Evening star., 1942-05-29

cided. The question is substantially
one of credibility."
Names Front Organizations.
In addition to his general finding
that the Communist party teaches
the violent overthrow of existing
governments, including the United
States" Mr.. Biddle discussed Com
munist methods of penetration"
and named some groups as front
organizations"
The (Communist) party took
control Of the Workers Alliance as
medium through which to organ
lie the unemployed" Mr.. Biddle said.
Ito develop widespread militant
mass struggles, and to build the
revolution through association In
a militant class-conscious unem-
ployed organization
"Other Communist front organiZa-
tions were the International Labor
Defense, whose immediate purpose
was to defend Communists, but
among whose members were many
nom Communists unaware of its
Communist control: the All-Amer-
lean Anti-Imperialist League, the
American Negro Labor Congress,
and the American League Against
War and Fascism"
Early in his statement Mr.. Biddle
set forth that the American section
Of the Third International, which
grew into the Communist Party of
the U. S. A., had adopted a pro-
gram declaring:
THE Communist party will sys-
tematically and persistently propa-
gate the idea of the inevitability Of
and necessity for violent revolution
and will prepare the workers for
armed insurrection as the only
means of overthrowing the capitalist
state"
Then he recounted propaganda
activities of the party and discussed
its purported use Of other organiza-
tions as a screen.
Testimony on front organiza-
tions,' Mr.. Biddle wrote, showed
that they were represented to the
public for some legitimate reform
objective, but actually used by the
Communist party to carry on its
activities pending the time when
the Communists believe they can
seize power through revolution"
Union Penetration Urged.
penetration into trade unions
was strongly emphasized in Com
muniSt literature, and conversion Of
their members by constant agita-
ton and. propaganda Reforms in
the labor movement should be ac-
cepted as screens behind which rev.
olutionary activity could be car
ried on"
From his review of the evidence,
Mr.. Biddle found:
THAT the Communist Party of
the United States of America, from
the time of its inception to the
present time, is an organization that
writes, circulates, distributes, prints,
publishes and displays printed mat
ter advising, advocating. or teach
ing the overthrow by force and vio-
lence of the Government of the
United States. =
THAT the Marine Workers In
dustrial Union was part of the
Communist Party, dominated and
controlled by it ="
Mr.. Bridges, now free under $1,000
bond. will be re-arrested. Mr. Biddle
explained at a press conference an
nouncing his decision that bond
could be arranged Immediately, and
Mr.. Bridges then could attack the
order with habeas corpus proceed
ing in Federal District Court.
Lands Held Hearing.
Two immigration officials on the
West Coast instituted deportation
proceedings against Mr.. Bridges
September %, 1897 The matter
led to some intradepartmental
squabbles, including the loss of
the original papers sent from
Seattle, before Secretary of Labor
Perkins designated Dean James M.
Lands of the Harvard Law School,
now civilian defense director, to
conduct a hearing at st. Fran
cisco.
Dean Lands advised the Sec
retary of Labor, in an 10000
word report, that the evidence
had not established that Mr.. Bridges
was either member or an affiliate
of the Communist party. Miss
Perkins then Cancelled the proceed
ings.
In the fall of 1910, Associate
Justice Robert H. Jackson, then At
torney General, ordered Director j.
Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation to make thorough
new investigation Of Mr.. Bridges.
Judge Sears, retired member of
the New York Court of Appeals,
was selected to conduct the hearing,
which ran from March 81 to June
IL. Judge Sears ruled on September
30 that the evidence showed that
the Communist party from its in
ception had believed in, advised,
advocated and taught the over
throw by force and violence of the
United States Government, and
that Mr.. Bridges was member of
such an organization.
Judge Sears finding was over
turned unanimously by the Immi-
grafton Board of Appeals on Janu-
ary S, and the case then went to
the Attorney General for review.