Evening star., 1950-02-23
Former FbI Informer
Says Steve Nelson
Called u. ). Enemy
By Robert K. Welsh

oy koDert Il. WolSh
A witness told the House Com
mittee on Un-American Activities
today that Steve Nelson, Com
munist Party leader, often called
the United States an enemy"
Nelson, the witness added, also
declared the Communist Party
favored overthrow of this Govern
ment.
Matthew Cvetic of Pittsburgh,
who was an FBI underground
worker in the Communist Party
for seven years. told the commit
tee that Nelson also made the fol-
lowing statements to him within
the last year:
I'VE have the atom bomb now
and the enemy (meaning the
United States, won't be in such
damned hurry to start a war.
Liquidation in China.
1--WE are going to have the biggest
liquidation of the peoples enemies
in China since the 1917 revolu-
ton. We can take all the help we
get in money. materials and ma
chinery from the suckers over here
because it will hasten the day of
revolution"
Mr. Cvetic explained that Nell
son referred to the Communists
when he used the word "we" and
the United States when he said
enemy"
The witness disclosed that he
turned over those statements to
the FBI soon after Nelson made
them. Nelson. regional organizer
for the Communist Party in West
ern Pennsylvania, has refused on
several occasions to answer ques-
tions before the House committee.
Within the last two years the COM
mittee was particularly eager to
learn whether he had any part in
helping Soviet agents get atomic
information from scientists in
California.
American Communist leaders
have become very careful" about
using the words violent over
throw of the Government" but
their instruction books and party
decisions clearly advocate such
action, Mr.. Cvetic said.
Saw Browder Expelled.
He told how he attended the
1945 Communist Party meeting at
which former Chairman Earl
Browder was expelled because "he
advocated peaceful transition
from capitalism to socialism" The
American Communist Party, act
ing on orders from abroad, Mr..
Cvetic testified, went back to the
theory of violent overthrow"
The witness said Nelson and
other party leaders constantly re-
ferred to the Soviet Government
as "a peoples democracy" and to
the United States as IAN impe-
rialist aggressor."
MIR. Cvetic declared he was con-
Vlnced that every American Com
munist in t'good standings in the
party would support the Soviet
Union in the event of war with the
United States and would do so
even to the point of revolution"
This prompted Committee Coun-
sci Frank s.. Tavenner to recall
that Nelson last year refused to
answer a committee question
whether he would support the
United States or Russia in event
Of war.
Radio Broadcast Described,
Radio program activities said by
Mr.. Cvetic to have been prepared
by Communist leaders in the Pitts
burgh area also came in for COM
mittee attention.
Henry Wallace Mentioned.
Mr.. Cvetic brought former Vice
President Henry A. Wallace and
the Progressive Party into his
testimony yesterday.
He asserted Mr.. Wallace con-
ferred with him and another well
known" Pittsburgh Communist in
1948 about getting support for his
third-party presidential campaign.
Mr.. Wallace commented at his
home in South Samel, N. Y, last
night:
Il can say with absolute fiat
ness I had no awareness whatso-
ever of netting any Communist in
Pittsburgh"
He added that he recalled meet
ing George Wuchinich, the other
man named by Mr.. Cvetic, but had
no knowledge that Mr.. Wuchinich
was a Communist.
c. B. Baldwin, who was Mr..
Wallace's campaign manager, ex-
planned that he and Mr.. Wallace
talked with many people in Pitts
burgh during the campaign.