Evening star., 1938-08-30

Other organizations which were tes-
titled to as constituting integral parts
Of the united front" of the Com
munist party in America were the
Workers Alliance. the International
Labor Defense, the Civil Liberties I'm
ion, American Student Union, Ameri-
can Youth Congress and other Or
carnations which I do not have the
time to mention. The testimony and
other evidence presented to the COM
mlttee as tending to show that these
organizations are united front" or
CARNATIONS of the Communist party
are as follows:
!. The presence upon their Board
of Directors of well-known Commu-
mist leaders or the testimony that stra-
tegic positions in the organizations are
filled by well-known Communists.
2. The charge that while these or
ganizations are very vociferous in their
denunciation of Nazi-ism and Fascism
they either commend or fail to con-
demn Communism
Communist Methods.
3. Statements from their Official
publications are made by some of their
leaders which tend to show a strong
sympathy for the Soviet Union.
4. The methods, tactics and strategy
employed by these organizations which
it is claimed have all the earmarks Of
the Communist program.
S. The testimony Of DR.. j. B. Mat
thews, who apparently help to or
ganize many of these front" organi-
cations and who occupied important
positions IN them as shown by PAM
phlets, letterheads. etc.
6. Statements by the Communist
party that some of these organizations,
if not all of them. are integral parts
of the united front"
Let me make it clear that the evi-
dence shows thus far that the over
whelming majority of the members of
such organizations as the American
League for Peace and Democracy and
the Workers Alliance are not Commu-
mist and are wholly unaware of any
Communist influence.
One Of the purposes Of this investi-
CATION IS to acquaint these people with
the facts. also want to make it
plain that there is no evidence that
Subversive activities are confined to
any one race or group in the United
States. The evidence thus far heard
further indicates that the Commu-
nists have gained definite foothold
in certain labor organizations affiliated
with the c. I. o. I do not mean by
this that they constitute a majority
OF the membership of such organi-
cations. AS matter of fact, they
form very small but effective minor
ity. They appear to have succeeded
in some cases in seizing strategic posi-
tions. This is indicated not only by
the evidence presented to this COM
mittee but also by what is happen
Ing in the automobile union and in
the seamen's union on the West Coast
where the members of the union are
themselves waging war against Com
munlSt control No finer or more
patriotic thing could happen than for
responsible labor leaders to take the
initiative in driving these Communists
from their ranks because We all know
that the overwhelming majority Of
laboring people, both organized and
unorganized, are opposed to Com
munism.
Federal Thoofnr plo y~ r;%~d
The Committee also heard testimony
dealing with communistic activities
in the Federal Theater project in
New York. Some of those who testi-
fed are now employed on this project.
In addition to their testimony with
reference to this activity, there was
presented to the committee a num-
ber of plays that were put on by
this theater project I wish that I
had the time to read some of the
excerpts from these plays. They at
tack the capitalistic system and ridi-
cule the Government of the United
States. These plays, together with
Communist literature and pamphlets
which were distributed on the project
and exhibited on the bulletin boards
tend to corroborate the testimony of
numerous witnesses to the effect that
Communism is playing no small part
in the activities of the Federal Theater
project.
Two witnesses who are veterans Of
the Spanish War testified that the
Communists induced them to enlist on
the Loyalist side. They asserted that
the Loyalist cause was under the con-
troll and domination Of Communists
and that the American boys who are
now in Spain are virtual prisoners.
In connection with this testimony
there was introduced in evidence a
letter written by one of these veterans
to his mother while he was in the hos
pital which graphically describes the
situation as this veteran viewed it.
have very briefly reviewed some
Of the important testimony which we
heard. have formed no definite con-
clusion and will not do so until all
the evidence Is in. There are two
dangers that must be avoided in deal
ing with the subject Of this inquiry.
There is tendency to exaggerate the
extent and seriousness of subversive
activities in the United States. There
Is also the danger Of Understanding
or minimizing the extent and scope of
such activities. One Of the arguments
most generally used to minimize and
ridic,11A the iv,onorf mo of tbic -, a ~ -
is the often repeated statement that
the Communists only form . small
fraction Of our population. This Is
true. but at the same time it must not
be forgotten that when the Commu-
nists seized control of Russia they did
not constitute per cent of the popu-
lation. The Communist program does
not call for large numbers.. Their OBJ
jective Il to form ana maintain q wen