} a : i FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION THIS case ORIGINATED AT SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA ~ mA FILENO. 100=1465 REPORT MADE AT . DATE WHEN MADE WHICH MABE , REPORT MADE BY SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF, | 6/9/41 . | 3/735/19/41 |  OTHO A EZELL G.C. | TITLE ra <P . CHARACTER OF CASE 4 JOHN PITTMAN INTERNAL SECURITY (C) SYNOPSISOF FacTs: Subject repertedly bern Georgia resides 1667 Hyde St., San Francisco, and is employed as Foreign Editor of Peoples World, West Coast Communist newspaper, San — Francisco. Confidentiad. Informant SF=2 reports subject is negro; is married to MERLE BETH PITTMAN, white, who ,is employed as stenographer for Communist law firm of ' Gladstein, Grossman, Margolis & Sawyer » attorneys for HARRY BRIDGES. Custodial detention memorandum being submitted, -Pp- DETAILS: The following is a summary of the information appearing .. in the files of the San Francisco Office concerning the ~ above named subject, whose name is being submitted to the Bureau for consideration for custodial detention in the — event of a national emergency, A custodial detention memo- randum is being submitted, NAME: JOHN PITTMAN ADDRESS: 1667 Hyde Street, San Francisco, California, former addresses: 1028 Montgomery Street, 1403 4 Montgomery Street, 2327 Dana Street, Berkeley, OCCUPATION: Subject is employed as Foreign Editor for the PEOPLES WORLD, West Coast Communist newspaper, 611 583 Market Street, San Francisco, California, ; r APPROVED AND SPECIAL AGENT FORWARDED: iy tO ' Lig IN_ CHARGE 2 4S . i is | DO NOT WRITE IN THESE SPACES _ f- aan f° > 4 {} ' - a COPIES OF THIS REPORT ~ Washington Field SN a £ (Gay - G2, Presidio, San Francisco . toe uv S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1941 —O- 281888 HW 53130 DBocld:323035381 Page 2?
HW 53130 CITIZENSHIP; The San Francisco Police Department reports subject was born in Georgia. Therefore, he is probably a U. S. citizen. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA: Confidential Informant SF-296 reports that a member of the Communist Party from September 1936 to February 1937 had occasion to view the records of the Newspaper Guild Fraction of theCommunist Party, and among the names listed was the name of the subject, who is identified as holding a position at the PEOPLES WORLD newspaper, a Communist organ. According to this informant, subject attended Communist Party meetings of the Newspaper Guild Fraction during the time from September 1936 to February 1937 while this informant was a member of the Party. Confidential Informant SF-296 further advises that subject's wife MERLE PITTMAN, is believed white, and quit her position at the C.IeO0. to sccept a position at the state headquarters of the Communist Party, 121 Haight Street, San Francisco. Confidential Informant SF-2 advised that subject, a negro, is employed as Foreign Editor of the PEOPLES WORLD newspaper, West Coast Communist organ, and stated that he and his wife reside at 1667 Hyde Street. This informant reports thet subject's wife, MERLE PITTMAN, is believed to be employed as a stenographer at the offices of Gladstein, Grossman, Margolis & Sawyer, local Communist attorneys " who are defending HARRY BRIDGES. This informant, SF-2, further states that subject asso= ciates with WILLIAM SCHNEIDERMANN, Secretary of the 13th District of the Communist Party for the State of California; that subject met with JAMES W. FORD, Vice-Presidential candidate of the Communist Farty in Los Angeles, California in October 1940. The 1940 register of Voters in the general election reflects that subject's wife, Mrs. MERLE PITTMAN, residing at 1028 Montgomery Street, is a registered voter of the Communist Party. This lists her cccupation as a steno- grapher. , &.San Francisco newspaper recently carried an article > which stated that "Vanessi's" a prominent restaurant, refused to seat a mixed party of white and black, which party included the singer PAUL ROBSON, and others who consisted of JOHN PITTMAN, a negro, a white woman also named PITTMAN, as being part of the party. It is believed that this was JOHN PITTMAN's wife, MERLE PITTMAN, and the Communist attorneys are now suing "Vanessi's" restaurahte DoclId: 32303581 Page 3 ’