Evening star., 1947-10-21

CALLS HOLLYWOOD "RED
! eran screen actor, shown as /
! Un-American Activities today
;, the main centers of Communis
long jurisdictional strike in Holly
wood.
Mr.. Menjou went on to tell tn
committee of a meeting of tn
Screen Actors Guild. he had at
! tended to discuss the strike. HI
said Ronald Reagan, president, o
the guild, described for more thai
an hour and half his efforts to &c
the strike settled and his final con
clusion that the strike was a juris
dictional one which Mr.. Sorrel
didn't want to settle.
Mr.. Sorrell followed Mr.. Reagan
as speaker, Mr.. Menjou recalled
Then, the witness went on. Edward
!; G. Robinson, Paul Henreid, Hum'
Cronyn and Alexander Knox al
rose to advocate that the guild sid
with Mr.. Sorrell.
! Says Reds Don't Want Peace.
That would have meant NOR,
trouble, more chaos and that tn,
union was under the domination O.
Communists" Mr.. Menjou ex'
planned Fortunately, sanity pre-.
vailed and Mr.. Reagan was upheld.
He charged that the 'Communist
Party has no intention of having
peace of any kind in Hollywood"
When Mr.. Thomas referred tt
charges made by those opposing thu
investigation that the committet
was trying to censor the screen, Mr.
Menjou snorted:
| Its juvenile to say this com.
mittee would try to control the
motion picture industry.
don't. see how that statement coulc
be made by any man with the intel
ligence of louise"
He described as innocent dupes'
the Hollywood celebrities who tele.
graphed q statement that they
were shocked and outraged" bJ
the inquiry.
Mr.. Menjou repeatedly called fol
legislation to outlaw the Communis
Party in America.
Communists Underground.
Because the party is not outlawed
he said, producers can't take actor
against the Communists.
1t was his theory that the Com.
munists are underground now ant
that if the party was outlawed, "the!
could be watched" An actor witt
Communist aff1liations, he said
wouldn't last long"
. Asked to give an example of be.
havior which might be considered
Communist, he replied:
: Attending meetings at which
Paul Robeson appeared, applaudint
him and listening to him singing hi!
; Communist songs in America.
would be ashamed to be seen doing
, such a thing"
The witness. in answer to othe,
questions, said the Communists il
this country are "unquestionably'
agents of the Comintern and "defin
itely' engaged in reasonable &C
tivitieS.
Mr.. Menjou said he first becam,
interested in Communism durini
World War I when he was with tn,
5th Infantry and was stationed IL
the birthplace of Karl Marx"
Tried to Read "Das Kapital."
II tried to read his 'Das Kapital,
and it was tough job" he re-
marked.
Hollywood became aware of Com.
munism during the early 1930s, Mr.
Menjou continued. Groups" begar
to be formed, and many Of them
have been labeled Communist.
, front"
: One of these" Mr.. Menjou wen
on was the Independent Citizens
, Committee of the Arts, Sciences ane
!; Professions. 1t was labeled a Com.
:. munst-front organization, and wher
it's directors at board meeting re.
fused to make an anti Communis1
statement there were wholesale de.
sertions from it.
Among the first to go was it'
president, James Roosevelt.
Tn my opinion, the people re.
, manning in 1t would be Commu'
, nists."
Mr.. Menjou received an ovation
as he left the stand He bowed hi!
head graciously toward the spec.
tators.
Kenny Assails Committee.
AS the hearing recessed for lunch
; reporters and spectators were giver
copies of statement by Robert w
Kenny, attorney for a group OF Is
prospective witnesses.
In it, Mr.. Kenny charged the com
mittee was denying "the basic guar
antee of due process" in refusing
permission to cross-examine wit.
nesses.
i If he had been permitted to cross
examine Jack l.. Warner, executive
producer of Warner Bros, yester.
day, Mr.. Kenny said, 1T woult
: have been possible to develop speed.
lily that not one single line Of sub.
: versive propaganda was ever sough1
to be introduced into any one o.
the films he mentioned by any on.
, of the writers that he named"
The morning session ended with
, an announcement by Chairman
Thomas that tomorrow's witnesse.
will include the following screer
| writer's:
Rupert Hughes, Morrie Ryskind
Oliver Carlson, Howard Rushmore
Richard Macauley, Fred Niblo, jr.
and Ayn Rand.
, Miss Rand, author of The Foun.
!, tainhead," testified yesterday.
, Before the second day of tn,
hearing opened, Paul v. McNutt
special counsel for the Motion Pic.
, ture Association of America ant
| the Association Of Motion Pictur,
, Producers, issued . statement urg
4