 A third frequent theme was the "free love" and "nationalization" of women allegedly occurring in Soviet Russia. Witnesses described an orgy in which there was no "respect for virtuous women"; others who testified, including those who had been in Russia during the Revolution, denied this. After one witness read a Soviet decree saying that Russian women had the "right to choose from among men", Senator Sterling threw up his hands and declared that this was a negation of "free love". However, another decree was produced stating, "A girl having reached her eighteenth year is to be announced as the property of the state."
