Price Regulations in your local store
and community.
Remember — the biggest action of the people will be the UNITED LA-
BOR MAY DAY PARADE taking place on May 1st. Ask everyone who is
concerned about OPA to MARCH ON MAY 1ST! March with your Communist
Party Club or your trade union or your mass organization. The pa-
rade will proceed south on 8th Ave. from 56th St. to 17th St., then
east to Union Square.
Strengthen the people's forces in the fight against the drive toward reac-
tion and war in our country by JOINING and HELPING TO BUILD THE COMMUNIST
PARTY!
# Ml OwtA,ctioH^ gf Etm^ IttMvidad (sj<!eeded /
# VjiiUdAotkn CmWin Jltd Price Ooumll
# What YOU Do Is B^h'm /
jMue(t6yi Uewy^rk estate Comntum ft' P»rtif . JsBast ssLSe.,TsJ.y5,KF.'y
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 933
Mrs. Blauvelt. Of course the party members were instructed to
attend not only rallies and demonstrations that were held in the name
of the Communist Party itself, but also in the name of other organiza-
tions which were considered mass organizations.
In connection with this, on September 10, 1946, at a meeting of the
Lincoln Road Club held in the home of David Edelson, the comrades
were given a pamphlet on the Madison Square Garden rally to be held
September 12, 1946, by the national campaign committee of the Inde-
]3endent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions, and
National Citizens Political Action Committee.
On June 10, 1947, the CIO held a parade and rally at Madison Square
Garden in protest against the Taft-Hartley bill and most of the Com-
munist Party clubs canceled their meetings — this was on a Tuesday
night, so that the comrades could attend this parade and rally.
Now they also did conduct protest actions or demonstrations and here
was one that might be of interest. At a meeting of the Jay-Smith Club
held December 7, 1948, it was announced that the Communist Party
was holding a demonstration at city hall on December 8 from 10 a. m.
to 1 p. m., to protest to the mayor against lack of action taken in the
case of an assault against Eobert Thompson, chairman of the New
York State Communist Party and the case of assault against his
7-year-old daughter.
When the trial of the party's leaders opened, there was a continuing
process of negotiations in protest against the trial and at an executive
Committee of the Jay-Smith Club held January 10, 1949, it was an-
nounced that the party would hold a demonstration at Foley Square
on January 17, 1949, when the trial of the party's 12 leaders opened.
Also in connection with the trial, it was announced at a membership
meeting of the Boro Hall section March 1, 1949, that a demon-
stration was to be held at Madison Square Park on March 3 from
5 to 7 p. m. in protest against the trial of the party's 12 leaders and
members were instructed to take leaflets for distribution. According
to the leaflet the rally was being held under the auspices of the United
Committee for Democratic Rights, Hotel Diplomat, with Paul Robe-
son and Ben Gold as cochairmen.
Mr. Tavenner. I have before me a throwaway sheet published under
the auspices of the United Committee for Democratic Rights. Is that
the document to which you referred ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. That is right. This is the throwaway, in connec-
tion with this mass rally, which the comrades were instructed to dis-
tribute.
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to offer the document in evidence and ask
it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit 28," and that it be incorporated in the
transcript of the record.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
(The exhibit referred to is as follows :)
934 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Blaxtvelt Exhibit No. 28
-543 ■
LLY '
MASS RA
MADISON SQUARE PARK
Thursday^ March 3rd-5-7P.M*
(DsunoJt&Jt/uxJbi
For o Democrotie Federal Jury System
The trial of the 12 Communist leaders has produced evidence of sy*t«m*tic exclusion of
workers, Negroes, Jews and members of other minorities, from the Federal jury system &
the Southern Judicial District in New York.
The admission in court by Federal Jury Clerk Joseph F. McKenzie that he failed to send
jury notices to voters in Harlem and the lower East Side in 1947 and 1948, is shocking prod
of the discrimination practiced in the selection of Federal juries.
For the Right of a Political Party To Be Judged by the People.
Not the Courts
The indictment against the Communist leaders charges them with organizing to teach
and advocate the principles of Marxism. No acts other Uian these are charged. This is an
attempt to accomplish through the courts, what the people rejected in defeating the Mundt-
NLxon police-state Bill.
For Dismissal of the Indictments
The trial itself, therefore, is a direct threat to the democratic rights of all the people;
of labor, the Negro people, all minority groups.
Democracy Is On Trial in Foley Square!
Your Democratic Rights . . .
To participate in the Federal jury system
To judge for yourself the merits of political parties
To exercise freedom of thought and freedom of speech—
...Are ot Stoke!
ACT NOW IN DEFENSE OF YOUR LIBERTIES!
All Out to Madison Square Park, March 3rdf
Auspices: United Committee fob Democratic Ricfrrs
Horn. Diplomat, 108 West 43rd Street, New York. N. Y. CoChaianen: Padl Robesok ant Ben Gold
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 935
Mrs. Blauvelt. I think, as I have indicated, the type of demon-
stration and rally which the party wished its members to attend was
quite numerous and there was one particular one which might be of
interest.
For instance, the Daily Worker and the Morning Freiheit were con-
ducting a labor bazaar to be held from May 20 to May 23, 1949, at
St. Nicholas Arena and at a meeting of membership directors and
financial secretaries of the Communist clubs in the Boro Hall sec-
tion, held on May 4, 1949, Caryll Lasky, the financial secretary of the
section, gave me a book of tickets which the Jay- Smith Club was to
sell in connection with their particular labor press bazaar. The pur-
pose, of course, of the press bazaar was to raise money for both the
Daily Worker and the Morning Freiheit.
Then on June 13, 1949 at a meeting of organizers of the clubs in the
Boro Hall section, it was announced that a welcome home rally for
Paul Robeson was being held June 19, 1949, at Rockland Palace by
the Council on African Affairs, and the comrades were instructed to
support this particular welcome home rally.
There also was a protest rally held on May 18, 1950, at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music in protest against the Mundt bill and the comrades
were also instructed to attend this particular rally.
There was something which I thought interesting at the time. It
was on May 23, 1950, at an executive committee meeting of Jay-Smith
Club No. 1, held in the home of Ruth Perloff, that Caryll Lasky
announced that a demonstration was to be held May 24, 1950, by the
party. She stated that Common Cause, Inc. was holding a meeting
at Town Hall, 44th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues on
Wednesday evening May 24 at which Gen. Lucius Clay would speak.
For 2 days prior to her announcement an advertisement had appeared
in the Daily Worker in the name American Jewish Labor Council
asking for support of the picket line at Town Hall to protest against
this meeting.
The party was organizing its forces to mobilize the membership to
participate in that picket line. The demonstration was scheduled to
take place from 7 to 8 p. m. and the party wanted 2 members from
each club to buy tickets at the box office and attend the meeting because
an attempt would probably be made to disrupt the meeting and the
comrades were to participate in the heckling.
Caryll Lasky instructed that the comrades were not to start any-
thing themselves as it would be done by a group who would know
when the proper time for starting the heckling had arrived and it
was then and only then that the comrades were to join in.
Now I ha,ppened to be attending a meeting of membership directors
and financial secretaries on the evening of May 24, 1950, and as I left,
I met Al Neptune, the educational director, who had just returned
from this demonstration, and he said it had been a good one in that
thousands had turned out for it but terrible in that it had been like
the Peekskill incident of 1949, only that this time it had been the police
with whom they came into conflict instead of the Fascist veterans, as
he called them, that had disrupted the Robeson concert in Peekskill in
September 1949.
Further reports on this particular demonstration from the comrades
were to the effect that the party members had done a very good job
in connection with the demonstration.
936 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
On August 2, 1950, a peace rally was held in Union Square in the
name of the New York Labor Conference for Peace. In connection
with this particular rally, for about a month prior to its being held,
there was a good deal of organizing within the party and every mem-
ber was contacted and instructed to attend.
There was some difficulty in gaining a permit for that rally. It had
been stated many times that even if the party did not get that permit
they were going to hold the rally anyway.
Mr. Moulder. We will stand in recess.
[Brief recess.]
Mr. Moulder. You may proceed.
Mrs. Blauvelt. There was another rally which was held by the
party at Manhattan Center on August 20, 1950 — held by the Com-
mittee to Defend the 12, of which Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was chair-
man, and this meeting was held, again in comiection with the party's
leaders, asking for continuation of bail.
There is just one final meeting which I would like to bring to your
attention because I think the meeting illustrates to some degree how
the Communist Party in a very close community group tried to include
people of a nationality group.
This instance occurred at a meeting on May 8, 1951, at a meeting
of Jay-Smith Clubs Nos. 1 and 2 and the La Pasionaria Club, the
Puerto Kican Club of the Boro Hall section, held in the home of
Carlos Dore, who was organizer of the La Pasionaria Club at that
time. He announced that the Puerto Rican branch of the IWO and
the American Labor Party which shared headquaters at 131 Atlantic
Avenue, Brooklyn, was holding its annual Mothers' Day meeting May
13, 1951, at Public School No. 5.
Carlos Dore said the meeting needed to be advertised through leaflets
but IWO had no money to do this and he hoped the American Labor
Party would take the responsibility of printing the leaflets. It wa^
very questionable as to just what would be done but in the event that
leaflets could be printed the Jay-Smith Clubs were going to distribute
them in the Gowanus housing project in order to reach the Puerto
Rican element that lived in that particular project.
This actually was a meeting that was being conducted through the
agency of the Puerto Rican branch in the Boro Hall section.
Mr. Tavenner. Mrs. Blauvelt, the committee has heard in various
sections of the country, particularly in the State of Washington, that
the Communist Party was interested in having itself felt in the politi-
cal field and endeavored to influence various political parties through
one method or another.
We have heard a great deal about their interest in the establishing of
a third party. You have mentioned it a number of times in the course
of your testimony. Your testimony already shows the work done in
your groups to some extent at least in the American Labor Party.
Will you give us a general statement regarding the interest of the
Communist Party in political matters and tell the committee briefly
whether or not you were assigned to any activities in this field and in
a general way what the rank and file membership was expected to do
in this field?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Well, the Communist Party in New York State was
not on the ballot and it did have to make itself felt, it did have to have
ESrV^ESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YOREl AREA 937
a political voice, and this political voice in New York was the .Amer-
ican Labor Party.
Now, the Communist Party itself did conduct campaigns for Com-
munists who were running as independents. This was true in the
case of Peter V. Cacchione in Brooklyn and Benjamin J. Davis, Jr., in
Manhattan who had been elected to the New York City Council.
In 1945 when Cacchione was running for reelection I was assigned
by my club, the Flatbush Club, to work in campaign headquarters
which was conducted by the party. Campaign headquarters were lo-
cated at 26 Court Street in the same building as the county head-
quarters of the Brooklyn Party.
xlll of the members assigned to it, or rather all of the people who
were assigned to work in this campaign headquarters were members
of the Communist Party. Actually they sent out mailings, which
was the purpose for our being there, to assist in sending out mailings
to the Italian voters. The mailings were sent out in the name of the
Citizens Committee To Reelect Peter V. Cacchione.
I believe the same thing was done in Manhattan in connection with
Benjamin J. Davis. I know there were times when we were instructed
to participate in the campaign for Benjamin J. Davis, Jr.
In connection with the American Labor Party, as I said, the Com-
munist Party felt that it would have to support progressive candidates,
those candidates whom they could look upon to project issues to its
satisfaction, and that they found these candidates in the American
Labor Party.
I was assigned on one occasion while I was still a member of the
Flatbush section, I was a member of the Lincoln Road Club at the
time, to the American Labor Party headquarters at 565 Henry Street,
which was conducting a campaign at that time to elect Vincent
Longhi to Congress.
He was running on a Republican and American Labor Party ticket.
Well, at these headquarters, I found thase participating in the cam-
paign were either members of the Communist Party or American
Labor Party or the American Youth for Democracy and mailings were
being sent to registered ALP voters, registered war veterans and to
Democrats in favor of Longhi, and were being sent out under the names
of the ALP of the Third Assembly District ; Veterans Committee for
the Election of Vincent Longhi to Congress, and Democrats in Favor
of Election of Vincent Longhi to Congress, all bearing the address
565 Henry Street.
I imagine that would about cover my activity at that headquarters,
but it is indicative of the fact that members of the party were assigned
to work at American Labor Party headquarters.
In connection with the close association of the Communist Party and
American Labor Party, I think that I could probably point out some
incidents which occurred and which may be of interest and probably
tend to show just what this connection was.
For instance, on September 9, 1946, at a joint executive meeting of
the clubs in the Flatbush section, Esta Buss of the Lincoln Road Club,
active in the American Labor Party, stated she was dissatisfied with
the manner in which the Communist leadership in the Flatbush Ameri-
can Lalior Party was running things.
Sid Wang, organizer of the section, said he would look into the sit-
uation and speak to Herman Abramson about it. He declared that
G3968 — 55 — pt. 4 3
938 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
the American Labor Party in Flatbush was beginning to consider itself
superior to the Communist Party and he was going to put a stop to it.
He said he was going to call a meeting of the comrades in the American
Labor Party to let them know what their duties were and he was quite
emphatic in insisting that if Herman Abramson could not handle the
job of chairman of the American Labor Party properly, he would have
to be recalled to work in the Communist Party instead.
Great importance, of course, was attached to having branches of
the American Labor Party in the various communities and one of the
aims of the Jay-Smith Club in the latter part of 1949 was to establish
just such a branch of the American Labor Party in the neighborhood
of the Jay-Smith Club for the immediate purpose of getting out the
vote for the ALP in the coming election and with the long-range view
of a permanent American Labor Party in the community.
It was the responsibility of the Jay- Smith Club to see that this was
done and the advisability of using the club's Communist Party head-
quarters at 270 Bergen Street was discussed. However, it \yas decided
that inasmuch as some of the people in the neighborhood did not wish
to be associated with the Communist Party, they might look with dis-
favor upon a branch of the American Labor Party if it were in the
same headquarters as the Communist Party, and therefore, we did
find another location on another street and we maintained that loca-
tion— it was on Warren street — for the period of the election in 1949
and conducted our American Labor Party activities from that head-
quarters.
Mr. Tavenner. Do you mean by that the Conmiunist Party club
made arrangements for the securing of a headquartei^ for the Ameri-
can Labor Party ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. That is correct. We actually did rent this par-
ticular— I guess you would call it a store — and maintained literature
there and conducted our activities for canvassing from that as a head-
quarters for the American Labor Party.
Anyone in the neighborhood who was interested in working for the
American Labor Party, was told to go there and they would receive
advice so far as working for the party or any advice needed in the mat-
ter of elections.
Mr. Tavenner. Does that mean that the Communist Party actually
paid the rent for the quarters?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, This was paid by the section, the Boro Hall
section. Following this particular campaign that I was mention-
ing, we were instructed that the establishment of the ALP was to
be the main task of tlie Jay-Smith Club and we were given instruc-
tions by Al Neptune of tlie section committee that the Communist
Party members alone were not to constitute the membership of this
American Labor Party Club but we were to canvass the contacts
which we had made during the recent election campaign to see who
would be willing to join the work in this neighborhood branch of the
American Labor Party, and he also instructed that the Jay-Smith
Clubs were to get 2 or 3 of the inactive and unknown members to form
the nucleus of the American Labor Party Club and that sympathetic
contacts be drawn into it and that its initial activity would be the
mailing of American Labor Party literature.
Of course in all of these campaigns there was a a very definite pro-
cedure that was followed. It started at the time of registration.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 939
All of the comrades had to be mobilized to get out into the neighbor-
hood, do a canvassing job, to see that the people in the neighborhood
were registered so that they could vote in the elections and in most
cases this work was done in the name of the American Labor Party
with American Labor Party literature.
And then following the registration work, we would have to get
out into the neighborhood to make sure that all of these contacts that
had been made did get out and vote on election day, and they were
always told to vote for the American Labor Party candidates.
In 1948 of course there was a concerted effort at that time to have
the people vote for Wallace. Now as far back as 1945, at the end of
1945, while I was still in the Flatbush Club there Iiad been talk about
a third party and this progressed to the point of finally saying, "Well,
Wallace is going to be the candidate whom we can rally our forces
around", and when Wallace did declare his intention of running,
there became a very intensive effort on the part of the comrades to
constantly speak about Wallace ; urge them to vote for him.
Mr. Tavenner. You have made direct allusion to the work of the
rank and file members of the Communist Party in mass organizations.
Will you tell the committee, please, how that work was organized and
to what extent the Communist Party itself stressed its importance?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Activity in mass organization was really considered
"a must" and directives were constantly being handed down from
the section to the branches ordering the comrades to join the mass
organizations, become active in them, and influence these mass organi-
zations to follow the party line. I do have a number of references to
directives if you wish to go into them.
Mr. Tavenner. Yes, please.
Mrs. Beau\telt. For instance, at a meeting of the Flatbush Club
held on December 5, 1945, Nat liosenbluth, the chairman, stated that
the comrades m.ust work in the mass oi-ganizations such as the Ameri-
can Labor Party, the International Workers Order, the Political Ac-
tion Committee, and the Consumers Council. Now in connection with
this type of work we had a meeting of the Flatbush Club on Decem-
ber 20 at which Leo Auerbach discussed the foreign policy of the
United States. He said that this policy was proceeding in the wrong
direction, giving as examples intervention in the internal affairs of
China, exclusion of the Soviet Union from knowledge of the atom
bomb, and encouragement to the British in their fight against the In-
donesians. Such a foreign policy, he said, was imperialistic and a
result of a system of monopoly capital and it was up to the working
class to see that the Government pursued the correct policy and that
this could be done by bringing pressure on Congress.
The job of the Communists was to instruct and educate the work-
ing class, clarify the issues for them, and be the vanguard in show-
ing them what action to take and this could be done right in the com-
munity by contacting leaders of various neighborhood organizations to
ask that joint action be taken in protesting against incorrect policies
and by having the Communists who were active in other mass organ-
izations take the initiative in formulating opinion and policy.
Then on July 9. 194G, at a meeting of the Lincoln Roacl Club in
the home of Sylvia Richman, one of the memljers, Al diMartino felt
that the people must be shown that the only way to rectify conditions
940 m\^ESTIGATION OF COMIiIUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
of the worker was through socialism and he said labor should become
more politically conscious and he felt the Political Action Committee
should be pushed. ]
Sid Wang of the section staff enlarged on this thought by stating '
that it was the job of the Communists in every mass organization, as
well as in the trade unions, to go just another step beyond the organiza-
tion and point out that it was ultimately only through socialism that
the people would gain benefits denied them under the present system.
This need not be done on the floor at meetings, he declared, but
could be accomplished gradually if tlie Communists in the organiza-
tion would seek out others to educate by constantly keeping in con-
tact with them and speaking to them and who, in turn, would educate
others.
There was another meeting on September 16 of 1946 of the execu-
tive committee of the Lincoln Road Club in the home of Bill Calm;
and Ruth Wang, membership director of the section, announced that
the Flatbush section was liolding a meeting on Friday night, Septem-
ber 20, which all members of the party who were also members of
mass organizations were to be instructed to attend for the purpose of
receiving directives as to how they were supposed to v»o:k in those
organizations.
In my particular club it included Esta Buss, who was active in the
American Labor Party, Rose Gellar, and Rhoda Cahn who were to
be active in organizing a consumers council which the Flatbush sec-
tion planned to set up.
At the beginning of 1947, on February 11, 1947, at a meeting of the
Lincoln Road Club in the home of Rose Gellar, it was announced that
a directive had been received from the section that a record must be
kept of all members who belonged to mass organizations.
Now there was still more discussion on this particular topic and
on March 4, 1947, at a meeting of the Lincoln Road Club, both Harold
Heyman and Bill Cahn expressed the opinion that a Communist
in a mass organization need not necessarily reveal himself as a Com-
munist but his task was to surround himself with a nucleus and at-
tempt to raise their political level and that of the organization.
During this time, of course, the members of the Lincoln Road Club
were, upon directives of the section, attempting to join these various
mass organizations and at one of the meetings held April 22, 1947,
the ort^anizations were listed which the members were to join and they
were The American Jewish Congress, Civil Rights Congress, Ameri-
can Labor Party, Congress of American Women, parent-teachers as-
sociations, Progressive Citizens of America, Jewish Peoples Fraternal
Order of the IWO, and any of the various churches, synagogues and
fraternal organizations in the neighborhood.
Bill Cahn added the Masons, of which Gil Pelham was a member,
and consumers and tenants councils were included. , , , -.
At this meeting Sid Wang, organizer of the section, telt that the
housing situation was so pressing that the comrades should concen-
trate on working in the consumers and tenants councils as the best
medium at the moment for reaching the people but that this was not to
deter them from joining other mass organizations.
Mr. Tavenner. You stated that the membership was directed to
join various mass organizations including churches, synagogues, and
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 941
fraternal organizations. Can you give more specific information re-
garding the effort made by the Communist Party to have its members
join churches for Communist Party purposes?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Well, I know of no one myself who actually was
workino; in a church. However, in the latter part of 1950 and around
the beginning of 1951 1 was approached myself with the idea of prob-
ably joining a church and doing what I could to influence the people
of the church, which I would happen to join, along party lines. At
that time, also, I was approached with the idea of probably joining the
YWCA to project the party line to those people who were members
of that organization.
Mr. Ta\t:nner. Did you do that?
Mrs. Blauvelt. No, sir. I objected to pursuing any activity in a
church. They might have taken my objection to mean that I was op-
posed on the grounds that I was supposedly a Communist and al-
though I had promised that I would see what I could do about join-
ing the YWCA I never got around to it and I wasn't pressed too much
anyway at that particular time, because I was expelled not much later.
During my membership in the Jay-Smith Club, this same pattern
which I have described for the Flatbush section, was followed and
actually here attempts were made to establish a branch of the Ameri-
can Labor Party which I have already spoken of and a branch of the
Civil Eights Congress. The comrades who lived in the Gowanus
housing project, were instructed to become active in the tenants council
in that project.
We received other instructions regarding mass organizations and
I don't know whether you wish me to go into those particular instruc-
tions now or not.
Mr. Tavenner. We would be interested in knowing what mass
organization you were instructed to join or the membership was in-
structed to join in addition to those already named.
Mrs. Blauvelt. There was some discussion alon^ those lines at a
meeting of the executive committee of both Jay-Smith Clubs Nos.
1 and 2 held on December 18, 1950.
Kuth Perloff instructed that in addition to the usual mass organiza-
tions which we had always included as among those of which we
should be members the comrades were to be instructed to join the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, YMCA,
YWCA, churches, American Jewish Congress and PTA. These, of
course, being considered to the right and therefore necessary to be
infiltrated if they possibly could.
Now it developed that the comrades in my particular club at that
time were in the American Labor Party, they were in the American
Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born, they were in the
CIO Teachers Union, IWO, food workers union, tenants council,
and railroad union.
This directive from Ruth Perloff was repeated again about a month
or so later when she said that the comrades must be instructed to join
some mass organization, particularly the conservative rightwing or-
ganizations so that they reach the people other than the progressives
m the lef twing organizations in an attempt to influence them to think
along party lines.
942 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Mr. Tavenner. You spoke of work to be done in the Civil Rights
Congress. Will you give the committee the history of the work of these
clubs in the Civil Rights Congress ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Well, the Civil Rights Congress had come into
existence in the spring of 1946 and it was shortly thereafter that the
chapter of the Civil Rights Congress was established in the Flatbush
section. Now, this Flatbush chapter held a rally on August 22, 1946,
at the Biltmore Hall to protest Negro lynchings and at a meeting of
the Lincoln Road Club held the night before, the comrades had been
directed to attend the meeting and Gil Pelham, club organizer, stated
that each party branch in the section was being assessed $5.00 to help
defraj' the expenses of the rally, and as treasurer of the club I turned
this money over to Ruth Wang, membership director of the section, at
a meeting at her home the following week.
On September 3, 1946, at a meeting of the Lincoln Road Club at the
home of Bill and Rhoda Cahn, Jack Sartisky, who was secretary of
the veterans committee of the Civil Rights Congress, spoke about the
necessity of the Communist Party members to work in the Civil Rights
Congress to give it proper Communist leadership.
He said that the Flatbush chapter which had been established 2
months previously, had only Sadie Friedman as the only Communist
with experience in the leadership in this Flatbush chapter and he in-
sisted that the clubs must assign a member to work in this particular
chapter. It was just about a week later that the Flatbush section of
the party ordered that each club in the section send at least one of its
members to join the Flatbush Civil Rights Congress, become active in
its program and give it Communist leadership, and Dorothy Liff was
so assigned by the Lincoln Road Club.
At about this time, in fact it was October 23, 1946, the Civil Rights
Congress conducted an American Crusade to End Lynching and the
comrades were given pamphlets in the form of a call to join this
march on Washington.
We were instructed by Herb Cooper, the section organizer to send
delegates if we possibly could do so.
Mr. Tavenner. Did you send delegates to Washington ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. My club did not, no.
In connection with activity on the Civil Rights Congress while I
was a member of the Jay- Smith Club, there was a case which arose in
the fall of 1948 which involved the husband of Adele Hardison, a
member of the youth group of the party, and the son-in-law of Minnie
Monroe, the adult member in our adult Jay-Smith Club. He had been
arrested and charged with carrying burglar's tools. This situation
was brought to the attention of the county committee of the Brooklyn
party and also to the Civil Rights Congress and arrangements were
made so that the Civil Rights Congress did accept the case, furnished
the lawyers to handle it, furnished the bail of $1,500, and the Boro
Hall section was to conduct propaganda activity in the neighborhood
and of course the Jay- Smith Club especially was to do so.
The Boro Hall section issued leaflets in connection with this par-
ticular incident, calling attention to the fact that Tony Hardison was
going to come up for trial on a certain date and urging the people in
the neighborhood to attend the trial and then after he was convicted,
there was more activity, other leaflets were prepared, the people in the
neighborhood were asked to contribute to a defense fund.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 943
Now in all of this activity the Boro Hall section and the Jay-
Smith Club tried to form a defense committee for Tony Hardison and
it was hoped that this defense committee would be the nucleus for
establishing a chapter of the Civil Rights Congress in the Boro Hall
section of Brooklyn.
Mr. Tavenner. What was the civil rights angle to the Hardison
case?
Mrs. Blatjvelt. Actually there wasn't any civil rights angle to it.
The boy had been arrested on charges of carrying burglars' tools and
the case was taken up in the first instance because he was related to
members of the party and of course to provide legal assistance for him,
it was done through the Civil Rights Congress.
All of the activity was designed with the idea of forming a branch
of the Civil Rights Congress in the neighborhood.
Mr. Tavenner. I hand you four throwaway sheets, a petition to
Mayor O'Dwyer, and another statement directed to Mayor O'Dwyer,
and I ask if you can identify those documents as propaganda docu-
ments issued by the Communist Party or by the Civil Rights Congress
through the assistance of the Communist Party in connection with the
Hardison case.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes. This particular leaflet is addressed to
Mayor O'Dwyer and it was issued by the Jay-Smith Club, calling
attention to this particular case.
This is another leaflet which was drawn up by Bea Sacks, organizer
of the Boro Hall section. It was drawn up in the name of the Boro
citizens committee of the Civil Rights Congress.
This throwaway was drawn up by the Boro Hall section in the name
of the Boro Hall Civil Rights Congress Committee for Hardison
Defense.
In addition to that, they had printed a petition which was addressed
to the judge who was presiding in the case to ask for clemency in
his sentencing.
These petitions were circulated in the neighborhood and were pre-
sented to the presiding judge just prior to the date of sentencing.
After Hardison had been sentenced the activity continued on the
case and was conducted in the name of the Brooklyn Civil Rights
Congress at 775 Flatbush Avenue, and the comrades were given peti-
tions to which they were to sign their names, and which also solicited
contributions, the purpose being that they were to be used to help meet
the expenses of the trial.
This is a leaflet which was drawn up by the Brooklyn Civil Rights
Congress in connection with the Hardison case an was to be used for
distribution and circulation.
Mr. Tavenner. Mr. Chairman, I request that the six documents
above referred to be treated as "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 29" for identifi-
cation purposes only and to be made a part of the committee files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered that the six documents identified by
the witness will be marked as one exhibit : "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 29."
Mrs. Blauvelt. Following the indictment of the party's 12 leaders
at the end of 1948, the comrades were told that there was to be a pil-
grimage to Washington conducted in the name of the Civil Rights
Congress on January 17 and 18 of 1949.
However, I believe that I have spoken of that particular delegation
before. We did participate in it and we did send delegates on it.
944 INVESTIGATION OF COMIMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
The Civil Rights Congress of New York held a conference for civil
and human rights at City Center Casino, June 25, 1949.
Bob Ehrlich, the organizational secretary of the Boro Hall sec-
tion had directed that each club send one delegate and Fred Dawn
was selected as a delegate from the Jay-Smith Club. A call for this
was issued by the Civil Eights Congress and was given to the executive
members of the club.
Mr. Tavenner. During your experience in the Communist Party did
you find at any time that the Civil Rights Congress defended anyone
who was not a member of the Communist Party or a person in whom
the Communist Party was not directly interested ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. I can't say that of my own personal knowledge, sir,
because the most personal contact I had with the Civil Rights Con-
gress defending any one known to me personally was in this case of
Tony Hardison. Tony Hardison was related to members of the Com-
munist Party and it came to the attention of the party because of that
fact. And it was used by the Communist Party because of that fact.
Mr. Tavenner. Did any instance come to your attention where the
Civil Rights Congress defended a person who was not a member of the
Communist Party or who was a person in whom the Communist Party
was not directly interested ? Do you know of any case ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. No, sir ; I do not know of any case like that.
There was an interesting directive which came down to the Jay-
Smith Club in August of 1950. At a meeting of the executive com-
mittee of the Jay-Smith Club on August 22, 1950, Al Neptune, the
educational director of the Boro Hall section stated that one of the
major activities to be undertaken by the club was the establishment of
a chapter of the Civil Rights Congress in the neighborhood. He ex-
plained that if the Communist Party should be made illegal it would
have to reach the people through the medium of mass organizations.
He stated the Communist Party was now in the process of drawing
up blueprints for this activity, the purpose of which was to use the
party's agitational method, agitprop method as called in Communist
Party parlance, to stir the people into action.
He stated the Boro Hall section had decided that the establish-
ment of a Civil Rights Congress chapter was to be the task of the two
Jay-Smith clubs and the Riverside Club, which would take in the
Negro and Puerto Rican concentrations and the Gowanus housing
project. He said he was being released from section activities to teach
a class one evening a week at Jefferson School but would give his spare
time to acting as the coordinator in the section's endeavor to establish
the chapter of the Civil Rights Congress.
One of our members in the Jay- Smith Club No. 2, Selma Brockman,
its educational director, was assigned by the Boro Hall section to
conduct this activity in the area of the Jay-Smith clubs. We had
rather a difficult time in getting any chapter established and we were
to make a fresh start sometime in December. However, we just didn't
get any results with this and it finally died out.
Mr. Tavennek. You referred to the Civil Rights call for a confer-
ence in the earlier part of your discussion.
Mrs. Blauvelt. That is right.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 945
Mr. Tavenner. I hand you a document entitled "Call to Confer-
ence," and ask you if you can identify it as the call to the conference
you mentioned.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, this is the call which was given to the executive
members of the Jay-Smith Club.
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to offer the document in evidence and ask
that it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 30" for identification only,
and to be made a part of the committee files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
Mr. Tavenner. You referred to the activity of the club along with
the Civil Eights Congress in regard to the 12 persons on trial under
the Smith Act.
Mrs. Blauv^elt. That is correct.
Mr. Tavenner. I hand you four documents and ask you to identify
them.
Mrs. Blauatelt. The one is a throwaway issued by the New York
State Civil Rights Congress announcing that the trial of the 12 in-
dicted Communist Party leaders was to open on Friday, October 15.
That would have been Friday, October 15, 1948. We had to distribute
these particular leaflets in the neighborhood.
This leaflet and petition was issued, the leaflet was issued in the
name of the New York Civil Rights Congress and the petition was
issued in the name of the Civil Rights Congress of New York.
These were used by the comrades for distribution in the early part
of January. They were meant to bring to the attention of the people
in the neighborhood the fact that the 12 Communist leaders were on
trial. The petition was used in order to get contributions and the
comrades had been told that if they received contributions, these con-
tributions would be used to send delegates on the delegation being
sent to Washington on January 18, 1949.
This is the throwaway issued by the New York State Civil Rights
Congress which advertises the Peoples Freedom Crusade to Washing-
ton on January 17 and 18, 1949.
Mr. Ta\t2nner. Mr. Chairman, I offer the documents above referred
to in evidence and ask that they be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No.
31" for identification purposes only, and to be made a part of the com-
mittee files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
The committee will stand in recess until 10 o'clock in the morning.
( Wliereupon, at 4 : 30 p. m. the hearing was recessed, to reconvene
at 10 a. m. Friday, May 6, 1955.)
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES,
NEW YORK AREA— PART IV
FRIDAY, MAY 6, 1955
United States House of Representatives,
Subcommittee of the
Committee on Un-American Activities,
Washington^ D. O.
PUBLIC hearing
A subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10 a. m. in the caucus
room. Old House Office Building, Hon. Morgan M. Moulder (chair-
man) presiding.
Committee members present : Representatives Morgan M. Moulder
and Gordon H. Scherer.
Staff members present : Frank S. Tavenner, counsel, and George C.
Williams, investigator.
Mr. Moulder. Proceed, please.
TESTIMONY OF MRS. MILDRED BLAUVELT— Resumed
Mr. Tavtenner. Mrs. Blauvelt, will you outline briefly the work done
by the Communist Party units of which you were a member in the
Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee work.
Mrs. Blauvelt. While I was a member of the Ninth A. D. Club,
at a meeting held May 11, 1943, the members were instructed to go
to the American Labor Party headquarters to get collection cans to
aid in the collection of funds being conducted under the auspices of
the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee.
Another incident occurred while I was a member of the Flatbush
Club. On August 7, 1945, at a meeting of this club, Nat Rosenbluth,
the chairman, read a letter he had received from Edward Barsky,
chairman of the Spanish refugee appeal of the Joint Anti-Fascist
Refugee Committee, in which the club was requested to send 2 delegates
to attend a conference on August 15 at the Hotel Astor for the pur-
pose of discussing plans for a rally to be held at Madison Square
Garden by that committee on September 24. Leon Dorsky, a mem-
ber of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and Mildred
Lanser, known also as Mickey, were chosen as delegates.
Leon Dorsky reported on this conference at a meeting of the Flat-
bush Club August 21, 1945 and called for the organization of a Spanish
aid committee, of which he was made chairman, to see that the Flat-
947
948 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
bush Club was activized in supporting the rally to be held on Septem-
ber 24 to aid Loyalist Republicans and protest against Franco.
On September 20, 1945, the Flatbush Club held an outdoor meeting
for the purpose of promoting this Spanish refugee appeal's rally on
September 24.
Alex Rosen, acting as chairman and assisted by Leon Dorsky a
veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, addressed a crowd of about
25 to 30 people and an attempt was made to sell tickets for the rally
at Madison Square Garden on September 24.
At the Flatbush Club meeting which was held September 20, Moishe
Brier of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade spoke about this rally for Spain
and asked the club to make a monetary contribution, and Abe Fein-
gold, vice president of the club, called for contributions. Forty -three
dollars was collected and Ruth Wang was directed to contribute this
amount of money at the rally in the name of the club.
Now, in addition to supporting this rally which was called Salute
to Spanish Republicans, the club participated in a tag day campaign
conducted by the Spanish refugee appeal from September 27 to 29,
1945. The Spanish aid committee of the Flatbush Club conducted
the club's participation by taking 100 collection cans and keeping the
clubrooms open from September 25 to 29 so that the members could
pick up these collection cans to take them out and return them when
filled.
Then, when I was a member of the Jay-Smith Club, the Joint Anti-
Fascist Refugee Committee conducted an outdoor solicitation of funds
from May 20 to 22, 1948, and in connection with this solicitation of
funds I turned into the Boro Hall section a collection can bearing
the license No. 5443, which had been issued by the New York City
Department of Welfare. This can had been used by Majorie Marshall
for the collection of funds.
Mr. Tavenner. I hand you a throwaway sheet apparently pub-
lished by the American Labor Party but which shows it was under
the auspices of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee. Will
you explain that, please ?
Mrs. Blatjvtslt. This is actually a throwaway issue by the Joint
Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee and this notation of the American
Labor Party was simply stamped on this particular throwaway so
that the comrades, when they were given this leaflet at the meeting of
May 11, 1943, would know where to pick up the collection cans for
this particular tag day collection.
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to ofl'er the document in evidence and ask
tjiat it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 32" and that it be incorpo-
rated in the transcript of the record.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
(The exhibit referred to is as follows :)
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 949
Blauvelt Exhibit No. 32
Victory ^/oumrssRS
crre neec/ec/ A/OtV H> cr/c/-f^e l/etvic
SrHJEET CCJLL^CTtO^
mDmMAYEUJS
^oem^*
1teWyORKERS,i^tt5^<^SNS^
^§W%^vxm, mm$ op
JkHHtAiUi-Fmcist^Ridagee CommUiee
4^5 FOURTH AVE. (XOfL.XgTH ST), MU. 3-018O
AUEEICAN LABOR ?kWSt/fe .no^t or- tome /*f -fiof a Co//teHo0 c*m
NiLt!] Ass3ably Diatrint
2552 Eroadvvay, 95th St., N.Y.a
other key centers:
Hanhattan Bronx Brooklyn
A.L.P. Progr«38lve Zqm.
County Office
44 Court Street
A.L.P. ProgresslTO Coim,
1401 Kings Elfhway
Mr. Tavenner. During the course of your testimony you have men-
tioned the fact that rank and file members of these various chibs were
assigned to work in youtli organizations.
Will you describe in detail for the committee the activity by the
Communist Party in youth groups ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. When I became a member of the Jay-Smith Club
in June of 1947, I found there was also a group of the American
Youth For Democracy which Dorothy Bregman, of the Jay-Smith
Club, had been assigned to supervise. Dorothy Bregman, however,
was removed from this activity and Sophie Poulos, of the Jay-Smith
950 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Club, and Teddy Schneiderman, who came from a party branch in
Bensonhurst, were placed in supervision of the AYD group.
On July 6, 1948, at a meeting of the Jay-Smith Club, Teddy
Schneiderman reported that this group had started out with just 5
members but now had about 40 comprised of both Negroes and Puerto
Ricans.
He said that aside from social activity, the group was holding meet-
ings at which educationals based on the principles of Marxism and
Leninism, were being given.
He stated it was an excellent nucleus for a Communist youth club
and that some of the young people in the group were already of age
to join the Communist Party.
Teddy undertook the job of organizing some of the older boys into a
youth club of the Communist Party which he accomplished by No-
vember 1948.
The American Youth for Democracy was replaced by the Labor
Youth League, and the party's youth club operating in the area of
the Jay-Smith Club conducted its activities in that name.
On July 26, 1949, w^hile I w^as at the headquarters of the Jay-Smith
Club at 270 Bergen Street, one of the members of the youth club came
into the headquarters with a petition which he was using to canvass
the neighborhood. This petition was issued in the name of the Paul
Robeson Club of the Labor Youth League, 270 Bergen Street, asking
for support of Paul Robeson and his progressive position.
On October 10, 1949, at an executive meeting of the Jay- Smith
Club in the home of Charles Marshall, the club organizer, Al Hender-
son and Don, of the party's youth group, came in. Caryll Lasky,
membership director and financial secretary of the Boro Hall sec-
tion, instructed them to concentrate on registration activity to get the
people out to register for elections.
The boys said that now that the youth group was being called the
Labor Youth League, they had thought of getting a place for their
meetings other than the headquarters of the Jay-Smith Club, so that
there would be no connection with the Communist Party.
On November 9, 1959, as I was leaving the Gowanus housing project
after attending a meeting of the club, I met Quince Marshall, mem-
ber of the party's youth group, who stated he had attended a meet-
ing, in the Gowanus housing project, of the party's youth club. He
said that this club had had a preconvention discussion this night in
preparation for the preconvention meeting to be held over the week-
end, wliich was scheduled to culminate in the national convention of
the Labor Youth League being held on the weekend of November 24.
On December 27, 1950, at a rally held by the Brooklyn Communist
Party at the Aperion Manor in Brooklyn, to welcome the delegates
to the party's 15th national convention, Selma Weiss, who was in-
troduced as a member of the national board of the Labor Youth
League, spoke to the rally. She attacked President Truman, the mili-
tary leaders, and those educators who called for universal selective
service and military training for all youth, and she attacked the
Korean war as an imperialist venture in which American youth were
losing their lives for no good reason.
She stated that tlie previous September she had been a delegate of
the World Organization for Democratic Youth which had gone to
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 951
China to meet the youth organization there, and she had nothing but
highest praise for the way the youth in Communist China had pro-
claimed their hatred for imperialist America, and their determina-
tion to fight the Americans should they venture near the Chinese
border.
She concluded by hailing the Communist Party as the leader of
youth and contended that with such leadership the Labor Youth
League would struggle forward to the realization of socialism.
Mr. Tavenner. Mrs. Blauvelt, to what extent was the Communist
Party interested in the work of peace campaigns during the period
you were a member of these particular units of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. The Communist Party began calling for peace
after the end of World War II. Their arguments were based on the
explanation that the United States had emerged from the war as the
greatest imperialist power in the world and was intent upon provok-
ing a third world war, that the Soviet Union was being excluded from
the orbit of the Big Powers, and that the knowledge of the atom bomb
was being withheld from the Soviet.
They protested against the Truman doctrine, the Marshall Plan as
imperialistic, against the North Atlantic Pact as designed for war,
against the atom and hydrogen bombs, and against conscription and
universal military training.
After the Stockholm Peace Conference in March 1950, this peace
drive became an extremely concerted eifort and after the outbreak of
the Korean war became an even more intensive peace campaign on the
part of the Communist Party.
In June of 1950 the party inaugurated a peace campaign to start on
June 19, 1950, to run for 90 days. This peace campaign was conducted
in the name of the New York Labor Conference for Peace, 80 East 11th
Street, New York City, which was supposed to have been organized as
a result of the Stockholm Peace Conference held in March 1950.
The Communist Party of New York State issued a "message" over
the names of Robert Thompson, chairman, and William Norman, sec-
retary, calling upon all party members to join this campaign.
Each comrade was given a pledge card, pledging that he would secure
signatures to the peace petitions of the New York Labor Conference
for Peace.
In Brooklyn the campaign was conducted in the name of the Brook-
lyn division of the New York Labor Conference for Peace, 160 Mon-
tague Street, and leaflets and petitions issued in that name were used
by the Brooklyn Communist Party in this particular campaign.
Mr. Tavenner. As those documents became j^ertinent to your testi-
mony, will you make reference to them and we will decide which if
any to put in evidence.
Mrs. Blauvelt. I spolce of a "message" which had been issued over
the names of Robert Thompson, chairman, and William Norman,
secretary, of the Communist Party of New York State,
It was a message in connection with participating in the peace drive
and is entitled "A Message to All Communists" and is addressed "Dear
Comrade."
There is one particular item which is of interest in connection with
this "message." It says:
"Take a quota of 100 signatures as a minimum to the world peace appeal against
the A-bomb. Reach this goal between today, June 19, and September 17. You
952 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
have 90 days to do it. Listen to the signers. Are they militant? Do they want
to do something about it?
When you meet such a signer, you have a potential member of the Communist
Party. t'oUow up such contacts."
Mr. Tavenner. In other words, this peace appeal which was being
conducted throughout the covmtry was being used by the Communist
Party as a means of recruiting persons into the Communist Party?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes. It used this the same as it used all other types
of canvassing. If any contacts who were sympathetic or friendly in
any way were found, these contacts were supposed to be recontacted
in the future with the attempt of finally drawing them into the Com-
munist Party.
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to offer that document in evidence and ask
that it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No, 33," and that it be incorporated
in the transcript of the record.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
(The exhibit referred to is as follows :)
Blauvelt Exhibit No. 33
A Message to All Communists
Dear Comrade : Your branch leader has just given you a peace kit — a world
peace appeal. This letter is the most urgent message we have ever sent you. In
reading it, accept our warm personal handclasp and our expression of faith in
your devotion to the tremendous job ahead.
Our party has joined with millions of Americans in the greatest drive ever
undertaken by the peace-loving masses of the Nation : the fight for peace. It is
the most important, the most sweeping struggle we have ever undertaken.
We are pledged, every man, woman and resource at our command, to the aspira-
tion of the American working class, the great Negro masses, the farmers, women
and youth of the Nation : there must be no war.
The highest form of patriotism is the struggle against war. The test of a
patriot is his stand for peace. AVe Communists must prove as we have in the
past, that we are the finest patriots, the most devoted fighters for peace.
For the first time in history there is an organized world peace movement. Led
by the indomitable land of socialism, the U. S. S. R., nations and governments
and hundreds of millions of masses are united against A-bomb annihilation and
total destruction periled by the hell-bomb. In Europe, 14 million Germans,
7,000,000 Hungarians, 6,000,000 Bulgarians, 7,000,000 Rumanians have signed
the Stockholm peace petition. In France, Italy, Czechoslovakia, England, Den-
mark, Africa, Asia, South America, Canada — the roar of the people shakes the
war plotters.
AVe have a duty to the peoples of the world, comrade. Foster has said, "Peace
hangs by a thread." We must make of that thread an unbreakable bond of
peace. Peace hangs by a thread because the American imperialists seek ever more
adventurous roads to war in the face of the growing peace movement. Thus, the
danger of war has increased and the struggle for peace is more urgent.
The Soviet announcement that AA^ill Street no longer had a monopoly on the
A-bomb did more than stun and panic the Truman-Dulles-McCarthy bipartisan
conspirators. It set in motion the basis for a mighty peace drive for mobilizing
all Americans who yearn for peace ; it created the foundation for uniting all sec-
tions of the people to curb the atom-bombers.
No, war is not inevitable ! AA'^e reject pessimism, fatalism as allies of the war-
mongers. AA'e say peace is possible, that peace can be won !
The Dean of Canterbury said :
"One million signatures will annoy the wannongers. Ten million signatures
will make them pause. A hundred million will wreck their plans and save the
world."
Comrade, we must wreck their plans ; we must help save our own country.
But time is short. A'^ery short. The fate of our families, our country and our
class demands that every Communist do at least the following things ;
mVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 953
1. Take a quota of 100 signatures as a minimum to the world peace appeal
against the A-bomb. Reach this goal between today, June 19, and September
17. You have 90 days to do it.
2. Get others to help you circulate this petition. Your family, friends, rela-
tives, shopmates also want peace. This is the basis of building peace commit-
tees in your house, street, shop, and community.
3. Listen to the signers. Are they militant? Do they want to do something
about it? Where you meet such a signer you have a potential member of the
Communist Party. Follow up such contacts. Try to recruit at least 1 worker
into our Party and get 2 subs. Eugene Dennis, our national secretary, told a
May 2 "farewell" meeting that the greatest contribution made by Lenin and
Stalin to humanity was the founding and building of the Communist Party.
A stronger party is the best guaranty for peace.
4. Dennis is in jail because he is America's foremost voice for peace. He is
the first party victim of the A-bombers. This peace struggle can help free Den-
nis ; the greater the peace army, the sooner Dennis is released. Wherever pos-
sible, urge your signer, your organization, your friends, shopmates, neighbors
to write Attorney General John McGrath, Washington, D. C, demanding Dennis
be free !
5. Only one newspaper speaks for the working class, for the Negro people,
for the oppressed victims of capitalist exploitation — the Daily Worker. Arrange
with your branch leader to take copies with you.
6. Be an active club member. Your party branch is the hub of our party,
the key to our drive. Be sure your dues are paid up through this month.
These six tasks tell the story of what every Communist can and must do —
at the very least — to stop the atomic madmen, to save the peace.
90 days, comrade, 90 days to do a job !
Good luck and our warmest greetings.
Comradely,
Communist Party, New York State.
Robert Thompson, Chairman.
William Norman, Secretary.
Mrs. Blauvelt. This is a photostatic copy of the pledge card which
was issued to the members and it says :
I subscribe to the World Peace Appeal of the World Peace Committee, of
Stockholm.
It was issued in the name of the New York Labor Conference for
Peace, 80 East 11th Street.
This leaflet, issued in the name of the Brooklyn division of the New
York Labor Conference for Peace, 160 Montague Street, was one of
the pieces of literature we used in this campaign when we canvassed.
This petition, also issued in the name of the Brooklyn division of the
New York Labor Conference for Peace, was the petition to which we
were to secure signatures.
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to offer in evidence the three documents
above referred to and ask that they be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No.
3-i-' for identification purposes only and to be made a part of the com-
mittee files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
Mrs. Blauvelt. While this particular drive was still going on, I
was informed on June 27, 1950, by Bea Sacks, organizer of the
Boro Hall section, that the peace petitions which had been in cir-
culation for the past 2 weeks were to be called in on June 29, 1950,
to be given to the New York Labor Conference for Peace at 160
Montague Street on that date, and that the press had been invited to
be present for the announcement that 125,000 signatures had been
collected. It was after that that we received these particular leaflets
for distribution and on this leaflet it will be noted that it says "In
Brooklyn alone 125,000 have signed for peace." This is also an appeal
to sign the world peace appeal.
63008—55 — pt. 4 4
954 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Mr. Moulder. Is that document entitled "Sign For Peace."
Mrs. Blauvelt. "Sign the World Peace Appeal."
Mr. Tavennerw I desire to offer the document in evidence and ask
that it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 35," for identification pur-
poses only, and to be made a part of the committee files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
Mrs. Blauvelt. There was a report made to the Brooklyn Com-
munist Party at a meeting held on July 11, 1950, at Webster Hall in
New York City, and Charles Loman, organizational secretary of the
Brooklyn Communist Party, reported that in Brooklyn 175,000 sig-
natures had been secured to this date and it had been decided to carry
on a very intensive campaign to secure 75,000 additional signatures
within the next 10 days.
This peace drive did continue without abatement. There was a
great deal of activity on it, distribution of leaflets, canvassing, the
usual kind of activity that was conducted by the party in the peace
campaigns.
Mr. Tavenner. Will you tell the committee what instructions you
were given when approaching people to have them sign the peace
petition ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. The usual instructions were that we were supposed
to point out the fact that the Korean war was an imperialistic war,
that our boys were over there being killed for no good reason. It
was done on a very popular appeal in most cases. In fact, there was
one time when we were instructed how to meet the arguments of some
people who said that it was Eussia who wanted war, and we were told
that the county was holding seminars on this particular subject and
that the comrades would be informed just what arguments they would
use when they approached the people on this subject.
Mr. Tavenner. Were people advised that this was the Communist
Party which was attempting to secure the petitions or was that fact
concealed from them ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. It wasn't done in the name of the Communist Party
itself. It was done, in the case in Brooklyn, in the name of the Brook-
lyn division of the New York Labor Conference for Peace. So it
wasn't revealed so much that it was the Communists themselves who
were doing it.
Mr. Tavenner. Were you given any instructions as to what to do
in this campaign when persons refused to sign the petitions ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. I think probably I could interject some instances
which would show just how the Communists, the comrades in particu-
lar with whom I had to deal, felt about the Korean war at just about
this time.
Of course the war was followed with avid interest on the part of each
comrade and all the setbacks of the United Nations forces were cheered.
I had been at the home of Ruth Perloff on November 27, 1950, for the
purpose of receiving directives from her for the conduct of party activ-
ities, and her husband. Jack Perloff, wanted to listen to the 11 o'clock
news. Now the news at this time was to the effect that the Chinese
Communists had been driven back, rather the Chinese Communists had
driven back the U. N. forces in Korea. They were very pleased to
hear that. They were displeased to hear that Warren Austin was
scheduled to speak before the Red Chinese delegation at the U. N.
INVESTIGATION OF COIVIMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 955
session the next day, and also displeased that the British attorney-
requested by the party leaders would be unable to take their case,
because he was unable to get to New York by Monday.
Sophie Poulos, one of the members of the club who lived on the floor
below, came up after the news broadcast, saying she had not listened
but had heard from Tony, her husband, that it was wonderful, and
Jack told her the only news that was wonderful was the news about
Korea.
In connection with these peace ballots we received these at a county-
wide membership meeting of the Brooklyn party that was held in the
headquarters of the International Workers Order at 3200 Coney Island
Avenue in Brooklyn on February 26, 1951. Charles Loman, the or-
ganizational secretary of the Brooklyn party, informed the comrades
of the activities to be undertaken in the peace campaign.
First was the American Peace Crusade to Washington on March 15,
for which the Brooklyn party had to raise a delegation of 500. Second
was the taking of a peace poll in which the Brooklyn party had been
given a quota of 100,000 ballots.
At this meeting we were given these ballots with the instructions
that we were to canvass with them to secure votes.
When my particular club members were to canvass in the Gowanus
housing project with this ballot, we were told that if we encountered
any people who did not wish to sign the ballot but had voiced their
sentiments one way or the other, that it would be perfectly all right for
us to mark the ballot according to those sentiments inasmuch as this
ballot-taking was for the purpose of determining the sentiment of the
people.
These particular ballots did not have to be signed. So it was thought
that this was a very excellent way of determining just what the people
were thinking on the ballots.
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to offer the photostatic copy of the short
ballot in evidence and ask that it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit 36,"
and that it be incorporated in the transcript of the record.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
(The exhibit referred to is as follows :)
Blauvelt Exhibit No. 36
Which Wat Do You Vote.?
Are you for bringing our troops back from Korea and for making peace with
China now? Yes D No D
The Gallup Poll reports that 66 percent of the American people want to with-
draw American troops from Korea. America's Peace Poll gives you the oppor-
tunity to register your opinion and make it count. Your ballot, with millions
more, will be presented to President Truman and to your Congressmen.
Mrs. Blai'veet. We were also given this longer ballot and anybody
wishing to sign this long ballot could do so, and at the same time, were
requested to place their name and address on the bottom of the ballot
for future contact.
Mr. Ta\'enner. I desire to offer a photostatic copy of the long ballot
in evidence and ask that it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 37," and
that it be incorporated in the transcript of the record.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
(The exhibit referred to is as follows :)
956 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Blatjvelt Exhibit No. 37
51-786
• *••• •*••• ••••• •••••
! AMERICA'S PEACE POLL!
JRUMAN HAS SPOKEN ... TAFT HAS SPOKEN .:. HOOVER HAS SPOKEN
DEWEY HAS SPOKEN ... STASSEN HAS SPOKEN
now
The People Speak!
1, Answer the question
"Yes" or "No" by mork-
ing on X in the appro-
priate box.
2. This IS a secret bollot. If
you wish to sign your
name, detach the stub
Which Way Do YOU Vote 7
Are you for bringing our
troops bock from Korea
d, , . . . YES NO
for making peace with , — . j — .
China now? I — I I — I
The Gallup Poll reports that 66% of the American people want to withdrctw
American troops from Korea. AMERICA'S PEACE POLL gives you the oppor-
tunity to register your opinion and MAKE IT COUNT. Your ballot, with millions
more, will be presented to President Truman and to your Congressmen.
t f A ■ OFF
I believe that PEACE IS AMERICA'S BEST DEFENSE.
I would like to enlist in AMERICA'S PEACE CRUSADE and do my bit.
i( ISSUED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY THE it
AMERICAN PEACE CRUSADE
1186 BROADWAY, NEW YORK 1, N. Y.
Mrs. Blauvelt. In April 1951 I think that most people will remem-
ber that General MacArthur had been recalled from his command in
the Far East.
This was seized upon by the party and on April 11, 1951, at a meet-
in<^ of Jay-Smith Club No. 1 in the home of Laura Fields, the club's
section director, Ruth Perlotf spoke on the question of peace, stating
that MacArthur's recall from the command in the Far East had
finally been accomplished which was what the Communists wanted,
that his recall removed one of the barriers to a peaceful settlement of
the war in Korea, and created the opportunity to press toward a move-
ment for peace which would be taken advantage of immediately.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 957
Now in line with this she announced that the party was preparing a
leaflet which would be ofl' the presses by midnight and that a bundle
would be delivered to her by 2 a. m. so that they would be available
for distribution by the comrades before they went to work in the
morning.
It was decided that the club should conduct both a subway distri-
bution and a distribution throughout the Gowanus housing project.
This leaflet she referred to turned out to be a reprint of the Daily
"Worker editorial on MacArthur, the Korean war, and peace. I par-
ticipated in the subway distribution of the leaflets on the morning of
April 12, 1951.
Mr. Tavenxer. Mr. Chairman, I offer in evidence the reprint from
the Daily Worker of an article entitled "MacArthur, the Korean War
and Peace,-' and ask that it be marked Blauvelt exhibit No. 38 for
identification purposes only, and to be made a part of the committee
files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Of course this peace drive was still going on very
unabatedly and on May 26, the Brooklyn Communist Party held a
women's peace conference at 3200 Coney Island Avenue.
Now the importance placed upon this meeting can be seen by the
rank of the functionaries present such as Ben Davis, chairman of the
Brooklyn Communist Party ; Norman Schrank, of the Kings County
committee: Richard Jonson, organizer of the Williamsburg section,
and member of the county committee; Billy Frumpkin, secretary of
the women's commission of the Brooklyn Communist Party; Bertha
Lowitt, of the women's commission of the Brooklyn Communist Party,
Herb Gerwitz, regional director of the Waterfront section; Charles
Loman, organizational secretary of the Boro Hall section; Mae
Miller of the women's committee of the national board of National
Communist Party and State committee of the New York State Com-
munist Party.
Bertha Lowitt stated the purpose of the conference was to point out
the role Communist women must play in organizing all women in
the movement for peace.
The goal of this particular peace campaign, she said, was the es-
tablishment of a women's peace center in Brooklyn. She stated it was
important to get started on the formation of peace committees so that
by June 28 the women in Brooklyn would be organized well enough
to send 200 delegates to the peace convention being held by the Ameri-
can Peace Crusade in Chicago from June 28 to June 30.
Now, in connection with this peace crusade to Chicago we were
fiven these leaflets ; one was a call for peace and freedom, American
'eople's Congress and Exposition for Peace, Chicago, June 29 to
July 1, 1951.
Also in connection with this peace crusade, we were given petitions
for the American People's Congress and Exposition for Peace in Chi-
cago to be held on June 29 to July 1, 1951, issued by the American
Peace Crusade of 1186 Broadway, New York City.
Mr. Tavenner. Mr. Chairman, I desire to offer in evidence the first
mentioned document, a photostatic copy of American People's Con-
gress and Exposition for Peace, Chicago, June 29 to July 1, 1951,
and ask it be marked Blauvelt "Exhibit No. 39" ; that it be incwporated
in the transcript of the record.
958 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
(The exhibit referred to is as follows :)
Blauvelt Exhibit No. 39
A Call for Peace and Freedom — American People's Congeess and Exposition
FOR Peace, Chicago, June 29-July 1, 1951
Thousands of valiant sons of Negro citizens — the shock troops and labor
battallions of a Jim Crow army — are among the legions of dead and wounded
Americans and Koreans. Hundreds have been court-martialed to death and im-
prisonment by Gen. Jim Crow.
At home the hand of Jim Crow is raised against every Negro. Workingmen
like the seven men of Martinsville and Willie McGee lie dead. An unearned
grave is being prepared for the Trenton Six. Mrs. Rosa Lee Ingram and her
two valiant young sons sit imprisoned for life. The great voice of liberty, Paul
Robeson, is denied the press, the radio and the right to travel abroad. The
great American statesman and leader of his people. Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, is
arrested and faces imprisonment after half a century of fighting for peace and
freedom. Wherever one turns, the flower of Negro womanhood and manhood
is violated.
Men in high oflSce tell us that American blood and bayonets will bring liberty
to Korea and Asia, but here at home they fill the courtrooms and prisons and
deathhouses with an endless procession of Negro men, women and children on
whose freedom and lives they trample.
Men in high ofiice tell us that we must fight for freedom thousands of miles
away, but in the southern farmlands and northern cities the children of sojourner
Truth and Frederick Douglass are driven into ghettoes ; they are refused equal
opportunity for work; they are denied the right to learn what they desire to
know, to advance to a better wage, to vote their ticket and creed, to pay their
tax with an expectation of some return, to stand before the bar of justice the
equal of any and all, to enjoy those rights which all should be forced to respect.
The sword wielded by Gen. Jim Crow cannot bring freedom to anyone —
colored or white — here or abroad.
There can be no freedom for the Negro in wars against the colored citizens
of other nations — for such wars encourage the aggressions of men of prejudice.
There can be no peace for the Negro where bigotry guides the affairs of nations.
Peace and freedom must become pillars upon which the life and liberty of all is
held equally sacred.
We believe that a way to peace can be found. We know it must be found.
An end to the tragic horror in Korea . . . the return of our troops from Korea
to work together with all for true equality . . . recognition of the nations of
Asia and all the world as free and equal . . . negotiations and settlement among
the Big Five ... an economy for peace and useful construction, not a mad arma-
ments race . . . this is the way to peace.
We are calling an American People's Congress and Exposition for Peace in
Chicago, 111., on June 29, 30, and July 1. We urge that this call find echo and
answer in all our churches and fraternities and gatherings, so that our voice is
heard in many numbers and deeds at this great congress. Let us take counsel
there together with men and women of all religions and races and creeds who
want to bring peace iand freedom to these United States and to the world. —
American Peace Crusade, 1186 Broadway, New York 1, N. Y.
PROGRAM (TENTATIVE)
FRIDAY, JUNE 29
Morning :
Registration
Afternoon :
Roundtable sessions :
Our Country's Foreign Policy
Colonialism and War
War and the Negro Citizen
The Right to Speak for Peace
Militarization, Conscription and UMT
Standards of Living and the War Budget
Educating our Children — for War or Peace?
(other sessions to be announced)
Sponsors meeting
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 959
PROGRAM— Continued
Evening :
Public Peace Rally and Pageant
SATUEDAY, JUNE 30
Morning and Afternoon :
General Assembly :
Election of Committees
Workshops on "The Path to Peace" :
Labor- Women-Youth-Farmers- Veterans-Nationality Groups
Special problems of these groups relating to war preparations ;
Discrimination against the Negro people in a war atmosphere ; the need
for Negro and white working together for peace.
Techniques in working for peace :
State Delegation Meetings.
Evening :
Dance and Cultural Festival.
SUNDAY, JULY, 1
Morning and Early Afternoon :
Interfaith Devotional Service
Plenary Session
Report of Credentials Committee
Reports from Round Table and Workshop Sessions
Adoption of program and resolutions
Election of Officers.
Afternoon :
Outdoor Sports Meet and Recreational Events
Delegates Tour of Chicago
Sponsors (Partial List)
Bishop Cameron C. AUeyne, Philadelphia, Pa.
Mrs. Charlotta A. Bass, Los Angeles, Calif.
Hon. Elmer Benson, Appleton, Minn.
Rabbi Abraham J. Bick, New York, N. Y.
Rev. J. E. Bonds, Washington, D. C.
Prof. G. Murray Branch, Atlanta, Ga.
Harry Bridges, San Francisco, Calif.
Rev. T. E. Brown, S. T. D., D.D., Chicago, 111.
Hugh Bryson, San Francisco, Calif.
Dr. A. J. Carlson, Chicago, 111.
Miss Alice Childress, New York, N. Y.
Alvin B. Christman, Centerport, Pa.
Miss Marvel Cooke, New York, N. Y.
Dr. Abraham Cronbach, Cincinnati, Ohio
Rev. Mark A. Dawber, Long Beach, N. Y.
Ernest DeMaio, Chicago, 111.
Hon. Earl B. Dickerson, Chicago, 111.
Dr. James A. Dombrowski, New Orleans, La.
Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, New York, N. Y.
Mrs. Mayme Duniyan, Detroit, Mich.
Arnaud d'Usseau, New York, N. Y.
Rev. Joseph M. Evans, Chicago, 111.
Prof. Henry Pratt Fairchild, New York, N. Y.
Fyke Farmer, Nashville, Tenn.
Howard Fast, New York, N. Y.
Rev. G. Linwood Fauntleroy, Oakland, CaUf.
Dr. Arthur Huff Fauset, Philadelphia, Pa.
Abram Flaxer, New York, N. Y.
Rev. Edward A. Freeman, Kansas City, Kans.
Rev. Stephen Fritchman, Glendale, Calif.
Rabbi Robert E. Goldburg, Hamden, Conn.
960 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Sponsors — Continued
Carlton B. Goodlett, M. D., San Francisco, Calif.
Uta Hagen, New York, N. Y.
William Harrison, Boston, Mass.
Rev. Charles A. Hill, Detroit, Mich.
Rev. P. J. Houston, Kansas City, Kans.
Hon. Charles P. Howard, Des Moines, Iowa
Rev. Kenneth de P. Hughes, Cambridge, Mass.
Karly Larsen, Seattle, Wash.
Dr. Robert Morss Lovett, Lake Zurich, 111,
Larkin Marshall, Macon, Ga.
David McCanns, New York, N. Y.
W. A. McGirt, Jr., Winston-Salem, N. C.
Howard McGuire, Chicago, 111.
Bishop Walter A. Mitchell, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Prof. Philip Morrison, Ithaca, N. Y.
Rt. Rev. Arthur W. Moulton, Salt Lake City, Utah
Thomas Ogilvie, Atlantic City, N. J.
Dr. Clementina J. Paolone, New York, N. Y.
Dr. Linus Pauling, Pasadena, Calif.
Willard B. Ransom, Indianapolis, Ind.
Rev. William N. Reid, Chicago, 111.
Prof. Harry Roberts, Ettick, Va.
Mrs. Eslanda Goode Robeson, Enfield, Conn,
Paul Robeson, New York, N. Y.
Prof. Antonio Rubio, Chicago, 111.
John Rudder, Washington, D. C.
Mi's. Andrew W. Simkins, Columbia, S. C.
Thomas L. Slater, Chicago, 111.
Prof. Louise Pettibone Smith, Wellesley, Mass.
Dr. P. A. Sorokin, Cambridge, Mass.
Rev. Dr. Frederick K. Stamm, Plumsteadville, Pa.
Fred W. Stover, Hampton, Iowa
Maurice Travis, Denver, Colo.
Rev. Charles E. Tyler, Omaha, Nebr.
Sam Wanamaker, New York, N. Y.
Hon. James H. Wolfe, Salt Lake City, Utah
DELEGATES EEGISTEAEION ENTRY
Name
Address
Organization or Group
D Official Delegate D Observer D Individual n $2 Registration fee
enclosed. American Peace Crusade, 1186 Broadway, New York 1, N. Y.
Mrs. Blath^elt. In connection with this American peace crusade
we did a good deal of canvassing. Our purpose was to see if we could
get someone in the Gowanus tenants council in which my club was
active and also someone from the Gowanus housing project to attend
as a delegate.
We were not too successful because the expense of the trip was
rather high. However, Charles Marshall of my section did attend
this congress as a delegate.
Mr. ScHERER. What year did this take place ?
Mrs. Blauvelt, This is in 1951. That is about the extent of my
participation in the Communist Party's peace campaign.
Mr. Tavenner. Mr. Eugene Dennis was tried and convicted on a
contempt charge, contempt of Congress charge. Were any campaigns
conducted by your club with respect to that matter ?
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 961
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes. My club as well as all of the other clubs in
the party were instructed to indulge in a letter- writing campaign and
this persisted I think almost the entire time Dennis was in prison.
Mr. ScHERER. For the benefit of the Members of the House now
present who were not present at previous hearings I think we should
advise them that this witness, Mrs. Blauvelt, is a member of the New
York Police Department and for a number of years was assigned by
the department as undercover agent in the Communist Party in the
New York area.
She has done a marvelous job here during the past week in relating
her experiences within the Communist Party and Communist-front
groups.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Also in addition to conducting a letter- writing cam-
paign, which was directed to both the President and to the Attorney
General, meetings were held and distribution of leaflets in connection
with the protest against Dennis' imprisonment was constantly con-
ducted.
I think that there isn't very much use in going into too much detail
on this because that activity covered the same pattern as all of the
other protest activities on the part of the Communist Party in con-
nection with holding letter-writing campaigns and the distribution of
leaflets.
Mr. Tavenner. It is difficult to understand how there was time left
for any other activities of your groups after hearing your testimony so
far, but you have called to my attention a different class of activity
which has been very extensive and that is one which the Congressmen
hear a gTeat deal about. That is the bringing of pressure to bear by
one method or another on different groups, even including Members
of Congress, in connection with matters in which the Communist Party
has some particular stake or for some reason is especially interested.
I call them pressure campaigns.
Now you have prepared a list, I believe, of instances in which your
groups of the Communist Party were directed to conduct these so-
called pressure campaigns.
Mr. ScHERER. I might say, Mr. Counsel, those pressure campaigns
weren't confined to the Communist Party.
Mr. Tavenner. I suppose every Member of Congress has had an
experience with that.
But we are interested to know just what types of campaign the Com-
munist Party thought sufficiently important to direct its activities in
this connection.
I ask you to give us the dates of these activities, the character of the
campaigns you were directed to conduct, and any documentary evi-
dence you can furnish.
Mrs. Blauvelt. As you have indicated, the Communists did indulge
to a very great extent in these pressure campaigns hoping to bring
some action through a barrage of thousands of letters, postcards, tele-
grams, and petitions.
There were any number of them from the time that I entered the
party until I was expelled. However, this particular list is really only
a partial list and has been culled from reports. It is not complete by
any manner of means.
962 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
For instance :
On March 4, 1943, I received postcards which were to be sent to Mr. Roosevelt
for the liberation of Spanish prisoners in connection vs^ith the Spanish Civil W^ar.
On March 16, 1943, were were directed to send telegrams to Albany protesting
the extradition of a Negro by the name of Burrows. We were to send letters
to Hobbs, Curtis, and Austin protesting the Wadsworth and Johnson Acts as
antilabor.
March 17, 1943, we were told to send telegrams to the President urging a
second front.
On March 25, 1943, we were told to send letters to Senator Meade not to speak
at an Alter-Ehrlich meeting.
Mr. Moulder, From whom did you receive these directives ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. These directives were received either from the
executive members of the club who had received them from the sec-
tion or else I, in an executive capacity, had received the directives from
the executive members of the section to transmit to the members of the
club.
Mr. MouLEDR. Do you know from where or from whom the directives
emanated and who decided the policy ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. The usual emanation was from the county commit-
tee down to the section committee and then down to the executive com-
mittee of the branches, so it was not simply a matter of initiative on the
part of the comrades within the clubs themselves, but was done upon
the orders of the Communist Party from higher levels.
Mr. ScHERER. Is it possible that it may have originated at a higher
level than county level ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, sir ; I do not wish to exclude that fact at all
because usually when I speak of these directives I am confining my-
self simply to the area in which I was active. It is known that all
directives did come down from the highest body and then to the lower
body until they finally reached the branch level and were actually
participated in by the rank and file. [Reading :]
On April 13, 1943, we were told to send letters to Senators Wagner and Meade
to stand by the veto of the Bankhead bill, and also to the Congressmen to vote
against the Hobbs bill.
On May 5, 1943, we were told to send letters to Congressman Bloom to support
the Dickstein bill, and in connection with this particular activity we were given
petitions addressed to the Honorable Sol Bloom.
This petition was in the name of the Ninth A. D. Club of the Communist
Party.
On May 11, 1943, we were instructed to send letters to Congressman Bloom to
support the anti-poll-tax bill, and to send telegrams and letters to Senator
Wagner to vote against the Ruml tax plan.
Mr. Moulder. The committee will stand in recess for approximate-
ly 20 minutes.
(Brief recess.)
Mr. Moulder. Proceed, please.
Mrs. Blauvelt (reading) :
May 25, 1943, letters to Congressman Burch to support Dickstein-Lynch bill
barring anti-Semitic literature from the mails and letters for the Pepper, Tolan,
Kilgore bill.
July 6, 1943, letters to Congressmen to support the Dickstein-Lynch bill.
May 31, 1943, letters to LaGuardia and board of estimate to bar Jim-Crowism
in housing projects.
October 3, 1944, letters to PM to protest articles appearing in that paper.
On December 12, 1944, letters to Stettinius, advising he had the Flatbush Club's
support.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 963
February 20, 1945, telegrams to Albany, urging passage of the Ives-Quinn
antidiscrimination bill.
April 3, 1945, letters to Sabath and Delaney to vote on H. R. 2232 ; to Chavez
to oppose the Taf t bill ; and to Congressmen to get the anti-jwll-tax bill House
Resolution 7 on the floor and to support bill S. 101.
April 17, 1945, individual letters and telegrams to President Truman, advis-
ing he had the support of the Flatbush Club.
April 25, 1945, postals, letters and telegrams to Congressmen to support the
World Organization, U. N.
July 10, 1945, leaflets on the Fair Employment Practices Committee were dis-
tributed and members were to write to Congressmen to continue the FEPC, and
in that connection I have a leaflet issued by the Communist Political Association
of New York State.
August 7, 1945, telegrams and letters to Senators Wagner and Meade to
remove Senator Bilbo.
On September 4, 1945, petitions to Senators Wagner and Meade re Senator
Bilbo, and in that connection I have petition issued by the Flatbush Club of
the Communist Party.
November 27, 1945, telegrams to the United Auto Workers in support of their
strike. Cards also were to be sent to the American Tobacco Co. in connection
with this strike in protest thereof.
Letters were to be sent to the War Labor Board concerning strikes in general.
February 26, 1946, telegrams to Mary Dillon to oust May Quinn.
March 21, 1946, petitions to President Truman for peace, and also petitions
to him protesting Churchill's speeches.
May 14, 1946, telegrams to Senator Wagner concerning the OPA.
May 21, 1946, telephone calls to NBC protesting Clare Booth Luce's appear-
ance on the American Forum of the Air, and letters also were to be sent to NBC
on the same subject matter.
May 28, 1946, telegrams to Senators Wagner and Meade against the Truman
bill. In connection with that I have a throwaway issued by the New York
State Committee of the Communist Party.
.June 24, 1946, telegram on the OPA, and in connection with that I have an
organization letter for all club executives which was issued by the organiza-
tional department of the Flatbush section of the Communist Party, giving
directives regarding sending of telegrams and activity on the OPA.
July 2, 1946, solicitation of signatures and funds for telegrams to be sent to
Congressmen urging retention of OPA.
August 21. 1946, petitions to the U. N. on behalf of 13 million oppressed Negro
citizens in the United States of America, which was issued by the National Negro
Congress.
April 22, 1947, letters to Senators Wagner and Ives in protest against the
Hartley bill.
April 20, 1947, letters to the Public Service Commission to protest against gas
rates.
August 5, 1947, nuisance telephone calls to the Brooklyn Trust Co. during strike.
August 6, 1947, telegrams to President Truman on Palestine.
December 8, 1947, postal cards to be sent in protest of conscription.
December 16, 1947, petitions on Simon W. Gerson calling for his seating in the
city council in the place of the late Peter V. Cacchione, issued by the Citizens
Committee To Defend Representative Government, and I have the petition in
connection with this activity.
February 24, 1948, letters to the Attorney General protesting deportation action
against Claudia Jones and Ferdinand Smith.
March 1, 1948, petitions to W. R. Burleigh of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People in Americus, Ga. ; Circuit Judge Harper, Ella-
ville, Ga. ; Governor Thompson, Atlanta, Ga. ; and President Truman re Mrs. Rosa
Lee Ingram.
On March 2, 1948, we had petitions soliciting collections in connection with this
case.
March 1, 1918, telegrams to Attorney General Clark for the release of Eisler,
Williamson, Smith and Doyle.
March 2, 1948, postal cards, letters, petitions to Attorney General Tom Olark
for release of the above-mentioned four at Ellis Island.
March 5, 1948, petitions to the Governor of Georgia and to President Truman
re the Rosa Lee Ingram case.
March 8 and March 16, 1948, more petitions on the Ingram ease.
964 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
November 30, 1948, letters to Attorney General Clark against indictment of the
Communist Party's 12 leaders.
December 6, 1948, petition in protest of the lynching of Robert Mallard in
Lyons, Ga.
December 20, 1948, letters to Attorney General Clark to dismiss indictment of
the party leaders.
January 25, 1949, telegrams to District Attorney McDonald on the Hardison
case.
February 7, 1949, telegrams to Judge Medina to protest the Federal grand jury
system. In this connection comrades were to get five others also to send tele-
grams. Telegrams were also to be sent to the district attorney on the Hardison
case.
February 20, 1949, telegrams in protest of the trial of the Communist Party's
12 leaders.
March 16, 1949, telegrams to the State assembly to protest repressive legisla-
tion.
On March 22, 1949, the same.
April 20, 1949, petitions urging discontinuance of the deportation proceedings
against Harisiades and Taffler.
April 6, 1949, telegrams to Judge Medina protesting his handling of the trial
of the party's 12 leaders.
June 7, 1949, letters to Judge Medina to rescind the sentences of Gates, Winston
and Hall.
June 1-1, 1949, telegrams to O'Dwyer, mayor of New York City, protesting the
ban on pickets at Ryan's oflace of the International Longshoremen's Association.
July 25, 1949, letters to Albany protesting the Mundt bill; letters to Judge
Medina protesting the trial of the Communist Party's 12 leaders.
July 26, 1949, letters to Senator McCarran in protest against the Mundt-Nixon
bill ; letters to Judge Medina demanding release of the three leaders in jail.
September 6, 1949, letters to President Truman and Governor Dewey re the
Peekskill incident.
January 19, 1950, telegrams to President Truman protesting the issuance of any
injunction by Denham of the National Labor Relations Board in connection with
the United Mine Workers.
March 6, 1950, letters to Senators Lehman and Ives protesting Mundt-Nixon bill.
March 7, 1950, letters to Senators Lehman, Ives, and Lucas protesting the
Mundt-Nixon bill, and in connection with this I have a leaflet issued by the
Communist Party of Boro Hall section.
March 10, 1950, telegrams to these same three persons were prepared for
canvassing.
March 14, 1950, letters to mass organizations and to names on directory of
registered voters to protest the H-bomb.
March 22, 1950, petitions in the name of the Trade Union Council protesting
the Mundt-Nixon bill.
May 9, 1950, letters to the Attorney General to release Dennis.
May 12, 1950, letters to President Truman to release Dennis.
In connection with this I have a throwaway issued by the Boro Hall section
of the Communist Party.
June 15, 1950, letters to Governor Wright of Mississippi urging release of Willie
McGee, and to Governor Battle of Virginia urging release of the Martinsville
seven.
July 5, 1950, letters to Senators Lucas, Lehman, and Ives against Mundt bill.
July 11, 1950, letters to President Truman requesting amnesty for Dennis.
August 28, 1950, telegrams to President Truman demanding continuance of bail
for the party's leaders, and telegrams to Senators Ives, Lehman, and Lucas
protesting the Mundt-Nixon and McCarran bills.
August 29, 1950, telegrams and letters to the Attorney General and to the
Senators regarding bail for the party's leaders.
September 5, 1950, telegrams to Washington regarding bail for the party leaders
and letters to Congressmen to protest anti-Communist bills.
December 4, 1950, telegrams to President Truman to stop the war in Korea and
ban the use of the A-bomb.
December 18, 1950, cards to President Truman in the peace campaign.
In connection with both of these, I have a leaflet issued by the New York
State Communist Party which says, "No new war; prevent world war three."
January 2, 1951, letters to Mayor Impellitteri on John Derrick.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 965
January 22, 1951, a National Labor Conference petition to President Truman
demanding prevention of a wage freeze and demanding price rollbacks and rent
control.
January 30, 1951, telegrams demanding stay of execution of the Martinsville
seven.
February 19, 1951, postcards to Mayor Impellitteri on the Derrick case; to
President Truman on the case of Lieutenant Leon Gilbert ; to Governor Wright on
Willie McGee.
March 19, 1951, telegrams to the city council ; to Councilman Sharkey, Isaacs,
Brown ; mayor ; State legislature on McGee.
April 4, 1951, letters to President Truman, and telegrams to President Truman
and to Governor Wright demanding freedom for McGee.
May 4, 1951, more telegrams to President Truman on McGee.
May 7, 1951, telegrams to Justice Black to halt the execution of McGee and
telephone calls to be made to CBS to i-elease news in their news reports on
McGee.
May 22, 1951, letters to President Truman to adopt the Johnson resolution
to end the war in Korea.
June 28, letters to President Truman for a cease-fire, and in connection there-
with I have this particular petition.
Also, on that same date, letters to President Truman in protest of the arrest
of the party's leaders. These were the 17 second-string leaders.
July 11, 1951, letters to President Truman for cease-fire and withdrawal of
the troops from Korea.
Aia.i,mst 16, 1951, telegrams and letters to Attorney General McGrath de-
manding that there be no prosecution of DuBois, head of the Peace Informa-
tion Center.
August 29, 1951, letters to President Truman for cease-fire in Korea and
again on September 5, 1951, the same.
I would like to point out that just because these instructions are
listed probably only once does not mean just a single effort was made
on that day. It was a continuous process in most cases.
Mr. Tavenner. Mr. Chairman, I desire to offer in evidence the
documents identified by the witness in her description of pressure
campaigns to be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 40," for identification
purposes only, and to be made a part of the committee files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
Mr. Tavenxer. You have told us, Mrs. Blauvelt, that these cam-
paigns to which you have referred by no means constituted a complete
list of such campaigns. I ask you to look through your material and
state whether you have throwaways or other documentary evidence
relating to any other campaigns.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, I have. [Reading :]
A postal card addressed to President Harry S. Truman, which I received on
November 11, 1945, and it was in connection with urging him to get the boys
home from China by Christmas. This was in connection with the China cam-
paign they were conducting at that time.
There is also a throwaway, protesting the unjust mine verdict, issued by the
New York State Communist Party, and protests were to be sent to Judge T. Alan
Goldsborough and to President Truman. This was in December 1946.
I have a petition, which I received on February 25, 1947, addressed to Senators
Wagner and Ives in connection with so-called antilabor bills, issued by the Com-
mimist Party of New York State.
A postal card to President Truman calling for the disbanding of the House
Un-American Activities Committee, which I received October 14, 1947.
A postal card to Joseph Martin of the House of Representatives in connec-
tion also with the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Mundt bill.
This one was issued in the name of the Civil Rights Congress, but the com-
rades were instructed to send these out at a meeting of the Jay-Smith Club held
May 11, 1948.
966 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
I have a leaflet issued by the Communist Party of New York State on the
North Atlantic Pact, and it calls for letters to Senators Wagner and Ives and to
President Truman to defeat the North Atlantic Pact.
I have a reprint I received June 20, 1949, issued by the New York State com-
mittee of the Communist Party in connection with the jailing of the three
Communist leaders at that time.
I have a leaflet which I received on May 16, 1949, on the subject of rents with
the instructions that President Harry S. Truman be written to with the demand
that a real rent-control law be passed.
I have another throwaway issued by the New York State Communist Party
in connection with support for the coal miners, telegrams to be sent to President
Truman in connection with that case.
I have a throwaway issued by the Neighborhood Committee for the Defense
of Peter Harisiades and Anna Taffler, action to be taken in their deportation case
by sending letters to Attorney General Tom Clark protesting their deportation.
I mentioned once before that I had a petition in connection with the Martins-
ville seven. I have this petition which I received on January 26, 1951, issued by
the Committee to Organize the Downtown Brooklyn Chapter of the Civil Rights
Congress.
]VIr. SciiERER. May I interrupt ?
As I indicated, Mrs. Blauvelt, in my off-the-record statement, I
think your testimony has been of tremendous vahie to this committee
and I am only sorry that other commitments this week on other com-
mittees kept me from hearing all of it.
I know that other members of the committee during this week have
had other commitments that prevented them from hearing all of your
testimony. But as I suggested, I think that your testimony or at least
part of it, must be repeated in public after a more complete investiga-
tion is done, particularly with respect to the subject matter about
which you testified, be-cause it really is the first time, as I understand it,
the committee has had such cogent evidence with respect to actual
activity of the local Community clubs. Your testimony does bring
out that they were a powerful influence in promoting the Communist
conspiracy and Communist objectives.
I think you have presented your testimony intelligently and cer-
tainly fully and comprehensively and the New York City Police De-
partment is to be congratulated on having such a fine member as your-
self as part of its organization. It is also to be congratulated on its
foresight a few years ago in placing you in a position where you could
get this information w^hich was not only valuable to the New York
Police Department but I am sure now valuable to this committee, the
Congress and the Government,
Of course the committee wants to thank you for your help and co-
operation and wants to solicit your future help and cooperation if we
go forward with the plan I suggested.
Again I have to testify myself before another committee of this
Congress, and I am going to be compelled to leave. It was really a
pleasure to listen to you.
Mrs. Blatjvelt. Thank you, sir.
I have here a leaflet in connection with a People's Lobby to Wash-
ington, D. C, on June 8, 1949, being conducted in the name of the
Kings County Committee of the American Labor Party. There x^as
a tremendous amount of work done by the Boro Plall section and
the Jay-Smith Club in connection with this lobby, and we were given
})etitioiis with which to canvass the neighborhood in an attempt to
secure contributions to send delegates to this lobb}', and also to solicit
members of the community to attend the lobl)y as delegates of the
comnnmity. We were very successful in this venture.
I
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEV^^ YORK AREA 967
I did speak before about postal cards being sent to President Tru-
man in December 1950. The purpose of these postal cards was to flood
him with mail at Christmas calling for peace. It was presented in
a very innocuous fashion but was still designed to be a pressure cam-
paign. There was also another postal card to President Truman is-
sued in the name of the American Women for Peace, 118G Broadway^
Avhich the comrades were given on January 2, 1951, to send out in con-
nection with fighting in Korea.
Mr. Tai-enxer. I desire to offer in evidence the above referred to
documents which have been identified by the witness in further de-
scribing the pressure campaigns as "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 41," for
identification purposes only, and to be made a part of the committee
files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
We will recess until 1 : 30.
(Whereupon, at 12:05 p. m. the committee was recessed, to recon-
vene at 1 : 30 p. m. the same day. )
AITERNOON SESSION, MAY 6, 1955
Committee members present : Representatives Morgan M. Moulder,
chairman (presiding), James B. Frazier, Jr., Edwin E. Willis, and
Harold H. Velde.
Mr. Moulder. Proceed.
Mr. Ta\t:nner. Mrs. Blauvelt, to what extent did the Communist
Party sections with which you were affiliated sponsor the Jefferson
School of Social Science.
Mrs. Blauv'elt. I would say to a very great extent. I probably
could give you a listing of a number of occasions on which the Jeffer-
son School was discussed but I think it would suffice to say that at
every time a new semester started at the Jefferson School the members
Avere instructed to attend classes and many times we would actually
bo given the catalogs of the Jefferson School to peruse and to make
our selections as to just which courses we would like to have.
Not only at the opening of each semester but at any time when
there were any special courses which were worthy of consideration,
we might be given some leaflets on that subject-matter and the Com-
munist Party itself did print material in connection with the Jeffer-
son School.
One interesting incident occurred when I was a member of the Jay-
Smith Club, which hajopened on December 13, 1948, at an executive
committee meeting of the Jay-Smith Club which was held in the home
of Charles Marshall.
Bea Sacks, organizer of the Boro Hall section, instructed that
the comrades be urged to go to the Jefferson School where they could
take any course they desired and that 2 members from the club attend
the Marxist Institute connected with the Jefferson School where they
would be given a year's course on a specific Marxist subject.
They would have to first be interviewed for this course by a school
board which would make its recommendations.
Now the cost of tliis course was $40 and if a comrade could not afford
to pay the entire amount the section would pay one-third and the club
could pay one-third.
I felt that was rather an interesting manner of trying to get the
members to get not only into the Jefferson School itself but into the
968 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Marxist Institute of the Jefferson School, which offered advanced
courses in Marxism and Leninism.
I do not know if there is much purpose in going into the detail of
the number of announcements made but it was constant.
Mr. Tavenner. I hand you the three documents relating to the study
of Marxism which I ask you to briefly describe.
Mrs. Blauvelt (reading) :
There is one entitled : Tlieory Makes You Strong. This particular leaflet
was issued in the name of the Jefferson School of Social Science, but it was given
to us at one of the club meetings to bring to our attention that we should attend
the Jefferson School.
Another leaflet entitled : Armed With Theory, the Working Class Can Change
the World.
This leaflet lists some of the classes of particular interest. This also was
given to us at one of the club meetings for study and consideration as to just
which courses we would like to take.
Another entitled : One Night a Week for Marxist Study at the Jefferson School.
I feel this leaflet is of particular interest because it was issued by the
New York State Committee of the Communist Party and it says that
every Communist should give one night a week for Marxist study and
this Marxist study, the leaflet urges, should be taken at the Jefferson
School of Social Science.
It also says that for county, section, and club leaders it is recom-
mended that the Institute of Marxist Studies be attended.
I think that this would show the alliance between the two. This
particular leaflet was for the winter term of 1951.
Mr. Ta\tenner. I desire to offer these three documents in evidence
and ask that they be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit No. 42" for identifi-
cation purposes only, and to be made a part of the committee files.
Mr. Moulder. It is so ordered.
Mr. Tavenner. In the earlier part of your testimony you gave us
the names of the members of the Flatbush section of the Communist
Party and those w4th whom you came in contact when attending offi-
cial meetings of the Flatbush section.
From 1947 to 1951 did you have an opportunity to meet similarly
members of the Boro Hall section of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, sir; I did. In the capacity of the Jay-Smith
Clubs' financial secretary and also at the times I was active as an or-
ganizer or its membership director I had occasion to attend meetings
on a section level, and I did become acquainted with many of the other
members of the section though they were not in my club; they were
in other clubs within the section, the Boro Hall section of the Brooklyn
Communist Party.
Mr. Ta\t2Nner. Will you please identify those persons ?
Mrs. Blau\'elt (reading) :
There was Mickey Antell, who was at one time, organizer of the Walt Whitman
Club and who became the organizer of the Longshore Club. He was also a mem-
ber of the section staff at one time of the Boro Hall section.
There was Ad Badner, who for a time was educational director of the Boro
Hall section but who moved to 405 Sycamore Road, Santa Monica, Calif. He
addressed an executive committee meeting of the Jay-Smith Club on the subject
of the press on December 6, 1948.
Judith Badner, she had been assigned by the Boro Hall section to work on
the Hardison case and the organization of a chapter of the Civil Rights Con-
gress. She also moved to 40.5 Sycamore Road, Santa Monica, Calif.
I met Selma Barban, 85 Louisa Street, who was a member of the 12th A. D.
section, and who attended the same regional training class I attended in 1950.
I met Joseph Bell, who was instructor of that regional training class.
INVESTIGATIOX OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 969
I knew Bertha Breginan, 142 Henry Street. She was an executive member of
the Orange Street Club and also became a member of the Riverside Club. She
attended the county training class which I attended in 1948.
Evelyn Brenner, 665 East Seventh Street. She was a member of the 12th
A. I), section and attended the same regional training class I attended.
Jesus Colon. He was a member of the La I'asionaria Clul). the Puerto Rican
Club, in the Boro Hall section. He was a leader of the Puerto Rican Interna-
tional Workers Order and in ID.'tl had been cliarged with contempt as a member
of the National Board of the IWO.
Eunice Cooper, 79 Poplar Street. She was membership director of the Boro
Hall section at the time that I entered the section and w^as granted a leave of
absence in November 1947 for ill health.
Ben Davis. He was a member of the coimty committee of the Brooklyn Com-
munist Party, was regional director of the waterfront region, instructed classes
at the regional training class which I attended, and was elected as one of the
New York State officers of the Communist Party at the State convention held
in December 1950.
Gerry Davis was a member of the section, and I saw her at one of the section
meetings on March 7, 1950.
Margery de Leon, 79 Poplar Street. She was treasurer of the Boro Hall section.
She became membership director of the Boro Hall section.
She was once a member of the Orange Street Club and then of the Buck Lazar
Club. She worked for the United Jewish Appeal. She said she had worked
for Russian war relief and in June of 1950 stated that she worked for the
Peace Information Center.
Carlos Dore, 207 Kingsboro Second Walk, Kingsboro housing pro.iect in Brook-
lyn. He was at one time organizer of the La Pasionaria Club, the Puerto Rican
Club, in the Boro Hall section.
Virginia Dore, 207 Kingsboro Second Walk. She was a member of the La
Pasionaria Cluli. and at an area committee meeting which was held in her
home on May 8, 1951 ; she attended the latter part of it, having come home after
attending a class which was held at the section.
Bob Ehrlich. He was the organizational secretary of the Boro Hall sec-
tion for a while. He was a member of the Walt Whitman Club in the Fort
Greene housing project. I understand that he was the circulation manager of
the German-American.
Eduard Eisinger, also known as Eddie, at one time was treasurer of the
Boro Hall section. He was a member of the industrial unit in the Boro
Hall section and said he was a member of the transport workers' union and that
he worked for the Brooklyn Union Gas Co. I believe his address was 1260
Myrtle Avenue.
Al Escobitz (Itzcovitz). That is a strictly phonetic spelling. I could never
determine whether that was the correct pronunciation. He was a member of
the industrial unit in the Boro Hall section. He attended the regional train-
ing class which I attended, stated that he lived at Empire Boulevard and Flatbush
Avenue and worked at the Concord Restaurant, which I believe was supposed
to have been in that neighborhood.
Jack Fine was for a while the organizer of the Boro Hall section ; he con-
ducted a class at the Jay-Smith Club, and he eventually moved to Merrick, Long
Island.
Bernie Frank was a member of the county cadre training committee. He was
instructor of the country training class which I attended in 1948 and which
Charles Marshall attended in 1949.
He stated he had been a member of the educational union which was sup-
posed to be underground, and that he had gone to Moscow and had been in
every May Day parade since 1934.
Hy Friedman, 304 East Fifth Street, Brooklyn. He was membership director
and treasurer of the industrial unit in the Boro Hall section.
Max Frishkoff, 142 Henry Street. While he was in Brooklyn he had a watch
repair business at 147 Montague Street. He moved to California in the spring of
1949. He had been a member of the Orange Street Club and meetings of mem-
bership directors and financial secretaries were held in his home.
There was a person by the name of Gabin or Gavin whose first name I was
unable to determine. He was, however, the regional membership director who
interviewed the members of the party who had been selected to attend the
regional training class in 1950.
G3968— 55— pt. 4 5
970 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Herb Gerwitz or Gurwitz. Regional director of the Boro Hall, Boro Park,
Bay Ridge, Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, and Waterfront sections. He spoke
at the Women's Peace Conference held by the Brooklyn Communist Party on May
26 1951
Emilia Giboyeaux. She was a member. of the La Pasionaria Club, the Puerto
Rican club, of which she was membership director.
Jose Giboveaux, who was organizer of La Pasionaria Club.
Joseph Gill. TH Cumberland Walk, Fort Greene housing project. He was a
member of the Fort Greene Club and meetings of membership directors and fi-
nancial secretaries were held in his home. He did attend a section meeting
which I attended at section headquarters on January 3, 1950.
Harry Gold, 940 4Tth Street. He attended the regional training class which
I attended in 1950. ^^ ^
Dr. Leonard Gorelick. He was a member of the Buck Lazar Club, was one of
its club executives, and attended meetings of membership directors and financial
secretaries at which I was present. He was a dentist by profession.
Shirley Gorelick, member of the Buck Lazar Club. She had a license to teach
in the New York City school system but resigned.
I have the name of a person I would like to have your advice on who
had once been organizational secretary of the Boro Hall section,
but who died. Do you want any persons who are deceased to be men-
tioned ?
Mr. Tavenner. Not unless his functioning in the party was of such
character that in order to describe the incidents in which he was_ in-
volved that you should mention his name as a matter of authentication.
Mrs. Blauvelt. I don't recall now offhand whether I have men-
tioned his name in anv of the testimony that I have given. It is very
possible that I might have.
Mr. Tavenner. I believe it would be preferable to wait until execu-
tive session.
Mrs. Blauvelt (reading) :
Adele Hardison. She was a member of the youth group in the Boro Hall
section.
Al Henderson: He was a member of the youth group in the Boro Hall sec-
tion. He was supposed to have been transferred to the Jay-Smith Club in 1950.
Vivian Johnson, 20 College Place: She was a member of the Boro Hall sec-
tion, and a class entitled : "Know How of the United Front" was conducted in
her home.
Philip Johnson, 20 College Place, was also a member of the Boro Hall section.
Louise Jonson : She was a member of the Walt Whitman Club and was sup-
posed to be coordinator of clubs in the Fort Greene housing project. She was
present at meetings which I attended.
Richard Jonson, commonly called Dick, member of the Walt Whitman Club.
He had at one time been industrial director of the Boro Hall section. He had
been a former organizer of the Fort Greene section and had been made organizer
of the Williamsburg section. He was a member of the county committee, and
he was at several of the meetings which I attended of the party.
Netta Katz, 157 North Elliott Place, in the Fort Greene housing project. She
was a member of the youth section, and her home was used for meetings of the
membership directors and the financial secretaries of the section ; she being pres-
ent at the time.
Lola Kehoe : She was a member of the La Pasionaria Club and present at meet-
ings at which I was present.
Harry Kessler, 103 Joralemon Street. He was a member of the Riverside
Club. I attended a meeting of the membership directors and treasurers of the
Boro Hall section, which was held in his home on March 4, 1948.
Helen Korocoff: This is phonetic spelling. Helen had been assigned by the
Boro Hall section to work on the Hardison case in the midst of which she
moved to California. She was very active in this case. I heard her name men-
tioned only once. Therefore I say that is strictly a phonetic spelling.
Jean Kramer, also know as Curtis. She was a member of tlie Boro Hall
section. She moved from 156 Hicks Street, to 50 East 12th Street, apartment
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 971
7-C, in New York City. She was at membership directors and financial secre-
taries meetings on April 20, 1949.
Jerry Kramer was a member of the Boro Hall section. He moved from 156
Hicks Street, to 520 East 12th Street in New York City.
He at one time addressed one of the meetings of the Jay-Smith club on the
subject of the indictment of the Communist Party's 12 leaders.
Stella Lacher, 2 Grace Court: She was literature and press director, mem-
bership director, and treasurer of the Helen Horton club. She attended the
county training class which I attended in 1948 and said she had joined the Com-
munist Party in February 1946.
Essie Lang; I believe her name was Esther, 100 Clarke Street. She was
financial secretary of the Buck Lazar club for a time.
Jack Lang, 100 Clarke Street ; a member of the Buck Lazar club.
David Levine, 75 Cumberland Walk in the Fort Greene housing project. He
was a member of the youth group in the Boro Hall section. At one time
when the membership directors and financial secretaries of the section were
holding a meeting in his home, he held a youth meeting.
Gert Levine, 1343 45th Street : The regional training class which I attended
in 1950 was held in her home. I later learned that she was organizational sec-
retary of the Boro Park-Bay Ridge sections, having been introduced as such
at a regional meeting held in 1951.
Ida Levine, who married Joseph Gill at the time that I knew her, 75 Cumber-
land Walk, in the Fort Greene housing project. She was a member of the Fort
Greene club.
David Livingston, member of the Walt Whitman Club in the Fort Greene
housing project. He was present at one of the section meetings which I attended.
June Lostar, 24 Joralemou Street. She was at one time Boro Hall section
press director, its treasurer, and its membership director. She was a member
of the Riverside Club. She had been in the Army. She stated she had worked
in the office of the National Maritime Union but had lost her job because of the
result of rightwing elections in 1948..
Quince Marshall, 343 Bergen Street : He was a member of the youth group.
He was supposed to go into Jay-Smith Club No. 2 but was assigned to youth
group work in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section. He was attending Brooklyn
College in 1950 and was to go into the Army in 1951,
Gloria Monroe, also known as Jackson, 551 Warren Street. She was a mem-
ber of the youth group.
Al Neptune, 8 Monument Walk, Fort Greene housing project. He was educa-
tional director of the Boro Hall section. He had been made coordinator of
Jay-Smith Clubs Nos. 1 and 2 for a time.
He stated he had been on the executive committee of the Fort Greene sec-
tion in 1947 and had been that section's first organizer, that he had come from
the Virgin Islands when about 21 years old, that he had been in the Communist
Party in 1935, had worked for Sperry's during the war, and was working for
the Brooklyn Union Gas Co. and was a member of the transport workers union.
He was being released from party activity in the Boro Hall section to teach
a class at the Jefiierson School in the fall of 1950.
Inge Neptune, 8 Monument Walk, Fort Greene housing project. She was to
be financial secretary of the Frederick Douglass Club. I was present at a meet-
ing of the membership directors and financial secretaries held in her home.
Harry Oacher, that name may also be spelled Oncher. He was a member of
the Riverside club. He was also a member of the executive committee of the
Boro Hall section. lie was director and instructor of the regional training
class which I attended in 1950.
Leah Opperman, also known as Okun. She owned the building at 42 Livingston
Street in Brooklyn. She was at one time treasurer of the Helen Horton Club and
she was active in the American Labor Party.
Sylvia Pecker: She had been transferred from the youth group to the
Frederick Douglass Club in the Fort Greene housing project where she was to
be financial secretary of the club. She lived in the Fort Greene housing project.
She attended a meeting of membership directors and financial secretaries held
on May 31, 1950, at which I was present.
Jack Perloff, 355 Pacific Street : He had been transferred to the Jay-Smith
Club in error and was retransferred to a unit in the United Public Workers Hous-
ing Administration. He stated that he had been in the National Maritime Union.
He stated that he had been an organizer of the Young Communist League in
Ohio ; that is, one of its branches.
972 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Naomi Peyser, 85 Eastern Parkway : She was financial seci-etary of the
Plaza Club for a while.
Leo Reiter, IIB Willow Street : He was a members of the Buck Lazar Club
and became a member t>f the food unit. He stated that he worked for Waldbaum,
Inc., .grocers, at 1333 3!)th Street, Brooklyn. I understand that he later worked
some place in Sheepshead Bay and that he had moved to the Greenwich hous-
ing project in 1950. He attended meetings of club executives which I attended.
Muriel Rogers, 47 Popular Street : Slie was a meml)er of the Boro Hall sec-
tion. On June -. 11)48, I attended a meeting which was held in her home, and
I believe she became a member of the Buck Lazar Club.
Allen Rosenstein, together with Dave Sales, conducted the verification of
executive members of the Jay-Smith Club on behalf of the Boro Hall sec-
tion and the waterfront region. He was a member of the review commission and
was present at the meeting at which I was expelled.
Mildred Rosenstein : She was an executive member of the Walt Whitman
Club in the Fort Greene housing project and attended meetings of membership
directors and financial secretaries which I attended.
Bea Sacks w;is a member of the county committee. She was organizational
secretary and then organizer of the Boro Hall section. She taught some of
the sessions of the regional training class which was conducted in 1950 which
I attended.
David Sales, regional director and member of the county committee, together
with Allen Rosenstein, conducted the verification of the executive members of
the .lay-Smith (^lub on behalf of the Boro Hall section and waterfront region.
He ccmducted the meeting at which I was expelled.
George Sande, a member of the Plaza Club, also a member of the executive
comnn'ttee of the Boro Hall section, and circulation manager of the Daily Worker.
He spoke at a meeting of the Jay-Smith Club January 6, 1948. In July 1948
he was to be transferred to Indianapolis while working in that city.
Teddy Schneiderman : He supervised the AYD in the area of the Jay-Smith
Club whei-e he organized a party youth club. He was a member of the Brooklyn-
South youth group which won the Cacchione memorial cup for securing the most
subscriptions in the drive in 1948. He had been a member of a club in the
Bensonhurst .section.
Francis Scoville, 828 Union Street : Organizational secretary of the Boro Hall
section who later become its organizer.
Al Sharugrudsky, 9 Monument Walk in the Fort Greene Housing project: He
was a member of the Boro ?Iall section, ;iTid meetings of membei'ship direc-
tors and financial secretaries were held in his home. He wanted to attend the
regional training class in 1950.
Edith Sharugrudsky, 9 Monument Walk in the Fort Greene section: She was
a membership director of the Frederick Douglass CUib.
Lenore Silberman, 107 Joralemon Street: She was at one time section litera-
ture director, its educational director and its membership director. She moved
about September 1950 to a housing project in Long Island where she became
active in the tenants council.
Ceil or Celia Solomon : She was an executive member of the Frederick Douglass
Cluh in the Fort Greene housing project and attended meetings of financial
secretaries and membership directors.
Blanche Spindell : She was a member of the Red Hook section who attended
the regional training class which I attended.
Ethel Steiner. organizer of the Fort Greene Club in the Fort Greene housing
project : She attended meetings which I attended.
Arne Sundeen was a member of the Boro Park section who attended the
regional training class which I attended in 1950.
Ethel Toback was a member of the Boro Hall section and attended a section
meeting which I attended on IMarch 7, 1950.
Sylvia Zwerling : She was organizer, membership director, and financial
secretary of the Frederick Douglass Club in the Fort Greene housing project.
That completes tlie list of those in the Boro Hall section whom I
met on various occasions.
Mr. Tavenner. Wliat was the next higher level after the section
level in the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Blatjvelt. The county committee was the next highest level.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 973
Mr. Tavenner. What was your opportunity of learning the mem-
bership of the county committee of the Communist Party?
Mrs. Blauvei-t. Well, many times members of the county commit-
tee would come either to club meetings or to section meetings to address
the clubs, in addition to which, when county meetings were held they
would address the countywide membership meetings. So in this con-
nection I did come to know some of them.
Mr. Tavenner. Were there occasions when you attended a county
committee meeting ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. No, not county committee meetings themselves. I
attended section committee meetings but not being a section executive
I did not attend county executive meetings.
Mr. Ta^-enner. Have you identified, in the course of your testimony,
those whom you learned to be members of the Kings County Commit-
tee of the Brooklyn Communist Party ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. I have not.
Mr. Ta\'enner. Will you do so now?
Mrs. Blau\'elt. Yes. [Reading:]
There was William Albertson, trade union director of the county committee of
the Brooklyn Communist Party, in 1944, who became vice president of the Brook-
lyn Communist Political Association in 1944. He addressed a meeting of the
Flatbush Club.
Sidney Brooks, financial secretary of the Brooklyn Communist Party, whom
I saw at county meetings.
Margaret Cowl, also known as Krumbeiu : She had been a member of the
women's commission of the Communist Party and of the New York State Com-
munist Political Association school commission. She was on the county com-
mittee of the Brooklyn Communist Party and organized cadres or training
classes conducted by the county.
She conducted a class at the Flatbush Club in 1944 and she spoke at the county
training class in 1948 and the regional training class in 1950 which I attended.
Billy Frumpkin : She was secretary of the women's committee of the Brook-
lyn Communist Party. She spoke at the Women's Peace Conference held by
the Brooklyn Communist Party on May 2G, 1951.
Mickey Langbert : She was press director of the Brooklyn Communist Party
in 1947 and spoke at a county meeting on January 11, 1947.
David Leeds, press director of the Brooklyn Communist Party in 1948 : He
was present at some of the county meetings which I attended.
Donald M. Lester : He was educational director of the Brooklyn Communist
Party in 1949 and 1950 and was present at some county meetings which I
attended.
Charles Loman, organizational secretary of the county committee of the Brook-
lyn Communist Party, .spoke at many meetings of the Brooklyn Communist
Party and of the Boro Hall section, and also at one of the meetings of the
Jay-Smith Club.
Bertha Lowitt, was on the county committee. She was regional organizer of
the Williamsburg area, and on the women's commission of the Brooklyn Com-
munist Party. She was a speaker at the Women's Peace Conference held by the
Brooklyn Communist Party on May 26, 1951.
Morton Anthony, or Tony : He was vice president of the Brooklyn Com-
munist Political Association. He was at one time organizer in the Bedford-
Stuyvesant section and he was also at one time educational director of the
Brooklj-n Communist Party.
Leon Nelson, was labor director of the Brooklyn Communist Party in 1950.
He was chairman of the meeting which the Brooklyn Communist Party held
at Webster Hall, July 11, 1950.
Joseph Roberts was executive secretary of the Brooklyn Communist Political
Association. He was a member of the county committee of the Brooklyn Com-
munist Party. He was a member of the Kensington Club and general manager
of the Daily Worker.
Norman Schrank, member of the county committee, attended many of the
party's functions at which I was present.
-55— pt. 4 6
974 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Nathan F. Slutzky : He was treasurer of the Brooklyn Communist Political
Association. He spoke at a meeting of the Flatbush Club on February 5, 1945,
at which he installed the new officers.
Carl Vedro : He was chairman of the veterans' committee of the Brooklyn
Communist Party and also executive secretary of the Brooklyn Communist
Party. I was at meetings which he addressed.
Fay Vedro was in charge of trade union and industrial concentration work
of Kings County in 1947 and addressed one of the section meetings of the
Boro Hall section at which I was present.
James W. Ford was a member of the county committee of the Brooklyn Com-
munist Party and together with Charles Loman of the county committee, and
Charles Marshall and Sophie Poulos of the Jay-Smith Club, met with Doxey
Wilkerson of the Civil Rights Congress regarding the Hardison case in which
the Jay-Smith Club took a very active part. He was present at the Lenin Me-
morial rally, Brooklyn Academy of Music, in 1949 and present at the Com-
munist Party rally at Aperion Manor December 27, 1950.
Mr, Tavexker. Mrs. Blaiivelt, were the various organizations, on
the chib level and on the district level, addressed from time to time
by functionaries of the Communist Party ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, sir.
Mr. Tavexner. Will you please give the committee the names of
those persons recorded by you who, from time to time addressed Com-
munist Party members on both club level and section level? In do-
ing so, give the identity of those individuals by their titles or any
other descriptive information made public at that time in the pres-
ence of those whose names you are going to give us.
Mrs. Blauvelt. May I say that there were other people present at
these meetings who were also identified by their names. Would you
want those people included ?
Mr. Ta\t:nner. Yes. First you might describe the nature of these
meetings generally.
Mrs. Blauvelt. These meetings were eitiier my own party club
meetings or my ow^n section party meetings or the county-wide meet-
ings that were held by the Brooklyn Communist Party. They were
all in connection v^ith the party. They had nothing to do with any
meetings other than the Communist Party and the majority of these
meetings I vrould say were of a closed nature. They were not of the
type that was open to the public in anyway.
That is, there was no admission cliarge for entrance to them. There
may be a few exceptions to those that were not considered strictly
closed such as Lenin Memorial meetings but Lenin Memorial meetings
were in the first iuvstance Communist Party meetings.
Mr. Velde. Of course v/e have always considered those wlio at-
tended closed party meetings as having membership in the Communist
Party. We do not want in the record the names of anyone you think
just came to see wliat it was all about. Is that the purpose?
Mr, Tavenner. That is correct, sir, but my recollection is that
these various people Avho were introduced at these meetings were
introduced according to the positions they held in the Communist
Party.
Mrs. Blauvelt. I would like to make clear that in not all cases did
I have these people made known to me by a title. Some of them might
have been inti'oduced in connection witli a particular activity being
conducted at the time. Very specifically press drives when certain of
the comrades were introduced as comrades who were doing a specific
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 975
job in connection with the press at the time this meeting was being
held.
Mr. Tav^enxer. Do you mean the Communist Party press ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, in connection with the Daily Worker or Sun-
day Worker.
Mr. Ta VENDER. Let me suggest this to you: That in any instance
where there was not a closed meeting — that you not give the names
of the persons present unless there was some identifying information
given to indicate that that individual was a member of the Communist
Party and that he was present when that information was given to the
assembled group.
Mrs. Blauvelt (reading) :
Rose Alberts : I became acquainted with her name when she was introduced
at a closed meeting of the Brooklyn Communist Party held on December 15,
1947. She was called to the platform for having secured 85 subscriptions in the
press drive. She was identified as a member of the East New York section of
the Brooklyn Communist Party.
Rose Barkow — and that is a phonetic spelling — at a meeting of the Brooklyn
Communist Party on January 11, 1947, she was introduced as having secured
20 or more subscriptions in the press drive.
Isadcre Begun : Member of the Bronx County Communist Party, and of the
State committee of the New York State Communist Party. He was a speaker
at the Ninth A. D. Club.
Henry Berkow — and that is phonetic — he was organizational secretary of the
Bedford- Stuyvesant section of the Brooklyn Communist Party and spoke at a
Brooklyn Communist Party rally held at the Aperion Manor on December 27,
1950.
Ruby Blum — and that is phonetic — she was introduced at the Lenin Memorial
meeting held by the Brooklyn Communist Party at the Brooklyn Academy of
Music on January 20, 1949 as a leader of the youth section in the Brooklyn
Communist Party.
Dorothy Blumberg : Introduced as a member of the Brighton Beach section
at the Women's Peace Conference held by the Brooklyn Communist Party on
May 2G, 1951.
Sandy Chalkin : At a closed meeting of the Brooklyn Communist Party held
on December 15, 1947 he was introduced as a member of the Waterfront section.
This was in connection with the press drive.
Murray Cooke : 1 met him at the Cacchione campaign headquarters conducted
by the Brooklyn Communist Party in 1945 at which time he stated that he had
been a member of the Communist Party for many years and that he was a
member of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
Bess de .Jong : She managed the office of the Cacchione campaign headquarters
conducted by the Brooklyn Communist Party in 1945 and stated that she had
formerly been a member of the Young Communist League and of the American
Youth for Democracy. She lived in the Brighton Beach section.
I have one name here which is questionable in my mind if counsel
would like to review it and pass judgment on it.
Mr. Tavenner. May I suggest that if you are doubtful in your mind
about it that that is reason enougli to take it in closed session.
Mrs. Blauvelt. Thank you. [Heading :]
Sadie Duroshkin : On April 17, 1945 at a meeting of the Flatbush Club she
stated that she had been a Communist for 17 years. At this meeting she was
introduced as a member of the executive committee of the Jewish People's Frater-
nal Order and as a leader in the Brownsville IWO.
Sam Finkelstein : At a meeting of the Brooklyn Communist Party on .January
11, 1947 he was introduced as having secured 20 or more subscriptions in the
press drive.
Ann Friedlander: She conducted a lecture at the Flatbush Club upon the
invitation of Abe Feingold, educational director of the Flatbush Club, and at
976 INVESTIGATION OF COMIVIUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
that time she stated that she was from a club other than Flatbush though she
did not mention the club or section.
Isidore Freedman — that is phonetic : He was introduced at a meeting of the
Brooklyn Communist Party on January 11, 1947, as having secured 20 or more
subscriptions in the press drive.
Simon W. Gerson, legislative director of the New York State Communist Party
and candidate for the city council : The Brooklyn Communist Party conducted
a very active campaign for his candidacy. He addressed meetings of the Brook-
lyn Communist Party and also open meetings such as Garden rallies at which
I was present.
Irving Goff : He was chairman of the New l^ork State Communist Party's
veterans committee, and a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He spoke
at a meeting of the Flatbush section March 21, 1946.
Bill Gordon : He was introduced at a meeting of the Brooklyn Communist
Party on January 11, 1947, as having secured 20 or more subscriptions in the
press drive.
Harry Grand : He was campaign manager for Cacchione in 1945 and stated
that he'was a member of the Thomas Paine Club.
Mary Himoff : She addressed a meeting of the Flatbush Club on January 8,
1946 and was introduced as a member of the State committee of the New York
State Communist Party.
Howard ( Stretch ) Johnson : He was the educational director of the New York
State Communist Party and spoke at a membership meeting of the Boro Hall
section on June 21, 1949.
Samuel Kantor : He spoke at a forum at the Flatbush Club held on January
26, 1945, and was introduced as a member of the Kings County council of the
Communist Political Association and as organizer of local 1225 of the United
Electrical Radio & Machine Workers of America.
Mr, Tavenner. Do you happen to know in what industrial plants
ilnat local union had bargaining rights ?
Mrs. Bl vuvelt. No, sir ; I do not. [Reading :]
Esther Koch — and that is a phonetic spelling. She was introduced at a meet-
ing of the Brooklyn Communist Party on January 11, 1947, as having secured
20 or more subscriptions in the press drive.
Ben Klein. He worked at the Cacchione campaign headquarters with me in
1945 and was a member of the Tubman club.
Sidney Kramer. Sidney Kramer spoke at an open-air meeting which was held
jointly by the American Youth for Democracy, Jewish Peoples Fraternal Order,
the Brownsville Tenants Council, American Labor Party, Communist Party, and
the IWO on August 6, 1947, at which time he was introduced as the chairman
of the Brownsville section of the Communist Party.
He spoke at a closed meeting of the Brooklyn Communist Party held on
December 15, 1947, at which time he made a pledge to secure subscriptions to
the press. He spoke at a Lenin memorial meeting of the Brooklyn Communist
Party held on January 19, 1950, at which he was introduced as the youth direc-
tor of the Brooklyn Communist Party.
William Lawrence. He was secretary of the New York State Communist
Political Association, veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and a represent-
ative of the Civil Rights Congress. He spoke at a meeting of the Flatbush club.
Lena Levine, 25 Lefferts Avenue. She stated to me on January 6, 1947, that
she was a member of the Franklin Club, that she was a member' of the Ameri-
can Labor Party and a member of the National Council of American-Soviet
Friendship, and that she had been in the party for 17 years.
Ida Luber. She was a speaker at the women's peace conference held by the
Brooklyn Party on May 26, 1951.
Besame (Bess) Lumpkin, 147 Herkimer Street, Brooklyn, member of the
Bedford-Stuyvesant section. She was educational director of the Brooklyn divi-
sion of the Labor Youth League.
She spoke at a Cacchione memorial meeting on November 28, 1949 ; at a Lenin
memorial meeting on January 19, 1950.
Sam Lurie. He was introduced at a meeting of the Brooklyn Communist
Party on January 11, 1947, as having secured 20 or more subscriptions in the
press drive.
IIsTS'ESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 977
Gert Mendelsohn — and that would be a phonetic spelling — introduced at a
meeting of the Brooklyn Communist Party on January 11, 1947, as having se-
cured 20 or more subscriptions in the press drive.
Mae Miller, a member of the State committee of the New York State Com-
munist Party and of the women's committee of the National Communist Party.
She spoke at the women's peace conference held by the Brooklyn Communist
Party on May 26, 1951.
J. (Pop) Mindel. He spoke at a section convention of the Boro Hall section
held July 19, 194S.
William Norman, organizational secretary of the New York State Communist
Party ; educational director of the New York State Communist Party. He spoke
at a press conference held by the Brooklyn Communist Party on December 29,
1948.
Bea Novack. I met her when I was working at the Cacchione campaign head-
quarters in 194.5.
She stated that she was a member of the Kensington club and that she was
secretary to Dr. Mark Straus, who became the chairman of the Joint Anti-
Fascist Refugee Committee.
Cyril Philips. He was introduced as a Negro Communist leader. He spoke at
a forum of the 9th Assembly District club.
Rae Posner. Rae is phonetic. Introduced at a meeting of the Brooklyn Com-
munist Party on January 11, 1947, as having secured 20 or more subscriptions
in the press drive.
Elsie Rubin. She worked at Cacchione campaign headquarters with me in
1945 and stated she was a member of the Kensington club.
Isidore Shapiro. Member of the Brooklyn Communist Party in the Eastern
Parkway section. He attended the county training school which I attended in
1948 which was held by the Brooklyn Communist Party.
Walter Shirvington. He was acting organizer of the Bedford-Stuyvesant sec-
tion and was present at a meeting of the Brooklyn Communist Party held on April
29, 1946.
Hal Simon. He was chairman of the trade-union committee of the New York
State Communist Party and a leader in the United Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers of America. He spoke at the OPA rally held by the New York State
Communist Party on April 24, 1946.
Nat Sirota — that is a phonetic spelling — introduced at a meeting of the Brook-
lyn Communist Party on January 11, 1947, as having secured 20 or more subs in
the press drive.
Marion Sontag. She was introduced at a meeting of the Brooklyn Communist
Party on January 11, 1947, as having secured 20 or more subscriptions in the
press drive.
Joe Troup — that is a phonetic spelling — he was introduced at a meeting of
the Brooklyn Communist Party on January 11, 1947, as having secured 20 or
more subs in the press drive.
Max Weiss, foreign affairs director of the national committee of the Commu-
nist Party, spoke at a press and party building conference held by the Brooklyn
Communist Party on March 20, 1948.
Mel Williamson. He was a contributor to a preconvention bulletin issued by
the party in 1950 and he was introduced as a leader of the youth of the Com-
munist Party at a rally which was held by the New York State committee of the
Commuuist Party on March 21, 1951, to welcome back Eugene Dennis after
he had served his contempt sentence.
Dave Zeldin, introduced at a meeting of the Brooklyn Communist Party on
January 11, 1947, as having secured 20 or more subs in the press drive.
The Reverend Eliot White spoke at forums of the Flatbush club.
]Mr. Velde. Off the record.
(Discussion off the record.)
Mr. Tavenner. I offer in evidence a document entitled "Churchmen
and Commimism, Views of a Clerical Communist," by Eliot White,
under date of January 15, 1945, and request that it be marked "Blau-
velt Exhibit No. 43,'" and that it b(; incorporated in the transcript of
the record.
978 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Mr. Velde. It is so ordered.
(The exhibit referred to is as follows :)
Blauvelt Exhibit No. 43
[Reprinted from the Churchman, New York City, January 15, 1945, the oldest religious
journal in the English speaking world — Founded 1804]
Churchmen and Communism — Views of a Clerical Communist
By Eliot White
Over a year ago, the author of this article, who has for many years
been an occasional contributor to the Churchman, and who is a
clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church, joined the Commu-
nist Party. Believing tliat readers of the Cliurchman would be in-
terested in knowing at first hand why he did so, we invited him to
present his views freely. This he has done in the present article.
A salutary change is evident in the attitude of the more alert and realistic
church leaders, both clerical and lay, toward Communists and what they stand
for today.
The writer believes it indisputable that increasing numbers of ministers and lay
people, whether their tendencies are toward the right or the left in social eco-
nomic and political convictions, are realizing the necessity of knowing something
definite and authoritative and not mere propaganda, pro or con, about com-
munism. Becaiise they are sure that to combat its tenets effectively, as well as
to estimate it with any intelligent flavor, requires reliable information, to super-
sede mere emotional reactions of either nature.
No one can doubt that emotional reflexes are touched off by even the mention
of the words "communism" and "Communists" today, more intensely and fre-
quently than by any others in the lexicons of all the world's languages. A cer-
tain, to say the least, lurid leaflet, widely circulated by one of the two major
political parties in the recent United States Presidential election, warning of an
alleged "Communist conspiracy against America," and captioned in giant red
letters, "Beware of communism in the United States," shows how sure some of
this country's political authorities are of the surviving panicky complex of fear
of "the Reds."
In the immediately approaching days there will be no theme more intensely
and widely debated than that of Communist theory and practice. This is going
to involve every aspect of life in our own and all other lands — social ethics and
welfare, economics, politics, and by no means least, religion and the tenets and
positions of the churches.
An unprecedented surge of inquiries and challenges, all related to this subject,
is going to assail our own and other religious organizations, their ministries and
their people. No escape corridor will be available through the claim that com-
munism is solely a secular issue, and therefore not a legitimate concern of the
churches.
On the contrary, those who are sufficiently forehanded to inform themselves,
through the accredited literature and historical records of this worldwide move-
ment, will, this writer is convinced, recognize it as definitel.v a religious issue.
And as motivated not only by vision and fervor, but also by clarity of reasoning,
and readiness for self-sacrifice to assure a more just and happy future for all
mankind.
One of the most searching of all its challenges is going to involve an uncompro-
mising comparison between the churches' and communism's closeness to the
teachings of the Bible concerning the rightful, as against the customary, owner-
ship of the land itself in all countries, and of all its subsurface treasures, such as
coal, oil, ores and related necessities for the entire population's welfare.
But that subject, while of utmost importance, is not the theme of this writing,
which would especially emphasize the need for united action by all opponents of
fascism, against aggression and tyranny flaunting the titles of German nazism
and Japanese Black Dragon barbarism, now threatening all values which civil-
ized and freedom-loving people, the world around, agree must be defended and
perpetuated at all costs.
To tliis end, it is surely not too much to hope that many more than at present,
of the clergy and lay members of the churches, will make a sincere effort to over-
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 979
come their reluctance to investigate communism — at least far enough to see
whether it can help them and the rest of our citizens favoring democracy, nearer
to unity against its implacable foes.
The more alert observers, inside the churches, of significant social, economic,
and political developments of this time, must have realized that an epochal
change made early in 1944, by the American Communists in their alinement, was
of importance to our entire national life :
Last January, the national committee of the Communist Party laid before a
plenum of the membership, recommendation of a new step so surprising as for a
time almost to stun the hearers.
This was nothing less than a proposal to dissolve the Communist organization
as a party, and to reorganize as a political association : this to involve ceasing
to function as a political body that puts forward candidates of its own for public
office, and even discontinuing, until the present war should be won, and world
peace established, all insistence on Communist tenets and what is often called its
ideology.
Such recommendation was offered in furtherance of national unity against
the direst threat of all history to ideals of liberty, democracy, and righteous-
ness by militaristic aggression. With nazism, fascism, and oriental barbarism
combining to menace everything which this country and all freedom-loving lands
overseas treasure most dearly, no party labels or promotion of divisive in-
fluences must be allowed to interfere with united action against the terror.
Thus the Commimists, in a spirit of patriotism and world interest as well as
of awareness that without close cooperation with all anti-Fascist forces, we
should be in peril of losing our liberties to the aggressors, proposed such mo-
mentous changes in their organization.
The above recommendation was then submitted to the entire membership of
what was still the party, from coast to coast. Four months were allotted to
insure thorough discussion of the new orientation, and in May, at a convention
in New York of the entire party, it was unanimously approved and adopted.
The name of the organization was altered to the Communist Political Associa-
tion to accord with the authorized inner changes.
Editorial comments in the metropolitan press, upon this step by the Com-
munists, were skeptical and largely hostile or even derisive. Not a soliary
sentence conceded the least patriotism or self-abnegation in behalf of national
and international welfare.
Such lack of journalistic insight or sportsmanship moved the present writer
to compose a Suggestion for an Editorial, such as a city paper might have pub-
lished, had it appreciated what the Communist changes signified, and been
generous enough to say so. This suggestion, which was published in the column
which I contribute weekly to The Worker, I should like to include here as part
of the presentation of my theme :
"This newspaper has frequently voiced adverse criticism of the American
Communist Party, but now, in the spirit of fair-minded journalism, we wish to
commend the political foresight and irenic action which characterize that
organization's most recently announced decisions.
"That the Communists of the United States, to aid in fulfilling the decisions
of the great Teheran Conference, and in order to strengthen national unity of
all anti-Fascist forces to win the war and assure a durable ensuing peace,
should now declare a moratorium on trying to secure the establishment of
socialism, and, instead, pledge cooperation as partners and allies with all Amer-
icans fighting the defeatists at home and prosecuting the war to victory, is, let
us frankly acknowledge, to take a patriotic and covirageous course.
"Never before, in the history of political organizations in this country, have
the leaders of any one of them made so drastic a demand upon the discernment
and loyalty of its members as this. For the CommunLst leaders now submit to
consideration and debate by the entire party, outward changes which to hasty
and .shallow judgment appear to run counter to the organization's previous prin-
ciples and purposes.
"This newspaper is watching with interested attention the response to so
drastic a test. And if the outcome shall prove as favorable as the leaders believe,
we trust that we shall not be the last to acclaim it as a public-spirited and
unselfish decision in behalf of both national and worldwide progress and peace."
But such suggestion met with no response. Editorials, cartoons and funny
columns of the metropolitan papers continue the ironic, uninformed and fre-
quently contemptuous line which they evidently are sure that enough of their
980 INVESTIGATION OF COAIMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
readers will accept as truth, to make such treatment of communism and all that
it is striving to achieve, advisable, and, as far as the sales of the papers are
concerned, not unprofitable.
But one may have confidence that a more chivalric and truth-seeking spirit
is moving through the churches today. Both ministers and lay people in larger
numbers than before want to know whether the Communists really have some-
thing to contribute to the great and precious store of human values. They will
listen. Many more of them than even a year ago, will welcome what they feel
will help in the common need for intelligent understanding and united purpose
against the bitter and ruthless enemies of our loved heritage, even though such
help is offered by those still suffering smears and red-baitings from the prejudiced.
It is sober reality and in no degree a claim by special pleading, that the Com-
munists are more awake to the deadly perils of fascism in our own country, as
well as overseas, than members of any other organization today.
The churches have not as yet shown as much alert and informed awareness
of that serpentine menace to every ideal of religion, as well as to every hope of
even retaining, to say nothing of extending, the four freedoms.
The Communists, not only in the United States, but in nearly all other countries
of the earth, are spearheading the unification of the total anti-Fascist elements
among their peoples, regardless now of their various ideologies, political aflSlia-
tions, creedal tenets, or any differences of color and racial origins.
Tlie Communists are not scaremongers, but sober realists when they warn,
as they are now doing, the whole globe around, that a vaster and more terrible
fire of aggression and treachery will blaze against humanity, than that with
which the Nazi arsonists burned the German Reichstag in the shameless hoax
which aided them to political power in 193.3, unless all the antiincendiary forces
determinedly cooperate without further delay.
But this arousal of united opposition to world enemy No. 1 — Fascism — should
be the churchmen's present mission surely as much as, if not more than, that
of the Communists, since all that the churches have wrought for good, in the
long past, and all they hope for during the coming era, would be the special aim
of victorious Fascism to destroy.
The churches are the accredited representatives of religion. And that special
words of theirs, even if not always the hundred-percent reality of it, is from
the Latin verb "re-ligare" — "to bind together" — signifying the supreme influence
in the life and progress of humanity, for fellowship, harmony, and union.
Urgently and warningly it must be affirmed, therefore, at this time, that for
the churches to lag behind communism, which makes no claim to leadership in
religion, in the very work of uniting the peoples of the world against evil, which
they, the churches, have as their professed aim — would be a major disaster.
Yet the Communists have no wish to appropriate to themselves such leader-
ship. On the contrary, they would be exceedingly glad to have churchmen surpass
them in zeal for united action against all divisive and tryrannical forces abroad
in the world today. But as it is now, both clergy and people, if sufficiently deter-
mined to face reality, will acknowledge that they must apply themselves whole-
heartedly to this uniting work, if they are to catch up with, to say nothing of
surpassing, the Communists in this critically important field.
The rivalry here, far from being in the least degree hostile, can and should
be a friendly emulation. Every ounce of strength, resolve and wisdom is needed
in so great a task, and churchmen and Communists should now hail one another
as indeed people on our side, gladly united against a grim and ruthless foe of
what together they valorously defend.
Among the many examples in the countries of Eiirope today, of the influence
exerted by the Communists in welding formerly noncooperative or even factionally
hostile elements into a united front against facism, that which is furnished
by developments in Yugoslavia is especially remarkable and encouraging.
In his valuably informative book, My Native Land, by Louis Adamic, a Yugo-
slav by birth, but now living in this country, he lays full emphasis upon the
racial, creedal, and ideological discords which formerly kept his native land in
turmoil. All the more impressive, therefore, against such a backgroimd is the
description by this writer, of the new spirit of unity in ousting the Fascist
invaders and terrorizers from Yugoslavia which now prevails hearteningly in that
Balkan land.
I'nder the heading, "The Raft: Communists and non-Communists Together,"
Adamic writes : "In an earlier chapter I suggested that the liberation front, with
its partisan army in Yugoslavia, made up of Communists and many shades of
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 981
non-Communists, was analogous to a crudely, hastily constructed raft. It was
built of logs, planks and debris that floated about in the rising floodwaters of
the people's resistance. It never pretended to be a Normandie or a seagoing
yacht ; nothing as finished and slick, delicate and vulnerable as that. It was in
its own way an extremely tough, efficient, and tenacious craft."
The supreme commander of this union raft, and leader of all anti-Fascist fight-
ers in Yugoslavia, is Marshal Josip Broz, internationally known by his popular
title of Tito. '"And he,"' Louis Adamic notes, "happens to be a Croatian and the
foremost Communist in the Balkans. For his capture, dead or alive, the Nazi
invaders of his country, offered, in July, 1943, a reward of 100,000 Reichsmarks.
"The first Yugoslavia." Adamic continues, in the same chapter of his book,
"was molded with dreams and chicanery, and from the top down. Now, within
the libei-ation front, a new Yugoslavia is being molded with blood and iron,
from its depths up — from within the resistance — in and from the raft.
"But something else is being molded in that raft — war and postwar techniques,
formulas, approaches, and relationships. Within the Yugoslav liberation front
movement, as in wartime Russia, various kinds of non-Communists (the great
majority of the population, as in Russia), have been working together with so-
called Communists on the basis of mutual war and postwar aims. This fact
seems to me of crucial importance.
"I say so-called Communists, for in the partisan army and among the liberation
front civilians that designation — after 2 years of almost unbelievable struggle for
life and eventual freedom — lost the special, sharp, distorted meaning it had be-
fore the war. Not that Communists gave up the Communist ideology, or that
the non-Communists took it on. In the situation in which they found themselves,
most prewar labels became irrelevant long before the Comintern was dissolved.
"People who used to belong to many parties were working and fighting for
something beyond the whole botch of fear-ridden counterrevolutionary impulses
and unrealistic revolutionary notions of the previous 25 years * * *. That some-
thing is as yet without a name, unless it is, a New World."
One other example, among the many which could be cited, is from the newly
reviving and reforming, Czechoslavakia, in process of liberation after its terrible
years of enslavement by the Nazis. Edgar Snow, in his article. Eastern Europe
Swings Left, in the Saturday Evening Post for November 11, 1944, wrote :
"I wapi particularly struck by the new spirit of cooperation when I met the
Czechoslovakian administrative body, moving in to take over from the Red Army.
It consisted of representatives of the Social Democrat, Communist, National So-
cialist, Agrarian Republican and Catholic Parties — all united on an avowed pro-
gram of constitutional democracy.
"What may be emerging in this part of Europe, then, is a pattern much along
the lines uru'ed by Communists and some other i)arties of the left, before and after
Munich. From 1933 on, the Communists of Europe generally abandoned their
earlier slogans of the proletarian revolution.
"Instead, they sought to unite with liberals and democrats everywhere, first to
form popular-front and, later on, united-front governments, to include all parties
in the resistance to the rise of fascism. They failed then. Today, the popular
front seems to be the inevitable heir to power, born above the grave of fascism."
To these instances of the new and vital molding of united action against the
common enemy of all its components, in distraught and ravaged lands of this
time, many others will be added as the records are completed. And hope inspiring
indeed every one of them will prove to be, for a future of lasting peace and
brotherhood.
Should not the churches, then, prophets and advocates of fraternity and all
irenic influences through the ages, resolve to explore the widest and deepest
possibilities of cooperation with today's unit-seeking communism?
While the individuality of the writer of this article for the Churchman is not
important, yet it has a few not wholly irrelevant aspects :
A clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church, now in the 50th year of
his ministry, he openly joined, together with his wife, the Communist organi-
zation nearly a year and a half ago. He was not only cordially welcomed, but
soon afterward invited to contribute a weekly "column" to the pages of the
Worker, the newspaper which represents the viewpoint of the Communist organ-
ization ; thus becoming a member of that publication's staff.
Also, at the convention of the Communist Political Association in New York
State this last Juno, he was invited to deliver the first address and was later
elected a vice president.
982 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
All of which is of some significance, and viewed impersonally, constitutes
something new and by no means negligible, both from the church and the Com-
munist sides.
One of the older members of the association exclaimed to the president of the
State organization : "Well, we are certainly going new places, when we elect a
minister a vice president !"
Finally, this individual member both of the Episcopal ministry and the Com-
munist Political Association, believes that he might be of service to the church in
this connection, as he tries to be also to the Communist movement, if an effort
in that direction were ever made by his ecclesiastical brethren.
On his part, he will enter no claim or advance any qualification whatever. But
bridge builders, even though they frequently have to work "under fire," might
now prove to be as vitally useful on the church-and-radical front as they have
been found to be in the war areas.
Isaiah, in a commendation which all would-be reconcilers might well desire
someday to merit, promises : "Thou shalt be called. The repairer of the breach.
The restorer of paths to dwell in." ( 58 : 12. )
The breach today is dangerously wide and deep. An experiment with even
one of the possible bridge builders might yet be worth trying.
Mr. Velde. IMay I say that the witness, as well as you, ^Ir. Counsel,
and the committee all realize that the Communist Party has been at-
tempting to infiltrate every branch of our American society. This is
further evidence that the Communist Party has made some success in
infiltrating the cloth.
I think we all recall that we had a witness by the name of Jack
McMichael. As a result of his testimony the committee referred his
case to the De|)artment of Justice to consider possible prosecution for
perjury. While not criticizing the Department of Justice, in any way,
I do feel action should have been taken some time ago on the case of
Jack McMichael.
Mrs, Blauvelt, you have given us a volume of information which
the committee has not had before in our files, and I am sure it will be
used in the future to a very good advantage. We certainly do appre-
ciate your coming here to testify and taking time out of the busy life
you have.
I want to congratulate and commend not only you, but the New
York City Police Department for the very fine methods used to de-
termine just what this Communist menace is and I especially want
to thank you and the New York City Police Department for coopera-
tion with this committee.
I suppose in the future you might recall other names and other in-
formation which might be valuable to us. I express the hope that
you will continue your cooperation with this committee.
Mrs. Blauvelt. You can be assured of that.
Mr. Yelde. I wish you every success in the future.
There will be a brief recess.
[Brief recess.]
Mr. Yelde. You may proceed.
Mr. Tavenner. Was any action taken by the Communist Party on
the club level or section level relating to work before the Committee
on Un-American Activities ?
Mrs. Blaija'elt. Yes, of course the House Un-American Activities
Committee was always one of those committees of Congress to which
the party was o]:>posed, and took every opportunity they possibly
could to protest against its existence.
On many occasions they called for its abolition. I do not know if
it is necessary for me to go into detail every time those particular
statements were made because they were made fairly frequently.
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEV^^ YORK AREA 983
There is, however, one instance to which I referred in previous
testimony. It was in connection with a statement made by Abe Osher-
off at a meeting of the Boro Hall section the latter part of Oc-
tober 1947 when he made reference to an action that had recently
been taken by the Hollywood Ten, stating that it was not a spon-
taneous action but that there had been Communist influence behind it.
It seems to me that he might be referring to a rally which was held
on October 25, 1947, by the Progressive Citizens of America. It was :
Keep America Free Eally held at St. Nicholas Arena, 69 West 65th
Street, in conjunction with the conference on cultural freedom and civil
liberties held by the Progressive Citizens of America, October 25 to 26
at the Hotel Commodore.
I do not know that you want me to go into detail on what was said
at that meeting except that it was announced that the rally was held
for the purpose of protesting against the inquiry of the 19 Hollywood
writers and actors by the House Un-American Activities Committee
on the grounds of their being Communists, and some of these were
present at the meeting and were introduced.
jNIr. Tavexxer. Mrs. Blauvelt, as observed by you, what can you
tell the committee regarding the discipline exercised by the Commu-
nist Party over its members ?
Mrs. Blau\'elt. As I observed it during my period of time in the
partly I would say that it was a rather rigid discipline which the Com-
munist Party exerted over its members. I know at one time while I
was a member of the Lincoln Road Club, one of the members wished to
drop out of the party, and not because he was unsympathetic to it. It
was quite an involved case and would take a great deal of time for me
to go into but, in connection with that case, Ruth Wang, membership
director of the Flatbush section, said that a Communist could not sim-
ply resign from the Communist Party. It was up to the branch, the
section and the county and finally the State committee to render a deci-
sion regarding the dropping of a member from Communist Party
rolls.
I found that when I was in the Jay-Smith Club action was taken
against members if it was felt that they were considered irresponsible
and probably a detriment to the party in any way. They did have
one of the members dropped after a hearing and although the drop-
ping of this particular member from the party at that time was with
the reservation that he might be permitted to come back into the party
if he had proved his loyalty and trustworthiness, he was later formally
expelled from the Communist Party on the charge of white chau-
vinism.
I also found that the Connnunist Party, especially during the time
when it became very security conscious, was exerting a rather rigid
screening of the comrades, and became very conscious of the moral
attitudes of the comrades, all based on just how their actions would
reflect upon the Connnunist Party.
There of course was the usual discipline placed upon the party
meml)ers in that they were constantly instructed to attend meetings;
they were instructed" to participate in activities, and were called upon
to explain their actions if they were inactive.
If, for instance, any of the party members made statements that
were contrary to the party line or the party policy, they would be
called to task for it and reprimanded.
984 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
We had one such case in the Jay-Smitli Club where one of the
members ^Yas charged with having criticized the Daily Worker, the
national committee, and the Jefferson School in a nonconstructive
manner, and he was to be called in to the club executive to explain
his attitude.
There was one instance when control tasks were placed upon party
members and this occurred in connection with the rally, peace rally,
held by the party on August 2, 1950. Every comrade had been in-
structed that he had to attend this rally. There was no excuse for
not attending it. Following that rally any one wdio had not been in
attendance at it was given a control task. That control task at this
time took in some instances the form of securing additional signatures
to peace petitions or additional subscriptions to the Sunday or Daily
Worker. It was a task in addition to their usual duties.
That is covering it very broadly, in a very general way.
Mr, Tavenner. In your testimony you have discussed at various
times the question of security. Will you sum that up for us at this
time ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. I think that probably I could saj that as far back
as the early part of 1947 I became aware of the fact that the Com-
munist Party was becoming security conscious. For instance, I was in
the Lincoln Ivoad Club at that time and the orders came through from
the section that the dues records were now to be kept only with initials
of the comrades and not in their names. I think I have spoken about
reorganizing the clubs into groups for security reasons during the lat-
ter part of 1947 and during 1948, particularly at the time they felt
that the Mundt bill might be passed to drive them underground and
how in 1948 they became even more insistent that the clubs breakdown
in small groups with just five members each.
After the indictment of the party's 12 leaders tliey became more
security conscious than they ever had been before, and they had a very
radical change in the reregistration of the membership at the end of
1948, When they began to register the members into the party for
1949, they discontinued the use of membership cards as a form of
security; 1948 was the last year they issued membership cards to the
members.
In addition to that, there was a change which I haven't touched upon
before, but when a member was transferred from one club to another,
a transfer card would be given to the member. Their name, their club
affiliation, and membership card number would be on it, and they would
present it to the new club as their means of identification, but that
procedure was also to be discontinued at the end of 1948 and the com-
rades, wlien they transferred from one club to another, were now to use
the serial number on a dollar bill. They would give the serial number
to the membership director of their club who transmitted it to the sec-
tion and then, of course, the process was for the section to clear all
transfers through the county.
It would go through the county to the new section and the new club.
When the comrade was notified of the new club that he was supposed
to be in, he would have to identify himself by producing this dollar bill
with this particular serial number on it.
INWESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 985
As a matter of fact, when this procedure was introduced, Margery
de Leon, membership director of the Boro Hall section, explained that
it was after much discussion between State and county leaders that
this method was selected as the most feasible method to be used for
identification.
^ I think that I probably have covered most of the security measures
"taken through the reorganization of the Communist Party and
especially that period in 1950 when it became absolutely mandatory for
the clubs to be divided into small groups of not more than five members
each.
These directives of course had been issued many times but I will say
that at this period around the end of August 1950 there was absolutel.y
no question about it, and it became a mandatory measure. The clubs
just absolutely had to break themselves doAvn into small groups of five
each. It probably was i^revalent throughout the city. I know in my
section the section w^as undergoing a reorganization. It was a form to
a certain extent of decentralizing the setup so that there would be
probabl}^ a certain number of members on the section staff who would
have a certain number of clubs under their supervision so that the
clubs would have liaison between the section and their own club
through a section coordinator.
Mr. Willis. I might state, that the date of 1950 is very significant.
Among other things, that is the year we reported out of the Judiciary
Committee a bill to require all persons having knowledge of espionage
activities of foreign countries to register.
Under the Act of 1938 known as the Foreign Agents Kegistration
Act persons who were actually agents of foreign governments of course
had to register but then we cut much deeper in 1950 when we required
that all persons who liad knowledge of and training in espionage and
communistic and other subversive activities, special training designed
for execution in this country, but not necessarily as an agent of a for-
eign countiT, were required to be registered in 1950.
I have a suspicion that those new security measures taken by the
Communist Party might have resulted partly as a result of that act.
As a matter of fact, we just this morning, the reason why it is fresh
in my mind, amended the law. I just reported on the bill this morning
before the committee, that very act.
Mrs. Blauvelt. I think probably I could illustrate. I have illus-
trated this before, and I think I have stated it before — that it was on
August 22, 1950, that Al Neptune, the educational director of the
Boro Hall section of the party, spoke about security and the need
for reorganization in order for the party to function effectively in
the event it was made illegal through congressional act on the Mundt-
Nixon and McCarran Acts.
It was a very large contributory factor at that time, I know he
spoke to the club on the need of going into mass organizations as the
medium for the part}' to operate through in the event that it were
driven underground. " At that time he said that the party was in the
midst of drawing up blueprints to conduct this activity.
Mr. Tavenner. Through mass organizations ?
Mrs. Blaitv'elt. Yes, through mass organizations. That was the
time that the Jay-Smith Club had been directed to establish a branch
of the Civil Rights Congress.
986 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
Mr. Tavenner. Was that the reason why all mass organizations
were told then to be more careful than ever before as to their mem-
bership and type of activities being conducted ?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes, sir. I think that I could explain here that on
the grounds of security ; beginning in 1950 the Communist Party start-
ed to conduct verifications of its membership and this started at th%
high ranking level of the national committee, the county committees,
and the section committees and also the branch executive levels, and
that year I was verified orally. However, in 1951 the same procedure
was followed and the verification was done in a written manner.
I had been given several mimeographed legal-sized pages on which
there were many questions— I would say anywhere from 50 to 60
questions — which asked your full background, practically from the
date of your birth right through your educational process, and your
affiliations with the Communist Party both before and after joining.
I do not know how interested you are in the type of questions that
were asked at that time. They are long.
Mr, Tavenner. I am sure the committee would be interested in
some of those questions. I suggest that you give a more adequate
description of them.
Mrs. Blauvelt. As I said, this was a mimeographed questionnaire
divided into 3 parts : party background, military service, and personal
life. Under part 1, the questions asked were as follows:
Your name, when and where you were born; where and with whom do you
live; thr> nationality of your parents and their economic background; your trade,
where do you work, what are your wages, what jobs have you held; your re-
ligious background ; your education ; are you a member of a mass organization ;
when and under what circumstances did you join the party ; did you participate
in any economic or political struggles prior to joining the party; in what eco-
nomic and political struggles have you participated since joining the party;
who were the party members you knew before joining the party ; who were the
party members you knew at the time you joined the party ; who are the party
members who have known you the longest.
Who are your close friends and acquaintances both party and nonparty ; what
party schools have you attended; what positions have you held in the party;
have you ever been a full-time functionary; have you ever disagreed with the
party, and if so in what way ; has any disciplinary action ever been taken against
you by the party ; do you know anyone who is or has gone "sour" on the party ;
have you ever associated with anyone that has been expelled from the party ;
have you associated with anyone who is an enemy of the party ; have you asso-
ciated with anyone who has caused factional disputes ; are any of your friends
or relatives employed by the city. State, or Federal Government ; have you ever
held a city or Federal job ; have you ever been investigated.
Under part 2 the questions were :
Were you ever a member of the Armed Forces ; if so, in What branch ; what
was your rank ; were you ever arrested for a traffic violation ; were you ever out
of the country.
Under part 3, the questions were :
Are you married ; do you live with your husband or wife ; do you have any
children ; what is your state of health ; have you had any serious illness ; have
you ever received psychiatric treatment ; do you play cards or the horses ; do you
drink.
It was quite intensive as a study of one's background.
After this written questionnaire was filled out, the comrades were
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 987
shown pieces of paper on which questions had been asked to which
either a "yes" or "no" was to be the answer. These were :
Are you suspicious of anyone in the party or close to it ; liave you ever been
investigated by the FBI ; have you ever taken a civil-service examination ; have
you held a civil-service position ; do you use narcotics.
If the question on being suspicious of anyone in the party was an-
swered in tlie affirmative, the comrade was asked to write the name of
the person and reasons for suspicion. That was the extent of that
verification.
I know following my written verification, I was called in several
weeks later and told that I had to undergo an oral verification based
along the same lines; that they were considering me for a position of
confidence in the party and wished to verify me further.
They then told me a little later that the position would have to be
held in abeyance because there had been some charges against me that
I might be an agent for the FBI. They did not seem to be quite sure,
at least they intimated they weren't quite sure.
They said maybe somebody in the party was trying to cast suspi-
cion upon me for some things that were taking place in the section,
though they didn't mention what those things were; that probably
I had an enemy who was trying to divert suspicion from himself
and cast it on me, and that therefore they would conduct a further in-
vestigation of mo.
They finally did call me into a meeting and at that meeting went
through with expulsion proceedings. Two members of the Review
Commission of Kings County Brooklyn Communist Party were pres-
ent, Dave Sales and Allen Rosenstein. They had a photographer
present and took some pictures of me and in addition to going through
another oral interrogation almost like a third degree, re]Detition of
question after question after question, they finally told me that I was
a stoolpigeon, that I had done my dirty work in the party and that
the party had no room for me and that I was being expelled.
Mr. Ta\t:xner. As far as you know, was there any immediate use
made by the Communist Party of the photographs taken of you ?
Mrs. Blattv^elt. Not immediately, sir, as far as I could determine.
Mr. Tavenner. Do you know whether it was their practice to send
photographs taken under such circumstances to other clubs as a warn-
ing to them ?
Mrs. Blatjvelt. In the case of any expulsion a record was to be made
so that the Communist Party would know in any other section that a
certain person had been expelled and was under suspicion so that in
that particular section they would be cognizant of the fact and cautious
so far as permitting that person to again reenter into the party. That
was standard practice.
Mr. TA^'ENXER. What name were you using at this time ?
Mrs. BLAu^^LT. I was using the alias of Sylvia Vogel.
Mr. Tavenner. Did you learn whether the Daily Worker used the
photographs in any connection ?
Mrs. Beauvelt. I don't believe they ever did. I watched them very
carefully for a long period of time after the expulsion and there was
nothing in the paper. Of course at that time they weren't publicizing
988 ESrV'ESTIGATIOX OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA
expulsions, especially those expulsions that were made because of spy-
ing against the Communist Party, so as not to create any fear on the
part of the rank and file membership. They had I know at one time
resorted to the practice of publishing pictures
^Ir. Tai'exner. And also publishing names of those expelled?
Mrs. Blatjv-elt. Yes, sir; and I think even giving a biography of
these people. That was the practice I think before even the time I
was in the party.
Mr. Ta\^nner. Did you find at any later date that any Communist
Party organ did make public the fact of your expulsion and give a
warning to other Communist Party members regarding you?
Mrs. Blauvelt. Yes. In the September 1953 issue of Party Voice,
It happened to come into my hands and I did find that a picture that
had been taken of me at the expulsion meeting was printed, with a
description :
This picture will identify one "Sylvia Vogel" as a police spy. She was
expelled as such from the Brooklyn Communist Party. All decent people, espe-
cially trade unionists and progressives, are warned against her.
Mr. Tavenner. I desire to offer in evidence the September 1953
issue of Party Voice and ask that it be marked "Blauvelt Exhibit
44" for identification purposes only and to be made a part of the com-
mittee files.
Mr. Moulder, It is so ordered.
Mr. Ta^-enner. INIr. Chairman, I have no further questions to ask
the witness at this time.
Mr. Moulder. IMr. Willis, any questions ?
Mr. Willis. JSTo.
Mr. Moulder. Mr. Frazier ?
Mr. Frazier. No questions.
Mr. Chairman, I want to join other members of the committee in
congratulating this lady and thanking her for the very valuable con-
tribution she has made to the work of the committee. I am sorry I
wasn't here to hear the testimony the last 2 days.
Mr. Willis. Mr. Chairman, I too want to express for myself and
for the committee the gratitude we hold for this witness. I know that
Mrs. Blauvelt has been doing this yeoman work since 1943 and that was
during a time when there were great indifference to what many of us
feel to be the vital threat of the Communist conspiracy, so that you and
the police department of which you are a member are not johnny-come-
latelys in this fight but have been aware of it all along and didn't have
to be prodded by this committee or the vociferous voices that made
themselves heard w^hen apparently it was popular for everybody to
get into the act.
Yours was a very commendable piece of work and I wish you w^ould
express to the Police Department of New York City the gratitude of
the committee.
Mr. Chairman, normally I think it would be done anyway, but I
would like the record to show we think it would be well for the com-
mittee clerk to write not only to Mrs. Blauvelt but to the good Police
Department of New York City in regard to this work in this struggle
against those who would destroy our country.
INrVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES, NEW YORK AREA 989
Mr. Moulder. That is a splendid suggestion and the clerk will pre-
pare a letter commending Mrs. Blauvelt and expressing the commit-
tee's appreciation to her and to the Police Department of New York.
I want to join with my colleagues also in expressing my appreciation
for your appearance here before this committee.
You certainly are entitled to the gratitude of all the members of the
committee and I know they join with us in expressing our appreciation
for your work and your cooperation with the committee. Indeed, I
think you are one of the most intelligent witnesses who has ever ap-
peared"^ before this committee, and your testimony has not only been
interesting but it will be a very valuable contribution toward the work
of the committee.
The committee will now adjourn and will go into executive session.
(Whereupon, at 4 p. m. the committee was recessed, subject to call
of the chairman.) (Previous testimony of Mrs. Mildred Blauvelt
heard on May 3-4, 1955, is printed in Part III of this series.)
INDEX
Individuals
Page
Abrams, Archie 830
Abrams, Bud. See Abrams, Irwin.)
Abrams, Chris. {See Abrams, Florence.)
Abrams, Dorothy. (See Ames, Dorothy.)
Abrams, Florence (also known as Chris Abrams) 847
Abrams, Irwin (also known as Bud Abrams) 847
Abrams, Ruth 830
Abramson, Herman 870, 937, 938
Abroff, Gert 872, 879
Abroff, Harold 872, 879
Adamic, Louis 980, 981
Akula, Rose 847
Alberts, Rose 975
Albertson, William 973
Alexander, Bill 847
Alleyne, Cameron C 959
Ames, Doi-othy (formei'ly Dorothy Abrams) 830
Ames, Michael 830
Antell, Mickey 968
Arnold. (See Auerbach, Leo.)
Asher, Frank 824, 830, 832, 844
Auerbach, Leo (also known as Arnold) 847, 859, 931
Auerbach, Shirley (also known as Shirley Wallach) 848, 942
Badner, Ad 968
Badner, Judith 968
Bakerman, Harold 848
Ballin, Steve 830
Barban, Selma 968
Barkow, Rose 975
Barnes, Mary Ella 914
Barron, Sam 836, 842, 844, 845
Barsky, Edward 947
Ba.ss, Charlotta A 959
Bate, Sabina 848
Begun, Isadora (or Isidore) 825,975
Bell, Joseph 823, 968
Benson, Elmer 9.59
Berkow, Henry 975
Bernstein, Eileen (also known as Estelle Bernstein) 848
Bernstein, Leo 848
Bick, Abraham J 959
Black, Miriam 848, 859
Blanvelt. Mildred (aliases Brandt, Mildred; Vogel, Sylvia __820-989 (testimony)
Blom, Betsy 848, 854, 859
Bloom, Ben 848
Bloom, Norman 848
Blum, Ruby 975
Bluman, Sabina ] 848
Blumberg, Dorothy 975
Bodenheim, Minna 857
Bonds, J. E 959
Borgia, Larry 879
i
Page
Boylan, Ann 830
Brace, Seenie (nee McCantes) 919
Branch, G. Murray 959
Brandt, Mildred. {See Blauvelt, Mildred.)
Bregnian, Bertha 960
Bregman, Dorothy 914, 949
Bregman, Stanley 914
Brenner, Evelyn 969
Bridges, Harry 959
Brier, Moislie 948
Brockman, Harry. (See Shapiro, Harry.)
Brockman, Selma. (See Shapiro, Selma.)
Brooks, Sidney 892. 973
Browder, Earl 899
Brown, Ethelred 825
Brown, T. E 959
Bryant, Ann 914
Bryant, Bill. (See Wilson, William.)
Bryant, Eileen. (See Wilson, Eileen.)
Bryant, Walter 914
Bryson, Hugh 959
Budnoff. ( See Dell, Bud. )
Burke, John 914
Burke, Violet 914
Burns, Joe 848
Buss, Esta (Esther) 873,879,886,937,940
Bussle, Arthur 848
Bussie, Bob 848
Bussie, Susie (Mrs. Arthur Bussie) 848
Cacchione, Peter V 850,903,904,937
Cahn, Bill 873, 880, 880, 895, 924, 940, 942
Cahn, Rhoda 880, 886, 923, 924, 940, 942
Carlson, A. J 959
Cass, Dorothy 848
Chalkin, Sandy 975
Chapman, Abraham 825, 831
Childress, Alice 959
Chilton. Ethel 914
Chilton, George (Skippy) 915
Christman, Alvin B 959
Chudnousky, Bernie 915
Clark, Joe 902
Coghlan, Frank 848
Cohen, Hy 849
Coleman, Sam 913
Collins, Harold 880
Colon, Jesus 969
Colton, James . 849
Conti genis, Gns (also known as Contes) 915
Cooke, Marvel 959
Cooke, Murray 975
Cooper, Eunice 969
Cooper, Herbert 849, 942
Cooper, Rose 849
Coughlin, Charles E 833
Cowl, Margaret (also known as Margaret Krumbein) 823, 824, 859,973
Cronbach, Abraham 959
Curtis, Jean 970
Damanon (also known as Max Young) 868
Davis, Ben 823, 913, 957, 969
Davis, Benjamin J., Jr 823,913,937
Davis, Gerry 969
Davis, L 917
Dawber, Mark A 959
Dawn, Fred 915, 944
Dawn, Jq Ann 915
INDEX iii
Page
DeBurr, Peter 928
de Jons:, Bess 975
DeLacy, Hugh 867
de Leon, Margery 890,897,969,985
Dell, Amen. ( See MendeU, Pete. )
Dell, Bud (also known as BudnofC) 915
Dell, Christine (Mrs. Bud Dell) 915
DeMaio, Ernest 959
Dennis, Eugene 895, 896, 953, 960, 961, 964
Derrick, John 964, 905
de Martino, Al (also known as Al Martin) SS6. - :^9
Dickerson, Earl B 959
Dodd, Dr. Bella V 931
Dombrowski, James A 959
X>ore, Carlos G36, 969
Dore, Virginia 969
Dorsky, Leon 849, 947, 948
Druckman, Hy 849
DuBois, W. E. B 958, 959, 965
puniyan, Mayme 959
Dnroshkin, Sadie (also known as Sadie Shatkin) 859.975
d'Usseau, Arnaud 959
Edelson, David (also known as Miller) 886, 933
Edelson, Ethel (also known as Judith Miller) 886
Ehrlich, Bob 891, 913, 944, 969
Eisinger, Eduard (Eddie) 969
Ellas, S.vlvia 849
Eliashow, Stella 855
Engel, Berniee 849, 858
Erickson, Thomas 84)
Escobitz, Al. (also known as Itzcovitz) 869
Evans, Joseph M 959
Fairchild, Henry Pratt 959
Farmer, Fyke 950
Fast, Howard 959
Fauntleroy, G. Linwood 959
Fauset, Arthur Huff 959
Feig. Molly 849
Fein, Rebecca 849
Feingold, Abe 822, 834, 849, 853, 859, 861, 870, 873, 884, 886, 894, 928, 948, 975
Feingold, Elizabeth 880, 886, 905
Felshin, Max 825
Peuer, Irving 893, 915
Feuer, Nettie 915
Fields, Jerry 916
Fields, Laura 892, 916, 956
Fierman, Ann 849
Fierman, Harry 849
Fine, Jack 969
Finkelstein, Sam 975
Flacks, David 855
Flaxer, Abram 959
Forbes, Hazel 875
Ford, James W 974
Forland, Trygve 916, 922
Frank, Bernie 969
Frank, Bert 874, 886
Freedman, Isidore 976
Freeman, Edward A 9.59
Freeman, Isa 849
Friedlander, Ann 975
Friedlander, Julia 849, 850
Friedlander, May 850
Friedman, Hy 969
Friedman, Sadie 942
1
I
iv INDEX
Page
Frishkoff, Max ^ 969
Frishkoff, Paulette 916
Fritchman, Stephen 959
Frumpkin, Billy 957, 973
Fundler, Fan 825, 830, 831
Gabin 969
Gannett, Betty 894
Garber, Larry G. (also known as Gold) 880,886
Gates, John 901, 926
Gavin 969
Gellar (or Geller), Lil S50
Gellar, Rose 886, 940
Georgia, George 916
Gerson, Simon W 970
Gerwitz (or Gurwitz), Herb 957,970
Giboyeaux, Emilia 970
Giboyeaux, Jose 970
Gilbert, Leon 965
Gill, Ilya 850
Gill, Joseph 970, 971
Gill, Mrs. Joseph (formerly Ida Levine) 971
Gluck, Sid 850
Goff, Irving 931, 976
Gold, (^ee Garber, Larry G.)
Gold, Ben 933, 934
Gold, Harry 970
Goldberg. (See Rivlin, Ann.)
Goldburg, Robert E 959
Goldenberg, Isaac 850
Goldman, Gloria 850
Goldman, Jennie 874
Goldstein, Florence 850
Goldstein, Nathan 850
Goldway, David 825, 831, 859
Gollomb, Rose 850, 870, 874
Goodlett, Carlton B 960
Goodman, Blanche 850
Goodman, Florence 886
Goodman, Gerald 850, 886, 925
Goodman, Judy 850. 851
Gordon, Bill 976
Gordon, June 931
Gordon, Max 859
Gorelick, Leonard 970
Gorelick, Shirley 970
Gould. Gloria 850
Gould, Shirley 850
Graham, Etta 916
Grand, Harry 97a
Grant, Nelson 850
Green, Gilbert 898
Green, Sidney 850
Greenberg, Myra 916
Greene, Bert '^31
Greenhill. Leona 850
Greenleaf, Marty 851
Grossman, Cecelia 8.51
Grossman, Lillian 851
Grossman, Mildred 855
Grossman. Ted 1 8^0
Gruber, Miriam 851
Gurwitz, Herb. (Sfee Gerwitz, Herb.)
Gustafson. Nils 916
Hagen. Uta 960
Hall, Georgia Lee 916
INDEX V
Fase
Hall, Gus 926
Hardart, Joseph 875, 880
Hardison, Adele (Mrs. Tony Hardison) 892, 942, 970
Hardison, Tony 942-944, 968, 970, 974
Harisiades, Peter 966
Harrison, William 960
Haskell, Florence 851
Hausman, Caroline 916
Henderson, Al 892, 050. 970
Herbst, Edward 855
Herbst, Selma. (See Shapiro, Selma.)
Heyman, Belle 875, 880, 886
Heyman, Harold 875, 880, 886, 89G, 940
Highliger, Morris 916
Hill, Charles A 960
Himoff, Mary 867, 868, 976
Hirschfeld, Esther 8.51
Holmstrom, Fred 916
Horowitz, Minna 831
Houston, P. J 960
Howard, Charles P 960
Hughes, Kenneth deP 900
Hnrst, Fannie 928
Ingram, Rosa Lee 958, 963
Itzcovitz, Al. ( See Escobitz, Al. )
Jackson, Ada B 906
Jackson, Eugene 855
Jackson, Gloria. (See Monroe, Gloria.)
Jackson, Susan 851
Jaffe, Estelle 8.51
Jasper, Hannah 851
Jenkins, Joseph 917
Johnson, Helen 851
Johnson, Howard (Stretch) 976
Johnson, Philip 970
Johnson, Vivian 970
Jones, Claudia 931
Jonson, Louise 970
Jonson, Richard (Dick) 970
Kahn. Lponore 851
Kantor, Phyllis 851
Kantor, Samuel 859, 976
Katz, Irving 917
Katz, Netta 970
Kaufman, Sigma 851
Kaye, Sally 851
Kehoe, Lola 900, 970
Kenton, Michael 851
Kessler. Claire 917
Kessler, Harry 970
Klein, Ben 976
Klein, Rena 851
Kleiner. Helen 880
Koch, Esther 976
Koel, Helen 851
Korocoff, Helen 970
Kovacs, Eugene 851
Kramer, Jean (also known as Jean Curtis) 970
Kramer, Jerry 971
Kramer, Sidney 976
Kroll, Jerrv 851
Kroll, Marion 852
Krumbein, Margaret. {See Cowl, Margaret.)
Kuttner. Lucille 8.52
Lacey. Herman 880
Lacher, Stella 971
Lang, Esther (Essie) 971
^i INDEX
Page
Lang J:)ck ^''1
X,angbert, Mickey 973
Lanser, Manny 852
Lanser, Mildred (Mrs. Manny Lanser; also known as Mickey Lanser) 852, 947
Larsen, Karley (Karly) 960
Landau, Bernice 917
Lasky. Caryll 891, 892, 908. 909, 917, 935, 950
Lawrence, William 899, 976
Lederman, Abraham 855
Leeds, David 973
Lepowsky. Florence 852
Lepowsky, Robert (Bob) 852
Lester, D(mald M 973
Lester, Inez 852
Levin, Sally 852
Levin, Sarah 852
Levine, Abe 880
Levine, David 971
Levine, Florence 852, 870, 876
Levine, Gert 823, 971
Levine, Ida (Mrs. Joseph Gill) 971
Levine, Lena 976
Levowin, Paula 852
Lewis, Sara Rubinsky (also known as L. Davis) 917
Lief, Matty 852
Liff, Dorothy 852, 870, 876, 886, 923, 942
Liff, Murray 852
Livingston, David 971
Loman, Charles 954, 955, 957, 973, 974
Longhi Vincent 937
Lostar, June 971
Lovett, Robert Morss 960
Lowitt, Bertha 957, 973
Luber, Ida 978
Lurie, Rose 831
Lurie, Sam__, 976
Luschinsky, Betty (also known as Michaels) 917,918
Lumpkin, Besame (Bess) 976
McCanns, David 960
McCantes, Seenie (See Brace, Seenie) 919
McGee, Willie 958, 964, 965
McGirt, W. A., Jr 96«
McGuire, Howard 960
McMichael, Jack 982
McXab, AVallace 919
Mack, Geneva 918
Mack, Laverne 918
Mailman, Audrey 918
Mailman. Harold 918
Mallard, Robert 964
Manning, Sylvia 852
Marshall, Charles 893, 897, 898,
907, 912, 916, 918, 926, 927, 950, 960, 967, 969, 974
Marshall, Larkin 960
Marshall, Marjorie 919, 948
Marshall. Quince 950, 971
Martin, Al. (See Di Martino, Al.)
Maslowski. Anna 919
Max, Alan 895
Medinz, Beckie 880
Medinz, Betty 870, 871, 877, 880, 904
Medinz, Millie (Mickey) 880
Mendell, Pete (also known as Amen Dell) 831, 843
Mendelsohn, Gert 977
Michaels. ( Sec Luschinsky, Betty. )
Miller. ( See Edelson, David. )
Miller, Judith. ( See Edelson, Ethel. )
INDEX vii
Page
Miller, Helen (or Ellen Miller) 853
Miller, Lil 853
Miller, Mae 957, 977
Millner, Mike 853
Mindel, J. (Pop) 977
Mitchell, Walter A 960
Mleoz, Bessie 853
Mogolescue, Jack 853, 928
Mogolescue, Louis 853
Monroe, Gloria (also known as Gloria Jackson) 892,971
Monroe, Jimmie 919
Monroe, Minnie 910, 942
Montaigne, Kay 853
Moore, Ira 919
Moore, Mary 919
Morell, Stecia 853, 858
Morell, Ted 853, 858
Morgaustern, Anne E 853, 870, 879
Morrison, Philip 960
Morton, Anthony (Tony) 903,973
Mougianis, Leona 919
Mougianis, John 919
Moulton, Arthur W 960
MuiT)hy, Charles 928
Nelson, Leon 973
Nelson, Mary 880, 886
Nelson, Steve 894
Nelson. Walter 879, 880, 886
Nemeroff, Charles 853
Nemeroff, Harry 853
Nemeroff, Reva 858
Neptune, Al 893, 906, 911, 912, 927, 935, 938, 944, 971, 985
Neptune, Inge 971
Newman, Ray 853
Niemark, Lester 888
Norman, William 894, 931, 951, 953, 977
Novack, Bea 977
Nowak, Dorothy 880
Oacher. Hari-y (or Oncher, Harry) 823, 971
Ogilvie. Thomas 960
Ogur, Sylvia 880
Oknn, Leah, (."^ce Opperman, Leah.)
Oncher, Harry. (See Oacher, Harry.)
Opperman, Leah (also known as Leah Okun) 971
Osheroff, Abe 900, 901, 907, 919, 925, 9S3
Ostrow. Thelma (also known as Ostrowitz) 886
Pakin, Sylvia 853
Paolone. Clementina J 960
Parsons, Lucy 888
Pauling. Linus 960
Peck, Jack 888
Pecker, Sylvia 971
Peisner, Leo 8.53
Pelham, Gil 880, 881, 886, 895, 940, 942
Perla, Roslvn 853
Perloff, Jack 954, 955, 971
Perloff, Ruth (Mrs. Jack Perloff) 912, 919, 935, 941, 954, 956
Peyser. Naomi 972
Philips, Cyril 825, 977
Pierce. (See Price, Oscar and Rhoda.)
Pierce, Ben 876
Pierce, Norma 877
Piatt. Dorothey 854
Polimeris, George 919
Popper, Jim 854
Posner, Rae 977
Tiii INDEX
Page
Poulos, Sophie (Mrs. Tony Poulos; also known as Steiner) 919,
926, 927, 949, 9r.5, 974
Poulos, Tony 919, 926, 927, 955
Prago, Al 831
Price, Oscar (also known as Pierce) 853
Price, Rhoda (also known as Pierce) 854
Ransom, Willard B 960
Reid, William N 880
Reiter, Leo— 972
Reno, Earl 868
Richman, Harry 881, 886
Richman, Sylvia 881, 886, 939
Rivlin. Ann (also known as Goldberg) 854,870
Roberts, Harry 960
Roberts, Joseph 903, 973
Robeson, Eslanda Goode 960
Robeson, Paul 926, 933-935, 950, 958, 960
Robinson, James 825
Rogers, John 854, 870
Rogers, Muriel 972
Roman, Murray (also known as Morris Romanofsky) 908,919
Roman, Nettie (also known as Nettie Romanofsky) 908,920,922
Romanofsky, Morris. (See Roman. Murray.)
Romanofsky, Nettie. (See Roman, Nettie.)
Rosen, Alex 848, 854, 948
Rosenberg, Dave 859
Rosenberg, Harold 854
Rosenberg, Nat 854, 870
Rosenbluth, Elsie 854
Rosenbluth, Nat 837, 851, 854, 860, 865, 868, 928, 939, 947
Rosenfeld, Jeanette 881, 922
Rosenfeld, Judith 854
Rosenfeld, Seymour 881
Rosenstein, Allen 833, 972, 987
Rosenstein, Mildred 972
Rosenthal, Betty 871
Rosenthal, Jean 872
Rothman, Esther 855
Rothman, Jean 854
Rothstein, Max 888
Rouse, Nellie 920
Rubin, Elsie 977
Rubin, Hattie (also known as Rubinstein) 884,886
Rubin, Isadore 854, 855
Rubin, Phyllis 855
Rubinstein. (See Rubin, Hattie.)
Rubio, Antonio 960
Rudbarg, Rhoda 855
Rudder, John 960
Russell, Rose 855
Ryan, Sid 855
Ryder, Dorothy. ( See Weber, Dorothy. )
Sacks, Bea 823, 824,
891, 898, 900, 908, 913, 918, 943, 953, 967, 972
Sales, David 833, 972, 987
Sande, George 906, 972
Sartisky, Jack 942
Schaefer, Elsa 855
Schlessel, Vivian 855
Schlesser, Doris 855
Schneiderman, Barney 878, 884
Schneiderman, Susan 888
Schneiderman, Sylvia 878, 884
INDEX ix
Page
Schneiderman, Teddy 950, 972
Sehor, Eleanor (Mrs. Gerald Sclior ; nee Woolmau) 838,900,906,920
Schor, Gerald (also known as Gerald Woolman) 920,921
:Schor, Harold 855
Schrank, Norman 957, 973
Schutz, Bea G 831
Seoville, Francis 893, 912, 972
Secundy, Janet 855
Secundy, Louis 855
Seligman, Helen 856
Shapiro, Blanche 856
Shapiro, Harry (also known as Harry Brockman) 897, 900,
914, 916, 920, 925, 926
Shapiro, Isidore 977
Shapiro. Jane 884
Shapiro, Selma (also known as Selma Brockman and Selma Herbst) 920, 944
Sharugrudsky, Al 972
Sharugrudsky, Edith 972
Shatkin, Sadi. (See Duroshkin.)
Sheftnian, Fanny 831
Sherman, Shep 8.56
Shirvington, Walter 977
Shtabe, Ahe 856,866, 869
Shtabe, Dorothy 856
Siegei; Blanche 920
Siegel, Milton 920
Siegel, Sol 889
Silas, Bertha 921
Silas, Nick 921
Silberman, Annette 888
Silberman, Lenore 892, 972
Silver, .Joe 831
Silverstein, Harry 856
Silverstein, Mildred 856
Simkins, Andrew W 960
Simon, Hal 931, 977
Simon, .Toe 889
Singer, Mike 856
Sirota, Nat 977
Slade, Gina 8.56
Slater, Thomas L 960
Slutzky, Nathan F 974
Smith, Gerald L. K 833
Smith, Louise Pettibone 960
Snow, Edgar 981
Solomon, Ceil (Celia) 972
Sontag, Marion 977
Sorokin, P. A 960
Sperling, Roslyn 856
Spindell, Blanche 972
Squire, Abraham 855, 856
Stamm, Frederick K 960
Starobin, Joseph 859
Steiner. (See Poulos, Sophie.)
Steiner, Ethel 972
Straus, .Tudy (Mrs. Mark Straus) 887
; traus, Mark 887, 977
Stover, Fred W 960
Stuart, .John 921
Sufian, Belle 871, 884
Sundeen, Arne 972
Swtlp, p:ieanor 892
Taffler, Anna 966
Tettelbaum, Mrs 8!59
Thompson, Robert 869, 931, 933, 951, 953
X INDEX
Page
Tito (Marshal Josip Broz) 891
Toback, Charles 921
Toback, Ethel 972
Tobin, Sophie 85G
Tow, Lucille (Mrs. Sid Tow) 884,886
Tow, Sid 884, 886
Travis, Maurice 960
Troup, Joe 977
Tsermegas, Steve 921
Turchin, Bud 884
Tyler, Charles E 960
Tyler, Leonard 837, 877, 884
Vankin, Bella 856
Vedro, Carl 894, 974
Vedro, Fay 974
Vitrogen, Blanche 856
Vitrogen, Dave 856
Vogel, Sylvia. (See Blauvelt, Mildred.)
Wagner, Carrie 856
Wagner, Monroe ^ 85T
Wallach, Rose 831
Wallach, Shirley. (/See Auerbach, Shirley.)
AVallman, Natalie S57
Wallman. Pete 857
Wanamaker, Sam 960
Wang. Ruth 837, 857. 861. 870, 878, 886, 903, 904, 940, 942, 948, 983
Wang. Sid 837, 867, 868, 889, 925, 937, 940
Weber, Dorothy (also known as Dorothy Ryder; Dorothy White) 831
Weeden, Joe 857
Weiss, Charlotte 857
Weiss, Max 902, 977
Weiss, Selnia 950
Weinless, Eva 857
Weinstone. William 831
Weltfish, Belle 857
Weltfish. Jerry 8.57, 923
White, Dorothy. (See Weber, Dorothy.)
W^hite, Eliot 859, 977, 978, 981
White. Mrs. Eliot 981
Wilkerson. Doxey 859, 974
Williamson, John 894, 895, 9.31
William.son, Mel 977
Wilson, Eileen (also known as Eileen Bryant) 892, 921
Wilson, William (also known as Bill Bryant) 921, 922
Winston, Henry 896, 926
Wishner. Matty 857
Wolfe. James H 960
Woolman. (See Schor, Gerald and Eleanor.)
Wortis, Rose 856
Young, Goldie 831
Young, Max. (See Damanon.)
Zazza, Ada 857
Zeldin, Dave 977
Zelman, Cecelia (Mrs. Fred Zelman) 878, 884
Zelman, Fred 878, 884
Zidl, Yetta 857
Zitf, Abraham 831
Zimmerman, Max 857
Zinghini, Joseph 922
Zockowitz, Frances 922
Zwerling, Sylvia 972
Organizations
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America 850
American Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born 941
American Communications Association, The 838,848
INDEX xi
Page
American Council for a Democratic Greece 840, 841
American Jewisli Congress 925, 940, 941
American Jewisti Labor Council 935
American Labor Party 857, 860, 900, 902, 906, 916, 918, 920, 923, 925, 927, 936,
937. 939-941, 948, 949, 971
Eleventh A. D. Section 870
Flatbush 937,938
Kings County 920
Kings County Committee, People's Lobby to Washington, D. C 966
Ninth Assembly District 949
American Peace Crusade :
American People's Congress and Exposition for Peace 955-960
American Peace Mobilization 920
American Women for Peace 967
American Youth Congress 915, 919
American Youth for Democracy 854, 914, 915, 919, 920, 937, 949, 950, 972
Americans United for World Organization 852-854, 870, 930
Flatbush Chapter — 928
Boro Hall Civil Rights Congress Committee for Hardison Defense 943
Christian Front 832, 833
Christian Youth Organization 919
Citizens Committee to Defend Representative Government 963
Citizens Committee to Reelect Peter V. Cacchione 937
Civil Rigts Congress 907-909, 925, 940-943, 965, 968, 985
American Crusade to End Lynching 942
Committee to Organize the Downtown Brooklyn Chapter 966
New York 944, 945
Flatbush, Brooklyn chapter 852, 900, 942, 943
Peoples Freedom Crusade to Washington 945
Common Cause, Inc 935
Communist Information Bureau 901
Communist Party, U. S. A. :
National Committee 865, 902
National Women's Committee 957, 977
Alabama 904
New York State 866, 869, 923, 924, 931-933, 951, 953, 975, 976
Greater New York City :
Bronx County 975
Claremont Club (Tremont Section) 915
Riverdale Section 918
Tremont Section 915
Brooklyn 850, 860, 861, 888, 892,
894, 895, 897, 898, 907, 927, 954, 957, 973, 974
Albemarle Chib 861 904. 905
Bath Beach Section 927,970
Bay Ridge Section 913, 919, 927, 970, 971
Bedford-Stuyvesant Section 908. 920, 925, 971. 973, 975-977
Bensonhurst Section 927,950,970,972
Boro Hall Section 834, 889-891, 893, 900, 911-913,
917-920, 925, 927, 933, 935, 936, 938. 942, 943, 944, 957, 966-972
Boro Park Section 919,927,970,971
Brighton Beach Section 975
Brownsville Section 919,976
Ruck Lazar Club 969-972
Coney Island Section 920
Cortelyou Club 856
Crown Heights Section 915
East New York Section 975
Eleventh A. D. Club 846
Farragut Club 861,904,905
Flatbush Club 821, 834-836, 846. 847,
854. 860, 861. 866, 928, 937, 947, 963, 975
Flatbush Section 837,846,849,852,853,
861, 887-889, 895, 896, 904, 905, 923, 925, «80. 937. 940, 941
Fort Greene Section 906,913,970-972
Franklin Club 976
xii INDEX
Communist Party, U. S. A. — Continued
New York State — Continued
Greater New York City — Continued
Brooklyn — Continued Page
Frederick Douglass Club 971, 9'i2
Freedom Road Club 853, 861, 904, 905
Glenwood Club 861, 904, 905
Helen Horton Club 885,919,971
Hinsdale Club, 24tb Assembly District 917
Ina. strial Unit Branch 2-C 915
Industrial unit 338 919
Jay-Smith Club 821, 822, 834, 838, 840, 889, 890-892,
897, 900, 907, 914-921, 925-927, 933, 935, 938, 941-944, 966
Jay-Smith Club No. 1 892,
893, 897, 912, 915, 919, 921, 927, 935, 936, 93S, 941, 956, 971
Jay-Smith Club No. 2 892,897,
912, 919, 920, 927, 936, 938, 941, 944, 971
Joe Stember Youth Club 850, 861, 888, 889, 904, 905, 929
Kensington Club 973, 977
Kings Highway Branch 848
Kings Highway Section 917
La Pasionaria Club 900,919,920,936,969,970
Lincoln Road Club 821, 822, 852,
857, 880, 885, 886, 889, 923, 924, 933, 937, 939, 940, 942, 9S4
Longshore Club 918, 968
Ocean Avenue Club 889
Orange Street Club 922, 909
Park No. 1 Club 905
Park No. 2 Club 905
Parkside Club 821, 822, 835-837, 852, 853,
857, 861, 806, 869, 870, 885, 889, 904, 905, 922
Plaza Club 906, 920, 972
Professional Club 904, 905
Prospect Park Club 861, 888, 889, 904, 905
Red Hook Section 920, 972
Riverside Club 944, 969, 970, 971
Service Club 904, 905
Sheepshead Bay Section 915
South Youth Group 972
Theodore Dreiser Club 861, 888, 904, 905
Thomas Paine Club 976
Tubman Club 976
Twelfth A. D. Section 927, 968
Veterans Committee 866, 869, 974
Walt Whitman Club 968-972
V/aterfront Section 913, 925, 927, 957, 970, 975
Williamsburg Section 915, 925, 957, 970
Women's Commission 957, 973
Woodruff Club 889
Kings County Committee 894
Kings County Review Commission 833, 882, 972, 987
Manhattan :
Eleventh A. D. Club 829
Ninth A. D. Club 820, 822, 825,
826, 829, 830, 834, 842, 844, 846, 947, 962, 977
Seventh A. D. Club 829
Queens County :
Far Rockaway Club 920
School Commission 847
State Committee 865, 968, 976, 977
Trade Union Committee 931, 977
Veterans Committee 931, 976
Pennsylvania :
Pittsburgh :
HTll Section 92L.
INDEX xiii
Fag»
Communist Political Association 845, 918, 1)79
New York State 894, 898, 899, 976
Brooklyn 973, 974
Flatbush Club 835, 848, 849, 857, 894, 899, 903
Kings County Council 976
School Commission 973
Congress of American Women 940
Consumers' Union 880
Council on African Affairs 935
Democrats in Favor of Election of Vincent Longhi to Congress 937
Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, United 931, 977
District 4 886
Local 475 839, 840
Local 1217 920
Local 1225 976
Flatbush Art Gallery 886
Flatbush Consumers Council 849, 854, 858
Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union of America 836
Free and Accepted Masons, F. and A. M 940
Furniture Workers Union, Local 140 916
Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions 933
International Labor Defense 914
International Workers Order 860, 915, 919, 941, 955, 969
Brownsville (Brooklyn) 975
Emma Lazarus Division 851
Jewish Peoples Fraternal Order 940
Puerto Rican Branch 936, 969
Jefferson School of Social Science 850, 858, 880, 904. 944, 967, 968, 971, 984
Jewish People's Fraternal Order 975
Lodge 562 851
Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee 842, 849, 887, 948, 949, 97T
Labor Youth League 893, 916, 951
Brooklyn Division 976
Brooklyn, Paul Robeson Club 950
Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, International 851
Needle Trades Union, Local 10 853
Longshoremen's Association, International :
Local 968 926
Masons, Free and Accepted, F. and A. M. (See Free and Accepted Masons.)
Mine Workers of America, United 838
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 941
National Citizens Political Action Committee 933
National Negro Congress 963
Neiirhborhood Committee for tlie Defense of Peter Harisiades and Anna
Taffler 966
New York Labor Conference for Peace 936
Brooklyn Division 951, 953, 954
OfTice and Professional Workers of America, United 838, 918, 920
Local 19 908, 920
Parent-Teachers Association 941
Peace Information Center 960
Philharmonic Choral Society 880
I'rogressive Citizens of America 940
New York, Keep America Free Rally 983
Flatbush Chapter 887
Puidic Workers Union, United 917
Sofjal Science McKelvey White Group 916
Southern Conference for Human Welfare 849, 901
State, County, and Municipal Workers Union 879
Teachers Union of New York 854, 855, 941
Local 555 916
United Committee for Democratic Rights 933, 934
United Committee To Protest (ireek Executions 841
United States Government :
Agriculture, Department of 848, 859
Treasury, Department of 848, 85»
xiv INDEX
Pas«
Veterans Committee for the Election of Vincent Longhi to Congress 937
Veterans' Committee to Reelect Cacchione 857
Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade— 831, 842, 849, 852, 855, 919, 947, 948
Workers School of New York City 822, 836, 842
World Organization for Democratic Youth 950
World Peace Committee 953
World Peace Appeal 953, 954
Young Communist League 918
Young Men's Christian Association 941
Young Pioneers 915
Young Progressives of America 915
Young Women's Christian Association 941
Young Socialist League 850
Publications
Challenge 893
Churchman, The 878
Clarity 824
Daily Worker 899, 900, 902, 903, 906, 907, 912
Discussion Bulletin 846
Flatbush Community 857, 858
German- American 969
Laud, Mv Native 980
Morning Freiheit 866, 935
New Masses 904, 921
New York Teacher News 854-856
Newsof the Ninth 831. 832, 842
Party Voice 988
O
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
lllliilillillllilllilliillil I '^'^ ,
3 9999 05706 3198 - ^^w^rbarva
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11