Evening star., 1952-10-13
Former Red Reports
Organizing Teachers;
u. n. Staff Quiz Nears
By the Associo,ed Press

" Ns JIUIl Vu1k VCQlS }
BY the Associoied Pres.
NEW YORK, Oct. ia form
Ter Communist Party official testi-
fled today that 800 New York City
school teachers were organized
into a Communist underground
in 1948 and 1949.
John Lautner, once head of the
iparty's New York State review
commission, told a Senate subcom-
mittee the move was part of a
concerted effort" to revamp the
party's functioning in the school
system.
He said 800 teachers out of 500
who paid dues to the Communist
Party became a part of the under
ground section.
The subcommittee. part of the
Senate Internal Security Commit
tee headed by Senator McCarran,
Democrat, of Nevada, heard the
Testimony as so college students
Ipicketed outside in protest against
the hearings.
Several Teachers Fired.
They chanted "One, two, three,
four, throw McCarran out the
door," and waved placcards, read
ing. Halt thought control" Sew
eral teachers have been fred as
a result of the hearings.
The hearings are being held in
the United States Courthouse in
downtown Manhattan. Presiding
today were Senator Willis Smith,
Democrat. of North Carolina and
Senator Ferguson, Republican, of
Michigan.
The subcommittee later today
was scheduled to begin inquiring
into backgrounds of employees of
the United Nations secretariat.
Senator Wiley, Republican, of
Wisconsin, a top member of the
American U. N. delegation, has
charged American Communists
are on the U. N. payroll. and has
demanded a purge.
Spread Through City.
Lautner. a frequent witness in
Government Investigations of
Communist activities, said the
school teacher underground was
organized throughout the five
boroughs Of the city.
1t was decided in 1948 and 1949.
he said, the party should ':go un-
derground to safeguard organiza-
tional unity" and the teachers
group was formed as an under
ground unit under a tree system. +"
Stepping to blackboard, he drew
a series of triangles and said the
top triangle consisted of three con-
trolling ofhcerS-each of whom
named the officer of a subordinate
echelon-and these in turn named
heads of still lower echelons in
the underground.
This continued through the
underground unit, he said, making
up a system resembling a tree.
Names Top Officers.
He said the three top officers
were Rose Russell, legislative rep
resentative of the Teachers Union.
and Samuel Wallach and Abraham
Lederman. Lederman formerly
headed the teachers union.
There was no indication how
much more testimony was to be
heard in the Communist in
schools investigation before the
subcommittee switches its at
tention to the United Nations.
U. N. Secretary General Trygve
Lie. in response to Senator Wuey's
charge there were Reds on the
secretariat payroll, said he already
has fired "a very few" Americans
would continue this policy.
But he said he would dismiss no
one on mere suspicion.
Urges Cooperation.
The Secretary General dis
tributed a circular to Americans
on his staff today, advising them
they must cooperate with the
committee. If called. in answering
questions about their private &C
tivities.
But he said they should not
answer questions referring to Of
fetal activities or confidential in
formation of the U. N. itself.
DR.. Lie also disclosed that a
New York grand jury had called
IA number Of American q. N. per-
sonnel, and said he had asked the
United States Government to tell
him OF any Of his employees refus-
ing to answer questions about their
activities outside the U. N. He
said the Government had not yet
replied.