SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE
ADMIKISTBATION OF THE INTERNAL SECUKITY
ACT AND OTHER INTERNAL SECURITY LAWS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATESj^SENATE
EIGHTY-FOURTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE
UNITED STATES
MARCH 8, 1956
PART 8
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
72723 WASHINGTON : 1956
Boston Public Library
Cuperintondent of Documents
JUL 18 1956
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
JAMES O. EASTLAND, Mississippi, Chairman
ESTES KEFAUVER, Tennessee ALEXANDER WILEY, Wisconsin
OLIN D. JOHNSTON, South Carolina WILLIAM LANGER, North Dakota
THOMAS C HENNINGS, JR., Missouri WILLIAM E. JENNER, Indiana
JOHN L MCCLELLAN, Arkansas ARTHUR V. WATKINS, Utah
PRICE DANIEL, Texas EVERETT McKINLEY DIRKSEN, lUinois
JOSEPH C. O'MAHONEY, Wyoming HERMAN, WELKER, Idaho
MATTHEW M. NEELY, West Virginia JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER. Maryland
Subcommittee To Investigate the Administration of the Inteenal Security
Act and Other Internal Security Laws
JAMES O. EASTLAND, Mississippi, Chairman
OLIN D JOHNSTON, South Carolina WILLIAM E. JENNER, Indiana
JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, Arkansas ARTHUR V. WATKINS, Utah
THOMAS C HENNINGS, JR., Missouri HERMAN WELKER,, Idaho
PRICE DANIEL, Texas JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER, Maryland
ROBERT Morris, Chief Counsel
Richard Arens and Alva C. Carpenter, Associate, Counsel
Benjamin Mandel, Director of Research
n
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 1956
United States Senate,
Subcommittee To Investigate the
Administration of the Internal Security Act
AND Other Internal Security Laws
OF the Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington^ D. G.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjourmnent, at 10.45 a. m., in
room 313, Senate Office Building, Senator Herman Welker presiding.
Present : Senator Welker.
Also present: Eobert Morris, chief counsel; Benjamin Mandel, re-
search director; Alva Carpenter, associate counsel, and Robert C.
McManus, investigations analyst.
Mr, Morris. Miss Russell, will you come forward, please.
Senator Welker. The committee will come to order.
The subject of the hearing today will be the efforts that Communists
have made to influence our Far Eastern policy. The subcommittee
has received evidence that certain organizations and publications have
been engaged in an extensive lobbying campaign in an effort to attune
our foreign policy to the purposes of the Soviet Foreign Office. The
witness this morning will be Maud Russell.
Miss Russell, will you please stand ? Do you solemnly swear the
testimony you will give before the subcommittee will be the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Miss Russell. I so swear.
TESTIMONY OF MAUD EUSSELL
Senator Welker. Will you state your name, please.
Miss Russell. Maud Russell.
Senator Welker. Where do you reside ?
Miss Russell. New York.
Senator Welker. And your address there, please ?
Miss Russell. 103 West 93d Street.
Senator Welker. Very well. Thank you.
Counsel, please proceed.
Mr. Morris. Is that Miss or Mrs. Russell ?
Miss Russell. JVIiss Russell.
Mr, Morris. Miss Russell, where were you born ?
Miss Russell. California,
Mr. Morris, In what year?
Miss Russell, 1893.
Mr. Morris. Would you tell us rather sketchily about your educa-
tional accomplisliments ?
325
326 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
Miss Russell. I don't know what accomplishments, but I graduated
from the University of California.
Mr. Morris. In what year?
Miss Russell. 1915. I studied in England in
Mr. Morris. At what university ?
Miss Russell. Woodbrook College.
Mr. Morris. Woodbrook.
Miss Russell. And got my M. A. at Columbia in 1945, 1 think.
Mr. Morris. 1945?
Miss Russell. Yes.
Mr. Morris. You have lived a considerable portion of your life in
China, have you not ?
Miss Russell. Twenty-six years.
Mr. Morris. I see. Will you tell us the span ?
Miss Russell. 1917 to 1943.
Mt. Morris. 1943. In 1943 you returned to the United States ?
Miss Russell. I did.
Mr. Morris. Now, what were you doing in China during that period
of time ?
Miss Russell. I was working with the Chinese WYCA — YWCA.
Mr. Morris. Now, in 1943 you returned to New York City, you say ?
Miss Russell. I returned to California.
Mr. Morris. I see. Now, what did you do in California in 1943 ?
Miss Russell. Celebrated Thanksgiving with my family, and
Christmas.
Mr. Morris. And thereafter ?
Miss Russell. Studied at Columbia.
Mr. Morris. That is in New York City ?
Miss Russell. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Now, were you active in the formation of an organiza-
tion called the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment not
to testify against myself.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, we have received evidence
Senator Welker. I think maybe, for the purposes of the record,
counsel for the witness might improve a little bit upon that objection,
so that there will not be any question about it.
Dave, will you state it for her? And then we will stipulate that
that objection will go to all the questions she desires to use it on ?
Mr. Rein. Surely. The witness is claiming her fifth- amendment
privilege, the constitutional privilege, not to testify against yourself.
It is commonly referred to as the privilege against self-incrimination.
Senator Welker. Very well. I think that is very fine.
Mr. Rein. And it will be understood that in the future her claim
of the fifth- amendment privilege will mean that.
Senator Welker. Very well. Thank you, Mr. Rein.
And I think, for the purposes of the record, you had better show
that David Rein, Esq., of the firm of Forer & Rein, is representing
the witness.
Will you give the street address, please ?
Mr. Rein. 711 14th Street, in Washington, D. C.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, we have received evidence in the course
of the Institute of Pacific Relations inquiry, which is reported on pages
4602-4603, and following, to the effect that there was a meeting held
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 327
at 23 West 26th Street, which meeting had been called at the direction
of Eugene Dennis, then director of the Communist Party, for the pur-
pose of forming the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy.
Testimony at that time indicates that you were present at that found-
ing meeting. Can you recall such an occasion ?
(The witness consults with her attorney.)
Miss Russell. I was not present.
Mr. Morris. You were not present at that meeting ?
Miss Russell. I know nothing about it. I never heard about it
until today.
Mr. Morris. I see. Now, do you recall a meeting held at 23 West
26th Street at any time? Did you ever attend a meeting there?
Miss Russeli.. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Do you know a gentleman named Dr. Max Yergan?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Yergan's testimony at that time, Mr. Chairman,
reads — and he is now talking about a meeting held at that address
in 1945 — there was no date given at the time — he could not recall the
specific date — Dr. Yergan testifying:
Well, the purpose was discussed both formally and Informally at these two
meetings, that being to discredit Chiang Kai-shek, to use all of the influence
possible to turn material to the forces in China that were opposing Chiang
Kai-shek. That was the general point of emphasis with regard to the purposes
of the meeting.
Dr. Yergan was asked who was present at the meeting, and Dr.
Yergan replies :
Yes, I recall a lady who was identified in an executive capacity, Miss Russell.
Is that Miss Maud Russell?
Dr. Yergan. Miss Maud Russell. * * *
Now, was that accurate testimony. Miss Russell?
(The witness consults with her attorney.)
Miss Russell. I was not present at any meeting ever with Eugene
Demiis.
Mr. Morris. No. I did not say. Miss Russell, that Eugene Dennis
was present. I said the meeting was called at his direction and Fred-
erick Field presided at the meeting.
(The witness consults with her attorney.)
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Can you recall a meeting, now, at 23 West 26th Street
at which Frederick Field presided ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, I am offering you a photostat of a letter-
head of the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, dated
August 26, 1945, and I ask you if you will read that photostat.
(A document was handed to the witness.)
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Will you read that. Miss Russell?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment
not to read it.
Mr. Rein. Do you want the witness to look at it?
Mr. Morris. I just want her to read it.
Senator Welker. Just a moment. Counselor. The question was
very apparent and very clear. She was asked whether or not she
328 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
M-onld read the exliibit offered to lier. She took the fifth amendment
on that, and I would like to inquire whether reading any sort of docu-
ment might tend to incriminate this witness. I want to be fair with
her. But it seems that you are taking the fifth amendment a long
way. We are not asking her to testify about any contents thereof.
She is merely asked to read the exhibit, Mr. Rein.
Miss Russell (reading) :
August 26, 1945.
Dear Friend —
Senator Welkee. No one asked you, madam, to read it aloud.
Mr. Morris. I did.
Senator Welker. Did you ?
Mr. Morris. Yes.
Senator Welker. I beg your pardon.
Mr. Morris. Will you read that aloud. Miss Russell ?
(The witness consults with her attorney.)
Miss Russell. I object to reading it.
Mr. Morris. Have you so advised your client, Mr. Rein ?
Mr. Rein. Yes.
Senator Welker. You are objecting to reading the exhibit
Miss Russell. The exhibit aloud.
Senator Welker. The exhibit aloud ?
Mr. Morris. ^Vliat is the basis of the objection, Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell. I claim my riglits under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. And you contend that if you read that aloud you will
possibly be testifying against yourself ?
Miss Russell. I claim my rights under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Miss Russell, at this time the acting chairman is
going to order and direct you to read the exhibit aloud.
(The witness consults with her attorney.)
Miss Russell. Under the direction, I will read it :
Dear Friend: The war in the Pacific has not ended. If American policy in
China continues along present lines, we shall be helping to lay the basis for a
bloody civil war that will undermine much of what we have sacrificed for and
won in the past 3% years.
It is kind of hard on the eyes.
Americans have learned —
Mr. Rein. Mr. Chairman, may I request on behalf of the witness
that if any pictures are taken, they be taken now and not interrupt her
testimony ?
Senator Welker. Very well. I think that is a reasonable request,
Mr. Rein.
Will you gentlemen
Miss Russell. It hurts my eyes, and I can't see.
Americans —
Senator Welker. Just a moment, now. I think the photographers
want to comply with the request of your counsel.
A Voice. Would you look right here and say something ?
Miss Russell. Shoot.
A Voice. One more.
A Voice. Would you say something again, now, Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell. Shoot.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 329
A Voice. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Welker. Very well. Are you gentlemen finished ?
Thank you.
Miss Russell. The second paragraph :
Americans have learned in the most painful way possible —
Senator Welker. Madam, I am sorry. I missed the last sentence
you read. Would you mind repeating that?
Miss Russell (reading) :
If American policy in China continues along present lines, we shall be helping to
lay the basis for a "bloody civil war that will undermine much of what we have
sacrificed for and won in the past 3^2 years.
Americans have learned in the most painful way possible that a small mci-
dent" in China 8 years ago affected every man, woman, and child throughout
the world. This time we must use our energies to prevent the recurrence of
other "incidents" that can lead only to the destruction of the peace we must
have in China and everywhere.
Today our Government spokesmen and military leaders in Chma are adopting
a policy that would not be approved by millions of Americans. They are lending
political and military assistance to the Kuomintang dictatorship which has re-
sisted democratic reform in China and has given an order to Japanese and quis-
ling troops to hold their weapons, and if necessary use them rather than sur-
render to the patriotic Eighth Route and New Fourth Annies that have assumed
the greatest burden of Allied fighting in north and central China. This policy on
the part of our American representatives in China serves to wipe out the efforts
of the Chinese people for a democratic and unified country. When General Stil-
well was in China our help was also one-sided, but we were at least trying to get
sympathetic contact with all forces fighting the Japanese in China. Now we are
meddling, not to accelerate but to hold back the democratic working out of the
Chinese situation. We may well find ourselves committed to a new Franco in
an Asiatic Spain. .
In order to bring the urgent message for action before the American people,
the Committee for a Democratic Policy Toward China is now being formed. As
its first step, this committee proposes to send an appeal to President Truman
urging that policy in China be rectified. You are asked to add your name to the
appeal and to get clubs, organizations, and individuals to write immediately
to President Truman or take any other appropriate action.
To keep you acquainted with developments in China, the Committee for a
Democratic Policy Toward China will issue regular news bulletins, the first of
which is enclosed. , .^
We know that you will agree that this new committee must spread its work
throughout the country to acquaint the public with the dangers that lie ahead
and arouse people to act quickly. In order to do the job well, we need your
help— first, add your name to the appeal on the flap of the enclosed envelope, and
second, send us your contribution. Without funds we cannot carry out the neces-
sary work, so send whatever you can immediately.
And this is signed by Leland Stowe and Richard Watts, Jr.
The sponsors of the committee :
Dr. Phyllis Ackerman, T. A. Bisson, Israel Epstein, Frederick V. Field, Talitha
Gerlach, *Rev. Jack McMichael, Artliur Upliam Pope, Ilona Ralf Sues, Lawrence
E Salisburv, Michael Sayers, Vincent Sheehan, Mrs. Edgar Snow, Maxwell S.
Stewart, Leland Stowe, Rose Terlin, Richard Watts, Jr., Dr. Max Yergan.
My name does not appear.
Mr. Morris. Now, did you become the executive director of that
organization, Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell. I did not.
Mr. Morris. Were you ever executive director of the Committee
for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment.
330 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Morris. Will you read the question before my last question,
Mr. Reporter ?
(Question read.)
Mr. Eeix. If I may assist, Mr. Morris, this letterhead of this is
Committee for a Democratic Policy Toward China, which is a different
organization from the one you referred to.
Mr. Morris. I see.
In other words, it is your testimony that you were not executive
director of the organization which the letterhead just describes?
Miss Russell. Correct.
Mr. Morris. Now, what was the connection between those two or-
ganizations?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, the Daily Worker of May 8, 1949, sec-
tion 2, pages 3 and 4, contains an article which is headed "Truth Also
Fights for Free China."
Maud Russell is quoted as follows in this article :
Yet the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy is not solely a supplier
of information. We are a political action group to exert pressure for a change
in official United States policy.
Did you make that statement. Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, I would like to have printed in the
record at this point in the testimony a docmnent which has already
appeared in the hearings of this cominittee during the investigation of
the Institute of Pacific Relations.
Mr. Mandel, will you read it ?
Senator Welker. What is the document ?
Mr. Morris. This is a letter on the letterhead of the Communist
Party of New York State, 35 East 12th Street, New York, N. Y.,
dated March 1,1949.
As I say, Mr. Chairman, it has been identified in our records pre-
viously. I wonder if Mr. Mandel will read that letter into the record.
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The document which was read by Mr. Mandel, was marked "Ex-
hibit No. 139" and appears below :)
Exhibit No. 139
CoMMxmiST Party of New York State,
Robert Thompson, Chairman,
New York, N. Y., March 1, 1949.
To All Sections and Counties.
Dear Comrades: Enclosed please find Program for Action on China Policy,
as voted upon by a united front action conference on China, held in New York
on January 29, 1949.
We are sure that you will find this material not only informative, but helpful
in planning actions on China in your communities.
A special outline has also been issued by the National Education Committee
on Communist Policy in China. This can be secured through orders from our
District Education Department. The outline can be used as the basis for dis-
cussion in your sections and branches.
Any inquiries in relation to further activity can be received by writing to the
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, at 111 West 42 Street, New
York City.
Comradely yours,
Mat Milleb,
Asat. Org. Secretary.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 331
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, did the Committee for a Democratic Far
Eastern Policy have an office at 111 West 42d Street on March 1, 1949?
Miss EussELL. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Did you know May Miller, who describes herself in
this letter as the assistant organizational secretary of the Communist
Partyof New York?
(Witness consults with her attorney.)
Miss Russell. I never heard of her.
Mr. Morris. During the period 1947 to 1948, did you make fre-
quest visits to Communist Party headquarters at 35 East 12th Street ?
(Witness consults with her attorney.)
Miss Russell. I have never been there.
Mr. Morris. You have never been at 35 East 12th Street ?
Miss Russell. I have never been there.
Mr. Morris. Have you ever been at 50 East 13th Street ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator AYelker. ^V\mt is located at 50 East 13th Street?
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, do you know that 35 East 12th Street
and 50 East 13th Street are buildings that are back to back in Man-
hattan ?
Miss Russell. I don't know it.
Mr. Morris. Now, is it your testimony that you were never in 35
East 12th Street, but when I asked you, were you ever in 50 East
13th Street, you invoke your privilege under the fifth amendment?
Do I understand your answer to be that ?
Miss Russell. Correct, sir.
Mr. Morris. And you have no knowledge that those two buildings
are connected?
Miss Russell. I do not.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, is there anything in our record that would
indicate at this time what 50 East 13th Street and 35 East 12th
Street is?
Mr. IMandel. 50 East 13th Street has been for some years the head-
quarters of the Communist Party of the United States.
Mr. Morris. IMiss Russell, I ask you if you will look at this article
that appeared in the Daily Worker of January 16, 1950, page 2.
(A document was handed to the witness.)
Mr. Morris. Do you recognize that letter. Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell. I do not, offhand.
Mr. Morris. Will you bring that letter back, Mr. Arens, please ?
Mr. Mandel, will you identify this article in the Daily Worker?
Mr. Mandel. It is an article from the Daily Worker of January 16,
1950, page 2, entitled "Facts Behind the Korea Crisis ;" subtitle, "Wlio
Started the Shooting?" And underneath it says:
Following is the first of a series of articles entitled "Facts on the Korean
Situation," which was prepared by the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy.
Mr. Morris. Now, to your knowledge, was that article prepared by
the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may that go into the record at this time ?
Senator Welker. It will be entered into the record at this point.
(The article referred to was marked "Exliibit No. 140" and is as
follows:)
72723— 5&—pt, 8 2
332 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Exhibit No. 140
[Daily Worker, January 16, 1950]
Facts Behind the Korea Crisis : Who Started the Shooting?
(Following is the first of a series of articles entitled "Facts on the Korean
Situation," which was prepared by the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy )
Witiiin hours after the start of the Korean war the United States bluntly
accused North Korea of armed aggression against South Korea, an action which
it described as a wholly illegal and unprovoked attack. In the absence of the
Soviet Union, and with Yugoslavia abstaining, nine members of the United Na-
tions Security Council upon the insistence of the United States hurriedly passed
a resolution "noting with grave concern the armed attack upon the Republic of
Korea by forces from North Korea." All subsequent events of the intervention
proceeded from this original assumption of North Korea guilt.
Has responsibility for the Korean war been thereby firmly established? The
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy believes that it has not ; that
the United States acted with unprecedented haste and persuaded the United
Nations to do likewise. It takes this position for the following reasons :
HEAR ONE SIDE
Only one side was heard. No information was requested regarding the North
Korean side of the matter ; no representative of North Korea was present nor
was any arrangement made for hearing their side of the dispute. No effort was
made to ascertain the facts. And all of this in spite of the knowledge that sev-
eral hours before North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel, the North
Korean radio had broadcast news of an offensive by the South Koreans and had
warned of stern countermeasures unless South Korea suspended "their adven-
turous military actions."
No court of law would render a verdict on the kind of one-sided and fiimsy
evidence advanced in this case by the United States and accepted by the rump
session of the Security Council.
The haste wath which the American Government, and through its efforts, the
United Nations, has condemned North Korea is in startling contrast to the inter-
minable investigations and resulting equivocation with which the Dutch assault
on the Indonesian Republic and the Arab attacks upon Israel were treated. This
extraordinary haste in the Korean matter must raise the same questions as to
the actual motives of the American Government, as did the interminable delays
it engineered in the cases of Indonesia and Israel.
The manner in which North Korea has been branded as the aggressor by the
Western World under United States initiative makes the case an unconvincing
one. It is not necessary that the American people believe the North Korea version
in order for them to appreciate the irresponsible haste and total disregard of the
most elemental rules of justice employed by our own Government.
In the nature of the Korean case, what most Americans regard as direct evi-
dence will for a long time be unavailable and perhaps unobtainable. A great
deal of weight must therefore be placed upon the circumstances in which the
Korean war broke out, upon what, in a court of law, is called circumstantial
evidence. Of such evidence there is an abundance, but nearly all of it is being
suppressed or concealed by the American press and radio and, instead, the Gov-
ernment of South Korea, which until recently was roundly denounced as a cor-
rupt and ineffective puppet of American policy, is now being heralded as an
arsenal of Far Eastern democracy.
Aggressive declarations by those whom American power put in charge of South
Korea have given the world frank and full warning of what has now taken place.
Consider, for example, the following :
In December 1946 Syngman Rhee declared : "On returning to Korea I advo-
cated unification to make the world think we were united, so that we could drive
the Russians from the north. America is our friend. * * * We must fight those
who are not our friends. As soon as the time comes I'll instruct you. Then you
should be prepared to shed blood." He added : "I have already made connections
abroad."
Yun Chi Yong, former Minister of Home Affairs and vice speaker of the South
Korean National Assembly, told a press conference on March 9, 1949, following
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 333
a consultation with the United Nations Commission in Korea : "What was dis-
cussed with the U. N. Commission is that peaceful unification of South and North
Korea is nothing more than a political plot. The only way to unify South and
North Korea is for the Republic of Taehan to regain the lost land in North Korea
by force."
TRIBUNE DISPATCH
On August 5, 1949, a dispatch from Allen Raymond in the New York Herald
Tribune said : "The one outstanding thing about the South Korean army, now it
has been purged several times of Communist infiltrators, is its outspoken desire
to take the offensive against North Korea. It wants to cross the border. Its best
officers are Japanese-trained professionals, with a fine frosting of American Army
training."
On November 1, 1949, the New York Herald Tribune carried a UP interview
with Sihn Sung Mo, South Korean Defense Minister, which said : "Referring to
the readiness of his troops to drive into North Korea, Mr. Sihn expressed confi-
dence that they could wrest control from the Communists. 'If we had our own
way, we would, I'm sure, have started up already,' he told a press conference.
'But we had to wait until they (American Government leaders) are ready. They
keep telling us, "No, no, no ; wait. You are not ready. * * *" We are strong
enough to march up and take Pyongyang (the northern capital) within a
few days.' "
On March 2, 1950, according to the New York Times, President Syngman Rhee
told the Korean people that despite advice given by "friends from across the sea"
not to attack the "foreign puppets" in North Korea, the cries of "our brothers in
distress" in the north could not be ignored. "To this call we shall respond," he
said. "The statement contained in a Korean independence day speech," says the
Times, "was one of the most outspoken in recent months of a desire to unify the
country, if necessary, by force."
Mr. Morris. Miss Kussell, did you ever meet a Chinese Communist
delegate named Tung Pi Wu ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under tlie fifth amendment. _
Ml'. Morris. Did you ever have a meeting with Tung Pi Wu in
New York City at which the purposes of the Committee for a Demo-
cratic Far Eastern policy were discussed?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, did you write a letter to subscribers
protesting the fact that your organization, the Committee for a Demo-
cratic Far Eastern Policy, had been forced to register as a subversive
organization?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. I show you a photostat of a letter which purports to
be such and ask you if you wrote that letter. It bears the signature
of Maud Russell.
(A document was handed to the witness.)
Mr. Morris. Is that your signature, Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell, I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, will you read that letter in the record at
this time ?
(The letter, which was read in full by Mr. Mandel was later ordered
into the record as exhibit No. 141 and reproduced on p. 335, with the
remainder of the contents of the 6-page pamphlet following as exhibit
No. 141-A).
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may that letter, together with the other
two pages that appear on this little pamphlet, go into the record at
this time ?
Senator Welker. Very well. It will be so ordered.
334 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Morris. AVe have asked the witness to identify it as her signa-
ture, and she has chiimed her privilege nnder the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Madam Witness, I notice you are taking notes
there. And while you are writing, I wonder if you would favor me
by giving me your signature, please, just on a blank piece of paper. _
(The witness signs her name on a card and hands it to the chair-
man.)
Senator "Welker. Thank you very kindly.
This exhibit may go into and be a part of the record. At this time,
the signature of Maud Russell as just given to me will be made a part
of the record at this point.
Mr. Morris. Immediately after the last exhibit. Senator?
Senator Welker. Very well. That is where it will be.
(The documents referred to are as follows :)
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 335
Exhibit 119
Exhibit No. 141-A
President Truman in his message of September 22, 1950, vetoing the McCarran
Act said :
"The application of the registration requirements to the so-called Communist-
front organizations can be the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press, and
assembly since the alien and sedition laws of 1798 * * * The bill would open a
Pandora's box of opportunities for official condemnation of organizations and
individuals for perfectly honest opinions which happen to be stated also by the
336 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
' ;ouimunists * * * Since no one can be sure in advance what views were safe to
express, the inevitable tendency would be to express no views on controversial
The McCarran Act was passed over President Truman's veto. It is McCarthy-
ism in legal form. Can anyone deny that this attempt to terrorize the American
people into silence on any issue considered controversial by the McCarthyites has
curtailed the people's right of free speech? These last years have offered abun-
dant and bitter proof of the cynical claim that an attack on the constitutional
rights of the Communists would not endanger the rights of the whole people is
one of the facets of the big lie. The furious onslaught of the McCarthyites
against such figures as Bishop Oxnam, Harvey O'Connor, James Wechsler, Mrs.
Paul Robeson, Corliss Laraont for any degree of dissent from the views of Mc-
Carthy, has amply exposed this illusion. Teachers, students, writers and pub-
lishers, editors, clergymen, farmers, scientists, trade-union leaders, artists and
entertainers, leaders of the Negro people, and the foreign born are hounded by
the FBI, pilloried in the headlines, fired from their jobs, made objects of sus-
picion among their neighbors, jailed and deported on the charge of what they
think or are suspected of thinking. Nonconformity has become a crime as the
McCarthyites, McCarrans, Jenners, and Veldes and those whom they represent
seek to impose on our country what Justice Douglas has called a black silence
of fear. The rights of all Americans are under attack.
But a strong wind of opposition is gathering. Each passing day witnesses
more Americans seriously questioning a foreign policy which supports and uses
the reactionary, feudal-minded cliques led by Chiang Kai-shek, Syngman Rhee,
and Bao-Dai who scheme to preserve their oppressive outworn regimes through
involving the American people not only in civil wars but even in world war. In-
creasingly the American people are understanding, and are expressing their
opposition to a policy which is proving incapable of creating stability in the
Far East and which directly endangers world peace. It is this growing opposi-
tion to a bankrupt policy that the administration seeks to silence in its attacks
on the organizations of the people.
Yes, the people are beginning to react wtih vigor. National conventions of the
AFL, CIO, the railroad brotherhoods, and independent unions have condemned
the McCarran Act. The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Demo-
cratic Action, the NAACP, the American Jewish Congress, the Episcopal League
for Social Action, the Presbyterians, the Methodist Federation for Social Action,
the American Association of University Professors, the Bar Association of New
York, the National Farmers Union, and a sizable and growing list of other organi-
zations are on record against the McCarran Act. The New York Times saw fit
to make the Commager article on the "right to associate" its lengthiest article
in the magazine section on November 8, 1953.
Those who have a special interest in Asia and our country's far eastern
policy will appreciate how this attempt of the administi'ation to order even a
nonexistent organization such as the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy "to register" strikes at the right of all Americans to particpate in the
formulation of our country's foreign policy. This order seeks to deny or destroy
our right to be heard on the overriding issue of our day, the issue of war or
peace.
Of course, I am going to fight to the limit of my time, energy, and money;
this is a part of my citizenship commitment.
You too can go on fighting for the right to have your say about foreign policy :
(a) By letting President Eisenhower, Attorney General Brownell, and
Chairman of the Subversive Activities Control Board, Thomas J. Herbert
(their addresses are Washington, D. C), hear your protest against this
unconstitutional attack not only on a nonexistent organization, but even
more basically, on the American people's traditional and lawful right of
freedom of belief.
(6) By urging your Senators and Congressman to support the repeal of
the McCarran Act.
As former executive director of the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy I have had to secure legal assistance (attorneys in Washington, D. C.) to
challenge the validity of this order to a defunct organization to register ; other-
wise the issue could be decided adversely by default, and with possible penal
consequences for me personally.
While this statement is sent you primarily as a political document to ac-
quaint you with a concrete instance of how our constitutional rights are being
jeopardized, I am also asking you to help :
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 337
(c) By sharing in some of the financial burden of meeting and resisting
this un-American action of the Attorney General.
Matjd Russell,
103 West 93d Street, New York, N. T.
(The card on which Miss Russell wrote her name was marked
"Exhibit 142" and was placed in the committee files. A reproduction
of the signature appears below :)
Exhibit 142
//jjui/Lu^uy
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, I offer you a photostat of a letter on the
letterhead of the Far East Reporter, 112 West 42d Street, New York
36, N. Y., Maud Russell, publisher, dated November 20, 1952, bearing
the signature, "Maud Russell, Far East Reporter publisher."
I ask if you will look at that. Miss Russell.
Is that your signature thereon. Miss Russell ?
Mr. Rein. May we have a moment ?
Mr. Morris. Oh, yes. Go ahead.
Miss Russell. I admit it.
Mr. Morris. Now, Mr. Mandel, will you read the letter, please?
Mr. Mandel. "Ill West 42d Street," on the letterhead of the Far
East Reporter, dated November 20, 1952, "Maud Russell, publisher."
"To Spotlight subscribers and friends"
Mr. Morris. What is "Spotlight," Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell. If you read that, you would see. It tells on it;
doesn't it?
Mr. Morris. Well, our information leads us to believe that you have
a more intimate knowledge of Spotlight than is available to the com-
mittee, and we are wondering if you would add to our store of infor-
mation on that subject.
Miss Russell. It is a publication that I issue, presenting facts and
analyses of developments in the Far East.
Mr. Morris. I see.
Is that still in existence ?
Miss Russell. It is still in existence. I should say so.
Mr. Morris. Read it, please.
Mr. Mandel (reading) :
The Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy is no longer in existence,
after completing 7 full years of activity geared to informing and mobilizing
American public opinion on the issues of our country's relationships with the
Far East. Its work has served to prepare the way for the current emphasis on
far eastern policy which many organizations now make a major part of their
action programs.
Making available specialized far eastern material remains, however, as impor-
tant as ever — if not more so. I shall accordingly, continue working on this
matter of information. Twenty-six years of residence and work in China gave
me a concern over American- Asian relations and a compelling sense of citizenship
obligation. And my 6 annual speaking trips across our rich and beautiful
land, covering to date over 12.5,000 miles, assure me that the American people
are concerned over happenings in Asia, are eager for facts, and want peaceful
and beneficial relations with the half of the world that lives in Asia.
So, I propose to continue writing and to make available as widely as possible
facts and analyses by other writers on the Far East on developments in the
Far East which touch upon the interests of the American people. About ready
338 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
for early issue are a series of brochures on the new China, a pamphlet on
''Kr'upSrSiTnsfo Far East Spotlight will be honored as subscriptions
to Fa I as Reporter which will be published by me and which will strive to
main ain the high standard of usefulness set by Far East Spotlight I hope
™ouwn become (if you are not) a subscriber and enlist others to subscribe
^TsM 1 con inue to be available for talks, about which I enclose details If
my speaking schedule has not included your area or your organization I shall
be pleased to receive an initial invitation.
Si°^«^^ly' MATTD RUSSEIX,
Far East Reporter Publisher.
Mr. Morris. Now, I^Iiss Russell, do you publish both the Far East
Spotlight and the Far East Reporter at this time? -,, •
Mis? Russell. I publish Far East Reporter. I made a mistake m
answering you before. I used the word "Spotlight." That is incor-
rect. I publish Far East Reporter.
Mr. Morris. That is right. This letter would indicate that the J^ ar
East Reporter has taken over the function of the Far East Spotlight.
Is that right? -r-. ^ o J.^^ x.i.
Miss Russell. To some extent. I mean, as the Far East Spotlight
tried to bring facts and information to people, I continue to want to
hr'mo- facts and information about the Far East. It has somewhat the
same
Senator Welker. Miss Russell, I am not quite clear. You want to
testify that at one time you did publish the Far East Spotlight, and
you no longer do that, and you publish this
Miss Russell. I did not say that. I say I now publish Far East
Spotlight — Reporter.
Senator Welker. I notice you are about as confused about that as
I am. Now, let us see if we cannot get it clear.
Miss Russell. I am not confused.
Senator Welker. What did you publish immediately prior to Far
East Reporter, if anything?
Miss Russell. I published nothing.
Senator Welker. Did you have any activity in publishing any-
thing?
Miss Russell. I claim my rights under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, did the Committee for a Democratic Far
Eastern Policy terminate its activities, as the last exhibit indicated,
on September 1, 1952?
Miss Russell. I claim my rights under the fifth amendment. ^
Mr. Morris. Now, you are, however, the publisher of Far East
Reporter ?
Miss Russell. I am the publisher of Far East Reporter.
Mr. Morris. Now, Miss Russell, what happened to the records of
the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy ?
Miss Russell. I claim my rights under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Now, do the files of the Far East Reporter contain
materials that were taken from the organization, the Committee for
a Democratic Far Eastern Policy ?
Miss Russell. I claim my rights under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Is the Far East Reporter the successor organization of
the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy?
Miss Russell. I claim my rights under the fifth amendment.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 339
Mr. Morris. Miss Kussell, I wonder if you will tell us the source
of revenue for the Far East Eeporter.
Miss Kussell. I have subscribers. I make an appeal to my
subscribers for additional funds to help enlarge my printing. I
do public speaking 8 or 9 months of the year. I sell literature,
both my own publications and others. Those are the sources, and
then the meetings, you know, to raise — speaking meetings.
Mr. Morris. Now, where
Senator Welker. Just a moment, counsel.
Mr. Morris. Yes, sir.
Senator Welker. You say you do public speaking about 8 or 9
months out of the year. Would you mind telling the committee
where you have spoken?
Miss Russell. I speak around the country.
Senator Welker. Very well. Let us go throughout the country
and find out where you have spoken.
Miss Russell. From Florida to California. I speak in the South,
in the Middle West, the Far West, and throughout the country.
Senator Welker. Have you spoken in every State in the Union,
Miss Russell?
Miss Russell. I would like to brag that I have, but I can't.
Senator Welker. Well, can you think of the States you have not
spoken in?
Miss Russell. No, I can't think of them, offhand.
Senator Welker. You have spoken in my home State of Idaho,
have you?
Miss Russell. Yes.
Senator Welker. What part ?
Miss Russell. Various parts.
Senator Welker. Well, would you mind telling me ?
Miss Russell. (No response.)
Senator Welker. Perhaps the names have slipped you. Maybe
I can help you. Have you ever spoken in the northern part of
Idaho, say at Coeur d'Alene, or Wallace, or Kellogg, or Craigmont,
Grange ville, or Lewiston ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges. But thank you for the
suggestions.
Senator Welker. Now, ma'm, you have told me that you have
spoken in Idaho. Then I have tried to ask you where you spoke
in Idaho, and you put on the cutoff valve for some reason. Now,
I believe your able counsel will agree with me that you opened
up the subject matter, and I have a right to interrogate you on
where you spoke in Idaho.
Now, I am ordering and directing you to answer the question
as to where you spoke in Idaho.
(Witness consults with her attorney.)
Miss Russell. I have spoken in Coeur d'Alene, Kellogg, Boise,
and 3 or 4 places around there.
Senator Welker. You say some places around there ?
Miss Russell. Around Boise, Idaho. I don't recall the names
just now. If I had a map, I could.
Senator Welker. Would Pocatello be one, or Idaho Falls or
Twin Falls or Nampa or Caldwell ?
Miss Russell. Nampa, Caldwell
72723— 56— pt. 8 3
340 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Senator "Welker. You have spoken in Nampa or Caldwell. And
under what auspices did you speak in Nampa or Caldwell or Boise?
Miss Russell. Far East Reporter.
Senator "Welker. Far East Reporter.
Who sponsored your meeting there?
Miss Russell. I chiim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator AVelker. You claim your privileges under the fifth amend-
ment as to who sponsored your meeting?
jNIiss Russell. Yes.
Senator Welker. Since we have gone into the subject matter of
these meetings, I think you have opened up the matter, and I am
going to order and direct you to answer who sponsored your meetings
at these places.
(Witness consults with her attorney.)
Miss Russell. I stick to my claim of privilege.
Senator Welker. You stick to your claim of privilege.
Now, would you mind telling me about the size of your audiences
in Idaho? Are they large or small?
Miss Russell. They vary from 400 down to 25 or so.
Senator Welker. Where did you have a meeting of the size of 400
in the State of Idaho ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Did you speak in public buildings or church
buildings, or did you hire a hall ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege.
Senator Welker. I wish you would not. I am quite interested in
my State, and I would like to know where you can get audiences of
400 people.
Who helped you arrange for these meetings in the State of Idaho ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Were they Idaho citizens or people from New
York?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Had you ever met any of the people who were
sponsors of your meeting prior to coming to the State of Idaho?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. You do not want to leave any inference that the
people who sponsored you in the State of Idaho were not honorable
and upright people, do you? I cannot see your invoking the fifth
amendment on that unless it might really tend to incriminate you.
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Senator Welker. Have you told me all the places you have spoken
in Idaho?
]\Iiss Russell. As far as I remember.
Senator Welker. Was any advertising gotten out on behalf of
your appearances in the State of Idaho ?
Miss Russell. I don't know.
Senator Welker. That would be handled by someone else, would it,
prior to your arrival?
Miss Russell. I don't know.
Senator Welker. You do not know.
Just how do you set up meetings, whether it be in Idaho, Florida,
Alabama, or Nortli Dakota? Would you mind telling me that?
You certainly just do not go in there without an announcement; do
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 341
you? "VVlio handles the announcements and publicity prior to your
speaking ?
Miss Russell. I claim my priA^ilege.
Senator Welker. You claim your privilege under the fifth amend-
ment?
Miss Russell. That is right.
Senator Welker. And if you told who did the advertising or the
sponsoring of your meetings in the State of Idaho or any of the other
States that you have appeared in, a truthful answer to that might
tend to incriminate you ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Senator Welker. Are you a member of the Connnunist Party ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Have you ever been a member of the Connnunist
Party?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Do you know any members of the Communist
Party in the State of Idaho ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Do you know any members of the Communist
Party in the United States ?
Miss Russell. The same answer.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, I would like to offer for the record the
letterhead of the Far East Reporter dated January 1955.
Mr. Mandel, would you read the contents of that paper into the
record, please?
Mr. Mandel (reading) :
To Far East Reportei- Subscrihers and Friends:
May 1955. — The ninth annual cross-country speaking trip begins in March
and is roughly as follows : Southern area, March and April, beginning in Florida,
Alabama, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, District of Columbia ; Ohio and
Michigan, month of :May; Chicago area, first half of June; Middle AVest area,
Wisconsin and Minnesota, second half of June and early July ; North and South
Dakota, Montana, northern Idaho, July; northwest, August, Washington and
Oregon ; California, September ; en route eastward, month of October, southern
Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri, Idaho, Chicago area;
November, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Speaking arrangements, details and suggested topics are outlined on the
accompanying card. If my speaking schedule has not previously included your
area, I would be pleased to receive an initial invitation, and from all old and
new friends I will appreciate an early indication of whether and when you may
want me.
Sincerely,
Maud Russell.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may that go into the record at this time ?
Senator Welker, It may.
Mr. Morris. I offer you another letterhead, Mr. Mandel, dated
January 1953. Will you read that into the record, please?
Mr. Mandel (reading) :
Deab Friends : 1953 is already well started and it is time to begin to plan for
my annual cross-country speaking trip. I expect to leave New York and be on
my way about the end of March, with time allowed for some weeks in the South.
Then, as usual —
Chicago area — later half of April
Michigan and Ohio — month of May
Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota — month of June
North Dakota, Montana, Idaho — first half of July
342 SCOPE 'OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EN THE UNITED STATES
Washington and Oregon- -last half of July and first half of August
California— last half of August and first half of September , ^ ^ ,
En route eastward, Chicago, etc.— last half of September and early October.
Mr. :Morris. Miss Kussell, are these accurate descriptions of your
1953 and 1955 speaking tours?
Miss Russell. They are.
Mr. Morris. Roughly, how many lectures do you make a year i
Miss Russell. Welf, when I am in the field I do one about every
other day.
Mr. Morris. That would be 150 or 160 a year?
Miss Russell. Somewhere around there.
Mr. Morris. What is the actual lecture fee for your talks?
Miss Russell. I ask a minimum of $10. Sometimes I get $50 or
$100, it runs $15, $20, $25.
Senator Welker. In addition to your expenses, Miss Russell i
Miss Russell. Expenses come out of that.
Senator Welker. Come out of the $10 ?
Miss Russell. Out of my speaking fee.
Senator Welker. You get a fee of $10, and your expenses come out
of your fees ?
Miss Russell. That is right. It is not like a senatorial expense
account. I cover about 25,000 miles on $800, including all expenses.
I wish the Senators could match it.
Senator Welker. I wonder if you could go a little deeper into your
own expense account. Outside of your motel, your automobile, gaso-
line, and so forth, what other expenses do you have?
Miss Russell. You mean travel expenses?
Senator Welker. I mean any expenses that you might have in mak-
ing your appearance. Do you pay for billboard advertising, radio
spots or television spots ?
Miss Russell. No. I get on the radio free.
Senator Welker. You get on the radio free ? Can you tell me where
you appeared on the radio free in Idaho ?
Miss Russell. Not Idaho, no.
Senator Welker. ^Y[^y didn't you appear on the radio in Idaho?
Miss Russell. Nobody asked me.
Senator Welker. Nobody asked you. They asked you in all these
other places, did they ?
Miss Russell. I did not say in all of the places.
Senator Welker. Wliere did they ask you to appear on the radio
free?
Miss Russell. I have spoken in Oakland and Berkeley and
Portland.
Senator Welker. Now, under whose auspices did you speak in
Oakland?
Miss Russell. As an individual, as a publisher of Far East
Reporter.
Senator Welker. As an individual. On some of these trips you
must have undoubtedly lost money. For instance, on a long trip, say,
from Coeur d'Alene doAvn to Nampa or Boise in the State of Idaho,
you couldn't drive that for $10.
Miss Russell. Well, I don't count each individual trip, I count
the year's trips.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 343
Senator Welker, I am speaking now about individual trips. Did
you lose money on any of your appearances in Idaho?
Miss Russell. As I say, I don't count it that way, I count my whole
year.
Senator Welker. T don't care what you are counting, I am asking
you whether or not you lost money on your appearances in the State
of Idaho. That is a prelude to another question I desire to ask you
later.
Miss Russell. Well, the first year I went to southern Idaho, I did
lose money, I mean it cost me more to get there. But the second
year I had so many speaking dates that it was worth while making
the investment in the first year.
Senator AVelker. And have you related to me all the speaking dates
this second time you appeared in Idaho, as best you can remember?
I realize that is rather hard to do.
Miss Russell. I indicated, with help, some of the places where I
spoke.
Senator Welker. Now, in the places where you lost some money
on your expenses in Idaho, did anybody repay you for that loss ?
Miss Russell. Tliey did not.
Senator Welker. And you still don't want to tell me what commit-
tee organized your appearances in the State of Idaho, what individual
or committee arranged for your appearances ? Naturally you couldn't
do so if you were traveling.
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
But I want to point out that when I traveled
Senator Welker. Now, if you claim your privileges under the fifth
amendment that about answers it. I don't desire any speech.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may those last two exhibits go into
the record at this time ?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The documents referred to were marked "Exhibits 1-13, l-iS-A, and
143-B," and are as follows:)
Exhibit No. 143
Far East Reporte^i
Maud Russell, publisher
MAKING AVAir^BLE SIGNIlICANT FACTS AND ANALYSES CONTRIBUTED BY
COMPEM'ENT WRITERS ON THE FAR EAST
New York 17, N. Y., January 1955. ,
To Far East Reporter Subscrihers and Friends:
My 1955 — the ninth annual — cross-country speaking trip begins in March,
and is roughly as follows :
Southern area : March and April.
Beginning in Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, North and South Carolina,
District of Columbia.
Ohio and Michigan : Month of May.
Chicago area : First half of June.
Middle West area :
Wisconsin and Minnesota : Second half of June and early July.
North and South Dakota, Montana, northern Idaho: July.
Northwest : August.
Washington and Oregon.
California : September.
344 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
En rttiile eastwavrl : Mouth of October.
Southern Idaho, Utah, Cohirado, New Mexico, Kausas, Missouri, Idaho.
Chicago area : November.
Oliio and Pennsylvania.
Speaking arrangements, details, and suggested topics are outlined on the
accompanying card.
If my speaking schedule has not previously included your area, I would be
pleased to receive an initial invitation.
And from all — old and new friends — I will appreciate an early indication of
whether and when you may want me.
Sincerely,
Maud Russkli..
Exhibit No. 143-A
Fak East Reportee
Maud Russell, publisher
MAKING AVAILABLE SIGNIFICANT FACTS AND ANALYSES CONTRIBUTED BY COMPETENT
WRITERS ON THE FAR EAST
New York 36, N. Y., January 1953.
Dear Friends : 1953 is already well started and it is time to begin to plan for
my annual cross-country speaking trip. I expect to leave New York and be on
my way about the end of March, with time allowed for some weeks in the South.
Then, as usual :
Chicago area : Latter half of April.
Michigan and Ohio : Month of May.
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Konth Dakota : Month of June.
North Dakota, Montana, Idaho: First half of July.
Washington and Oregon: Last half of July and hrst half of August.
California : Last half of August and fii-st half of September.
En route eastward, Chicago, etc. : Last half of September and early October.
This is the rough "schedule." I would like, now, to begin to fill in some of the
details. Can you now make any definite "engagements" for the time allotted to
your area? Even to have a few definite dates will give a framework to travel
plans. I enclose a card giving details of speaking arrangements — and I again sug-
gest that to think and plan in terms of "gatherings" rather than the more formal
"meetings" is probably more realistic in these times.
Some of the possible topics for talks or discussions are :
China Begins Her First 5-Year Plan
The New China
China Forges Ahead as a Modern Power
China as a World Peace Factor
Sino-Soviet Relations
Asian Factors in the World Peace Struggle
What's Happening in Asia?
The Korean War — and Us
China and Her Asian Neighbors
India
Education in New China
Culture in the New China
and there may be particular aspects of the Far East and/or American relations
with Asia that you will want to have presented or discussed.
If my speaking scliedule has not previously included your area or your organi-
zation I shall be pleased to receive an initial invitation.
I will much appreciate an early response.
Sincerely,
Maud Russell.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 345
Exhibit No. 143-B
Maud Russell
Publisher, Far East Reporter
MAKING AVAILABLE SIGNIFICANT FACTS AND ANALYSES CONTRIBUTED BY COMPETENT
WEITEKS ON THE FAR EAST
$1 Yearly
SPEAKER ON THE FAR EAST
Twenty-six years' residence (1917-43) and work (with the YWCA) in China,
followed by over a decade working on United States-Asian relations and speak-
ing throughout the United States.
SPEAKING ARRANGEMENTS
Available
For meetings and gatherings, large or small, public or in homes.
Fees
To cover travel costs and aid in publication of material on Far East.
Suggested minimum of $10 for groups up to 30 ; $5 for each additional 10 per-
sons. Larger fee or collection or contribution for printing appreciated.
Cross-country tour
New York to Pacific coast, April to November.
D ecemher-Marclh
New York and east coast area.
Tr(wel
By car — so no necessity to meet train, bus, or plane.
A ccommodation
Provided locally where i)ossible, please.
SOME SUGGESTED TOPICS
New China (The People's Republic of China)
In General
In Detail (separate talks)
Political Aspects Workers in China
Economic Aspects Farmers in China
Cultural Aspects Women in China
Achievements So Far
China Trade Facts : Why Can't Americans Benefit?
China and Her Asian Neighbors
China, Factor for World Peace
Should We Recognize China?
Sino- Soviet Relationships
The Struggle in Indochina
Asian Factors for World Peace
The People's Upsurge in Japan
.Japan and the United States
Whither Korea?
India and Nehru's Role
United States-Pakistan Issue
What About Formosa ?
What's Happening in Asia?
Your Suggestions?
f Far East Reporter, Box 1586, GCS, New York 17.)
Mr. Morris. Miss Kussell, in connection with the speaking tours
described in those two letters which you have acknowledged are an
accurate description for the years 1953 and 1955, did you make any
346 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
prearran<?ements with Coininuiiist Party members in the various
States widi respect to anj^ lecture ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Now, what is the source of news for the Far East Re-
porter? '\^n[iat is your source of news?
Miss Russell. Well, I read 5 or 6 newspapers a day — the New
York Times, the Daily Worker, the New York Herald Tribune, the
People's World, the Wall Street Journal— and then if there is some-
thing special on. you knoAv, I pick up the other papers.
Mr. ]MoRRis. Do you have any correspondents, say, in occupied
China?
Miss Ri'ssELL. And in addition to that, I have many magazines
like the U. S. News and AVorld Report, the Nation, and I get material
from those on the Far East. But I make a point, in talking, to quote
only from material that is available to anybody in the United States,
you know, the current magazines and newspai^ers. There is plenty
of information in them.
Mr. jNIorris. Miss Russell, do you have a foreign correspondent
or any other source of information in Red China?
Miss Russell. I do not.
Mr. Morris. Do you receive any news reports from any individual
in Red China?
Miss Russell. I get news reports that are available to everybody,
Mr. Morris. I see. But you have no actual correspondent abroad?
Miss Russell. I have friends — I don't have any correspondents as
a Far East reporter, I have friends who write me personal letters.
Mr. Morris. Are those letters that they write you, are they a source
of news for the Far East Reporter?
Miss Russell. Well, there is nothing that I ever had from them
that I used, I mean, any information I had has come from public
sources.
Senator Welker. I want to ask a question. As I understood you.
Miss Russell, you stated that you made your speeches based upon
information you acquired from newspapers and magazines that any-
one can acquire here in the United States. Do you make any of your
speeches based upon information furnished you by the Daily Worker
and the People's World, the Communist publications ?
Miss Russell. As I said, I take a wide spread of news.
Senator Welker. All right. Do vou make any of your speeches
based upon information found in the Daily Worker,' the People's
AYorld, or any other Communist publication?"
Miss Russell. No, I do not make speeches based upon their news.
I may use an item that appears— for instance, the paper in San Fran-
cisco, the People's World, often has a UP or AP disj^atch about spe-
cific things about the Far East that does not appear in all the news
that I read on the east coast. Of course, I use that.
Senator Welker. How about the Daily Worker ?
Miss Russell. Very seldom does thatliave anything in it that isn't
more fully— I think never has anvthing that isn't more fully set forth
111 a paper like the Times or the Tribune. I think I could say a pretty
clear no, I don't use the material from the Daily Worker, I read
it to see what they have got in it in case they do have something,
l)ut I depend mainly upon much fuller sources of information which
appear m the magazines and the regular press.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 347
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, I ask you if you will look at that paper
which Mr. Arens has there. Do you recognize that document ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, will you identify this document, please?
Mr. Mandel. This document has a folder which carries the follow-
ing legend :
Letters from China. Condensed from private newsletters and personal cor-
respondence originating in China. Due to conditions, names of writers must
remain anonymous.
Distributed by: Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, 111 West
42d Street, New York 18, N. Y.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, I would like to offer this for the record.
Senator Welker. It may be made a part of the record.
(The document referred to Avas marked "Exhibit No. 144" and is
as follows :)
Exhibit No. 144
Letters From China
(Footnotes are those of the publisher)
Condensed from private newsletters and personal correspondence originating
in China. Due to conditions, names of writers must remain anonymous. Dis-
tributed by: Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, 11 West 42d
Street, New York IS, N. Y. No. 4. 25 cents per copy, $2 10 issues. January
EXCERPT FROM AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER LETTERS
Due to the rapidly changing conditions in China we have not
received new letters for several mouths. The material below is
taken from letters written several months ago but which have not
been published before and which have an important bearing on
current events.
military situation
Summary of 3 years of civil vxir
July 1948 marked the third year of China's civil war. The occasion was
marked witli a great silence on most fronts which competent observers identified
as the lull before the storm.' Behind-the-line activity, however, was proceeding
at a feverish pace as both sides prepared for new battles. It is calculated that
once fighting begins it will last for 5 or 6 months. And the coming battles
may well decide the final outcome of t\\Q Kuomintang-Communist struggle.^
As the training of soldiers and the stockpiling of materials proceeds,* the
generals review and plan. Their analysis of the situation at the end of the third
year of war is very close to what is described below.
It is an established fact that the past year has been a successful one for
the Communists. In the first place the liberated areas were increased from
2,100,000 square kilometers in 1947 to 2,355,000 square miles in July 1948. This
represents an area of about 25 percent of China which has a population of
170 million or 38 percent of the population of the whole country.^
Secondly, the strategic positions of the Communists have vastly improved
during the past year.
iThe storm broke -with the beginning of the Communist fall offensive in September.
By October 30 the Communists had captured Mukden. Chiang's powerful 300 000-man
Manchunan army (American trained and equipped) was trapped in the Mukden-Yingkow
corridor. One week later the vital port of Yingkow also fell to the Communists.
_ 2 Even before the fall of Suchow, Henry Lieberman wrote: "The position of Generalis-
simo Chiang Kai-shek's Government— militarily, economically, and psvcho]ogically--has
deteriorated to the point where diplomatic missions here are informing their hSme capitals
of the possibility of a Nationalist collapse within the next few months. The Teports arl
October 31 ?948)^^ ""^^ warnmgs of clearly apparent danger signs" (New York Times!
3 These figures were, of course, estimated long before the present central China Com-
Sre"/al^e*n'TJ?he^c"o'L^ris*ts.^^ *'"^ considerable territory, embracing mllliLfoT^peS.
72723 — 56 — pt. 8-
348 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Generals Liu Po-cheng, Chen Keng, aud Chen Yi are in charge of central
China Here they have built up a liberated area bordered on the north by
the Lunghai Railway, on the south by the Yangtze Kiver, on the east by a line
hrough to Kiangsu, and on the west by a line from Shansi to Ankang This
region embraces 30 million people and is called the central China liberated area
In the northwest the Communists have recovered almost the entire district
known as the Shensi-Kansu-Ninghsia border region and have established contact
directly with the liberated sections on the east bank of the Yellow River.
In the east the Communists recaptured 85 percent of Shantung Province which
had been lost to the Kuomintang troops the previous year. The areas between
Tsinan and Tsingtao were entirely cleared of Nationalist troops. These victories
forged the link between the central China areas and the Hopei Shantung-Honan
liberated areas west of the Grand Canal. ^ ^ ., ^^ . .
The north Kiangsu front has not been a spectacular one, but the Communists
have retaken six cities there and reinstated the East Anhwei liberated area.
This region lies between the Yangtze and the Hwai Rivers and provides direct
communication between the north and central China liberated areas.
Advances were also made in northeast and north China where the Communists
now hold approximately 97 percent of the Northeastern and Jehol provinces.
In north China, all the important Kuomintang salients in the Shansi-Chahar-
Hopei liberated area and in the Shansi-Hopei-Shantung-Honan liberated area
have been cleaned out. Yen Hsi-shan's stronghold of Taiyuan is the one exceiv-
tion. but this has not held up the amalgamation of these two immense areas into
what is now called the north China liberated area."
Lookino- at a map it will be seen that the Communist areas inside and outside
the Great Wall, north and south of the Yellow River are now connected and
form one long corridor. This separates the Kuomintang holdings into two iso-
lated regions with a few islands such as Taiyuan in Communist territory.
Thirdly, there has been a significant change in the relative strength of the
Kuomintang and Communist-led forces." , , , ,^ . .^. ^^
In the first year of the civil war (1946-47), the Kuomintang held the initiative,
and its armies were attacking on practically every front. They lost their drive,
however, in the autumn of 1947. They are still able to initiate an attack at some
points and at others can put up a stubborn defense. But in general, the Nation-
alist troops are now purely on the defensive. They can no longer hold cities
against which the Communists believe it worth while to mount an attack.
On the other hand, the Communists who lost 45 important cities in the first
year of fighting, recaptured 40 others, and added another 120 cities and towns in
the second year of warfare. All of these were former Kuomintang strongholds,
and included such important cities as Anshan, the Pittsburgh of Manchuria, Wei-
hsien Szepingkai, Manchurian rail and industrial center Shihchiachuang, vital
rail and industrial junction south of Peiping. Other cities taken include Yung-
cheng, Lingsun, Loyang, and Yenchow. The Communists also took Kaifeng in
Honan and Paochi in Shansi, but evacuated both of these a few days later. These
Sucliow.
further lioudwiiv
5 TlH" New York Times in a UP dispatch of November 4 said : "Chinese newspapers re-
ported that Communist forces were steadily tightening their grip on Taiyuan .
Several suburbs only a few miles from the city were reported already in Communist
^^BMUitary analyst Max Werner (New York Star, December 5, 1948) gives a more recent
estimate of the strength of the combatting armies : "* » * Thus Chiang commands some-
what less than a million troops, the ma.ior part of which are now melting away between
Suchow and Nanking. The war lords all together may command somewhat more than a
million, but their forces are spread thin and isolated from each other. The war lords are
neither able nor willing to help Chiang. Nor is there any military cooperation amon„
themselves. General Fu's troops in the Peiping-Tientsin pocket, Marshal \ en Hsi-snan
and Gen. Hu Tsung in Shansi are encircled and face annihilation. Gen. Ma Hung Kwei
in Ningsia Province and Gen. Ma Pu Fang in Chinghai Province cautiously do not ngnt
at all. The Communist armies of China now number about 3 million men in their neia
armies, local militia troops not included. • • * but mere numbers do not reveal that
Chiang's adversaries have a tremendous advantage in better fighting power and organiza-
tion. Secondly, the relationship of forces in China is changing every month, even every
week, against Chiang. • » • who is now sinking into the role of a local war lord having
military control only over a couple of provinces."'
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 349
victories proved that the Communist armies, generally regarded as only capable
of guerrilla fighting, are also equipped to fight mobile and positional battles.'
Fourthly, the Kuomintang armies are growing increasingly weak both niuneri-
cally and in firepower. The National Defense Magazine, published by the Chinese
Ministry of Defense, in its July 4 issue, revealed that "up to May 1948, the Kuo-
mintang troops had diminished from 3.5 million to 2 million, including 1.8 mil-
lion new recruits who have not received sufficient training and who show signs
of low morale due to the inefficient and corrupt manner in which Kuomintang
conscription is handled."
At the beginning of the conflict, the Kuomintang armies had 1.6 million rifles
and 6,000 heavy guns. They now have only 1 million rifles and 2,100 heavy guns.
In this same period, the Communist armies have increased from 320,000 men
to 2.6 million men. Their firepower increased from 160,000 rifles and 6,000
artillery to 1 million rifles and 22,800 artillery. These statistics clearly show
how great the shift in fighting strength of the two sides has been.
NOTES ON AMERICAN INTERVENTION IN CHINA
Communists on American aid
Although the Communists are now holding the initiative and superiority of
movement and power in the civil war, they are keenly aware of the possible
effects of American aid to the Kuomintang. But at the same time they are con-
vinced that although American aid can prolong the war, it cannot save the
tottering Nationalist regime in the long run. Shortly before the fall military
offensive, a Communist broadcast from the liberated areas declared :
"* * * Since China is such a large country and since the reactionary Kuomin-
tang government has the full support of the American imperialists, it would be
impossible for the People's Liberation Army to score a complete military success
at one time and at one place. The enemy will not be defeated or put to death
by one blow. If they are defeated in one part of China, with the help of the
American imperialists they can easily retreat and entrench themselves in another
part. But the sole aim of the People's Liberation Anny is to crush the reaction-
ary Kuomintang military forces entirely, for no compromise can be reached
between a revolutionary force and a counterrevolutionary force. Such being the
case, the People's Liberation Army can but pursue the reactionary forces to the
end of the earth, until that force is annihilated. This, of course, will require
time and will take many stages to accomplish. We hope, therefore, that the
Chinese people will fully understand the importance of this and that they will
help with all their might and heart to finish this sacred job in 3 to 4 years." *
Chiang puts hopes in world war III
The Chiang government is still convinced that a third world war will take
place ; if not in 2 or 3 years then not later than 1953 when the American military
preparations will be considered complete.® Basing the civil-war plans on such
beliefs Chiang has decided to fight a gradually retreating campaign.^" He will
attempt to drag out the war for as long a period as possible and will retreat to
the south step by step. At the same time while prolonging the war in the north,
the Kuomintang forces hoY>e to gain time for rebuilding South China into an
arsenal with the help of American money and technicians.
' Since the beginning of the fall offensive the Communists have captured 14 major cities
and are now threatening Peiping and Nanking.
" The belief that the civil war would be prolonged for 3 to 4 years was expressed before
the sweeping Communist successes of the last 2 months. By November, the Communist
radio declared that President Chiang's Government was "nearing collapse" and "that it
would take 1 year to uproot the Nationalist Government, and a longer time to liberate
the entire country." New York Times, November 15, 1948.
8 A similar opinion on Chiang Kai-shek's reliance on another war was expressed by
A. T. Steele in the New York Herald Tribune (November 11, 1948) : "President Chiang
is apparently convinced that a third world war is in the making and that no matter how
far back he may be pushed, his stubborn tenacity will ultimately be vindicated."
^^ In desperate appeals for more American aid, Chiang has repeatedly claimed that his
victory over the Communists would "avert a third world war." But even the New York
Herald Tribune, which has consistently advocated aid to the Kuomintang, is not sure
whether Chiang is more anxious to save mankind or himself. An editorial on November
1, 1948, stated : "Chiang said that Communist conquest of Manchuria 'would mean the
virtual beginning of another world catastrophe.' But his remedy was an unfortunately
familiar one. To avoid a third war It is 'necessary to come to Asia's rescue' : this means
the rescue of China, or more particularly of Chiang Kai-shek, and it is the United States
which must do the rescuing."
350 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
If their plans in the north fail, however, their aim is to fight desperately in
central and south China, with the hope that American-Soviet relations would
deteriorate to the breaking point."
It should he added that this fits in very well with the American aid program
now being prepared for China."
United States influence on Kuomintang political shifts
Bullitt missions to China."— The American owned and operated China Weekly
Review (June 5, 1948) pointed out that "American officialdom has in recent
months been interfering in the affairs of the Chinese Government with increas-
ing frequency The new United States economic aid and the fact that it is to be
haudh'd almost entirely by Americans, gives the American government a fairly
bi<» stick in Nanking. American support was quite openly given to Gen. Li
Tsung-jen in his campaign for the Vice Presidency of the Republic. A similar
amount of disapproval was publicly given to Sun Fo and Chen Li-fu."
As a matter of fact, the Review could have added a great deal more to the
record of interference which the American Embassy is compiling out here. An
important example is Mr. William C. Bullitt's recent visit to China and the air of
mystery with which he conducted himself. From what can be gathered, his
mission admittetlly for the United States Government, concerned three things :
1. To'determine just how much military aid is really needed by the Nationalists
to bridge the present gap and finally defeat the Communists.
*> To conduct a preliminary study to determine the feasibility of setting up
a Sino-American Headquarters to direct the so-called Communist-suppression
campaign.
3. To make a comprehensive study to determine the prospects for American
l)rivute investment in south China.
It was further revealed that while in the south Mr. P.ullitt had several fruitful
conversations with T. V. Soong, Governor of Kwaugtung Province. Both parties
agreed that American funds should be given to Kwangtung Province to build
up Whampoa Harbor, develop Hainan Island, and rehabilitate the Canton-
Hankow Railway. In return, the Chinese Government would be willing to
release part of Hainan Island to the Americans for .joint naval and air bases. '
United States niaij support ivarlords rfi/Tcf///."— Further news concerning
American aid to Nationalist China and which is also connected with Mr. Bullitt,
centers around indications that the United States Government might bypass
Chiang Kai-shek and give direct military support to such local warlords as Gen.
Fu Tso-vi and Ma Pu-fang, one of the Moslem generals in the northwest. Mr.
Bullitt visited General Fu and the latter requested that all frontline troops be
" The loss of Manchuria and the drastic military defeats at Suchow and near Nanking
have actually forced the Kuomintang to retreat farther to the south. On November 30,
lfl4S, the New York Herald Tribune reported that "Health Ministry employees were being
advised quietly to get ready to move either to Canton or the island of Formosa. And
again on December 5 a dispatch from Paris stated "that the Chinese Government planned
to establish itself on the Island of Formosa if the military situation continued to de-
terlorntc." This report added that Chiang had offered the United States bases on the
Island in exchange for new aid (New York Times, December 5, 1948).
'2 Although the above statement was written some time ago, the L. S. Government has
not changed its policy of aiding the reactionaries in China. The present military crises
has brouirht new appeals for aid from, the Kuomintang. Chinese Ambassador Wellington
Koo recently submitted a 4-polnt program to President Truman asking for: (1) Declara-
tion of American support for Chlang-Kal-shek ; (2) acceleration of delivery to China of
American supplies already authorized by Congress; (3) a military officer to be sent to
China (Gen. Douglas MacArthur) "to take over direction of supplying, training, and strate-
gic planning of the Chinese Army"; and (4) a $3 billion aid program to stretch over a
3-year period (New York Times, December 5, 1048). The American Government has not
yet made luiblic its reaction to Koo's proposals, but there are indications that support will
continue — whether in the form of aid to Chiang or, in the event of his resignation, to
other Kuomintang leaders.
" We include this revealing story of Bullitt's 1947 mission to China for It throws some
light on his recent (November) equally "mysterious" mission to that country.
1* Bullitt was again sent to China on November 9, 1948 : this time by the congressional
watcbdofr committee. According to the New York Herald Tribune (October 30, 1948), the
State Department said that he would inyestigato "all phases" of American aid to Chiang s
government. "It was recalled that he had already testified before congressional com-
mittees that he favored Immediate speeding up of arms to Chiang and urged that Gen.
Douglas MacArthur be sent to China to direct more effective combat of the Nationalists
against the Communists."
A. T. Steele (New York Herald Tribune. November 15, 1948) reported that Bullitt was
to confer with T. V. Soong on this trip too. He also stated that "there is a strong section
of American opinion here that favors Dr. Soong as the man best fitted to take the leader-
ship in any new economic setup that might be established."
"* For further indications of this move see footnote 2.5.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE tJlSriTED STATES 351
American equipped and that tliis equipment sliould be sent tlirough Tientsin
ratlier than through Nanliing as formerly. There is no positive check, but there
has been some leakage to the effect that Bullitt concurred and expressed assur-
ance that such arrangements could be made.
Gen. Ma Pu-faug had similar conversations with an American diplomat in
the north while on a visit to the Kansu-Chinghai war areas. He promised to
make some recommendations to the American Government immediately.
Premier Wong-M'en-hao.^'' — Further intervention by American authorities into
China's internal affairs took place when the new Premier Wong Wen-hao was
elected.
During the period when the Generalissimo was scanning the field for persons
whom he might cajole into accepting the premiership, an American official hinted
to Chiang that the premier-to-be should have the following qualifications :
(1) Pro- American and trusted by the Government.
(2) An honest and capable oflicial who would not waste American dollars.
(3) A man who could use American aid so effectively that it would im-
measurably help the anti-Communist campaign.
After much deliberation and considerable struggle with the "CC clique" which
favored Gen. Ho Xing-chin, the Generalissimo selected Wong Wen-hao. Wong
had proven his obedience and loyalty to Chiang over a long period of years.
This choice was made primarily in line with the American oflicial's suggestion
and Wong's main job therefore will be to handle American aid effectively. As
one source put it, "Wong's familiarity with American methods will be reflected
in the maintenance of good Sino-American relations, particularly at this time
when China will depend to the fullest on an efficient administration of the aid
program to help bring an end to the civil war." "
American observers have said that Wong's appointment "wrote finis to one of
the most intense clique conflicts in the history of modern Chinese politics by
ending with what was interpreted as a resounding defeat to the CC clique and
a victory for the Political Science Group." However, this is an erroneous calcu-
lation. The Legislative Yuan, whose majority is in the hands of the CC clique,
can either vote Wong out of office or they can put pressure on him to take such
action as he may consider incorrect. Consequently, other observers on the scene
feel that Wong's cabinet cannot last more than 6 months. In addition to the
beatings he will get from the Legislative Yuan he has been forced to fill the
Cabinet posts with second- and third-rate people.'*
Peace rumors
With the accelerated deterioration of the military situation, defeatism became
rampant among both Nanking and American circles. This led to renewed peace
rumors — some of them wilder than the farcical tales spun for local and inter-
national consumption earlier in the year.
One opium pipe concoction had it that Chiang will be compelled by such mili-
tarists as Ho Ying-chin and Fu Tso-yi to announce his intention of going abroad
and that this would pave the way for peace talks between Vice President Li
Tsung-jen and Marshal Li Chi-shen, ousted Kuomintang rebel now residing in
Hong Kong. Another rumor consisted of the story that the five northern gen-
erals (Li Tsung-jen, Fu Tso-yi, Yen Hsi-shan, Ma Hung-kwei, and Ma Pu-feng)
had joined hands and declared their independence of the Central Government
so that they could negotiate a separate peace with the Reds.^^
It appeared as though all of these rumors were part of a large, overall plan.
In June the New York Herald Tribune carried an editorial criticizing Chiang
Kai-shek, advising that General Li Tsung-jen should be put at the helm and
18 Wong Wen-hao resigned in November and was replaced by Dr. Sun Fo.
1" That the selection of Wong did not improve the situation is clearly shown by numerous
reports of corruption and deterioration within the Kuomintang regime.
^ This writer's prediction of the duration of the Premier proved to be correct. Wong
Wen-hao was forced to resign his position in November and was replaced by Sun Fo,
President of the Legislative Yuan. Dr. Sun Fo, son of the founder of the Chinese Re-
public, Sun Yat-sen, was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek (New York Times, November 10,
1948). Various press reports have characterized the new Premier as a liberal. But a
letter which we received from China last June describing "the Reconstruction Association,"
a Kuomintang group which is headed by Sun Fo, reveals that he is one of the leaders of
the most reactionary elements of the Kuomintang : "This organization is a mixture con-
taining some CC clique people who still remain loyal to Chen Li-fu, such as Pan Kung-
chan, Wu Teh-chen, and others. Pan is the head of the Municipal Council of Shanghai and
Wu was Minister of Communications. Sun Fo's clique also includes the Kwantung
Province warlords, Gens. Chang Fah-kwei and Hsieh Yo and his own men, writer Chung
Tien-hsin, and Nl Wen-ya, member of the San Min Chu Yi Corps Executive Committee."
i» Re Marshal Li-Chi-shen's negotiations with the Communists, see footnote 22.
352 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
broadlv hinting that the Wong Wen-hao Cabinet should inherit the emergency
powers now at the disposal of Chiang.-"" Several weeks later the Associated
Press climaxed the rumor drama in a report that some very important personage
from Nanking (and all indications pointed to Premier Chang Chun) had con-
ferred with Communist General Chou En-lai somewhere near Peiping. It was
reported that during the conference General Chou had put forth the following
conditions for the resumption of peace talks : ^^
1. Chiang should be deprived of all power and duties and go abroad.
2. The Chinese armies should be reorganized and put under the command
of Communist General Lin Piao.
3. That the job of Premier or Minister of Foreign Affairs should be held
by a Communist.
4. Peace talks should be resumed.
Communists on peace rumors
The Communists hardly gave passing notice to all of this. Because of their
cold attitude, it was obvious that they were not in favor of such peace talks.^
Therefore, on July 25 Premier Wong issued a statement bitterly denouncing
the Communists and calling upon the whole nation to fight them to the end
because "* * * the Communist Party is a 5th column for the U. S. S. R. in
China." "
20 New York Herald Tribune, June 18, 1948.
^1 Similar peace rumors persisted through November. On November 7, 1948, the New
York Times reported "unconfirmed speculations" that: (1) Gen. Chang Chi-chung "would
become Premier and try to make peace with the Communists ;" (2) "That President Chiang
would go abroad and let Vice President Li Tsung-jen head the government during the
peace negotiations;" (3) that "Shao Li-tze or former Premier Chang Chun would head a
coalition government without Chiang."
-- On November 14 the Communist nortliern Shensi radio broadcast confirmed that
Gen. Chang Chi-chung, director of Chiang's headquarters in northwest China, and Shao
Li-tze were advocating peace negotiations. It further announced that Vice President
Li Tsung-Jen, Gen. Pai Chung-hsi, Minister of Defense Ho Ying-chin. and former Premiers
T. V. Soong and Chang Chun "had promoted a peace move." "These men are making a bid
to force the abdication of Chiang Kai-shek," the Communist radio declared, and added
that "this peace movement was contrary to the purpose of the Chinese Communists * * •
and is intended to safeguard the interests and spare the influence of the reactionaries''
(New York Times, November 15, 1948).
That the Communists are against peace negotiations with die-hard Kuomintang re-
actionaries was made clear in an earlier Communist broadcast from China on November
10, 1948, which announced that "all high Kuomintang military and political officials would
be treated as war criminals." At the same time, however, the Communists continued
negotiations with democratic, anti-Kuomintang forces. On October 18, 1948, Marshal
Li Chi-shen, chairman of the Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee (headquarters in
Hong Kong) announced that his committee had delegated Shen Chun-yu, Chang Po-chung
(representatives of the Democratic League wlich was outlawed by Chiang Kai-shek),
Tan Ping-shen and Tsai Ting-kai "to confer in the liberated areas with Communist leaders
regarding the calling of a new Political Consultative Conference for the establishment of an
All-China Democratic Coalition Government" (see The Crisis in China, published by the
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, New York, November 26, 1948).
==> While accusing the Communists of plotting to sell China to a foreign power (the
U. S. S. R.), the Kuomintang leaders at the same time offered the United States sweeping
control within their country in return for increased aid. Early in November It was
reported that Nationalist leaders proposed that Shanghai be declared an open or inter-
national port (New York Times. November 7, 1948). Immediately following his appoint-
ment as China's premier, Dr. Sun Fo declared that "China must be prepared to make any
reasonable concession to obtain major American military assistance at the earliest possible
moment." According to Dr. Sun, "reasonable concessions" included the following : the
appointment of Gen. Douglas MacArthur as supreme military adviser in China, and "the
reopening of the Yangtze River and other inland waterways to American and other foreign
shipping for landing and embarking cargoes. Under certain circumstances, * * * United
States Navy forces should be allowed to use Inland waters as American military advisers
might desire" (New York Times, November 28, 1948).
In sharp contrast to the Kuomintang program, is the statement of the Central Com-
mittee of the Communist Party of China issued on November 21 in reply to the demand of
the Nationalists for American military protection :
"The Communist Party of China holds that any military or economic aid to the Kuomin-
tang Government by the Governments of the United States or other countries constitutes
an act of hostility against the Chinese Nation and the people of China, and should cease
Immediately. If the American Government should dispatch its Armed Forces for either
all-out or partial protection of the Kuomintang Government, this would constitute armed
aggression against the sacred territory and sovereignty of China ; all the consequences
thereof would have to be borne by the Amerir^an Government.
"The Communist Party of China, the People's Democratic Governments of China's
liberated areas, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army are willing to establish equal,
friendly relations with all foreign countries, including the United States of America, and
to protect the rightful Interests of all nationals of foreign countries In China, including
American nationals. But the integrity of China's territory and sovereignty must be
preserved without encroachment ♦ * ♦'' (The Crisis in China, ibid., p. 7).
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 353
Two days later Chiang also denied the peace rumors. He declared openly
and with anger that such talk allowed to spread freely would only result in
great harm to the morale of the Kuomintang Army."*
Kuoniintanff blames United States for peace rumors
An interesting sidelight to this whole dog-biting-at-his-o\vn-tail story was that
sections of the Kuomintang began blaming the peace rumors on the Americans.
These accusations were detailed in one Kuomintang-affiliated magazine which
declared that ever since last winter the Americans were trying to do several
things in China.
1. They tried hard to promote Li Tsung-jen to the vice presidency, thereby
providing a replacement in leadership if Chiang should be forced to
resign.^
2. They put Wong Wen-hao and Ho Ying-chin in as premier and minister of
defense, respectively, thus forming an alliance to take over Chiang's powers ;
through these forces they hoped to achieve the political I'eforms for which
they have been pressing.
3. The Americans will sponsor all sorts of organizations which will
"voice" support of reorganization and reform of the Kuomintang and the
Government.
4. The American Government is supporting directly all those military men
who have proved to be efticient — i. e. Generals Fu Tso-yi, Ma Hung-kwei.
This reveals the intention of continuing the anti-Communist war in China
even if the Generalissimo is defeated on the battlefield. Thus they hope to
prevent a Communist dominated China from being an effective ally of the
U. S. S. R. in the event of a war between that power and the United States.^'
5. The Americans are determined to organize south China and Taiwan
(Formosa) economically and militarily in order to obtain a foothold in the
Asiatic Continent in the event of a third world war.
6. For the past 3 or 4 months, the Americans have, through certain legis-
lators, writers, and scholars repeatedly denounced the Generalissimo.
^ In November President Chiang again forcefully denied rumors of peace negotiations.
On November 9, 1948, the New York Herald Tribune reported that "President Chiang
Kai-shelj told his followers today to prepare for 8 more years of war against the Chinese
Communists. He declared the present peace negotiations rumors following Government
military losses were Communist propaganda. Peace, he said, can be attained only by
destroying the Communists throughout the nation."
See also Letters from China, June 1948, pp. 5-7, for a detailed account of the election of
Li Tsung-jen to the vice presidency and concomitant political conflicts within the
Kuomintang.
2s Last June the Communists denounced Li Tsung-jen as a "puppet who was being
groomed by the United States for continuing the civil war" (New York Herald Tribune,
June 18, 1948). In the same month one of our letters from China in an analysis of Li's
election to the vice presidency, said : "Li Tsung-jen's victory was misconstrued by some
elements in China as a success for the liberals. This idea is completely unfounded. Li
himself is far from liberal ; nor are the men who are closest to him. He does have a few
liberal people in his entourage, but they have no voice and no influence" (ibid., p. 6).
More recently, A. T. Steele of the New York Herald Tribune (November 18, 1948), ex-
pressed the belief that "if Chiang * * * should step down from the presidency, the mantle
of leadership would fall on the shoulders of Gen. Li Tsung-jen * * *. Whether this
would lead to negotiations with the Communists or to a continuance of the present policy
of resistance is hard to say. Although General Li is often mentioned as a possible sup-
porter of a coalition government, his public statements have been pretty much on the
government line."
On November 10, 1948, the New York Star in a special dispatch from Paris reported
that "information from usually trustworthy sources indicates that the United States Gov-
ernment now inclines to the opinion that President Chiang Kai-shek should resign in the
interest of his country. It is even reported that this view is being conveyed to the
Generalissimo informally."
29 Since despite the billions of United States dollars given Chiang Kai-shek, Communist
military victories have continued at an ever increasing rate, the present near collapse of
Kuomintang rule finds United States policy poised on the edge of a double-horned dilemma.
That the United States might resort to giving direct aid to some of the feudal warlords has
been hinted in the press from time to time. Writing in the New York Times, November
9, 1948, Hansen Baldwin said : "We must search, then, for desperate remedies in China.
We may have to support individual provincial governors, or able generals like Fu Tso-yi,
commander of the government armies in north China, who are able to rally around them
armies capable of holding at lease parts of China. In the next few weeks or months so
dark is the present situation, we may be faced with some such desperate recourse" (New
York Times, November 9, 1948).
And again on November 10, 1948, the New York Herald Tribune reported that ECA
Administrator in China Roger Lapham "has recently been in Washington pressing a plan
to by-pass Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and to give direct aid to local Chinese forces
resisting the Communists. Lapham's main motive is that the north China leader. Gen.
Fu Tso-yi, is distrusted by the Generalissimo and has therefore not been supplied very
liberally.
See also above for further comments on this view.
354 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTnaTY IN THE UNITED STATES
In conclusion this article claimed that the latest peace rumor was solely an
American fabrication and that these actions were carried out by the Chinese
agents of the United States.
Cowmunisis want peace hut not compromise with reaction
It should be pointed that that this false "peace wave" did have some effect on
members of the democratic movement in that it set them wavering. These people
thought that the downfall of the Generalissimo would mean the crumbling of the
entire Kuomintang setup. Consequently they started a move for a joint declara-
tion demanding the immediate resignation of the President. This declaration
was to be signed Iw a thousand prominent men. However, this movement died as
soon as the local governments announced that all participants would be severely
punished. ,, ^. ^ ^,- • ^
What was obvious to all but these "peace dreamers" was that Chiang is actu-
allv the last and the strongest of the reactionary elements in China and that the
Chinese revolution cannot be successful if there is compromise with the reaction-
aries throuLTh agreement to oust Chiang and at the same time preserve his mech-
anism of rule. A look at their own history would provide the evidence for them—
especially the failure of the northern expedition of 1925. These people have been
warned that such mistakes must not be repeated again.
LIVING IN THE LIBERATED AREAS
(Excerpts of letters from William Hinton from Taihang Mountain
areas, Shensi Province) "'
Land reform
Division of the land.—l am now living in a little village on a high plateau
in the heart of the mountains. I came here to join in the work of carrying out
the land reform. You cannot imagine what great pains are taken to put through
this new program. One would think that they would just go out Into the fields
and divide up the land according to the number of people in the village. But
the actual distribution of land is only a small part of the work.
This is a movement to root out feudalism from the Chinese countryside. This
means not only doing away with economic exploitation but changing age-old
habits of thought and action; mobilizing the people for real self-government
and democracy. To teach the peasants to work and build together is a tre-
mendous and slow task. It requires the constant and tireless effort of every-
one. And then slowly but surely things begin to change. The economic changes
are the first and easiest, but the political changes are slower and harder. Most
of the people here already have a fair share of what there is in land, tools,
and animals. But now we are laying the foundations for real democracy, made
possible by the abolition of exploitation. This is a creative effort of such
magnitude as the world has never seen, except perhaps in the early stages of
the development of the Soviet Union.
Determination of class standing. — The organization of the countryside is car-
ried on in three stages: (1) Bringing together of the poor peasants and hired
laborers into the Poor Peasants League; (2) uniting these people with the
middle farmers in the Farmers Union which embraces the great majority of the
people in the village; (3) establishing the Peasant Congress (out of a committee
from the Farmers' Union) which then becomes the legislative and governing
body of the community.
But before these organizations are formed, people's committees, chosen from
among the most active peasants and workers, must determine the economic status
of all the people in the community ; who is a poor peasant, a middle farmer ,a
rich farmer or a landlord. The Communist Party has issued a set of criteria for
determining class standing. The people's committees study these instructions
and ask each person in the village to report his economic status. On the basis
of these reports, the committee then classifies the entire community. The basis
for demarcating the class status is the possession of the means of production :
the poor peasants and hired laborers have none or too little ; the middle farmers
have about enough ; the rich and the landlords have more than they can
themselves use so they exploit the labor of others. The rich farmers and land-
lords as a class oppose the revolution because they have privileges to protect.
'T William Hinton, an agricultural missionary, Is in China under the United Brethern
Mission. lie formerly worked with the Office of War Information (United States) in China.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 355
If a man is classed as a rich farmer it means tbat his surplus property will
be taken away from him and distributed to those in need. The middle farmers,
on the other hand, will benefit by the abolition of feudalism and they support
the revolution. But it is not always easy to draw the line between the rich
and the middle farmer and to classify the latter as "rich" will serve to drive
him into the enemy's camp.
Thus the utmost care is taken to do justice to everyone. All the peasants
in the community report their economic status to the Poor Peasants League
which makes up the first classification in the area. This preliminary list is
posted in the village together with a special mailbox for objections and criticisms
from the people. When the Farmer's Union, composed of both middle and poor
farmers and embracing most of the people in the village, is established, the
process of classification begins again : once ifiore the people report their eco-
nomic status, particularly those who were dissatisfied with the first decision
and appeal for reclassification. But even the decisions reached b.v the union
are not final. The list and the mailbox are again posted up in the village.
After the Peasant Congress is set up, the whole village meets again to pass
on reclassifications and the class standing of the people is finally determined.
But if there are some who are still dissatisfied, they may appeal to the county
government, or even to the border region government.
It is wonderful to see the progress of this work. These peasants, most of
whom cannot read or write, achieve a more thorough knowledge of society and
sociology than most people — than most postgraduates in America. They are
keenly interested in the new development for it concerns their own lives, their
neighbors' lives and the future of everyone. How a person is to live — whether
he is to receive more land, tools, and animals or continue as before, or have
land and property taken away from him — depends on the detennination of his
class standing in the community. Ajid as I have explained, this very vital
question is solved through an almost endless series of meetings and through
this process everyone is educated. As the preliminary, temporary committees
are replaced and succeeded by others, the people gain a better and better knowl-
edge of how and whom to elect for their permanent ofiicers. In America we
sort of assume that if we get a group of people together in a room they can
at once elect a representative who woidd serve them best. This is of course
an illusion and the peasants here know it. They hold several, a whole series of
elections so that they can watch their candidates in action. Only after these
experiences does the community hold final elections for a more permanent
governing body.
Collection of taxes in the countryside. — Did you ever hear of people deciding
by themselves what taxes they should pay to the Government on the basis of
their ability to pay? I never have. But things you have never heard about
happen here all the time.
In the liberated areas taxes are due after the summer and fall harvests. In
the Kuomintang areas no one ever knows how much he will have to pay or
when for soldiers are apt to come around whenever the warlord or governor
needs funds and take away whatever you have in the house. But in the liberated
areas taxes are paid only twice and at the time of year when the grain can most
easily be spared. The amount is fixed in various ways (this summer a new
tax law came into effect which I have not had time to study) but always the
local conditions are taken into consideration. In our village, just before the
wheat ripened, a big black cloud came rolling out of the west and plastered
the fields with hail. The hailstones were as big as tennis balls — knocked holes
in the roofs of houses, stunned men and animals and threshed the wheat as it
stood. In 20 minutes an excellent harvest was split upon the ground. The people
wept all day openly in the streets and for several days were stunned into in-
activity. I saw one man work all afternoon winnowing and sweeping and piling
up the straw. When he finished, there was enough wheat to fill only a couple
of pails. The real crop remained on the ground in the fields.
This tragedy was reported to the hsien (district) government and at the
same time we in the village promised that taxes would be reduced although we
could not say by how much for that decision had to be made by the hsien.
Several weeks later word came that our village was to pay no taxes at all, while
other villages in the same section which suffered less damage were to pay 15
percent less than their usual quota. But at a general meeting of all the villages
of our section there were some who protested this decision. It was not fair for
Jang Jwang to pay nothing while they paid so much, they said. And we decided
that our people would pay a little too. The hsien suggested 20 den for the whole
72723— 56— pt 8 5
356 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
village (about 2 tons or one-eighth of the regular quota corresponding to the de-
crease in the yield). Then the question arose as to how this burden should be
distributed among the people. We decided on the dz baw gung ti (self report,
everybody agrees) method. This method allows everyone in the village to speak
out at a meeting and say what he believes he can afford to pay and the other
villagers discuss his offer. Has he given too much or too little? The amount for
payment is fixed only after the individual and the rest of the people agree on
the offer made.
Although this sounds like a simple system it is not easy to put into practice.
If a man who got a good harvest offers too little, who wants to cross him and
earn his ill will by demanding that he pay more? If someone offers too much,
who wants to reveal the truth and perhaps be accused of favoring a friend
or relative? The problem was to encourage the people to speak out oi)enly
and truthfully, to criticize each other and thus to arrive at a true conclusion.
The basis of democracy as practiced here is for everyone to participate in making
decisions and for everyone to say what he really thinks. That is the difficult part
of the work. It is not so hard to get everyone or at least a majority to come to a
meeting, but it is difiicult to educate the people to speak out frankly and openly.
This kind if training in democracy had just begun in our village ; the people
were not used to it and our meetings did not go too well. In one group, the man
who had the best harvest of all made a low offer and a neighbor suggested he
should pay more. He became angry and refused and after that none of the people
wanted to speak. Some got discouraged and said "Why don't you just allot quotas
to us as before and we'll pay whatever is necessary?" But we answered, "How
can we know what quotas would be fair? Do we know your yield? The yield is
different this year because of the hail. Who but you and your neighbors can
decide a fair payment? Others didn't understand the democratic method. The
"dz baw" (self report) was clear enough, but the "gung yi" (all agree) was
not so clear. "I'll make my offer and since we have democracy now its my
own business how much I give or don't give," they thought. And so the princi-
ples of democracy had to be discussed again. Does a democracy mean doing
just as you please? Can you leave your cart in the middle of the road and
make others take to the ditch to get past you? Or does the community as a
whole have the right to set limits and agree on rules? When 400 men and
women discuss questions such as these — not in the abstract, but in the course
of deciding the very vital matter of who pays what taxes — everyone learns
something, and the whole community moves ahead.
Finally, because everyone was busy in the field, it was decided to let the
People's Congress whose 25 delegates had just been elected, to look over the
list of offers and "gung yi" them. Quotas ranging from none to 4 bushels were
allotted and the total for the village came to 21 dan, just 1 more dan than
the hsien had suggested. But the congress decision was not binding and anyone
not satisfied could appeal his case. When the time for actual payment arrived
the people were satisfied. Of course, no one likes to pay taxes, but all realized
the need of supporting the front (there are 70 soldiers' families out of a total
of 28."> in Jang Jwang). Since they paid what they could and it was fair, they
were happy.
Policy on commerce and industry. — Another important problem today is the
working out of the policy on commerce and industry. The movement led by
the Chinese Communists during the past 20 years has been directed at the
destruction of feudalism ; not at the destruction of wealth and privilege but of
feudal wealth and privilege. It is feudal wealth and feudal society that put
fetters on production. The whole aim and raison d'etre of the Chinese revolu-
tion is to clear the ground for an upsurge of production. For only industrializa-
tion can bring China into the modern world.
Thus a clear distinction is made between wealth derived from industry and
commerce and wealth derived from the ownership and operation of the land.
The former is encouraged and helped by the new government but the feudal
relationships are uprooted by the force of the revolution. When a large landlord
also has industrial and commercial holdings the problem is more complicated.
It is not easy for the poor peasant to distinguish between wealth derived from
two different sources. When the peasants take possession of his land in the
country it seems perfectly natural from them to move on to the town and con-
fiscate the landlord's inn, his shop, or his factory. Such mistakes have been
made in the past.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 357
But during the past year tremendous effort has been made to correct such
errors. Industrial and commercial holdings (except those belonging to the
big-four families or other bureaucratic elements) have been returned to their
original owners if previously confiscated, and are protected and encouraged in
new areas. Last winter I frequented a bathhouse in the city and discovered
that it had a very interesting history which illustrates the new policy. When
the city was liberated the workers took possession of the bathhouse because
of the ill treatment and low wages which they had received in the past. They
ran the business for 2 years and were so successful that the enterprise expanded
considerably. Recently the bathhouse was returned to the original owner and
he compensated the workers only for the additions which they had constructed.
But the owner may no longer set wages and hours to please himself. Working
conditions and pay are jointly agreed upon by the owner and the union.
In our village one of the landlords also had a wine distillery. This land
houses, furniture, clothes, and buried wealth (such as silver dollars) as well
as the distillery were confiscated and he and his family ran away. Now the
plant is being returned to his son (for several members of the family have
since died). Thus it is not unusual for refugees in Shanghai and the port
cities to receive letters from home offering them their shops and plants and
urging them to return as merchants and businessmen even though their land
holdings have been distributed.
order on this form
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy,
111 West h2a Street, New York, N. Y.:
Enclosed is $2 for the next 10 issues of Letters From China. Please mail
as specified below\
Name
Address Zone No.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, do you Imow the sources of those letters,
then ? Clearly they are people writing in from Red China, are thev
not? ^
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, I offer you a pamphlet of the Far East
Spotlight called Germ Warfare in Korea. I ask if you will look at
that pamphlet, please. That is a photostat. Do you recognize that
pamphlet ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Was that a pamphlet that you published ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. You are ordered and directed to answer that
question.
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, what was the source of information that
went into the publication of that pamphlet?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, will you read the beginning of that pam-
phlet, please ?
Mr. Mandel (reading) :
Millions of Americans heard with incredulity and dismay charges that United
States military forces are dropping deadly plague germs on the Korean and
Chinese people.
The average American's first thought is that United States forces could not
have resorted to such a barbarous weapon. Yet antedating the present charges
are facts which deserve consideration.
Mr. Morris. Where did you get those purported facts which you
published in that paper?
358 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Ar;o= T?rT=«ri> T claim mv privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr Mo?KirMr. M™dd!} wondtr if you would read the end of
%''ma'kdeu Tt the end of the pamphlet are the following requests :
.^^.sisj^^s^: rsjt^SiSf iHi?i?S
:?tSirporrXclg'o'.LtTfnSue^e„tofd«e.-e.ce..
Mr MoMtis. Did you have anything to do with the publication of
*'^fli^X'*r^''fcS my privileges under the «th amendmeii.
ATr- AinRRT^ Miss Russell, I show you an article which appearea
in the DiTwork ' of December 2, 19^48, entitled 'Wiat Chiang Has
Lost in A/ms, Men," and ask you if you will read that, please.
Do you recognize that article, Miss Russell {
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, will you read a description of that article
"^M^ mTZl.' This is from the Daily Worker of December 2, 1948
enSed "Crisis in China. What Chiang Has Lost m Arms, Men.
The following is the second of four articles on the situation in China prepared
by the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy.
Mr. Morris. Now that article goes on, does it not, Mr. Mandel, to
list in great detail a great deal of information about the losses of a
Chinese Nationalist Army in China at the time i
Mr. Mandel. Yes, sir. i . --u- .-^^^ \/Tr> Plinir
Mr. Morris. May that go into the record at this time, IVlr. Chaii-
man ?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered
(The article referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 145 and is as
follows:)
Exhibit No. 145
[From the Daily Worker, December 2, 1948]
Ckisis in China : What Chiang Has Lost in Arms, Men
(The following is the second of four articles on the situation in China pre-
pared by the Committee for a Democratic Far-Eastern Policy.)
The sweeping victories of the Chinese People's Armies bring closer the end
of fascism and civil war in China and the day when she can begin to reconstiuct
in the interest of all her people. . «TvnnnPTits
The present situation also fully justifies the previous ^'f '^^^^'^g.e^^^^^^^J'EX
of United States intervention and support to the corrupt, reactionary dictator
''r th?Ser'hand1t also carries a new challenge because it ^as au^dy
brought pressure by United States reactionaries for more open, direct, aimea
intervention in China by those backing the oPP^-^^^i^'^JVanking regime^
Since the opening of the liberation army's fall offensive m the midflff ^^
September, Chiang Kai-shek has suffered successive ^^f ^ats of such ma^itude
that his Kuomintang regime has been shaken to the roo s. ^^^^J!^ ^^f ^i^^.^,^^^^^^^^^
the people's army held only a half-dozen cities. During the offensive it capturea .
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 359
Place
Tsinan
Linyi
Chiiihsien..
Chefoo
Changchun.
Chengchow_
Paotao
Kaifeng
Mukden
Yingkow
Nanyang
Chengteh
Shanhaikwan.
Tangshan.
Hulutao...
Suhsien
Paoting.
Population
700, 000
150, 000
800, 000
230, 000
300, 000
2, 000, 000
Description
Shantung provincial capital
Former Communist headquarters in Shantung Province.
Supply base for Chiang's Manchuriau armies
Seaport on north Shantung peninsula
Capital of M anchuria
Strategic central China railway junction in Honan Prov-
ince.
Western terminus of Peiping-Suiyuan Railroad
Capital of Honan Province
Manchurian industrial center
IManchurian seaport
Strategic center in Western Honan Province
Capital of Jehol Province
Historic and strategic gateway from Manchuria into
China proper.
Coal center in east Hopei
Seaport in M anchuria which is not icebound in winter. . .
Railroad center 125 miles north of Nanking and 45 mUes
of Suchow.
Capital of Hopei Province
Libera-
tion
Sept.
24
Oct.
12
Oct.
15
Do
Oct.
16
Oct.
23
Do
Oct.
25
Oct.
30
Nov.
4
Nov.
/
Nov.
8
Nov.
9
Nov.
11
Nov.
13
Nov.
16
Nov.
21
There are three important points in connection with these battles.
Chiang lost top generals :
At Tsinan: General Wang Yao-wu, governor of Shantung, one of Chiang's
most able and trusted generals, member of the Central Executive Committee of
the Kuomintang — captured.
At Chinhsien: General Fan Han-chieh, deputy commander-in-chief of Kuo-
mintang forces commanding United States-trained and equipped mechanized
troops — captured.
In the battle for west Liaoning Province, when Kuomintang troops were trying
to escape from the Alukden encirclement, the Government's Manchurian com-
mander-in-chief, Gen. Wei Lihuaug, was reported arrested by Chiang for insub-
ordination. The commander of the new 6th Army, Gen. Liao Yao-hsiang, de-
scribed by Gen. Joseph W. Stillwell as one of the most able Chinese commanders.
was reported shot for insubordination. Then the story was put out that he
had "sacrificed himself heroically in battle." Finally he turned up alive and
safe, but as a prisoner of the people's armies.
Kuomintang armies which surrendered were destroyed or deserted :
At Tsinan, the commander of the 96th Army, General Wu Hua-wen, went over
to the liberation army with his troops.
At Changchun, the 60th Army revolted. The new 7th Army surrendered
without firing a shot.
In w^est Liaoning, 12 Koumintang divisions, attempting to escape from Muk-
den through Jehol Province, were put to rout. More than 70 Kuomintang
general ofiicers had been captured by November 2.
In the inconclusive battle of Suchow, the 59th and the 77th armies, formerly
commanded by the late Christian Gen. Feng Yu-hsiang, went over to the libera-
tion army. Another two of Feng's former divisions, under Gen. Liu Juming,
revolted and went over to the liberation army in the north of Suchow.
Nanking's losses in troops and supplies :
At both Tsinan (Shantung Province) and Chinhsien (in south Manchuria)
Chiang Kai-shek lost most of his crack troops and enormous quantities of
American supplies and equipment. His most devastating defeat was in the
Mukden area where his powerful 300,000-man Manchurian Army failed to escape
to the port of Yingkow for evacuation to the nortli and central China fronts.
In the first stage of the battle of Suchow, two divisions each from the Kuo-
mintang 1.3th and 100th Armies were completely destroyed. The 54th and 25th
Armies were partially destroyed.
An indication of the amount of supplies captured by the Liberation Army
was given in a Peiping dispatch to the New York Times dated November 3.
"Supplies captured by the Communists in Manchuria far surpass all the mili-
tary equipment that the Nationalists are scheduled to receive under the United
States $125 million military-aid program."
Announcing new purchases of arms for China in Washington on November
1, a United States Government official was quoted by New York Herald Tribune
correspondent Fitzhugh Turner, as saying that these "might not make up for
360 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
arms and ammunition captured by the Chinese Communists in Manchuria or
handed to them over there by Chiang's disintegrating armies."
Chiang can try to hang on to the north China corridor where Gen. Fu Tso-yi
is in command. Fu has already asked and been granted power by Chiang Kai-
shek to make independent decisions on military and political matters in north
China without consultation with Nanking. This can either mean that since
Fu has a free hand he can receive arms and supplies direct from United States
military authorities without interference by Chiang; or that since militarily
he is no position to halt the advance of Gen. Lin Piao's army, he may capitulate
without plunging the Nanking regime into further moral deterioration.
In central China, Chiang is making an all-out effort to hang on to Suchow, stra-
tegic railway junction about 190 miles south of Nanking where he has concen-
trated about 400,000 of his best remaining troops and most of his air force.
Large-scale Kuomintang victories were reported in the United States press,
but on November 24 even the superinterventionist New York World-Telegram
had to print the following headline : "Chiang Troops Gain on Paper, Lose on
Ground."
Suhsien, railway center 45 miles south of Suchow, was liberated on November
16, and it is also reported that Gen. Liu Po-cheng's troops are attacking Peng-pu,
important railroad center halfway between Suchow and Nanking.
In northwest China, Gen. Hu Tsung-nan's forces, considerably reduced in
past battles, are held by the Liberation Army in a pocket round the Chensi pro-
vincial capital of Sian. Chiang Kai-shek has little hope of extricating these
troops for use against Communist Gen. Lin Piao's Manchurian forces and Gen.
Chen Yi's victorious Shantung army.
If Chiang loses Suchow, he will probably move his government to south China.
Government official dependents have already been asked to leave Nanking
and on November 16, the Nanking diplomatic corps was called to a meeting
and decided to ask Chiang what his plans were and whether and when he was
going to move out of Nanking.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, I wonder if you would tell us, if you know,
the sources of information which appear in this article which was pre-
pared by the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr, Morris. Do you know a gentleman named Israel Epstein?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Is Israel Epstein now in Red China.
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Does Israel Epstein supply you with information which
you publish in the Far East Reporter ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. jSIorris. Do you know a gentleman named Guenther Stein ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Does Guenther Stein supply you with information that
you publish in the Far East Reporter ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Do you know a woman named Talitha Gerlach ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Does Talitha Gerlach supply you with information
which you publish in Far East Reporter ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Do you know a gentleman named John Powell ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Do you know a man who appeared before this commit-
tee yesterday, William Hinton ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. ISIoRRis. Have you recently seen William Hinton ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 361
Senator "Welker. Do you see him in the hearing room today ?
Miss Russell. I chiim my privileges.
Senator Welker. You claim your privilege as to whether or not you
see William Hinton in the hearing room today, upon the ground that
if you do see him, that might tend to incriminate you ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Senator Welker. Now, will you look around, madam, and as you
look to the rear of the room, the left-hand section of the audience, see
whether or not you see a man known to you as William Hinton. Would
you mind looking around, please, over in the left-hand section there —
no, over to your left.
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Senator Welker. Did you ever have any correspondence with a
William Hinton?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Senator Welker. Have you ever spoken on the same platform with
William Hinton?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Senator Welker. Do you know any place that William Hinton has
ever spoken in the United States ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. IkloRRis. Miss Russell, what is the circulation of the Far East
Reporter ?
Miss Russell. Around about a thousand.
Mr. Morris. Do you know a person named Gerald Tannebaum ?
Senator Welker. Just a moment. You say the Far East Reporter
has a circulation of around a thousand ?
Miss Russell. It has a circulation of around a thousand.
Senator Welker. Will you tell me how you know that ?
Miss Russell. Because I publish it.
Senator Welker. You have now admitted that you were the pub-
lisher, but when you were handed that exhibit a few moments ago you
refused to identify it upon the ground of the fifth amendment.
Miss Russell. I have not refused to identify a single Far East
Reporter publication. I refused to identify the other material which
3^ou put under my nose.
Senator Welker. I see. I want to clarify that. I don't want any
inference going out
Miss Russell. I have identified all Far East Reporters.
Senator Welker. Very well.
I want to see the next to the last exhibit, which I thought was an
exhibit from Far East Reporter, the one on germ warfare.
Miss Russell. It was not.
Senator Welker. That was Far East Spotlight ; yes.
Have you ever had any connection with Far East Spotlight ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Well, if you never had any connection with Far
East Spotlight, how could that tend to incriminate you ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Senator Welker. I am going to send you down an exhibit, headed
"Far East Spotlight, July-September 1949,-' and down at the bottom
thereof it states :
Officers of the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy : Maud Russell,
executive director —
362 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
and it goes on to name some other individuals. I will ask you to look
at that exhibit and tell us if your name appears thereon.
Miss KussELL. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. You see the name Maud Kussell printed thereon ?
Miss Kussell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Have you read the exhibit I sent down to you,
madam ?
Miss Kussell. I have glanced over the first page.
Senator Welker. All right.
On that first page do you see the name Maud Kussell as executive
director printed thereon?
Miss Kussell. I claim my privileges.
Senator Welker. At this point, I want this to go into the record.
(The inside cover of the pamphlet with the list of officers of the
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, to which Senator
Welker referred, was marked "Exhibit No. 146" and is reproduced on
the following page, followed by the text of a two-page editorial in the
same issue:)
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 363
Exhibit 146
FAR EAST EPOTLIGET
itiLf' SEPTEMBER, 1949
Btiim
Mrs, ?»«g Ta-ssi^i
- Edilorsa! ;,,,;/., ,
What Sexl in Assa? (ty Ih'nry A, IVaUufe
The Whitt? Paper on i2\ma ■ An fMmmU
A Chance to ReoriesK -Uia Folic\
• i>y Danald G. 7'eii>k.simi~v
Blockade ol' China 1:1 ks US. Konhwtm
hx Kuthlcen CroHin : . .■ . ,,,,,,....,..
Ciuju^se Demwrats EepiKljaie A<hes<>35 .
U.S. Opituon Cloves Si \\"i<fe Range
^Uiffiore Critlcpu: ,
Intrant Feauues |;s|,sa« Reaesions . : . .
C:o»miei2i hmii Western Euro|)e ,
y.S.S.R, mid New Denjuciacii;^
^^-'x EaNS Brief J. : : :,....
ffsl. DIfi J. S^F«lk:.
?€««$■ or THSeOMMingS FOS: A BEMOCRATIC FAR
SX&CUTfYS COMMSTTES: HB<gh Sfys-w, AfafAS5»rr, Chapman, S«y, jste S«ff,
jr- MorfTs 08-.-<s, Hu?!h 0«iA>xv.: Ja-nsss OjrfcJft, Hsd^tUk V. Pi«Sd, TaSitha
S.*.rt«** Sea &a»ssfe!n, C»>«riQ«e H»fii«< C> £, J«haw««, tiia Jwdd, S»v,
j '$n«'»f-«f Kenrsara*, NifS ««b««on, N*l5!«!) fe«i, Arthur S-cAstjar, Ctts T«!59.
Jb«b««« T«f««f, .J»«J«y ¥«» ai«f, S«Mrt W«r!-*f!.
72723—56 6
364 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Exhibit No. 146-A
White Papee Confirms Our Charges
an editorial
X. . ,^.. rnmmittee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy and Far East
For 4 years the Committee ^^i ^ j^e TTnited States policy in China to the
Spotlight, have been brmging the facts o^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^.^ ^^^^
American I'^^^he and warmng of tje mevita ^^ reactionaries and the corn-
have drawn "P0^^f^^^^J|i5e by Storney General Tom Clark last May. Now,
mittee was li«t«,^/|."Vi?mon HtS the Stale Department's white paper has been
rS'trten tSe people Tnexpl^^^^^^^^ of its present failure, the facts that
forced to tell the £fOf ;^' /" f friendship with China, millions of Chinese lives,
'""/^hnrns'S'\mertc"r taxpay^^^^^^^ if enough Americans had been
aSled tHnfw th'enUn U^ give a few of the hundreds of examples.
. The State Department now admits :
r^feSt 1946- - * * American me- Page 181: "With respect to United
^•n.?^,? f nil Prl because while it was States military-aid programs, General
Feb?ua?v 194^ - States Government was continuing to
for the failure to restore peace and unity supply arms and ammunition to one of
frcinnallrin the very fact that while the two groups, namely, the National
you (General Marshall) were attempt- Government.
b.VSSt.on»^L\r.So^^^ ?S X^' "'Si'n'^ V...a. ,.e Unite.
'rEK'" Un.tea States, on t.e jants and ^-atts^totaUn. appro..
^ w ??iT-" * * * the United States Government
Jiinuary"l948: "Under the fine-sound- has sold the Chinese Governmentjarge
ing name of 'aid' to China, our assist
ance to the Chiang Kai-shek dictator-
ship since Japan's defeat has cost
over $4 billion of American taxpayers'
money".
quantities of military and civilian war
surplus property with a total procure-
ment cost of over $1 billion."
Page 354: "* * * No dollar value can
be put on three of the most vital forms
°Ap?il-23. 1949. (Statement): "There ?' l'V*°' J-^f/"^ "^^ThS
are also items whose dollar value can
not be estimated. Most important of
these are training of Kuomintang
troops, maintaining MAGIC (the United
States military advisory group in
China) which has been training
Chiang's troops * * *, (and) United
States marines munition dumps turned
over to the Nationalist Army."
We said
United States Forces, China Theater
* * *, by the marines in North China
* * *, by the advisory groups."
They now admit :
Page 236: "Even high-ranking mili-
tary officers have said * * * that
whereas there seemed to be some point
in endless fighting when the enemy was
Japan, there is not much stomach for
fighting when it is against Chinese.
April 1947: "The main factor in Kuo- This lack of morale appears to be re
mintang defeats is the deterioration of
morale. * * * Kuomintang's troops, in-
creasingly composed of unw^illing re-
cruits, have less and less desire to fight."
We said :
July 1947: "The consequences of the
civil bloodshed Chiang started are ob- .
vious. Eventually the Chinese people Chiang's, but theirs,
will get rid of his regime and win a They now admit :
truly representative, democratic govern- Page XVI : "* * * The ominous re-
ment, free from the dictatorship of the suit of the civil war m China was be-
fleeted among the troops * * *."
They now admit :
Page 573: "Chiang's feudal China
cannot long coexist alongside a modern
dynamic popular government in North
China. The Communists are in China
to stay. And China's destiny is not
'four families'.
We said :
December 1948: "* * * Xo new in-
tervention can change what * * *
United States arms and endless mili-
tary meddling have already failed to
alter."
vond the control of the Government of
the United States. Nothing that this
country did or could have done * * *
could have changed that result * * *."
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 365
About many other facts wliicli have been and are being reported in Spot-
light, the State Department still prefers to maintain silence. If you think that
making them known is more patriotic than keeping them hidden, if you do
not want the American people to be kept in ignorance for additional years
until some new policy failure prompts another White Paper, you should read
every issue of Far East Spotlight, support the Committee for a Democrati-r
Far Eastern Policy, and protest to the Justice Department against the black-
listing of the committee for premature truth.
Mr. Morris. ]Mr. ]Mandel, will you identify that document?
Mr. Maxdel. This is the cover page of Far East Spotlight, dated
July-September 19d9, volume V, No. 7.
Mr. Morris. INIr. Mandel, that volume indicates, does it not, that
the Far East Spotlight is a publication of the Committee for a Demo-
cratic Far Eastern Policy, and the executive director and principal
officer of that organization is Maud Russell, the witness before us
today ?
Mr. ISIandel. Yes, sir.
INIr. Morris. JNIiss Russell, I am sure you are acquainted with these
publications, so I will show you this. This is the Far East Reporter,
entitled "Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the People's Repub-
lic of China, With Editorial Introduction." Is that your publica-
tion?
Miss Russell. It is.
jNIr. Morris. May that go into the record, Mr. Chairman ?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The pamphlet referred to was marked as "Exhibit No. 147." The
introduction appears below :)
Exhibit No. 147
Inteoduction
Far East Reporter has reprinted the Constitution of the People's Republic
of China adopted on September 20, 1954, by the First National People's Congress
of the People's Republic of China, as a document of great importance to the
American people, particularly at the present time. This is all the more necessary
as only a few meager press items on inside pages marked this turning point in
the life of nearly one-fourth of humanity. While Secretary of State Dulles and
the plenipotentiary of Chiang Kai-shek's papier mache regime solemnly nego-
tiated a mutual defense treaty, the People's Republic of China, the actual Gov-
ernment of China, firmly established its constitutional claim to world recog-
nition.
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is a genuinely democratic
document. It is the more remarkable in that it comes only a brief 5 years after
the Chinese people achieved national independence and their first experience,
as a nation of domestic political democracy made possible by the end of
feudal, landlord domination. Recalling the long years of tutelage advocated by
Chiang Kai-shek before the Chinese people could be deemed ready for democ-
racy the new constitution is further evidence that the surest teacher of democ-
racy is the experience itself.
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the product of the demo-
cratic experience of the Chinese people in the 5 years since liberation. From the
first days of the People's Republic, wherever conditions made it possible, all
people's representatives conferences were functioning on a local level and elected
interim people's governments. It was through such democratic processes and ex-
periences of the great majority of the Chinese people that advances in political
consciousness and practice were gained. Participation in land reform, recon-
struction of war-devastated industry, flood control, and other major national
efforts coupled with the achievement of equality for women freed China's pop-
ulation for constructive participation in the great task of creating a modern
industrial nation. These are the material conditions on which the constitution
366 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
rests and the guaranty that the rights and privileges pronounced will be forth-
coming in life. Its adoption after intensive nationwide discussion insures its
popular support.
Codes of laws in former times drew much of their authority from the divine
source to which they were attributed or gained respect as the work of some
outstanding lawgiver. Such were the Ten Commandments and the codes of
Hammurabi and Justinian. In contrast to these, the new Chinese Constitution
bears in every part the imprint of its earthy origin.
The United States, the French, the Indian, and many other constitutions,
while containing a procedure for amendments, are on their face perpetual.
The Chinese Constitution is distinguished from these as it explicitly contemplates
its termination in the not too distant future. It is without cavil a constitution
for an envisaged period of transition from a capitalist to a socialist society.
The preamble states as the perspective "that China can in a peaceful way elimin-
ate exploitation and poverty and build a prosperous and happy socialist society."
The classes in Chinese society today — the workers, farmers, petty bourgeoisie^
national bourgeoisie, and their place in this projected period of change are
precisely delimited (arts. 1-20).
Liu Shao-chi, chairman of the constitutional drafting committee, declared in
his report to the National People's Congress : The constitution sets "down in
legal form, the central tasks of our country in the transition period." The
constitution is a framework within "which the people of the entire country unite
to build a socialist society * * *. We shall give the capitalists the necessary
length of time so that they may accept the transformation step by step, under the
leadership of the state and the working class."
The basic structure of the state is clearly defined in article I : "The People's
Republic of China is a people's democratic state led by the working class and
based on the alliance of workers and peasants." Article II declares that "all
power * * * belongs to the people." The government's first concern is plainly
those who were the have-nots under Chiang Kai-shek's corrupt landlord regime,
workers and farmers, who comprise about 90 percent of the population. Work
is now "a matter of honor for every citizen" (art. 16). The leading role ac-
corded the workers is reflected in the electoral law which governs the election of
deputies to the National People's Congress. The law apportions 1 deputy to
every 800,000 persons in rural areas and 1 for every 100,000 persons in cities.
Of great significance is the guaranty of equality for China's formerly sub-
jugated national minorities — 60 different minority groups comprising over 40
million people. Though only 7 percent of the total population, the national
minorities have a minimum of 150 deputies, that is to say, about 13 percent of the
deputies of the National People's Congress.
The fundamental rights and duties of citizens are set forth in articles 85 to
103. These enumerate civil, economic, and other rights. "All citizens are equal
before the law" (art. 85). "All citizens who have reached the age of 18 have
the right to elect and be elected" (art. 86). "Citizens * * * have freedom of
speecli, the press, assembly, association, procession and demonstration." The
state provides the necessary material facilities to guarantee to citizens the en-
joyment of these freedoms (art. 87). Reminiscent of President Roosevelt's
proposals for an Economic Bill of Rights (Message on the state of the Union,
Jan. 11, 1944) are such rights as "the right to work * * *. The state guaranties
this right by planned development of the national economy, by increasing employ-
ment step by step, improving working conditions and raising real wages" (art.
91). Coupled with this is "the right to rest" (art. 92) ; "the right to material
assistance in old age, in illness and disability" (art. 93), and "the right to educa-
tion" (art. 94). Tlie means "to guarantee" each of these rights is spelled out.
Especially noteworthy is the declaration that women are "to enjoy equal rights
with men in all spheres of political, economic, cultural, social, and domestic life"
(art. 96).
Two significant and unique rights guaranteed in China's Constitution are : (1)
Tiie right to make charges "against any government worker for transgression of
law or negligence of duty" and "the right to compensation" for any resultant
loss ; and, (2) the right of asylum for foreigners "persecuted for supporting a just
cause, for taking part in the peace movement or for scientific activities" (art.
97).
Article 14 prohibits any person "using his private property to undermine public
interests." Article 17 requires that "all organs of state must rely on the masses
of the people, constantly maintain contact with them, heed their opinions and
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 367
accept their supervision." A remedy if deputies fail to lieed this mandate is also
f^TlJ.^" ^ ^"^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^"^ replace their elected deputies at any time"
(ai t. Oa) .
Chairman Mao Tse-tung, in connection with attaining the long-range objectives
embodied in the constitution, called upon the Chinese people to "be prepared in
the course of sevei-al 5-year plans ^ * * * to build our country, at present
economically and culturally backward, into agreat industrialized countiy with
a high standard ot living and culture." ^ By these plans the Chinese people,
lelymg mainly on their own toil and resources, seek to make a better life for
themselves. Ihis vast project involving 600 million people is clearly a peace
plan— It requires peace for its realization, and it requires coexistence among the
nations, ihe constitution states that China's policy is to "develop relations with
all countries, based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and mutual
respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity" and to "strive for the noble
cause of world peace" (preamble). Peace is a "must" for China as for all
mankind.
Inciters of war with China, powerful and vociferous though a minoritv have
turned their back on our traditions of 1776. The America that seeks peace and
trade with our new Pacific neighbor is in the majority. This America, as it learns
the terms of the new constitution, will greet the dignity and progress won bv the
i^3.^^.^*^ P^'^P^^- '^^^^^ constitution is palpable evidence that the People's Republic
ot China is here to stay. To deny recognition is to gainsay reality and will surely
serve our interest ill.
This constitution is a tocsin like our own Declaration of Independence sum-
moning above all, China's workers and farmers, newly freed from feudal and
foreign control, to win the abundance which they have been so long denied
Patriotism as well as the highest type of enlightened self-interest is served bv
Americans standing foursquare for peace, trade, and friendship with the Chinese
people and their People's Republic.
uc?^^^' 5f°^^^^' I ^^^ow you a pamphlet, Far East Eeporter, entitled
State Capitalism in China." Is that your publication ?
Miss Russell. It is.
Mr. Morris. May that go into the record by reference, Mr. Chair-
an?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 148" and was
placed in the subcommittee file.)
Mr. Morris. I show you a Far East Reporter, entitled "China's
Foreign Trade Soars— Why Can't Americans Benefit?" Is that your
publication?
Miss Russell. It is.
Mr. ]MoRRis. May that go in the record, Mr. Chairman ?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The pamplilet referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 149 " The
text of the pamphlet follows :)
Exhibit No. 149
China's Fokeign Teade Soars— Why Can't Americans Benefit?
The United States Declaration of Independence contained a long list of ac-
cusations against the British King. One of the most important was "for cut-
ting off our trade with all parts of the world.
This was a major grievance leading to the Revolutionary War for inde-
pendence. Freedom of trade and freedom of the seas have been traditional
American slogans, though often misused.
Today trade with new China offers the American toolmakiug, machine and
automotive workers, American seamen and longshoremen, the American farmer
technician and businessman the possibility of peacetime jobs and profits that do
not bring in their wake enormous wartime taxes and war itself. We are cut
1 China's first 5-year plan beRin in 1952.
16, 1954.^^^ *"* ^^^ opening of the National People's Congress, New York Times, September
man^
368 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
^fF frr.ni fhi«! trade not bv a foreign government but by our Government in
Washington The vir?ual& complefe embargo on trade with new China has
notreduced China's foreign trade which in 1951 registered a sizable increase
mer that of 1928, the record year under the Chiang Kai-shek regime In 1951
China's international trade doubled in volume over the year 1950. In that year
China also achieved an export surplus for the first time since 18 <0.
PRODUCTION UP
These new developments in China's foreign trade date from 1949 when the
Chinese people ended feudaUsm and colonialism in their country. China has
alwavs been known for the abundance of her natural resources. The rapid
restoration and development of her economy in the past 3 years has made it
possible to utilize those natural resources much more effectively than m the
nast Moreover, the successful completion of agrarian reform has generated
a tremendous enthusiasm among the peasants resulting in greatly increased
nroduction Total agricultural production in 1951 has already surpassed the
hi-hest prewar level. The natural result of this rapid growth in production
ha's been a larger export potential for agricultural produce, animal products,
mineral products and industrial manufacturers. China is now producing soy-
beans tung oil, vegetable oils, pork, eggs, tea. silk and silk products, bristles,
coal, salt, and other commodities in large quantities which are more than enough
to meet domestic requirements and can be exported.
MORE INCOME — MORE BXTYERS
New China's growing capacity to export is wellmatched by her capacity to
import Under Chiang Kai-shek this capacity was limited by the constant
deterioration of her economy and the poverty of the masses of the population
This situation has completely changed. One of the distinguishing features of
new China and a notable expression of her healthy economy is the rapid growth
of the effective purchasing power of her workers and peasants. In the north-
east area (Manchuria), as an example, wages and salaries in 19.51 registered
an increase of 260 percent as compared with March 1948. Peasant income has
also increased as a result of greater increase of productivity since land reform.
The purchase of new tvpes of farm tools by peasants throughout the country
in 1951 increased 151.:-! percent as compared with 19-50. Growing purchasing
power means an expanding market. Under the new conditions created by the
economic measures of the People's Republic of China the proverbial saying
that "the China market is inexhaustible" is for the first time becoming a reality.
ON THE "basis OF EQUALITY"
The official policy of the government of the People's Republic of China in
re"-ard to foreign trade is verv clearly stated in article 57 of the Common Pro-
gram of the People's P-olitioal Consultative Conference : "to develop trading and
commercial relations with foreign governments and people on the basis of equal-
ity and mutual benefit." This insistence on a "basis of equality and mutual
benefit" is a reflection of the determination of new China never to return to
the type of foreign-trade relations which existed before 1949 when old China's
foreign trade was semicolonial in character. At that time exports, for example,
consisted mainly of agricultural products and industrial raw materials while its
imports consisted of luxuries and certain types of consumer goods sold in China,
not because China needed them, but because the sellers wanted to get rid of them
and reap excess profits. As a result, machinery needed for industrial use con-
stituted less than 10 percent of old China's total annual imports. The United
States World Economic Report for 1950-51 shows that in 1950, SO percent of the
total imports of new China consisted of machinery and scarce industrial raw
material while in the prewar period imports had consisted mainly of consumi>
tion goods.
TRADK AGREEMENTS
Based on strict adherence to its declared policy of commercial relations
witli all foreiirn countries on a basis of equality and mutual benefit, new China
has since 1950. annually concluded agreements with the Soviet Union, Czecho-
slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and the German Democratic Republic.
In the spring of 1952, representatives of the People's Republic of China, con-
vinced that irrespective of differences in social, economic, and political systems,
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACXrVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 369
different countries can live peacefully and develop normal trade relations of
benefit to all, attended the International Economic Conference at Moscow along
with representatives of 48 other nations. New China takes the position that
trade does not involve the question of recognition. During the period of the
Conference, the Chinese delegation concluded trade arrangements with 11
nations including Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, West Germany, the
Netherlands, Switzerland, Ceylon, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Finland with a
total import and export value of $224 million. Later in the year, in Peking,
some Japanese businessmen concluded a trade agreement amounting to some
$180 million with the China Committee for the Promotion of International Trade.
UNITED STATES EilBAEGO POLICY BOOMERANGS
It should be clear from this brief survey of new China's rapidly expanding
foreign trade that the United States policy of blockades, embargoes, and the
like, is a negative policy that cannot achieve its object: to obstruct new China's
industrial growth and development. What this policy does achieve is to reduce
the volume of United States foreign trade causing a drop in employment in all
phases of maritime activity including shipbuilding and repair, marine supply
and port activity. On December 28, 1952, a spokesman for the National Federa-
tion of American Shipping, Inc., revealed that 20,000 United States seamen and
officers were thrown out of work and 5.50 United States owned vessels taken out
of service during the year. It is a policy which cuts off American workers and
businessmen from a steadily rising market for machinery and equipment — a
market which does not vanish in times of depression or depend on war for its
existence. It is in the bread-and-butter interest of American labor and in the
war-or-peace interest of every American to demand an end to this policy. A
positive policy of normal trade and friendship with new China is a policy that
means millions of peacetime jobs and cooperation for peace instead of provoca-
tion for war.
Published by Maud Russell, Room 500, 111 West 42d Street, New York, N. Y.
Mr. Morris. I show you another Far East Eeporter, entitled
"Wanted : A Far East Geneva." Is that your publication ?
Miss Russell. Yes.
Mr. Morris. INIay that go in the record, Mr. Chairman ?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The pamphlet referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 150." The
text of the pamphlet follows :)
E.rHiBiT No. 150
Wanted : A Far East Geneva
(By Susan Warren^)
This article, reprinted from the New World Review, points up
the importance of a Far East "Geneva" Conference on Korea, Indo-
china. Taiwan, and other unresolved Asian issues. The present
negotiations between the United States and Chinese ambassadors
can, despite the diehard opposition of the China lobby, be a big step
toward such a conference. The relaxation of the United States
embargo on China trade is already hinted at. Expression of public
opinion on this and the proposal of Senator George for a meeting
between Secretary of State Dulles and Foreign Minister Chou En-lai
are very much in order.
The Bandung Conference in which China played a leading part
was either ignored or minimized in the American press. Recent
events in Algeria, Cyprus, and Indonesia have demonstrated the
Asian-African Conference's profound and worldwide impact. Sub-
ject peoples can no longer be cheated by guile or cowed by force
from moving toward freedom here and now and not in some rosy but
distant future.
1 Susan Warren has lonjj been a student and writer on far eastern affairs. Slie was
formerly editor of the publication Far East Spotlight.
370 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Nor is the vote of the United States delegate to the United Nations
against even discussing Algeria, Cyprus, and the return of west
Iran to Indonesia lilcely to strengthen the claim of United States
leadership of the free world. The hoary but threadbare alibi that all
would be well in the world if only the Kremlin would cease its
conspiracies finds fewer and fewer takers.
The United States was in its time a "conspiracy" against the
despotic monarchs of Europe. The spirit of 1776 reaches out to
those who seek freedom in 1955 with friendship and support.
Most significant in President Eisenhower's report to the Nation on Geneva
was the statement, "But I do know the people of the world want peace. Moreover,
evei-y other individual who was at Geneva likewise felt this longing of mankind.
So there is great pressure to advance constructively * * *" With all regard
for the ebullient personalities who took part, Geneva's secret of success was
that unseen guest who spoke with the most persuasive voice of all — "the pressure
of the people of the world for peace." Pressure, which some have tended to think
a little vulgar, like many other things becomes eminently respectable when there
is enough of it. Today "pressure for peace" has become highly respectable,
because there is so much it has become irresistible.
Yet there are still those who do not want peace. Senator Knowland, for
example, has already begun to gnaw away at the new-found atmosphere of
conciliation. After a grudging nod to the Geneva talks, the real Knowland soon
broke through : "Neither we nor the free world must lull ourselves into a 'Little
Ked Riding Hood' belief that because the wolf has put on grandmother's cap and
nightgown, his teeth are any the less sharp * * *" And for Chiang Kai-shek,
Syngman Khee and Ngo Dinh Diem, Premier of South Vietnam, increased tension
and war are conditions of survival. Rejecting the implications of Geneva, they
seek desperately to return to positions of strength.
Testimony to the urgency of a Far East "Geneva" comes from the most varied
sources. The Wall Street Journal (August 1) notes long-mounting evidence
"that the real explosion point of the world lies not in Western Europe but in the
Far East." Senator Walter F. George, Democratic chairman of the Senate For-
eign Relations Committee, has called for "face to face" negotiations between Sec-
retary Dulles and Chinese Foreign Minister Chou En-lai. In the British House
of Commons, 20 Labor members urged another conference on Geneva lines, in-
cluding People's China and India, to discuss "urgent Asian" issues. Prime Min-
ister Nehru of India declared (July 19) that the "Far Eastern situation is one of
the two major problems of the world * * * it is more explosive than the German
problem * * * it cannot be ignored." And Prime Minister Nu of Burma, whose
gentle wisdom so impressed Americans on his recent visit, told the press in Tokyo
that "A world conference of all countries interested in Asia would be a very good
thing," suggesting "tension in the Taiwan area and Indochina" as the top items.
Prime Minister Bulganin, reporting to the Supreme Soviet, described Geneva as a
"major historical event" signifying a turn in the relations between the U. S. S. R.
and the West. He stressed that the Far East is one of the areas of tension which
should be examined in the new spirit of Geneva. Finally, Premier Chou En-lai,
at the National People's Congress in Peking, hailed the Geneva Conference as
one of "positive achievements." He warned, however, that failure to discuss at
Geneva the lessening of tension in Asia and the Far East did not mean it had
become less urgent : "On the contrary, the situation in the Far East is explo-
sive. * * * Many Asian countries have proposed the holding of a Par Eastern
Conference * * * to settle the question of easing tension in the Far East. We
support this proposal." The recurring word is "explosive."
The administration's announcement of a United States-Chinese meeting of Am-
bassadors opened the door to the warm winds of Geneva on the Far East. By
the dramatic release on July 31 of 11 United States airmen with the hope that
"this measure will have favorable effects on our present talks," the Chinese were,
in fact, making a bid to clear the decks for a discussion of crucial issues. Of
these, Formosa remains flammable. At Bandung, and subsequently, the People's
Republic of China has indicated willingness to discuss with the United States the
question of easing tension in that area.
The liberation of Formosa itself they regard as an internal affair. However,
they have made clear that "conditions permitting," they are ready "to seek the
liberation of Taiwan (Formosa) by peaceful means" and to enter into negotia-
tions with the "responsible local authorities of Taiwan" to this end. Thus it
would appear that the Chinese answer to Secretary Dulles' hope that the Chinese
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 371
will "renoimce the use of force" is to remind liim that without United States
intervention nothing stands in the way of a peaceful solution of the Formosa
problem.
The very act of an American Ambassador meeting with a Chinese Ambassador
cannot but help create more favorable conditions for negotiating a Far Eastern
settlement. At the present writing the meeting at Geneva has not moved beyond
the first point — "the return of civilians of both sides to their respective countries."
The atmosphere, however, remains cordial and there is every reason to hope that
Chinese Ambassador Wang's expressed conviction that "the forthcoming talks
may pave the way for further negotiations between China and the United States"
can be realized.
Indochina is another principal tinderbox in the Far East. The Geneva agree-
ment of 1954 temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, but set general
nationwide elections for July 1956 so the country could be unified. The elections,
like the truce, were to be supervised by an International Commission composed
of India, Canada, and Poland. Preparatory consultations between competent
authorities of North and South Vietnam were set for July 20, 1955.
An "intelligent reader's guide" to understanding the dangerous situation in
Vietnam today should include a series of New York Times and other United States
press editorials and comment which opened a well-timed barrage weeks in ad-
vance of the date for preliminary election consultations. "It is no secret," said
a Times editorial of June 29, "that the United States did not like the Geneva
agreements * * * the United States was not a signatory nor was the free Govern-
ment of South Vietnam." On July 7, it urged support of South Vietnam's demand
for "more adequate supervision by the U. N. or an enlarged international com-
mission."
Through the early summer and midsummer of 1955, this theme with infinite
variations filled the United States press. Senator Mike Mansfield, the United
States Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Vietnam expert, offered his
opinion: "I don't think there should be elections in Indochina," also on the
basis that neither South Vietnam nor the United States were signatories to
the agreement. Admitting the "possibility" that breaking the Geneva agreement
might reopen civil war in Vietnam, the Senator added that the United States
should give "every possible support" by ground troops in that event.
Thus nobody was surprised when South Vietnam's Premier on August 10,
rejected outright North Vietnam's offer to discuss general elections to reunite
the country, on the basis that South Vietnam had not signed the Geneva agree-
ment, that he must first have assurance that the elections in North Vietnam
would be "truly free." In "truly free" South Vietnam, where Reuters (July 3)
repoi'ted the arrest of "more than 100 men and women for demonstrating in
favor of elections to unite Vietnam," the reason for this official lack of en-
tusiasm is not hard to find. The New York Times (July 8) remarked that in
South Vietnam "Peasants make up 80 to 90 percent of the population and it often
appears that the Diem Government has few real roots among them."
The plan here is to revive the United States proposal, rejected at the 1954
conference, that the elections should be handled by the United Nations.
Can anyone believe that the "demonstrations" in Saigon in which the demon-
strators were brought into the city (Alliance France Presse) "by lumdreds of
trucks, most of them belonging to the South Vietnam army" to storm and pillage
the hotels housing the personnel of the International Commission and the
almost simultaneous "spontaneous demonstrations" against the Polish and
Czech members of the Neutral Nations Supevisory Commission in South Korea,
are anything but a desperate effort to reverse the Korean truce and the 1954
Geneva agreements? It was these two monumental achievements that made
Geneva 1955 possible. To wreck them would be to undo Geneva itself. That
this is the object was made plain enough by Syngman Rhee. Addi-essing a
"rally" in Seoul, he attacked United States policy as one which now advanced
"a new peace of mutual forbearance," and urged the free world "to abandon
the drift toward this and other * * * policies." N. Y. Times, August 15.
This article opened on a note which might be called "in praise of pressure."
Viewing the New Look abroad in the world, the growing acceptance of the pos-
sibility of "living together in peace," renunciation of force, negotiating differ-
ences, it can truly be said, "See what the people have wrought." But the victory
is not automatically secured forever. It must be defended against those who
want to return to the pre-Geneva way. Can there be any doubt that the Ameri-
can people will move on to demand concrete actions along the path which their
own efforts and that of the peoples of the world has opened? Today the Far
372 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
East urgently requires such actions. A Far East "Geneva" is on tlie order of
the day.
Mr. Morris. I show you a pamphlet entitled, "China Trade Facts,"
published by the Far East Keporter, Maud Russell, publisher. Is
that your publication?
Miss Russell. It is.
Mr. JMoRRis. May that go in the record by reference, Mr.
Chairman ?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The pamphlet referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 151" and
was placed in the subcommittee files.)
Mr. Morris. I show you a Far East Reporter entitled "Formosa
(Taiwan)," by Susan Warren. Is that your publication?
Miss Russell. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Who is Susan Warren ?
Miss Russell. A writer.
Mr. Morris. Wliere is she now ?
Miss Russell. I don't Imow.
Mr. Morris. Where was she when she sent this article?
Miss Russell. I don't know. I copied it from another magazine.
It is a reprint.
Mr. Morris. May that go into the record by reference, Mr.
Chairman ?
Chairman Welker. I think in fairness to the witness, she should
be entitled to tell what magazine she copied it from.
Miss Russell. It is on there.
Senator Welker. All right. It should go in.
(The pamphlet referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 152" and
placed in the subcommittee files.)
Mr. Morris (reading) :
Susan Warren has long been a student and writer on far eastern affairs.
She was formerly the editor of the Far East Spotlight.
Senator Welker. Was that the publication from which you copied
this article on Formosa?
Do you have a question, Mr. Rein ?
Mr. Rein. I thmk maybe if she saw the publication she might be
able to answer the question a little better.
Senator Welker. Very well.
Miss Russell. It tells on the back from what magazine it was
copied or reprinted.
Senator Welker. Is it correct that the article in this pamplilet
is a reprint from the March 1955 issue of the New World Review,
and distributed by Far East Reporter, 103 West 93d Street, New
York, 25, N. Y.?
Miss Russell. That is what it says ; that is true.
Mr. Morris. Was that ]:>ublication formerly Soviet Russia Today?
Miss Russell. I think it was.
Mr. Monms. Mr, Chairman, I have here the Far East Reporter,
Descriptive Maps of China.
Is that your publication. Miss Russell?
Miss Russell. That is.
Mr. INIoRRis. ]May that go into the record by reference, Mr.
Chairman?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 373
(The document referred to was marked "Exliibit No. 153'' and
may be found in the subcommittee files. )
Mr. Morris. I have here a Far East Reporter, entitled "The Truth
About Indochina." Is that your publication ?
Miss Russell. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may that go into the record ?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit Xo. 154" and may
be found in the subcommittee files.)
Mr. Morris. I have here a Far East Reporter, entitled "China:
Visitors Welcome ! " Is that your publication ?
Miss Russell. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may that go in the record ?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 155" and may
be found in the subcommittee files.)
Mr. Morris. I have here a Far East Reporter, entitled "Bandung,
Asian-African Conference." Is that your publication, Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell. That is.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may that go into the record ?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 156." The
text of the introduction to the pamphlet follows:)
Exhibit No. 156
Introduction
On April 18, 1955, amid cheering crowds in the beautiful, flag-bedecked moun-
tain resort town of Bandung, Indonesia, 600 delegates of 29 countries entered
Merdeka (Freedom) Hall to open the long-heralded Asian- African Conference.
At this conference, the first of its kind in history, leaders of 1,450 million people
of 2 gi*eat continents who make up more than half of the world's total population
met to advance the solution of their common problems. The delegates came from
diverse cultures and social systems. Here were represented at least 8 different
religions and 40 different languages. Here were, linked to the West by defense
pacts, nations of SEATO (South-East Asia Treaty Organization) and METO
(Middle East Treaty Organization) and Japan; neutralists India, Burma, Indo-
nesia, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan ; and on the road to socialism, China and North
Vietnam. What were the forces which brought them together, and what
common goals did they seek in Bandung?
The end of World War II saw great upheavals in Asia. Many nations won at
least nominal freedom from colonial rule. At first they saw tlie United States
as an ally in their independence movements, but American aid disappointed
them, and as Asian economies failed to expand, as foreign trade deficits grew"
and cost of living rose, as more and more guns were featured and no steel mills,
they began to realize that this aid was merely a new form of imperialist domina-
tion. On the other hand, the achievement of China in economic advance, and
the contribution of China and the Colombo Powers to the Geneva talks were new
developments in Asia which gave heart to the Asian peoples. The five principles
of peaceful coexistence (mutual respect for each other's sovereignty and terri-
torial integrity ; nonaggression ; noninterference in each other's internal affairs :
equality and mutual benefit; and peaceful coexistence) first set down by Nehru
of India and Chou En-lai of China, were governing the relations of a growing
number of states. Nehru proclaimed that the acceptance of these principles
"enlarged the area of peace" and indicated "a certain historical change in the
relationships of forces in Asia * * * and it will not be possible in the future to
ignore what the countries of Asia think about themselves or their neighbors.
They were ready to establish themselves independently in the world political
arena, and they realized that their fate was tied to the fate of Africa, and to
world peace.
374 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
lu December lt).j4 the Prime Ministers of India, Paliistan, Ceylon, Burma, and
Indonesia (The Colombo Powers — so named because of the influential Colombo
Conference meeting in April 1954 at the time of the Geneva tallis, and no rela-
tion to the Colombo plan, a British-led development program) met in Bogor,
Indonesia, to sponsor an Asian-African Conference, to be held April 18-24, 1955,
and issued invitations to 25 nations to participate on a ministerial level. The
purposes of the conference, as set forth in the invitation were :
(a) To promote good wiU and cooperation among the nations of Asia and
Africa ; to explore and advance their mutual as well as common interests
and to establish and further friendliness and neighborly relations.
(&) To consider social, economic, and cultural problems and relations
of countries represented.
(c) To consider problems of special interest to Asian and African peoples,
for example, problems affecting national sovereignty and of racialism and
colonialism.
(d) To view the position of Asia and Africa and their peoples in the
world today and the contribution they can make to the promotion of world
peace and cooperation.
It was repeatedly stressed that it was not the aim of the conference to set
up a regional anti-Western bloc, or to provide a battleground for ideologies.
The countries invited included most of the independent or semiindependent
nations of Asia and Africa, for the most part young states which have achieved
independence in the last 10 years, and which are united in opposition to colonial-
ism and their desire for peaceful development of economic relations. All but
one (Central African Federation) accepted. Not invited were Formosa ("we
do not recognize it as a state"), Union of South Africa (excluded because of its
racial policy), Israel (because of Arab pressure, though the conference was not
basically anti-Israel). Most significant was the the absence of the imperialist
powers which have dominated the colonial world and all previous international
or area parleys.
The conference was immediately heralded as a turning point in Asian and
world affairs :
Ali Sastroamidjojo, Prime Minister of Indonesia : "We hope that the
Asian-African Conference will open a new chapter in the history of man's
endeavor to achieve peace in the world." ( NYT April 20. )
Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India : "The Asian-African Con-
ference is a final symliol of the emergence of Asia after 200 years of domi-
nation by western countries. It seems to be a high privilege of countries
outside to carry the burden of Asia on their shoulders. Discussions are
made affecting Asia in which Asia has little to say. But it is obvious that
things have changed." (Indian Information Service, March 31.) "We are
marching in step witli history and so success must come to us. It means
the self justification of Asia in her own right. It means a healthy climate
of peace and cooperation in Asia and in the world." (NYT April 16.)
Tatsunosuke Takasaki, Economic Minister of Japan : "I hope this confer-
ence will light the beacon of an Asian and African renaissance and that we
will once again raise high the torchlight of our indigenous civilization."
(NYT April 20.)
Indonesian Harian Kakjat editorial (December 31) : "The conference will
write a new page in Asian history."
Peking People's Daily editorial (January 5) : "Our voices have been ig-
nored for a long time and our aspirations and demands mocked and sup-
pressed by others. But a change has now taken place. * * * The fate of
these vast areas, these countries and peoples, can no longer be controlled
by others. Asia has undergone a radical change and dawn is rising over
the so-called dark continent of Africa."
The Negro people recognized in the struggle of the colonial peoples against
oppression the counterpart of fhoir own struggle for freedom and full equality,
and the Negro press reflected this appraisal of the importance of the conference.
"Without question the conference is the most important international conclave
to be held in the history of mankind." (Pittsburgh Courier, April 16, 1955.)
"A new-found solidarity of the colored peoples of the world." (Afro-American,
April .30.) "One cannot begin to calculate the broad implications of such a
meeting." (Ethel Payne in the Chicago Defender, April 16.) "It cannot be
denied. It is a call for freedom and human dignity." (Horace Cayton in Pitts.
Cour., April 30.) Representative Adam Clayton Powell described the conference
as potentially the "most important event of this century. * * * it will be a
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 375
different world from Monday on. It won't be one dominated by western powers
but instead it will be one in which eastern powers also must be reckoned with."
The people of Asia showed their support of the conference in tremendous mass
demonstrations, 50,000 in Madras, 100,000 in Djakarta, thousands in many other
cities, carrying posters with slogans such as "Eliminate colonialism and develop
peaceful cooperation." Thousands of young people marched five abreast in a
torchlight procession in Bandung during the conference. In fact, all of Indonesia
took on an air of festival. The central trade-union organization appealed to all
working people to give unreserved support to make the conference a success.
Greetings came to the conference from individuals, organizations, and heads
of governments in all parts of the world. There was no greeting from Washing-
ton. ( "We do not believe that the relationship of this Government to the Bandung
Conference would warrant such a message.") It cannot be denied that Washing-
ton feared and tried successively to condemn, ignore, and sabotage the confer-
ence. John Foster Dulles hurried to Bangkok in February and called a meeting
of SEATO nations. He failed either to dragoon any other nations into SEATO
or to influence them away from a neutralist position. Not wanting to risk
condemnation by openly opposing or boycotting the Asian-African Conference,
United States policy turned to sabotage from within. The Philippines and Thai-
land, who had originally indicated they would not attend, sent delegations bearing
"greetings" from Bangkok.
The Asian press and many government spokesmen denounced the Bangkok
conference, with its talk of "mobile striking power" and "cooperative security
measures for detection and control," as the very opposite of what the Asian-
African Conference represented. The totally different nature of the two gather-
ings was sharply pointed up by the Times of India and the Indonesian Harian
Rakjat, February 23: "Bangkok and the Asian-African Conference represent
two contrasting principles. The former is directed at war, the latter toward
peace ; the former is based on antagonism, the latter on friendship." Peace, not
military alliance, is the way to human welfare.
Criticism in the Asian press and among the delegates generally was equally
sharp and widespread for Voice of America speeches on the conference floor
which were felt to be "out of tune" with the spirit of the conference; for the
effort to isolate China by talk of "buildup" in the Formosa area just before the
conference; for the carefully timed Eisenhower annoimcement of $2 billions in
aid to Asia made while the conference was in session ; for the sabotage to a
plane bringing death to Chinese delegates and Indian air personnel en route to
Indonesia ; and for the open lobbying of the United States xiress, humorously re-
ferred to as the "largest delegation to Bandung" — 70 strong. There was that
correspondent of mysterious status, Representative Adam Clayton Powell, who
arrived in an Army plane, urged those delegates who spoke with the Voice of
America to make even stronger divisive statements, and called a press conference
to give glowing accounts of the high status of the Negro people in the United
States. He was generally regarded in Bandung as a "de facto envoy of the
State Department." Since his return to the United States, Congressman Powell
has made many statements on Bandung — some of them good and constructive
and some in the same vein employed at Bandung — divisive and brash. One cannot
disagree with his statement that "29 Asian-African nations meeting in Bandung
last week placed the United States squarely on the spot. * * * The Asian-
African Conference was neither antiAvhite nor anti-American, but it most defi-
nitely had overtones of being against great chunks of American foreign policy.
Because time is running out * * * we must place ourselves solidly on the side of
the people fighting colonialism, radicalism, and intolerance in any form. Second.
we must realize this: There is now a new group of powers in the world * * *
and we must consult with them in every move we make in Asia and Africa from
now on." On the other hand, the reaction to Representative Powell's "sweetness
and light" account of the racial situation in the United States was best expressed
by the Negro publication, Afro-American (April 30) : "If the State Department
had any reservations about Mr. Powell before he took off for the Asian-African
Conference, he quickly dispelled them upon his arrival. * * * News accounts
say that Mr. Powell confounded his listeners with his blissful account of how
lovely and serene were relations between white and colored Americans these days.
To tell the truth, Mr. Powell confounded us, too."
Despite all attempts at pressure and intimidation the delegates would not allow
themselves to be diverted. They hailed Chou En-lai's conciliatory speeches and
his statement on reducing tension, and accepted as the dominant spirit of the
376 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
conference the "seeking of common ground while keeping differences." Indonesian
Antara News Agency reported, April 26 :
"It is generally conceded that the attitude of the Chinese Premier contributed
much to the success of the conference. The Chinese delegate time and time
again proved to be prepared to meet his counterpart halfway, or even much
farther. Chou's statement expressing readiness to enter into negotiations with
the United States is in line with the whole conference which aimed at lessening
the danger of war."
Amid prolonged cheering and applause the delegates adopted at the final
session a communique remarkable for its unanimity and forcefulness in the
broad range of subjects it covers. This statement expresses the will of three-
fifths of the world's population to take their destiny into their own hands and
oppose all forms of oppression ; to develop economic and cultural cooperation be-
tween the Asian and African peoples ; and to "live together in peace."
The influence of the conference is growing daily. Seeds were planted at
Bandung that will bear fruit for years to come. Many friendly contacts were
made outside of the conference hall that are already leading to settlement of
issues, trade agreements, and cultural exchange.
As a record of this historic assembly, and as a contribution to the method of
negotiation in seeking widest areas of agreement. Far East Reporter is happy
to make available these selected documents of the Asian-African Conference.
Mr. IVIoRRis. Miss Russell, would it be fair to say that you have
engaged in lobbying activity on behalf of your beliefs in connection
with the Far East.
Miss Russell. No.
Mr. Morris. Have you urged Government officials, both in Congress
and the executive branch of the Government, to take a particular
position on a certain policy ?
Miss Russell. No.
Mr. Morris. You never have ?
Miss Russell. The Far East Reporter has not done that,
Mr. Morris. Have you, personally ?
Miss Russell. No.
Mr. Morris. Has the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy ever done that ?
IVIiss Russell. I stand on my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. You what? You claim your privilege?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege.
Senator Welker. Thank you.
Mr. Morris. Has the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy engaged in a campaign to discredit the Chinese National Gov-
ernment and weaken it by demanding an impossible coalition with
the Communists ?
Miss Russell. I stand on my privileges under the fifth amendment.
]\Ir. Morris. Has the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy urged representatives in Washington to stoj) all aid to the
Chinese Nationalist Government?
Miss Russell. I stand on my privileges under the fifth amendment.
IVIr. INIoRRis. Has the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy, during the time that you were an executive director and prin-
cipal officer, urged representatives in Washington, including Con-
gressmen and Senators, to secure the complete withdrawal of Amer-
ican Armed Forces from China, Japan, and Korea, and the abandon-
ment of all American bases in these areas?
Miss Russell. I stand on my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Has the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy, while j^ou were executive director and principal officer, asked
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 377
Senators and Congressman in Washington to bring about the with-
drawal of Gen. Albert Wedemeyer from the Chinese theater of war ?
Miss KussELL. I stand on my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Has the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy, during the time that you served as executive director or prin-
cipal officer, sought to bring about the resignation of Ambassador
Patrick Hurley from China?
Miss Russell. I stand on my ]:>rivileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, do you have anything in the record that
would indicate an affirmative to those last two questions?
Mr. JMandel. I have here the Committee for a Democratic Far
Eastern Policy information bulletin, volume 1, No. 3, dated November
1945. Under an article entitled "American Intervention in China:
Official statements versus facts" we find this paragraph :
There is only one way to avoid this — to pursue a democratic policy. American
troops in China should be withdrawn at once. The movement and arming of
Kuomiutang troops must stop. Generals Hurley and Wedemeyer must be
recalled and the activities investigated.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, did the Committee for a Democratic Far
Eastern Policy at the time when you were executive director and
principal officer demand the resignation of Gen. Douglas MacArthur?
Miss Russell. I stand on my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Did the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Pol-
icy, during the period you were its executive director, urge Congress-
men and Senators in Washington to attack the administration of Indo-
china by the French Government, Malaya by the British, and Indonesia
by the Dutch?
Miss Russell. I stand on my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, I would like to offer for the record
some papers which Mr. Mandel will describe, and by way of describing
them, will read some of them. May they go into the record at this
time?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The documents referred to were marked "Exhibits No. 157, 157-A,
and 157-B." The texts follow:)
378
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
Exhibit 157
'^
^
TO: The President, The Secretary of Stat
UE DEJAIO): GET OUT 0? CHIMJ
The United States has made available to Chlans Kai-she!
five 'billion dollars ($5,000,000,000) worth of American
arms, and military services since ¥-J Day. This has teen \is
to condiict civil vrar against the Chinese people. If this
policy continues, the sending of American combat troops to
China \7ill Inevitably follow.
in cfi|Elt^
^^
TO URGE:
1. No Loans, No Arms, Ho Troops to China.
2. 7i thdrat? U. S. military personnel, training
and advising Ordeing's forces.
3. AlXo'n the Chinese people to settle their
orm affairs, and act to restore once more
the traditional friendship betv;een them
and oxirselves.
Name Address
City & State
Contribution
Kame of Collector Address & City $
Betum to: COMCITEE fOH A DaiOCHATIC 7AB EAST5BH BOLICT, 111 V7. 42nd Street
Hen York 18, N.T.
uopT» 16-172
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE "UNITED STATES 379
Exhibit No. 157-A
Committee fob a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, 58 Park Avenue, New York,
N. Y.
Telephone: Lexington 2-2164, Lexington 2-1189 (Information Committee)
Executive director : Maud Russell
What Are We Saying and What Are We Doing?
CLAIM
"The United States has assumed a definite obligation in the disarmament and
evacuation of Japanese troops * * * United States Marines are in north China
for that purpose. United States support (for China) will not extend to any
United States military intervention to influence the course of any civil con-
flict * * *." — President Truman, statement on China Policy, December 15, 1946.
FACT (6 months LATER)
"The conference was held * * * between American Intelligence ofiicers and
Japs. Then a stubby Japanese colonel named Sasai * * * began to speak of
movements and attaclis made by Communist troops * * * Sasai spoke just as if
he were taking part in a field conference during a campaign and the Americans
were his fellow offlcers * * *. On the way back from this conference one of the
American intelligence officers remarked : 'Those Japs are going to be our allies
in the next war * * *. They talk our language.' " — John Hersey, in a report
to the New Yorker, May 5, 1946.
CLAIM
"The United States Government considers that the detailed steps necessary to
the achievement of political unity in China must be worked out by the Chinese
themselves and that intervention by any foreign government in these matters
would be inappropriate. The United States Government feels, however, that
China has a clear responsibility to the other United Nations to eliminate ai'med
conflict within its territory as constituting a threat to world stability and peace —
a responsibility which is shared by the National Government and all Chinese
political and military groups." — President Truman, statement on China Policy,
December 15, 1946.
FACT
"Chinese minority parties fought today to prolong the Manchurian truce, but
Gen. Tu Yu-ming ; Government army commander in Manchuria, said he expected
to resume his advance when the armistice with the Communists ended at noon
June 22." — AP dispatch from Nanking, New York Times, June 9, 1946.
"The United States Fourth Marine Regiment was reported to have prepared
defense positions on the outskirts of Tsingtao * * *. The heavy cruiser Los
Angeles and five destroyers are in the harbor. Twelve United States Corsair
fighters roared in from Peiping * * *." — New York Times, AP dispatch, June 14,
1946.
"As powerful United States — armed forces from Nationalist China pause mid-
way in their drive along the Mukden-Harbin Railway * * * widespread fighting
still continues. — New York Times, report by Benjamin Wells, June 15, 1946.
"American personnel of the Seventh Fleet at Tsingtao are training Chinese to
operate landing craft * * *." — New York Times, report by Henry R. Lieberman,
June 16, 1946.
WHAT YOTT CAN DO
Write to President Truman, Secretary of State Byrnes, your Senators and
Congressmen.
Demand the immediate recall of all United States troops from China. No
American boys must die fighting beside Japanese against Chinese in a civil war.
Protest against any loan to China till "peace and unity" are established. Not
a cent should be given to finance the shedding of Chinese blood.
Read this committee's monthly bulletin and send your questions about what is
going on in the Far East to us.
Contribute to help further the work of this committee.
We call you to action.
380 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
(The following appears on the reverse side of the above document :)
Do We Keep Troops in China for This?
The China Weekly Review — J. B. Powell, editor and publisher.
(In the I'nited States, address: 35 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y.)
John W. Powell ; Edward Rohrpough ; Walter H. Wiener, financial
editor ; F. K. Chao, business manager. Published at 160 Chung
Cheng Road (Eastern), Shanghai, China, April 20, 1946.
NORTH CHINA HUNTING
Last week an American sailor was shot in north China. A little earlier a
United States Marine met a similar death at the hands of unidentified persons.
There have been others who died in countryside ambushes during the months
since the Jap surrender, and the trend of events shows nothing to indicate
that there will not be new killings of American servicemen in the future. In
the early days after the surrender, such shootings were attributed to "Com-
munists," liut more recently the newspapers have refrained from guessing at the
political affiliations of the killers.
The United States is not at war with any faction in China, and though the
Communists have often accused American forces of aiding the Kuomintang
directly and indirectly in the civil war, both Red China and Kuomintang China
have expressed appreciation for the American part in the war against Japan
and both have welcomed cultural and commercial intercourse with America
in the future. Both have welcomed the mediation of China's internal diflSculties
by General Marshall.
Then why these killings? A little investigation reveals that most of them
occurred under similar conditions. Usually, 1 or 2 Americans went hunting
in an area somewhere close to the battle or blockade lines of the two factions
in China's spasmodic civil war. They were, of course, in uniform and they
were quite naturally armed. Such circumstances are enough to render the
status of "hunters" doubtful in the minds of combatants, but they hardly con-
stitute a full explanation.
A couple of weeks ago, riding in a .ieep with an enlisted man of the Marines,
we engaged in a conversation which may further clarify the killings. The
enlisted man had never seen action, he told us, and he seemed to feel he had
been cheated. Inspired by stories of Guadalcanal and Tarawa, he bad enlisted
in the branch of the United States Armed Forces which he thought would
offer the most opportunities for military glory. He had intended to enroll
in Harvard University, but Harvard would ahva.ys be there. He could enroll
in Harvard when he returned to America. Tlie young never doubt that they
will return.
But the war ended while he was still in the United States and he came to
China as a replacement for the men who had fouglit the war in the Pacific.
There was no prospect of action. There were only bars that charged exorbitant
prices and coolies who looked to him like a definitely inferior people and girls
who fawned and pouted and performed for cash. The young Marine thought
it was all pretty sordid and not glorious at all — nothing to compare with his
mental picture of blasting a chunky, tough Jap from behind a coral reef.
He brightened as he talked. Recently things had been picking up.
"Now we sometimes get to go out on shooting parties," he said. 'That makes
it a little better."
He explained about the shooting parties. "An ofljcer goes along and you carry
automatic weapons, usually a carbine and a .45. Of course, a lot of the time
you don't see anything, but sometimes you do. I haven't managed to ^o yet,
but I've been promised a chance for next week."
Having never heard of the existence of much game in the area, we asked,
"What do you shoot?"
"Why. Communists," said the young marine, looking a little surprised.
It took us a moment or two to absorb the implications of what he had said
and then we asked, "How do you know they're Communists?"
"I don't know," he answered. "I guess it's because the Communists are in
that territory. At least, that's what the Chinese say."
Then, feeling a little justification necessary, he added, "The guys say they
pot at us, too."
The jeep stopped and we got out and thanked the young marine for the lift.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTH^ITY EST THE XMITED STATES 381
Homecoming Again Delayed
[New York Herald Tribune, June 5, 1946]
Shanghai, June 4 (UP). — I'liited States Army forces will not deactivate the
China theater by the end of June, as originally planned, and may remain for
the rest of 1946, Lt. Gen. Alvin C. Gillem, Jr., commander of American forces
in the absence of Lt. Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer, disclosed today. Gillem said
Army strength will be reduced to 4,000 during the last half of 1946.
Late in April, "N^'edemeyer said he believed the American mission in China — ■
to disarm and repatriate Japanese and move government troops to north China —
would be completed in June, and that the theater would be deactivated by the
end of the month.
In addition to the 4,000 troops mentioned above there are some 50,000 marines
and many naval units stationed in China. No withdrawal date is set for these.
Exhibit No. 157-B
House Bill H. R. 6795 for Militakt Assistance to China
The Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy appeals to you to do
everything in your power to prevent or delay the passage of bill H. R. 6795
which provides for military advice and assistance to the Republic of China
to aid in modernizing its armed forces for the fulfillment of oliligations which
may devolve upon it under the Charter of the United Nations, and for other
purposes. Tliis bill has already been approved by the House Foreign AJfairs
Committee.
reasons foe opposition
1. The 'bill violates the stated policy of the United States as enunciated hy
President Trvman on December 15, 19/f5
President Truman said : "It is the firm belief of this Government that a strong,
united, and democratic China is of the utmost importance to the success of the
United National Organization and for world peace. * * *
"* * * the management of internal affairs is the responsibility of the peoples
of the sovereign nations.
"* * * United States support will not extend to United States military inter-
vention to influence the course of any Chinese internal strife. * * *
"The United States is cognizant that the present National Government of
China is a 'one party government.' * * *
"The United States Government considers that the detailed steps necessary
to the achievement of political unity in China must be worked out by the
Chinese themselves and that intervention by any foreign government in these
matters would be inappropriate.
"China has a clear responsibility to the other United Nations to eliminate
armed conflict within its territory as constituting a tlireat to world stability
and peace. * * *
"As China moves toward peace and unity ^ * * the United States would be
prepared to assist the National Government in every reasonable way to reha-
bilitate the country, improve the agrarian and industrial economy, and estab-
lish a military organization capable of discharging China's national and inter-
national responsibilities for the maintenance of peace and order."
Instead of moving toward peace and unity, China today is on the brink of a
savage, countrywide civil war.
2. The majority of the Chinese people are nnequivocally opposed to the bill
(a) General opposition. — An AP dispatch in the New York Times, June 26,
reported : "Demands for the withdrawal of United States forces from China
caused grave concern today at the headquarters of Gen. George C. ^Marshall.
* * * A spokesman for 54 anticivil w^ar groups in Shanghai demanded today
that American forces go home and that United States aid to China be halted
immediately. * * * Their spokesman, Dr. Tao Hsing-chih, told a press confer-
ence that 'I am inclined to think Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wants civil
war,' and that reactionary supporters of the Generalissimo desired it as their
one chance of retaining power."
382 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY UST THE UNITED STATES
This expresses the general feeling in China that the ruling Kuomintang
Party wants American aid for purposes of civil war.
(?>) Communist opposition.— -Although it is stated that the United S'tates
military training program will include training of Chinese Communist divisions,
Gen. Chu Teh, commander in chief of the Communist armies "raised objections
on the ground that the plan would make China too much dependent on American
industry. * * * He said the first step should be to develop industry and improve
agricultural conditions, letting the state of Chinese economy determine the
size and character of the national army." (New York Times, June 25, 1946.)
"The Communist Party chairman. Gen. Mao Tze-tung, * * * demanded that
the United States cease all military aid to the Chinese Government and
promptly evacuate American forces from China. * * * He asserted that the
withdrawal of American forces was long overdue, charging that their presence
had become a grave menace to the national security and freedom of the Chinese
people. 'Under such circumstances,' he added 'the Chinese Communist Party
cannot but firmly oppose the further selling and exchange of lend-lease goods
and the presenting of arms by the United States Government to the Kuomin-
tang dictatorial government and the sending of a United States military
advisory group to China.' " (ISi'ew York Times, June 25, 1946.)
These objections cannot be ignored because:
(i) They are raised by 1 of the 2 parties between which General Marshall
is seeking agreement;
(ii) The Communist Party controls 1,200,000 regular troops, or more than
one-third of the total in all Chinese armies ;
(iii) The Communists are the leading element in the administration of
sections of Chinese territory (including Manchuria) which contain 200 mil-
lion people, or more than 40 percent of the country's population,
(c) Democratic League ohjectioiis. — The Democratic League is a coalition of
all parties in China except the Communists and Kuomintang. It is especially
strong in educational and professional circles, and stands for conciliation as
opposed to civil war. Its spokesman. Dr. Lo Lung-chi, "a graduate of the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin and close to General Marshall during Government-Commu-
nist truce negotiations in Chungking, also asserted the United States was
'taking sides' and asked that all American troops be evacuated from China."
(New York Times, May 31, 1946.)
^. The hill is an infringement of the sovereignty of China
If Chinese armies are armed by America, in the absence of developed Chinese
industry, it will perpetuate China's dependence on American industry, since the
arms supplied will be useless without United States munitions. Under the bill
the President is made, in effect. Commander in Chief of the Chinese armies, for
he "is authorized upon application from the Republic of China, and whenever in
his discretion the public interest renders such a course advisable, to detail offi-
cers and enlisted men of the Army of the United States, and the United States
Navy and Marine Corps to assist the Republic of China" and "may, from time
to time, promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper
to carry out any of the provisions of this Act ; and he may exercise any power
or authority conferred upon him by this Act * * *"
5. The Mil would give the President unprecedented peacetime powers over the
country's Far Eastern policy for the next 10 years {the term, of the bill)
The power of the President would be unlimited as the bill specifies that it may
be exercised "notwithstanding the provisions of any other law."
6. The bill assumes for the United States the prerogatives of the United Nations
The bill states that military assistance is to be given to China in order that
China may fulfill "obligations which may devolve upon it under the Charter of
the United Nations." These obligations are not yet known, and by giving such
assistance now the United States is presupposing the lines along which decisions
of the United Nations will be made.
The Conunittee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy considers that the hasty
passage of such a bill during the prerecess rush would be a calamity for China
and possibly for world peace. Consideration should at least be deferred until
Congress reconvenes by which time the situation in China may be clearer.
Committee foe a Democratic Far Eastern Policy,
58 Park Avenue, New York, N. Y.
June 28, 1946.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 383
Mr. Morris. These papers indicate that there was considerable effort
on the part of the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy to
use pressure and to lobby on behalf of the individual purposes of the
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy about which we have
asked the witness today.
Senator Welker. Very well. Proceed.
Mr. ]Ma.ndel. I have in my hand a petition to the President, the
Secretary of State and Congress, which reads as follows :
We demand, get out of China. The United States has made available to
Chiang Kai-shek over $5 billion worth of American credit and articles and
military services since V-J Day. This has been used to conduct civil war
against the Chinese people. If this policy continues, the sending of American
combat troops to China will eventually follow.
We urge: (1) no loans, no arms, no troops to China; (2) withdraw all United
States military personnel training and advising Chiang's forces; (3) allow the
Chinese people to settle their own affairs and act to restore once more the
traditional friendship between them and ourselves.
This is marked "Return to the Committee for a Democratic Far
Eastern Policy, 111 AVest 42d Street," and it has a form for con-
tributions.
Next we have a printed circular of the Committee for a Democratic
Far Eastern Policy ; address, 58 Park Avenue, New York 16 ; executive
director, Maud Russell, which has the following demands:
What you can do : Write to President Truman, Secretary of State Byrnes,
your Senators and Congressmen, demand the immediate recall of all United
States troops in China. No American boys must die fighting beside Japanese
against Chinese in the civil war. Protest against any loan to China until peace
and unity are established. Not a cent should be given to finance the shedding
of Chinese blood. Read this committee's monthly bulletin and send your ques-
tions about what is going on in the Far East to us. Contribute to further the
work of this committee.
Then we have attached thereto House bill H. R. 6795 for military
assistance to China. And it gives reasons for opposition. This is
sent out by the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy.
Next we have another circular, a circular letter from the Committee
for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy dated June 24, 1947, signed
Maud Russell, executive director. It says :
Fellow citizens —
and at the end :
We urge you to let the President, the State Department and your Congressmen
know that you are opposed to further American support designed to bolster
Chiang Kai-shek's crumbling, unpopular regime. Go into action, and get indi-
viduals, groups, and organizations in your community to protest the granting
of such aid under any guise to the Kuomintang government. The United States
must cease being the arsenal of oppression in China. Let us know of your
protest to Washington.
Sincerely,
Maud Russell.
(The letter was marked "Exhibit No. 158." The text follows :)
Exhibit No. 158
June 24, 1947.
From : The Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, 111 West 42d
Street, New York City, N. Y.
Fellow Citizens : The enclosed memo is self-explanatory.
Since this memo was compiled news reports have appeared in the New York
press showing the desperate dependence of the Nanking regime on the United
States to save Chiang Kai-shek from defeat by his own people. Sun Fo, United
384 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
Press reports on June 21, said, "Help and encouragement is needed at once * * *
this help should include not only military supplies and credits but also vigorous
political support." Tillman Durdin, in the New York Times of June 21, writes
"Dr. Sun urged application of the Truman doctrine to China more effective
aid to the Chinese Government. * * * He stressed that the Government needed
United States arms and ammunition. Ammunition for the American weapons
in the Government Army are being exhausted. * * * Dr. Sun indicated that the
aid to China might run into billions of dollars over a period of years."
The following paragraph from a letter received from China this week tells
its own story about popular Chinese reaction to American aid to Chiang Kai-shek :
'•One thing is certain, the Chinese people will not be pleased. Another loan
from the United States will make them realize how completely dependent on
United States support is this regime which rules them with the whip and the
bullet. They will know that their sons and daughters languish in concentration
camps and in the misery of the torture chamber because it pleases Washington
to keep this regime in power a little longer. The clearer this becomes the more
deep, bitter, and widespread will become the hatred of America."
We urge you to :
Let the President, the State Department, and your Congressman know
that you are opposed to further Ajnerican support designed to bolster Chiang
Kai-shek's crumbling unpopular regime.
Go into action and get individuals, groups, and organizations in your
community to protest the granting of such aid, under any guise, to the
Kuomintang government.
The United States must cease being the arsenal of oppression in China.
Let us know of your protests to Washington.
Sincerely,
Maxjd Russell, Executive Director.
P. S. — A contribution from you right now will enable us to inform and mobilize
more Americans who want to join in this fight. Each $5 enables us to reach
an additional hundred people.
Then we have a printed circular from the Committee for a Demo-
cratic Far Eastern Policy, 58 Park Avenue, which lists as urgent:
Wide support needed for Representative Delacy's resolution for immediate
withdrawal of United States troops and equipment —
and also —
Public must know the facts : Why are United States troops and equipment in-
volved in China's civil war? How can we change this policy?
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, I suggest that Mr. Mandel has de-
scribed sufficiently the papers that we plan to introduce in the record
at this time. And I suggest that we offer them to the witness, to see
if she will indicate if there is something inaccurate about those.
Senator Welker. Very well. It will be so ordered.
First, Madam Witness, I notice you are taking notes. Would you
mind telling me what you are taking notes about? You are on the
witness stand now, and if there is something here that is not fair to
you I want to know about it, and if I can help you or your counsel, I
want to be of assistance to you.
Miss Russell. No. I will handle it myself. It is just as an aid
to memory.
Senator Welker. I didn't hear that.
Miss Russell. I can handle it myself without help from you. It
is just an aid to my memory.
Senator Welker. Very well. You go right ahead.
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment in
connection with this material.
(The circular was marked "Exhibit No. 159." The text of each
side is printed below :)
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UlSriTED STATES 385
ExuiBiT No. 159
Committee fob a Demockatic Fab Eastebn Policy, 58 Paek Avenue, New York
16, N. Y.
Directors :
Maxwell Stewart, writer
Leland Stowe, foreign correspondent
C. Sidney Gardner, Far Eastern specialist
E. Franklin Frazier, sociologist
Rev. S. H. Fritchman, magazine editor
Frederick V. Field, Far Eastern specialist
Talitha Gerlach, Women's Leader
Freda Kirchwey, editor. The Nation
Arthur Upham Pope, Far Eastern specialist
Martin Popper, Lawyers' Guild
Mrs. H. A. Rusch, Jr., Women Leader
Mrs. Edgar Snow, author
Rose Terlin, Women's Leader
J. Raymond Walsh, radio commentator.
Richard Watts, Jr., foreign correspondent
Tom Wright, labor editor
Consultants :
Israel Epstein, foreign correspondent
Laurence E. Salisbury, Far Eastern specialist
Gunther Stein, foreign correspondent
Ilona Ralf Sues, author
Every $500 the committee receives means a group of America's foremost ex-
perts on the Far East can reach Senators and Congressmen with documented
facts and background material which can help influence American policy in
China and prevent a third world war.
Urgent — Wide support needed for Representative DeLacy's resolution for imme-
diate tvithdrawal of United States troops and equipment
Every $100 keeps our press releases flowing to more than 100 national radio
commentators and newspaper columnists who are supplied with vital data on
China and the Far East to pass on to their millions of listeners and readers.
Our Information Bulletin, with your donation, can be sent to additional thou-
sands of influential citizens.
Urgent — Public miist know the facts: Why are United States troops and equip-
ment involved in China's civil ivarf How can ice change this policy?
Every $50 helps build citizens' committees throughout the country, means
more speakers at community forums. Not the least, it provides us with funds
to meet the committee's operating expenses. Every contribution, no matter how
small, is put to useful work to prevent world war III.
As a contributor to the committee, you will be kept fully informed of its work
and will regularly receive its literature.
Ubgent !
Memo from Leland Stowe, Richard Watts, Jr.
More American troops, planes and supplies are in China today than there
were at any time during the war with Japan. Civil war is raging throughout
China, endangering the lives of American fighting men.
There would be no civil war now if American troops and equipment were
brought home and future support to Chiang Kai-shek was made conditional upon
internal peace and unity in China.
Although General Hurley has resigned, the appointment of General Marshall
as special envoy to China does not necessarily mean a change in the present
American policy of intervention in China's internal affairs.
An enlightened public and an informed Congress must stop intervention in
China. China must not become the battleground of a third world war.
We feel that you can help most effectively by contributing generously to the
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy which is today leading the
fight for a better American policy in China through a program of education
and action. This work is vital and must be continued. It can only be done
with your financial assistance.
386 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
We are writing you because we are confident that you will recognize the
urgency of the situation and that you will mail your contribution today.
Sincerely yours,
Leland Stowe.
Richard Watts, Jr.
r. S. — Return envelope is enclosed for your convenience.
Senator Welker. Now, Miss Kussell, I have been handed docu-
ments which have been identified by you as having been published
by your Far East Reporter, a number of them here, that you see.
And I hold in my hand one which is printed with red and white in
it, and it says: "Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the People's
Republic of China, with editorial introduction" ; price 20 cents.
Now, you printed that, or your concern printed that, did you not?
Miss Russell. I printed it.
Senator Welker. And what did you do with that? Did you dis-
tribute it or sell it ?
Miss Russell. I sent it to my subscribers. I sold it throughout the
country, sold it to bookstores.
Senator Welker. Can you give me any idea of about how many you
printed or sold ?
INIiss Russell. Oh, about four or five thousand.
Senator Welker. Have you printed the Constitution of the United
States and distributed it to the people throughout the country ?
Miss Russell. That is available. They studied it in school. What
I was trying to do is tell people what is going on in the Far East, and
that is pertinent.
Senator Welker. I ask you if you distributed the Constitution of
the United States.
Miss Russell. No ; it is not in the Far Eastern policy.
Senator Welker. You specialized on the Constitution of the
People's Republic of China ?
Miss Russell. I specialized on material in the Far East.
Senator Welker. And you didn't spend any time whatsoever in
helping the American people study their own Constitution ?
Miss Russell. Yes, I have.
I think the fact that I speak out on an issue that people like you
don't agree with, is a help to people miderstanding their citizens'
rights under the Constitution.
Senator Welker. You haven't used your press to send out the Con-
stitution of the United States with editorial introduction, have you?
Miss Russell. I have presented material on the Far East, which is
not available otherwise.
Senator Welker. When is the last time you have read the Consti-
tution of the United States ?
Miss Russell. Oh, I read at it every now and then. I don't think
I have read it through. I say, I read here and there, particularly
of my rights under the Constitution.
Senator Welker. You read the fifth amendment ?
Miss Russell. Not only the fifth ; there are other pertinent parts.
Senator Welker. I suppose you read the first, and Mr. Hinton
brought in the fourth, and the tenth, and a few others like that.
Miss Russell. Are you insinuating that these are not public docu-
ments ?
Senator Welker. Not in the least.
Miss Russell. I do read them. I stand on my rights on them.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 387
Senator Welker. I believe I know about as much about that Bill
of Rights as you do.
Miss EussELL. I hope so.
Senator Welker. I am just wondering what other provisions of
the Constitution of the United States have you read and studied in
the last few years since you have been in this world.
Miss EussELL. That is not pertinent to this.
Senator Welker. It isn't?
Miss EussELL. No.
Senator Welker. Not very pertinent ?
Miss Eussell. No.
I am an American citizen who knows her rights under the Con-
stitution.
Senator Welker. You are an American citizen who knows her
rights ; there is no question about that ; you have evidenced that here
today. You have taken advantage of them many, many times.
These are to be introduced in the record.
Now, do you know what the Worker is ?
Miss Eussell. I stand on my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Do you know what the New York Times is?
Miss Eussell. I stand on my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Do you know what the U. S. News & World Ee-
port is ?
Miss Eussell. I stand on my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Now, after all. Miss Eussell, let's get along. You
have gone ahead and testified about getting information from these
publications, so let's not hedge about the matter, and let's not have
any ill will between the acting chairman and the witness.
Now, I think you have opened up that subject matter, and I am not
trying to trick you at all. You testified one time that you have got-
ten information from these newspapers and magazines, and now I
ask you if you know what they are, and you take the fifth amendment.
I don't believe you are being fair with the committee or with your-
self.
Miss Eussell. Yes, I know these publications.
Senator Welker. Well, then, tell me, what is the Worker?
Miss Eussell. It is a leftwing publication.
Senator Welker. It is a leftwing publication. Can I help you,
and see whether or not this is correct: It is the Sunday edition of
the Daily Worker ; is that correct ?
Miss Eussell. Yes, that is correct.
Senator Welker. Have you ever been quoted in the Worker?
Miss Eussell. Not to my recollection.
Senator Welker. Now directing your attention to the date of May
8, 1949, you were quoted in the Worker, Sunday edition of the Daily
Worker, as saying this :
Yet the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy is not solely a sup-
plier of information; we are a political action group to exert pressure for a
change in official United States policy.
Did you or did you not make that utterance, so that it was quoted in
the Worker?
Miss Eussell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
388 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
Senator Welker. And if you did so make that utterance as quoted
by me, then the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy cer-
tainly was engaging in lobbying; isn't that a fair assumption?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Now, directing your attention to the Worker, the
Sunday edition of the Daily Worker for the same date, May 8, 1949,
section 2, pages 3 and 4, an article headed "Truth Also Fights for a
Free China," Maud Russell is quoted as follows in this article :
"Yet the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy is not solely a supplier
of information," its executive director is quick to point out. "We are a political
action group to exert pressure for a change in oflScial United States policy,"
Maud Russell declares. Return to China? Maud Russell's answer is a vigorous
"No." "My place is here in my own country," the executive director for the
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy declares.
Did you so make those utterances, and were you quoted correctly in
the Sunday edition of the Daily Worker, commonly and officially
known as the Worker ?
Miss Russell. I stand on my rights under tlie fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Very well.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, have you reported in your publications,
in the Far East Reporter, on the Asian-Pacific Peace Conference ? By
way of refreshing your recollection, Miss Russell, I offer you a Far
East Reporter entitled "Asia and World Peace, Wliither Japan?
Answers by a Japanese — Toga Kameda, and an Australian — Victor
James."
Miss Russell. Yes ; I did ; Far East Reporter.
Mr. Morris. Wliat was the source of your information for that
particular publication ?
Miss Russell. Tliese were reprints of documents for reference.
Mr. Morris. Where did you receive those ?
Miss Russell. These were widely distributed in the United States.
Mr. Morris. Where did you receive your particular copy ?
Miss Russell. I got quite a number of copies. I don't remember
what particular copy this came from. There are many, many copies
of this. They came from various sources.
Mr. Morris. Did John Powell bring you any of these ?
Miss Russell. This was printed
Senator Welker. The question was. Did John Powell bring any
of them ?
Miss Russell. I claim my rights
Senator Welker. Do you know John Powell ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Senator Welker. Do you know a publication in Red China called
China Monthly Review ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Did Julian Schuman bring you any of this material
concerning the Asian-Pacific Peace Conference ?
Miss Russell. I claim my rights under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Now, I have here what appears to be an invitation, Miss
Russell: "The Far East Reporter takes pleasure in providing an
opportunity for its subscribers and friends to meet Anita and Henry
Willcox, American delegates, Asian and Pacific Peace Conference,
Peking, China, October 1952. Mrs. Willcox will tell us about 'A Day
in a Peking Prison,' followed by a discussion of justice in new China.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 389
Mr. Willcox will talk about 'Housing and Construction in New China,'
as seen by an American engineer. Time: Sunday evening, Jan-
uary 25, 8 p. m."
Now, did you extend that invitation, Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell. I claim my priveleges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Do you know Anita and Henry Willcox ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, will you identify that paper ?
And then, Mr. Chairman, may it go into the record as properly
identified ?
Senator Welker. Yes, after identification.
Mr. Mandel. This is apparently an invitation mimeographed,
headed "Far East Reporter takes pleasure in providing an oppor-
tmiity for its subscribers and friends to meet Anita and Henry Will-
cox." It has Chinese on the left-hand side, and at the bottom is
"r. s. V. p. Miss Russell 111 West 42d Street."
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 160." The
portion in English is printed below:)
Exhibit No. 160
Far East Reporter takes pleasure in providing an opportunity for its sub-
scribers and friends to meet Anita and Henry Willcox, American delegates Asian
and Pacific Peace Conference, Peking, China, October 1952.
Mrs. Willcox will tell us about "A Day in a Peking Prison," followed by a
discussion of justice in the new China. Mr. Willcox will talk about "Housing
and Construction in New China," as seen by an American engineer.
Time: Sunday evening January 25, S p. m. Place: 444 Central Park West
(at 104th), apartment 12G (take the rear elevator).
We hope you will want to join us.
R. s. V. p. Miss Russell 111 West 42d Street.
Mr. Morris. Will you show that to the witness, Mr. Arens ?
Miss Russell, did you extend that invitation ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. I have here a little note :
To our subscribers and friends: You are cordially invited to an evening with
Rev. John Darr, for over 2 years American secretary in the secretariat of the
World Peace Council, who attended the preparatory conference of the peace con-
ference of the Asian and Pacific regions. Mr. Darr will speak on New China and
World Peace.
You are invited to meet Mr. Darr on Sunday evening, May 17, at 8 o'clock, at
the home of Miss Annette Rubinstein, .59 West 71st Street, apartment lOA.
We do hope you can join us for this informal but rich evening.
( Signed ) Maud Russeix,
Publisher, Far East Reporter.
I show you that invitation and ask you if you did extend that in-
vitation.
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. May that go into the record at this time, Mr. Chairman ?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 161," and is
as follows :)
Exhibit No. 161
To Our Subscribers and Friends:
You are cordially invited to an evening with Rev. John Darr, for over 2 years
American secretary in the secretariat of the World Peace Council, who attended
the preparatory conference of the peace conference of the Asian and Pacific
regions. Mr. Darr will speak on New China and World Peace.
390 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
You are invited to meet Mr. Darr on Sunday evening, May 17, at 8 o'clock, at
the home of Miss Annette Rubinstein, 59 West 71st Street, apartment lOA.
We do hope you can join us for this informal but rich evening.
( Stamp signature ) Maud Russell,
Publisher, Far East Reporter.
RSVP Miss Russell, 103 West 93d Street, New York City.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, I have three more pamphlets of the Far
East Keporter. „„ rr,i i
They are : The first one I mention, "Whither Japan ?" The second,
"How the USA Curbs National Independence" ; and the third, "Asia
Tells the World what the United States Is Doing in Asia ; ^Vliy Asia
Demands Peace," all published by the Far East Reporter.
Is that an accurate statement, Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell. It is.
Mr. Morris. May they go in the record, Mr. Chairman ?
Senator AVelker. It is so ordered.
(The pamphlets referred to were marked "Exhibits No. 162, No.
163 and No. 164" and are available in the subcommittee's files. The
text of the introduction to the pamphlet "Whither Japan," Exhibit
No. 162, is printed below :)
On the Japanese Question
Togo Kameda, member of the Japanese delegation
The present position of Japan is the result of the close collaboration during the
last few years between the United States occupation authority and the Yoshida
government. A year ago a separate peace treaty and the United States-Japanese
Security Pact were signed at San Francisco. These two treaties provide for the
permanent occupation of Japan by the United States forces, the construction of
military bases in Japan without restriction, the rearmament of Japan by the
United States. These provisions make Japan into an ally of the United States
aggressor, and render difficult a speedy termination of the state of war between
Japan and certain countries. These two treaties are in fact treaties of a war
alliance which will make Japan the enemy of every Asian people.
Moreover, this alliance is an alliance between the United States warmongers
who are wantonly slaughtering the Korean people, and the Japanese militarists
whose hands are stained with the blood of other Asian peoples and who, armed
with United States-made weapons, now attempt to repeat their aggression against
the Asian peoples. It is clear that this alliance has a common basis. On the one
hand, the United States warmongers, with a view to carrying out their aggression
in Asia, plan to get the Japanese militarists to help them and convert Japan into
a tool for a new war of aggression. On the other hand, the Japanese militarists,
seeking to revive the dead, and to realize their old dream of a "greater eastern
Asia coprosperity sphere," are hoping to make use of United States aid to reassert
their old influence in Asia. The basis of this alliance lies in the use of Japanese
industry, which is the most developed in Asia, and of the strategic position of
Japan and its vast source of manpower, for the preparing and waging of a new
war of aggression. Here lies the new menace to Asia, namely, the revival of
Japanese militarism. Thus, long before the conclusion of the separate peace
treaty, the Japanese militarists who had in actual fact been controlling the state
apparatus, cast off their masks and came out into the open. The only difference
distinnguishing their present from their past is that now they don American caps
and clothes and arm themselves with United States-made weapons. The re-
armament of Japan is now being carried out in the open; a militarised police
state has again emerged, and Japanese enterprises are being turned into war
industries.
At present, the aims of the rearmament of Japan envisaged by the foreign
occupying power and the Japanese militarists are as follows : to build up an
army of 300,000 men and to build as a start, a small-size navy and air force
during next year. To this end a .system of conscription is to be enforced. At the
same time, a security board has been set up with Yoshida himself as the head,
and it is intended to turn the board into a ministry of defense in the future.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 391
The core of this force is the police reserve corps, 75,000 strong, established after
the outbreak of the Korean war. This police reserve corps is scheduled to expand
to a strength of from 110,000 to 200,000 men by the end of the year. It has
been equipped with airplanes, tanks and other heavy arms and has begun war
maneuvers. Another aspect is this : the Japanese police force has expanded from
its prewar 50.000 men to over 120,000, the Government has initiated a great
number of acts of repression, such as the Subversive Activities Prevention Act,
depriving the people of their freedom, and the Government apparatus has been
turned into a fascist armed-police state. To meet the needs of the United States
Armed Forces and cope with the rearmament of Japan, the main branches of
Japanese industry have been rapidly converted into war industries. Their pro-
duction already includes the manufacture of airplanes, naval vessels and similar
complete units. The reestablished Japanese armed forces are not for the self-
defense of the Japanese people, but for external aggression and for the internal
repression of the Japanese people. They constitute a threat that bodes disaster
to the Japanese people and to the peoples of the other areas of the Asian and
Pacific regions as well.
Similarly, the foreign policy of the Japanese Government has made it plain
that its orientation is toward becoming the major accomplice of the United
States in the latter's drive for a new war of aggression in the East. For in-
stance, the Yoshida government, in accordance with the requirements of the
Battle Act, which is politically and economically aimed at blockading the Soviet
Union and China, has declared an embargo on trade between Japan and the
Soviet Union and China. Actually, however, the principal party who suffered
from the disastrous consequences of this blockade is neither the Soviet Union
nor China, but Japanese economy and the livelihood of the Japanese people
themselves. Recently the Yoshida government has gone further, accepting the
mutual security program, and putting into force the so-called plan for the devel-
opment of southeast Asia, in an attempt to plunder the strategic raw materials
of these countries, and to help United States imperialism construct military
bases there. In open antagonism to China, the Yoshida government has also
concluded with the Chiang Kai-shek fugitive regime in Taiwan a so-called peace
treaty, and schemed to expel the Soviet delegation from Japan. Recently, at
the Honolulu meeting between the United States, Australia, and New Zealand,
the United States once more ventilated plans to include Japan within the orbit
of common security, with a view to organizing a Pacific alliance, in reality
an Asian edition of the North Atlantic Pact, with Japan as its nucleus, and
with the rearmed Japanese Army as its main force.
The most fanatical aggressor in the world, whose true character was com-
pletely revealed during World War II has joined forces with a new aggressor,
in an alliance casting Japan in the role of criminal No. 1 of a new war. Premier
Yoshida, on August 4, representing the Japanese aggressors, announced to the
world that their intention is to make the Police Reserve Corps a basis for build-
ing a national army, and that "a new Japan will lead Asia onto the world political
arena."
But, i>erhaps, honorable delegates, you will ask: "What, then, are the
Japanese doing?" This is a very important question. For had not the Japanese
people struggled for peace, they would already have repeated their past mistakes
and allowed themselves to be led by the militarists onto the road of national
and racial extinction ; this course is one the citizens of Japan are themselves
wholly determined not to follow. The Japanese people heave begun to awaken,
and have clearly realized that it is their grave responsibility to unite with the
peoples of Asia and the Pacific regions in a common effort to eliminate the threat
of the revival of Japanese militarism.
I can inform you with pride that the Japanese people have shown unprece-
dented bravery in their struggle against war and for the defense of peace.
We people of Japan now^ understand that if the crisis of a new war with Japaa
as base is not averted, we shall never be able to win our ardently desired libera-
tion from the regime of United States occupation, or to establish a democratic
state and live in freedom and happiness. Indeed, the characteristic features of
Japanese life today are : the unemployed who fill the cities and the countryside ;
the slave labor and the starvation wages ; the taxation that ruins homes and
businesses : the prices that keep on soaring ; the destruction of agriculture and
industry ; the extinction of national culture ; and the enslavement of the entire
Japanese nation. And the primary cause of all these features is the United States
occupation and the revival of Japanese militarism. During the year since the
signing of the San Francisco Treaty, the Japanese people have come to realize
392 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
that the separate peace forcibly imposed on them by the goTernments of the
United States and Japan was designed to plunge the country into remilitarization
qmi new wars of aggression, and this has roused their indignation. Would the
people of any nation, faced by such dire circumstances, not desire peace from
the bottom of their hearts? . . ^ ^ j.
It is against this background that the movement m defense of peace is pene-
trating ever more deeply into cities, villages, and among all classes of the people
in Japan This movement places in the forefront the opposition to remilitariza-
tion -'Hands off Korea !", the abrogation of the war treaty, the realization of
an all-in peace, and on this basis it is forging ahead. For instance, the signatures
in opposition to rearmament and demanding an all-in peace, collected simultane-
ously with those demanding a 5-power peace pact, exceed 6 million. This is
tvpical of conditions in general. The General Council of Trade Unions of Japan,
tiie largest union in Japan with a membership of 3 million, and the Peasant
Association of Japan have also put forward peace proposals similar to those
above— evidence of the strong desire for peace characteristic of the workers and
Corps !" and "Don't serve as United States
most ranks of tlie anti-remilitarization struggle. They are now launching an
anticonscription signature campaign, with 20 million signatures as their target.
Many scholars, religious leaders, men of arts or letters, and other professional
men are also taking an active part in the peace movement. While protesting
against the repressions directed against the peace movement, they have also
made earnest appeals to the people from rostrum and pulpit, in articles, on the
street, and at meetings : "If deprived of freedom now, the Japanese people will
once more be plunged into war."
The popular movement, embracing numerous industrialists, financiers, leaders
of political parties, progressive personalities from various groupings, workers
and townsfolk to demand the restoration of trade relations with China and the
Soviet Union, is growing in strength. For instance. Diet Member Tomi Kora,
Kei Hoashi and Ex-Diet Member Kisuke Miyogoshi, braving the persecution
of the United States army and the Yoshida government, attended the Moscow
International Economic Conference and subsequently signed in Peking the Japan-
Chinese Trade Agreement to the value of 30 million pounds sterling. On their
return they were enthusiastically welcomed by the people throughout the coun-
try. This illustrates the broadness of the movement. The vital significance
of the movement lies in the fact that the Japanese people who are suffering from
the blockade imposed by the United States and Japanese fomenters of war as
the result of the separate peace, are going ahead themselves to build peaceful,
friendly relations betwen themselves and the Soviet Union and China, on their
own account. It shows that the Japanese people is about to blaze a trail which
will assuredly lead to the building of peaceful friendly relations with the peoples
of Asia and the whole world.
Well above 1 million people throughout tJie country have taken part in person
in the election of more than 400 candidates as delegates to the peace conference
of the Asian and Pacific regions. The reason why the Japanese people are
giving such strong support to the conference is that they look upon it as the
way to peace.
The United States Government pretends that the majority of the Japanese
people support the United States-made separate treaty of San Francisco. This
is completely false. As our glorious fighter for peace, Frederic Jolioi-Curie,
put it at the extraordinary session of the World Peace Council, "No one can
be deceived by such assurances; the enormous demonstrations, such as those
of May Day last * * * are too revealing." Mr. Gordon Schaffer, chairman of
the British Peace Committee, also stated at the same council session: "The
Japanese people demonstrated on May Day with a unanimity of purpose which
showed to the world that they will not stand idle while these attempts are made
to plunge them again into war." Hence the extraordinary session of the
World Peace Council declares: "The World Peace Council salutes the heroic
struggle of the Japanese people for peace, independence, and democracy against
the forces of militarism and war."
I must point out with emphasis that the Japanese people entertain the hope
that In the course of waging such struggles for the sake of peace, we may win
the friendship of the peoples of Asia, .ioin with them, and carry on normal
trade with the countries of Asia and the Pacific regions on the basis of equality
and mutual benefit. This has become the urgent common demand of every
grouping of the Japanese people.
SCOPE OP SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 393
The Japanese people are fully convinced that, though there be countless obsta-
cles and difficulties in their way, and though blockade and isolation is enforced
by the foreign occupying power and the reactionaries at home, they do not
stand alone; the Japanese people, just as the other peoples of the Asian and
Pacific regions, stand in the ranks of peace. No, the Japanese i)eople not only
stand in the ranks but are right in the forefront. We regard it as our highest
honor to struggle to the uttermost in defense of i)eace in Asia on what is the
largest eastern base of the fomenters of world war. We who have been waging
a life-and-death struggle for the prevention of a new war in Asia, express the
heartfelt wish that the peoples of the Asian and Pacific regions may unit in
unity and courageously advance our common cause of defeating war and winning
peace. How can this be done? We believe that the urgent need is for Japan
to conclude a general peace with all the countries concerned, to oppose the
war-making separate treaty and to prevent the revival of Japanese militarism.
The sources of unendurable suffering today to the Japanese people are foreign
occupation, the revival of Japanese militarism and the war crisis aggravated
by the San Francisco Treaty. We feel their bitter effects. The conclusion of
a separate peace with Japan has trampled under foot the Potsdam declaration,
which was won at the cost of tlie blood of the people of the whole world, betrayed
the interest of the Japanese people and threatened peace and order in Asia.
All who abhor the revival of Japanese militarism, oppose aggressors and demand
peace cannot allow this war treaty to remain valid. We believe that the time
has come to demand the substitution of a peace treaty for this war treaty, and
to begin the struggle for this aim. This is a great cause, not only for the
Japanese people but also for all the peoples of the Asian and Pacific regions. It
is an international obligation and a duty to peace to substitute an all-in peace
treaty for the separate peace treaty, and we must wage persistent struggle to
achieve it.
What then are the contents of the all-in treaty that we demand? This was
made clear in the resolution on the Japanese question adopted at the extra-
ordinary session of the World Peace Council. It is : Foreign occupation forces
must be withdrawn from Japan, foreign countries must be forbidden to establish
military bases in Japan, the sovereignty of the Japanese people must be kept
intact, and their right to peaceful and democratic development must be recog-
nized. These are, as the World Peace Council has repeatedly advocated, the
inherent and inalienable democratic rights of the people. If it be recognized that
the independence and sovereignty of a people should be respected, and that
internal affairs must not suffer foreign intervention, then it is perfectly possible
for all peoples, irrespective of their dilTerent political systems and ways of life,
to co-exist peacefully, to develop trade relations on a basis of equality and.
exchange according to needs; on this basis it will become possible to settle
international disputes by peaceful negotiation and thus eliminate the scourge
of war. This is the basic principle for the preservation of peace. We can
clearly see that it is precisely the frustration of this rightful claim, whether in
Europe or in Asia, that has subjected all the peoples to the threat of war.
On the Japanese Question
Victor James, Leader of the Australian Delegation
The rise and expansion of Japanese militarism was the cause of considerable
apprehension in Australia for many years. The aggressions against China in
the 1930's gave rise to great indignation and anxiety. Following the attacks
of 1931 and 1937 various movements developed in Australia in support of the
Chinese people. By 1937 the Japanese militarists were encroaching on Hopei
Province. When, in 1938, the Australian Government sold pig iron to the Japa-
nese militarists, wharf -laborers in Port Kembla (New South Wales, Australia)
refused to load this war material on the ships. The conservative government
then passed repressive legislation to enforce the loading of this cargo — the
Dog Collar Act. This struggle was one of the most important in the history
of the Australian labor movement. The struggle was summed up by the emi-
nent Australian jurist and former Governor-General Sir Isaac Isaacs in these
words :
"The men refused to engage to put the iron on board solely because they
would, as they conscientiously believed, thereby become accessories in helping
Japan in a war of aggression, and in the bombing of inoffensive civilians. The
government intervened to force them to load the nig iron."
394 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Later Australian workers refused to load wool, tin, lead, and other war ma-
terials for Japan. The man who led these struggles for peace should be with
us here today. He is Jim Healy, federal secretary of the Waterside Workers'
Federation of Australia, 1 of the 23 Australian delegates refused passports to
come to this conference. The goveniment which refuses them passports is the
same kind of government which helped arm the Japanese militarists in 1937
and right up to the time of the Japanese attack on Australia in 1941.
When Japanese militarism set out to conquer all Asia and the Pacific in 1941,
the Australian people found themselves engaged in a bitter struggle to protect
their homeland. Japanese forces bombed Australia's northernmost port and
came within a few miles of invading Australia. Thousands of Australians suf-
fered as prisoners of the Japanese. The threat of invasion was only ended in
1944 by Australian, American and other troops.
The defeat and disarming of Japan, together with the renunciation of war
written into the Japanese Constitution led to the belief that Japanese militarism
was forever eliminated. The Potsdam agreement stated that Japan's war-
making power would be destroyed. The basic postsurrender policy for Japan,
adopted by representatives of the 11 nations which resisted Japanese aggres-
sion stated as its first objects : . ^ -,
"To complete the task of physical and spiritual demilitarization of Japan
by measures including total disarmament, economic reform designed to deprive
Japan of power to make war, elimination of militaristic influences, and stern
justice to war criminals, and a period of strict control."
At the end of the war the Australian people believed that this policy would
be carried out and that a peace-loving, democratic, and demilitarized Japan
would result. Under the Allied agreements the responsibility for the control of
Japan was placed in the hands of a Four Power Control Commission compris-
ing representatives of China, U. S. S. R., United States of America, and the
British Commonwealth. In recognition of Australia's particular interest in the
Japanese question, an Australian, Mr. McMahon Ball, was appointed as British
Commonwealth representative. He resigned because of the failure of the Aus-
tralian Government to support his stand for genuine four-power control of
postwar Japan.
His book Japan, Enemy or Ally? made it clear to the Australian people that
Japan was completely under American domination ; the war criminals had been
'treated leniently or even allowed to go unpunished; that there had been no
real democratization of Japan and that the root sources of Japanese militarism
remained untouched.
In 1951 John Foster Dulles visited Australia. The purpose of his visit was
,ciear — to insure that the Autralian Government would place its signature to
his separate Japanese Peace Treaty, a document which betrayed the security
and future of the Australian people. When the terms of the treaty were made
public there was an immediate and widespread outcry in Australia against it.
The vast majority of Australians were shocked to find that prewar Japanese
militarism was to be forthwith revived. Both the Potsdam agreement and
the basic postwar surrender policy were betrayed by this separate peace treaty
of the United States Government.
Opponents of the treaty not only included the peace councils, but ranged all
the way across to members of the government party such as the former Prime
Minister W. M. Hughes who said it was "treason" to rearm Japan. Leaders
and members of ex-servicemen's organizations opposed it ; there was great bitter-
'ness among former prisoners of war of the Japanese and of the relatives of
those who died in POW camps. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney (Arch-
bishop Mowl), Gen. Gordon Bennett, and the New South Wales' Attorney Gen-
eral (Mr. Oliver Evatt) were among the many public figures who joined in the
mass movement of protest.
There was strong opixisition from the business community. Under the terms
of the the treaty Australia was obliged to give most-favored-nation treatment
to Japan in relation to her trade with Australia. This aroused alarm and
hostility amongst Australian manuafctnrers, particularly those in textiles and
light industry. The threat became even clearer when it was announced that
32 .ships had been chartered for the Japan-Australia run.
A spokesman for the Associated Chambers of Commerce said : "Australia is
wide open to attack on her markets by Japanese traders. * * * Any complacency
by the Australian Government on this Japanese threat must spell doom to many
Australian manufacturers."
This opposition to the treaty was crystallized by the formation of the Com-
mittee Opposed to the Rearming of Japan. The committee received the support
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 395
of Australian workers, businessmeu, intellectuals, ex-servicemen, over 200 clergy-
men of various denominations and of people in all vralks of life. It collected in
a short time 100,000 signatures to a petition against the remilitarization of
Japan and trade clauses of the treaty which was presented to Parliament by
some 300 delegates from all over Australia.
The treaty was ratified by the Government, but was opposed in Parliament
by the Labor Party (the opposition) which had secured 49 percent of the votes
in the previous election. Even some members of the Government party attacked
the treaty in Parliament.
These facts cleai'ly show the attitude of the vast majority of the Australian
people to the remilitarization of Japan and its continued occupation by United
States forces. The peace movement in Australia underwent its greatest develop-
ment and expansion as a result of this campaign against ratification of the
separate treaty.
At a puppet performance in the San Francisco Opera House last September
the treaty was signed. The Governments of the U. S. S. R. People's China,
India aiid Burma — nations which include half of the world's population — did not
sign. And although the Australian Government signed, the Australian people
did not.
The separate treaty was depicted by the Government and its powerful organs
of propaganda as a measure designed to insure the security of Australia. The
people know that this claim was utterly false ; they knew that a rearmed Japan
was a threat to Australian security and to peace in the Pacific and Aasian regions.
Since then there has been ample evidence of the revival of Japanese expan-
sionist aims. The Japanese war criminals are free and are rebuilring their bat-
talions. Statements by Japanese politicians have been quoted in the Australian
press showing that Japanese militarism intends to renew its drive to the south.
The rich island of New Guinea to the north of Australia is again the object of
these expansionist ambitions. The Japanese Government has requested the Aus-
tralian Government to repatriate over 200 Japanese war criminals, some of
who are serving life sentences for atrocities iigainst Australians, and it was
reliably reported on September 14. 1952, that the Government "was almost
certain to grant the request." There are reports, too, of the resumption of
Japanese ambitions to secure access to iron ore and other mineral deposits in
Australia.
In being a party to the revival of Japanese militarism and expansionism, the
Australian Government, headed by Mr. Menzies, has betrayed the security of
Australia in the same way as it did in the 1930's when it encouraged Japanese
aggression against China.
The Australian people neither wish to be the victims of revived Japanese
militarism nor to fill the role of its ally in an aggressive war in Asia and the
Pacific. Either path spells ruin for our land and our people.
The war plans of the United States Government have caused widespread alarm.
Not only has Japan been rearmed, but a string of bases from Japan to Australia,
from the Philippines to the Polynesian Islands have been built. These are
clearly directed against People's China and other Asian countries and bring
the menace of war to the entire Asian-Pacific region.
The same groups which have forced remilitarization and continued foreign
occupation on the Japanese people have enmeshed the peoples of Australia and
New Zealand in yet another war treaty — the ANZUS Pact. Under this agree-
ment signed recently in Honolulu, Austrialia and New Zealand are committed
to any war which the United States Government chooses to launch in the Pacific-
Asian region. The Australian Ambassador in Washington (Sir Percy Spender,
a shareholder in IMalayan rubber companies) revealed the fact that the ANZUS
Pact would commit Australia and New Zealand to supplying 1 millon men for
war — this out of a total population of 10 million. Spender hurriedly withdrew
his statement, but it was clear to the Australian and New Zealand people what
lay in store for them under the ANZUS Pact.
The separate treaty with Japan, the ANZUS Pact and the United States-Philii>
pines Pact are the three components of the war which is being planned In the
Pacific. The keystone of this plan is .Japan.
Consequently the Japanese people bear great responsibility in the struggle
against the revival of Japanes militarism. Their resistance to rearmament and
to United States domination of their country has been received with great joy
in Australia, notably the demonstrations around May 1, 1952. We want more
information on the struggle of the Japanese people for peace; regular contact
with the Japanese peace movement can strengthen our own struggle for peace in
396 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE TJOTTED STATES
Australia. Our delegation is confident that this conference will result in estab-
"'TlTe^/^tanaf Government through its subservience to United States Govern-
ment wa? plans in the Pacific faces our people with the alternatives of being
Se aUies or the victims of Japanese militarism. Both al ernatives would be
rufuous and the only solution is for our people to struggle m common with the
SoX of China, Japan, and other Asian and Pacific countries against the war
"" A^miUtSd^Sn is essential to these war plans. Victory in the struggle
for an independent, democratic, and peace-loving Japan would be a catastrophic
setback to the United States Government's plan for war on People s China and
other Asian peoples who have asserted their independence.
We ur^'e that the resolutions of this conference should contain a call to the
Deoples o'f the Asian and Pacific regions to supi)ort the struggle of the Japanese
people against the remilitarization of their country and against its use as an
armed base for aggressive war on other peoples.
Mr. Morris. Miss Russell, have you been a member of the executive
committee of the China Aid Council?
Miss Russell. No.
Mr. Morris. You have not. , -, tit- -d n
Mr. Mandel, do we have a paper which indicates that Miss Russell
has been a member of the executive committee of the China Aid
Council ?
Mr. Mandel. No.
Mr. Morris. Have you been active in the Rosenberg case, Miss
RiUSsell ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Do you know a publication called the New World
Review ?
Miss Russell, Yes.
Mr. Morris. "\Yliat is the New World Review ?
Miss Russell. A monthly magazine. ^
Senator Welker. Counsel, going back to your question, has she been
active in the Rosenberg case, that is a very general question, and one
that might be treated as rather unfair against this witness. Many
people have been active in litigation, some popular and some unpopu-
lar. I wonder as to the reason for that question because I don't want
to ieave any inference in the record here that we are broadly shooting
at a general subject like that.
Mr. Morris. AVliat was that, ISIr. Chairman ? ^ ^
Senator Welker. You asked the question : "Have you been active m
the Rosenberg case"? Now, an inference could be drawn from that
question that maybe she was one of the witnesses, maybe she was one
of the participants, mavbe she was one of the witnesses for or against
the Rosenbergs, and things like that. I don't like that form of a
question.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may Mr. Mandel describe this next
document? t t ut^
Mr. Mandel. I have here a circular mimeographed, headed: J^ar
East Reporter. To our subscribers and friends." It is undated.
Two drastic acts of ignoring the wishes of the American people have occurred
during the past 2 weeks : President Eisenhower's state of the union address which
indicated no plans whatever for carrying out the American people's desire for a
peaceful settlement of the Korean war and the blatant unresponsiveness of Mr.
J^isenhower to the nationwide, worldwide appeal for less than the death sentence
for the Rosenbergs. These two acts are not unrelated : Extending the war in
Asia and riding roughshod over the expressed desires and appeals of the people.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 397
Aud, the linking of the Rosenberg sentence to the war In Korea, specifically by
Judge Kaufman and implicitly by INIr. Eisenhower, is a measure of the psychologi-
cal warfare which Washington is conducting— not against the Chinese and
Korean people who well understand the true nature of American far eastern
policy— but against the American people. This is a part of the increasingly
hysterical measures which are being employed by our authorities to bludgeon the
American people into an acceptance of a widening of the war in Asia.
All who want peaceful relations with Asia will see these connections. The
Far East Reporter urges action : Wire the President and your congressional Rei>
resentatives appealing for a reconsideration of the Rosenberg sentence and urging
the exercise of clemency.
Mr. Morris. Miss Kiissel], did you send that letter?
You may examine it if you like.
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Is that your signature that appears on that letter ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges.
Mr. Morris. Do you know an organization called the International
Civil Liberties Committee?
Miss Russell. No.
Mr. Morris. Have you had any communication with that com-
mittee ?
Miss Russell. I don't know any such committee.
Senator Welker. May I suggest, Madam Witness, where there is a
question such as that — and this is a suggestion ; you have able counsel
at your right, and I hope you will pardon a suggestion — wliere there
IS a question, do you know this or that, and your memoiy might be a
little bit faulty, I think the best answer would be "I don't recafl."
Mr. Rein. Yes, I think that is what she meant, she has no recol-
lection.
Senator Welker. Fine.
Mr. Morris. I am reading now from a letter on the letterhead of the
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, dated June 11, 1947,
which bears the signature "Maud Russell, executive director."
Fellow Citizens :
"The reign of terror is on. Students are the victims. The faculty is next
* * *. The Government is using extreme methods. This story about "the total
reign of terror must be told abroad. It is a significant revelation of the desi>erate
state of affairs in China." A friend wrote us this on .Tune 1.
Right now, in Washington, the Nanking Government is using high-pressure
methods to secure a billion or a billion and a half American dollars with which
to continue the civil war aganst which Chinese students, faculty, newspapermen,
workers, and intellectuals are demonstrating.
We Americans must protest. Our protests can save thousands of lives in
China, and they will let our administration in Washington know that we citizens
will never sanction underwriting of the terror in China. We must demand that
this Chiang Kai-shek blood bath stop. Chiang Kai-shek now depends on
American dollars for his continued rule.
We urge you: send a letter of protest against these violent repressions of
students to International Civil Liberties Committee, .John W. Powell, chairman
care of China Weekly Review, 160 Chung Cheng Road East, Shanghai, China.
Does that refresh your recollection on that particular organization.
Miss Russell? ^ '
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may that go into the record?
Senator Welker. It will be so ordered.
(The letter referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 165" and is as
follows:)
398 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Exhibit No. 165
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy.
New York JS, N. Y., June 11, 19J,7.
Fellow Citizens : "The reign of terror is on. Students are the victims. The
fac-ulty is next * * * The Government is using extreme methods. This story
'i'bout the total reign of terror must be told abroad. It is a si.^uiticant revelation
of the desperate state of affairs in China." A friend \Yrote us this on June 1.
Right now, in Washington, the Nanking Government is using high pressure
methods to secure a billion or a billion and a half American dollars with which to
continue the civil war against which Chinese students, faculty, newspapermen,
workers, and intellectuals are demonstrating.
We Americans must protest. Our protests can save thousands of lives in China,
and they will let our administration in Washington know that we citizens will
never sanction underwriting of the terror in China. We must demand that this
Chiang Kai-shek bk)od bath stop. Chiang Kai-shek now depends on American
dollars for his continued rule.
We uriie you : send a letter of protest against these violent repressions of
students to International Civil Liberties Committee, John W. Powell, chairman,
in care of China A\'eekly Review, 160 Chung Cheng Road East, Shanghai, China.
An airmail letter to China costs 25 cents and will be there in a week.
Or, send a night letter cable to tlie same committee, using the following address :
International Civil Liberties Reviewing, Shanghai. A night letter cable (with
25 words minimum) costs less than $2.
We urge that you get your organization and other organizations in your com-
munity to send a message (air letter or cable) ; or that you get 3 or 4 individuals
to send joint cables.
Messages to this Civil Liberties Committee — you can guess why a westerner
rather than a Chinese is chairman — will be used effectively to pressure the
Nanking Government and will be given wide publicity in China. That regime
deeply fears American public opinion : let's give them a wave of American pro-
tests and stop this civil war and those violent suppressions of civil liberties.
Please send copies of your messages to the Committee for a Democratic Far
Eastern Policy. We will help give it added circulation in China and we will use
it to show our administration tliat Americans want no part in helping crush
democracy in China. Act today !
Sincerely,
Maud RusSell, Executive Director.
Senator Welker. Miss Eussell, do you know Nathan Gregory Sil-
vermaster ?
Miss Russell, No ; I do not.
Senator Welker. You never met him ?
Miss Russell. No.
Senator Welker. Did you ever know William Ludwig Ullmann?
Miss Russell. No ; I do not.
Senator Welker. Have 3^011 ever known Joan Hinton ?
Miss Russell. I have read her name in the paper, but I don't know
her personally.
Senator Welker. You have never attended any meetings where
she w^as present, to your knowledge ?
Miss Russell. Not that I know of.
Senator Welker. Do you know of Joan Hinton ?
Miss Russell. I have read her name in the paper.
Senator Welker. You have read about her being a nuclear scientist ;
is that correct?
Miss Russell. I think that is her connection.
Senator Welker. And you have read where she is now ?
Miss Russell, I don't know wliere she is.
Senator Welker, You haven't read the recent testimony as to her
being in the People's Republic of China, a dairy farm there, which
I have termed in Red China ? You haven't read that ?
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 399
Miss Russell. Well, I may have read it, but T can't affirm it.
Senator Welker. I want to ask you this question, Miss Russell. Do
3'ou actually believe the United States of America, through its Armed
Forces, is guilty of using germ warfare in the Korean war?
Miss Russell. I claim my privilege under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. You claim your privilege under the fifth amend-
ment.
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Morris. Are you acquainted with an organization called Indus-
co?
Miss RussELi.. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. IMoRRis. Was Ida Pruitt the" secretary of an organization called
Indusco, Inc.?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Does Ida Pruitt reside in the same apartment with
you ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. And you will not tell this committee whether or not
you had any connection with the organization known as Indusco?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. Miss Russell, have you ever told anyone that you
are a member of the Communist Party ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. In the many speaking tours, many places that you
have testified, have you been asked whether or not you were a member
of the Communist Party ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. And had you been so asked, what would your
answer have been?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Senator Welker. You did tell them that you were the executive
director of the Far East Reporter, did you ?
Miss Russell. I did not. I am the publisher of the Far East Re-
porter.
Senator Welker. I beg your pardon. The publisher.
Miss Russell. Yes.
Senator Welker. You did tell them that you were the publisher
of that?
Miss Russell. Of course.
Senator Welker. Did anyone ask you, or did you tell anyone that
you were also a member of the Communist Party ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amenchnent.
Mr. Morris. jVIiss Russell, has Frederick. V. Field been a contribu-
tor to the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Did he specifically contribute $1,000 to the support of
that organization.
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Did Corliss Lamont, to your knowledge, contribute $500
to the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Do you recall a cocktail party held at the residence of
Frederick V. Field in New York City on February 17, 1946, the pur-
400 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
pose of which was to foster traditional activities of the captioned
organization, namely, the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern
Policy ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Do you have any knowledge that at that meeting plans
were made for the following speakers to speak at a meeting held April
3, 1946, at the Hotel Roosevelt, New York City, and the speakers in-
cluded Hugh DeLacy, Ted ^Vliite, Louis Weinstock, Sam Cannon,
Bella Dodd, Phil Jaffee, and Mrs. Fred Field?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Were there several people from the State Department
present at that meeting i
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Was Johannes Steele present at that meeting?
Miss Russell. Same answer.
Mr. Morris. Do you recall an article called the Tokyo Martyrs by
Agnes Smedley, published in the Far East Spotlight in March 1949 ?
Miss Russell. I claim my privileges under the fifth amendment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may that go into the record at this
time?
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 166" and is
as follows:)
Exhibit No. 166
The Tokyo Martyrs
(By Agnes Smedley)
General MacArthur has published accusations regarding a "Soviet spy ring"
in Japan, in which he involves me. They were timed to coincide with his military
conference with Army Secretary Royall and the building of a new civil-war base
in south China. They coincided with Gen. Claire Chennault's book advocating
new United States intervention in China and Senator McCarran's shouts for $1.5
billion more for Chiang Kai-shek.
MURDERED BY JAPANESE
The report tells us that the principals in the "spy" case, Richard Sorge and
Hozumi Ozaki, are dead. They are dead indeed, murdered by the Japanese
militarists. To the best of my knowledge, these men were not spies and traitors,
but martyrs for the Allied cause. MacArthur' s own report says that it was due
fo their efforts that the Soviet Union was able to throw back the Nazi enemy
and prevent Russia from being transformed into a German base. If it had not
been for that, American and British Armies could never have landed in Normandy.
We would have lost the war.
By contrast with Sorge and Ozaki, I am alive and, according to the report
"still at large." If these men were "guilty" of anything and I with them, it has
taken General MacArthur a long time to decide. His military intelligence chief.
General Willoughby, said the report was prepared a year ago. Much earlier
than that, Hozumi Ozaki's prison letters to his wife were published in Japan,
w-here nothing can be printed without the consent of MacArthur's censors. They
became a best-selling book. My name appears frequently in those letters.
There has been no secrecy about my knowing Ozaki. He was a noted writer
and a correspondent in China for many years, and it was as such that I knew
him. He was bitterly opposed to Japanese impeinalism. He gave his life in
the fight against its criminal war, for his own people and all peoples.
SMEARS BEIFORE CHECKING
Now General MacArthur and General Willoughby defame the dead. Their
sources are a mixture of Japanese secret police reports and hearsay. They do
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 401
not blush to speak in the direct words of Tojo. They have not bothered even to
check with the State Department before smearing one of its officers who is also
dead and cannot reply.
Among the living, they make no mention of many foreign correspondents with
powerful connection who visited Japan during that time and worked with Ozaki
and Sorge. They have singled me out for attack instead. Their report says
that, for 20 years, my writings have "hoaxed" the United States State Depart-
ment, all American correspondents who came to the Far East and the whole
American people regarding the facts of life in China and that that is why I must
now be "exposed." They make out all these Americans to be such poor dumb-
bells that they cannot judge for themselves. I do not know of any greater insult
to the American State Department, the American press and the American people.
General Willoughby says he has much more on me than has been made public.
Of course he has much more on me. If he hasn't, he can go right back to the
Japanese secret police, who had me on their death list for many years, and they
will be glad to help.
WHERE WAS 62 ?
If General Willoughby and the United States military intelligence to which he
belonged had worked as well in prewar Japan as the martyrs he now defames,
there might have been no World War II. General Willoughby exclaims with
horror that Sorge "plundered" the files of the Nazi Embassy in Tokyo. Why
didn't he do it and stop the attack on Pearl Harbor? It was his job. What were
our intelligence officers doing in Japan in those years? If I know them, they
were probably going to cocktail parties.
The Japanese and the Chinese people call Sorge and Ozaki "the Tokyo martyrs."
MacArthur now calls them spies and traitors for working against Tojo. Why
doesn't MacArthur consult his Japanese police files and report on the Americans
who worked with Tojo? Those real spies and traitors were everywhere before
the war. Their activity helped make Pearl Harbor possible. I met them in this
country and in China. Our authorities know who they are but do not molest
them, or tell the American people. Today they are still well-paid "respectable"
citizens.
Generals MacArthur and Willoughby are using hit-and-run tactics.
General MacArthur's mother was a Virginia lady, and I hear he prides himself
on being a Virginia gentleman. I say he is a Virginia ham actor. He sits there
like a star-spangled god, hiding behind the legal immunity which he enjoys as a
high United States official and heaves rocks at the reputations of private citizens.
His purpose is to cover up the failure of our policies in the Far East, which like
his behaviour are a disgrace to America.
In conclusion, and with only this comment, I quote from two news items which
subsequently appeared, one in the New York Times and one distributed by
Associated Press.
The New York Times report, February 16, said :
"Washington, February 15. — The Army admitted today that the report on the
Sorge spy ring in Japan, formally issued by its public information division last
Thursday, did not represent Army policy. Some Army officials, who were not
present when the long report was made public, went on also to say they believed
a "public relations faux pas" had been committed for which only the Army
could take responsibility."
The Associated Press item (February 19) said:
"Washington, February 19. — The United States Army, under criticism for
issuing its recent report of wartime Soviet espionage in Japan, admitted today
that it had blundered. Col. George S. Eyster, Deputy Chief of the Army's public
Information Division, said among other things that the Division had no proof
at hand to back up the charge in the report that Agnes Smedley * * * was a
Russian spy."
The irresponsible smear has done its front-page damage; the so-called re-
tractions are late, weak and in the back of the newspapers. The retraction, in
such cases, rarely catches up with the lie.
Mr. Morris. And, Mr. Chairman, I would like to offer for the rec-
ord at this time a translation which I think ]Mr. MclSIanus can identify
for the committee.
Senator Welker, A translation of what?
Mr. Morris. Articles about Agnes Smedley,
402 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr McManus. The subcommittee asked the Library of Congress
for a translation of the series of articles which appeared in the Kuang
Mino- Daily, May 6, 1951, which w^ere written on the occasion of the
cominemorative services to Agnes Smedley in Peking. This was a
ceremony a year after the death of Agnes Smedley m England when
her ashes were sent to Peking, China. And this is a translation w^hich
the Library of Congress gave us.
Mr. Morris. ]Mr. Chairman, may that go m the record i
Senator Welker. It is so ordered.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 167" and is as
follows:)
Exhibit No. 167
The Librart of Congress,
Washington, D. C, January 12, 1956.
Mr. Robert C. McManus,
Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C.
Dear Mr. McManus : Your request of December 28 for the translation of 6
articles from the Kuang Ming Daily, May 6, 1951, has received the attention of
our Chinese Section. .
Two copies of the translations, together with the original Chinese text, are
transmitted herewith.
Sincerely yours,
Edwin G. Beal, Jr.,
Acting Chief, Orientalia Division.
Caption for the series of articles : "Special Issue in Commemoration of the
American Revolutionary Writer Miss Smedley."
(The 6 articles which follow have all been translated from the Kuang-mmg
jih-pao, Peking, May 6, 1951, p. 3.)
No. 1. In Commemoration of Oxm Dear Friend Agnes Smedley
(By Mao Tun (i. e. Shen Yen-ping))
Today we are commemorating the first anniversary of the death of the Amer-
ican liberal writer and correspondent, Miss Agnes Smedley * * *. In all she
had spent a total of 12 years in China. It was the most difficult period in the
Chinese revolution. Miss Smedley's first visit to China was in 1928; her first
book relating to China, called Chinese Destinies, was published in 1933. This
book is a record of blood and tears shed by the Chinese peasants. Her second
l)ook, entitled "China's Red Army Marches," was published in 1984. This book
gave the world a real picture of the Chinese Communist Party and its armed
forces, the Red army which was composed of laborers and farmers. It also ex-
posed the disgraceful rumors— manufactured by the reactionary imperialist
hloes — regarding the Chinese people's liberation movement. Her third and
fourth books, China Fights Back and Battle Hymn of China, were published
during the war of resistance. In them she forcefully pointed out that the
Cliinese Communists, not the Chiang Kai-shek group of bandits, were leading
the Chinese people in their w^ar of resistance against Japan. Miss Smedley had
planned to write a biography of Chu Te, but it was never completed because she
was in illne.ss and poverty.
*******
After 1947 it was apparent that the Chinese people's revolution would suc-
ceed and that the American imperialists and their running dogs, the Chiang
bandits, would lose. To fight a hopeless battle, the American imperialists
feverishly prepared for new aggressive wars. The administration became
increasingly Fascist. One would get in trouble if he spoke out against war
or if he righteously advocated for peace. Progressive American people were
being constantly persecuted. Miss Smedley, of course, was no exception. This
shameful persecution reached its climax in Febrauary 1949, when warmonger
MacArthur accused Miss Smedley as a "Soviet spy."
*•**•*•
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 403
Last June the American imperialist flagrantly launched a war of aggression
against Korea and Formosa, which endangered peace in Asia and the world.
Owing to the valiant resistance of the Korean people's army and our volun-
teer army, more than 70,000 of the American aggressors were annihilated.
Temporarily we had smashed the plan of the Ajnerican imperialists to enlarge
the war. But the aggressors would not accept the lesson of defeat. Instead
they intensified their military preparation at the expense of their own people's
blood and tears. At the same time, they entered into a peace agreement inde-
pendently with Japan and started to rearm her with the idea of making her
people cannon fodder. In Europe meanwhile the American imperialists rearmed
Western Germany. They rejected the Soviet proposals to safeguard world
peace. The Truman government and its backers, the Wall Street warmongers,
were plotting a new aggressive war to destroy world peace. They not only
imperiled the people of the whole world, but also the people of the United
States. They were not only the murderers of Smedley; they were the enemies
of all peace-loving people. Although Miss Smedley is now dead, the peoples
of the whole world, including those of the United States, are following the path
of righteousness which Miss Smedley traversed. With courage they will organ-
ize to oppose the sinful plan of the American imperialists to conquer the world
and to slaughter its people.
* * * * H: t *
Life of Miss Smedley, a Warrior
(By Ting Ling (i. e. Chiang Ping-Chih)
It is by no means easy under the American imperialist-fascist system of gov-
ernment to steadfastly cherish iieace and truth. Likewise it is hard not to be
swayed by wealth and power, or not to yield to force under duress. As far
as I can see. Miss Smedley is one of those who defied force and power * * *.
*******
* * * She gained knowledge by direct contact with revolutionists and made
a visit to Soviet Russia. She understood that there were two camps in the
world : the revolutionary, righteous camp comprising the workers of the whole
world, and the reactionary camp which is the militarist, imperialist, and
Fascist camp. Miss Smedley chose the former camp, and came to China. From
her contact with the Chinese people and the revolutionary movement for more
than 20 years, she had never changed her attitude. She ardently loved the
Chinese people, the Chinese revolution, and the Chinese armed forces and their
leaders * * *.
*******
* * * She got herself interested in revolutionary ideals in early life, and
was determined to dedicate herself to revolutionary work * * * she left the
United States and went to Berlin, which was the center of the Indian revolu-
tionists. All the progressive Indians there knew Miss Agnes Smedley.
* ******
She came to China in 1929 * * * She came to China as a correspondent of
the Frankfurter Zeitung in Germany at a time when Chiang Kai-shek's white
terror enveloped the whole of China shortly after the great revolution,
* * * After she came into contact with the leftist intellectuals, she had a
better understanding of the revolutionary aspirations of the Chinese people.
Through these contacts she collected much material related to the revolution-
ary movement of the Chinese Communists in Kiangsi, Fukien, Anhwei, Honan,
Hupeh, Hunan, an other places. She had conversions with revolutionary workers
who came to Shanghai from Red areas. These heroic revolutionary anecdotes,
together with the fighting records of the Red army of workers and farmers,
bloomed beautifully in her heart. She worshipped them and their splendid
war deeds. She wrote report after report which she sent out to the world. * * *
* * *
*
During her stay in Shanghai, Miss Smedley not only wrote articles, but also
helped in establishing relations between the leftist intellectuals and interna-
tional progressive organizations, such as the New Masses and other magazines
in the United States * * *
404 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Employing difterent methods, she worked among foreigners in Shanghai,
filked to them solicited contributions, and organized them as communications
agents for the revolutionary leadeis and guided them. She said to them often
•'Once you understand truth, you should plan what to do accordingly." She
mobilized and directed some people to the Red areas. She helped the Red
relief work, and participated in the work of the Alliance for the Protection of
Human Rights sponsored by Sung Ching-lin, Ts'ai Yuan-p'ei, Lu Hsun (i. e.,
Chou Shu-jen), Yang Hsin-fo, and others.
*******
Chinese reactionary writers like Hu Shili and Ting Wen-chiang hated her
bitterly. Hu Shih proposed complaining to the Frankfurter Zeitung in Germany
that she had been conspiring with the Chinese Communists and demanded that
the agency dismiss her. They intimidated her on these grounds. She was thus
forced to leave the news agency, and lost her status as a correspondent * * *
********
In November 1936, slie reached Sian which was a stronghold of reaction.
Chiang Kai-shek sumujoned a military conference there, and started to suppress
patriotic movements. Chang Hsueh-liang, who was stationed in Sian, Yang Hu-
ch'eng, and many other military leaders of the Northeast and the Northwest
had just accepted the proposals of the Chinese Communists to consolidate and
unify the fighting front. Many Communists were in Sian, as well as members of
the Democratic League. Miss Smedley who was confronted with such compli-
cated and tense political situation became greatly encouraged. When Chiang
Kai-shek was detained on December 12, Miss Smedley was overjoyed. She knew
Chiang Kai-shek was fundamentally reactionary and was the bitter enemy of
the Chinese people. He would not humble himself before the people. But
Miss Smedley did not understand thoroughly the complicated nature of the
Chinese revolution because at one time she wondered why Chiang Kai-shek
was released. Nevertheless the Sian incident strengthened her determination
to join the Eighth Route Army. She proceeded to Yenan, the holy place of
Chinese democracy.
She went to the headquarters of the Eighth Ronte Army where she met
Generals P'eng Te-hui, Jen Pi-shih, Ho Lung, Kuan Hsiang-ying, Lu Ting-i, Yang
Shang-k'un, and others. It seemed to her that she was having a reunion with
members of her own family whom she had not seen for a long time. She held
many pleasant conversations and asked all sorts of questions. In her daily con-
tact with new things and new problems, she was kept exceedingly busy, yet
she took time out to write articles to report what she had seen.
In the .spring of 1937. she went to Yenan and stayed in the city, leading a
frugal life like any other comrade. She spent most of her time talking to
General Chu Te with the purpose of writing his biography * * *.
*******
The War of Resistance started on July 7. She followed the troops in Taiyuan,
and reached the front at Wu-fai. She moved with the headquarters, passed
through the T'ai Hang Mountains, and was stationed in a village near Lin-Feng.
Besides enduring hardships of a military life, she even took care of other
comrades * * *.
*******
In 1938 she went to Wuhan. Frequently she used the battles at P'ing Hsing
Kuan and Yang Ming Pao as subjects for her reports. She exhibited overcoats,
swords, binoculars, bags, gas masks, and other articles captured by the Eighth
Ronte Army. With proceeds from contributions and royalties from her writ-
ings, she bought medical supplies, gloves, and wind glasses and sent them to the
r^ighth Route Army front * * *.
*******
She also went to the New Fourth Route Army and brought medical supplies
to the front. She finished writing her third book, China Fights Back and her
fourth book. Battle Hymn of China. In these books she differentiated between
love and hatred ; she wrote them with enthusiasm. She exposed the intrigues of
American imperialism toward China and revealed the infamy and dissipation
of bandit Chiang Kai-shek. She praised the heroism, tenacity, determination in
resisting Japan, and the selfless spirit of the Eighth Route Army and the Chinese
people. She extolled their spirit of sacrifice in liberating the people, and in
struggling toward a successful i-evolution. Her books were widely acclaimed
by progressive people; they were translated into Russian, Gennan, Chinese,
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 405
and other languages * * *. Although under extreme economic oppression, she
continued her propaganda work on behalf of the Chinese revolution.
Her enthusiasm for reAOlutionary work made her veiT active. Wherever she
went, she would attract a crowd and win their sympathy for herself and her
work in opposing American Imperialism * * * frequently she organized meet-
ings to give speeches and sponsored discussion clubs. When she went to tne
country, she organized the women students in nearby colleges and invited Chinese
revolutionists in the United States to talk about Chinese problems and con-
ditions in China. Gradually she trained herself to be an eloquent speaker.
She was persuasive in hei- talks. Her writings were so convincing that they
drew the attention and sympathy of her readers * * *
* * * * * * * I
* * * General MacArthur, as commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces, accused
her as a spy of Soviet Russia not under arrest. He blamed her for her relation
with two Japanese revolutionary martyrs who were loved by the Japanese people.
All the American newspapers carried this news in big type on the front pages.
What is behind all this? The reason is that during the war of resistance, many
American correspondents came to China. Some of them went to Yenan and the
Eighth Route Army front. They had observed with their own eyes two different
types of China. Seeing from the angle of an American small capitalist class,
they could not but realize that the policy of assisting Chiang in destroying China
was not favorable to the United States. So their statements regarding General
MacArthur's intrigues were unfavorable. Therefore MacArthur and the con-
trolling class of the United States wanted to intimidate or warn these people.
Together with anti-Soviet intrigues of Wall Street, they chose Miss Smedley.
a true friend of China, to be their scapegoat. But Miss Smedley was uncompro-
mising and untouched. Although this plot was treacherous and malicious, it was
not successful.
* * * « « * *
* * * Her publishers were unwilling to accept the biography of General Chu
Te for publication unless she revised it. But she continued to write about China
when she got hold of any material. She distributed her articles freely. When-
ever there was any chance she wanted her friends to have her material incorpo-
rated into their writings, or to use it in debates.
*f ***** *
* * * She passed away this day a year ago — May 6, 1950. At the time of her
death, she told her friends that she wanted to give her belongings to General Chu
Te and have her ashes sent to Peking, China. She could not come to China
while she was living, but she wanted her ashes to be buried in Chinese soil. Now
her ashes have been brought over to Peking and will be interred in the in-
destructible soil of the People's Republic of China * * *
Daughter of the Earth
(By Lao She (i. e., Shu Ch'ing-sh'un)
The first time I met Miss Smedley was in September 1946. Before then I had
heard of her.
The place I met her was Yaddo, a large park in New York State. The park
covers more than 10,000 acres ; there are pine woods, small lakes, rose bushes,
buildings, and individual study rooms all scattered among the pine trees. The
park belonged to a private citizen who was a millionaire and a connoisseur of
the arts. After the owner's death, the beneficiaries of the estate set up a commit-
tee and made the place a receiving center for artists to do creative work. It
was opened in 1926; up to the present more than 500 artists have been enter-
tained in that park, with all expenses paid by the committee. The garden was
exceedingly beautiful and the location was quiet and tranquil, an ideal place for
people to do creative work without disturbance. When I was invited as a guest at
Yaddo for a month. Miss Smedley was already there working on her biography
of General Chu Te.
Whenever possible she made every effort to promote the causes of the Chinese
(Communists) in the liberated area and of Soviet Russia. In so doing she
did not step out to make any statement to the point of hysteria. For example
twice she worked among newly returned American veterans from the war, and
made efforts to dissuade them from following the old veterans in doing reaction-
ary work. She asked me to go with her and let me tell them how corrupt and
406 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
cruel the Chiang-Kai-shek government was. Then she immediately followed
with explanations telling them how good the Chinese Communists in the lib-
erated area were, for fear of arousing suspicion on the part of the poorly edu-
cated soldiers that she was trying to ask them to join the Communist Party.
In another instance, when discussing the world situation with a British author
staying at Yaddo she made every effort not to blow up all at once. That British
author had participated in the Spanish Civil War and he was bitter toward
fascism But, like many other British intellectuals, the author, while opposing
fascism stood in defense of the reactionary policies of the British Labor Govern-
ment toward Russia. Miss Smedley was very clever realizing that if she per-
sisted in praising Soviet Russia she would be putting forth fruitless effort,
or even would cause angry embarrassment for both. She always pointed out that
the "Soviet structure of government is the now ideal, the new experiment, and
thetrefore the bright future of mankind for the whole world. Therefore, we must
not criticize Russia for certain things she does but we must be farsighted for the
sake of Soviet Russia and the future happiness of all mankind. If we denounce
Russia merely on the basis of the remarks made by other people, our ideal would
be diminished and the bright future of mankind would be obstructed." Such
tender, highly principled remonstrances were very persuasive to those intellec-
tuals who were susceptible of being swayed one way or the other.
♦ **«*••
On account of her, Yaddo was subjected to investigation later. It was ac-
cused of being a hideout for dangerous elements and a place for spreading danger-
ous thoughts. There were many progressive artists who were guests at Yaddo
throughout the years, but Miss Smedley was the most notoriously denounced.
Once at a conversation with her at Yaddo I mentioned the impoverishment
of the Chinese writers on the mainland. She immediately asked me to draft a
letter, and typed copies and mailed them to progressive American writers. As
a result I received more than fourteen hundred dollars in contributions which
I deposited in a bank. I was unable to send the American money to China, but
she again helped me by writing to a friend living in Shanghai and by requesting
him to transfer the funds to the person in charge of the Chinese Writers'
Association. * * *
*******
* * * Even after her death she gave her bones to the Chinese people, because
she knew that the Chinese revolution was the people's revolution. Rest in peace,
Daughter of the Earth, because you are now sleeping in the soil which was
won by the victorious people's revolution.
Miss Smedley, a True Friend of the Chinese People
By Wu Yun-fu
*******
We remember that before the Sino-.Tapanese conflict began. Miss Smedley,
while under surveillance of the imperialist elements and Chiang Kai-shek's
secret police, gave constructive assistance to our revolutionists and progressive
members in Shanghai.
*******
At present the American imperialists are madly committing aggression and
slaughter in Korea, causing the Korean people to experience an unprecedented
grave disaster. We should adopt Miss^Smedley's attitude of fighting for the
right and emulate her noble international spirit by aiding Korea and resisting
against the United States in order to completely fulfill the mission of guarding
international peace.
Miss Smedley, a Great Warbioe for Peace and Freedom
By Ma Hai-te
Miss Agnes Smedley came to Slianghai at the time when Chiang Kai-shek
betrayed his comrades after the revolution, thereby spreading reaction and
terror over the whole city. During tliose darkened days, many people with
democratic inclination were arrested, punished and murdered by the servile
hounds of the foreign imperialists ; foreign progressive elements were captured
and put in prison ; charges were leveled against those who showed the slightest
tendency to progressiveness.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 407
She stayed in Shanghai and gathered around her revolutionary friends and
bolstered them with her earnest and indominable spirit. She helped the deter-
mined comrades to carry on their work required of them at that time- she
assisted the underground fighters, collected and dispatched abroad news from
the veteran Communists in Kiangsi : she held meetings with the students and
assisted them to carry out their revolutionary activities; she took part in start-
ing an anti-Japanese magazine called Voice of China, to which she frequently
contributed articles signed with her pen name "Rustv Nails" * * * She par-
ticipated in every type of revolutionary activity when called for at that time.
I recall her busy moments: seeking medical supplies and forwarding them to
the troops at the front ; looking after the clothing problem of a man about
to take a dangerous assignment : working with an interpreter on news of the
Ked army activities; and typing her articles to be sent abroad.
She inspired many persons to join the revolutionary movement by setting a
good example herself, by her persistent struggle, and also bv her untiring in-
doctrination and propaganda efforts. My awakening and ultimatelv mv deter-
mination to join the Chinese Red Army in 1936 was due to her influence and
help. Her deep and strong conviction in the victorv of the Chinese Revolution
and in the Chinese Communist Party movingly affected me and those who were
associated with her. * * *
•**•*•♦
At her hon;e in the Pai En apartment house in Shanghai, she often Invited
close friends to dinner and encouraged them. Her friends had to come to her
home m a roundabout way, for her house was often under the surveillance of
the Kuommtang secret police and her guests were also being shadowed
* *
*******
* Let us commemorate her according to her desired way— by positive
action— by unflinching, continuous action, and by unity in our fight until the
hnal complete destruction of imperialism from the earth (Feb. 19, 1951, Peking).
I Will Never Forget Miss Smedley
By Li Te-ch'uan
I saw Miss Smedley several times when I was in the United States The fol-
lowing two meetings gave me a very deep impression, which will never be
obliterated from my memory.
It was in the spring of 1948 when I first met her. She had been invited to
give a speech at the China Week meeting sponsored by the American Far East
Democratic Policy Committee. My husband, Feng Yu-hsiang, and I were invited
to take part in this big meeting which was held on 38th Street, New York City
A huge crowd turned out at the meeting. The great maioritv of the people were
workers from clothing manufacturing plants. The leaders of this meeting were
Miss Lo Mu-te, Miss Smedley, the Negro singer, Mr. Robeson, Mr. Feng Yu-
hsian, and I. All of us stood on a platform specially installed on a big truck
Alter one of the leaders announced the formal opening of the meeting on the
loud speaker, the first speaker was Miss Smedley who sharply criticized the
American Government's policy in assisting Chiang Kai-shek to start a civil
war. t^he stated, "Now the war has ended ; American troops should be with-
drawn immediately from Chinese soil * * *
• ♦ • • * * «
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, there is only one bit of unfinished busi-
ness at this hearing. Mr. Mandel, the research director of the com-
mittee, has gone through the files of the Far East Reporter, the Far
-h^ast hpotlight, the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy
and has compiled a list of 36 individuals who have been associated with
the United States who have been connected in varving ways with the
aforesaid publications and organizations. I was "wondering if they
may go into the record at this time with a description of exactly what
their associations with these publications have been.
Senator Welker. I think perhaps in fairness to the witness she
A °j -^.1^^^ '> ^^^^^^® ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^h^s list to see if there is some error.
And It there is some error, she may point it out.
408 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
I am sending it down to you, Miss Russell. This is a list prepared
bv the research director of Government employees, United states
Government employees, either former or present, who al^e connected
with the Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy and its
official organ, Far East Spotlight, and ask you whether or not you
recognize any of those names. , ^, nj^^i i +
Miss RussEM.. I claim my privileges under the hfth amendment.
Senator Welker. You claim your privileges under the htth amend-
ment ?
Miss Russell. Yes.
Senator Welker. Very well. Proceed. , -i . •.
Mr Morris. May that list go into the record with a caveat that it
purports only to be a compilation made by Mr. Mandel, research di-
rector of the committee, in the course of trying to determine to what
extent individuals connected with the United States Government have
been associated with these publications and these organizations <
Senator Welker. Yes, with a special reference that maybe some
of them now are not connected with the Government, fonner and
present men employed by the United States Government, ihat will
o-o into the record with that stipulation.
'^ (The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 168 and is
as follows:)
Exhibit No. 168
Government Employees Connected With the Committee for a Democratic
Far Eastern Policy and Its Official Organ, Far East Spotlight
Abava Hernando J. : Former political reporter of United States Embassy in
Mani?irformer employee Philippine Research and Information Sec ion head-
quarters United States Army in the Far East. Speaker ^^^^ Committee for a
Democratic Far Eastern Policy, writes guest column for Far East Spotlight,
^""ibSmf He?be?t K. (Dr.): Former major in United States Public Health
ServiceTn'cWna; later regional medical officer for UNRRA in Shantung Speaker
for Committee for I Democratic Far Eastern Policy.-CDFEP Information Bulle-
tin, September 1946. , ^, .. , o^ *. w„,,. ,-,1 riiiriQ
Arivoshi, Koji: Former first lieutenant with Lmted States Armj m Chma--
attached to United States Army observer group at Chinese Communist head-
quarters; later psychological warfare representative of the OWI at lenan.
Writes guest column for Far East Spotlight. Far East Spotlight, February 194 < ,
pages. Consultant, Far East Spotlight, March 1949. , ^ ^- ^. ^^ v'ov
Bernard, John T. : Former Congressman. Member, board of directors, a ar
East Spotlight, Jime 1948. . . ^ ^^^^^„^f.„i.
Bernstein, David : Former United States adviser to Philippine Government-
Far East Spotlight, October 1947, page 7. r^ „„^^n fr.r-
Bisson, T. A. : Former adviser, Government Section, Supreme Commander for
the Allied Powers, Tokyo, Japan; principal economist, Board of Economic wai-
fare, 1942-43. Consultant, Far East Spotlight, March 1949, CDFEF.
Capitman, William : Former special agent, United States Army Counter-inteui-
gence in Japan. Writes for Far East Spotlight, July 1948, page lo.
Carlson, Evans F. : General, United States Marine Corps. First chairman,
CDFEP letterhead February 11, 1947. See quote in Far East Spotlight, Decem-
ber 1949-January 1950, page 21. Deceased. Author books on China.
Chapman, Abraham: Formerly on editorial stafE of Army newspaper, the Dauy
Pacifican (fired by General MacArthur). Writer for Far East Spotlight, feee
Worker, Julv 7, 1946, page 9 editor Fraternal Outlook. Wrote article for *ar
Eastern Survey (IPR). Member executive committee, CDFEP letterhead, Apni
18, 1951, writes for Far East Spotlight, June 1948. . .
Chu Tong : "In 1942 and 194;^ Mr. Tong was on a confidential mission to tne
Orient for the OWI."— Daily Worker, May IS, 1949, page 3. Editor China Daily
News. Lectures for Jefferson School of Social Science. Member executive
committee CDFEP, writes for Far East Spotlight.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 409
Coffee, John M : Former Member of Congress. Sponsor, CDFEP, letterhead
April 4, 1942.
Deane, Hugh : Employee, OflBce of the Coordinator of Information. Con-
tributor, Far East Spotlight, July 1948.
De Lacy, Hugh : Foi*mer Member of Congress. Member, board of directors.
Far East Spotlight, June 194S.
Doyle, Dorothy : Ex-UNRRA nurse in China.— Far East Spotlight, February
1948, page 1.
Falconer, Douglas: Former UNRRA official in China.— Far East Spotlight,
May 1949, page 13.
Fast, Howard : Army special film project, 1944. Member staff OWI, overseas
December 1942-November 1943. — Sponsor, Committee for Democratic Far East-
ern Policy.
Foster, John : Ex-member, United States Information Service in China. — Far
East Spotlight, March 1949, page 13.
Friedman, Julian : Former United States labor attache in Shanghai. W^rites
column for Far East Spotlight, April 1947, pages 3, 5.
Gollobin, Ira: Chairman, American Veterans of the Philippines Campaign —
must have been in the Army. Signer of call to Conference on China and the
Far East (October 18-20, 1946). Member board of directors, CDEF. — Far East
Spotlight, June 1948.
Hagelberg, Gerhard: Served in Asia during war, with Signal Corps. — Far
East Spotlight, August-September 1947, page 6. Consultant, CDFEP, Far East
Spotlight, March 1949.
Hernandez, Amado V. : Major in Lt. Col. Bernard Anderson's Guerillas during
occupation of Philippines. Writer, Far East Spotlight, February 1949, page 10.
Hunton, Alphaeus: Former teacher, Howard University. — Far East Spot-
light, Augiist-September 1947, page 3.
Keeney, Philip O. : Former libraries officer, SCAP, Tokyo. Treasurer
CDFEP.— Far East Spotlight, June 1949.
Dealtad, Catherine (Dr.) : "Was with United States Public Health Service on
loan to UNRRA as a medical officer in Shantung Province (North China) for over
a year."— Far East Spotlight, February 1948, page 6. Member board of directors,
CDFEP— Far East Spotlight, June 1948.
Liu Tsun-Chi : Former Chief Editor of the Chinese Department, United States
Office of War Information, Chungking. Editor Slianghai paper suppressed by
Kuomintang. Wrote article for Far East Spotlight, July 1947, page 3.
Menefee, Selden : Social research economist, WPA, 1938-41 ; housing research
analyst, USHA, 1941 ; senior psychologist. Office of Coordinator of Information,
1941-42. Sponsor, Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy.
Perlo, Victor : National Recovery Administration, Commerce Department, War
Production Board, Treasury Department, writes article for Far East Spotlight
urging trade with Chinese Communist Government — Far East Spotlight, Decem-
ber 1949-January 1950, page 7.
Pressman, Lee: Assistant General Counsel, AAA, 1933-35; General Counsel
WPA, 1935-36. Member board of directors, CDP^EP, Far East Spotlight June
1948. '
Rorkbrough, Edward : Writer for OWI— Daily Peoples World, September 28
1946, October 3, 1946. Consultant, Far East Spotlight, March 1949.
Salisbury, Laurence E. : Occupied numerous stations in Far East as United
States foreign service officer, 1920-44 ; former Assistant Chief, Division of Far
Eastern Affairs, State Department ; retired 1944 to assume present position as
editor Far East Survey (IPR) : consultant to CDFEP.— Information Bulletin
August 1946.
Stewart, Maxwell S. : Consultant, War Manpower Committee 1943^4
Consultant, CDFEP, letterhead, February 11, 1947.
Tewksbury, Donald G. : Deputy chief, Special Training Branch, Military
Training Division, ASF, War Department, 1942-44— writes for Far East Soot-
light, October 1950.
Wuchiuich, George S. : OSS. Speaker, CDFEP, Daily Worker, April 3, 1946
Watson, Goodwin B. : Chief analyst. Foreign Intelligence Service Federal
Communications Commission, 1941-44— Sponsor, CDFEP, letterheard' April 4,
Watts, Richard, Jr. : Former head, News Division, Chungking Branch OWI—
Worker July 4, 1946. Dublin representative. United States OWI, and special
^l^i^^^T?^ to American Minister to Eire. 1942^3— Member board of directors
CDFEP, writes for Far East Spotlight.
410 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
Willmott, Don : With OSS in China during war ; writes article for Far East
Spotlight, September 1948, page 15.
Mr. Morris. I have no more questions, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Welker. Have you planned your speaking tour for the
summer of 1956, Miss Russell ?
Miss Russell. I have.
Senator Welker. Do you have the speaking tour planned with
respect to the Western States ?
Miss Russell. I have the general areas where I am to speak.
Senator Welker. Have you already been booked, or have you been
scheduled for any of those places ?
Miss Russell. The details are still to be worked out, the areas
where I am going to be have been made known to my subscribers, and
I am waiting for them to tell me when to come.
Senator Welker. The subscribers are the ones who do the detail
work for you in arranging for these speeches ?
Miss Russell. I let them know I am coming, and some of them
arrange meetings.
Senator Welker. And you haven't arrived at a schedule for your
next appearance in the State of Idaho ?
Miss Russell. No.
Senator Welker. I think that concludes the hearing as of today.
I want to thank you. Miss Russell, for appearing before the com-
mittee. And you, Mr. Rein, for your courteous and very fine way of
representing your client.
The meeting is now adjourned.
And it is further ordered that you, Miss Russell, are now released
from subpena.
(Whereupon, at 12: 40 p. m., the subcommittee adjourned.)
INDEX
Note.— The Senate Internal Security Subcommittee attaches no significance to
the mere fact of the appearance of the name of an individual or an organization
in this index.
A
Ackerman, Dr. Phyllis 329
"A Day in a Peking Prison" ~ 300
Alabama J ~ !__!__ ~ 340 341
Americans _ 323^ 329r337, 357, 396
American Armed Forces from China, Japan, and Korea 376
American-Asian relations 33^
American bases ~ ~ 3-g
American combat troops I_II_I I II IIII 383
"American Intervention in China : Official Statements Versus Facts"IIII 377
American policy 329
-^P 34g
Armed Forces ~ ~ ~ oan
At>id. 33^ 3g^
Asian and Pacific Peace Conference, Peking, China, October 1952 ' 388
"Asia and World Peace, Whither Japan? Answers by a Japanese— Toga
Kameda, and an Australian— Victor James" 388
"Asia Tells the World What the United States Is Doing in Asia- Whv
Asia Demands Peace" ooa
Asiatic Spain _ H ~ ~_ __ 3^9
"Bandung, Asian-African Conference" 070
Berkeley " xi^
Bill of Rights _ _ I I _ ^
Bisson, T. A Z^^ll.~ -."ZlllZ .3^
Boise ir339l340, 342
British ' oT-
Byrnes, Secretary of State I I ~lll 383
C
CaldAvell_ 339 34^3
California 305 326, 339, 341, 342
Cannon, Sam _ ' ^q
Chicago ---~:ii::::::::::::"34i, 342
S^'"''-^•J 0-— T 326-329, 337, 338, 347, 377, 383, 388, 397
China Aid Council _ 39^
"China's Foreign Trade Soars — AVhy Can't Americans Benefit ">" I 367
China Monthly Review oo^
"China Trade Facts" IIIIII 37^
China Weekly Review .^n.%
'eekly Review 39j
Chinese
"China: Visitors Welcome!" ^^ _I 3^3
397
Chinese Communist 3"oq
Chinese National Government IIIIIIII 3-('
Chinese Nationalist Army in China 'o~q
Chinese YWCA I— Illllliri 326
Coeur d'Alene ~ oon o^.^
Colorado '^^^' Jf,"
jl INDEX
Page
- - . . 326
Columbia oor
Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy ---;;, „„„'
committee lor a^^ g^c^og^^ 333^ 337^ 338^ 347, 358, 360-363, 365, 376-384, 387,
38S', 397, 399, 400, 407, 408.
Letterhead. August 26, 1945 f^'
111 West 42d Street, New York 06I, 6-ti
58 Park Avenue, New York '^^
June 11, 1947 — Jf^
Committee for a Democratic Policy Toward China doO
Communist Party '^^^' •^^^' ^^^' ^^^
Communist Party of New York State <5^0, 6Sl
35 East 12th Street, New York, N. Y -^JO
Congress ^93
Congi-essmen ■- — --7 ~~~T" —
"Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the People's Republic of China,
With Editorial Introduction" 365, 386
Constitution of the United States 386, 387
Craigmont 3^^
"Crisis in China : What Chiang Has Lost in Arms, Men ' 35S
D
Dailv Worker 330-332, 346, 387, 388
Mav 8. 1949 330, 387, 388
January 16, 1950 331, 332
December 2, 1948 358
Darr, Rev. John 389
Daughter of the Earth 405
DeLacy, Hugh 384, 400
Dennis, Eugene 327
Descriptive maps of China 37-
District of Columbia 341
Dodd, Bella 400
Dutch 377
E
Eighth Route Armory 329
Eisenhower, President 396, 397
England 326,402
Epstein, Israel 329, 360
Exhibit No. 139— Letter to all sections and counties from May Miller,
assistant organizing secretary of Communist Party of New York State,
Robert Thompson, chairman. New York, N. 1^., letterhead dated March 1,
1949 re program for action on China policy 330
Exhibit No. 140— Article from Dailv W^orker, January 16, 1950: "Facts
Behind The Korea Crisis: Who Started The Shooting?" 332
Exhibit No. 141-A— Letter from Maud Russell "To my friends" re Com-
mittee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy being forced to register as
a subversive organization 335
Exhibit No. 142 — JNIaud Russell signature 337
Exhibit No. 143— Far East Reporter. Maud Russell, publisher, January
19.15: Making available significant facts and analyses contributed by
comjietent writers on tlio Far East 343
Exhibit No. 143-A— Far East Reporter. Maud Russell, publisher, .January
1953: Making available significant facts and analyses contributed by
competent writers on the Far East 344
Exhibit No. 14.3-B— Maud Russell, publisher. Far East Reporter : Making
available significant facts and analysis contributed by competent writers
on the Far East 345
Exhibit No. 144— Letters from China 347
Military situation 347-349
Notes on American intervention in China 349-354
Living in the liberated areas 354-357
Ordei" on tliis form 357
Exhibit No. 145— Article from Daily Worker, December 2, 1948 : "Crisis in
China : What Chiang Has Lost in Arms, Men" 358-360
ESTDEX X TTT
Page
Exhibit No. 14(^-P^ar East Siwtlight, July-Septembor, IWJ: List of offi-
cers of Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy 362 363
Exhibit No. 146-A— "White Paper Confirms Our Cliarges" 364^365
Exhibit No. 147— Far East Reporter, entitled "Constitution (Fundamental
Law) of the People's Republic of China, With Editorial Introduction". 365-367
Exhibit No. 148— Far East Reporter, entitled "State Capitalism in China"- 367
Exhibit No. 149— "China's Foreign Trade Soars— Why Can't Americans
Benefit?" 367-369
Exhibit No. 150— Far East Reporter, entitled "Wanted: A Far East
Geneva," by Susan Warren _ 369-37v>
Exhibit No. 151— "China Trade Facts" Z___IZ__ ~_~Z_ _ 372
Exhibit No. 152— Far East Reporter, entitled "Formosa~(Taiwan) " by
Susan Warren 3j9
Exhibit No. 153— Far East Reporter, entitled '"Descriptive Maps of
China" 372 37^
Exhibit No. 154— Far East Reporter, entitled "The Trut~li~AbouTYndo-
china" { 3j3
Exhibit No. 155— Far East Reporter, entitled "China : Vistor's Welcome !"_ 373
Exhibit No. 156— Far East Reporter, entitled "Bandung, Asian-African
Conference" 373-376
Exhibit No. 157— A petition to the President, the Secretary of State, and
Congress : "We demand : Get out of China !" Return to Committee for a
Democratic Far Eastern Policy 378
Exhibit No. 157-A— Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, 58
Park Avenue, New York, N. Y. : "What Are We Saying and What Are
We Doing?" 379
Reverse side of document :
"Do We Keep Troops in China for This?" 380
"Homecoming Again Delayed" 381
Exhibit No. 157-B— June 28, 1956, from Committee for a Democratic Far
Eastern Policy re opposition to House bill H. R. 6795 for military assist-
ance to China ^ 38i 332
Exhibit No. 158— June 24, 1947, from Committee fora Democratic Far
Eastern Policy, to fellow citizens re dependence of Nanking regime on
United States to save Chiang Kai-shek from defeat by his own people 383
Exhibit No. 159— Committee for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy printed
circular re wide support needed for Representative Delacy's resolution
for immediate withdrawal of United States troops and equipment 384
Exhibit No. 160— Invitation, mimeographed, headed "Far East Reporter
Takes Pleasure in Providing an Opportunity for Its Subscribers and
Friends to meet Anita and Henry Wilcox" 389
Exhibit No. 161 — Invitation from Maud Russell, publisher. Far East Re-
porter, to our subscribers and friends to an evening with Rev. John Darr_ 389
Exhibit No. 162— "Whither Japan?", introduction to pamphlet.. 390-396
Exhibit No. 163— "How the USA Curbs National Independence" 390
Exhibit No. 164— "Asia Tells the World What the United States Is Doing
in Asia ; Why Asia Demands Peace" 39O
Exhibit No. 165 — Letter from Maud Russell, executive director. Committee
for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy, June 11, 1947, to fellow citizens re
Nanking government 393
Exhibit No. 166— "The Tokyo Martyrs," by Agnes Smedley I ~__ 400, 401
Exhibit No. 167 — Letter to Robert C. McManus from Edwin G. Beal, Jr.,
Acting Chief, Orientalia Division, Library of Congress, January 12, 1956!
I'e translation of 6 articles from Kuang Ming Daily, May 6, 1951 402
No. 1. "In Commemoration of Our DeadFriend Agnes' Smedley," by
Mao Tun ' 4Q2
"Life of Miss Smedley, a Warrior," by Ting Ling _ . I 40a
"Daughter of the Earth." by Lao She ZZ_Z~"ZZ.~~ _ 405
"Miss Smedley, a True Friend of the Chinese People," by Wu YunZfuZ" 406
"Miss Smedley, a Great Warrior for Peace and Freedom," by Ma
Hai-te '_ _ AQa
"I Will Never Forget Miss Smedley." by Li Te-eh'uan ZZ~ZZZ" 407
Exhibit No. 168— "Government Employees Connected with the Committee
for a Democratic Far Eastern Policy and Its Official Organ. Far East
Spotlight" ^Qg
IV INDEX
P
Pa?e
••Facts Behind the Korea Crisis" oq""Voo""qI«" q'tT^ III' ?«R
I,',.- vn^t 337, 338, 34b, 37b, 383, 38b
F r F-fst Re"»orte7 "-"_ 337-343, 346,
112 West 4'2d Street, New York 36, N. Y ^^
Letterliead ^^1
Letterhead, January 1955 %Jr
Letterhead, January 1953 ^^
103 West 93d Street, New York 25, N. Y ^'^
Far East SpotlS' t^ 3^8^ -357, 361, 363, 365, 369, 372, 373, 400, 407, 408
March 1049 f^
Far eastern policy ^^•^' ^°^
Field, Frederick „ ^q'
Field, Frederick V ^-'^' ^jJJJ
Fifth amendmenV""V:::::~
Florida ^^™J
Formosa (Taiwan) ^'-
Franco ^;^
French Government ^' '
G
Gerla.h. Talitha 329, 360
Germ warfare in Korea ^^>'' ^^
Government ?-^' *'°
Government employees connected with the Committee for a Democratic
Far Eastern Policy and its official organ. Far East Spotlight 408
Grangeville 339
H
Hai-te, Ma ^^
Hintou, Joan ^^»
Hinton. Mr " ??J
Hinton, William ^W, rfox
Hotel Roosevelt, New York City 4U0
House bill H. K. 0795 3M
"Housing and Construction in New China" 389
•'How the USA Curbs National Independence" 390
Hurley, Ambassador Patrick 377
I
Idalio Falls --^---.„ ^^
Idaho. State of 339-343, 410
"In Conunemoration of Our Dead Friend Agnes Smedley" 402
India 338
Indochina 377
Indonesia 377
liidusco ^ 3J9
Institute of Pacific Relations 326, 330
international Civil Liberties Committee 397
"I Will Never Forget Miss Smedley" 407
J
Jafle, Phil 400
James, Victor 388
Japan 338
Japanese 329
K
Kai-shek, Chiang 327, 383, 397
K'aiiKvla, Toga 388
Kansas 341
INDEX V
Fng9
Kaufman, Judge 397
Kellogg II_I_I"__Z 339
Korean 39^
Korean war IIII-_IIIIII__IIIIII___r396~397, 399
Kuomintang 329 377 353
Kuang Ming Dally, May 6, 1951 402
L
Lamont, Corliss 399
Lewiston ~ ~ 339
Library of Congress 402
"Life of Miss Smedley, a Warrior," by Ting Ling Z" 403
Ling, Ting 403
M
Malaya g^Y
Manhattan Z_I I I_I__IZ 331
MacArthur, Gen. Douglas ~_ __~_ 377
McManus, Mr I_III~ __IZ ~~ 401
McMichael, Rev. Jack ZZ Z ZZ_ 329
Michigan , 34^^
Middle West -'— ZZZZV_ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ'339, 341
Miller, May 33O, 331
Minnesota 34]^
"Miss Smedley, a Great Warrior for Peace and Freedom" ~____ 406
"Miss Smedley, a True Friend of the Chinese People" 405
Missouri ^^
Montana 34]^
N
Nampa__ 339^ 34O 342
Nanking Government 397
Nation, the Z 346
National Education Committee on Communist Policy in China Z 330
New Fourth Army 329
New Mexico Z_ 341
New World Review, March 1955 issue Z 372
New World Review Z 396
New York Herald Tribune 346
New York City 326, 333, 340, 341
New York Times 345 3^7
North Carolina ZZ ' 341
North Dakota 34O 341
O
Oakland 340
Ohio zzz_zzzrz^zzz;zzzi^:rz^ 341
Oregon 341^ 342
P
Pacific 328
Peking, China Z__Z ZZ_ZZ 402
Pennsylvania ~_ ~__~ 34]'
People's Republic of China 393
People's World _~_ 34^
Pope, Arthur Upham 329
Portland 342
Powell, John. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ360, 388
Powell, John W 39y
President , Qg3
Program for action on China policy ZZ~~ 330
Pruitt, Ida ~ ~ 3gg
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 9999 05445 4333
INDEX
B
Page
T, , p^,.„^ 346, 357, 360, 388, 398
Red Cnina ^ 226
Rein, David 7~-"-- fT";; q2R
711 14th Street NW., Washington, D. C ^f"
Attorney for Maud Russell ~_Z~~_~_l~S9Q 397
Rosenberg's I'ZII _ ' 396
Rosenberg case - " ~ooPi_4in
Russell, Maud (testimony of) "^or
103 West 93d Street, N. Y ^g
1893, born in California ^;^
1915, graduated University of California |^^
Studied Woodbrook College, England ^^o
M. A., Columbia, in 1945 g^
Fifth ameSneS re CommitteeUr a" De'mocratic Far Eastern Policy- 326
Publisher of Far East Reporter g^«
Fifth amendment re Communist Party.
S
399
Salisbury, Lawrence E ^
San Francisco — 029
Sayers, Michael ggg
Schuman, Julian „q„
Secretary of State "I"!' 377
Senators ~ ~ 097
Shanghai, China 229
Sheehan, Vincent ^|
She, Lao ono
Silvermaster, Nathan Gregory 2m-M)°
Smedley, Agnes ^^"loo
Snow, Mrs. Edgar ~~"~~I ^9
South ' 041
South Carolina ^
South Dakota ^
Soviet Foreign Office ^^
Soviet Russia Today (publication) ^<;f
Spotlight (publication) ^^'
"State Capitalism in China" ^nA
State, Department of ^^'^' *"^
Steele, Johannes ^""
Stein, Guenther ^^
Stewart, Maxwell S ^;^
Stilwell, General ^^
Stowe, Leland %'X?.
Sues, Ilona Ralf ^^'^
T
Tannebaum, Gerald ^^
Te-ch'uan, Li ^"|
Tennessee o^q
Terlin, Rose ^^
Thompson, Robert ^nn
"Tokyo Martyrs," by Agnes Smedley ooa'^nQ qsq
Truman, President ^^y- ^»^' ^°^
"Truth About Indochina, The" ^'|
"Truth Also Fights for Free China" <*^"' ^??
Tun, Mao *^;
23 West 26th Street %'^'
Twin Falls ^**^
U
Ullmann, William Ludwig Qo«"Qftr^5ft"5q<? 407
United States 326, 361, 386, 388, 407
U. S. Government *"'*
INDEX vn
Page
U. S. Government employees 408
United States military forces 357
United States military personnel 383
United States of America 399
U. S. News & World Report 346, 387
University of California __ __!"__" ' 326
UP ::::_:::::::::::: 346
Utah 341
V
V-J Day 383
W
Wallace _ _ 339
Wall Street Journal ~J~ ~_~ 345
"Wanted: A Far East Geneva" ~ ~__I 369
Warren, Susan ~ 3^9 3-5-2
Washington .____"_" 341 342
Watts, Richard, Jr ~_ ' 3.79
"We Demand: Get Out of China:" I ~ 378
Wedemeyer, Gen. Albert ~ ~ 377
Weinstock, Louis , ~ 4OO
Welker, Senator Herman 325
Western States ~"~ 4]^q
"What Chiang Has Lost in Arms, Men" 358
"White Paper Confirms Our Charges" Qfi4
White, Ted :: : joo
"Whither Japan?" ~ _ "_"_" 390
"What Started the Shooting?" ZlZJlJi_JlZ_ 331 332
wiiicox, Anita ::_:":::::::::::::: 388,' 389
Willcox, Henry ggg, 359
Wisconsin 34-j^
Woodbrook College, England ZZ Z-_ZZZZZ 3'?6
Worker,- ::_:::::::"387, 388
Wm, Tung Pi 333
Y
Yergan, Dr. Max 097 ooq
Yun-fu, Wu I_I__II III~_III~IZ"_ 456
O
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE
ADMINISTBATION OF THE INTEENAL SECUEITY
ACT Am OTHER INTERNAL SECUEITY LAWS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
EIGHTY-FOURTH CONGKESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE
UNITED STATES
MAECH 13, 1956
PART 9
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
DNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1956
Boston Public Library
Cuperinteri.-lprit of Documents
I JUL 18 1956
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
JAMBS O. EASTLAND, Mississippi, Chairman
ESTES KBFAUVBR, Tennessee ALEXANDER WILEY, Wisconsin
OLIN D. JOHNSTON, South Carolina WILLIAM LANGER, North Dakota
THOMAS C. HENNINGS, JR., Missouri WILLIAM E. JENNER, Indiana
JOHN L. McCLELLAN, Arkansas ARTHUR V. WATKINS, Utah
PRICE DANIEL, Texas EVERETT McKINLEY DIRKSEN, Illinois
JOSEPH C. O'MAHONEY, Wyoming HERMAN WELKER, Idaho
MATTHEW M. NEBLY, West Virginia JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER, Maryland
Subcommittee To Investigate the Administration of the Internal Secubity
Act AND Other Internal Security Laws
JAMES O. EASTLAND, Mississippi, Chairman.
OLIN D. JOHNSTON, South Carolina WILLIAM E. JENNER, Indiana
JOHN L. McCLELLAN, Arkansas ARTHUR V. WATKINS, Utah
THOMAS C. HENNINGS, JB., Missouri HERMAN WELKER, Idaho
PRICE DANIEL, Texas JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER, Maryland
Robert Morris, Chief Counsel
Richard Arens and Alva C. Carpenter, Associate Counsel
Benjamin Mandbl, Director of Research
n
CONTENTS
Testimony of — Fag*
Lamken, Natalie 426
Lautman, Corinne 428
Montgomery, Jean 411
Montgomery, Jean, resumed 431
Sherman, Alexander 421
Stone, John B "~~ 417
Todd, Alden "_IIII 435
m
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 1956
United States Senate,
Subcommittee To Investigate the Administration
OF THE Internal Security Act and Other
Internal Security Laws, of the
Cojimittee on the Judiciary,
Washington^ D. G.
Tlie subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 : 30 a. m. in room 318,
Senate Office Buildin(j, Senator Arthur V. Watkins presiding.
Present: Senators Eastland (chairman) and Watkins.
Also present: Robert Morris, chief counsel; Benjamin Mandel,
research director ; and Robert C. McManus, investigations analyst.
Senator Watkins. The committee will be in session.
Judge Morris, you may call your witnesses.
Mr, Morris. Jean Montgomery. Miss Jean Montgomery.
Chairman Eastt,and. Hold your hand up, please, ma'am.
Do you solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give is the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Miss Montgomery. I do.
TESTIMONY OF JEAN MONTGOMERY, ACCOMPANIED BY DAVID
COBB, HER ATTORNEY
Mr. Morris. Miss Montgomery, will you give your full name and
address to the reporter, please?
Miss Montgomery. Jean Montgomery, 5041 12th Street NE., Wash-
ington.
Mr. Morris. Wliat is your occupation. Miss Montgomery?
Miss Montgomery. Unemployed.
Mr. Morris. You are a newspaperwoman ?
Miss Montgomery. I was.
Mr. Morris. I wonder if you would give the committee a short
sketch of your career, dating back to the time you were in college .
Miss Montgomery. I was employed in the early thirties by the
United States Government
Chairman Eastland. Would you please talk into the mike, ma'am,
so that we can hear you.
Miss MoNTGoiMERY (continuing). For about a year.
Mr. Morris. I am sorrv. You went to Antioch College; did you
not?
Miss Montgomery. That is right.
Mr. Morris. And you graduated in what year?
Miss Montgomery. I spent 4 years there. I did not graduate.
Mr. Morris. I see.
411
412 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Miss Montgomery. I left in 1929, 1 believe.
Mr. Morris. And what was your first employment after you left
Antioch College?
Miss Montgomery. I had a brief experience with a marionette
show. I then became employed with a women's organization that
was seekinc? the repeal of the prohibition amendment. I next worked
for the United States Government in Washington.
Mr. Morris. AVhat was your employment with the United States
Government in Washington ?
Miss Montgomery. As an administrative assistant in the NRA.
Mr. Morris. It what year was that ?
Miss Montgomery. I believe it was in 1934 or 1935. I believe in
1934 or 1935.
Mr. Morris. Now, in 1935 you became associated with the Textile
Workers Organizing Committee, did you not?
Miss Montgomery. It might have been in that year. After I left
my Government job, I was employed in New York with an organiza-
tion known as the Paper Industries Coordinator.
Mr. Morris. The Paper Industries
Miss Montgomery. The Paper Industries Coordinator. There-
after I had a number of jobs.
Mr. Morris. Now, did Len De Caux assist you in getting that par-
ticular position ?
Miss Montgomery. No.
Mr. Morris. Did you work for the Textile Workers Organizing
Committee ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes, I did.
Mr. Morris. Now, did Len De Caux get you that job?
Miss Montgomery. No. Len De Caux hiTed me to work — no.
That is correct. Len De Caux hired me to work for the Textile
Workers Organizing Committee.
Mr. Morris. Now, at the end of 1935 and early 1936 you did secre-
tarial work for the Rural Worker ?
Miss Montgomery. I don't recall the name, I was employed by a
committee organizing farmworkers.
Mr. Morris. Now, were you associated with a gentleman named
Archie Wright at that time ?
Miss Montgomery. Not that I recall.
Mr. Morris. Now will you continue? For how long a period did
you do that work ?
Miss Montgomery. Oh, I really don't remember. I should think
perhaps a year.
Mr. Morris. All right. What was your next employment. Miss
Montgomery ?
Miss Montgomery. Probably the CIO or the Textile Workers Or-
ganizing Committee.
Mr. Morris. In what year was that ?
Miss Montgomery. I think around 1935 or 1936.
Mr. Morris. I see. Now, for how long did you work for them?
Miss Montgomery. I believe it was less than a year ?
Mr. Morris. And what was your next employment after that. Miss
Montgomery ?
Miss Montgomery. The investment management firm of Joseph W.
Burden.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EN THE UNITED STATES 413
Mr. Morris. For how long did you work for them ?
Miss Montgomery. About 3 yeare, I believe.
Mr. Morris. That brings it down to what year ?
Miss Montgomery. Around 1940.
Mr. Morris. 1940. Now, what did you do during the war years,
Miss Montgomery ?
Miss Montgomery. In 1941 1 was employed by Tass.
Mr. Morris. I see. Now was that the last employment, then, after
the Burden agency, from there to Tass ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes, that is right.
Mr. Morris. And for how long did you work for Tass ?
Miss Montgomery. Until July 1955.
Mr. Morris. I see. Now, what was the nature of your work for
Tass news agency ?
Miss Montgomery. I was a reporter.
Mr. Morris. I see. Now, would you give us a brief description of
your duties as a Tass reporter? Were you working, for instance, in
New York, or were you working in Washington ?
Miss Montgomery. I worked in New York for 4 years. I was then
assigned to Washington in the fall of 1945, assigned to cover Con-
gress. My duties were those of any reporter, to cover hearings, legis-
lation, debates, and other things of interest to readers.
Mr. Morris. Did you cover Capitol Hill, in other words ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Did you also cover the White House?
Miss Montgomery. Later, beginning, I believe, around 1952, I was
given the additional assignment of covering Presidential and the
Secretary of State's press conferences.
Mr. Morris. Now, in that capacity did you attend off-the-record
news conferences ?
Miss Montgomery. No, sir.
Mr. Morris. Did you also cover the State Department ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Can you tell us briefly of your work covering the State
Department?
Miss Montgomery. The work included sending news reports on
whatever news emanated from the State Department : Speeches, hand-
outs, press conferences.
Mr. Morris. Now, when you would gather your news, or material
for your news stories, to whom did you turn that material over, Miss
Montgomery ?
Miss Montgomery. A news story was filed, usually by telephone
Mr. Morris. By you ?
Miss Montgomery. By me.
Mr. Morris. To whom ?
Miss Montgomery. Dictated over the telephone, and it went by
teletype to the New York office of Tass for transmission to Moscow.
Mr. Morris. I see. In other words, you reported directly to New
York rather than to the head of the Washington bureau ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Who was the head of the Washington bureau?
Miss Montgomery. At what time?
Mr. Morris. Well, give us the period of time that you were with
Tass.
414 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE XHSTITED STATES
Miss Montgomery. In the beginning of my employment in the
A^^ashington bureau, the manager was Larry Todd. Thereafter
the chief of that bureau was Federov. He was succeeded by Bolsha-
kov, who was in charge when I left.
Mr. Morris. Now, Bolshakov is a Russian, is he not?
Miss Montgomery. Yes.
Mr. Morris. And at the time of your departure in July 1955 what
was the makeup of the Tass agency here in Washington, the personnel
office ?
]Miss Montgomery. There was Mr. Bolshakov, another reporter,
Mr. Paramonov, and either one or two technical workers in the office.
Mr. Morris. Would you tell us who they were ?
Miss Montgomery. One was named Kondakova.
Mr. ]\loRRis. Will you spell that for the reporter?
Miss Montgomery. I believe it was K-o-n-d-a-k-o-v-a.
Mr. Morris. Now, what was the name of the reporter that you men-
tioned after Mr. Bolshakov?
Miss Montgomery. Paramonov.
]Mr. Morris. Is that the gentleman who sits over here at the end of
the press table, Miss Montgomery ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes.
Mr. Morris. And why did you leave Tass in July 1955 ?
Miss Montgomery. I was dismissed.
Mr. Morris. What was the reason for your dismissal?
Miss ]\IoNTGOMERY. Reorganization of the staff.
]\[r. Morris. What do you mean by that?
Miss Montgomery. That is what I was told.
Mr. Morris. I see. In other words, you know nothing more than
that?
Miss jNIontgomery. No, sir.
Mr. Morris. Now, did you get any separation pay at that time?
Miss Montgomery. Yes.
Mr. Morris. What did it amount to ?
Miss Montgomery. Including final salary, vacation pay and sever-
ance pay for 14 years, the total was something over $5,700.
]Mr. Morris. Now, when you were served with a subpena by the
Senate Internal Security Subcommittee a few weeks ago, what did
you do ? What was your first reaction ?
Miss Montgomery. Well, that is rather hard to recall.
Mr. Morris. For instance, did you call the head of the Tass bureau
in New York, Harry Freeman, to let him know that you had been
served ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes : I did.
]\rr. Morris. Now, why did you do that?
Miss Montgomery. I requested that Tass pay whatever legal ex-
penses might be involved for me in the proceeding.
Mr. Morris. I see. Now, are they doing that?
Miss Montgomery. I don't know. The proceeding is still going on.
Mr. MdRRis. At the time of your executive session, you said that
issue was uncertain, and that you did not knoAV what the outcome
was going to be?
Miss Montgomery. That is correct.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 415
Mr. Morris. And it is your testimony here this morning that you
do not know whether or not Tass is going to pay the retainer for your
attorney representing you here today-
Miss Montgomery, Yes.
Mr. Morris. Or any other legal expenses you may incur ?
Miss Montgomery. That is right.
Mr. Morris. Wliat did Harry Freeman tell you on that issue?
Miss MoNTGOJNtERY. As 1 told you during our rehearsal session, he
said that it would have to be taken up with the home office of Tass,
because such contingencies were not provided for in the budget.
Mr. Morris. And he still, to this day, has not let you know what the
answer is going to be ?
Miss Montgomery. No.
Mr. Morris. Now, Miss JNIontgomery, what credentials did you have
as a Tass correspondent ?
Miss Montgomery. I had credentials from Tass News Agency, a
card saying that I was an accredited representative of the news agency.
I had a card admitting me to the White House and one admitting me
to the Congress.
Mr. Morris. I see. Is that all? Were there any other credentials ?
Miss Montgomery. During the immediate postwar years, I might
have had others. There was a time, during the war, when reporters
were required to carry a great many credentials for almost every Gov-
ernment agency. But I don't recall what other agencies I had in those
early years.
Mr. Morris. I see. Now, Miss Montgomery, I think, awhile ago,
you said that you did not attend off-the-record press conferences at
the White House. Did you attend conferences at the TV^iite House at
which off-the-record statements were made?
Miss Montgomery. At the White House ?
Mr. Morris. Yes.
Miss Montgomery. I don't recall any.
Mr. Morris. Did you attend any such conferences, at which off-the-
record statements were made, on Capitol Hill ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes, frequently.
Mr. Morris. Frequently. That was a frequent situation, that you,
as a member of the working press, found yourself in, was it not. Miss
Montgomery ?
Miss Montgomery. That is right.
Mr. Morris. And is it your testimony that, for the most part, your
assignment here on Capitol Hill and in the White House and at the
State Department and at New York was very much the same as any
other reporter's would be in carrying out his assignment for his news
agency ?
Miss Montgomery. For the entire part.
Mr. Morris. Now, Miss IMontgomery, were you a member of the
Communist Party the day before you took up employment with Tass ?
Miss Montgomery. I won't answer that question, because I am
afraid it might tend to incriminate me.
Mr. Morris. Now, were you a Communist the day you took up your
employment with Tass ?
Miss Montgomery. I would Sfive vou the same answer to that
question.
72723— 5&—pt. 9—2
416 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. jMorris. "Were you a member of the Communist Party a day
after your employment with Tass News Agency?
Miss MoNTGOiMERY. No, sir.
Mr. Morris. You were not. Did you effect a resignation from the
Communist Party for the purposes of working at Tass News Agency?
Miss Montgomery. I don't believe so.
Mr. Morris. Did you effect a resignation from the Communist Party
on the day that you took up employment with Tass News x\gency?
Miss Montgomery. No.
Mr. Morris. Did you effect your resignation the day after you
began to work with Tass News Agency ?
Miss Montgomery. No, I don't believe that I did.
Mr. Morris. You do not believe you effected a resignation ?
Miss Montgomery. I don't recall, really, as I told you in executive
session. I don't recall any such incident as that.
Mr. Morris. Now, did Tass have a regulation that working members
of that organization should not be members of the Communist Party ?
Miss Montgomery. Tass had a regulation that its employees could
not engage in any political activity whatsoever, and could belong
to no political party.
Mr. Morris. And for that reason you did not continue any member-
ship that you may have had with the Communist Party ; is tJiat right?
Miss Montgomery. For that reason, I did not participate in any
political activity, or belong to any party.
Mr. Morris. Now, Miss Montgomery, did you attend meetings of
the Robert H. Hall newspaper unit of the Communist Party held at
the home of Mr. J. B. Stone, 2901 18th Street NW. ?
Miss Montgomery. Mr. Morris, I have already testified
Mr. Morris (continuing). In Washington?
Miss Montgomery (continuing). That I was not a member of any
party. I was not a member of any group or unit or cell or fraction or
subsidiary, any organization whatsoever. I did not attend any such
meetings.
Mr. Morris. Well. Miss Montgomery, the question I believe I asked
vou was, did you attend any meetings of the newspaper unit of the
Communist Party held at Mr. Stone's home, 2901 18th Street NW.
Miss Montgomery. No, sir.
Mr. Morris (continuing) . In Washington, D. C. ?
Miss Montgomery. No.
Mr. Morris. In the year 1947 ?
Miss Montgomery. No, never.
jVIr. Morris. Did you meet with people in Mr. Stone's home?
Miss Montgomery. Mr. and Mrs. Stone were friends of mine. I
have been in their home on social occasions.
Mr. Morris. Now, it is your testimony that whatever meetings you
had with Mr. J. B. Stone at 2901 18th Street NW., were social meetings
and not meetings of a political nature?
Miss Montgomery. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Were there political items discussed at those meet-
ings?
Miss Montgomery. That is very difficult to recall. I would pre-
sume there were.
Mr. Morris. I see.
Miss Montgomery. But none of us were living in a vacuum.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 417
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, I wonder if we might interrupt the
testimony of Miss Montgomery at this time and ask Mr. J. B. Stone to
testify.
Chairman Eastland. Yes. Call Mr. Stone.
Mr. Morris. Will you step down temporarily, Miss Montgomery?
Mr. Stone, would you come forward, please?
Mr. Forer. May we have the lights and cameras off while the wit-
ness is testifying, Judge Morris ?
Chairman Eastland. Gentlemen — wait a minute, sir. You cannot
take pictures. He has asked not to. He has that right under our
rules.
Would you gentlemen step in the back, please ?
Stand up, please, sir. Hold your hand up.
Do you solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give the
Senate Internal Security Subcommittee is the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Stone. I do.
TESTIMONY OF JOHN B. STONE, WASHINGTON, D. C, ACCOMPANIED
BY JOSEPH FORER, HIS ATTORNEY
Mr. Morris. Would you give your name for the record ?
Mr. Stone. John B. Stone.
Mr. Morris. Where do you reside, Mr. Stone?
Mr. Stone. 2901 18th Street.
Mr. Morris. And what is your present employment?
Mr. Stone. I am self-employed.
Mr. Morris. Will you describe what you are doing?
Mr. Stone. I publish a newsletter entitled "On the Washington
Record."
Mr. Morris. And what is your circulation for that publication ?
Mr. Stone. It is not very big. I just started. I am trying to
build it up.
Mr. Morris. All right.
Now, Mr. Stone, you have been a newspaper man most of your
working life, have you not?
Mr. Stone. I have.
Mr. Morris. Will you give us briefly what your newspaper career
has been?
Mr. Stone. In 1922, I was publisher of the Billings Searchlight
for 9 months. That might have been 1921. I think it was 1922. It
was during the Wlieeler campaign in Montana.
In 1923, I was radio editor of the Chicago Evening Post. From
1924 to 1929, I was feature writer for the Chicago Daily News>.
From 1929 to 1930 and maybe 1931, part of 1931, 1 was a rewrite man
for the Chicago Evening American. I was a public relations man in
Chicago for a year or two. Then I joined the Chicago Daily Times.
I was a rewrite man and feature writer, night city editor, assistant
city editor, and city editor, for various newspapers up until 1938,
I believe.
I worked for the Herald American for a year. I am not sure — no.
The Herald Examiner. I beg your pardon. The Examiner. I was
then public relations account executive for the Illinois Central Rail-
road, for De Kuyper Co., an advertising concern.
418 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
I came to Washington in 1 939 or 1940. I think it was 1940, to set up
the first publicity organization for the defense bond sale. I went from
there to Treasury procurement and from there to OPA.
Mr. Morris. Now, just a minute. This is your Government employ-
ment now you are telling ns about, Mr. Stone?
Mr. Stone. Yes; that is correct.
Mr. Morris. Will you tell us what your first Government assign-
ment was?
Mr. Stone. At the Treasury Department, to set up the first public
relations organization for the sale of defense bonds.
Mr. Morris. What was your title at that time i
Mr. Stone. I am not sure. I think I was Assistant Director of
Public Relations, but I am not sure of the title.
Mr. Morris. For the Treasury Department?
Mr. Stone. Yes.
Mr. Morris. And after that?
Chairman Eastland. What year was that ?
Mr. Morris. What vear was that, Mr. Stone ?
Mr. Stone. It was 1940.
Mr. Morris. And after that?
Mr. Stone. 1 went to the procurement department of the Treasury,
the Procurement Division, as a, liaison man between the procurement
officers and the economic agencies, like the WPB, OPA, and various
departments of the Government that set the rules for buying things.
Froni there I went to OPA. I wrote publicity for the Solid Fuels
Division, for the Oil Division, and for a number of others, gradually
moving up to where I was head of the desk that cleared all of the
publicity pieces.
Mr. Morris. What was that, Mr. Stone ? You were at the desk that
cleared all these publicity features ?
Mr. Stone. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Of OPA; is that right?
Mr. Stone. That is correct. There was a short period I was asked
to go over to OWL I worked there for a few months.
Mr. Morris. What did you do with OWI?
Mr. Stone. I wrote special assignments. One that I had was on
war housing, the progress that was being made on war housing; one on
the daily work of the chaplains in the armed services. I think those
were my tAvo major assignments in the short period I was there.
Mr. Morris. And after that, Mr. Stone?
Mr. Stone. I went to Newsweek Magazine as correspondent here.
Mr. Morris. In other words, immediately after the OPA assign-
ment, you went to Newsweek?
Mr. Stone. Well, there was a period in which I was looking around
for something constructive to do.
Mr. Morris. When did you work for Newsweek?
Mr. Stone. As I recall, it was from 1944 to 1947.
Mr. Morris. Then did you go to the Bridgeport Herald ?
Mr. Stone. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Now. you were a Washington correspondent of News-
week at that time, were you not?
i\Ir. Stone. That is right.
INIr. Morris. And were you a Washington correspondent of the
Bridgeport Herald?
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE "UNITED STATES 419
Mr. Stone. I was.
Mr. Morris. What was the general natui'e of your assignments for
tliose two publications?
Mr. Stone. For Newsweek I did economics, mitil the period of post-
war strikes, when somebody discovered that I knew something about
labor organizations, and I was given that assignment. I wrote a col-
umn once a week called Labor Trends, and I covered labor develop-
ments in the capital.
Mr. Morris. And after you left your work at the Bridgeport Herald,
wliat did you do ?
Mr. Stone. The entire city was my beat on that. I wrote anything
that I thought would interest the Bridgeport Herald.
Mr. Morris. And your next assignment ?
Mr. Stone. I was public relations director. I was retained by the
Bureau of the Budget, or suggested by the Bureau of the Budget, to
handle nublic relations on the World Congress of Statisticians at the
Statler Hotel — no; at the Shoreham Hotel.
Mr. Morris. Wlien was that ?
Mr. Stone. I don't exactly remember the j^ear. It must have been
1948 or 1949. I have a letter of commendation from the Budget Bu-
reau on that.
Mr. Morris. And then after that ?
Mr. Stone. I worked for the Federated Press.
Mr. Morris. Now
Mr. Stone. There was a period in there, to keep the record straight,
where I worked for the National Guardian and the Federated Press,
both.
Mr. Morris. Now, I wonder, Mr. Stone, if you could tell us whether
or not you were connected with the Robert F. Hall newspaper unit
of the Communist Party here in Washington.
Mr. Stone. I refuse to answer that on the basis of my privilege un-
der the fifth amendment not to be a witness against myself.
Mr. Morris. Do you reside at 2901 18th Street NW. ?
Mr. Stone. I do.
Mr. Morris. Are Communist meetings held in your home?
Mr. Stone. I refuse to answer that for the same reason.
Mr. Morris. Do you know a gentleman named Alex Shermaii ?
Mr. Stone. Yes, I have met Al Sherman around. I know him quite
well.
Mr. ;Moruis. And who is he!* What does Alex Sherman do?
Mr. Stone. I don't know. He has been a newspaperman.
Mr. Morris. I see. Do you know his wife, Polly Sherman ?
Mr. Stone. I have met her.
Mr. Morris. She has been at meetings in your home?
Mr. Stone. I don't know. She may liave been. I visited them.
Did you say at meetings?
Mr. FoRER. Would you clarify what you mean by meetings ?
Mr. Morris. Have they been to your home ?
Mr. Stone. I don't know whether they have visited my home or
]iot, really. I have visited them. I remember having breakfast with
them one Sunday morning. I would be delighted to have them come
to my home.
Chairman Eastland. Answer his question, now.
420 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Stone. I did, sir. I don't know. I don't recall whether I
was
Chairman Eastland. Xow, what did you understand Judge Morris
to mean by "meetings in your home"? You have answered the
question
Mr. Stone. I thought — I am answering the question.
Chairman Eastland. Sir^
jMr. Stone. I am answering the question.
Chairman Eastland. I said, you answered his question by saying
"No."
Mr. Stone. Oh. I thought he had asked me, had they visited my
liome.
Chairman Eastland. He asked you if they had attended meetings
in your home. Now, what did you understand him to mean by
"meetings"?
Mr. Stone. Well, a visit, it seemed to me, would be a meeting in
my home.
Chairman Eastland. You understood him to mean a visit in your
liome ; is that right ?
Mr. Stone. Yes, that is correct.
Mr. Morris. Has Jean Montgomery been in your home ?
Mr. Stone. I am not quite sure. I think she has been. I have
known her for a long time socially.
Mr. Morris. I see. Has she attended meetings in your home?
(The witness consults with his attorney.)
Mr. Stone. What do you mean by meetings? I mean, if there
were 2 or 3 people there, we, sometimes, as other people do very often,
in fact, have a dinner and invite a fcAV friends out, or sometimes we
invite a few friends over to watch TV. It is hard for me to answer
that without knowing exactly what you mean by a meeting.
Mr. Morris. Would you describe to us exactly what kind of situa-
tions prevailed when Miss Montgomery did visit your house?
Mr. Stone. As I said earlier, I am "not quite sure that she did. I
think she has been at my home just in a purely social manner. But I
have known her for quite some time. We were newspaper people
covering the Hill here.
Mr. Morris. How recently have you seen lier ?
Mr. Stone. Well, I saw her on tlie witness stand just now.
Mr. Morris. Naturally. Earlier than that, Mr. Stone.
Mr. Stone. Oh, I would have to guess at that. I would say a year
or so ago.
Mr. Morris. A year or so. Well, is it your testimony that she is
a person that you have known and whom you see and visit with from
time to time?
Mr. Stone. Oh, she is a person I know and have known and have
visited with from time to time, rather over dozens.
Mr. Morris. You will not tell the committee, now, however, whether
or not you are a member of the newspaper unit of the Communist
Tarty here m Washington ?
Mr. Stone. I refuse to answer that for the same reason I have given
before. *^
Mr. Morris Mr. Stone, were you a Communist when vou did that
work for the Bureau of the Budget ?
Mr. Stone. I refuse to answer that for tlie same reason.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 421
Mr. Morris. Are you a Communist today ?
Mr. Stone. I refuse to answer that for the same reason.
Mr. Morris. Were yon a Communist when you worked for the
United States Government from 1940 to
Mr. Stoxe. I refuse to answer that for the same reason.
Chairman Eastlaxd. Do you know Harry Dexter White?
Mr. Stone. No, I do not.
Mr. Morris. Were you a Communist when you were a newspaper-
man here in Washington after the war?
Mr. Stone. I refuse to answer that for the same reason,
Mr. Morris. Were you a Communist when you did newspaper work
in Chicago prior to the Avar?
Mr, Stone. I refuse to ansAver that for the same reason.
Chairman Eastland. Have you any questions?
Senator Watkins. I have nothing.
Chairman Eastland. You may stand aside.
Mr. Forer. Is the witness excused ?
Mr. Morris. Yes, you are excused.
Mr. Forer. All right.
Mr. Morris. You are excused, Mr. Stone. Thank you for your
testimony.
Mr. Alex Sherman.
i\Ir. Forer. Senator, ma}^ Ave haA'e the pictures off for this Avitness,
too?
Chairman Eastland. Yes, sir. Gentleman, no pictures.
Hold your hand up, please, sir.
Do you solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give the
Senate Internal Security Subcommittee is the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Sherman. I do.
TESTIMONY OF ALEXANDER SHERMAN, ACCOMPANIED BY JOSEPH
FORER, HIS ATTORNEY
Mr. Morris. Mr. Sherman, will you give your full name and ad-
dress to the reporter ?
Mr. Sherman. My name is Alexander Sherman.
Mr. Morris. What is vour address ?
Mr, Sherman, 1742 17th Street NW.
Mr, Morris, And what is your occupation ?
Mr. Sherman. At the present time I am self-employed, distribut-
ing motion pictures.
Mr, Morris, Wliat motion pictures do you distribute ? To Avhom ?
Mr, Sherman. Various types of films; primarily documentaries.
Mr. Morris. And for whom are you distributing films ?
Mr. Sherman. For A^arious companies : Hoffberg Productions, in
New York.
Mr, Morris. What was that ? I did not hear.
Mr. Sherman. HofflDerg; Brandon Films; Artkino; and Contem-
porary Films.
Mr. Morris. Will you give us a description of your work in dis-
tributing films here in Washington ?
Mr. Sherman. Well, this is the distribution of what is known as
nontheatrical motion pictures. In other words, 16-millimeter films.
They are intended primarily for use by organizations and schools.
422 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Morris. And for liow loiio- have you been doing that work?
Mr. SiiERMAX. Since February or ]March of hist year, I believe.
]Mr. Morris. What did you do prior to that time ?
]VIr. Sherman. Prior to that, I was also self-employed in publicity
and in the operation of the Georgetown Theater in Washington.
]\rr. Morris. For how long did you run the Georgetown Theater
in Washington ?
Mr. Sherman, From the latter part of 1950 up until 1954, the latter
part of 1954.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Sherman, what schools have you put these pic-
tures into, that you are distributing ?
Mr. Sherman. What schools ?
Mr. Morris. Yes, sir.
Mr. Sherman. Well, it varies. Mostly there have been some col-
leges and some public schools and school systems.
Chairman Eastland. Name them, please, sir.
Mr. Sherman. Well, the Cleveland Public Library
Chairman Eastland. Is that Cleveland, Ohio ?
Mr. Sherman. Cleveland, Ohio ; yes, sir.
Chairman Eastland. All right, sir.
Mr. Sherman. St. Peter's College in Jersey City, quite a number
of them, sir.
Chairman Eastland. Go ahead.
Mr. Morris. You tell us some more.
Chairman Eastland. Wait a minute. Go ahead.
(The witness' attorney consults with the witness.)
Chairman Eastland. Wait a minute, now. He did not ask you,
Mr. Attorney, for your advice.
Mr. Sherman. I find it difficult, sir, to remember them all.
Chairman Eastland. All right. You can remember some more
now. Let us name them.
Mr. Sherman. Well, it hasn't been a vey profitable business, frankly.
We have had very few requests for these films.
Chairman Eastland. Name the others, please, sir.
Mr. Sherman. I just find it almost impossible. I would have to
refer to my records to do that.
Chairman Eastland. "\'\niere are your records, sir ?
Mr. Sherman. They are at my office.
Chairman Eastland. Now, name the others that you remember.
You are bound to remember more than that.
Mr. Sherman. Private individuals.
Chairman Eastland. Who are those individuals ?
(The witness consults with his attorney.)
Mr. Forer. Senator, I think he is still on your question about
schools.
Chairman Eastland. Well, he said private individuals.
Go ahead. All right.
Mr. Forer. Are you dropping schools ?
Chairman Eastland. All right, go ahead. Finish schools. We will
go back to private individuals.
(Tlie witness consults with his attorney.)
INIr. Sherman. I really don't remember any more, Senator.
Chairman Eastland. You do not remember any more ?
Mr. Sherman. Not right now.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 423
Chairman Eastland. Now, your records will show, is that right?
Mr. Sherman. Yes, the records will show.
Mr. Morris. Did you mention in your testimony public schools ?
Mr. Sherman. There may have been public schools.
Mr. Morris. I mean, did you say so just a few minutes ago ?
Mr. Sherman. I said, schools. I am not sure.
Chairman Eastland. Now, you said "public school systems." That
is what you said, is it not?
Mr. Sherman. There may be some public schools among them. I
don't remember, Senator.
Chairman Eastland. You do not remember the names of the
schools ?
Mr. Sherman. They are usually school systems.
Chairman Eastland. You do not remember the name of a single
school system ?
Mr. Sherman. Offhand, I don't, sir.
Chairman Eastland. Now, you said "private individuals." Name
some of those private individuals.
(The witness consults with his attorney.)
Mr. Sherman. At this moment, I don't remember who they are.
Mr. Morris. 'Wliat work did you do prior to — I think we had gotten
back as far as your work with the Georgetown Theater.
Mr. Sherman. I was self-employed as a publicist, working for var-
ious clients, and also as a publicity and film consultant to the Royal
Norwegian Government.
Mr. Morris. To the Royal Norwegian Government ?
Mr. Sherman. Right.
Mr. Morris. Will you tell us how long you served in that capacity ?
Mr. Sherman. From 1942 through the duration of the war and 1
year following, about 1946.
Mr. Morris. When was the Hoffberg Film Distribution Co. organ-
ized?
Mr. Sherman. I don't know, sir.
Chairman Eastland. It is a new company, is it not?
Mr. Sherman. Hoffberg Productions?
Chairman Eastland. Yes.
Mr. Sherman. No, sir.
Chairman Eastland. All right.
Mr. Morris. Now, for how long did you work for the Royal Nor-
wegian Government as public relations man ?
Mr. Sherman. From the end of 1942 through the war and 1 year
after, about 1946.
Mr. Morris. Now, what did you do before 1942?
Mr. Sherman. Prior to that I was handling publicity work for
Columbia Pictures in Washington, and also for New York City.
Mr. Morris. Now, what did you do before that?
Mr. Sherman. Prior to that?
Mr. Morris. Yes.
Mr. Sherman. I was on a newspaper as a film critic for the New
York Morning Telegraph.
Mr. Morris. Film critic for the New York Morning Telegraph?
Mr. Sherman. New York Morning Telegraph.
Mr. Morris. How long did you hold that assignment ?
72723— 66— pt. 9 3
424 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Sherman. I would say about 3 years.
Mr. Morris. Prior to that ?
Mr. Sherman. Prior to that, I was a newspaperman with a the-
atrical publication for about 3 or 4 years, and out of work for a period
of a year.
Mr. Morris. What?
Mr. Sherman. Out of work for a period of a year during the de-
pression.
Mr. Morris. I see.
Now, your wife works in the Polish Embassy, does she not, Mr.
Sherman ?
Mr. Sherman. Yes, sir.
Mr. Morris. Are you presently a member of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Sherman. I refuse to answer on the basis of my privilege under
the fifth amendment not to be a witness against myself.
Mr. Morris. Have you attended meetings of the newspaper unit of
the Communist Party ?
Mr. Sherman. I refuse on the same grounds, sir.
Chairman Eastland. Is there a newspaper unit of the Communist
Partv in the city of Washington at this time?
(Witness consults with his attorney.)
Mr. Sherman. I refuse to answer on the same basis, sir.
Chairman Easti^nd. Now, have you put these films in the Washing-
ton scliool system?
Mr. Sherman. No, sir.
]\Ir. Morris. Now, Mr. Sherman, you are a friend of Miss Mont-
gomery, an earlier w^itness today, are you not?
Mr. Sherman. I know her, sir.
Mr. Morris. And she is a friend of your wife?
]\fr. Sherman. Yes, sir.
Mr. Morris. And you meet with her on frequent occasions ; is that
right?
Mr. Sherman. That is right.
Mr. Morris. Now, to youf knowledge, has she attended Communist
meetings with you?
Mr. Sherman. I refuse to answer on the same basis.
Chairman Eastland. In the past 2 years, has she attended Com-
munist meetings with you?
Mr. Sherman. I refuse to answer that, sir, on the same grounds.
Chairman Easti^nd. In the past year has she attended Communist
meetings with you, sir?
Mr. Sherman. I refuse, again, to answer on the same grounds.
Cli airman Eastland. In the past 6 months has she attended Com-
munist meetings with you?
Mr. Sherman. I refuse to answer on the basis of the fifth amend-
ment.
]\Ir. Morris. I think, Senator, I have no more questions of this
witness.
Senator Watkins?
Senator Watkins. I have none.
Mr. Morris. You are excused, sir.
Mr. FoRER. All right.
Mr. Morris. Now, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Forer has represented several
other people whose testimony in connection with the first witness here
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 425
today is much the same as these last two witnesses. I think, however,
at this time it will not be necessary for the other witnesses to appear
here today.
And they were who, Mr. Forer ?
Mr. FoRER. You have got the names there. Will you get them from
Mr. Mandel ? I am not very good at names.
Chairman Eastland, You do not know the names of your clients?
Mr. FoRER. (No respoufte.)
Mr. Morris. That is Corrine Lautman, Mr. Forer ?
Mr. FoRER. Yes, that is right.
Mr. Morris. From Washington, here. And Natalie Lamken, also
from Washington ?
Mr. Forer. That is right,
Mr, Morris. Mr. Chainnan, may I put portions of the testimony of
Natalie Lamken and Corrinne Lautman into the public record in order
to make unnecessary their public appearance here today ?
Chairman Eastland. That will be granted. ■
Mr. Morris. I have done so with the stipulation of counsel for both
those clients who appeared for them in executive session.
Mr. Forer, will you have a short session with me so that the part "of
the executive session that does go into the record will be a fair repre-
sentation of what happened?
Mr. Forer. Yes, it is.
Mr. Morris. And you agree that the best interests of all will be
served if we put this into the public record ?
Mr. Forer. If you are asking me whether or not you should ptit it
in the public record
Mr, ^Iorris. Is it satisfactory to you, Mr, Forer ?
Mr. Forer (continuing). I do not think you should. AVhat are
you asking me ?
Mr. Morris. I mean, did you not, Mr. Forer, agree yesterday that
the story could be best told if we just put the portion of the executive
session testimony that bears on the particular issue here today into
the record ?
Mr. Forer. Yes. I said yesterday that I saw no purpose of repeat-
ing in the public session what you already had in the executive
session.
Mr. Morris. That is right. I just wanted to be sure that there
would be nothing taken out of context.
Mr, Forer. Yes. -
(The portion of the executive session record referred to is as foln
lows:)
United States Senate,
Subcommittee To Investigate the Administration
OF THE Internal Security Act and Other
Internal Security Laws, of the
Committee on the Judiciary,
Wednesday, February 29, 1956, Washington, D. 0.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 3 o'clock p. m., in room 313, Senate
OflBce Building, Senator Herman Welker, presiding.
Present : Senator Welker.
Also present : Robert Morris, chief counsel, and Benjamin Mandel, research
director.
Senator Welker. The subcommittee will be in order.
426 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
Mr, Morris. Miss Lamken.
Senator Welker. Will you stand and be sworn, please.
Mjss Lamken. Yes.
Senator Welker. Do you solemnly swear the testimony you will
give before the subcommittee will be the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
TESTIMONY OF NATALIE LAMKEN, ACCOMPANIED BY HER
COUNSEL, JOSEPH PORER
Senator Welker. Your name and residence, please,
Miss Lamken. Natalie Lamken, L-a-m-k-e-n, 1724 I7th Street NW.,
Washington.
Senator Welker. Thank you.
Proceed, Counselor.
Mr. Morris. What is vour occupation, Miss Lamken ?
Miss Lamken. Well, I have a part-time clerical job, and I also give
music lessons.
Mr. Morris. I see.
Is that Miss or Mrs. Lamken ?
Miss Lamken. Miss.
Mr. Morris. And what other employment? That is the only em-
ployment you have at the present time ?
Miss Lamken. Yes, uh-huh.
Mr. Morris. Where do you work; where is the secretarial job?
Miss Lamken. It is a clerical job. I work at a weekly newspaper
called the Jewish Ledger.
Mr. Morris. Where is that? Here in Washington?
Miss Lamken. Yes.
Mr. Morris. What is the address?
Miss Lamken. 14th and K.
Mr. Morris. What employment did you have immediately preced-
ing this employment ?
Miss Lamken. Oh, I was teaching English to foreigners.
Mr. Morris. I see. "Where did you do that?
Miss Lamken. At several embassies.
Mr. Morris. I see. Wliich embassies were they ?
Miss Lamken. The^ Hungarian, the Russian Legation, and the
Polish for a short while.
Mr. Morris. And who were the people, who were your students in
those classes?
Miss Lamken. They were, I guess you call them, nationals of
those countries.
Mr. Morris. I see ; who are here in the United States?
Miss Lamken. Yes, working here at the embassy.
Mr. Morris. How long were you doing that work?
Miss Lamken. Let me see. I would say about 3 or 31/^ years.
Mr. Morris. What salary do you get?
Miss Lamken. I was paid by the hour.
Mr. Morris. By the hour.
Miss Lamken. Yes.
Mr. Morris. I see. Approximately how many students did you
nave in each class?
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 427
Miss Lamken. I didn't teach by class. I taught just individuals.
Mr. Morris. I see.
What employment did you have before that ?
Miss Laisiken. I worked at the Bureau of National Affairs, in
Washington.
Mr. Morris. "VVliat is the Bureau of National Affairs?
Miss Lamken. Well, it publishes many different kinds of publi-
cations. I worked on Labor Eelations Reporter, and it publishes
many other things.
Mr. Forer. It publishes U. S. Law Week.
Miss Lamken. Law Week, Daily Report for Executives, and many
other things.
Mr. Morris. How long were you working for them?
Miss Lamken. I think I was there 7 years.
Mr. Morris. I see.
Miss Lamken. Seven and a half.
Mr. Morris. What did you do before that?
Miss Lamken. Let me see. I am trying to think back what year
that was that I came there. Oh, I know. I worked at the GE, this
was during the World War II, the General Electric Co. in Lynn,
Mass.
Mr. Morris. Wliat did you do there ?
Miss Lamken. I was an inspector.
Mr. Morris. An inspector.
Miss Lamken. Yes.
Mr. Morris. And before that?
Miss Laimken. That was from — I was, I think, for a year or a year
and a half, in Baltimore, working as a junior caseworker in the de-
partment of public welfare.
Mr. Morris. In Baltimore?
Miss Lamken. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Now, have you been on the membership committee of
the District of Columbia Communist Party ?
Miss Lamken. I must refuse to answer that question, under the
privilege of the fifth amendment, which affords me the privilege of
not incriminating mj^self.
Mr. Morris. Have you — do you know a woman named Jean Mont-
gomery ?
Miss Lamken. I refuse to answer that question, for the same rea-
son.
Mr. Morris. Are you a Communist now, Miss Lamken ?
Miss Lamken. I refuse to answer that question, for the same rea-
sons.
Mr. Morris. I have no more questions.
Senator Welker. Thank you very much.
Mr. Morris. Mrs. Lautman.
Senator Welker. Raise your right hand and be sworn.
Do you solemnly swear the testimony about to be given before the
Senate Internal Security Subcommittee will be the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mrs. Lautman. I do.
428 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
TESTIMONY OF CORINNE LAUTMAN; ACCOMPANIED BY HER
COUNSEL, JOSEPH FOEER
Senator Welker. Your name and your residence, please.
Mrs. Lautihan. Corinne Lautman. I live at 526 Sheridan Street
NW., Washington.
Mr. Morris. Are you Mrs. Lautman ?
Mrs. LautjMan. Yes, I am.
Mr. Morris. What is your husband's name?
Mrs. Lautman. Robert.
Mr. Morris. What is your occupation, Mrs. Lautman?
Mrs. Lautman. I am a housewife.
Mr. Morris. What was your last occupation ?
Mrs. Lautman. I worked at the United office— no, that was not my
last occupation. I am sorry. I worked at the United Electrical,
Kadio, and Machine Workers of America office in Washington.
Mr. Morris. I see. What does your husband do now ?
. Mrs. Lautman. He is a photographer.
Mr. Morris. Where does he work ?
Mrs. Lautman. He has an office in Washington.
Mr. ISIoRRis. What does he do, though? Is he an independent
photographer, or does he work for someone?
Mrs. Lautman. Yes, he is self-employed.
Mr. Morris. Will you just give us a brief description of his work,
where he works, how he works ?
(Mrs. Lautman conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Lautman. Well, he is a commercial photographer, and he has
his laboratory and his studio together. I don't quite understand
what you mean by "how he works."
Mr. Morris. I just really wanted the general nature of his work.
Mrs. Lautman. He is a commercial photographer.
Mr. Morris. And he does independent photography work?
Mrs. Laut3ian. Yes; that is right.
' Mr. Morris. Has he any particular client, any outstanding client? _
Mrs. Lautman. No. He has a number of clients, but no one in
particular.
Mr. ]\loRRis. All right.
When did you work for the UER
Senator Welker. Just a moment.
Can we have some of those clients, particular clients?
(]\lrs. Lautman conferred with her counsel.)
Mr. FoRER. Do you know ?
Mrs. Lautman. Yes.
Mr. FoRER. O. K.
Mrs. Lautman. Let me see. He has done some work for the Seco
Industrial Co. He worked for some local architects. He has taken
pictures for Charles Goodman. I am trying to remember the others.
Senator Welker. I know that is a rather hard question for you to
'answer. Plas he done any Avork for any of the Embassies here ?
Mrs. Lautman. I am not sure. I don't know whether he has or not.
Senator Welker. Or anyone connected with the Embassies, to your
knowledge?
Mrs. Lautman. I don't know.
Mr. Morris. You have worked for Tass, haven't you ?
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 429
Mrs. Lautman, Yes ; I have.
Mr. Morris. When did you work for Tass?
Mrs. Lautman. It was about from 1947, November of 1947, as I
remember it, to 1949.
Mr. Morris. What was your assiijnment ?
Mrs. Lautman. I was a stenographer in the office.
Mr. Morris. When you left Tass in 1949, what was your next job?
Mrs. Lautman. Then I worked for the United Electrical Workers.
:Mr. Morris. I see. What did you do before you went to Tass ?
Mrs. Lautman. Before I went to Tass; you mean my job before
that?
Mr. jMorris. Yes.
Mrs. Lautman. I had lived in New York before that. Directly
before I worked for Tass, my husband and I had taken a 6-months'
trip around the country. And in New York, I had worked a number
of places.
Mr. Morris. Just your last em]oloyment.
Mrs. Lautman. Well, before that, it had been the National City
Bank in New York ; and before that
Mr. Morris. What was your maiden name, Mrs. Lautman ?
Mrs. Lautman. Pressman.
Mr. Morris. Miss Pressman, Corrine Pressman?
Mrs. Lautman. That is right.
Mr. Morris. Are you a college graduate?
Mrs. Lautman. No ; I am not a^ollege graduate.
Mr. Morris, Mrs. Lautman, have you been a member of the Com-
munist Party?
Mrs. Lautman. I refuse to answer that question on the basis of my
privilege under the fifth amendment not to testify against myself.
Mr. Morris. All right.
Were you a Communist during the years 1947 through 1949 while
you were with Tass ?
Mrs. Lautman. I refuse to answer, for the reason I have already
given.
Mr. Morris. Are you a Communist now ?
Mrs. Lautman. I refuse to answer, for the same reason.
Mr. Morris. I have no further questions.
Senator Welker. May I inquire about how you received your em-
ployment with Tass ?
Mrs. Lautman. Yes. When we returned to Washington, I wanted
to
Senator Welker. From where?
Mrs. Lautman. From the trip that we were taking.
Senator Welker. Just a sightseeing trip around our United States?
Mrs. Lautman. Yes, generally that sort of thing.
Senator Welker. I did not hear you, ma'am.
Mrs. Lautman. Yes, it was that sort of thing.
I wanted to work for a publication or a news service, and I went to
the National Press Building, because I knew that most magazines and
news services had their offices there, and I applied at a number of
offices, and I was offered a job at Tass, and it seemed an interesting
]ob and it was a well-paying one, so I accepted it.
Senator Welker. IYIio did you apply to ?
Mi-s. Lautman. I was interviewed by Larry Todd.
430 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Senator Welkjer. Introduced to whom?
Mrs. Latjoian. You mean
Mr. FoREK. She said "interviewed."
Senator Welker. I am having a little trouble hearing. I am sorry.
And he interviewed you?
Mrs. Lautman. Yes.
Senator Welker. Did he ask you whether you were a member of the
Communist Party?
Mrs. Lautman. No, he did not.
Senator Welker. Do you know whether or not he knew you were at
any time a member of the Communist Party ?
(Mrs. Lautman conferred with her counsel.)
Mrs. Lautman. No, he wouldn't have known.
Senator Welker. He would not know ?
Mrs. Lautman. I don't quite understand your question. Would
you repeat it again?
Senator Welker. We will read it.
(The question was read by the reporter.)
Mrs. Lautman. No.
Senator Welker, And nothing was discussed between the two of
you as to whether or not you were a member of the Communist Party?
Mrs. Lautman. That is quite right.
Senator Welker. Did he interview you about your past work or
your writing experience, stenographic experience?
Mrs. Lautman. Yes, he did.
Senator Welker. Did he interview you with respect to any organ-
ization that you perhaps belonged to ?
Mrs. Lautman, No, All that we discussed concerning organiza-
tions was that it was emphasized that people who were employed by
Tass were not to have any political activities. But we discussed noth-
ing concerning membership, my membership in any organization.
Senator Welker. By "political activity," I take it you mean you
could not take any activity in the Republican Party, Democratic Party,
or any other party.
Mrs. Lautman. That is right.
Senator Welker. He did not say anything to you with respect to
whether or not you would take any activity with respect to the Nazi
Party, the Fascist Party, anything like that?
Mrs. Lautman. No. No.
Senator Welker. Do you have something you want to offer?
Mrs. Lautman. No, 1 would just like to repeat that he didn't ask
me about my associations in the past with any organizations. He only
emphasized that it was important that Tass employees not have any
political activities at all, with any party at all.
Senator Welker. Now, did anyone suggest that you go to Tass to
look for work ?
Mrs. Lautman. No.
Senator Welker. Not a soul?
Mrs. Lautman. No, not that I remember.
Senator Welker. Not that you remember,
Mrs, Lautman. That is right.
Senator Welker. You certainly would remember if somebody had
suggested it, would you not ?
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 431
Mrs. Lautman. I am quite sure that no one suggested it. It was
quite the way that I have said.
Senator Welker. Fine. I am not trying to mislead you, entrap
you, or anything like that.
I have no further questions.
Mr. MoKRis. Just one question.
Are you related to Lee Pressman in any way ?
Mrs. Lautiman. No, I am not.
Mr. Morris. I have no questions.
Senator Wfxker. Thank you very much.
I would like the record to show the firm association.
Mr. Forer. Forer and Rein.
Mr. Morris. Miss Montgomery, will you resume the stand?
TESTIMONY OF JEAN MONTGOMERY— Resumed
Mr. Morris. Miss Montgomery, you know Alexander Sherman, do
you not ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes, I do.
Mr. Morris. And you know his wife, Polly Sherman ?
JNIiss Montgomery. Very well.
Mr. Morris. And Alden Todd of Federated Press is a good friend
of yours ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes.
Mr. Morris. As is Nat Einhorn ?
Miss Montgjomery. Yes.
Mr. Morris. What does Nat Einhorn do now?
Miss Montgomery. He does public relations for the Embassy of
Poland.
Mr. Morris. And what does Polly Sherman do ?
Miss M0NTG031ERY. I am not sure what her job is. She works at
the Polish Embassy.
Mr. Morris. And you testified in executive session that Natalie Lam-
ken, about whom we have just spoken, is a friend of yours?
JNIiss INIoNTGOMERY. Yes.
Mr. Morris. A person you have associated with while you have been
employed here in Tass ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes ; I have known her.
Mr. Morris. The same with Corinne Lautman?
Miss Montgomery. That is correct,
Mr. Morris. A friend of yours with whom you have associated
during the period ?
Miss Montgomery. Yes.
Mr. Morris. However, it is your testimony that while you were asso-
ciated with these people, you yourself were not a member of the Com-
munist Party?
Miss Montgomery. That is correct.
Mr. Morris. However, you will not tell us whether or not you were,
prior to your employment with Tass, a member of the Communist
Party?
Miss Montgomery. That is correct.
Mr. Morris. Miss Montgomery, do you know Alex Sherman to be
a Commmiist ?
72723— 56— pt. 9 *
432 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Miss Montgomery. No, sir.
Mr. Morris. You do not know that ?
jMiss Montgomery. No, sir.
Mr. JNIoRRis. Do you know whether or not Polly Sherman is a
Communist ?
Miss Montgomery. I do not.
Mr. Morris. Do you know whether or not Alden Todd is a Com-
munist ?
Miss INIoNTGOMERY. I do not.
Mr. Morris. Miss Montgomery, were you active in the Committee
for the Rosenbergs in any way ?
Miss Montgomery. No ; I was not.
Mr. Morris. You made a contribution to their campaign, did you
not?
Miss Montgomery. As I told you in executive session, IMr. Morris,
I bought the transcript of the Rosenberg trial, which I understood
was being sold, partly, to raise money for the committee. I don't recall
any other contribution.
Mr, Morris. I see.
In other words, you bought the transcript in order to raise money
for them, or did you buy the transcript for Tass News Agency ?
Miss Montgomery. I bought the transcript for my own personal
use, to read.
Mr. Morris. Did you buy it for Tass News Agency ?
Miss Montgomery. No.
Mr. Morris. To your knowledge, does Tass News Agency have a
copy of that transcript ?
Miss Montgomery. I don't know.
Mr. Morris. Did you know Mr. Yuri Novikov, Miss Montgomery ?
Miss Montgomery. I have met Mr. Novikov.
Mr. Morris. Now, who was Mr. Novikov ?
Miss Montgomery. He was a member of the diplomatic corps of the
Soviet Embassy.
Mr, Morris, And what were your associations with him in Wash-
ington ?
Miss Montgomery, I met him at social affairs.
Mr. Morris. And did you discuss the work of Tass News Agency
with him ?
Miss Montgomery. I don't recall. I don't think so.
Mr. Morris. I see.
You know, do you not. Miss Montgomery, that he was asked to
leave the United States as a person persona non grata in 1953 ?
Miss Montgomery, I read about that in the papers ; yes,
Mr. Morris. Was that because he was engaged in espionage?
Miss Montgomery. I don't know.
Mr. Morris, In other words, it is your testimony that you only
kno^y about that particular episode what you read in the press ?
Miss Montgomery. That is correct,
Mr. Morris. :Mr, Chairman, may I put the Department of State's
press release, dated January 15, 1953, on the question of the request
tliat Yuri V. Novikov, second secretary of the Soviet Embassy at
Washington, depart because he was persona non grata to the United
States Government, on the record?
Chairman Easit^nd, It is so ordered.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 433-
(The press release referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 169" and
reads as follows :)
Exhibit No. 169
Department of State
For the press, January 15, 1953, No. 27
The Department of State has been working with the Department of Justice
in connection with the espionage case of Otto Verber et al., against whom ap
indictment has been opened today. Upon the arrest of the defendants and in
view of the information contained in the indictment regarding the activities
of Yuri V. Novikov, second secretary of the Soviet Embassy at Washington,
the Department has notified the Embassy that Mr. Novikov is persona non grata
to this Government and bas requested his immediate departure from the United
States.
The text of the note follows :
"Department of State,
"Washington, January 14, 1953. .
"The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Am-
bassador of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and states the following •
" 'The Government of the United States has ascertained that Yuri V. Novikov,
second secretary of the Embassy, has engaged in activities incompatible with
his status as an accredited diplomatic official.
" 'Therefore, this Government is impelled to declare Mr. Novikov persona non
grata. The Embassy is requested to make arrangements for his immediate
departure from the United States.' "
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, do we have anything from the Justice
Department on the question of Mr. Novikov ?
Mr. IVIandel. We have a release dated January 15, 1953, from the
Department of Justice on the case of Yuri V. Novikov.
Mr. Morris. May that go into the record, Mr. Chairman ?
Chairman Easixand. It will be admitted into the record.
(The press release referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 170" and
reads as follows:)
Exhibit No. 170
Department of Justice
For immediate release, Thursday, January 15, 1953
Attorney General James P. McGranery announced today the indictment of two
naturalized citizens on charges of espionage for Soviet Russia.
The indictment, naming Otto Verber and Kurt L. Ponger, both of New York
City, charged them with conspiring with Yuri V. Novikov, second secretary of
the Soviet Embassy.
The indictment was returned sealed by a District of Columbia Federal grand
jury January 13, 1953. It was opened on the basis of their being taken into
custody in Vienna, Austria, by the United States Army. They will be brought
to the United States for arraignment.
Verber, 31, was born in Vienna. He was naturalized May 8, 1943, on the
basis of his service with the United States Army, in which he was commissioned
second lieutenant December 8, 1944. He served on a military intelligence team
in Europe until February 8, 1945, and subsequently was employed as an inter-
rogator for the War Crimes Commission in Nuremberg. Presently he has been
residing in the American Zone of Vienna and is enrolled under the GI bill of
rights at the University of Vienna.
Ponger, 39, was also "born in Vienna and first entered this country as a seaman
February 21, 1940. He was naturalized February 17, 1943. Ponger, reportedly
a brother-in-law of Otto Verber, having married one Vera Verber, entered the
United States Army June 11, 1943. He was also employed subsequently by the
War Crimes Commission and has been recently residing in the Soviet Zone
of Vienna, and reportedly is also studying under the GI bill of rights.
The indictment, resulting from combined investigation by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and an investigative agency of the United States Army, is in
two counts. Both counts charge 14 overt acts in pursuance of a conspiracy.
434 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
The grand jury charged that beginning on or about June 18, 1949, Verber
and Ponger conspired in Washington, Vienna, and Salzburg, Austria, and at
other places unknown, with Novikov and others unknown to violate the espionage
sfatutes. The grand jury charged that the plan was to communicate, deliver,
and transmit or attempt to do so, and to induce each other and divers other per-
sons unknown to communicate, deliver, and transmit to the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics, documents, writings, sketches, plans, maps, notes, instru-
ments, and information relating to the national defense of the United States with
intent and reason to believe that the same would be used to the injury of the
United States and to the advantage of Soviet Russia.
It also further charged that they conspired to obtain and collect information
relating to intelligence and counterintelligence activities of the United States
AYmy and United States Air Force and relating to the numbers, personnel,
disposition, equipment, arms, and morale of the Army and Air Force, the loca-
tion, size, equipment, organization, and other features of military establishments,
atrports, aircraft, and other establishments connected with the national defense
of the United States, and information in possession of the United States Armed
Forces relating to strength, organization, disposition, and capacity of foreign
armed forces.
The grand jury further charged that a further part of the said conspiracy was
that the defendants and coconspirators would be employed in various capacities
and activities within the United States, in Austria, and at other places unknown
for the purpose of being in a position to deliver information relating to the na-
tional defense of the United States to Soviet Russia. It charged that they ar-
ranged through the conspiracy to receive instructions, directions, and messages
from Soviet Russia ; that they agreed to induce, engage, and employ other persons
for the purpose of making contact with others in this country and Austria who by
reason of employment were in a position to be acquainted and familiar with and
were in possession of or had access to national defense information ; and that
they agreed to offer and promise sums of money and other valuable considera-
tions to such persons who might be able to assist them.
The second count charged them with conspiring to go upon, enter, and other-
wise obtain information concerning aircraft, works of defense, places connected
with the national defense, and places in which aircraft, arms, munitions, and
other material and instruments for use in time of war are being made, prepared,
repaired, stored, all for the purpose of obtaining information with the intent
and reason to believe that it would be used to the injury of the United States and
to the advantage of Soviet Russia.
The 14 overt acts charged in each count were the same. They are:
(1) On or about June 18, 1949, at Vienna, Austria, defendant Verber did solicit
and attempt to obtain a list of informants of American intelligence agencies.
(2) On or about July 19, 1949, at Vienna, Austria, defendant Verber did solicit
and attempt to obtain a list of employees of the United States engaged in certain
intelligence and defense work.
(3) On or about August 3, 1949, at Vienna. Austria, defendant Verber did take,
receive, and obtain information regarding an American intelligence operative
and informant.
(4) On or about September 26, 1949, at Vienna, Austria, defendant Verber did
transfer to a Government employee a sum of money as remuneration, expense,
and.payraent for information relating to the national defense of the United States.
t5) On or about October 11, 1949, at Vienna, Austria, defendant Verber did
take, receive, and obtain information concerning a United States Air Force
installation.
(6) On or about November 15, 1949, at Vienna, Austria, defendant Verber did
take, receive, and obtain an American intelligence report.
(7) On or about May 16, 1950, at Vienna, Austria, defendant Verber did take,
receive, and obtain an American intelligence report.
(?) On or about May 25, 1950, at Vienna, Austria, defendant Verber did take
obtain, and receive information relating to the national defense of the United
States.
CD) On or about July 18, 1950, at Vienna, Austria, defendant Verber did take,
obtain, and receive information relating to the national defense of the United
States.
(10) On or about December 29, 1950, at Salzburg, Austria, defendant Verber
did attempt to arrange a meeting between an agent and representative of a
foreign government with an employee of the United States.
(11) On or about January 1, 1951, at Salzburg, Austria, defendant Ponger did
meet and confer with an employee of the United States.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 435
(12) On or about January 4, 1951, at Salzburg, Austria, defendant Verber did
meet and confer with an employee of the United States.
(13) On or about January 4, 1951, at Salzburg, Austria, defendant Ponger did
arrange a meeting at Washington, D. C, between an employee of the United
States and coconspirator Novikov.
(14) On or about April 12, 1951, at Washington, D. C, coconspirator Novikov
did meet and confer with an employee of the United States.
Mr. JMoKKis. I have no more questions of this witness, Senator.
Cliairman Eastland. You may stand aside. You are released
from your subpena.
Miss Montgomery. Thank you.
Mr. Morris. Counsel, in the event that we may want to recall Miss
Montgomery at any time, will you stipulate for the record in her
presence that a telephone call will be all that is necessary to have her
return ?
Mr. Cobb. A telephone call, together with due notice.
Mr. Morris. Yes. You will try to give you as long a notice as wb
can.
IMr. Cobb. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Alden Todd.
Mr. Todd. I prefer not to have those things in my eyes, if you
please.
Chairman Eastland. Do you want the lights out?
Mr. Todd. Thank you, sir.
Chairman Eastland. Turn the lights out.
Stand up, please, sir. Hold your hand up. Do you solemnly
swear the testimony you are about to give the Senate Internal ^
curity Subcommittee is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Todd. I do.
TESTIMONY OF ALDEN TODD, ACCOMPANIED BY DAVID COBB, HIS
ATTORNEY
Mr. Morris. Mr. Todd, will you give your full name and address
to the reporter.
Mr. Todd. Allen Todd, no middle initial ; 4872 Chevy Chase Boule-
vard, Chevy Chase, Md.
Mr. Morris. What is your occupation, Mr. Todd ?
Mr. Todd. I am a news reporter.
Mr. Morris. For what news service?
Mr. Todd. With the Federated Press.
Mr. Morris. How long have you been with the Federated Press?
Mr. Todd. I think I first came with them in February of 1946.
Mr. Morris. And you are the son of Larry Todd, who has been
the ranking Tass correspondent here in Washington for many years •
is that right ? '
Mr. Todd. Yes. He retired 3 years ago, or 4 years ago.
Mr. Morris. Yes, I understand. Now, what did you do before you
took up employment with Federated Press?
Mr. Todd. I was in the United States Army, Parachute Infantry.
Mr. Morris. Was that immediately preceding your employment
with Federated Press ?
Mr. Todd. I think I took off about 3 weeks between Army service
and the Federated Press.
436 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UlSriTED STATES
Mr. Morris. And prior to your Army service, Mr. Todd, what did
you do ?
Mr. Todd. I was employed in the Sun Shipbuilding Co., in Chester,
Pa.
Mr. iNIoERis. And when did you graduate from college?
]\Ir. Todd. 1939.
Mr. Morris. From what university ?
Mr. Todd. Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Morris. Swarthmore College. Do you have any graduate
degree ?
Mr. Todd. I can't quite hear j^ou.
Mr. Morris. Do you have a graduate degree ? Have you done any
graduate work ?
Mr. Todd. I have no degree. I think I took a course or two after
graduating, at Temple University, but no degree. I think I got a
point or two.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Todd, have you associated — have you been a good
friend and rather regular associate of the first witness here today. Miss
Jean Montgomery ?
Mr. Todd. Well, I would say I was a friend. I don't know how
regular "regular" is.
Mr. Morris. You describe it as best you can.
Mr. Todd. I would say I have seen her off and on here over a period
of 10 years, the way I see many others.
Mr. Morris. But she is a personal friends of yours, too, is she not ?
' Mr. Todd. I would say so, yes.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Todd, are you now a Communist?
Mr. Todd. No, sir.
Mr. Morris. Were you a Communist a year ago ?
Mr. Todd. No, sir.
Mr. Morris. Were you a Communist 2 years ago ?
Mr. Todd. I decline to answer on the grounds of the fifth amend-
ment.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Todd, is there a date somewhere between — it is now
March 13— somewhere between March 13, 1954, and March 13, 1955,
that you would change the answer to that question if I were to put
it to you through a long series of exchanges ?
Mr. Todd. I will resort to the fifth amendment for anything prior
to the beginning of the year 1955.
Mr. Morris. I see. Now, did anything happen to you at that time
that would cause your answer to change with respect to that last
answer?
Mr. Todd. I don't quite understand you. Judge.
Mr, Morris. Is there anything that took place in your life, any
episode of your life that took place, that would cause you to alter your
answer to that question ?
Mr. Todd. (No response).
Mr. Morris. Tell me this : Was there a regulation of the Federated
Press? We have heard from Miss Montgomery that the Tass News
Agency had a regulation that people who worked for Tass News
Agency are not supposed to be members of the Communist Party.
Now, did Federated Press, whom you represent here in Washington,
promulgate any such order to their employees that they, too, should
not be members of the Communist Party ?
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 437
Mr. Todd. No.
Mr. Morris. I am asking you, Mr. Todd, if you can tell me — it may
well be that the circumstances were such that you cannot come forward
with that evidence — is there anything that took place in your life, such
as that, such as an order of the Federated Press not to be a Communist,
that would cause you to change the answer you have been giving to
these questions ?
Mr. Todd. I am completely mystified at what the proper answer to
your question is because it doesn't hang together.
Mr. Morris. All right.
Mr. Todd. I fail to understand it.
]\Ir. Morris. I was wondering
Mr. Todd. Nothing special happened to me on Christmas morning
or
Mr. Morris. Did you resign from the Communist Party ?
Mr. Todd. I decline to answer that on the same grounds.
Mr. Morris. I have no more questions.
Chairman Eastland. Senator Watkins ?
Senator Watkins. No, I have no questions.
Chairman Eastland. You may stand aside.
Mr. Todd. Thank you.
Mr, Morris. I have no more witnesses this morning.
Chairman Eastland. We will recess now until Thursday at 10 : 30.
CWliereupon, at 11 : 30 a. m., the subcommittee recessed to reconvene
at 10: 30 a. m., Thursday, March 15, 1956.)
(At a hearing of the subcommittee on April 7, 1956, certain material
was ordered into the record at this point. The statement of the acting
chairman on that day follows :
Senator Welkkr. During December and January, the Senate Internal Security
Subcommittee held hearings during which newspapermen appeared as witnesses.
The subcommittee had received evidence that virtually all of these witnesses
had been, at some time or other in the past, members of the Communist Party.
Earlier, a Columbia Broadcasting System reporter had made a forthright dis-
closure before us about his own participation in Communist Party activities,
from which association he had been recruited by the Soviet intelligence to work
as a correspondent abroad.
From his testimony and from other sources, the subcommittee acquired ex-
tensive evidence of Communist penetration of the press. With respect lo must
of the subsequent witnesses, we noticed that they invoked their privilege under
the fifth amendment rather than answer questions about the subcommittee's
evidence. Some few admitted what the subcommittee had presented as sworn
testimony, but they revealed little more.
Within the area of their testimony of their recent-day or present activity
concerning which the subcommittee had no direct sworn testimony, they dtuled
Communist Party membership. However, they gave very little information or
evidence to the subcommittee of how Communists in the newspaper field carried
on their work.
.Just the other day I was reading a book which had just been published, called
Such Is Life, by Jeanne Perkins Harmon. In chapters 11 and 12, Mrs. Harmon,
in a very clear and simple manner, has raised the curtain on some of these very
things the subcommittee was seeking to learn. Her narrative deals with her
own experience as a newswoman in Life magazine in late 1940, and is remarkable
analytically. She cites specific instances, the like of which have been withheld
from us in sworn testimony.
She has mentioned in these chapters the votes of the individual units of the
Newspaper Guild, which Mr. Jay Sourwine, who was then chief counsel of our
subcommittee, had put Into the record of the subcommittee. The vote men-
tioned by Mrs. Harmon occurred in 1947 and was on the issue of whether Jack
Ryan, whom our evidence clearly indicates was then a Communist, should be
438 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
the executive vice president of the Newspaper Guild in New York. The contest
was for the control of the Newspaper Guild.
And while it resulted in the first defeat of the Communist-controlled slate in
New York, it did show the strength of the totalitarian forces at that time in cer-
tain of the units.
Such Is Life relates the heroic work of the anti-Communist writers and news-
paper men and women who fought so valiantly to wrest control of the Newspaper
Guild from the Communists. The Internal Security Subcommittee has always
been mindful of the courage and the determination of those publishers, editors,
and newspaper men and women whose devotion to their profession has never
flagged.
Mrs. Harmon relates in great detail, among other things, how a story written
by her on American flyers protesting the execution of General Mihailovich by
Tito was changed and rechanged. She also made this significant observation :
"I do say, however, that there is often as much sin in omission as in com-
mission. A zealous party supporter would be just as roundly congratulated for
keeping something out of the public eye as he would be for getting something in.
And that, given the high casualty rate on stories, anyway, is comparatively easy
to accomplish."
I am offering for the record these chapters by Mrs. Harmon, chapters Nos. 11
and 12 of Such Is Life, and I am ordering that they appear in the printed record
in the sequence of the testimony of Tass correspondents who are currently ap-
pearing before this subcommittee.
(The material referred to above was marked "Exhibit No. 171" and
reads as follows :)
Chapter 11
Of all the memories I have of the years at Life, the one that stands out most
vividly in my mind is the struggle against connuunistic infiltrators on news-
papers and magazines of New York. Maybe I have become hipped on the sub-
ject, where previously I had refused to take the supposed menace of Soviet
agents seriously. At any rate, what I saw when I was working in the trade
changed my general thinking more radically than anything else and for all
time. And because of the profound impact the whole business had on me per-
sonally, I feel impelled to describe what happened as I saw it.
On and off I had listened to some of my more politically minded colleagues
talking of the growing danger of subversives in the publications field. Writers
told of headlines subtly altered to convey meanings never intended ; reporters
referred to pressures exerted upon them to ignore one story and push another;
sincere liberals claimed to have endorsd seemingly innocent drives only to
find them plain ordinary party instrumentalities.
However, dealing mainly with etiquette experts, movie personalities, and
other noncontroversial subjects, I had not paid much attention to their fears.
Because I had never had any firsthand experience with communism or Commu-
nists, aside from Noel's and my frustrated attempt to get a story in Hollywood,
the party was a dim, shadowy subject which interested me very little, particu-
larly at a time when the Russians were supposed to be such close friends of ours.
As far as the activities of party sympathizers, or fellow travelers, on our
magazine were concerned, I felt, first of all, that the danger was much exag-
gerated generally — my friends were seeing things under the bed; secondly, if
there were any such situation, no organization headed by anyone so militantly
opposed to communism as Henry Luce would tolerate it.
Then one afternoon my upstairs neighbor, also a magazine writer, phoned
to invite me to a cocktail party, "It's for some young flyers who are interested
in the Mihailovich trail," she explained. "They're all upset about it, can't get
anybody to listen to them. It would make them feel good just to meet somebody
from Life. Besides, you'll hear the noise in your apartment anvway, so why
not come up for a few minutes?"
I thanked her and agreed to make it if I could, having no intention of doing
so. All I had heard about Mihailovich was that he had been head of the Yugo-
slavia underground during the war and had been widely praised for leading
guerrilla warfare. That I happened to know solely because Noel had once
had the idea of interviewing Mihailovich by short-wave radio telephone from
behind the lines, on the theory that the result might be a good piece. The
scheiiio hadn't worked, and what had happened in Yugoslavia since interested
me not at all.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 439
When I got home that nipht, the party was still going on. My neighbor called
over the banister to come up, and I did.
In her living room were twenty-odd young men, clean-cut, voluble, and terribly
in earnest about their cause. It seemed that during the war they had been
rescued by General Mihailovich's forces when shot down by the Germans, and
they felt they owed him their lives. Now that his regime had been overthrown
by Tito and the Communists and the general was on trial, Soviet style, they
wanted to show their appreciation by testifying that he had not been a traitor,
^t least in their case.
Many of the boys were willing to fly over and testify in person. But Tito
refused to admit them to the trial. Next, they requested permission to offer
written testimony. That, too, the People's Court disallowed. As at last resort,
they were holding a mock trial of their own in New York, with Arthur Garfield
Hayes of the American Civil Liberties Union presiding.
"We're not setting ourselves up to decide whether he's guilty or not," explained
one youngster. "That's not our business. But we do say he deserves a fair
trial, with witnesses heard on both sides, as to whether or not he was a Fascist,
whether or not he collaborated with the Germans. He sure didn't as far as
we were concerned."
After listening to them, a well-known war correspondent and some army in-
telligence officers who also felt that the general was being railroaded out of
Tito's way through trumped-up charges, I became sufficiently interested to want
to know a little more about the whole affair. I was not sold either way, nor
<lid I have any great burning crusading urge. It just seemed to me that if the
trial was that urgent to those boys, if they felt strongly enough about it to drop
their own activities and gather from all over the country, the situation was
at least worth understanding.
At the office the next morning I asked one of the girls in charge of clipping
the newspapers on every conceivable subject to let me see the stories on the
Mihailovich trial.
"Oh, I don't have any," she said. "They didn't tell me to clip that."
This suiprised me ; any story running more than one day was usually
watched by the domestic news department, and the mock trial had been going
on for several days. I called the foreign news section, but got no help there
either.
"We're not doing anything about Tito and Mihailovich," I was told. "It's
not important." This seemed odd indeed.
When my request to the morgue for information turned up the same result, I
began to wonder if perhaps the warnings of Communist-fearers might not
have some basis. Certainly somewhere there should have been something
available on this business.
Mihailovich had received reams of publicity at one time ; he had even been
a Time cover candidate, as I recalled. The blackout of his troubles with Com-
munist Tito, then a loyal Soviet servant, just might have been inspired by
people easer to keep the purge quiet. I consulted Blanche Finn, the company's
leading Communist expert. Blanche is a former labor organizer and a dedi-
cated New Deal Democrat, as well as Time's labor researcher.
"What did you expect?" she said. "Naturally you won't find anything against
Tito. He's a good Communist, for heaven's sake. Why do you think I keep my
own files?"
Apparently Blanche had run into this situation enough to induce her to set
up her own independent file system, which she maintained on her own time.
But since her interest was mainly domestic, she didn't have anything on
Mihailovich either.
After work that night, I dropped by the public library ana read the back
issues of the papers. At home, I tyi^ed up the highlights of the situation in a
memo to an editorial writer with the suggestion that it might fit in his depart-
ment, either as a short editorial on the trial and the rescued flyers' jjoint that
guilty or not, a man deserves a fair trial, or as part of a larger discussion the
editorial page might be planning on a general subject.
The editorial writer suggested that I do a short text piece on the story, leav-
ing out all editorializing, and making it center on the objective of the boys
themselves — to try to get evidence presented for, as well as against, the man
on trial.
I batted out 800 words or so on the subject during my lunch hour, took it by
the writer's office, and left it with him for his secretary to type. The regular
typing room, my Guild friends had warned, was apt to include members of the
72723— 56— pt. 9 5
440 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
same group that considered such things as the trial and what it represented
"unimportant." If pro-Communists learned that such a story was in the works,
which of course they would if It were processed throiigh regular channels, they
might discredit it before the editor ever saw it. Therefore, I didn't mention it
to anyone.
In a short time, the managing etlitor notified me that he had read the story
.and would run it to close the following afternoon. No changes necessary, he
said, except for a little cutting.
Now the manuscript went on the editorial conveyor belt — copy room for count-
ing, space allotment, layout, etc. — and the fat was in the fire. The news spread
as fast as the switchboard could make the ueces.sary connections.
In a very short time, I got a call from one of the writers, an attractive, down-
to-earth fellow who, though well up in the salary bracket, made much of his
.ardent union sympathies. One of the stories he liked to tell on himself was
the time he walked up some 17 floors or so in protest against scab elevator
operators, only to discover that the elevator strike currently in progress did not
affect our building or the union members in good standing who were driving the
cars.
Bill was an engaging, friendly guy, very popular with workers and manage-
ment alike. He was also extremely able. On more than one occasion, I had
-heard him described as "the perfect Life writer," a master of short sentences
and simple words, and a whiz at headlines and captions.
Communists generally are pictured as gloomy, mediocre characters who can't
make a go of things on their own and therefore embrace the system in hopes
either of improving their own lot or dragging everyone down to their same
level. That was one of the false impressions I had to correct.
While there are such moth-eaten society rejects in the party, there are also
some mighty attractive, mighty successful and prosperous members, too — people
who seem to have everything to lose by the ascendancy of communism. Why
they are Communists is a question that keeps you awake nights, once you know
that they are.
On the occasion of the Mihailovich story, Bill was as warm and friendly as
ever. One of his most ingratiating qualities was his "regular guy" personality.
Unlike some Ivy League Racquet Club writers, he pulled no rank on those less
prosperous than himself. When he was called upon to "fix up" somebody's copy,
the ensuing confabs had the aura of two good friends working out a problem,
almost a personal problem, instead of the cold business of earning one's salary
by stringing the proper words together in the proper order.
Bill was everybody's friend. Never did he say an unkind word about anyone.
But evei-y now and then he would begin "worrying" about some staff member.
"Gosh," he would say with concern to a boss, usually when some of the even
bigger brass was within hearing, "Sam's been looking mighty seedy lately.
Haven't you noticed? I think he's sick. Comes in here at 11 o'clock in the
morning, looking like death warmed over. I don't think vou ouuhta ask him
to do that coal mine story. I'll do it. Sam's health can't stand it.""
_ Or, "Be a good guy and take Lou oft the nightclub beat. 1 love him, but he's
just not up to it * * *"
This sort of thing would go on for weeks, until his boss was convinced that
the victim wasn't up to the job. The unfortunate staffer would be gracefully
transferred to a "less exacting" job, probably next tired for "his own good."
With a fat severance pay check, of course. I had seen it happen to three of my
best friends, all of whom landed on their feet with good jobs elsewhere. But
I refused to believe the anti-Communists' assertions that they had been liqui-
dated because they bucked the party. I knew they did, but couldn't see the
connection with their private political activities and their ofBce careers.
>''':i^^,i*^'^"^'""lV^ ^^'^'^ always so sincere, and delivered with just the right flavor
fity
I allowed as how I didn't think it meant much of anything, other than what it
said.
"I don't mean the story. I don't care about the story. I care about you.
i»o you know wliat imblishing this piece under your byline can do to you?"
I told lum no, I didn't.
Bill shook his head, very concerned. "I was afraid of that Sweetie, if vou let
(■(luntr ''^ published, you'll be blackballed by every liberal group 'in the
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 441
I took some exception to this, on the grounds that as I understood liberalism
(and who does?) it meant just what the word did, "liberty." In this case,
the fliers should have the "liberty" of presenting their case, be they right or
wrong, and the defendant should have the "liberty" of having something said
in his favor.
Bill shook his head some more. "Lucky thing I caught this," he said, "Why,
you poor kid, if this thing had gone through, you'd never be able to get another
line printed. No publication in the country would touch you with a 10-foot
pole. You'd be tagged as a Fascist."
At this point, we took our gloves off. I told him I had no burning ambition to-
write for every publication in the country anyway ; that it made no difference-
to me whether I was blackballed or not ; and that furthermore, while his concern
for my welfare was touching in the extreme, it was also more than passing
strange. In fact, downright fishy.
Being a smooth and practiced operator, Bill handled himself much better, of
course. He argued a little more, still for my own good only ; then, shaking his
head, he said he would simply have to save me from myself, somehow.
When my copy came back from processing, I saw what my friends had been
complaining about. Anonymous little changes appeared here and there, all seem-
ingly minor, but all subtly reversing the tone of the story.
When I charged up to the managing editor's office to complain, I ran into more-
trouble. Some of the researchers and writers had gotten wind of the story and
were making a joint protest against its publication. One or two were even talk-
ing about resigning, should it appear.
I got mad, they got mad, we began to argue, and the managing editor kicked
us ail out. "Go away," he said to me. "Go to the movies, to a baseball game, do
anything. But I don't want to see you back in this office until 5 o'clock this
afternoon."
He meant it, and I went. When I came back, I found layouts and word counts-
on my desk, indicating that the piece was going to run after all.
Mine wasn't much of an article, there were no repercussions to speak of, and
Mihailovich was executed shortly thereafter. But some of the changes had;
stayed in, weakening the point of the story. And as a symbol of what could
happen, it scared me. From then on, I began to look around a little. And I
didn't like what I saw going on in New York's news world.
The next episode was more subtle. One of the reporters I knew was a dedi-
cated Communist, in the classic sense of the word, and made no secret of her
convictions. She attended night sessions at a Communist school twice a week
and followed the party line faithfully. Shy and retiring, she was one of the
most conscientious workers and a real addition to any staff. Not only because
she was so reliable and so willing, but also because, being such a thoroughgoing
supporter of the party line, she picked out the points at issue before they got into-
print. They could be argued out while the story was in the works, and fixed ;
or, if they were allowed to stand, the editors could be secure in the knowledge
that vocal Communist protesters would not have any objections that were valid.
If she couldn't prove her point, nobody could. It was a perfect dry run.
Yet of all Communists she was the most harmless because she was constitu-
tionally incapable of trickery and underhandedness. Therefore, I suppose, she
was the most expendable.
There were increasing rumbles of criticism of one of the highly placed execu-
tives on her publication about the question of political leanings. Because the
job involving hiring and tiring, the anti-Communists were especially anxious to
get rid of that particular cog in the machinery. They discussed the problem
M'ith various management ofiicials, to no avail. One veteran of 16 years' service
in the same outfit had been a Communist herself, briefly, and had met the execu-
tive at local party cell meetings. That too, was brushed off as youthful exuber-
ance.
But as the protests increased, evidently the party brass decided to take no
chances. The executive was too important a cog in their organization to lose.
In cases where an important party faithful is in danger, I was to learn, it is
accepted procedure to "throw a victim out of the droshky." In other words, fire,
eliminate, discredit a genuine but less important pro-Communist for the sake of
making secure the important one's position.
Such a sacrificial lamb must of necessity be well-known for Communist lean-
ings. Also, it helps for the individual to be of a noncombative nature.
The reporter fitted the requirements on all counts. She had been hired with
the approval of the executive and therefore had the necessary association ; she-
II
3 9999 05445 4432 activity m the united states
had always held the cause above all else. By suggesting persoually that this
girl bo fired, the executive was in fact saying, "How could I be a pro-Communist
and not only allow, but be the one to suggest, firing such a loyal believer?"
Thus had the reporter been selected to be thrown out of the droshky. How-
ever, things went a little wrong. In the first place, she was not sold on, or
even told of, the idea. Not being a party hack, the cynicism of the plot shocked
and surprised her. Furthermore, while timid, she did object to the imfairness of
it.
So did many anti-Communist members of the Newspaper Guild. The only
ground on which the executive could base the decision to dispose of the reporter
in question, after 2 years of unusually faithful service, staying until dawn, doing
all the dirty work, never being careless or sloppy in her work, was that "She
didn't grow with the job."
This meant, the victim was told, that while she was an excellent worker and
one of the most painstaking members of the staff, she had not developed imagina-
tion, had not demonstrated ability to interview. What was not mentioned was
the fact that, being so obliging, she inherited all the drudgery while the more ag-
gressive reporters got themselves the assignments and the interviews.
However, when given the chance to do leg work, she seemed to satisfy the
eminently non-Communist writers who used her. Some of them, in fact, pro-
tested to management when they heard about the proposed firing.
But it didn't do any good. She was fired anyway. I haven't kept track of
her, but I have often wondered if she retained her Leftist leanings. For it was
an ironic situation, that the only people who came to her defense were the anti-
Communists. Usually loud and vociferous in their complaints, the party liners
remained completely silent on this occasion and stood by without lifting a finger
while we tried to save her. Evidently the word had gone through the ranks
that the comrade was to be scuttled.
However, perhaps some good did come of it, because the sacrifice play didn't
worlv for the pro-Communist executive. There was a change in management and
from then on those who should liave done so long before began to scrutinize her
activities more closely.
There had been increasing leaks on stories. Gossip columns were jmnping the
gun, announcing proposed publication beforehand ; certain journals ran stories
suspiciously close to those already in the works several days before the original
one hit the stands. A press agent called casually one day to confirm publication
date on an important essay that had been kept under wraps for months.
It was impossible to attribute the blame with certainty. Besides the editors
concerned, an office girl might have overheard, or an information source might
have talked.
Still, once management began to watch for it, a certain pattern did seem to take
shape. One of the prerogatives of the executive's position was to sit in on all
story conferences and to know all stories planned in each department before
anyone else. i
Finally, they seemed to get wise. As we heard it unofficially, a trap was set.
A round-up of Communist functionaries in a certain area was scheduled, fool-
proof pi-ecautious taken that no one know about the story except the depart-
ment concerned and the executive. But no one let it be known just how closely
guarded the secret was.
Sure enough, the story had scarcely reached the printer before the Communist
press came out with a rebuttal. Shortly thereafter, the executive "retired. "^
The leaks stopped, but otherwise, the removal really didn't do too much good. The
Communist system of infiltration is pretty bard to beat.
When a staff vacancy occurred on a newspaper or magazine, former party
liners explained, news was rushed to party headquarters. Not only the fact
that there was a vacancy, but detailed instructions were supplied as to what
type of applicant was most likely to land the job. The party selected a can-
didate, told him or her what to say and how to behave ; in short, the party
gave a complete coaching based on the recommendation of its members on the
inside.
As a random example, one of the commonest mistakes female applicants for
jobs on Life or Time used to make was to cite previous writing experience or
express a burning desire to write. Time, Inc.'s theory basically was that men
write, women research, and that a would-be writer, frustrated in her literary-
ambition, probably wouldn't make a good researcher. A party applicant would
be so warned.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 443
Another eiTor was to overemphasize specialized training. By and large, Time,
Inc. wants versatile, flexible researchers, people they can switch from one
department to another. Experts can be consulted when needed from the out-
side. As a rule, they're not particularly desirable as permament staff members.
These and many other tricks of the trade could easily be passed on by party
sympathizers within the organization, whichever one it might be. So when the
party applicant was interviewed, he had it all over the outsiders. He knew
exactly what to expect, exactly how to act in order to make the most favorable
impression on his prospective employers.
Thus, even if those doing the hiring were completely anti-Communist, the
setup had been so thoroughly cased beforehand that they would naturally
choose the party liner, simply because he appeared to be best fitted for the
job.
All this was pretty depressing, particularly when the various bigwigs con-
cerned seemed to sit back, hands folded, doing nothing whatsoever about the
situation. The anti-Communists in the guild weren't even positive that the
executive had been fired on the subversive issue. There was good authority
that was the reason, but no official source. It would have been a boost to morale
to know for sure that, just once, the management had recognized that there was
such a thing as a Communist danger. A lot of anti-Communists felt it was up
to the top brass, as masters of important media for molding public opinion, to
do something. I?ut since they didn't, anti-Communists took on the job.
The best place to do something about the situation seemed to be within the
New York chapter of the Newspaper Guild. This was the showcase, the most
overt demonstration of party organization ; and the Communists used it for
frequent harassing movements, threatening strikes, generally causing disruption
and commotion. Operating through the union further strengthened their job
security and provided a convenient cloak of respectability.
Those of us who had heretofore remained aloof from the fight decided there
was only one thing to do — join the union ourselves.
We signed up by the dozens, including many diehards who had sworn they
would never have anything to do with organized labor. "If the company wants
to fire me, I don't want some union telling them they can't. I'll fight my own
battles," was one point of view. "Unions may be all right in the trades, but in
creative work it's just plain ridiculous," was another. "If a writer hasn't got
it any more, he hasn't got it, that's all." Many felt that they were being very
nicely treated regardless of the union, and saw no need for it.
Nevertheless, they joined en masse, much to the annoyance of some of the
old faithful party workers. "Trouble with this union, it's getting too many
God-damn members," grumbled the sour-faced secretary who took my applica-
tion.
We began to attend meetings of the New York chapter of the American News-
paper Guild and thus came face to face with the conditions CBS newscaster
Winston Burdett described in 1955. We were up against a bunch of pros, and
very able ones at that. The regulars outflanked us, outmaneuvered us. and
generally made first-class jackasses out of us.
Union participation, we discovered, was not discussion; it was a theatrical
performance. While we would raise a tentative hand to ask a question, or
mumble from our seats, the opposition strode briskly to the front of the room,
grasped the microphone with practiced ease, and spoke ringingly as the veteran
public speakers they were. Should we by chance try to participate in a discus-
sion they had organized, they knew the right rule of parliamentary procedure to
shut us up.
If we did manape to get the floor, we were hopelessly blocked. All our care-
fully planned arguments evaporated in a ground sea of chattering and coughs.
One of the hardest lessons we had to learn in dealing with fanatics is the
fact that they never speak in terms of logic. Actually, they never argue. They
orate. There is no sense thinking up rebuttals in terms of cold facts, because
facts have no place in the discussion.
If one of the anti-Communists happened to make what sounded like a telling
point, somebody from the other side would jump up instantly to knock it down.
Far from disagreeing, he would pretend to be on the same side. "I agree with
Brother So-and-So," he would say smoothly. "I think he is absolutely right in
saying * * *" and then go on to drive home a theory a hundred and eighty
degrees away from the original thought suggested by the innocent amateur.
Why did they bother with us? That, too, we learned — eventually.
444 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE XHSTITED STATES
There might have been a handful of tried-and-true "followers," in a union of
several hundred members. Those opposed numbered slightly more. The over-
whelming majority of the members were in the middle, undecided, unaware
that this was a well-rehearsed performance. It was these votes that botli sides
must get. The speakers, therefore, were not really answering each other; they
were addressing the great malleable mass. These were the ones to be convinced.
I'm told the same situation exists in many party-minded unions, be they
countries or small local cells. All that is needed is a handful of party pros. In
fact, the Communist Party generally prefers it that way. By expert training
and proper maneuvering, the hard core of professionals can lead the innocent
ma.iority to do just about what they want.
Chapter 12
Gradually, we got our sea legs and began to assess the job we had in front
of us. The New York Newspaper Guild had fallen captive to the party ; and all
over the city, non-Communists at Newsweek, the Herald Tribune, World-Tele-
gram, Associated Press, United Press, etc., stirred in protest. But not one major
information-disseminating organ in a town which is probably the capital of the
news world was 100 percent free of fellow travelers at all times.
A citywide election of officers was in the offing. This was the time for anti-
Communist unionists from all the newspapers and magazines to get together
to try and unseat the pro-Communists.
This was a tough proposition, not only because our opponents were so solidly
entrenched but because they were also exteremely persuasive and attractive in
their appearances before the unaffiliated mass membership which would decide
the issue.
For one thing, they were completely dedicated. One of them, it was rumored
fairly reliably, had turned down a $50,000-a-year job with private enterprise to
continue his work in the guild. Privately, he made no bones of his Communist
sympathies. But when challenged publicly as to whether he was or was not a
Communist, he followed the instructions of the party : he ducked and cried
persecution, or, if a showdown were forced, refused to reply. When asked
the same questions in last year's hearings, former guild boss Jack Ryan pleaded
the fifth amendment and described himself as a self-employed "horticultural
worker." ,
As the campaign intensified, so did the tricks. Those already in the saddle
had the valuable privilege of making up the agenda in advance. Thus, they
could clog up the early hours of the meetings with trivia, saving the crucial
issues until late at night. Their followers were warned ahead of time, but on
the first few occasions, the anti-Communists were soundly trounced by this
device. Commuters had to make trains, other anti-Communists had important
previous engagements.
Not so the professionals. They scored their big victories when the air became
thick with smoke, the members befogged and weary from too much beer from the
union bar and too many hours of sitting on intentionally imcomfortable folding
chairs. Grimly, we learned to stick it out.
As we began to make gains, hostilities increased. "Sexually frustrated, that's
what you are — the buncli of you," thundered an uncommonly unattractive battle-
axe comrade from Brooklyn. Conversation became increasingly perfunctory ;
virtually all semblance of union solidarity disappeared.
The tactics became more crude. On one issue requiring written votes, the
Communists won by exactly the number of votes contained in one of the few units
that habitually voted almost 100 percent against them. When one of the mem-
bers of that unit asked to see the tally on her organization, she was told that
her unit had not turned in any votes. When she countered with the fact that
she herself had delivered them personally to the guild officer in charge, she was
told they must have been "lost." She demanded, and got, another count, and
from then on, there were watchers at the polls and in the counting rooms. What
had happened, evidently, was that the Communists had opened the votes ahead
of time, noted that that one unit was the decisive factor, and therefore "removed"
it from the election.
In the office, meanwhile, our work was suffering. Our opponents had a regular
system. While the important ones devoted at least half their working day to
union business, less vital sympathizers did their regular work for them. Lack-
ing the manpower for such coverage, we earned a good many raised eyebrows
from our bosses over closed-door caucuses ; lengthy telephone conversations ;
SCOPE^OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE
ADMINISTEATION OF THE INTEBNAL SECURITY
ACT AND OTHER INTERNAL SECURITY LAWS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
EIGHTY-FOURTH COXGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE
UNITED STATES
MARCH 15, 1956
PART 10
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
72723 WASHINGTON : 1956
Boston Public Library
Superintendent of Documents
JUL 2 6 1956
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
JAMES O. EASTLAND, Mississippi,- <7ftatrman
ESTES KEFAUVER, Tennessee ALEXANDER WILEY, Wisconsin
OLIN D. JOHNSTON, South Carolina WILLIAM LANGER, North Dakota
THOMAS C. HENNINGS, JR., Missouri WILLIAM E. JENNER, Indiana
JOHN L. McCLELLAN, Arkansas ARTHUR V. WATKINS, Utah
PRICE DANIEL, Texas EVERETT McKINLEY DIRKSEN, Illinois
JOSEPH C. O'MAHONEY, Wyoming HERMAN WELKER, Idaho
MATTHEW M. NEELY, West Virginia JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER, Maryland
StTBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE INTERNAL SECXJEITT
Act AND Other Internal Security Laws
JAMES O. EASTLAND, Mississippi, Chairman
OLIN D. JOHNSTON, South Carolina WILLIAM B. JENNER, Indiana
JOHN L. McCLELLAN, Arkansas ARTHUR V. WATKINS, Utah
THOMAS C. HENNINGS, JR., Missouri HERMAN WELKER, Idaho
PRICE DANIEL, Texas JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER, Maryland
Robert Morris, Chief Counsel
William A. Rdsher, Administrative Counsel
Benjamin Mandel, Director of Research
n
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 445
and even, on occasion, use of office materials for campaign literature. It was
the difference of who put what things first. To some people, the cause always
comes first. To us, unfortunately, holding on to our jobs had to be our primary
consideration. This put us at a bad disadvantage.
No wonder they beat us at every turn in our own arena of combat, the union
meetings. We were up against a gang of experts. The only solution was to
try and learn the business ourselves.
We were fortunate in having among our ranks several experienced members.
Earl Brown, the Negro reporter from Life, and Blanche Finn have always been
particular thorns in the Communist side, not only because they knew the score
from years of experience, but also because they are above reproach on their
records as liberals and labor supporters. A smear campaign on the basis of
antiracialism or religion was out, too, in their case. Besides Earl and Blanche,
there were also in the guild some ex-labor organizers and one former Communist
who had graduated from the "trade school" in his early days. Under their
tutelage, we began a regular program of instruction.
Once a week we gathered in one another's houses while the veterans taught
us the fine points of parliamentary procedure, how to address a meeting, how
to use a microphone. Sometimes we met in musty Greenwich Village lofts;
other nights the settings were chic East Side apartments or elegant New York
townhouses. Whether we sat on the floor or on a penthouse terrace, the routine
was the same. Gradually, we improved.
We learned to toss about such phrases as "broaden the base of participation,"
meaning, let's all decide on this instead of a bunch of operators taking action
in caucus ; or "Democratize the procedure," for blocking a railroading. We
learned, too, the value of "point of information, :\Ir. Chairman, please," and
*'point of personal privilege," when in doubt. (Senator McCarthy had not as
yet made these household words.) Perhaps most important of all, we learned
to use our emotions, rather than succumb to them. Never get angry, but some-
times it is etrective to pretend to be angry. Never snap back untilyou have had
a chance to think over your remark at least once. When you object, make it
seem an amendment rather than an objection.
As our performance began to show beginnings of promise, the opposition paid
us the compliment of assigning specific teammates to cope with each of us. If
I rose to speak, I could be certain that one reporter, and nobody else, would
jump up to "agree" with me. It was soon such generally recognized procedure
that no one was particularly shocked when one earnest little blonde anti-Com-
munist said in meeting one night, "I resent being answered by just anybody.
Mary gets to be answered by somebody important, so does Natalie. What's the
matter with me?"
Although this remark was greeted with some laughter, nevertheless, we had
improved.
At last came December 18, the big election night. All of us went to union
headquarters and stayed there until the following morning. As we watched the
count, we dared to hope. One unit after another — The American Weekly, the
Herald Tribune — came in, giving the anti-Communist ticket the edge. About
dawn, we were sure of victory. It had been a really tough battle. Toward the
end. Communist braintrusters had enlisted outside speakers; ours were booed
down, and we were denied admission to some of the rallies. But to no avail.
We had won at Time, Inc. by four votes.
The morning papers reported the results; we appeared at work baggy-eyed
but jubilant. Our candidates relieved the old guard down at union headquarters.
From that day to this, so far as I know, the leadership itself of the New York
Guild has been anti-Communist.
It is interesting to note how the voting went on the various publications that
night. In the case of the then executive vice president, now self-employed hor-
ticultural worker, John Ryan, for instance :
446 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
FOE EYAN AGAINST
Amsterdam News 26 to 13 Acme News Service 82 to 3
Billboard 12 to 9 American Weekly 53 to 13
Himsarian Journal 12 to 0 Associated Press 110 to 104
In Fact 10 to 0 Bronx Home News 126 to 20
Jewish Day 27 to 1 Commonweal 6 to 0
Jewish Journal 52 to 4 Herald Tribune 290 to 84
Labor Pi-ess 73 to 14 International News Photos__ 30 to 25
Look magazine 20 to 11 International News Service-. 15 to 6
Mirror 174 to 108 Jewish Forward 26 to 0
Nation 7 to 6 Journal-American 399 to 63
New Masses 16 to 0 Daily News 494 to 167
Newsweek 112 to 32 Post 154 to 84
New York Times 510 to 260 Scholastic 20 to 4
Daily Worker 63 to 0 Staats Herold 15 to 11
World-Telegram 133 to 129 Tide 5 to 4
Time, Inc 183 to 179
United Press 60 to 28
Did the new order stop our pro-Communist colleagues? Not at all. The
very next year we got a sample of their tenaciousness in the presidential election.
The CIO, of which the Newspaper Guild is a part, of course, voted to endorse
Truman. Naturally, many individual guild members would vote as they pleased.
But the guild itself, as a loyal unit of the parent union, officially, should follow
the decision of the CIO, parent organization.
Yet before our astonished eyes, we saw some of our union veterans urging
us to l)olt the CIO and endorse Wallace. Undoubtedly many innocent people
may have voted for Wallace. But for journalists, people working constantly
with facts and news, it was almost too much to believe that all of them were
that naive, even putting aside the consideration of union loyalty which was
usually held so sacred.
One of the pro-Communists' most effective and frequently used weapons was
to accu.se anyone who differed with them of not being union-minded, not putting
the union and solidarity above all other considerations. Yet when it suited
their own purpose, as in this case, they would blandly turn around and commit
the most outrageous kind of labor treason.
And the terrifying thing was that they seemed to get away with it as far
as the mass of the membership was concerned. Our people protested, pointing
out that we should not, as a member chapter, offlcially go on record as refusing
to comply with our parent organization, the CIO. When it became obvious that
we were outnumbered, we suggested as a compromise that we pass no resolution
at all. But logic had nothing to do with the issue.
Shortly thereafter I had to cover a Progressive Party rally at Madison Square
Garden. ' When I went to get the press passes, they had all disappeared. The
Life photograiiher and I lined up with the rest of the general public at the
ticket office outside to buy our seats while Paul Robeson's spirituals were pii)ed
out onto the street.
If there had been any doubt then in my mind of the terror of what might come
to pass in America, it disappeared that night. Theatrically, the staging was a
masterpiece. Robeson's velvet-voiced serenading was simple and moving against
a quiet piano accompaniment. The arena itself was dark, except for dramatic
spotlights strategically placed to give the most impressive effect Wallace
and Taylor, handsome men both, looked bigger than life, in a setting arranged
to present them as 20th-century saviors.
The talk was pure demagoguery, hypnotism of the most dreadful form.
The photographer and I could see it catch hold as we looked at the faces around
us, almost trancelike in their absurptiun. Each remark was greeted with roars
of applause. And, as at our union meetings, the majority were, I was con-
vinced, plain ordinary citizens, neither Communists nor anti-Communists. As
we sat there, not applauding, my neighbor, a motherly looking suburbanite,
kept looking at me. Finally she spoke. "How can you sit there and not clap?"
she said. "They're so handsome."
In various blocks throughout the Garden certain racial groups sat together as
units. The theme that night was fear. One minority group after another was
appealed to on the grounds of fear, warned that this was their last chance
at freedom and survival. What they had escaped in the old country was nothing,
they were told, compared to the horrors that awaited them in America unless
they supported the third party.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 447
As the eloquent voices, emphasized with mood music and lights, droned
through powerful amplifiers, about the slavery in sight, the dire consequences
of either Democratic or Republican victory, the mass impact was enough to
terrify anybody, much less the frightened, shaken foreigners or relatives
of foreigners in the audience. Greeks, Negroes, Jews. Each group got its
summons to contribute, support the cause, or expect the worst. One by one,
they sidled up, white-faced, to present their offerings. It was like a voodoo
mass.
I wish every citizen in the United States could have had a dose of the poison
that was being disseminated that night. It was so infinitely cruel, so utterly
disgusting, you had the feeling of unreality that "it can't be happening here—
not in America." And yet it was. A mass massacre of souls. I felt like jumping
up and telling these people. "It's not true. None of it. Read the inscription
on the Statue of Liberty. Look at your history books. America will never do
things like this."
In the end, the rally degenerated to a riot ; it was a horrible spectacle. And
who had the press seats while we tried to get pictures from some 50 rows back
and to the side? In the very front row, the choice location reserved for report-
ers and honored guests, sat a typist, a copy girl, and a couple of other guild
stalwarts- — applauding like mad.
To my mind, the struggle will remain so long as the same individuals who sup-
ported the party influence in the guild keep their jobs handling the news. And the
repercussions can be unfortunate. I may have come to seeing things under
the bed myself ; I will admit that the whole experience gave me a good scare.
Take just this one case, for instance. The man who had told me the Mihailo-
vich episode was not important was also one of the biggest of the Progressive
Party boosters. There was no proof that he was a Communist as far as party
card or other documentary evidence was concerned. The party is very careful
about that, particularly with important people. Indeed, some of the really im-
portant Communists themselves do not have a party card and never have had,
and they are kept completely aloof from party machinery.
Still, in the case of this young man, there were certainly enough indications to
cause at least reasonable doubt. He was all for peace until Russia got into World
"War II, then he immediately joined the howling for a second front. He de-
nounced the Marshall plan as a capitalistic trap and in addition to his Wal-
lace work, took the positions on other key issues that experts have come to
consider sufficient basis for investigation.
Shortly after Wallace's defeat, the young man departed to take on a post in
one of the United States Government's information bureaus abroad. This up-
set some of us enough to write the FBI, urging that his reliability be double-
checked. Mr. Hoover acknowledged the letter, but the applicant got the job
anyway. As Mr. Hoover pointed out to us, he had no power to act, only to
report.
A couple of years after I had left New York, an FBI investigator came to see
me in the Virgin Islands, where I live, to inquire more fully into the matter
of evidence, which I took to mean they weren't evidently satisfied themselves.
It seemed that the young man had not only held his job, but was now being
promoted to an even greater position of trust, heading a strategic bureau abroad.
I can't help but wonder how he feels about unification of Germany, for example.
How do these things happen? How did such a situation come into our par-
ticular company? Henry Robinson Luce has been called many things, but not
even his bitterest enemies could include Communist among them without being
ridiculed out of print.
Luce has been labeled "Fascist " "power-hungry," "intolerant." Yet the fact
that he is the very opposite of these things explains, I believe, why he allowed
the small but disturbing element to exist.
Why? How can this be?
The answer goes back to the 1930's.
When Heywood Broun came into Time, Inc., to organize the original chapter
of the Newspaper Guild, one of the first and most enthusiastic would-be members
was Henry Luce himself. According to employes who were there then, he
was genuinely disappointed when told that, being the boss, he could not join.
My own encounters with Mr. Luce have been limited to a small dinner party
at the home of one of the editors; an hour or so's conversation over a cup of
coffee at Holland House with him and one of our cox'respondents ; and the usual
snatches of small talk at company functions, office parties, and one or two of
the Wednesday editors' lunches held in the Time, Inc. private dining room in
Radio City.
448 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Henry Luce is someone you would remember meeting, however briefly, be-
cause he doesn't fit any particular pattern of anyone you have ever met before.
His red-gray brows beetle just as much as the cartoons indicate ; his blue eyes
are as steely as described ; and with his gruff manner wiry, restless physique,
and hard-to-understand bark of a voice, he seems somewhat of a cold fish.
On the other hand, he has a sharp, all-consuming curiosity and interest in any
subject under discussion. It is almost as though he wanted to eat up, swallow,
and digest that particular item all in one gulp. He seems to be saying "give us
the dope, all the dope, and be pretty quick about it." Although he stammers
on occasion, usually his conversation is so clipped and abrupt that this speech
defect isn't noticeable.
Perhaps it is the height of presumptiveness to try to evaluate anyone as com-
plex as Henry Luce on the basis of a few chance meetings and an occasional
ride in the elevator with him. On the other hand, so many pundits have seen fit
to interpret, analyze, and explain his character and motivations on the basis
of no personal contact whatsoever, I might as well air my views, too — everybody
else does.
At any rate, in my inexpert opinion, the unhappy situation that prevailed at
Time, Inc., in regard to the guild problem had its roots in the very nature of
Henry Luce as a man.
His biographers have pointed out that he was raised the son of a Protestant
missionary in China. What they fail to mention is that he evidently still holds a
sincere religious feeling. This would explain a sense of obligation to tolerate
and understand his fellow man, regardless of whether or not he happens to agree
with him.
Throughout prep school and college, Luce dedicated 1 hour a day to good works.
He still does good works, on a scale expanded more than proportionately to his
enlarged capacity, though he does not ballyhoo his philanthropies, endowments,
or research funds. Every once in a while, in a library or a reference file, I used
to come across a study, a scholarship, or a fund listed as financed by Time, Inc.
But this fact was never headlined by Time, Inc.
In addition to his religious motivation, 1 have another theory as to why
Luce is so bipi>ed on every individual's right to do and think as he pleases. That
is his experiences as a white child, a different child, set down alone in a com-
pletely alien, often hostile, environment. He looked unlike his slant-eyed Chinese
playmates. They talked different languages, lived differently, worshiped dif-
ferent gods.
Children are known for their delight in tormenting anyone who is in any way
different. So perhaps as a child Henry Luce made up his mind that anyone he
ever had anything to do with would be allowed to differ as much as he pleased.
This allergy to imposing authority is admirable so long as it confines itself
to the employees' private lives. It is fine that Mr. Luce knows and accepts the
fact that probably most of his writers and researchers are working ardently for
the Democratic Party while he and his magazines go all out for the Republicans.
It is equally Mr. Luce's business if he wants to let union workers use up large
quantities of the time he is paying for in doing union work during office hours —
so long as it is really union work. And although he lives himself by a basically
strict code of ethics, Mr. Luce has never allowed any interference in the some-
times rather sticky domestic situations that have developed within his staff.
But on occasion, I think he carries this highly praiseworthy hands-off policy
too far, as have many of the other publications.
It is one thing to allow each individual tlie right to his own opinion, but it is
quite another to put him in a position to express it in America's most powerful
media for molding public opinion. I'm not saying that Time and Life or the
New York Times or any other news organ are Communist propaganda organs ;
obviously, that would be absurd. I do say, however, that there is often as much
sin in omission as in commission. A zealous party supporter would be just as
roundly congratulated for keeping something out of the public eye as he would
for getting something in. And that, given the high casualty rate on stories
anyway, is comparatively easy to accomplish.
Finally, it was not quite fair to the rest of the employees in those no-holds-
barred days to have to struggle not only against the pro-Communist network
thoroughly entrenched within the guild, but also against their supporters who
were in a position to hire and fire. One little stenographer very nearly lost
her job the morning after a guild election in which she had caught a crucial
discrepancy in the vote count. In addition to all this, we non-Communists had
no substitutes to do our work, nobody to cover up for us, as did the others.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 449
We felt that management forces were ducking a responsibility in not doing a
little housecleaning of their own, instead of leaving us to fight it out on our own
against a stacked deck in the guild.
To us Time, Inc.-ers, the struggle for control of the union was the most serious,
the hardest fought clash of the time. Far better known, of course, was the
Whittaker Chambers crisis, which was unfolding simultaneously. Yet those of
us who were supposedly on the inside then knew little more about it other than
what we read in the papers.
Time writers are not only anonymous in the matter of bylines, but also gener-
ally by temperament. Whittaker Chambers was even more of a reciuse than
most. A small, round, shabbily dressed little man with deep blue eyes, thinning
white hair, bad teeth, and an ever-present pipe, he had a passion for privacy,
possibly because of the fact that he lived daily in mortal fear of bis life and that
of his family. His address was a carefully guarded secret, so was his home
telephone, usually unavailable from the telephone operators on request. Anyone
trying to reach Whit by telephone through the office switchboard was given his
mother's telephone number. She in turn had Whit call back.
I happened to meet him when he was writing a Life article ; I was at the time
in charge of layouts for such articles. Usually the researcher assigned to work
with me in gathering pictures did most of the work ; I came into it in the later
stages, picking out what seemed best suited for actual publication and working
with the layout boys on making up the final form. But both the researcher and
I spent more time on that one story by Chambers than we usually gave to any
normal half-dozen.
AMiether it was because of his murky background, or because of a natural
personality trait of his own, Whit was an absolute fanatic in his insistence upon
verifying everything down to the most minute detail. As some people have an
obsession about cleanliness and carry it to extremes, others have manias about
germs, so was Whit about accuracy. He took our word for nothing. Dates,
places, names of artists, each and every tiny factor he refused to accept until he
had seen it proved with his own eyes. The researcher's theory was because he
had lived with lies for so many years, truth had become a sacred cause with him.
Normallj', collecting pictures and making layouts for a piece brings no more
than passing contact with the author. He is responsible for the words; the
pictures are our problem. In this case, however, we spent so much time with
Whit that we almost felt as though he was an old friend. And we got to like him.
Relaxed, quiet, endowed with an unobtrusive but good sense of humor, he gave no
indication of the tremendous inner torment he was going through. Indeed, he
was much less high strung and temperamental than the usual writer.
When the bombshell finally burst in full force, we were more surprised than
people Avho hadn't known him. Chambers could so easily have held on to his big
job, kept on building the farm that he loved so deeply, and lived in peace with his
wife and children for the rest of his days. All he had to do was keep his mouth
shut.
Up until he joined Time, his had been a turbulent and uncertain life — poverty,
privation, mental confusion. When at least he apparently had achieved security,
stability, spiritual serenity, it seemed odd that he should give all that up.
When I hear people who have never known either him or Alger Hiss pontificat-
ing on what a stinker Chambers is, I do wonder if they have read factual accounts
of the case, or taken the trouble to look into the testimony. Because Chambers
certainly didn't gain anything out of the whole sorry mess. His job was gone,
his health broken, and his reputation will forever be suspect.
Probably I am prejudiced because I did like him when I worked with him.
But I saw a brilliant writing talent and a restless, searching mind hidden behind
a gentle old-fashioned courtesy through which came flashes of a rare sense of
humor.
On December 10, 1948, the publisher of Time sent each of us a copy of
Whittaker Chambers' letter of resignation :
"I hereby tender and ask that you accept my resignation as a senior editor of
Time magazine. Both of these acts became imperative when I recently began to
make revelations about Communist espionage. When Time hired me in 1939, its
editors knew that I was an ex-Communist ; they did not know that espionage was
involved.
"For 9 years I have been actively fighting communism. I believe I was helpful
in alerting Time's editors years ago to the dangers of worldwide communism
which have been confirmed by events and which are now generally, if imperfectly,
understood in this country. In my own writing I have tried to give expression to
450 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
human values which I knew from my own experience communism denies and
destroys. Now, after 9 years of work done in good conscience, I have been called
upon to expose the darkest and most dangerous side of communism — espionage.
This can be done only if a man who knows the facts will stand up and tell them
without i-egard to the cost or consequences to himself. I cannot share this
indispensable ordeal with anyone. Therefore, with a quiet and firm mind, I am
withdrawing from among the colleagues with whom I worked for so many years
and whose support has been loyal and generous."
Appended to the resignation was the company's comment. To my mind, it
illustrates perhaps more vividly than anything else could, Henry Luce's basic
philosophy of tolerance. In the case of what I considered to be pro-Communists,
I resented, and still resent, this tolerance. In Chambers' case, the other side of
the coin is an insistence on fair play and withholding of censure until the accused
has had every opportunity of vindication :
"Time has accepted Mr. Chamber's [in the excitement, somebody failed to check
spelling] resignation for the reasons which he has so well expressed.
"In accepting his resignation now. Time does not wish to prejudge and is not
prejudging his recent disclosures. Not until all the evidence is in can the pros
and cons be weighed. Against the admitted disservice to his country of a decade
ago must be set the service we are convinced he is trying to perform for his
country now."
So far as Time, Inc., was concerned, that ended the Chambers episode. Basi-
cally, the big threat of communism seems to have about subsided, too. Every now
and then, someone looking tor it might be able to find a little party work sneaking
in here and there on the various magazines and newspapers, but nothing like it
was before the Battle of the Newspaper Guild.
The anti-Communists are still on the watch, and it may not be too much to hope
that, at long last, management echelons may have learned a bit of a lesson them-
selves. Probably the most potent factor of all is that the mass membership of
the guild is not as gullible as it used to be. At any rate, the opportunities for
infiltration have perceptibly diminished.
But the battle will ne\'er be completely over. The same "liberals" stay on and
on in the guild and, though more careful these days, still seem to be pretty effec-
tive under the new euphoniously called anti-anti-communism. This, as I get it,
means fighting tlie people who fight communism. The double negative sounds so
much better than "pro-Communist."
In July 1955, the American Newspaper Guild in convention unanimously voted
not to defend the employment rights of any member who is "an admitted or
proved Communist Party member." As one guild member fi'om St. Louis put it,
"If anyone wants to exercise his right to be part of a conspiracy, then let him seek
employment from those who agree with him."
To which, a fervent amen.
On May 9, 1956, at a public hearing at which Senator Arthur V.
Watkins presided, additional matter was ordered into the record at
this point.
The testimony follows :
Mr. Morris. A witness before this subcommittee, Franklin Folsom,
in connection with the Tass hearings, refused to say, unlike all the
other witnesses who appeared in the Tass hearings, whether in face he
had M'orked for the Tass News Agency. He refused to say on the
grounds that his answers might incriminate him.
_ I would like to offer for the record the September 3, 1947, registra-
tion filed by Tass, pursuant to section 2 of the Foreign Agents Kegis-
tration Act of 1938, in which it is listed that Franklin Folsom, 142
East 27th Street, New York City, was in fact an employee of Tass at
that particular time.
May that go into the record, Mr. Chairman ?
Senator Watkins. This is a photostatic copy of the original docu-
ment? rj 6
Mr. Morris.- That is right. That is a photostat of the original regis-
tration certificate, which shows in fact that Folsom was employed by
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 451
Tass at that time, at the time he refused to say that he was, pleading
fifth amendment privilege.
Senator Watkixs. It will be made a part of the record.
]SIr. INIoRRis. I have here two photostats that may be of interest to the
committee, because they contain additional facts, similar registration
for March 31 and September 30, 1948, also containing the name of
Franklin Folsom. To some extent, they are duplicates, but since it is
a different registration, there is a little more information on it, putting
more information in the files.
Senator Watkixs. These are photostatic copies of the official record ?
Mr. MoKRis. That is right.
Senator Watkixs. They may be made a part of the record.
(The exhibits referred to were marked "No. 172, 172-A, and 172-B."
Exhibit No. 172 is printed in full below, followed by the first three
pages of Exhibits Nos. 172-A and 172-B, complete copies of which
may be found in the subcommittee files :)
Exhibit No. 172
[Stamped: Filed October 28, 1947, Foreign Agents Registration Section, Department of
Justice]
United States Department of Justice
washington, d. c.
suppi.emental registration statement
Pursuant to Section 2 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended
REGISTRATION NO. 464
For Six Months Period Ending September 30, 1947
1. (a) Name of Registrant.
New York Bureau of the Telegraph Agency of the U. S. S. R. (TASS).
(&) All other names used by Registrant during the period.
None.
(c) Address of principal office.
50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N. T.
(d) Name of person or persons in charge of principal office.
Alexander Georgievich Alexandrov.
3. If Registrant is a nonbusiness membership organization, state —
Inapplicable.
(a) Approximate number of members in the United States
(6) Approximate number of members outside the United States
Inapplicable.
4. (a) All persons who became partners, officers, directors, and similar officials
of Registrant during the period.
Name and address of official :
Date connection began :
Position, office, or nature of duties :
None.
( h ) All persons who ceased to be partners, officers, directors, or similar officials
of Registrant during the period.
Name and address of official :
Date connection ended :
Reason for ending connection :
None.
5. (a) All branches and local units of Registrant and all other component or
affiliated groups or organizations which began to operate during the period.
Name and address of branch, unit, group, or organization :
None.
Nature of connection with Registrant :
None.
452
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Name and address of person in charge :
None.
(&) All branches and local units of Registrant and all other component or
atfiliated .groups or organizations which ceased to operate during the period.
Name of branch, unit, group, or organization :
Reason operations ceased :
None.
6. All persons who at any time during the period were foreign principals of
Registrant.
Name and principal address :
Is person still a foreign principal of Registrant?
If not, give date connection ended :
None.
7. Describe fully all activities of Registrant during the period for or in the
interests of each foreign principal named under item 6.
Gathering and transmitting American news to the U. S. S. R.
8. Describe briefly all other businesses, occupations, and public activities in
which Registrant engaged during the period.
None.
9. Furnish the following information as to all employees and other individuals,
except those named under item 4, who during the period rendered any services or
assistance to Registrant, with or without compensation, for or in the interests of
any foreign principal named under item 6 :
(a) All such employees and other individuals for whom Exhibits A have
previously been filed.
Name and address of employee or other individual
Nature of any changes
during period in
activities for Regis-
trant or its foreign
principals
Has connection with
registrant ended?
Kenneth Diirant, Tjimaica, Vt _ -
No.
Esther Shields 9 West 97th St , New York City -
No.
Harry Freeman, 22 East 89th St., New York City
No.
Thurher Lewis, 328 West 47th St., New York City
Died Aug. 18, 1948.
Timofoi Rcmizov, 121 Madison Ave., New York City -
No.
Samuel Krafsur, Dahlonega Rd., Mohican Hills, Md.,
No.
Washington, D. C.
Emilio Delgado Rodriguez, 29 West 97th St., New York
Citv.
William Cunningham, 328 West 21st St., New York City
No.
No.
Harrv Ross, 369 Bleecker St., New York City
No.
Jean Montgomery, Marlyn Apartments, Washington,
No.
D. C.
Paul Burns, 294 West 11th St., New York Citv
No.
Sasha Small Lurie, 345 Bleecker St., New York City
No.
Jerome Klein, 47 Morton St., New York City.. ..
No.
Franklin Folsom, 142 East 27th St., New York City
Yes; left Oct. 1, 1948.
Frederick Van Wicklen, 259 West 11th St., New York
No.
City.
Hays Jones, 270 Fort Washington Ave., New York City.,
No.
Laurence Todd, 4805 Langdrum Lane, Chevy Chase,
No.
Md.
Travis K. Hedrick, 3014 South Columbus St., Arlington,
Yes; left Sept. 1, 1948.
Va.
Kuzma Tlyashenko, 113 West 103d St., New York City
No.
Arcidi Oporodnikov, 45 West 95th St., New York City .
No.
Michael Fedorov, 614 West 113th St., New York City
No.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Karev, 56 W. 105th St
No.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE "UNITED STATES
453
(6) All such employees and other individuals for whom exhibits A have not
been previously filed.
Name and address of employee or other individual
Nature of services or
assistance rendered
Has connection with
registrant ended:
Vera Groden, 101 West 60th St
Vincent Vaccaro, 254A Grand Ave , Brooklyn, N. Y
Harry Fisher, 4309 47th Ave., Lone Island City .. .
Ruth Fisher. 4309 47th Ave., Long Island City
Minnie Bunin, 101 West 60th St., New York City.
Julie De Witt, 2 Horatio St., New York City.
Jessie Harris, 45 Hawthorne St., Brooklyn .... .
Alison Burroughs, 114 East 123d St., New York City
Evelyn Gross, 308 East 72d St., New York City
Bose Averett, 4121 49th St., Long Island Citv...
Fred Nield, 429 East 65th St., New York City
Corinne Lautman, 511 Ro.xboro PI., A^'ashington, D. C
Micky Virden, 1328 Park Rd. NW., Washington, D. C.
Bookkeeper
Teletypist
do
Librarian
Teletypist
Librarian
Editorial assistant
Librarian
Librarian
Switchboard operator.
Teletypist...
do
do
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Yes; left Apr. 15, 1948.
No.
No.
No.
Filing of Exhibit A for all of the above names, waived because they are clerical
and iiondiscretionary employees who are not engaged in writing, speaking,
organization, or other public or political activities on behalf of Tass or otherwise.
10. Furnish the following information as to Registrant's receipts and expendi-
tures during the period covered by this statement. The information may, if
Registrant desires, be furnished for Registrant's latest semiannual fiscal period,
provided the period covered is indicated and future statements are furnished
on the same basis :
(a) All amounts received during the period directly or indirectly from each
foreign principal named under item 6, itemized as follows :
Date funds
received
Name of foreign principal from
whom funds received 2
Purposes for which received '
Amount
received *
Apr. 29,1947
Telegraph Agency of the U. S. S. R.,
Moscow.
All operational expenditures . .
$20, 000. 00
May 22, 1947
June 16,1947
June 17,1947
July 28,1947
Aug. 7, 1947
2.3,094.34
10, 000. 00
28, 301. 00
35, 339. 62
26, 867. 92
(6) All amounts received during the period from other sources to be used
directly or indirectly for or in the interests of any foreign principal named under
item 6, itemized as follows : ^
Date funds received :
Name of person from whom received : '
Purposes for which received : *
Amount received : *
None.
See footnotes on p. 454.
454 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
(c) All exiienditures made during the period directly or indii-eotly for or in
the interests of each foreign principal named under item 6, itemized as follows : '
Name of person to whom
Purposes for which pay-
Amount of
Date payment was made
payment was made 2
ment was made '
payment ♦
Salaries
$71,537.04
Rent and maintenance, sub-
16, 8S9. 62
scriptions, books, supplies.
equipment, and other
office expenses.
Western Union, American
Cable tolls and ptirchase
55, 718. 50
Cable & Radio Corp., RCA
of news services.
Communications, Asso-
ciated Press, United Press,
Press Association, New
Yorlv Telephone Co., Chesa-
peake & Potomac Tele-
phone Co.
1 Include all amounts so received, whether as compensation, loans, contributions, subscriptions, fees, dues
subsidies, or otiierwise. ,. j ^
2 Receipts from or payments to a person amoimtins to less than $200 for the period may be combined with
other like amounts, provided the source or disposition of the funds, as the case may be, is clearly indicated.
3 Where funds were received or paid, as the case may be, for various purposes, such purposes shall be listed
In reasonable detail.
* Show separately the amount received or paid, as the case may be, for each purpose listed under the
preceding column.
« Include all transfers of funds to any foreign principal.
11. (o) Speeches, lectures, talks, and radio broadcasts arranged or sponsored
by Registrant or delivered by officials or employees of Registrant, during the
period.
Name of person by whom delivered :
Number of speeches, lectures, and talks delivered :
Number of radio broadcasts delivered :
Inapplicable.
(6) Publications prepared or distributed by Registrant, or by others for Regis-
trant, or in the preparation or distribution of which Registrant rendered any
services or assistance, during the period. ( Indicate each type of publication by
an "X".)
(1) Press releases
(2) News bulletins
(3) Newspapers
(4) Articles
(5) P.ooks
(6) Magazines
(7) Pamphlets
(8) Circulars
(9) Form letters
(10) Reprints
( 11 ) Copies of speeches, lectures,
talks, or radio broadcasts
(12) Radio programs —
(13) Radio scripts
(14) Moving pictures
'15) Lantern slides
(16) Still pictures
117) Posters
(18) Photographs
(19) Charts
(20) Maps
(21) Other publications-
Inapplicable.
(c) Preparation and distribution of publications referred to in answer to (6)
above.
Description of publication :
By whom written, edited, or prepared :
By whom printed, produced, or published :
By whom distributed :
Inapplicable.
(d) Compliance with the filing, labeling, and reporting provisions of Section 4
of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended, and Rule 400
thereunder.
(1) Were copies or summaries of all communications and publications re-
ferred to in answer to («) and (b) above filed with the Department of Justice
and the Librarian of Congress? If not, explain why copies or summaries of any
such communications and publications were not filed.
Inapplicable.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTRaTY IN THE UNITED STATES 455
(2) Were all such communications and publications labeled in accordance
with Section 4 and Rule 400? If not, explain why any such communications and
publications were not so labeled.
Inapplicable.
(3) Were reports of the delivery, distribution, or other dissemination of all
such communications and publications made to the Department of .Tustice in
accordance with Section 4 and Rule 400? If not, explain why any such reports
were omitted.
Inapplicable.
12. (a) Any changes during the period, not fully described above, in Regis-
trant's affiliations, associations, or other connections with foreign governments,
foreign political parties, or oflicials or agencies thereof.
Name of government, party, or official or agency thereof :
Nature of changes during period in Registrant's connections therewith :
None.
(6) Any changes during the period in Registrant's pecuniary interest in or
control over partnerships, corporations, associations, or other organizations or
combinations of individuals.
Name of organization or combination :
Nature of changes during period in Registrant's ownership or other pecuniary
interest :
Nature of changes during period in any direction or control exercised by
Registrant :
None.
13. (o) Any changes during the period in the ownership of or supervision,
direction or control over Registrant by any organization, group, or individual.
Name of organization group, or individual :
Nature of changes during period in ownership, supervision, direction, or control :
None.
(6) Any subsidy or other financial assistance received by Registrant during
the period directly or indirectly from —
Any individual who is is citizen of, or resides in, a foreign country.
Any organiaztion created in, or under the laws of, any foreign country or
having its principal place of business in a foreign country.
Any foreign government or foreign political party, or any official or agency
thereof.
Name of person from whom subsidy or financial assistance received :
Nature and amount of subsidy or financial assistance :
None. See Item 10a.
14. File the following exhibits with this statement :
Exhibit A.— File an Exhibit A, on the printed form provided therefor, for each
of the following persons for whom an Exhibit A has not previously been filed :
(o) All partners, officers, directors, and similar officials of Registrant.
Furnished.
(&) All employees or other individuals who during the period rendered
any services or assistance to Registrant, with or without compensation,
for or in the interests of any foreign principal named under item 6.
See item 9b.
ExhiUt B.— File a copy of any changes during the period in the agreement,
arrangement, or authorization (or if not in writing a written description there-
of) pursuant to which Registrant is acting for, or receiving funds from, each
foreign principal named under item 6.
Inapplicable.
Exhibit C— File an Exhibit C, on the printed form provided therefor, for
each foreign principal named under item 6 for whom an Exhibit C has not
previously been filed.
Furnished,
456 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Exhibit D. — If Registrant is a nonbusiness organization, file a copy of any
changes during the period in its charter, constitution, bylaws, or other instru-
ments of organization.
Inapplicable.
Exhibit E. — File a copy of the agreement or arrangement (or if not in writing,
a written description thereof) between the Registrant and each business firm
or other organization named under item 11 (c), and copies of all changes during
the period in similar contracts previously filed.
Inapplicable.
The undersigned swear (s) or affirm (s) that he has (they have) read the
information set forth in this statement and the attached exhibits that he is
(they are) familiar with the contents thereof and that such contents are in their
entirety true and accurate to the best of his (their) knowledge and belief, except
that the undersigned makes (s) no representation as to the truth of accuracy of
the infornjation contained in Exhibit A insofar as such information is not within
his (tlieir) personal knowledge.
/S/ Alexander Alexandrov.
Subscril)ed and sworn to before me at New York, New York, this 20th day of
October 1947.
George J. Nejedly,
Notary Public in the State of Neiu York.
My commission expires March 30, 1948.
Exhibit No. 172-A
[Stamped : Filed April 30, 1948, Foreign Agents Registration Section, Department of
Justice]
United States Department of Justice
washington, d. c.
Supplemental Registration Statembint
Pursuant to Section 2 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended
REGISTRATION NO. 4 64
For Six Months Period Ending March 31, 1948
1. (a) Name of Registrant.
New York Bureau of the Telegraph Agency of the U. S. S. R. (Tass).
( h ) All other names used by Registrant during the period.
None,
(c) Address of principal office.
50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N. Y.
{(1) Name of person or persons in charge of principal office.
Alexander Georgievich Alexandrov.
3. If Registrant is a nonbusiness membership organization, state —
Inapplicable.
(«) Approximate number of members in the United States
{h) Approximate number of members outside the United States
Inapplicable.
4 (a) All persons who became partners, officers, directors, and similar officials
of Registrant during the period.
Name and address of official :
Date connection began :
Position, office, or nature of duties :
None.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 457
( ft) All persons who ceased to be partners, officers, directors, or similar officials
of Registrant during the period.
Name and address of official :
Date connection ended :
Reason for ending connection :
None.
5. (a) All branches and local units of Registrant and all other component or
affiliated groups or organizations which began to operate during the period.
Name and address of branch, unit, group, or
organization
Nature of connection
witli registrant
Name and address of person in
charge
Subbureau of the New York Bureau of the Tele-
graph Agency of the U. S. S. R., 9G9 National
Press Bldg., Washington, D. C.
Laurence Todd, 4805 Langdrum
Lane, Chevy Chase, Md.
(b) All branches and local units of Registrant and all other component or
affiliated groups or organizations which ceased to operate during the period.
Name of branch, unit, group, or organization :
Reason operations ceased :
None.
6. All persons who at any time during the year were foreign principals of
Registrant.
Name and principal address:
Is person still a foreign principal of Registrant?
If not, give date connection ended
None.
7. Describe fully all activities of Registrant during the period for or in the
interests of each foreign principal named under item 6.
Gathering and transmitting American news to the U. S. S. R.
8. Describe briefly all other businesses, occupations, and public activities in
which Registrant engaged during the period.
None.
9. Furnish the following information as to all employees and other individuals,
except those named under item 4, who during the period rendered any services
or assistance to Registrant, with or without compensation, for or in the inter-
ests of any foreign principal named under item 6 :
(a) All such employees and other individuals for whom Exhibits A have
previously been filed.
458 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
Name and address of employee or other individual
Nature of any changes
during period in
activities for Regis-
trant or its foreign
principals
Has connection with
registrant ended?
Kemicth Durant, Jamaica, Vt...
No
Esther Shields, 9 West 97th St., New York Citv
No
Harry Freeman, 22 East 89th St., New York City . ..
No
Thurber Lewis, 328 West 47th St., New York City
No
Timofoi Remisov, 121 Madison Ave., New York Citv
No
Samuel Krafsur, Dahloncga Rd., Alobican Hills, Md.,
Washincfon, D. C
No
Emilio Delgado Rodrig:uez, 29 West 97th St., New York
City
No
WiUiam Cunningham, 328 West 21st St., New York City
tio
Harry Rops, 369 Bleecker St., New York City . .
No
Jean Montgomery, Marlyn Apartments, 39th St. and
Cathedral Ave., Washington, D. C
No
Paul Burns. 294 West 11th St., New York Citv.-
No
Sasha Small Lurie, 345 Bleecker St., New York City
No
Jerome Klein, 47 Morton St., New York City
No
Franklin Folsom, 142 East 27th St., New York Citv
No
Bernard Freeman, 138 West 13th St., New York Citv.
left Jan. 10, 1948
Yes
Frederick Van Wicklen, 259 W. 11th St., New York City
No
Hays Jones. 270 Fort AVashington Ave., New York City-
No
Laurence Todd, 4805 Langdrum Lane, Chevy Chase, Md
No;
Vladimir Morev, 430 West 119th St., New York City.
No,
(6) All such employees and other individuals for whom exhibits A have not
been previously filed.
Name and address of employee or other individual
Kuzma Ilyashenko, 113 West 103d St., New York City
Vera Groden, 101 West 60th St., New York City
Anne Weissberg, 226 East 6th St., New York City
Vincent Vaccaro, 254-A Grand Ave., Brooklyn, N Y
Harry Fisher, 4309 47th Ave., Long Island City, N. Y
Ruth Fisher, 4309 47th Ave., Long Island City, N. Y "
Mmnie Bunln, 101 West 60th St., New York City
Julie De Witt, 2 Horatio St., New York Citv
Augusta Strauss, 241020th St., NW., Washington, t5. c"
Jessie Harris, 45 Hawtliorne St., Brookljm N Y
Olga Molnikova, 115 West 76th St., New York City
Alison Burroughs, 114 East 123d St., New York Citv
Evelyn Gross, 308 East 72d St., New York City
Bluma Cohen, 65 71st St., Brooklyn, N. Y
Rose Averett, 4121 49th St., Long Island City, N. y"""
Fred Nield, 75 West 55th St., New York City
Anne Carroll, 29 Bethune St., New York City
Travis K. Hedrick, 3014 South Columbus St., Arfing-
ton, Va. ^
Corlnne Lautman, 511 Roxboro PI. NW., Washington,
Micky Virden, 1328 Park Rd. NW., Washington, D. C.
Nature of services or
assistance rendered
Staff writer..
Bookkeeper.
Teletypist. -
.do.
.do.
Librarian
Teletypist
Librarian
Teletypist
Editorial assistant.
Student translator.
Librarian
do...
.do.
Switchboard operator.
Teletypist
Librarian
Staff writer
Teletypist.
— .do
Has connection with
registrant ended?
No.
No.
Yes; left Jan. 1, 1948.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Yes; left Nov. 19, 1947.
No.
Yes; left Nov. 14, 1947.
No.
Yes; on leave of ab-
sence, Jan. 15, 1948.
Yesjleft Jan. 31, 1948.
No.
No.
Yes; left Jan. 19.
No.
No.
No.
Filing Of Exhibit A for all of the above names, except Kuzma Ilyashenko and
iravis K. Hedrick, waived because they are clerical and nondiscretionary em-
ployees who are not engaged in writing, speaking, organization, or other public
or political activities on behalf of Tass or otherwise
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
459
Exhibit No. 172-B
[Stamped: Filed November 1, 1948, Foreign Agents Registration Section, Department of
Justice]
Department of Justice
washington, d. c.
supplementai. registration statement
Pursuant to Section 2 of the Foreign Agents
Registration Act of 1938, as Amended
REGISTRATION NO. 464
For Six Months Period Ending September 30, 1948
1. (o) Name of Registrant.
New York Bureau of the Telegraph Agency of the U. S. S. R. (Tass) .
(&) All other names used by Registrant during the period.
None.
(c) Address of principal office.
50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N. Y.
id) Name of person or persons in charge of principal office.
Alexander Georgievich Alexandrov.
3. If Registrant is a nonbusiness membership organization, state —
Inapplicable.
(o) Approximate number of members in the United States
(6) Approximate number of members outside the United States
Inapplicable.
4. (o) All persons who became partners, officers, directors, and similar officials
of Registrant during the period.
Name and address of official :
Date connection began :
Position, office, or nature of duties :
None.
(ft) All persons who ceased to be partners, officers, directors, or similar officials
of Registrant during the period.
Name and address of official:
Date connection ended :
Reason for ending connection :
None.
5. (a) All branches and local units of Registrant and all other component or
affiliated groups or organizations which began to operate during the period.
Name and address of branch, nnit, group, or
organization
Nature of connection
with registrant
Name and address of
person in charge
Subbureau of the New York Bureau of the Telegraph
Laurence Todd, 4806
Agency of the U. S. S. R., 969 National Press Building,
Washington, D. C.
Langdrum Lane,
Chevy Chase, Md.
(b) All branches and local units of Registrant and all other component or
affiliated groups or organizations which ceased to operate during the period.
Name of branch, unit, or organization :
Reason operations ceased :
None.
6. All persons who at any time during the period were foreign principals of
Registrant.
Name and principal address :
Is person still a foreign principal of Registrant?
If not, give date connection ended :
The Telegraph Agency of the U. S. S. R.
460 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
7. Describe fully all activities of Registrant during the period for or in the
interests of each foreign principal named under item 6.
Gathering and transmitting American news to the U. S. S. R.
8. Describe briefly all other businesses, occupations, and public activities in
which Registrant engaged during the period.
None.
9 Furnish the following information as to all employees and other individuals,
except those named under item 4, who during the period rendered any services
or assistance to Registrant, with or without compensation, for or in the interests
of any foreign principal named under item 6 :
(«) All such employees and other individuals for whom Exhibit A have pre-
viously been filed.
Name and address of employee or other individual
Kenneth Durant, Jamaica, Vt - -
Esther Shields, 9 West 97th St., New York City
Harry Freeman, 22 East 89th St., New York City
Thurber Lewis, 328 West 47th St., New York City
Timofei Remisov, 121 Madison Ave., New York City...
Boris Krylov, Washington, D. C. ---
Samuel Krafsur, Dahlonega Rd., Mohican HUls, Md.,
Washington, D. C.
EmUio Delgado Rodriguez, 29 West 97th St., New York
William Cunningham, 328 West 21th St., New York
City.
Harry Ross, 309 Bleecker St., New York City
Jean Montgomery, Marlyn Apts., 39th St. and Cathedral
Ave., Washington, D. C.
Paul Burns, 294 West llth St., New York City
Sasha Small Lurie, 345 Bleecker St., New York City
Jerome Klein, 47 Morton St., New York City
Franklin Folsom, 142 East 27th St., New York City
Bernard Freeman, 138 West 13th St., New York City...
Frederick Van Wicklen, 259 West llth St., New York
City.
Hays Jones, 270 Fort Washington Ave., New York City.
Laurence Todd, 4805 Langdrum Lane, Chevy Chase,
Md
Nature of any changes
during period in
activities for regis-
trant or its foreign
principals
Left, Jime 15, 1947.
Has connection with
registrant ended?
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Yes.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
(6) All such employees and other individuals for whom exhibits A have not
been previously filed.
Name and address of employee or other individual
Vladimir Morev, 149-32 Union Turnpike, Flushing,
Long Island.
Vera Qroden, 101 West fiOth St., New York City
Anne Weissberg, 226 East 6th St., New York City
Vincent Vaccaro, 254A Grand Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y
Harry Fisher, 4309 47th Ave., Long Island City, N. Y. _ .
Minnie Bunin, 101 West 60th St., New York City
Julie De Witt, 1328 Park Road NW., Washington, D. C.
Augusta Strauss, 2410 20th St. NW., Washington, D. C.
Ames Ogden Stewart, 8 East 10th St., New York City. _
Roberta Felsen, 101 West 60th St., New York City
Jessie Harris, 45 Hawthorne St., Brookl\^l, N. Y
Olga Melnikova, 115 West 76th St., New York City
Martha Dcutscher, 2120 Thiebout Ave., New York City-
AlLson Burroughs, 114 East 123d St., New York City...
Evelyn Cross, 308 East 72d St., New York City
Ruth Fisher, 4309 47th Ave., Long Island City, N. Y
Bhima Cohen, 65 71st St., Brooklyn, N. Y
Rose Avrrclt, 4121 49th St., Long Island City, N. Y
Fred Nicld, Jane West Hotel, 507 West St., New York
City
Nature of services or
assistance rendered
Staff writer.
Bookkeeper
Teletypist —
do
....do
do
do
do
do --.
Editorial assistant
do
Student translator
Librarian
do -
do...
do
do
Switchboard operator.
Teletypist
Has connection with
registrant ended?
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Yes; left Sept. 1, 1947.
Yes; left May 15, 1947.
No.
No.
Yes; left Apr. 13, 1947.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Filing of exhibit A for all of the above-named except Vladimir Morev waived
because they arc clerical and nondlscretionary employees who are not engaged
in writing, speaking, organization, or other public or political activities on behalf
of Tass or otherwise.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 461
Mr. Morris. When Estlier I^well Shields, of tlie Tass News Agency,
appeared before tlie committee, we asked her if she had in fact written
for Imprecor, which is a publication of the Comintern. Miss Low-
ell— Mrs. Shields — denied that she had ever written for Imprecor.
We have here a notation made by Mr. Mandel, the research director,
which indicates that an article under the name of Esther Lowell, the
name she used, did in fact appear.
Mr. Mandel. The article under the name of Esther Lowell was a
book review of Agnes Smedley's book Chinese Destinies, and was pub-
lished in International Press Correspondence, official organ of Com-
munist International, volume 14, No. 19, dated March 31, 1934, page
508, under the title "A Vivid Picture of Changing China."
Mr. Morris. That would not necessarily contradict Mrs. Shield's
testimony because she would not necessarily consider a book review an
article. At the same time, the name Esther Shields may have been
used by the Imprecor people without her knowledge.
I have an article here by Paul F. Healy on Tass which I would like
to have go into the record. Senator, because it has been referred to
several times in the course of our Tass hearings.
Senator Watkins. Is this a magazine which has been published?
Mr. Morris. Yes ; the Saturday Evening Post, Senator.
Senator Watkins. It may be made a part of the record.
(The article referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 173" and reads
as follows:)
Exhibit No. 173
[From the Saturday Evening Post, January 20, 1951]
Stalin's American Snoops
By Pan! F. Healy
What kind of Americans are the "news" witers, who report on
press conferences at the Pentagon or White House, directly to Mos-
cow? Why do we let these paid agents of Russia claim the pro-
tection of United States citizenship and freedom of the press?
Gen. George C. Marshall, discussing foreign-policy strategy hefore the House
Foreign Affairs Committee early in 19.50, remarked that the Russians "certainly
have a knowledge of our activities that we do not possess at all in respect to
theirs." He nodded toward a redheaded woman who was swiftly taking notes
at the press table nearby.
"Witness this young lady here today," Marshall continued. "You do not see
her prototype at such meetings in the Soviet Union."
The general had pointed up a dangerous anomaly in United States-Russian
relations. The redheaded woman was Miss Jean Montgomery, correspondent
for Tass, the official Soviet "news" agency. After the hearing, she would freely
and in detail inform Moscow of everything said that would be of interest to the
Russian leaders.
Tass, in fact, is given the run of this wide-open country and the same rights
to information as our own reporters, in striking contrast to the manner in which
the half dozen American newsmen in Moscow are subjected to rigid censorship
and otherwise straitjacketed in very red tape.
It is one of the humorless ironies of our time that Premier Stalin has been
able to hire some competent American journalists to act as his informers in
America and also write smear-America propaganda for the Russian press. Ten
citizens of the United States are among the 19 reporters who serve the Soviets
through Tass' main bureau in New York and its subbureau in Washington.
The Tass job obviously is not the kind for which aspiring young American
journalists clamor. Its qualifications are unique and its rewards are ques-
tionable, to say the least — unless one is more interested in winning a Stalin
462 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE imiTED STATES
prize than a Pulitzer prize. True, there are no deadlines and no competitors
to worry about, since Tass is a government-owned monopoly. But Tass wages —
for the Americans — are below the scale. The job carries with it a social stigma.
It often requires a talent for eavesdropping. It demands an adjustment to
the indoctrinated Russian mind. And aboA-e all, it calls for a stubborn pro-
Soviet point of view. As someone once said, there must be an easier — and bet-
ter— way of making a living.
Who, then, are the Americans who choose to remain Stalin's pen pals under
such occupational hazards and under present two-world tensions? By and large,
they are intelligent, educated, and the products of upper- or middle-class back-
grounds. But each of these, for one reason or another, acquired an obsessive
dissatisfaction with the American system which eventually drove him, or her,
into a blind belief in the rightness of the Soviet cause. Tass thus became a
catalyst for their political feelings.
Let's take a look at the more prominent among them. The aforementioned
Miss Montgomery, the 45-year-old daughter of a brilliant but erratic Pittsburgh
architect, now dead, had a more hectic pre-Tass career than most of her com-
rades. A born rebel w'ith a keenly receptive mind, she attended Antioch College,
at Yellow Springs, Ohio. Among other things, she learned how to pull strings
at Antioch and aftei'ward she spent a year on a national tour with Tony Sarg's
marionette show. But once having seen the country, she set out to reform it.
Soon she was running the New Jersey State office of the Women's Organiza-
tion for National Prohibition Reform, which, for once, put her on the side of
the majority. However, it was the coming of the New Deal which gave Miss
Montgomery some real outlets for her advanced ideas. As an administrative
assistant in the Paper Codes Branch of the NRA, she was a leader in helping to
found the first Federal Government workers' union, a forerunner of what was
to become, through mergers, the United Public Workers of America, now expelled
from the CIO for being communistic. Then she went into union work full time
with the late Sidney Hillman's textile workers' organizing committee and sub-
sequently was loaned, as a publicity worker, to the New York organizing office of
Allen Haywood, who is now a CIO vice president. Haywood soon returned the
clever little redhead, because he didn't like either her attitude or her politics.
In 1937 she caught on with a weekly news magazine as a labor expert, but she
was fired in a matter of weeks.
For a change of pace. Miss Montgomery next infiltrated, of all places, Wall
Street. Starting as a secretary, she soon worked up to stocks and bonds share-
trading in the investment firm of Joseph W. Burden, a socially prominent New
Yorker and a Roosevelt Democrat. This job blew up when Burden was sentenced
to Sing Sing for having fleeced his friends to the tune of $343,000.
After these experiences, our heroine was ripe for Tass, joining its New York
office in 1941 and transferring to Washington 4 years later. Today she covers
Capitol Hill with cool and confident pride, apologizing to no one for the nature of
her vocation. She lives with her mother, who has never been favorably im-
pressed with Stalin, so, instead of talking about the latest 5-year plan, they play
gin rummy.
Like other Tassites, Miss Montgomery explains that she is not permitted to be
a member of any political party. Perhaps unaware of this occupational gimmick,
Senator Tom Connally once turned to her before starting a press conference and
inquired bluntly, "By the way, how long have you been a "Communist?"
"Why, Senator, I'm not a Communist," she protested.
"Well, you'd better not let your bosses find out," Connally quipped.
Tass employees never seek to justify their way of life. They insist, with
straight faces, that working for Tass is just like working for any news agency
and that they are not being disloyal to the United States. Certainly they would
shout objections if one tabbed them as incipient traitors. Nonetheless, Tass has
become a provocative word in Washington, and the 4 Americans and 1 Russian
who serve Tass there cast a shadow far out of proportion to their numbers. For
Tass, like a deadpan "heavy" in a Hitchcock movie thriller, can excite suspicion
without making a single overt move.
Being buttonholed by a press agent of the Kremlin sometimes dismays and
irritates Senators. For example, Connally, when he was approached by Miss
Montgomery as he was leaving for a conference with President Truman after the
outbreak of the Korean war, froze and pointedly escaped into a Capitol elevator.
Similarly, Senator Brien McMahon, chairman of the Joint Congressional Atomic
Energy Committee, once angrily refused to answer a question off the record about
the hydrogen bomb, with Tass present.
SCOPE OF SOMET ACTIVITY IX THE UNITED STATES 463
Some lawmakers joke about being tapited for information by Stalin's stooges,
Senator Eugene Millikiii, a Colorado Republitan. has told a Tass reporter with
a chuckle. "If there's any question about this quote, refer Uncle Joe directly
to me."
Significantly. Tass conespondents never ask questions of the President or the
Secretary of St;ite at press conferences : anything they did ask probably would
set off a wave of speculation by American planners and pundits. But Tass'
people are good listeners. Last spring AVhite House correspondents felt it neces-
sary to telephone the Pentagon oflice of garrulous Louis Johnson, then Secretary
of Defen.se, to tip him o!f that Tass liad been taking in the candid remarks he
had made to them on the white House steps a half hour earlier. Johnson's
sub.lect had been the condition of the Armed Forces.
Covering the State Department, one of the truly veteran newsmen is the dean
of American Tass correspondents— 6S-year-old, anachronistic Laurence Todd
whose case history represents a curious flight from his heritage. Todd's antece-
dents came to New England on one of the first shiploads. One of his ancestors
fought as a colonel in the American Revolution and another was a founder of
the Republican Party in Jackson, Mich. Raised in Nottawa, Mich., "Larry" Todd
was educated at the University of Michigan and then undertook a career which
began with the Kalamazoo Gazette and continued through San Francisco news-
papers and several press associations.
As a young man, Todd, who had had a firm religious upbringing, was puritan-
ical almost to the point of asceticism. He was also a chronic dissenter from most
of his fellow Americans, and in 1904, after listening to a speech by Eugene V
Debs and reading Edward Bellamy's Equality, a novel about the alleged Utopian
life under socialism, he joined the Socialist Party. Gradually socialism became
his faith. During 19Lj and 1916 he interrupted his news career to be secretary
to Meyer London, of New York City, when London, a Socialist, served his first
term in Congress, London, though born in Russian, was a mild Socialist in the
old European tradition, and soon Todd had moved to his left.
With free enterprise skyrocketing all around him in the 1920's, Todd bitterly
turned to the violent Soviet version of socialism. He became Washington cor-
respondent for the Federated Press, a labor news service which in recent years
has been cited by the Hou.se Un-American Activities Committee as Communist-
dominated and, in 1923, he started as part-time correspondent for the Bolsheviks'
first news service ; 10 y^ears later he became Washington bureau chief for Tass.
Today Todd lives sedately in Chevy Chase, a conservative Washington sub-
urb, and looks as staid as any old-fashioned college professor. Academic in
his manner, he is tall, angular, and perpetually ruddy, perhaps because he is
exercised so frequently about what is wrong with his native land. For Todd is
intellectually a very angry man.
In the State Department pressroom, where he is sometimes pointed out as a
curiosity to newcomers, he will defend the Soviets' behavior as long as anyone
will listen. His working for Tass, he has explained, simply means that he be-
lieves the Soviets are showing the way to world peace. Oddly, he still calls
himself a Socialist. He probably would not be recognized as such by this coun-
try's No. 1 Socialist, the Soviet-hating Norman Thomas.
Todd's bifocal political philosophy was scrutinized to a degree back in 19.34,
when he was summoned before a House Select Committee investigating the
source of a charge by William A. Wirt, superintendent of schools in Gary, Ind.,
that the United States then was in the process of a "deliberately planned
revolution." Wirt testified that at a dinner party attended by several second-
rung New Deal Brain Trusters, he had been astounded to hear Todd say :
"We believe that w^e have Mr. Roosevelt in the middle of a swift stream and
that the current is so strong he cannot turn back or escape from it. We believe
that we can keep Mr. Roosevelt there until we are ready to supplant him with
a Stalin. We all think Mr. Roosevelt is only the Kerensky of this revolution."
Todd categorically denied that he said this, as did the other dinner guests
called to the stand, and the three Democratic committee members disbelieved
Wirt. But the two Republican committee members, in a minority report, de-
clared that the hearings had only scratched the surface and amounted to a
whitewash of Todd and his friends. Incidentally, one of Todd's chums in that
period was Lee Pressman, who was then occupying a Communist cell in the
Agriculture Department, Pressman himself now admits.
At one point in the Wirt hearings, Todd was asked, "Are you one of those people
who desire to seed a red flag waving from the dome of the Capitol ?" Todd argued
that it would be embarrassing to him, as the employee of a foreign government.
464 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
to have to answer the questu.n. r r.-vpssional (•(unniittees were easier on
reluctant witnesses in those days, and Todd was let <.tf witli this novel exciise.
But he was rebukecl in the minority report for havin- grandiosely described Tass
as "the \ssociated Press of Russia." Tlio report pointed out that Tass "is m no
sense an honest news agency, but is a mere pr..paj;anda aiiency of the Soviet
Government." . , • • ^.i „
Tass is snrely the busiest and the farthest-Hun.ii propaganda seiTice in the
world Its 1 (M}0-plus correspondents fiom all over the globe feed distorted
infoniiation 24 hours a day to the Kremlin's vast captive audiences in tJie
U S S. R., Red China, and the satellite nations. But they also do aboveboard
intelligence work and function as key adjuncts to Soviet consular posts.
Until 1946 for example, Todd reported to the Russian Embassy regularly.
The Soviet diplomats often acted as though they wouldn't make a move without
him and he was sometimes ordered to report to the Embassy on the double.
His 'information and advice were considered so indispensable that when he was
hospitalized for a time tlie Embassy frequently telephoned the Tass bureau,
inouiring impatiently, "Why does he have to be sick for so long?" Todd also
used to sit in on closetl-door meetings of the satellite diplomats and candidly
appraise American policies and leaders. ^ , . ^
But suddenlv. on October 12, 1948, Tass replaced him as Washington bureau
chief with 30-year-old Mikhail Fedorov, fresh from Moscow. This was in keeping
with the Russians' postwar policy of filling important Tass posts with Russians.
Todd was unhappy about the demotion, but there was nothing he could do about
it The "mark of Tass" is indelible. Ex-Tass employees have no future m the
non-Communist news field. Most employers shun them like lepers.
While Tass reporters in this country suffer no discrimination on the part of
their capitalistic colleagues, they are considered to be professionally freakish by
many Americans. There was the girl who had .iust been hired by Tass and was
invited out to dinner by some old friends. Aware that they worked for the Gov-
ernment the girl gaily warned them upon arrival that she was now in the pay of
Tass. Her host and hostess smiled bravely and reassured her that as Democrats
they always took the large view in such matters ; that, after all, this is a free
country aiid she shouldn't feel that her employer would be held against her. It
was not until several hours later that they discovered to their horror they had
mistakenly understood her to say she was working for Senator Taft. At that
point the temperature grew noticeably cooler.
In war-jittery Wasington, working for Tass has become so controversial
an issue it has split up husbands and wives, and in one celebrated case it was
responsible for a tragic father-daughter crack-up. A few years ago a gossip
columnist disclosed that Miss Euphemia ("Mickey") Virden, the 22-year-old
post-debutante daughter of John C. Virden, a special assistant to Secretary of
Commerce Sawyer, was running the teletype— she also covers an occasional press
conference — in the Tass Washington office.
A furor followed, when Representative Fred Crawford, a Michigan Republican,
called upon Sawyer to demand Virden's resignation because he was "so close by
flesh and blood to the Soviet agency." Virden, a brilliant Cleveland industrialist
and a religious man who hates atheistic communism, offered to resign, but re-
considered^ at the pleading of his friends and a warm note from Truman assur-
ing him that "my faith is you is unshaken." However, when his hitch in Govern-
ment was over, Virden returned to his Imsiness in Cleveland, still sick at heart
over the ideological gulf between him and the daughter on whom he had once
doted.
When Mickey threw in with the Russians, he had sensed a perhaps irrevocable
separation. In the jargon of the doctrinaire, she had explained she "wanted to
learn journalism, but not in the lying capitalistic press." A slender, coltish girl,
with handsome dark hair and large brown eyes, she had begun her cerebral
journey leftward in her teens, through wide, precocious reading and a concern
about racial injustice. Soon she came to look upon her successful father as the
very symbol of the capitalist society. Then, at Sarah Lawrence College, where
she was a brilliant avant-garde pupil and got elected president of the Student
Council, she fell under the influence of the late Genevieve Taggard, an English
teacher and a poetess, who contributed to the literary magazines. Miss Taggard
also wrote for Communist publications, and she was the wife of Kenneth Durant,
who headed up the American Tass operation from its inception in 1923 until
he retired due to ill health in 1944. New York is headquarters for Tass in this
country.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 465
A word ahont Durant, who strongly influenced Todd and who, in many ways,
is the most fascinating member of the Tass gallery of characters. The red sheep
of an old and respected Philadelphia socialite family, Durant first went to the aid
of the Bolsheviks by doing publicity for C. A. K. Martens, who was sent here
by the revolutionaries after the First World War in shearch of diplomatic recog-
nition. Tall, well-pressed, and aristocratic looking. Durant had a sophisticated
prose style and a ruthless wit. Holding his subordinates under the spell of his
sardonic charm, he stood no nonsense from anyone expressing mild misgivings
about what the Soviets were up to. A colorful and dominating figure among
New York's Greenwich Village intellectuals in the 1920's, he made several trips
to the Soviet Union, always donning a peaked workingman's cap when he crossed
the Russian border. Durant often seemed to be more intrigued with the con-
spiratorial nature of the Soviets than with their ideology.
The American who has made the American Tass operation click since the de-
parture of Durant is 44-year-old Harry Freeman, who is deputv to Ivan Beglov,
the poker-faced Russian boss of Tass in this countrv. Quiet and obsequious'
likable Freeman has a peculiar ability for getting along with Russians. He also
IS a skillful news-desk man for Tass, having put in 20 years with the agency after
learning the tricks of the trade and of communism as city editor for the Com-
munist New York Daily Worker. Freeman was born in Brooklvn, of a Russia-
born father who was a moderately prosperous contractor, and he "married Russia-
born Vera Shapiro, also known as Vera Schapp, a member of the radical Ameri-
can Labor Party. Freeman, who has steered clear of political shenanigans since
his Daily Worker days, is a brother of the novelist Joseph Freeman a founder
and one-time editor of the Communist magazine. New Masses.
Harry Freeman radios or cables— from the Tass office in New York— an aver-
age report of 6,000 to 15,000 words a day to Moscow about America Most of it
is never seen by the Russian worker and muzhik, but is circulated among those
in iNIoscow who are trusted to know the truth. This part of the report includes
speech texts, all types of Government handouts, technical and business reports
and whatever documents and inside information can be picked up. Tass re-
porters not only get around where other Soviet representatives would be con-
sidered off limits, but they can move their information home cheaper and faster
The press rate is 6% cents a word, compared with the lli/o cents the Russian
diplomats pay for official business, and the 23 cents a word commercial rate
Stalin spends approximately $25,000 a month to maintain the American Tass
operation, according to Tass. Nobody doubts that he would be willing to pay
considerably more than that. "
Freeman's assistant in the New York office is Esther Shields, who described
herself in the Justice Department's foreign agents registration file as a staff
writer, housewife, and mother. In her time she has also done picket duty in
at least one famous strike and contributed to the New Masses. It was Esther
a prim-appearing woman of 50 years, who mounted the barricades for the Rus-
sians when some of the Tass Americans, depressed by their low salaries, met to
discuss organizing a union. Esther took the floor and argued that the idea
was ridiculous and insulting to Tass. She asserted it would be unthinkable, for
instance, even to consider calling a strike against the worker's best friend,' the
Soviet Union. The project died.
Esther is married to Arthur Shields, of the Daily Worker staff. Interestingly,
the Tass Americans do not share the Tass Russians' evident contempt for the
bumbling Communist Party of the United States. Todd has even gone to the
Russian Embassy to put in a good word for Rob Hall, the Daily Worker's Wash-
ington columnist.
Hall and the Tass Americans are, of course, brothers under the skin. He is
a rather extreme example of the shaggy-haired, pipe-smoking southpaw intel-
lectual. Born into a typically con.servative Mississippi family. Hall was edu-
cated at Columbia University, where he became a campus radical, a bachelor
of arts and a Phi Beta KaiTpa. In 1930 he visited Russia and then married
Russia-born Clara Stern, In 1944 he became a member of the powerful national
conmiittee of the Communist Political Association, now dissolved. Today, when
he isn't applying the party line to the Washington scene for his readers, he
directs Communist Party activities in the area and keeps a tight rein on various
Red-front groups. He also appears to be an arm-in-arm pal of virtually every
left-winger who has run afoul of a congressional committee.
In New York, the Tass Russians are elusive lone wolves who bvpass foreign-
press cocktail parties and are .seldom seen, except at the United Nations. But
466 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
in Washington, burt-au cliief Fedorov jiraiiples t-onscientiously with the customs
of tho natives. When he api>eared for the first time on the Wliite House beat,
press-room veterans pointed out that a jug of spirits is acceptable dues for a
newcomer. The next niorninu Federov, who is broad-shouldered, broad-faced
and as melancholy as any character in Chekhov, dejectedly explained that the
third secretarv of the Embassy liad gone off to New York with the key to the
wine cellar in his pocket. The day after that the Musocvite showed up for work
with two bottles of the Embassy's finest vodka. Soon the White House corre-
spondents were calling him "Mike" and baiting him about life under the com-
missars. , . ,. ^.
Mike is living proof that the Kremlin places no great value on journalistic
experience as a requirement for a Russian Tass reporter. Fedorov's prepara-
tion for his present job was 5 years in the Russian aircraft industry and a degree
as a graduate aeronautical engineer. The Russians prefer their agents to be
double- or triple-threat men. Jacob Lomakin, a recent Soviet consul general
in New York, had been a Tass editor before that in Moscow. The late Constan-
tine Oumansky became mana,t,ang director of all Tass operations during World
War II, immediately after he had been Ambassador to the United States and an
appendage of Soviet Intelligence here. In some countries, government officials
have learned only after the departure of a Soviet diplomat that he had acted
as a Tass reporter on the sly at the same time.
Many Tass reporters have been suspected of outright espionage and some of
them have been caught at it. A splendid example of the Tass spy breed is one
Vladimir Rogov, who directed the main Tass bureau in Nationalist China from
Shanghai, while .simultaneously heading up the far eastern Soviet spy ring.
When the Chinese Reds took over, Rogov moved his two-faced operation to the
new government's seat at Peiping, presumably to spy on Russia's ally.
Canada has suffered notoriously from trusting Tass. In 1946 the Canadian
correspondents had grown moderately fond of a couple of Tass reporters —
Nicolai (Big Nick) Zheivinov and Nicolai (Little Nick) Afanasiev. When "Big
Nick" suddenly announced that he was being recalled to Moscow, the press
gallery members in Ottawa gave him a farewell cocktail party. The Russky
rose to the occasion and delivered a grandiloquent speech of friendship for
Canada. The Canadians were touched.
Immediately after he left Canada, Zheivinov was named by the Royal Canadian
Commission as a key member — under the cover name "Martin" — of the Soviet
spy ring which had been stealing atomic secrets from the Canadian Government.
There was some bitter talk about expelling Afanasiev, but presently he said that
he too, was being summoned home. However, months later a Canadian news-
man visiting in New York bumped into Afanasiev in the Associated Press Build-
ing. Puzzled, the Canadian invited "Little Nick" to have a drink and chat.
The Russian replied that he was busy at the moment, but that if the Canadian
would call at the Tass office upstairs later, they could go to dinner together.
The Ottawa man did call at the Tass office at tlie dinner hour, only to informed
blandly at the door— no visitor gets inside the railing— that no such person as
Nicolai Afanasiev was employed there and that, in fact, they had never heard
of him. "Little Nick" never turned up again. , ,^
The name Tass stands for "Telegraphic Agency of the Soviet Union. Its
first "chief responsible leader" was Jacob Doletzky, a Polish-born, old-line
Bolshevik who was liquidated— along with some of his subeditors— in the no-
torious purge of 1937 as a "Trotskyite bandit." Today the big boss of Tass is
Nicolai Palgunov, affectionately known as Pal the Goon by Tass Americans.
Under Palgunov, Tass propaganda is noted for its heavy-handed distortion,
bald editorializing, and signiticant omissions. Tass will stop at nothing in
attempts to document its story that the United States is on the verge of eco-
nomic collapse and at the same time is trying to needle up a third world war.
When Tass writers are hard-up for an authority to quote, they fall back on the
Daily Worker, which is like approvingly quoting one's own echo, or simply
dream up the name of a fictitious American newspaper. Tass does not sell its
service to non-(Jommunist countries— it has mutual free-exchange deals with
the Associated Press and United Press. So, for foreign news, the Daily
Worker is oliliged to rely on the United Press, which it rewrites, and a kind of
demi-Tass agency called Telepress, which supplies Soviet-shaped news to Com-
munist uewspai eis from Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Remember when Louis Johnson was hacking away at the armed services
budget, over the protests of many military men, and paving the way for our
unpreparedness in the Korean war? Well, here's the way Tass interpreted
the American scene at that time, via Pravda :
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 467
"New York (Tass), Feb. 9. — U. S. Defense Secretary Johnson's report on the
status of the American military machine (National Defense Establishment),
published with the obvious purpose of strengthening the new wave of military
hysteria engulfing the U. S. A., shows that the U. S. is working out far-reaching
aggressive plans * * * the contents of this report show that U. S. military
circles are in control of American foreign policy. The author unwittingly cites
facts in the report which exposes the American propaganda myth that U. S.
military preparations are designed for "defense" from some "danger of aggres-
sion * * * the whole world knows that the U. S. A. has not been and is not
threatened."
The tone of Tass is frequently snide. Pravda carried this cryptic bit of sar-
casm in 1949 :
"Washington (Tass), Aug. 3. — Truman has expressed satisfaction with the
"progress" in the sphere of atomic energy. Truman's assertions that the com-
mission is also carrying out a program of research work to utilize atomic
energy to "improve human welfare" sound strange.
Tass takes a poor view of American humor where it concerns the Russians.
Once, when a comedian had posed as an outspoken Russian general to enter-
tain graduates of tlie FBI training academy at a dinner, the Tass story out of
Washington called it an "obscene hoax" which "revealed the taste and cultural
level of American policemen."
The average Tass story is slanted by the reporter who writes it, given a
harder or, perhaps, different twist as it passes through the New York office, and
then treated to a tinal Marxian pummeling iu Moscow before it is fit for public
consumption. As they appeared in the Russian press, the Tass accounts of the
trial of Valentin Gubitchev, the Russian engineer at the U. N., could not have
been enlightening to the Russian reader. These stories ignored the fact that
Gubitchev had been charged with conspiracy to commit espionage, failed to men-
tion the presence of a jury, and fulminated against the FBI for having picked
him uiy. Judith Coplon, Gubitchev's accomplice in the Justice Department, was
identilied with this single reference in one story : "The American girl. Miss
Coplon, who was tried with Gubitchev, was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment."
On Stalin's own basis, the United States would be justified in restricting or
censoring Tass correspondents in this country. Stalin told Harold Stassen
in his interview in 1947 that foreign correspondents are subject to censorship in
Russia because the foreign press had been guilty of sending erroneous reports
on the Soviet Union which the Russians regarded as unfriendly. But Congress
for the present is going along with the State Department's view that Tass should
be tolerated in the Government's press galleries as a necessary evil. This policy
is founded on two arguments. One is that giving Tass the same access to legiti-
mate news as other foreign newsmen is the most spectacular way to practice
what we preach about freedom of the press. The other is that any clamping
down on Tass surely would bring reprisals against American newsmen behind
the Iron Curtain.
Many Washington officials feel, however, that instead of putting the lid on
Tass, the State Department should demand some reciprocity, some sort of quid
pro quo, on the issue of Russian-American press coverage. This attitude was
hinted at publicly by Representative James G. Fulton, JElepublican, of Pennsyl-
vania, when he noticed Tass' presence at a House Foreign Affairs Committee
meeting.
Fulton said, "I only hope that in Moscow we will get the same treatment. In
order to be fair, we in the United States like to do it in the open, and we hope
the Tass correspondent will sit down with her fellow United States correspond-
ents in Moscow on the same basis in the near future."
Mr. Maxdel. The date on that article is January 20, 1951.
Mr. Morris. Just a few more things here. We have a publication
of the United States Information Agency.
That is right, isn't it ?
Mr. ]\LvNDEL. United States Information Service.
]\Ir. Morris. United States Information Service, which has a refer-
ence— Mr. Mandel will identify it.
Mr. Mandel. It is a magazine called Problems of Communism, No.
2, volume 5, March, April, 1956, published by the United States Infor-
mation Service.
468 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
On page 7 is this reference to Tass :
Only one of the Soviet newspaper organizations can compete with Pravda in
scope," thouiih not in ranlt. This is Tass, the monopoly news agency. In addi-
tion to its news service, Tass operates a photo service, a mat and plastic cut
service, I'resklishe. a radio service, a feature syndicate press bureau, and a
confidential news service distributed under seal to metropolitan editors and high
officials of state and party.
That is footnoted as being from Benton's notes of an interview with
Palgunov. Also from Palgunov's Fundamentals of News in the
Newspapers, Moscow University Publishing House, Moscow Univers-
ity, 1955.
Mr. Morris. I ask that those exhibits be placed in the record with
some portion of the Tass testimony * * *.
Senator Watkins. It is so ordered.
(The article referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 174" and may
be found in the subcommittee files.)
Mr. Morris. I have two more news accounts which indicate that
India expelled a Tass correspondent. The news story is in the Wash-
ington Daily News of April 14, 1952, and the New York Times of
April 15, 1954, and the Ottawa Citizen of the same day, which indi-
cated that Canada expelled Mr. Ivan Tsvetkov from Canada.
Senator AVatkins. You want those in the record ?
Mr. Morris. Yes.
Senator Watkins. It will be done.
(The newspaper accounts referred to were marked "Exhibit Nos.
175, 175-A, and 175-B" and read as follows:)
Exhibit No. 175
[Washington Daily News, April 14, 1952, p. 2]
India Boots Out Tass
The Russian Government is going to call home the chief correspondent of the
Tass news agency in New Delhi, the capital of India. This is a result of protests
by the Indian Government against "distorted" Moscow broadcasts about the na-
tion.
Whatever this correspondent wrote about India, it could be no more out-
rageous than the fantastic falsehoods the Russians print and broadcast about
the United States every day. Many of these "news items" are alleged to be
based upon Tass dispatches from its representatives in the United States.
How does it happen that India, a relatively weak nation, can make Russia
back down in this matter and we cannot?
One reason, of course, is that it is Russian policy to cultivate friendship
with India in an effort to soften it up for eventual capture by communism.
Another is that the United States Government has done nothing about Russian
"reporting" from this country except to complain about it now and then.
Here we play into the hands of the Kremlin by pretending that correspondents
of Tass are legitimate foreign newspapermen. We give them all the privileges
we extend to correspondents from Great Britain, France and the other free
nations. They even are allowed to attend press conferences of the President.
Tass correspondents acknowledge they are representatives of the Russian
Government. They are so registered with the .lustice Department. The chief
Tass correspondent in Washington is not even a newspai>erman by profession ;
he is an aviation engineer — and doubtless an able one who manages to pick up
much interesting technical information for his bosses in Moscow while on his
"news gathering" rounds.
When a committee of newspaper editors suggested last year that Tass cor-
respondents be barred from Congress' press galleries, the committee of United
States correspondents which govern the galleries asked the State Department
for its recommendation. The State Department responded with a weasel-worded
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 469
reply in which it declined to make a recommendation. The committee then voted
to permit the Tass correspondents to remain.
We said then that this action was a mistake. We still think so, and we think
the incident in India helps to prove it.
These spies for Russia ought to be barred from the press galleries, and those
who are Russians ought to be expelled from the United States. It would take
no new laws to do it.
We deport undesirable aliens for lesser reasons. But we tolerate Russian
espionage and propaganda.
Exhibit No. 175-A
[New York Times, April 14. 1054]
Canadian Tass Man Recalled
Special to the New York Times
Ottawa, April 14. — Ivan V. Tsvetkov, Ottawa correspondent of Tass, the
Soviet news agency, has been ordered by his oflSce to return to the Soviet Union.
Exhibit No. 175-B
[The Ottawa Citizen, April 15, 1954, p. 9]
Recall Tass Reporter to Russia
By the Canadian Press
Tass, the oflScial Russian news agency, has recalled its Ottawa correspondent.
Ivan V. Tsvetkov, 35, informed the parliamentary press gallery Wednesday
that he has been ordered back to Russia. He has been a member of the gallery
since last September when he was able to satisfy members who had raised
objections to his membership application in March 1953.
His original application was rejected by a general meeting of the seventy-odd
members of the gallery on grounds that Mr. Tsvetkov came to Canada on a
diplomatic passport and was attached to the Russian Embassy here. Later, he
obtained a nondiplomatic passport and was accepted as a gallery member.
Tass correspondents have been regarded with some suspicion since a royal
commission di.sclosed that a Tass correspondent, Nikolai Zheveinov, was at-
tached to a wartime Russian spy ring. This was the ring exposed by Igor
Gouzenko, Russian Embassy cipher clerk who sought asylum in Canada in 1945.
(The following editorial later was ordered into the record at this
point:)
I-^XHIBIT 175-C
[New York World Telegram, July 13, 1954, p. 26]
Tass Men Exposed
Vladimir Petrov, former Soviet Embassy secretary in Australia, testifying
before an Australian royal commission, said every Tass reporter outside the Iron
Curtain is a Russian secret police official.
Tass is the news agency of the Soviet Government.
The job of a Tass man on foreign assignment, Petrov continued, is to represent
himself to other newspapermen as just another journalist so he may have more
contacts to gather information useful to Russia. But he is under orders from
the Kremlin at all times and carries out his assignment as a bona fide spy. The
stories he sometimes writes are a sideline.
Petrov's former job, before he defected, was to keep an eye on the Tass man
in Australia who has since gone back to Moscow.
470 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
The Petrov testimony substantiates what we have long contended — that Tass
representatives in this country are frauds as newspapermen. Yet they have the
same press privileges as other correspondents at the White House, the Capitol,
and elsewhere in Washington. They are free to roam the country, in contrast
to American correspondents in Russia.
We believe it's time for a crackdown on these Tass agents in the United States.
Let's be realistic about it — accept them for what they are, as Petrov disclosed
their duties, and stop treating them as authentic newsmen.
Mr. IVIandel. This one is from the records of Gen. Charles Wil-
loughby, and is headed GHQ, FEC, Military Intelligence Section,
General Staff, appendixes to a partial documentation of the Sorge
espionage case miscellaneous records, special branch, Shanghai Munici-
pal Police.
Consecutive exhibit No. 32, part II, section B, p. 115, headed "Tass."
Tass established a branch in Shanghai in April 19.32, when V. Rover opened
an office at 19 Museum Road. The location of the agency was moved in 1933
when J. Chernoff replaced Rover and again in June 1934, when it was moved
to the fifth floor, 20 Canton Road, its location as of 29 July 1936. The manager
at that time was Andrew Ivanovitch Sotoff, who replaced Chernoff in February
1935. The permanent foreign staff members were : R. L. Wikmen and his wife,
and L. Lidov, Soviet citizens. Several foreigners were associated with the out-
side organization, and among those who had been seen visiting the offices were
Agnes Smedley, Frank Glass, Granitch (Voice of China), Randal Gould, J. B.
Powell, and V. Abolnik, Pekin Tass agent. Mrs. Sotoff was manager of the
American Book & Supply Co., 841 Bubbling Well Road, and it was reported that
Hayton Fleet, a British subject, would take over the outside Tass organization in
the near future. Tass was run on the same lines as other news agencies ; how-
ever, all messages transmitted to Moscow were censored by the U. S. S. R. con-
sulate prior to dispatch.
The only local press that frequently published Tass messages was the China
Daily Herald.
Mr, Morris. Mr. Chairman, I would like the record to show that
no conclusion has been drawn from the article just read by Mr, Mandel,
that the information was read into the record in connection with our
Tass hearings, and no inference is necessarily made.
Senator Watkins. The record will so show.
INDEX
Note. — The Senate Internal Security Subcommittee attaches no significance
to the mere fact of the appearance of the name of an individual or an organiza-
tion in this index.
A Page
Abolnik, V. (Pekin Tass agent) 470
American Book & Supply Co 470
American fliers 438
Antioch College 412
Army, United States 435
Artkino 421
B
Baltimore 427
Benton's notes , 468
Billings Searchlight 417
Brandon Films , 421
Bridgeport Herald 418, 419
Budget, Bureau of 419, 420
Burden Agency, The 413
Burden, Joseph W , 412
C
Canada 468
"Canadian Tass Man Recalled" 469
Canton Road, 20 470
Capitol Hill , 413, 415, 420
Chernoff, J 470
Chester, Pa 436
Chicago 417, 421
Chicago Daily News , 417
Chicago Daily Times 417
Chicago Evening American . 417
Chicago Evening Post 417
China Daily Herald 470
"Chinese Destinies" by Agnes Smedley 461
Christmas morning , 487
CIO 412
Cleveland Public Library 422
Cleveland, Ohio 422
Cobb, David 411
Attorney for Jean Montgomery 411
Att<'rney for Alden Todd - 435
Columbia Broadcasting System reporter , 437
Columbia Pictures 423
Comintern 461
Communist 415, 420, 427, 429, 431, 432, 436, 437
Communist International , 461
Communist meetings 419, 424
Communist Party 415, 416, 420, 424, 429, 430, 431, 436, 437
Communist Party, District of Columbia 427
Communist Party, newspaper unit , 424
Communist Party, Robert H. Hall newspaper unit 416, 419
Congress 413, 415
Contemporary Films , 421
n INDEX
D Pas«
Daily Report for Executives 427
DeCaux, Len 412
DeKuyper Co 417
Democratic Party 430
E
Eastland, Senator 411
Einhorn, Nat 431
Public relations for Embassy of Poland 431
Embassies 428
Espionage 432
Exhibit No. 169 — State Department press release January 15, 1953, No. 27,
re Yuri V. Novikov 433
Exhibit No. 170 — Justice Department press release, January 15, 1953, re
indictment of two naturalized citizens on charges of espionage for Soviet
Russia, Otto Verber and Kurl L. Ponger, conspiring with Yuri V.
Novikov 433
Exhibit No. 171 — "Such Is Life," by Jeanne Perkins Harmon, chapters 11
and 12 438-450
Exhibit No. 172 — September 3, 1947, registration (No. 464) filed by Tass,
pursuant to section 2 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 with
Justice Department 451^56
Exhibit No. 172- A — March 31, 1948, supplemental registration (No. 464)
filed by Tass 456
Exhibit No. 172-B — September 30, 1948, supplemental registration (No.
464) filed by Tass 459-460
Exhibit No. 173 — Article from Saturday Evening Post, January 20, 1951,
"Stalin's American Snoops," by Paul F. Healy 461-467
Exhibit No. 174 — "Problems of Communism," No. 2, volume 5, March,
April 1946, published by United States Information Service 469
Exhibit No. 175 — Article from Washington Daily News, April 14, 1952,
page 2, "India Boots Out Tass" 468-469
Exhibit No. 175-A — Article from New York Times, April 14, 1954, "Cana-
dian Tass Man Recalled" 469
Exhibit No. 175-B — Article from the Ottawa Citizen, April 15, 1954, page 9,
"Recall Tass Reporter to Russia," by the Canadian Press 469
Exhibit No. 175-C— Article from New York World-Telegram, July 13, 1954,
page 26, "Tass Men Exposed" 469^70
F
Fascist Party 430
Federated Press 419,431,435-437
Federov (chief of Washington Tass bureau) 414
Fifth amendment 419, 424, 429, 436, 437, 451
Fleet, Hayton 470
Folsom, Franklin 450
142 East 27th Street, New York City 450
Employee of Tass 450
Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 450
Forer, Joseph 417,421,426,428
Attorney for John B. Stone 417
Attorney for Alexander Sherman 421
Attorney for Natalie Laniken 426
Attorney for Corinne Lautman 428
Freeman, Harry (head of New York Tass bureau) 414,415
"Fundamentals of News" in the newspapers 4(58
G
General Electric Co., Lynn, Mass 427
Georgetown Theater, Washington 422,423
GHQ, FEC, Military Intelligence Section 470
Glass, Frank 470
Goodman, Charles 428
Gould, Randall 470
Granich (Voice of China) 470
INDEX in
H Page
Harmon, Jeanne Perkins (Mrs.) 437,438
Healy, Paul F 461
Herald American 417
Herald Examiner 417
Hoffberg Productions (New York) 421,423
Hungarian Embassy 426
I
Illinois Central Railroad 417
Imprecorr 461
India 468
"India Boots Out Tass" 468
Internal Security Subcommittee 414, 417, 421, 425, 427, 437, 438
International Press Correspondence 461
J
Jewish Ledger (newspaper) 426
Justice Department 433, 451-460
Press release, January 15, 1953 433
K
Kondakova, Mr. (Washington bureau of Tass) 414
L
Labor Relations Reporter 427
Labor Trends 419
Lamken, Natalie (testimony of) 425-427,431
1724 17th Street NW.. Washington, D. C 426
Joseph Forer, attorney 426
Music teacher 426
Employed on Jewish Ledger 426
Previously taught English to foreigners 426
Worked 714 years for Bureau of National Affairs 427
World War II worked at General Electric Co., Lynn, Mass 427
Junior caseworker, department of public welfare in Baltimore 427
Fifth amendment re Communist Party 427
Lautman, Corrine 425, 427
Testimony of 428-431
Joseph Forer, attorney 428
526 Sheridan Street NW., Washington, D. C 428
Robert Lautman, photographer, husband 428
1949 employed by United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of
America 428-429
1947-49 employed by Tass 429
Employed by National City Bank, New York 429
Corrine Pressman, maiden name 429
Fifth amendment re Communist Party 429
Lautman, Robert 428
Lidov, L 470
Life magazine 437
Lowell, Esther 461
Lynn, Mass 427
M
Mandel, Beniamin 411, 425
McGranery, Attorney General James P 433
McNanus. Robert 411
Milhailovich, General 438
Execution of by Tito 438
Montana , 417
Montgomery, Jean 420, 424, 427, 436
Testimony of 411-417, 431-435
5041 12th Street NE 411
David Cobb, attorney 411
Antioch College 411-412
IV INDEX
Montgomery, Jean— Continued ^"^^
Administrative Assistant in NRA 412
Textile Workers Organizing Committee 412
Paper Industries Coordinator 412
Joseph W. Burden Agency 412
Employed by Tass, 1941-July 1955 41d
Morris, Robert "^
Moscow "^l^- *^^
Moscow University Publishing House 4bb
Museum Road, 19 ^'^
N
National Affairs, Bureau of Washington 427
National City Bank, New York 429
National Press Building 429
Nazi Party gO
Newspaper Guild 4d<, ^rfb
Newspaper Guild in New York 438
Newsweek magazine 418, 419
New York 412, 413, 415, 423, 429, 438
New York Morning Telegraph 423
New York Times, April 15, 1954 468, 469
New York World-Telegi-am 469
Novikov, Yuri V 432,433
Diplomatic corps of Soviet Embassy 432
NRA___ y- 412
O
"On the Washington Record" 417
OPA 418
Solid Fuels Division 418
Oil Division 418
Ottawa Citizen 468, 469
OWI 418
P
Palgiinov — - 468
Paper Industries Coordinator 412
Paramonov, Mr 414
Reporter, Washington bureau of Tass, 1955 414
Persona non grata 432
Petrov, Vladimir 469
Poland, Embassy of 424,426,431
Ponger, Kurl L 433
Powell, J. B 470
Pravda 468
Presidential press conference 413
Presklishe 468
Pressman, Corrine. (See Corrine Lautman.)
Pressman, Lee 431
"Problems of Communism," No. 2, vol. 5, March, April 1956 467
Public welfare, department of 427
R
"Recall Tass Reporter to Russia" 469
Republican Party 430
Rosenberg trial 432
Rosenbergs, Committee for 432
Rover, V 470
Royal Norwegian Government 423
Rural Woiker 412
Russian Legation ^20
Ryan, Jack 437
INDEX V
S Page
Saturday Evening Post 461
Schools 421
Public 422
Public-school systems 422, 423
Seco Industrial Co 428
September 3, 1947, registration filed by Tass, pursuant to section 2 of
Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 450
Shanghai municipal police 470
Sherman, Alexander 419, 421-424, 431
1742 17th Street NW 421
Joseph Forer, attorney 421
Motion picture distribution for Hoffberg Productions, Brandon Films,
Artkino, Contemporary Films . 421
Operation of Georgetown Theater, 1950-54 422
Publicity and film consultant for Royal Norwegian Government,
1942-46 423
Publicity work for Columbia Pictures 423
Film critic, New York Morning Telegraph 423
Shernum, Polly 419, 431, 432
Employed at Polish Embassy 431
Shields, Esther Lowell 461
Shoreham Hotel 419
Smediny, Agnes 461, 470
Sorge espionage case 470
Sotoff, Andrew Ivanovitch 470
Sourwine, Mr. Jay 437
'"Stalin s American Snoops" by Paul F. Healy 461
State Department 415, 432, 433
Press release, January 15, 1953, re Yuri V. Novikov 432, 433
State, Secretary of, press conference 413
Statler Hotel 419
Stone, Mr. John B 416, 417-421
2901 18th Street NW., Washington, D. C 417
Joseph Forer, attorney 417
Publishes "On the Washington Record" 417
I'ublisher of Billings Searchlight, 1922 417
Radio editor of Chicago Evening Post, 1923 417
Feature writer for Chicago Daily News, 1924-29 417
Rewrite man for Chicago Evening American, 1929-30 or 1931 417
Public relations in Chicago 417
Herald Examiner 417
Public relations account executive for the Illinois Central Railroad, for
DeKuyper Co 417
Came to Washington in 1939 or 1940 418
Treasury Department, Procurement, Assistant Director of Public
Relations 418
OPA 418
OWI 418
Newsweek magazine, Washington correspondent, 1911 17 418
Bridgeiwrt Herald, Washington correspondent 418
Public relations. World Congress of Statisticians 419
Federated Pi'ess 419
National Guardian 419
Fifth amendment re Communist 420
St. Peter's College, Jersey City, N. J 422
"Such Is Life" by Jeanne Perkins Harmon 437, 438-450
Chapter 11 438-444
Chapter 12 444-450
Sun Shipbuilding Co., Chester, Pa 436
Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania 436
T
TASS News Agency 413-416, 428-432, 435, 436, 438, 450, 461, 468, 470
"Tass Men Exposed" 469
Tass, New York Office 413,414
Tass, Washington office 414
VI mDEX
Page
Temple University 436
Textile Workers Organizing Committee 412
Tito 438
Todd, Alden 431, 432, 435-437
4872 Chevy Chase Boulevard, Chevy Chase, Md 435
Testimony of 435-437
David Cobb, attorney 435
N'ews reporter for Federated Press, Feb. 2, 1946 435
Son of Larry Todd, ranking Tass Correspondent in Washington for
many years 435
United States Army, Parachute Infantry 435
Employed in Sun Shipbuilding Co., Chester, Pa 436
Graduated Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, 1939 436
Temple University 436
Fifth amendment re Communist 436
Todd, Larry 414
Washington bureau of Tass 414,429,435
Treasury Department 418
Procurement Division 418
Tsvetkov, Ivan V 468, 469
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America 428,429
United States 326, 429, 432
United States Government 411,412,415,418,420
United States Information Agency 467
U. S. Law Week 427
U. S. S. R 470
V
Verber, Otto 433
"Vivid Picture of Changing China, A" 461
Voice of China 470
Washington 412, 413, 416, 418-421, 423-426, 428, 429, 432, 435, 436
Washington Daily News, April 14, 1952 468
Washington school system 424
Watkins, Senator Arthur V 411,437,450
Welker, Senator Herman 425, 426, 437
Wheeler campaign, Montana 417
White, Harry D 421
White House 413, 415
Wikmen, R. L 470
Willoughby, Gen. Charles 470
World Congress of Statisticians 419
WPB 418
Wright, Archie 412
o
CONTENTS
Testimony of — • ^^^e
Fred Myers 471
Gerald W. Rogers 493
rn
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 1956
United States Senate,
Subcommittee To IN^^STIGATE the
Administration or the Internal Security Act and
Other Internal Security Laws, or the
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington^ D. C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10 : 40 a. m., in room
318, Senate Office Building, Senator William E. Jenner presiding.
Present: Senators Eastland (chairman) and Jenner.
Also present: Robert IMorris, chief counsel; Benjamin Mandel, re-
search director ; and Robert C. McManus, investigations analyst.
Senator Jenner. The committee will come to order.
Will you call the first witness ?
Mr. Morris. Mr. Myers ; Fred Myers.
Mr. Myers. Yes, sir.
jNIr. Morris. Come forward, Mr. Myers, please.
Senator Jenner. Will you be sworn to testify, jNIr. Myers ? Do you
swear that the testimony you give in this hearing will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God %
Mr. Myers. I do.
Senator Jenner. Will you be seated.
TESTIMONY OF FRED MYERS, WASHINGTON, D. C.
Senator Jenner. Let me say at the outset that the Internal Security
Subcommittee has received testimony from Yuri Rastvorov that
VOKS, a Soviet oi'ganization that is designed to promote cultural
relationships with foreign countries, has been used as a cover for intel-
ligence agents by the Soviet secret police, the MVD.
Mr. Rastvorov also testified that the American-Russian Institute
was used for intelligence purposes and for recruiting Americans into
the Communist framework. During the course of the investigations
of the Institute of Pacific Relations, the Internal Security Subcom-
mittee was able to establish that the American-Russian Institute was
created as an affiliate of VOKS.
This witness this morning has been an executive secretary of the
American-Russian Institute.
Proceed, JNIr. INIorris.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, before beginning, I wonder if we could
\)\\t some of the evidence supporting the opening statement of the
chairman into the record at this time.
Senator Jenner. You may.
471
472 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. I^Ioiiius. Mr. Mandel, Avould you read the portion of Mr. Rast*
vorov's testimony that is relevant to the opening statement about
VOKS and the American-Russian Institute ?
Mr Mandel. I read from testimony before the Internal Security
Subcommittee dated February 8, 1956, by Mr. Yuri A. Rastvorov:
Mr Morris. Will you tell us about the operation in VOKS?
Mr' Rastvorov. This organization, they call the cultural relationship with
foreign countries, and they have their representation all over the world attached
to local embassies.
Mr. Morris. Will you continue? .
Mr. IlASTVOROV. As I mentioned before about Tass, the people who maintain
the cultural relationship with foreign countries practically engage in intelligence
operations in foreign countries, and it is no different between Tass and the or-
ganization by name VOKS. .
In other words, in spite of the fact this is official government organization,
section of government which tries to maintain a cultural relationship, but prac-
tically speaking, the personnel of this organization abroad consists of intelligence
people from Military Intelligence Service and from Political Intelligence Service,
MVD. , ^ , ^
For instance, in Tokyo and in other countries, I knew a couple of people who
worked under cover of VOKS doing intelligence, engaged in intelligence activi-
ties. , „
JNIr. Morris. Is it your testimony, Mr. Rastvorov, that you know from your
own experience that the organization VOKS, which is the cultural organization
of the Soviet Union
Mr. Rastvorov. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Which is engaged to bring about cultural relations with other
countries, that that, too, is a cover for intelligence operations?
Mr. Rastvorov. Exactly, that's right.
Mr. Morris. Are you acquainted with an organization called the American-
Russian Institute?
Mr. Rastvorov. I don't know particularly about activities of this organization,
but according to my knowledge, I know that this organization was used for in-
telligence purposes by Intelligence Service in United States, in other words.
I\Ir. Morris. You knew that the American-Russian Institute was used for in-
telligence purposes?
Mr. Rastvorov. Yes, exactly. It is one object of Soviet Intelligence Service for
recruitment purposes.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, we have had testimony, considerable testimony
in the course of the last 4 or 5 years, on the activities in and around the Ameri-
can-Russian Institute.
You don't mean that everybody connected with that would be a Communist ; do
you?
Mr. Rastvorov. Not exactly, of course.
]\Ir. Morris. You mean it is an organization that they control. Suppose you
tell me. How do they operate it?
Mr. Rastvorov. Well, I repeat again, this organization such as I mentioned
before, is organization which is subject for recruitment, I mean, the people who
work in this organization is a subject for recruitment for intelligence purposes
of Soviet Intelligence Service.
Mr. Morris. Thank you, Mr. Mandel.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to put into the record at this time an
exhibit from the Institute of Pacific Relations hearing which showed
the intimate connection between the American-Russian Institute and
VOKS at the time of the establishment of the American-Russian In-
stitute.
Will you describe the document, Mr. Mandel ?
INIay it go in, Mr. Chairman ?
Senator Jexxer. It may go into tlie record and become a part of
the record.
Mr. IMoRRis. Proceed, Mr. Mandel.
Mr. Mandel. This is a document that was presented from the Insti-
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES ' 473
tute of Pacific Relations files in our hearings on the Institute of Pacific
Relations. It is headed "Comments by Officers of the U. S. S. R.
I. P. R. on Present Crisis in the Far East" :
Motylev's suggestion for Carter's visit to Moscow, August 10, 1923.
I read a paragraph from that document :
We had a long session at VOX at the invitation of the new President, Smirnov.
Motylev, Mrs. Carter, Miss Kislova, and myself were present. Smirnov wanted
to know how cooperation between VOX and the American-Russian Institute could
be made more effective. He wished to get a very much fuller understanding of
the work and program of the A. R. I. and hoped that much more substantial
cooperation could be built up in the future. I read between the lines that VOX
felt that the A. R. I. gave letters of introduction to VOX to any American tourist
who requested one and thus they had no basis for discrimination as to who was
entitled to a lot of time and who could best be handled by Intourist. If VOX
knew in advance of the specific social opinions and interests of important Amer-
icans, they could make very much better use of their limited staff. Smirnov
wanted a long explanation as to why the A. R. I. still retained a certain inter-
nationally known enemy of the U. S. S. R. on its board of directors.
That is page 3484 of the I. P. R. hearings.
(The exhibit above referred to may be found in part 10 of the
published hearings on the Institute of Pacific Relations.)
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, will you put the citation of the Attorney
General with respect to the American-Russian Institute into the
record ?
Mr. Mandel. The American-Russian Institute and its branches in
New York City and San Francisco were cited as subversive by the
Attorney General on May 27, 1948. The branches at Philadelphia and
southern California were cited by the Attorney General as subversive
on April 21, 1949.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Myers, would you give your full name and address
to the reporter ?
Mr. Mters. Fred Myers.
Mr. Morris. And where do you reside, Mr. Myers ?
Mr. Myers. 4328 Brandy wine W\Y., Washington.
Mr. Morris. And what is your occupation ?
Mr. Myers. I am executive director of the National Humane Society.
Mr. Morris. Now, would you tell us what the National Humane
Society is ?
Mr. Myers. It is a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals
and children.
Mr. Morris. And what, Mr. Myers? I did not understand the
last part.
Mr. Myers. And children.
Mr. Morris. Children. Now, would you tell me the membership,
the scope of the membership, of that organization ?
Mr. Myers. It has a relatively small membership which is national
in distribution.
Mr. Morris. I see.
Now, for how long have you been so engaged ?
J^Ir. Myers. Since November 1954.
Mr. Morris. Now, Mr. Myers, do you hold a college degree?
Mr. Myers. No.
Mr. Morris. "What was your first employment, Mr. Myers ?
Mr. Myers. You mean, way back ?
474 • SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Momus. Well, the first significant employment. You are
l)asicall>; a journalist and an editor, are you not ?
Mr. Myers. That is right.
My first news])aper employment was as a reporter for tlie Kansas
City .loiirnal.
Mr. Morris. And what year was that ?
Mr. Myers. I believe 1923.
Mr. Morris. What was your next employment ?
Ml-. Myers. I Avas next employed with the United Press.
Mr. ^Morris. In what year ?
Mr. Myers. I um not absolutely sure of the year, but I believe 1931.
Mr. Morris. After that?
Mr. Myers. From the United Press, I went to the New York
Mirror.
Mr. Morris. When were you employed by the New York Mirror?
Mr. Myers. 1934,1 think, to 1937.
Mr. Morris. Now, were you the chairman of the New York Daily
ISIirror unit of the New York Newspaper Guild ?
Mr. Myers. For a time I was.
Mr. Morris. What period of time w^as that ?
Mr. Myers. Approximately 1935 to 1937.
Mr. Morris. Now, INIr. Chairman, at this point I would like to read
into tlie record the testimony of Mr. Clayton Knowles, a New York
Times newsjiaperman, who has testified. This is executive session
testimony taken October 6, 1955. The w^itness is Clayton Knowles,
now a New York Times reporter.
Mr. Knowles has testified at this point in the transcript that he had
been a member of the Communist Party :
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you or did you know Fred Myer ?
Mr. KxowLES. Yes, I did, sir.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Who was Fred Myer?
Mr. Knowles. Fred Myer, I believe, was chairman of the Daily Mirror unit.
He later became an organizer for the American Newspaper Guild.
Mr. SouRwiNE. He was chairman of the Daily Mirror unit of the Newspaper
Guild?
Mr. Knowles. Correct, sir.
Mr. Sourwine. Do you know of any information as to whether Fred Myer is or
was a Communist?
Mr. Knowles. Yes, sir. He was a man who invited me — he was the man
who approached me at St. Louis and invited me to attend that meeting that I
told you about.
Mr. Sourwine. The first person who asked you to join the Communist Party?
Mr. Knowles. No, he was not the first person. He was the person at St.
Louis who said, "Would you like to come around and hear a summary of what
went on here, an analysis of the effectiveness of this convention?"
Mr. Sourwine. And you knew him to be a Communist?
Mr. Knowles. I did not then, but he later — it was he who disclosed when
he got there that this was a Communist meeting.
Mr. Sourwine. Do you know where he is now?
Mr. Knowles. No, sir ; I have no idea.
Now, Mr. Myers, we would like to ask you a few questions about
that particular testimony.
Do you remember attending the St. Louis convention ?
Mr. Myers. Yes.
Mr. Morris. At that time, what position did you have in the News-
paper Guild?
Mr. Mi-EKs. I was chairman of the Mirror unit.
Mr. Morris. I see.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES 475
Now, were yon then the editor of the Guild Reporter?
Mr. Myers. No.
Mr. Morris. Yon were not. You became that later; is that it?
]\Ir. JMyers. Yes.
Mr. Morris. What was the year of that convention, Mr. Myers?
Mr. IMyers. I may be wrong. I think it was 1935.
Mr. Morris 1935.
Now, did you attend a Communist caucus at that time?
Mr. Myers. Not to my knowledge.
Mr. Morris, ^^lio was in control of the Newspaper Guild at that
time?
Mr. Myers. I beg your pardon ?
Mr. Morris. Who was in control of the Newspaper Guild at that
time ?
Mr. Myers. Well, I don't know how to answer that question. It was
governed by a board of directors.
Mr. Morris. I see.
There were dominant personalities, were there not, in the guild
at that time, and you knew them personally?
Mr. JMyers. Oh, yes; there were outstanding people in it.
Mr. Morris. Will you tell us who they were, Mr. Myers?
Mr. Myers. Well, the executive seca-etary was Milton Kaufman.
Mr. Morris. Milton Kaufman, Mr. Chairman, has been a witness
before this commiltee, and he has been identified in sworn testimony
as having been a member of the Communist Party.
Who else, Mr. Myers ?
Mr. Myers. I may have given Mr. Kaufman's title incorrectly,
because I believe that another man was known as secretary-treasurer,
Victor Pasch.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, Victor Pasch has been identified in
testimony before this committe-e as having been a member of the Com-
munist Party.
Mr. Myers. Perhaps, and really undoubtedly, most noted of all was
Heywood Broun, who was president.
I don't
Mr. Morris. Well, what was your relationship to the guild at that
time?
Mr. Myers. I had no relationship, except that I was chairman of a
newspaper unit. That was my first convention, and I really knew no
more about the guild than other people who were attending at that
time. I had been in it only about G months.
Mr. Morris. Now, were there two factions in the guild at that time,
to your knowledge?
Mr. Myers. I think there were several factions.
Mr. Morris. Was there a slate that was dominated by people who
were accused of being Communists and a slate dominated by those
who were making the accusations that the dominant slate were Com-
munists ?
Mr. Myers. Yes. As you say, that is correct.
Mr. Morris. Now, with respect to each of those two factions, with
which faction were you at that time?
Mr. Myers. I was alined with the faction which was accused of
being Communist-led.
72723—56 — pt. 10 2
476 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Morris. You were working with that.
Now, can you recall Clayton Knowles at that time ?
Mr. Myers. I have no memory of Mr. Knowles at all.
Mr. Morris. Can you recall attending a session which Clayton
Knowles described here in this sworn testimony?
Mr. Myers. No, sir.
Mr. Morris. You do not ?
Mr. Myers. No, sir.
Mr. Morris. Is it your testimony that you were a Communist at
that time?
Mr. jNIyers. That I was not a Communist at that time.
Mr. Morris. It is your testimony that you were not a Communist at
that time ?
Mr. Myers. That is right.
Mr. Morris. Now, you are telling this subcommittee that the testi-
mony given by Clayton K]iowles is not accurate testimony with re-
spect to you ?
Mr. Myers. That is right.
As you know, in executive session I stated the same thing and gave
my opinion of how IVIr. KnoAvles might have arrived at such an
impression.
Mr. Morris. What was that ?
Mr. Myers. Well, as I have just told you, I did aline myself in the
internal politics of the American Newspaper Guild with a group
which was accused of being Communist-led.
Mr. JMoRRTS. And you have no doubt that they were Communist-led
at that time ?
]\Ir. Myers. I have no doubt that there were strong Communist
influences within that group. I have no doubt of that. I had none
at the time.
Mr. Morris. You had none at the time?
Mr. Myers. That is right. Because I was strongly of the opinion
that the cause that the guild espoused was good, I thought it ex-
pedient and good to work with whoever would ally himself in that
cause. I quite freely worked with ])eople whom I thought to be or
suspected of being Communists.
At the St. Louis convention, which was the first that I ever attended,
there were caucuses, I think, six times a day all over the place. You
could hardly move up and down the corridor or walk up and doA^m
the aisle without somebody inviting you to a meeting in somebody's
room or in a special conference room. It is quite possible, because I
was active in that convention, that I invited Mr. Knowles, as I am
sure numbers of other people, to various meetings all during the week-
lono: convention.
I have already testified tv.ice to tliis connnittee that not to my knowl-
edge did I attend any meeting of a Communist fraction or group or
cell or any other thing Communist.
Chairman Eastland (now presiding). Do you deny tliat you at-
tempted to recruit Mr. Knowles into the Connnunist Party ^
Mr. Myers. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Mr. INIyers. you stayed on with this particular group
that you have just described for some time thei-eafter ; did you not i
Mr. Myers. Yes.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 477
Mr. Morris. In fact, you became tlie editor of their publication;
did vou not ?
Mr. Myers. It was not tlieir publication. It was the guild's.
Mr. Morris. The publication of the guild which they dominated?
Mr. Myers. Right.
Mr. Morris. And what is the name of that publication ?
Mr. Myers. The Guild Reporter.
Mr. I^Iorris. Now, how long were you editor of the Guild Reporter ?
Mr. Myers. I believe only slightly more than 1 year.
Mr. Morris. "What year was that ?
Mr. Myers. 1939, running into 1940.
Chairman Eastland. Now, you stated there were two factions. You
state that one of those factions had strong Communist tendencies, to
your knowledge ; is that correct ?
Mr. Myers. It was my opinion that that was so.
Chairman Eastland. Yes; and that you affiliated with that faction?
Mr. Myers. Senator, I didn't use the word "affiliated.'' I worked
with them.
Chairman Eastland. All right. You worked with them. You pro-
moted them ; did you not ?
Mr. Myers. Yes ; I guess so.
Chairman Eastland. All right. Now, why did you do that ?
Mr. Myers. Because I very strongly believed that it was the desir-
able thing that the American Newspaper Guild should be organized
and become effective
Chairman Eastland. And you did not think it could become effec-
tive under the control of anti-Communists; is that what you say?
Mr. Myers. At the minute, the Newspaper Guild was under the
leadership of the people whom I found there.
I might say, I had a very strong affection for and an intense admira-
tion for HeyATOod Broun, and I
Chairman Easti^\nd. But you did not think the guild could become
more effective if led by anti-Communists, and therefore you affiliated
with the Connnimist group ; is that the meaning of what you say ?
IMr. Myers. But not because it was Communist and not with prime
relevance to whether it was Communist, Senator. My point was that
they were active and effective organizers
Cliairman Eastland. All right.
There were two factions, you said. The facts are that one of them
was a Communist faction, and you say Avith strong Communist influ-
ences. Now, we will accept what you say. And you affiliated Avith
them.
]V[r. INIyers. Senator
Chairman Eastland. Do you not think it could have been more
effective with non-Communists at its head ?
Mr. Myers. Not at that moment. I believe that the Newspaper
Guild as of now is much more effective without Communist influence
than it would be had that influence continued.
Chairman Eastland. Don't you know that the Communist ruin
any organization that they take over?
Mr. Myers. Senator, you will have to allow me, please, to go back
to 1935. I had never in my life had the slightest experience with
a trade union or with a Communist or with a Socialist or with any-
478 SCOPE OF sovip:t activity in the united states
thing political of any type. I was a newspaperman and had been for
a good many vears.
Chairman Eastland. You think that the Communist Party is just
a political party?
Mr. Myers. At this point ? No : by no means, no. But in 1930
Chairman Eastland. Then why did you affiliate with them?
Mr. Ah'TiRS. I didn't affiliate with the Communist Party.
Chairman Eastland. Well, you affiliated with a group that they
controlled and was pure commimism that was trying to take over
an organization to make it an instrumentality of communism.
Mr. Myers. No, Senator. There were a good many people active
in the work in the guild who were not Communists and who were
strong people.
Chairman Eastland. T know. Put you deliberately affiliated with
the Communist side of tliat ora-anization.
Mr. Myers. Not with the Communist side. T am sorry. I don't
mean to be disputatious. I am trying to explain what motivated me
at that time. I was not affiliating with noi- su])porting nor in any
other way promoting conunnnism.
Chairman Eastland. How '^•ould you affiliate Avith them and pro-
mote the Communist side and not promote communism?
Mr. Myers. My objective was to use the tools tliat were at hand
lo or-ganize the guild.
Chairman Eastland. Yes. Put you had a very powerful anti-
Comnnmist side of it that finally won, did you not?
Mr. Myers. Certainly not iii 1935. In" fact, I don't believe there
was anv election contest at the 1935 convention.
Mr. "Morris. The fact remains that they prevailed many years
thereafter, does it not, Mr. Myers?
Mr. Myers. That is correct.
Mr. Morris. And you were a supporter of that gronp?
Mr. Myers. That is correct.
Mr. ^vIoRRis. Then, Mr, ]\fyers, fnrthermore, you became an editor
of their publication, did you not ?
Mr. Myers. I did, but not with the connotation that you are
Chairman Eastland. And you aided the Communist group to stay
in control, did you not?
Mr. Myers. Not a Communist group.
Chairman Easti.and. Sir?
ISIr. ^Iyers. I did not aid a Communist group.
Chairman Eastland. All right. A group that had strong Com-
munist influences. You aided that group in staying in control for
many years, did you not ?
Mr. Myers. I wonld state it myself that I thought it was unwise
for the guild to change leadership in the middle of a battle.
Chairman Eastland. Put you aided that group to stay in control.
Now, answer my question yes or no.
Mr. ]Myers, Yes.
Chairman Eastland. You did. And even though you say you never
belonged to the Connnunist Party, you were a fellow traveler, you
say?
Mr, M^-ERS. No; T don't say that.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 479
Chairman Eastland. "Wliat ?
Mr. Myers. No ; I don't say that.
Chairman Eastland. That means it. You cooperated with, and
you aided and promoted the Connnunist faction in the g-uild.
Mr. Myers. No, sir; I did not, and I was not a feUow ti-aveler.
Chairman Eastland. Proceed.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Myers, the Guild Reporter that the committee has
on file here indicates that you were its editor as late as 1941. You
testified here that you were the editor for a short time in 1940.
Mr. Myers. I accept the correction. I was not sure of the year.
Mr. Morris. Now, I notice, Mr. Myers, that during the period that
you were editor, there was an item on February 1, 1941, that supported
the American Peace Mobilization. That was at the time during the
Hitler-Stalin Pact.
Mr. Myers. I don't recall any such article.
Mr. Morris. You do not recall that. The Guild Reporter on May
1, 1941, carried an attack on a gentleman named Nathaniel Honig for
testimony against Harry Bridges.
Mr. Myers. You are asking me if I recall it? No, sir.
Mr. Morris. Would you say that during the period that you were
the editor of that particular "'neAvspaper, that it followed the Com-
munist Party line ?
Mr. Myers. I certainly would say not.
Mr. Morris. You say it did not ?
Mr. Myers. No.
Mr. Morris. Now, what did you do after you left the Guild Re-
porter ? What was your next employment '{
Mr. Myers. I was employed as public relations director of the
American Society for Russian Relief, which was a unit of the National
War Fund.
Mr. Morris. Now, will you tell us about that ?
Mr. Myers. AVell, it was like all other war relief organizations of
that period. It raised money to buy medical supplies, clothing, cer-
tain food supplies. It operated under the supervision of the Presi-
dent's War Relief Control Board. It was closely supervised by sev-
eral other Government aoencies because of the necessity of obtainino-
purchase priority and shipping priority for the shii)ment of supplies!
During the period that I was connected with the organization
AAe ' '
Mr. Morris. You have not told us the exact date, have vou Mr
Myers? j ? •
Mr. Myers. 1941 to August 1946.
Mr. Morris. Noav, will you tell us exactlv in what month in 1941
you left the Guild Reporter ?
Mr. Myers. No, sir ; I cannot.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may these articles that we referred to
m the Guild Reporter which were published at the time in the paper
and bore the masthead of Fred Myers, editor, go into the record at
this time ?
Chairman Eastland. They will be admitted.
480 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY EST THE UNITED STATES
(The articles referred to were marked "Exhibit No. 176 and 176-A."
and are as follows :)
Exhibit No. 176
[The Guild Reporter, May 1, 1941]
Ex-Red Gulldsman Strikes at Bridges
San Francisco (FP). — The first witness in 3 weeks of testimony to make an
unequivocal charge of Communist Party membership against President Harry
Bridges of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (CIO)
was Nat Honig, a Seattle Hearst newspaperman and former Communist.
Honig testified before Examiner Charles B. Sears in the deportation hearing
that he had seen Bridges at "top fraction" meetings in San Francisco.
Cross examination brought out two interesting facts about Honig, who was
editor of the Timber Worker until former president Harold Pritchett of the
International Woodworkers (CIO) fired him.
First, Honig was picked up by detectives in March, w^hen he walked out of a
Seattle department store with books under his arm, but was released when he
agreed to pay for them. After this incident Honig, who since November had
refused the FBI's request that he testify against Bridges, changed his mind
and decided to talk.
He insisted that no threats had been made. The reason, he explained, was that
he had been reading the back files of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and found
that the FBI was "not antilabor" as he once suspected. Honig is employed by
the Post-Intelligencer as a part-time copyreader.
Second, it was shown that in 1933 Honig was a witness in the case of the
Chatham Shoe Co. against the Shoeworkers Industrial Union. He testified then
that the Trade Union Unity League was not affiliated with the Red Interna-
tional of Labor Unions, but in the current hearing he has sworn to just the
opposite.
Although Honig was able to remember and name many CIO officials whom he
believes to be Communists, he was vague when asked where the so-called top
fraction meetings were held. In no case could he give an address. "It was
a party rule that immediately we reached the meeting place, we forgot the
address," he explained.
Honig also testified that Victor Pasche, secretary-treasurer of the ANG, is a
Communist.
Mention of Pasche arose in connection with testimony by Honig, in response
to a question, that he had no proof that George Wilson, an ANG vice president
and chairman of the Bridges Defense committee, is a Communist.
Defense counsel asked Honig whether he had ever sought to induce Pasche
to give him fraudulent job references to help him obtain employment in Seattle.
The question referred to a letter Honig wrote to Pasche some time ago, asking
Pasche to give to or obtain for him, such a letter. Honig denied that he had
done so.
Then Chief Prosecutor Albert der Guercio asked :
"The name of Victor Pasche has been brought out here. Who is he?"
"He is secretary of the American Newspaper Guild," Honig replied.
"Is he also a member of the Communist Party?"
"To my knowledge he is."
Comment of Pasche on the testimony was :
"Obviously he is willing to bear false witness against me as readily as he has
been doing against Harry Bridges and almost everybody in the west coast and
Pacific Northwest labor movement who stands for strong trade unionism. The
reason for the attack on me appears in the record of the hearing. Calling the
secretary of the ANG a Communist is Honig's convenient way of meeting the
simple fact that some time before landing on the P-I, when he was still trying
to get his first regular newspaper job on a Seattle daily, he wrote and asked
the same secretary to procure him faked references crediting him with experi-
ence on New York dailies. That is a very pertinent fact bearing on his credi-
bility in the Bridges' hearing."
Honig has a long history of red-baiting of oflScers of many unions. In 1940
he led an attack in the Seattle Guild upon delegates to the Memphis convention,
including Robert Camozzi, former ANG vice president, and Cliff Erickson, former
P-I striker, accusing them of being Communists.
At approximately the same time he declared in a Guild meeting that almost
the entire leadership of the northwest labor movement was Communist, includ-
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 481
ing A. E. Harding, president of tlie Maritime Federation of the Pacific : J. F
Jurich, president, and George Lane, seeretary-treasui-er of the Fishermen's
International union, and Harold Pritchett, then IWA president.
Honig also apepared in hearings during a fight in the IWA in January 1941
testifying that O. M. Orton, president, and Bertil McCartv, secretary-treasurer'
were Communists. '
He ran for secretary of the Seattle Guild with a "united Guild" slate, but lost
to Marie Pearl while all others on his slate won.
Exhibit No. 176-A
[The Guild Reporter, February 1, 1941]
Peace Meet Asks Help of Ghild
Washington.— Enlistment of volunteers from the American Newspaper Guild
to aid in publicizing the antiwar campaign of the American Peace Mobilization
was suggested at the working conference for peace, attended by representatives
of 64 CIO and 13 AFL unions, here last weekend.
The press and r.ulio committee of the conference, in its report to the general
session, urged that the conference formally request the Guild to bring the pro-
posal before its member writers. The committee ursred an enlarged publicity
department of volunteers built around one full-time paid employee.
■•Nobody will question the proposition that vast publicitv for our opposition
to H. R. 1776 will be needed to offset the vast publicity which those in favor of
the bill have at their command and are already using on a coUossal scale " the
report said.
A conference meeting of 1,000 voiced the demand that House and Senate com-
mittees continue public hearings on the lend-lease bill until representatives of
organized labor and other people's groups are given the opportunity to testify.
Mr Morris. How many peoj^le were active in the preparation of the
(Tiuld Reporter at that time^
Mr. Myers. Just I, except that, of course, there was consultation
\vith other people among tlie Guild officers.
Mr. Morris. And you tlien were responsible for the articles that
appeared m the paper, were you not?
Mr. Myers. Yes.
But I want it to be understood that I was an employee.
Mr. Morris. 1 understand. Rut it is your testimony that you do
not know the exact month that you became active in this other oro-an-
iation? ^
?i^' ¥7^^^- ^^^ ^hich? The American Society for Eussian Relief >»
Mr. Morris. Yes.
Mr. Myers. No, I don't know the
Mr. Morris. It must have been after June 22, 1041; is that right «
Mr. Myers. I believe so, but I don't know so.
Mr. Morris. I mean, the organization was not in being during the
'!^1^'^''' ^'^''*.' ^<^^^'^"se at that time tlie Soviet Union was allied
with the Germans ?
Mr. Myers. Oh, it certainly came into being after the Soviet Union
was involved m war.
Mr. Morris. And it is your testimony that you left tlie Guild Re-
porter and went directly to this other organization?
Mr. Myers. Xo. I was unemployed for perhaps GO days.
Mr. Morris. Sixty days?
Mr. MiTCRs. I don't know exactly, biit approximately
that?* ^^^^' ^" '■'^^'^- ^^^''""^ '^'^-^ y^^'^' i^ext employment after
482 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr MvFRS After the American Society for Russian Relief, I be-
came executive director of the American-Russian Institute m New
York City. . . , , • ,, ^ ■ ^ £ ^^ ■
Mr. Morris. And that is the organization that is the subject ot this
hearino- to(hiy, Mr. Myers. . , .1 •
Mr. Myers. Is it permissible for me to intervene a statement at this
point? , .
>rr Morris. He wants to submit a statement.
Mr. Myt<:rs. No. I don't mean an extensive statement.
Mr. Morris. By all means.
(Iiairman Eastland. Oh, surely.
Mr ^NIyers. Just as a matter of fact, the testimony or documentary
evidence which was read into the record, or the statement which was
made at the beginning of this hearing, as I understood it, would seem
to indicate that the American-Russian Institute m New York City has
some connection with organizations of similar name elsewhere m the
country. ^. ^1 , t 1 i
I merely Avant to state that there was no connection, that 1 liacl, as
executive director of the organization in New York, not only no au-
thority but no contact with and no knowledge of any organization of
similar name anywhere else in the country.
^Ir. IkloRRis. Now, what were the duties of the executive director i
iiv Myers. Well, I was engaged for this job before I left the Ameri-
can Society for Russian Relief, by W. W. Lancaster, who is a senior
iiartner of the rather eminent New York law hriii of Sherman, Ster-
ling, and Wright, and by Ellsworth Bunker, who was then chairman of
several large "sugar companies, and subsequently has been American
Embassador to at least one South American country, and who I be-
lieve is now chairman of the American Red Cross, or president, and
their concern, as they expressed it to me in the conversations which led
me to accept the job, was that there should be, following the demise ot
the American Societv for Russian Relief, the dissolution of which
was already planned, a continuation of what we thought was a hopeful
possibility of maintaining what we then thought were good relations
between the Soviet Union and the United States.
The American-Russian Institute had been, up till that time, a very
small thiiia-. It owned a small building in New York City and a rather
\ alual)le, although small, library. But although I had known nothing
about it prior to that time, my impression was that it had been vir-
tually inactive and had been pretty meanhigless.
Mi- Bunker and Mr. Lancaster were on the board of directors of the
institute, and they thought that I would be capable of building the
membei-ship of the institute and its tinancial support and of making
it useful as a bridge between scholars and students of the two
countries.
Mr. Morris. Now, may I break in there, Mr. Myers i
Mr. Myers. Yes. . .
Mr. Morris. AVas Harriet Moore active in the organization at tliat
time?
Mr. Myers. Who?
Mr. Morris. Harriet Moore.
Mr. IVIyers. I believe that she was a director.
Mr. Morris. She was also the editor, was she not, of its publi(?ation?
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 483
Mr. Myees. I am not sure of that, and I don't believe that the in-
stitute had a reguhir jDublication.
Mr. Morris. Now, Mr. Myers, do you know that Harriet Moore pre-
ceded you as executive secretary of that organization?
Mr. Myers. I knew she had that title, yes. But she was an unpaid
and purely part-time volunteer.
Mr. Morris. Do you know that she bore the title of executive sec-
retary ?
Mv. jNIyers. That is right. The institute, up to the time that I went
to it, had no full-time executive.
Mr. Morris. I have a letterhead of that organization here, Mr.
Myers, dated July 14, 1938, which indicates that Harriet Moore at that
time was the editor of the American-Russian Institute.
Mr. Myers. I know nothing about that.
Mr. Morris. And she was also a member of the board of directors,
was she not ?
Mr. Myers. She was.
Mr. Morris. When did you first meet Harriet Moore?
Mr. Myers. She was also a director of the American Society for
Russian Relief, and I met her for the first time in about 1942, I guess.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, we have had three witnesses identify
Harriet Moore as a person who was at that time a member of the Com-
munist Party. In addition, we have subpenaed Harriet Moore, who
is now known as Harriet Moore Gelf an, and asked her about this testi-
mony, and she invoked her privilege under the fifth amendment
rather than enter a denial on the record.
Now, a successor of yours as executive director of the American-
Russian Institute was Henry H. Collins, Jr., was he not, Mr. Myers?
Mr. Myers. I believe that is the name.
Mr. Morris. Did you know Henry Collins ?
Mr. Myers. I met him, but only casually after I left the institute.
I was introduced to him, but I don't really know him at all.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, Henry H. Collins, Jr., was, according to
the testimony given by witnesses before this committee, a member of
the original Harold Ware cell of the Communist Party and was active
in the Communist Party for many years, and when we asked him about
this evidence he took refuge under the fifth amendment rather than
testify.
Mr. Myers. I would like, if I may, to bring out that I was connected
"with the American-Russian Institute only about 2 or 3 months. Again
I am not sure of the time, but it was a very short period.
Mr. Morris. You received for your work, did you not, the Order of
the Red Banner from President Kalinin of the Supreme Soviet, did
you not, Mr. Myers ?
Mr. Myers. Yes; I did. But it was stated in the citation that it
was in recognition of the work of several million Americans.
Mr. Morris. You received that citation August 29, 1945, did you
not?
Mr. Myers. I don't know the exact date, sir.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, I would like to put into the record
a news item from the New York Times of Weclnesday, August 29,
1945, page 8.
Mr. Mandel, will you read that into the record, please?
Mr. Mandel. I read a portion of the article :
72723—56 — pt. 10 3
484 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Russian Aiu Chief Gets Soviet Honor
carter in moscow after trip of inspection says american relief need continues
(By Brooks Atkinson)
Moscow, August 28, 1945. — Edward C. Carter, of New York, president of the
American Society for Russian Relief here, received the award of the Order of the
Red Banner of Labor from President Mikhail I. Kalinin in the council room of
the Supreme Soviet today as a symbol of "friendship between our two countries
and acknowledgment of material aid from private citizens of the United States
to the workers and peasants of the U. S. S. R."
An identical order will be given to Fred Myers, executive director of the
Russian Relief, who is in the United States * * *
Mr. Carter concluded his visit of three weeks in Russia * * * He is taking off
tomorrow for London, where he will attend to affairs of the Institute of Pacific
Relations of which he is permanent secretary general.
Tlie full article is here.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit Xo. 177" and is as
follows:)
Exhibit No. 177
[New York Times, August 29, 1945, i>. S]
Russian Aid Chief Gets SoiiETS Honor
CARTER IN MOSCOW AFTER TRIP ON INSPECTION SAYS AMERICAN RELIEF NEED CONTINUES
(By Brooks Atkinson)
By Wireless to the New York Times
Moscow, August 28.— Edward C. Carter, of New York, president of the American
Society for Russian Relief here, received the award of the Order of the Red Ban-
ner of Labor from President Mikhail I. Kalinin in the council room of the
Supreme Soviet today as a symbol of "friendship between our two countries and
acknowledgement of material aid from private citizens of the United States to
the workers and peasants of the U. S. S. R."
An identical order will be given to Fred Myers, executive director of the Rus-
sian Relief, who is in the United States. David Weingard, supply officer for the
Russian Relief, and Leo Gruliow, Moscow representative of the society, received
the Soviet Union's Labor Distinction Medal.
Mr. Carter concluded his visit of 3 weeks in Russia with an inspection trip to
the Donbas region. He is taking off tomorrow for London, where he will attend
to affairs of the Institute of Pacific Relations of which he is permanent secretary
general.
As a result of his survey of the current needs of Russia, Mr. Carter announced
that the American Society for Russian Relief would continue its work for a year
from the coming October, when the situation will again be examined. Before he
left the United States local committees throughout the country voted overwhelm-
ingly in favor of continuing relief if there was unequivocal evidence that it was
needed. Mr. Carter reports that he found ample evidence that the need wo old
exist for a long time.
"I do not think one 5-year plan is going to restore Russia to the condition as
it was in 1941," he said. "Great sections of the U. S. S. 11. are going to have short
pickings for a long time."
Apart from that Mr. Carter added. "One of the byproducts of our aid is a little
better feeling between the citizens of the 2 countries : the contribution of $54
million worth of material is small in comparison with the good done."
Ho hopes to persuade American hospitals, children's homes, trade unions and
comnuuiity organizaticms to adopt opposite numbers in Russia to stimulate per-
sonal interest in particular Russian projects, in contract to the mass relief that
was the only kind possible under war conditions. In addition, the Russians have
asked for certain cultural aid — school classroom material, books in English,
scientific books and the like.
From its receipts in money and supplies of a total value of .$54 million the Amer-
ican Society for Russian Relief has already delivered about $47 million, worth cf
materials to Russia. The rest is either en route now or in warehouses in the
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 485
United States awaiting transjwrt in Russian ships tliat will call at Atlantic porta.
Mr. Carter visited Stalino, Voroshilovsk and other cities in the Donbas region
that had been almost destroyed by the Germans. The peojile there, he said,
seemed aware that this material was not lend-lease, but voluntary contributions
from private sources. In the Voroshilovsk area 517,000 persons had received
Russian Relief material.
Mr. Morris. Mr. INIyers, is it your testimony that even though you
were the executive director of this organization, you were not its
principal officer, or principal working officer?
Mr. Myers. Of the American Society for Russian Relief?
Mr. Morris. No; American-Russian Institute.
Mr. Myers. During the time I was there, I was its principal working
officer, but I was definitely not in control.
Mr. IMorris. I see. You were not in control. In other words, you
just performed the work given to you by the board ; is that it ?
Mr. Myers. Yes; and the board's chief assignment to me was to
raise some money, which I didn't succeed in doing,
Mr. ]\IoRRis. Now, to your knowledge, then, who was the principal
officer who gave direction to the workers of the American-Russian
Institute ?
Mr. Myers. Well, I believe that it was Mr. Lancaster, because at
that time, I believe, he was chairman of the board.
Mr. Morris. Are you aware that the Attorney General has cited the
American-Russian Institute as a Communist organization?
Mr. Myers. Yes. Of course, that was long after I left it.
Mr. Morris. I mean, it may have been cited long after, but it Avas
cited on the basis of its activity, which included the activity of the
American-Russian Institute while you were the executive director,
was it not, Mr. Myers ?
Mr. Myers. Well, I have not any knowledge that it was on the basis
of anything that happened while I was its executive director, and I
would certainly doubt that.
Mr. INIoRRis. You know, Mr. Myers, that the Attorney General cited
it at a later time. It must have been on the basis of its performance
through the years.
Mr. Myers. No.
Mr. Morris. And the mere date of the citation would be only im-
portant to show what date the Attorney General got around to
putting it on that particular list. Don't you think that is the sig-
nificance of it ?
Mr. jMyers. I think not, Judge Morris, although it is presumptuous
of me to dispute with you what legal significance is. But you have
yourself brought out here this morning a statement that after I left
the American- Russian Institute, among my successors was a man who
has been testified to be or to have been a Communist. Is it not equally
to be assumed that the Attorney General acted on the basis of such a
thing as that ?
Mr. JMoRRis. Yes, I say, on the basis of all of its activity, not
activity only that was going on at the time of the citation.
Mr. JNIyers. It is just that you asked me to agree to a statement
that the Attorney General cited the institute because of something
that happened while I was there, and that I couldn't agree to.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Myers, you also did public-relations work for the
Institute of Pacific Relations ; did you not ?
Mr. Myers. No,
486 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Morris. Then you acted as public-relations counselor on indi-
vidual occasions for Mr, Carter of that organization, did you not?
Mr. Myers. I was a friend of Mr. Carter's, and he talked to me
occasionally, but I certainly was no public-relations consultant for
the Institute of Pacific Eelations.
Mr. Morris. Do you remember when Alfred Kohlberg brought
charges against the Institute of Pacific Relations ?
Mr. Myers. Yes, I do.
Mr. Morris. Didn't you have an assignment in connection with Mr.
Kohlberg's charges at that time?
Mr, MiTERS, No,
Mr. ]MoRRis. Didn't you do some public relations work for Mr.
Carter at that time ?
Mr. Myers. No.
Mr, Morris, To state Mr, Carter's position with regard to his fight
with Mr, Kohlberg?
Mr. Myers. I don't recall every conversation that I ever had with
Mr. Carter, but if you could state more precisely what you mean by
"public relations work" I will answer "Yes" or "No," but nothing
that I would call public relations work.
Mr. Morris. Did you go to the Soviet Union at all in connection
with this work?
Mr. Myers. I did.
Mr. Morris. When did you go ?
Mr. Myers. In 1946, the summer of 1946.
Mr. Morris. And in what capacity did you go there at that time?
Mr. Myers. I was still executive director of the society, although
I had informed the board that I would resign effective September 11.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, do we have any newspaper clippings
reporting the activities of Mr. Myers in the Soviet Union at that
time ?
Mr. Mandel. We have here a clipping from the New York Times
of August 16, 1946, page 2, which described a committee of delegates
of Russian War Relief, Inc., who returned from a tour of the Soviet
Union: "In an interview yesterday at the organization's headquar-
ters, 5 Cedar Street, at which members testified to the need of the
Russians for housing, clothing, medical supplies and equipment, Fred
Myers, executive director of the organization, said Russian housing
was in a state of disrepair, and told of a marked shortage of clothing,"
et cetera.
"The delegation visited Leningrad, Moscow, Minsk, Stalingrad,
and Tbilisi, capital of the Georgian Republic."
]\Ir. Morris. To your knowledge are they accurate reports, Mr.
Myers ?
Mr. Myers. That is accurate.
(The article above referred to was marked "Exhibit 178" and is as
follows :)
Exhibit No. 178
[New York Times, August 16, 1946, p. 2]
American Relief Workers Tell op Conditions in Russia
A committee of delegates of Russian War Relief, Inc., who have returned from
a tour of the Soviet Union, gave an interview yesterday at the organization's
headquarters, 5 Cedar Street, at which members testified to the need of the
Russians for housing, clothing, medical supplies and equipment.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 487
Fred Myers, executive director of llie organization, said Kussian housing was
iu a state of disrepair and told of a marked shortage of clothing. Dr. Edward L.
Young, of Boston, stressed the need for artificial limbs for Russians incapaci-
tated in the war as well as for special equipment required to adjust such aids.
Dr. Young said Russian hospitals had adequate staffs but were equipped iuade-
quatel.v or had obsolete working material.
The delegation visited Leningrad, Moscow, Minsk, Stalingrad, and Tbilisi,
capital of the Georgian Republic.
Mr. Morris. Now, what was your next employment after you left
the American-Russian Institute?
Mr. Myers. I believe that I was unemployed for some time. The
period of time eludes me. I did some writing, magazine writing.
Mr. Morris. For what magazine ?
Mr. Myers. Chiefly for Readers Scope.
Mr. ^roRRis. "What was Readers Scope?
]Mi*. 3,Iyers. It was a digest-size magazine of general content.
Mr. Morris. How much writing did yoti do for that publication?
Mr. Myers. Oh, over a period of perhaps a year, perhaps 15 articles.
Mr. ^Morris. I see. Was tliat publication a publication that was
orientated along Communist lines ?
Mr. Myers. Xot at all, sir.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Mandel, do we have any citations whatever with
respect to the Readers Scope ?
Mr. Mandel. The California Committee on Un-American Activi-
ties in its report of 1948 on page 225 refers to Readers Scope as among
publications which the committee found to be Communist initiated
«ind controlled or so strongl}- influenced as to be in the Stalin solar
S3'stem.
Mr. Morris. You would disagree with that characterization, would
you not?
jMr. Myers. Yes.
Mr. Morris. "\A^iat was j'our next employment, Mr. Myers?
Mr. INIyers. I did vanous small free-lance things to make a lixing.
My next regidar emplojmnent was with the American Humane Asso-
ciation, in Albau}', X. Y.
Mr. Morris. Didn't you work for the New York Central for a short
time?
Mr. Myers. Oh, yes. I am sorry. It w«s such a brief time that
It
Mr. Morris. Yes, I understand, Mr. Myers. It was of short
duration.
Mr. Myers. Yes.
Mr. Morris. And we have every reason to believe that when the
New York Central discovered that you had been associated with the
American-Russian Institute and had not told them about that par-
ticular employment, that they asked for your resignation.
Mr. Myers. I had told them about such employment, and it was not
the discovery which led to the severance of my relations.
Mr. Morris. Will you tell iis about that particular episode, jNIr.
Myers ?
Mr. Myers. Yes.
Will you permit me. Judge Morris, to cover that a bit fully,
because
Mr. Morris. By all means.
Senator Jenner (presiding). Yes.
488 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Myers. The best statement available of the circumstances of
the incident to which you refer has been provided by Eaymond F.
Blosser, who at that time was publicity director of the New York
Central Ivailroad, which was the post second in authority in the public
relations department of the New York Central Railroad. Mr. Blosser
subsequently became the public relations director of the New York
Central.
The statement from Mr. Blosser which I would like to read to you
was not solicited by me but by another person not particularly a friend
of mine who liad "heard rumors of this kind of thing, and who w^as
seeking the facts about my background. And Mr. Blosser wrote to
this person, quite unknown to me, this letter :
I am very sorry to hear that Fred Myers is being attacked on that old
New York Central story as you describe it in your letter and that it is being
used against him. In view of the tact that I was manager of the Central's press
bureau from 1947 to 1051, and the railroad's manager of public relations from
1951 to 1954, I feel I have an obligation to explain the circumstances of Mr.
Myers' connection with the Central.
Mr. Myers, who was not previously known to us personally, worked for the
Central for about G weeks around June 1948. He was employed to fill the position
of public relations representative at Cleveland after an orientation period at
New York headquarters. His work proved highly satisfactory, and he was well
liked by those with whom he came in contact at New York Central.
Before employing Mr. Myers we made what we felt was a thorough check,
having in mind that his background had been controversial. In disputes between
rival groups for control of the American Newspaper Guild and its general policies,
he had been called a fellow traveler because of his identification with one group,
and during World War II he had held executive positions with the American
Society for Russian War Eelief. Although I write from memory, I believe this
is the organization's title. Its two top ofiicers had been the late Allen Wardwell,
of the eminent and conservative law firm of Davis, Pope, Reid & Wardwell, and
Henry Alexander, then a vice president and now president of J. P. Morgan, Inc.
At the time of Mr. Myers' connection with the society, it had been noncontro-
versial because it was assisting one of our most active war allies. By 1948,
when Mr. Myers came to us on the recommendation of a respected mutual friend
who happened to be a neighbor of Mr. Myers, the temper of the country had
changed so that anything which had been connected with Russia seemed to have
become controversial.
I asked Wardwell, one of several persons I checked before we employed Mr.
Myers, "Is Myers a Communist?"
"No," declared Wardwell. "He is no more a Communist than I am, and Henry
Alexander will tell you the same thing."
When Mr. Myers had completed his orientation period and was about to go
to Cleveland, the Central issued the customary press release, which I had
arranged, and which I edited before leaving on a vacation trip to the Far West.
The announcement included frank references to Mr. Myers' previous connections
with the Newspaper Guild and the war relief organization and caused no excite-
ment among newspapers generally or within the Central.
But Mr. Myers apparently had an enemy on a weekly newspaper published in
your area. This enemy apparently called the press release to the attention of
someone on the New York World-Telegram, which then published a front-page
story headlined something like "Fellow Traveler Takes a Ride on the New York
Central."
Another Scripps-Howard newspaper, the Cleveland Press, subsequently printed
a portion of the World-Telegram story. No other New York or Cleveland news-
paper wrote anything on the subject and to the best of my knowledge there was
no other newspaper story except for one in the Westchester County weekly.
The World-Telegram article concerned itself with Mr. Myers' employment
background, which was no secret, and which he himself had supplied when
requesting a job. By its tone and words, the story implied that the Central had
been duped by a man who at the least was a fellow traveler, whereas the facts
were that the Central, before hiring Mr. Myers, had satisfied itself, if not
the World-Telegram, which we had not considered consulting, that Mr. Myers
was controversial but clean. The Central was not called for comment before
publication.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 489
When the story appeared, I was ou vacatiou in Portland, Oreg. When I re-
turned, my superior, C. R. Dugan, who had, with me, been responsible for the
employment of Mr. Myers, told me he had decided immediately that publica-
tion of the story automatically ended Mr. Myers' usefulness to the Central, since
he felt that the railroad should not be involved in needless controversy, par-
ticularly with a newspaper whose good will the Central valued.
There was an additional point that, had Mr. Myers remained with the
Central, his work might have been judged by company executives, human nature
being what it is, on the basis of suspicions engendered by the World-Telegram's
story, rather than on his abilities.
Mr. Morris. Just a minute, Mr. Myers. It is not your contention
that the World-Telegram story was not an accurate story, is it?
Mr. Myers. No. But may I finish ? There is one more paragraph.
Mr. Morris. Go ahead.
Mr. Myers (continuing) :
Without inviting or permitting any explanation from Mr. Myers, Mr. Dugan
told Mr. INIyers he had no knowledge or concern with the truth or falsity of the
World-Telegram's story, but that he felt publication of the article and head-
line had ended Mr. Myers' usefulness to the Central and accordingly was re-
questing Mr. Myers' immediate resignation, which he received. The story was
published about 3 o'clock one afternoon, and this took place the following
morning.
In brief, Mr. Myers was discharged by New York Central after about 6 weeks
with the railroad, because publication of the New York World-Telegram story
involved the Central in a controversy, and not because anyone at the Central
believed Mr. Myers was a Communist. Subsequently, at Mr. Dugan's request,
the Central's police department checked with the FBI on the matter and led us
to believe the FBI had no evidence justifying doubts as to ^Ir. Myers' loyalty.
I wanted to make the point perfectly clear that I have not at any
time in any employment concealed anything about my career or my
personal activities. I have nothing I am ashamed of.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Myers, you do not deny the factual report that
appeared in those two stories, do you ?
Mr. Myers. The chronological facts are correct. The implication
is what is erroneous.
Mr. Morris. It is the interpretation?
Mr. Myers. That is correct.
Mr. Morris. Now, do you deny at this time that the American-
Russian Institute, of which you were an executive director, was a
Communist-controlled organization ?
Mr. ]SIyers. At the time I was there, it certainly was not.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Chairman, may these two articles referred to by
Mr. Myers in the New York World-Telegram, dated July 21, 1948, and
July 19, 1948, go into the record.
Senator Jenner. They may go into the record.
(The articles referred to were marked "Exhibit No. 179 and No.
179-A" and are as follows:)
Exhibit No. 179
[New York World-Telegram, July 19, 1948]
Fellow Traveler Takes the New York Central
A fellow traveler turned up today as an employee of that great travel organi-
zation— the New York Central Railroad.
The Central, in a sedate announcement to financial departments, said it had
hired Fred Meyers as head of its public relations department with headquarters
In Cleveland.
Investigation by the World-Telegram revealed that Mr. Myers is a left-wing
newspaperman and editor who 2 years ago was elected executive director of the
490 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
American Russian Institute, listed by Attorney General Tom Clark as a sub-
versive organization.
Mr. Myers, who will replace James R. Brugger, was formerly editor of the
American Newspaper Guild's publication, the Guild Reporter, at the time the
guild was under leftwing control.
It was while he was editor that a minority report to the 1941. guild con-
vention asserted that the paper no longer represented the guild but "is con-
cerned definitely with the promulgation of the Communist Party line."
Mr. IMyers served as publicity chief for the Russian War Relief during the
war and in its concluding stages was executive director. He was honored by
the Russian Government with a medal, the order of the Red Banner.
Immediately prior to his appointment to the New York Central post, Mr.
Myers was connected with the left-wing magazine Readers Scope. The maga-
zine is operated by Leverett Gleason, well-known supporter of Communist causes.
Exhibit No. 179-A
[New York World-Telegram, July 21, 1948]
Pro-Commie Resigns New York Central Post
Fred Myers, disclosed by the World-Telegram to be a fellow traveler, has
resigned as chief of the public relations department of the Cleveland office of
the New York Central Railroad, a railroad spokesman announced today.
Mr. Myers' tenure with the railroad was short-lived. It was only last Monday
that the line announced his appointment to the Cleveland post.
However, the World-Telegram disclosed that he had been connected with the
American Russian Institute as executive director. The organization has been
listed by Attorney General Tom Clark as subversive.
Mr. Myers formerly was editor of the CIO American Newspaper Guild's
publication, the Guild Reporter, wlien the guild was under leftwing control,
and, during the war, was an official of the Russian War Relief.
Mr. Morris. What was your next employment, then, Mr. Myers ?
Mr. Myers. I believe that the next employment was the American
Humane Association.
Mr. Morris. Now, will you tell us about that ?
Mr. Myers. It is a national federation of humane societies, about
80 years old, and endowed. It participates in work of various kinds
to prevent cruelty, to protect animals and children, and the aged, from
mistreatment.
Mr. Morris. Now, what was your job with the American Humane
Society ?
Mr. Myers. I was editor of the National Humane Review.
Mr. Morris. Did you disclose to the officials of the American Hu-
mane Association the fact that you had been active in the American-
Russian Institute?
Mr. Myers. Yes ; in fact, I even showed them the clipping from the
World-Telegram.
Mr. Morris. Will you describe your duties with the publication of
the American Humane Society?
Mr. Myers. It was just an ordinary editorial job. It was a monthly
magazine devoted entirely to the work of the association and the
subjects in which it was interested.
Mr. Morris. What is the membership of that organization ?
Mr. Myers. I believe about 3,000 persons and about 200 societies.
Mr. Morris. Two hundred societies. And the membersliip of those
member societies is what swells the total to a very large number, is
it not?
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 491
Mr. ]Myers. Well, they are no( members of a very large association.
Mr. Morris. Now, did you, after you became the editor of their
publication, engage in an effort to take over control of that organi-
zation ?
Mr. Myers. I beg your pardon ?
Mr. Morris. After you became the editor of the publication of the
American Humane Society, did you engage in an effort to talve over
control of that organization ?
Mr. Myers. No.
Mr. Morris. Did you do anything to support a list of candidates
who were in opposition to the controlling force in the organization ?
Mr. Myers. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Will you tell us about that ?
Mr. Myers. Well, it was my opinion that the activities of the Ameri-
can Humane Association were pretty poorly conducted, that the poli-
cies being pursued were not those which were the wishes of the con-
tributors and members and those who had left endowments to the
organization, and that they were not, in short, very principled, and
when a slate of three directors to run against a slate nominated bv
• • • -I t
the board of directors was nominated m 1953, I certainly supported
the candidates who were competing with those nominated by the board
of directors.
Mr. Morris. The board of directors at that time, however, the
opposition slate to whom you were supporting, were your superiors,
were they not ?
JMr. Myers. That is right.
Mr. Morris. And then you elected to oppose them ?
Mr. Myers. That is right.
Mr. Morris. Now, will you tell us what efforts you engaged in in
support of this opposition slate?
Mr. Myers. Well, it was limited solely to correspondence with a
limited number of people. For obvious reasons, I couldn't engage
very actively.
Mr. Morris. Now, Mr. Myers, did you have access to the subscrip-
tion list of the organization?
Mr. Myers. To the what?
Mr. Morris. Subscription list, or the membership list?
Mr. Myers. Yes.
Mr. Morris. Did you make use of those lists in carrying out the
support of this rival organization, or this rival slate ?
Mr. Myers. No. Lest I leave a misunderstanding, I think I know
personally perhaps a thousand people in this movement. I wrote to
many people whom I know.
Mr. Morris. And where did you have their addresses?
Mr. Myers. I guess I have visited at least 500 of them, and all of
my life I have made a practice of keeping an address book of people
with whom I correspond.
Mr. Morris. So that it is your statement that you have the ad-
dresses of 1,000 members of the American Plumane Society in your
address book ?
Mr. Myers. No; I didn't sav a thousand. I don't Imow exactly.
But
Mr. Morris. I thought you said a thousand.
Mr. Myers. I said that I knew a thousand.
492 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Morris. But you liiive not cori-eppouded with tlint number?
Mr. Myers. I understand the import and the direction of your
questions. Perhaps I can shorten it.
Mr. Morris. Thank you. . ^
Mr. Myers. It has been charged before by certain officers of the
American Humane Association that their lists were misused by some-
one. I don't have any knowledge of any misuse of their lists, and
certainly I had no part in any such misuse of their lists. The people
who were active and who consulted with each other in support of the
slate which opposed the candidates of the board of directors, and which
slate, incidentally, was elected, included people who have been eminent
for many years in the work of humane societies all over the country.
It included people who are officers of humane societies all over the
country, and a list was compiled by consultation of many people.
Lists were supplied from all parts of the country. And it was
not at all necessary to misuse the lists available in the headquarters
of the American Humane Association, and I know of no such misuse.
:Mr. Morris. Now, as a result of this activity, was your employment
with the American Humane Association terminated?
lilr. Myers. It is a nice point. Substantially, yes. I resigned, but
liad I not resigned, they would have beat me to it.
Mr. Morris. And then did you endeavor to form your own organi-
zation, Mr. Myers ?
Mr. Myers. There again, I must clarify. I did not endeavor to
organize my own organization, no. There was quite a group of peo-
ple who participated in organizing the National Humane Society,
and I certainly was no more than one of a group.
INIr. Morris. You were the leader of the group, were you^not?
Mr. Myers. No ; I think not.
Mr. Morris. TNHiat is your position now ?
Mr. Myers. I am executive director.
Mr. Morris. Isn't that the principal office of the new organization?
Mr, Myers. No. I am very much subservient to my board of direc-
tors, and the chief officer is the chairman of the board.
Mr. Morris. Wlien was this new organization formed?
]Mr. Myers. November 1954.
Mr. Morris. And what work do you do with that organization?
Mr. Myers. I am in charge of rtr.ff work, which is devoted to work-
ing on cruelties of national scope, as distinguished from those which
are commonly handled by local societies.
Mr. Morris. Is it your testimony, Mr. Myers, that you have never
been a member of the Communist Party ?
Mr. Myers. That is right.
Mr. Morris. You have never attended closed meetings of the Com-
munist Party ?
Mr. Myers. No.
Senator Jenxer. And Mr. Clayton Knowles falsified when he said
that, reading from our record :
Mr. Kxowi.es. No: he was not the first person. He was the person at St.
Louis who said, "Would you like to come around and hear a summary of what
went on here, an analysis of the effectiveness of this convention?"
Mr. SouRwiNE. And you knew him to he a Communist?
Mr. KxowLES. I (lid not then, hut he later — it was he who disclosed when
we got there that this was a Communist meeting.
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 493
In other words, Mr. Clayton Knowles, of the New York Times,
falsified when he stated that?
Mr, Myers. Mr. Knowles was in error.
Mr. Morris. Thank you, Mr. Myers.
Senator Jenner. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Morris. We have one more witness, Mr. Eogers.
Mr. Myers. Judge Morris, it doesn't matter to me whether it is on
the record or not, but I don't know whether you have taken note of
the fact that, according to the newspaper reports, Mr. Knowles didn't
even know my name correctly.
Mr. Morris. I think we have read very carefully. The name used
was "Myer" at the time.
Mr. Myers. That is right.
Mr. Morris. But Mr. Knowles went on to say that you were then
the chairman of the chapter of the New York Mirror Guild, the News-
paper Guild.
Mr. Myers. I am only
Mr. Morris. And you acknowledged that at that time you did have
that position.
Mr. Myers. That is correct. But I am only making the point that
Mr. Knowles' memory as to my identity had some weak spots. And I
have wondered repeatedly, since I read in the newspaper that he had
stated that I was a Communist and since it was revealed to me in my
earlier appearance before this committee that he had said that I
invited him to such a meeting, how in the world he could remember
the detail of such contacts in such a meeting as that convention was,
because I for the life of me could not recall with whom I talked, at
what meetings, about what, and I don't remember Mr. Knowles, even
though I have tried to remember Mr. Knowles. I wouldn't know him
if I saw him. And I just don't see how he can remember such a thing
when I can't.
Mr. Morris, Thank you, Mr. Myers.
Mr. Gerald Rogers,
Mr. Rogers. Yes, sir.
Senator Jenner. Do you swear the testim.ony you give in this hear-
ing will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so
help you God ?
Mr. Rogers, Yes, sir.
TESTIMONY OF GERALD W. ROGEES, FINANCE SECRETARY, AMERI-
CAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION, DENVER, COLO.
Mr. Morris. Mr. Rogers, will you give your full name and address
to the reporter.
Mr. Rogers. Gerald W. Rogers, and I am the finance secretary of
the American Humane Association of Denver.
Mr. Morris. ^Yhfit is the American Humane Association?
Mr. Rogers. It is a national federation of humane societies con-
cerned with the prevention of cruelty to children and animals.
Mr. Morris. What is the membership and constituency of that or-
ganization ?
Mr. Rogers. As of yesterday morning, we had 312 member soci-
eties—those were organizations— and 2,653 individual members.
494 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTWITY IN THE UNITED STATES
]Mr. Morris. Have yon made any effort to determine what the
collective membership of the constitnent organizations is?
Mr, KoGERS. Jndge Morris, it is a matter abont which I hardly
think anybodj^ conld be accurate. But to the best of our knowledge,
the 312 societies in the United States would have in the memberships
of their own, several hundred thousand.
Mr. Morris. Collectively?
Mr. Rogers. That is right.
Mr. Morris. Now, do you have a treasury?
Mr. Rogers. Yes, we do.
Mr. Morris. Approximately what is the amount of money in your
treasury ?
Mr. Rogers. As of January 1, 1956, we had an endowment fund of
approximately tliree million and a half.
Mr. Morris, Dollars?
Mr, Rogers, That is right.
Mr. Morris. Now, do you know Fred Myers, the witness here, who
appeared here this morning?
Mr, Rogers, Yes, I do,
Mr, jNIorris. Did you have a positioii with the American Humane
Association at the time that he was retained as the editor of its
publication ?
Mr. Rogers. No, sir, I did not. That was prior to my time.
Mr. Morris. Now, what position did Mr. Myers hold with your
organization ?
Mr. Rogers, He was the editor of the National Humane Review.
Mr. Morris. Did you know Mr. Myers ?
Mr. Rogers. Yes, very well.
Mr, Morris. Did you know of this effort that he has testified to this
morning, to support a slate in opposition to the controlling group in
the organization?
Mr. Rogers. Of my own knowledge, I learned it for the first time
this morning, although we, of course, were fairly sure that such was
the case.
^Ir. Morris. Do you know of anyone, Mr. Rogers, who can testify
to Mr. Myers' efforts on behalf of the American Humane Association?
Mr. Rogers. WpII, I know quite a few people who say they can, but
again, whether they know it of tlieir actual knowledge or merely sus-
pect it, as I did personally, I couldn't say.
Mr. Morris. But you are not com]:»etent to testify to that?
Mr, Rogers, Not on that point, no, sir.
Mr. Morris. I do not think we should take testimony from this wit-
ness, Mr. Chairman,
Senator Jkxner. Thank you very much.
The connnittee will stand in i*ecess.
(Wlierenpon, at 11 : 50 n. m., the subconunittee adjourned.)
At a public hearing of the subcommittee on March 16. 1056, at which
Senator Artinu- V. Watkins pi-esided. the following rc(;ord was made:
Senator Watktns. The connnittee will be in session.
Mr. Morris, Mr. Chairman, there are no witnesses at this session.
We have some documents to ]:)ut in the record and an inaccuracy that
was made yesterday to be rectified.
Yesterday, iii the course of Fred Myers' testimony, the subcom-
mittee h"ni(1 Hint witness read from a letter which he states was pro-
SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES 495
vidod by Rayniond F. Blosser, piil.licUy director of the New York
Central. The paragraph of tlie Blosser letter quoted by Mr. Myers
read:
In brief, Mr. Myers was discharged by tlie New York Central after about 6
weeks witli the railroad because imblicatiou of the New York World-Telegram
story involved the Central in a controversy and not because anyone at the Central
believed Mr. Myers was a Communist. Subsequently at Mr. Dugan's request the
Central's police department checked with the FBI on the matter and led us to
believe that the FBI had no evidence justifying doubts as to Mr. Myers' loyalty.
That is the end of the quote.
Now, just in order to keep the record straight, Senator, this morn-
ing the committee staff checked with the Federal Bureau of Investi-
gation, and we were informed by that organization that their records
show that on July 20, 1948, an attorney representing the New York
Central did ask the FBI whether or not it possessed anv derogatory
information about Fred Myers. We have learned from the FBI that
that attorney was informed that longstanding regulations prohibited
the FBI from giving any information in its files to an agency outside
the Federal Government concerning Mr. Myers or any of the organ-
izations with which he was affiliated, and his request was denied. '
Mr. Chairman, I would like to put several letterheads of the Ameri-
can-Kussian Institute into the record.
Mr. Mandel, will you identify them, please?
Mr. Mandel. The letterhead *of the American-Eussian Institute for
Cultural Relations With the Soviet Union, 56 West 45th Street New
York, dated July 14, 1938.
(The letterhead referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 180" and
reads as follows :)
Exhibit No. 180
The American-Russian Institute for Cultural
Relations With the Soviet Union, Inc
Fifty-six West Forty-fifth Street, New York, July IJ,, 1938.
Telephone : Murray Hill 2-0312 Cable address : Amruscul
board of directors
Mrs. Kathleen Barnes
Aaron Bodansky
Edward C. Carter
Mrs. Ethel Clyde
Louis Connick
George S. Counts
Wm. O. Field, Jr.
Lewis Gannett
Mortimer Graves
Wm. S. Graves
Alcan Hirsch
John A. Kingsbury
Mary van Kleeck
Wm. W. Lancaster
William Lescaze
William Allan Neilson
Mrs. George F. Porter
Raymond Robins
board of directors — con.
Ceroid T. Robinson
John Rothschild
Mrs. Richard B. Scandrett, Jr.
Whitney Seymour
Henry E. Sigerist
Lee Simonson
Vilhjalmur Stefansson
Graham R. Taylor
Allen Wardweil
Maurice Wartheim
Mrs. Efrem Zimbalist
executive secretary
Virginia Burdick
editor
Harriet Moore
Many subscribers to the publications of The American-Russian Institute have
requested information as to how they might investigate more fully the cultural
developments in the Soviet Union that are regularly summarized in the Bulletin
and Quarterly.
For their benefit and for other serious students of social, economic, and inter-
national affairs, we have made available to members of the Institute our unique
496 SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES
library of some 70 periodicals relating to the Soviet Union. Of those published
in English there are 10 monthlies, 4 semimonthlies, 10 weeklies, and 2 dailies.
Those published in Russian include 20 monthlies, 8 semimonthlies, 10 weeklies,
and 6 dailies. The fields of specialization, which are covered in detail by this
collection of current information, include the following :
Agriculture Foreign Relations Public Health
Arctic Government Religion
Art Housing Recreation
Aviation Industry Science
Cinema Labor Theater
Cooperatives Literature Trade
Defense Music Women
Economics Nationalities Youth
Education Philosophy
Finance Planning
If your major interests lie within one or more of these fields, you will no
doubt wish to become a member of the Institute. The fee is only $5 a year
($3 for those living outside the New York Metropolitan Area). Membership
will include not only subscription to the two Institute publications, but also
the privilege of consulting all the periodicals on file in our library. Arrange-
ments can be made for borrowing them by mail. Translation, abstracting, and
bibliographical service are also available.
There are other benefits and advantages of membership in the Institute, as
you will see from the enclosed leaflet. We shall be very glad to welcome you
as a member and to arrange a pro rata transfer of your subscription to a mem-
bership basis.
Sincerely yours,
Virginia Burdick.
VB/cw
INDEX
Note. — The Senate Internal Security Subcommittee attaches no significance
to tlie mere fact of the appearance of the name of an individual or an organi-
zation in this index.
Page
Albany, N. Y 487
Alexander, Henry 488
American Ambassador 482
American Humane Association 487, 490-492, 494
American Humane Association of Denver 493, 494
American Newspaper Guild 476-488
American Peace Mobilization 479
American Red Cross 482
American-Russian Institute 471-473, 482, 483, 485, 489, 490, 495
American Society for Russian Relief 482,483,485,488
Atkinson, Brooks 484
Attorney General 473, 485
Blosser, Raymond F 488,495
Bridges, Harry 479, 480
Broun, Heywood 475, 477
Bunker, Ellsworth 482
O
California Committee on Un-American Activities 487
Carter 473
Carter, Edward C 484
Carter, Mrs 473
Carter, Mr 486
Central 498
Central's Press Bureau 488
Cleveland 488
Cleveland Press 488
Collins, Henry H., Jr 483
"Comments by Officers of the U. S. S. R. I. P. R. on Present Crisis in the
Far East" 473
Communist 471, 475-^78, 485, 487, 489, 492, 493, 495
Communist caucus 475
Communist-controlled 489
Communist faction 479
Communist Party 474-476, 478, 483, 492
D
Davis, Pope, Reid & Wardwell 488
Dugan, C. B 489
E
Exhibit No. 176 (The Guild Reporter, May 1, 1941)— Ex-Red Guildsman
Strikes at Bridges 480, 481
Exhibit No. 176-A (The Guild Reporter, February 1, 1941)— Peace Meet
Asks Help of Guild 481
II INDEX
Page
Kxhibit No. 177 (New York Times, August 29, 1945, p. 8) — Russian Aid
Cliief Gets Soviets Honor 4S4, ISu
Exhibit No. 178 (New York Times, August 16, 1948, p- 2) — American
Relief Workers Tell of Conditions in Russia 486,487
Exhibit No. 179 (New York World-Telegram, July 19, 3948)— Fellow
Traveler Takes the New York Central 489,490
Exhibit No. 179-A (New York World-Telegram, July 21, 1948)— Pro-
Commie Resigns New York Central Post 490
Exhibit No. 180 (56 West 45th St., New York, July 14, 1938)— The
American-Russian Institute for Cultural Relations with the Soviet
Union, Inc., letterhead 495,496
F
FBI 489, 495
"Fellow Traveler Takes a Ride on the New York Central" 488
Fifth amendment 483
G
Gelfan, Harriet Moore 483
Georgian Republic 486
Germans 481
Government, Federal 495
Guild Reporter 475, 477-^79
H
Hitler-Stalin Pact 479, 481
Honig, Nathaniel 479
I
Institute of Pacific Relations 471,473,484-487
Internal Security Subcommittee 471,472
J
Jenner, Senator William E 471
K
Kalinin, President 483
Kansas City Journal 474
Kaufman, Milton 475
Kislova, Miss 473
Knowles, Clayton 474, 476, 492, 493
Kohlberg, Alfred 486
L
Lancaster, Mr 485
Lancaster, W. W 482
Leningrad 486
London 484
M
MVl) 471
Mandel, Mr 472
Military Intelligence Service 472
Minsk 486
Moore, Harriet 482, 483
Morgan, J. P., Inc 488
Morris, Judge 493, 494
Moscow 473, 486
Motylev 473
Myer 493
INDEX TTT
Page
Myers, Fred (testimony of) 473^94
4328 Brandywine NW., Washington, D. C 473
Executive director, National Humane Society 473
1923, reporter for Kansas City Journal 474
1931, employed with United Press 474
1934-37, employed with New York Mirror 474
1935-37, chairman New York Daily Mirror unit of New York News-
paper Guild 474
1939-40, editor. The Guild Reporter — I 477
1941-August 1946, public relations director, American Society for
Russian Relief of National War Fund 479
Executive director of American-Russian Institute 482
Aug. 29, 1945, received Order of the Red Banner from President Kali-
nin of the Supi'eme Soviet 433
Summer 1946, went to Soviet Union " 486
Wrote articles for Readers Scope 437
American Humane Association. Albany, N. Y 487
June 1948, employed by New York Central 487
Editor, National Humane Review ~~~ 49O
Denied membership in Communist Party 492
N
National American Society for Russian Relief 479^ 483
National Humane Review 490' 494
National Humane Society 473' 492
National War Fund .______"_"_ ' 479
New York ~ ~ 4gg
New York Central ~~~ 487^89_ 495
New York Central Railroad ' 433
New York City ._"______"_ 473 482
New York Daily Mirror unit of the New York Newspaper Guild.Z 474' 493
New York Mirror ' 4^^
New York Mirror Guild " _~ ~ 2 493
New York Times 1117474, 4837486, 493
New York World-Telegram 433 495
Newspaper Guild "_! 474475" 477' 493
Order of the Red Banner 4g3
O
Order of the Red Banner of Labor IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZZI 484
P
Pasch, Victor ^^r
Philadelphia ~_ ~_ ~ _ _~ _~~Z~ 473
Political Intelligence Service I__rZ_I Z~Z~_~ZZZ 472
Portland, Oreg ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ 409
President's War Relief Control Board Z__ZZ ZZZZ_ 479
B
Rastvorov, Yuri ^~
Readers Scope ZZZZ Z~~ "__ Z Z~ZZ~ 487
Rogers, Gerald W. (testimony of) ZZZ.ZZ.ZZZZ.ZZZ" J __ JZZ~4~93 494
Finance secretary of American Humane Association of Denver" ZZ ' 49^
Russia ~ .w^
Russian Relief *_ _ Z ~ ~ Z ZZ___ Z 484
Russian War Relief, Inc --2—-~~"lI~_I 2~" ~~Z~ 486
S
St. Louis 4-4 .Q2
St. Louis convention ——-—- *<4, jyj
San Francisco ~~~~ ~_~ ~~ _ ?io
Scripps Howard _Z_ 7" ~~ 400
Sherman """ *°^
IV INDEX
Page
Socialist 477
South American 482
Soviet Intelligence Service 472
Soviet, Supreme 483
Soviet Union 472, 481, 482, 486
Stalin 487
Stalingrad 486
Sterling 482
T
Tass 472
Tbilisi 486
Tokyo 472
U
U. S. S. R 473
United Press 474
United States 472, 474, 482, 494
V
VOKS 471, 472
VOX 473
W
Wardwell, Allen 488
Ware, Harold, cell of the Communist Pary 483
Watkins, Senator Arthur V 494
Westchester County weekly 488
World-Telegram 489
World War II 488
Wright 482
o
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