Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1952-01-28

along to Hal Leary.
I picked up everything ] could
without actually rifiing head
quarters files: Copies Of directives
turned out by mimeograph, sheets
Of discarded carbon paper on
which a letter was legible, hasty
notes on snatches of conversation,
telephone numbers and addresses.
II a party functionary scrawled a
memorandum on a tablet. made
an excuse to get the underlying
sheet of paper of the pad. The
of the flbers of the
paper was indelible, and the mes
sage written by the functionaryI
could easily be. deciphered by the
FBI's scientific laboratories.
More often than not the FBII
knew of a forthcoming meeting.
the date. place, those in
attendance, speakers and even
what the speaker would say, long
before the information was in the
hands of rank-and-file party
members.
Feels Self Spied On.
Even while my spying was most
active, ! felt that / was most per-
sistently spied upon. One night
after a meeting at the Bennett
in Cambridge, walked
toward a bus stop on Massachu-
sets avenue for a bus to North
Station. ! suddenly became aware
that I was being followed. +
thought it possible that my imagi-
nation might be deceiving me, so
I determined to give it a test. I
strolled in leisurely fashion, en-
joying the evening air. half way
across Cambridge, following a cir
cuitous route down dark gas
lighted streets, stopping to look
into store windows, wandering al
most aimlessly. I headed in the
direction of the Central
Square subway station where I
could catch a train to North Sta
ton. All that distance, despite the
twists and turns made across the
city, the shadow stayed a discreet
distance behind me until I entered
the subway.
I was not immune even at home.
In the summer of 1914 I staged an
Youth for Democracy
outing at my house in Wakefield.
Most of the crowd, assembling for
q day OF swimming at the nearby
beach, and games and social activ-
tiles in our big, barnlike garage,
came toward midday by train. But,
quite Unexpectedly, two carloads
Of young members arrived ahead
Of them by car.
Home Examined.
In a gay. holiday mood, the six
or eight early arrivals swarmed
into the house. Before Eva or I
realized what was happening, they
had famed out through the spa
ciouS rooms. I found one of the
young men on the attic stairway,
peering curiously into the dark
sned corners of the attic toward
she gable end, where the big cedar
closet stood against the false wall.
Fortunately everything they were
ooking for was behind that wall.
I was able to turn a small-scale
coup on them. AS a motion pic
ture lobbyist, I made a complete
film record of the outing, which
went into the FBI files for
identification purposes-identifi-
cation, that is, of many who at
tended except a few who persist
emily turned their backs to the
lens.
I was warned several times by
the bureau that traps would be
set for me by the party, and to be
wary. On one occasion I was
scheduled to mimeograph and
mail out large quantity Of party
material from the district head
quarters Office. Several days be-
fore I undertook the job, Chair
man Otis Hood made a special
point of telling me. that, on that
particular night, all of the head
quarters personnel would be busy
elsewhere and the Office would be
deserted. On the appointed after
noon I showed up just before
closing time. Hood suggested that
he give me his key so that ! could
return after a quick supper and
continue my work. He showed me
exactly where to put the key when
I left for the night--in the top
drawer Of the receptioniSt'S desk
by the front window-and adj
moniShed me to be sure to lock
the Office door and close it tight.
Skips Perfect Opportunity.
I assured him would and went
out to supper. When I returned
there was no one in the Office.
This was a perfect opportunity.
Now I could get my hands on any
Of material in the Office
files, in Hoods desk, in Fanny
Hartman's sanctorum. 1t was too
perfect.
Instead, I stayed right on the
job in the outer Office. / did not
go into any of the other rooms. /
worked at the mimeograph ma
chine, at the card files, at the type
writer by the reception desk di-
rectly in front of the window
where I could be seen plainly from
the building across the street.
When I left I stepped to the
drawer Of the desk by the big win
dow and carefully placed the key
where Hood ordered me. Then I
closed the drawer, turned out the
light, checked the snap lock on
the door and closed it tight.
There had not been q single
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