Evening star., 1952-01-25
/ Led Three Lives
Communist Cell Revived in Massachusetts,.
Comrades Almost Cutch Redf FBI Agent

tokOA4oOAC CA 4uA4y y-~-rW1VAAO0U bA4C (OAA1~
munist label. Of course II was able
to obtain the services Of q snappy
Catholic Youth Organization band.
Close Call for Agent.
Hal Leary paid a call at the
house. just to find out how things
were going on the domestic scene.
There came q knock at the front
door. I glanced at Hal. and Eva
lleaped to her feet. I went to the
door and opened it to find Com
lrades Collier and johnson la the
entry. Effusively. and in a loud
voice. I greeted them. while stand
ling In the door as long as ! could
to bar their way.
When I could no longer delay
their entry, / sauntered ahead Of
them, my heart In my throat. into
the living room.
It was empty. Halls hat was
gone from the chair next to where
he had been sitting. Eva came in
through the dining room, wiping
her, hands on an apron she had
quickly put on. "Good girl" ]
said to her with a wink, and the
half smile she returned told me
that Hal had safely departed. She
was more than usually warm in
her greeting to Frank and Gus,
who were both sullen and incuri-
IouS.
We turned to q discussion Of
party affairs, and especially to the
proposed dissolution Of the Young
Communist League which was
then under active consideration.
New Organization Planned.
Now, in the summer and fall Of
I1943. the party was preparing for
Ian unusual stroke-the abolition
|of the Young Communist League.
and the substitution for it Of what
the party called "a new united
|anti-fascist youth organization"
In mid October I received a call
from Alice Gordon, Massachusetts,
State chairman Of the Young
Communist League, asking me to
meet with her on a very important
matter. I'VE want you to attend
the New York convention" Alice
told me at lunch. 'You are going
to be the State treasurer" I did
not conceal my surprise -and
pleasure-that I was to be slated
as one Of the five top leaders Of
the new organization when 1t
came to Massachusetts. But I did
not reveal my shock at her dis
closure. that the leadership Of the
new state group. as yet unnamed,
was already firmly in Communist
control.
Don Bollen." she told me
Bollen, a prominent Young Com
munist League and United Elec-
trical Workers organizer-"will be
the chairman in the State" So
this was the way the Young Com
munist League would ''help" to
establish a new. and ostensibly
democratic, youth organizationl
Friends Call at Home.
To my Office on Friday. Eva ex-
planned that I was Ill and could
not be at work. The sickness plan
almost trapped me.
While I was gone, Harry Brown
ing, whose generosity was usually
Iimpulsive, assembled a large bas-
Iket Of fruit for my sick table, oil
done up in ribbons and scalluped
paper, q very handsome gift. He
gave 1t to mysassistant, Eddie AL
fano, and to his secretary. Vickie,
and dispatched them to my house
in his own car.
Eva, dushing In confusion, told
them that / had been quite sick
and, to get me out Of the hubbub
of the household, she had sent me
away for a few days for q rest.
I talked to the bureau and they
said by all means get to New York
and cover the whole thing.
The Young Communist League
was buried by 500 delegates from
all over the United States at a
special convention session Friday
in New York's Manhattan Center.
There was a speech by Earl
Browder stressing the Importance
of the dissolution in terms OF ma
tional unity. and there were no re-
grets, because every one on top at
least recognized that it was just
a maneuver to change the name.
In order not to jeopardize my fu-
ture status with the new group, I
attended the Young Communist
League meeting not as q delegate,
but as an observer"
Reds Openly Brazen.
On Saturday and Sunday, the
same crowd presided at the birth
of the new organization. Ameri-
can Youth for Democracy. in the
basement auditorium Of Mecca
Temple Of the Shrine. Communist
domination Of the organization
meeting was openly brazen. There
were by count 15G delegates from
the Young Communist League, and
only 176 from other youth organ
izations. It would have been
heavily weighted in Communist
favor in any event, but was even
more 50 in view Of the fact that
some delegates, ostensibly repre-
senting non-C Communist groups-1
was there as a Baptist youth
leader-were actually undergr round|
Communists.
Robert Thompson, Army hero
former national vice president OF
the Young Communist League,
and q big wheel in the party, was
elected" national co-chairman OIL
the sAYD and Carl Ross. for
mer New York State chairman OF
the league, was named executive
secretary. Others on the slate Of
officers were wen known to me.
including "Comrade Bob" whom
I had first met at the Kendall
Green StateE convention Of the
-.