Evening star., 1952-01-21
By Herbert A. PhiIbrick
Chapter III.
I Plan to Tell the FBI.

Chapter III.
Plan to Tell the FBI.
Every one in the country was
caught up in the debate as the
war came nearer. Some pre-
tended to ignore it. was one o1
those whose inclination was to
seek an outlet for expression. Mrs
Mills showed me how could dc
something about my views. She
explained to me the complex and
far-reaching- network of Youth
Councils and their affiliation on a
higher level with the American
Youth Congress.
The organization of the Youth
Council confronted me with prob
lens I had never before faced. ]
would have been lost if it had not
been that at each turn I found the
way paved ahead. ...
It was uncanny how those to
whom I was most solicitousiy re-
lferred turned out to be the key
figures in the brief and ignoble
history of the Cambridge Youth
Council.
Promised Full Support.
One of the first was Toni Grose.
Within the first few days of my
new undertaking I called on Miss
Grose in her Office at the Harvard
Student Union. Toni was big,
hearty and attractive, fair but
with a deep tan, her long blond
hair worn free.
She promised me the full sup
port of her organization, assuring
me that when the council was
called into session, delegates from
the Student Union would attend.
Her group, she saio, represented
not only Harvard students, but
students from women's colleges in
the Boston area as well, Radcliffe
and Simmons among them.
She made her Office at 1884
Massachusetts, avenue, available
as my mailing address, since I
could not handle the organiza.
tional material at my own Office,
and since my four-room apart
ment was now crowded with nurs-
cry equipment. Toni congratu-
lated me on my impending father
hood. She suggested that she could
also answer any telephone calls
that might come to me and gen.
orally keep her eye on the coun-
ellis development; not that she
wanted to intrude in any way, but
as an aid to me. of course.
Introduced to Leaders.
She gave me the names of addi-
tional youth leaders in the Cam
bridge area, men and young
women on whom she was certain
I could rely. There was Alice So
lomont. then-and even nova
splendid youth leader in the
YWCA. and my strong right hand
through the periods of greatest
trial. There were the Solomon
brothers, Arthur and Sidney, to
whom I was to become especially
grateful in a fashion they scarcely
These two, together
with Stanley Beecher, bore the
hanc of irony in the shaping of
my destiny.
I mad not long to wait before
Nat Mills called on me- We had
no telephone at home. He rang
me at the oflee and suggested q
luncheon meeting at q restaurant
N Harvard square organiza-I
tional procedure was Nat Mills
speciality. He knew what made
the machinery work and under
stood all of its intricacies and
reflnementS.
Sponsors Needed.
1.-THE first thing" he told me in
his cultivated drawl, lis to Or
ganize a provisional forming COM
I should think a dozen
members would be a good work.
able number. and a representative
one, too. You must have spon-
Sors, and I think / can suggest
some names for the sponsoring
committee.
What is their job?" asked.
First of all they will lend their
personal support and perhaps the
support of organizations which
they in turn represent. But they
will also serve as a sort of-point
OF reference, I might call ito
others in the community who do
not know you or the younger mem
bers OF your forming committee.
They give the organization adult
stability. which is essential, espec-
tally If you have to raise funds,
and you probably will to carry
on your work. They can also give
mature direction to your policies.
We always try to get well known
sponsors at every level Of our Or
ganizational work. local, State or
national" He showed me list of
Youth Congress spon-
sors. I recall the names of Mrs.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, John L.
Lewis, and there were others.
Named Chairman.
There followed a series of COM
meetings at Toni Grose's
Office in which I was elected pro-
ViSi0nal cha ir.raaan During thic