union calendar no 1002 - harold weisbergjfk.hood.edu/collection/weisberg subject index files/d...

8
16 SPECIAL REPORT ON SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES point of view in the case of more than a very small fraction of the people contained on these lists. To attempt to indicate that everyone whose name was carried on the list, of the Washington Committee for Democratic Action, the Washington Cooperative Bookshop, or the Washington Committee to Aid China, is thereby to be regarded as per se subversive is, in my opinion, as false an implication as it would be to attempt to say that every member of the America First Committee was sympathetic with fascism or the Nazi cause. The latter statement no thoughtful American would make, even though we know that attempts were made in certain sections of the country to use the America First Committee as a vehicle for pro-Axis propaganda and activities. 5. The section of the report on Japanese activities deals, of course, with one of the subjects which is of greatest importance at the present time. But when the committee states in conclusion of this section that the removal of the Japanese from west coast areas was "a direct result of the committee's report on Japanese subversive activities in this country," I believe it is making an extravagant claim. The com- mittee report, could aLcurately hgvEt been describek as one among many factors which brought about Japanese relocation. Japan is as relentless an enemy of America at the present tune as our country has ever had. All reports from the fighting fronts bear this out, and America must be guided accordingly in her action and policy. I believe it no more than fair to point out that there are some citizens of Japanese descent—how many I do not know—who have resisted the tremendous pressure of the Japanese system and the Emperor-worshippattern of Japanese tradition, and have maintained a loyalty to the linked States. The relocation program, however, was and is the only safe policy to be pursued from the standpoint of all concerned. 6. It is my view that there should have been appended to the sec- tion dealing with "Sabotage strikes of 1941" a statement pointing out the unquestioned loyalty and record of outstanding production of the great rank and file of American workers. In concluding this statement, I wish to say that I do not subscribe to the attacks made on the Committee on Un-American Activities by those who have claimed that. it never has investigated Nazi and Fascist groups in this country. The committee has made such in- vestigation and in the case of certain of these groups has done a very good job. But this report fails to place its major emphasis on the primary importance at this time of exposing the propaganda and activities of Axis agents and those who wittingly or unwittingly serve that cause. I would no more include in this group people who at one time or another have attended meetings or even been members of organizations which later were discovered to be Axis Front organize, tions, than I would do in the case of persons over whom Communists have taken similar advantage. But I feel very profoundly that the main excuse for this committee's existence at the present time is that it may contribute to the maximum possible extent to stiffening of the resistance of the American people to open or covert pro-Axis propa- ganda and to the building of a vigorous and unified democratic senti- ment in the United States. Its annual report offered an opportunity to strike a blow in that direction. That opportunity has been neglected. 0 Union Calendar No 1002 77TH CONORMS I HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES j REPORT 2d Session. No. 2748 SPECIAL REPORT ON SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES AIMED AT DESTROYING OUR REPRESENTATIVE FORM OF GOVERNMENT _ .., ' 1943, A Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the _ ....../c tate of the Union and ordered to he printed Mr. DIES, chairman, from the Special rnrnittee on Un-American Activities, submitted the lowing REPORT"' [Pursuant to R. Res. 420, 77th Cong,1 SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES AIMED AT DESTROYING OUR FORM OF GOVERNMENT I Since the last report of this committee to the House on January 5, MO, our country has been plunged into a global war on whose outcome hangs no less an issue than that of our national survival. Of our ultimate victory in this war, we can entertain no doubt. Nevertheless, we do not hold—and we caution our people not to hold— this faith in the eventual triumph of our arms lightly; for there may yet be exacted of us a. price in life and treasure which we cannot, at this stage of the struggle, begin to comprehend. But, however great the sacrifice still required for victory, we must, as a people, grimly resolve that no part thereof shall be the loss of that human liberty which is the essence of Americanism. To this end, we must guard, as never before in any wars of the past, our internal safety against the machinations of fifth columns. By common consent, we are engaged in a global war against the existence and spread of totalitarianism. A world which is half totalitarian will forever menace our liberties and challenge our way of life. This global war is unique not only in the use of new physical weapons but even more unique in the use by our totalitarian foes of saboteurs whose work is to spread both physical and spiritual destruction within our borders. The systematic sowing of rumors, the calculated whispers of defeatism, and the treacherous campaigns to create internal disunity by un-American hatreds may be as danger- ous as the saboteur's bomb and flame. JERRY VOORHIS. .IANUART

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Page 1: Union Calendar No 1002 - Harold Weisbergjfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg Subject Index Files/D Disk/Dies... · the calculated whispers of defeatism, and the treacherous campaigns

16 S

PE

CIA

L R

EP

OR

T O

N S

UB

VE

RS

IVE

AC

TIV

ITIE

S

po

int o

f view

in th

e case of m

ore th

an a v

ery sm

all fraction

of th

e people contained on these lists.

To attem

pt to

indicate th

at every

one w

hose n

ame w

as carried o

n

the list, o

f the W

ashin

gto

n C

om

mittee fo

r Dem

ocratic A

ction

, the

Wash

ingto

n C

ooperativ

e Booksh

op, o

r the W

ashin

gto

n C

om

mittee

to Aid C

hina, is thereby to be regarded as per se subversive is, in my

opin

ion, as false an

implicatio

n as it w

ould

be to

attempt to

say th

at ev

ery m

ember o

f the A

merica F

irst Com

mittee w

as sym

path

etic w

ith fascism

or th

e Nazi cau

se. Th

e latter statemen

t no

tho

ug

htfu

l A

merican w

ould make, even though w

e know that attem

pts were m

ade in certain sections of the country to use the A

merica F

irst Com

mittee

as a veh

icle for p

ro-A

xis p

rop

agan

da an

d activ

ities. 5

. The section of the report on Japanese activities deals, of course,

with one of the subjects w

hich is of greatest importance at the present

time. B

ut w

hen

the co

mm

ittee states in co

nclu

sion o

f this sectio

n

that the removal of the Japanese from

west coast areas w

as "a direct resu

lt of th

e com

mittee's rep

ort o

n Jap

anese su

bversiv

e activities in

th

is country

," I believ

e it is mak

ing an

extrav

agan

t claim. T

he co

m-

mittee report, could aL

curately hgvEt been describek as one am

ong many

factors which brought about Japanese relocation.

Japan

is as relentless an

enem

y o

f Am

erica at the p

resent tu

ne as

our co

untry

has ev

er had

. All rep

orts fro

m th

e fightin

g fro

nts b

ear th

is out, an

d A

merica m

ust b

e guid

ed acco

rdin

gly

in h

er action an

d

policy

. I believ

e it no m

ore th

an fair to

poin

t out th

at there are so

me

citizens o

f Japan

ese descen

t—h

ow

man

y I d

o n

ot k

no

w—

wh

o h

ave

resisted th

e tremen

dous p

ressure o

f the Jap

anese sy

stem an

d th

e E

mperor-w

orshippattern of Japanese tradition, and have maintained

a loyalty

to th

e link

ed S

tates. Th

e relocatio

n p

rog

ram, h

ow

ever,

was an

d is th

e on

ly safe p

olicy

to b

e pu

rsued

from

the stan

dp

oin

t of

all concerned. 6

. It is my

view

that th

ere sho

uld

hav

e been

app

end

ed to

the sec-

tion dealing with "S

abotage strikes of 1941" a statement pointing out

the unquestioned loyalty and record of outstanding production of the great rank and file of A

merican w

orkers. In

conclu

din

g th

is statemen

t, I wish

to say

that I d

o n

ot su

bscrib

e to

the attack

s mad

e on th

e Com

mittee o

n U

n-A

merican

Activ

ities by th

ose w

ho h

ave claim

ed th

at. it nev

er has in

vestig

ated N

azi and

Fascist g

roups in

this co

untry

. The co

mm

ittee has m

ade su

ch in

-vestigation and in the case of certain of these groups has done a very good jo

b. B

ut th

is report fails to

place its m

ajor em

phasis o

n th

e p

rimary

imp

ortan

ce at this tim

e of ex

po

sing

the p

rop

agan

da an

d

activities of Axis agents and those w

ho wittingly or unw

ittingly serve th

at cause. I w

ou

ld n

o m

ore in

clud

e in th

is gro

up

peo

ple w

ho

at on

e tim

e or an

oth

er hav

e attend

ed m

eeting

s or ev

en b

een m

emb

ers of

organizations which later w

ere discovered to be Axis F

ront organize, tions, than I w

ould do in the case of persons over whom

Com

munists

hav

e taken

similar ad

van

tage. B

ut I feel v

ery p

rofo

undly

that th

e m

ain excuse for this comm

ittee's existence at the present time is that

it may contribute to the m

aximum

possible extent to stiffening of the resistance of the A

merican people to open or covert pro-A

xis propa-ganda and to the building of a vigorous and unified dem

ocratic senti-m

ent in

the U

nited

States. Its an

nu

al repo

rt offered

an o

pp

ortu

nity

to

strike a

blo

w in

that d

irectio

n. T

hat o

pp

ortu

nity

has b

een

neglected.

0

Union Calendar No 1002 77T

H C

ON

OR

MS

I

HO

US

E O

F R

EP

RE

SE

NT

AT

IVE

S j R

EP

OR

T

2d Session. N

o. 2748

SP

EC

IAL

RE

PO

RT

ON

SU

BV

ER

SIV

E A

CT

IVIT

IES

AIM

ED

A

T D

ES

TR

OY

ING

OU

R R

EP

RE

SE

NT

AT

IVE

FO

RM

OF

G

OV

ER

NM

EN

T

_ .., '

1943,A Co

mm

itted to

the C

om

mittee o

f the W

ho

le Ho

use o

n th

e _....../c

tate of the U

nion and ordered to he printed

Mr. D

IES

, chairm

an, fro

m th

e Sp

ecial rnrn

ittee on

Un

-Am

erican

Activ

ities, subm

itted th

e low

ing

RE

PO

RT

"'

[Pursuant to R

. Res. 420, 77th C

ong,1

SU

BV

ER

SIV

E A

CT

IVIT

IES

AIM

ED

AT

DE

ST

RO

YIN

G O

UR

FO

RM

OF

G

OV

ER

NM

EN

T

I S

ince th

e last report o

f this co

mm

ittee to th

e House o

n Jan

uary

5,

MO

, ou

r cou

ntry

has b

een p

lun

ged

into

a glo

bal w

ar on

wh

ose

outcome hangs no less an issue than that of our national survival.

Of o

ur u

ltimate v

ictory

in th

is war, w

e can en

tertain n

o d

ou

bt.

Nevertheless, w

e do not hold—and w

e caution our people not to hold—th

is faith in

the ev

entu

al trium

ph o

f our arm

s lightly

; for th

ere may

y

et be ex

acted o

f us a. p

rice in life an

d treasu

re wh

ich w

e cann

ot, at

this stag

e of th

e strug

gle, b

egin

to co

mp

rehen

d. B

ut, h

ow

ever g

reat th

e sacrifice still required

for v

ictory

, we m

ust, as a p

eople, g

rimly

reso

lve th

at no

part th

ereof sh

all be th

e loss o

f that h

um

an lib

erty

wh

ich is th

e essence o

f Am

ericanism

. To

this en

d, w

e mu

st gu

ard,

as nev

er befo

re in an

y w

ars of th

e past, o

ur in

ternal safety

again

st the m

achinations of fifth columns.

By

com

mo

n co

nsen

t, we are en

gag

ed in

a glo

bal w

ar again

st the

existen

ce and sp

read o

f totalitarian

ism. A

world

which

is half

totalitarian will forever m

enace our liberties and challenge our way

of life. This global w

ar is unique not only in the use of new physical

weap

ons b

ut ev

en m

ore u

niq

ue in

the u

se by

ou

r totalitarian

foes

of sab

oteu

rs whose w

ork

is to sp

read b

oth

physical an

d sp

iritual

destru

ction w

ithin

our b

ord

ers. The sy

stematic so

win

g o

f rum

ors,

the calculated whispers of defeatism

, and the treacherous campaigns

to create internal disunity by un-Am

erican hatreds may be as danger-

ous as the saboteur's bomb and flam

e. JE

RR

Y V

OO

RH

IS.

.IAN

UA

RT

Page 2: Union Calendar No 1002 - Harold Weisbergjfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg Subject Index Files/D Disk/Dies... · the calculated whispers of defeatism, and the treacherous campaigns

2

SP

EC

IAL

RE

PO

RT

ON

SU

BV

ER

SIV

E A

CT

IVIT

IES

This com

mittee has defined its special function, in accordance w

ith th

e terms o

f the m

andate g

iven

by th

e House, as th

e disco

very

and

exposure of those enemy groups w

hich fight with nonphysical w

eapons as a fifth colum

n on our home front.

Our com

mittee decided m

any months ago, after the entrance of the

United S

tates into thawar, to refrain from

holding any public hearings w

hich

mig

ht in

volv

e the activ

ities of A

xis sab

oteu

rs, so as n

ot to

ru

n an

y risk

of p

rematu

re disclo

sures w

hich

mig

ht em

barrass th

ose

whose resp

onsib

ility it is to

pro

secute th

ose g

uilty

of esp

ionag

e and

sabotage.

AS

SIS

TA

NC

E F

UR

NIS

HE

D G

OV

ER

NM

EN

T A

GE

NC

IES

This co

mm

ittee came in

to ex

istence at ab

out th

e time H

itler and

his A

xis p

artners w

ere sendin

; their arm

ies out fo

r world

conquest.

When w

e began our investigation in 1938, our hearings and exposures w

ere not receiv

ed in

certain o

fficial quarters w

ith th

e attentio

n th

at t'ley

170r,o

ried. F

ortu

nately

, how

ever, th

e mem

berd

of o

ur co

m-

mittee an

d

fl T

res t majority of the M

embprc of the. Z

.-Toirta and the

Am

erican p

eople saw

and realized

that th

is com

mittee h

ad p

ut its

finger o

n a d

angero

us co

nditio

n ex

isting in

this co

untry

which

threatened to becom

e increasingly worse.

In 1938, the Germ

an-Am

erican Bunch had m

any posts throughout th

e Natio

n an

d b

oasted

100,0

00 m

embers. T

he C

om

munist P

arty

and

its Po

pu

lar Fro

nt, claim

ing

the su

pp

ort o

f "millio

ns," w

ere ap

pro

achin

g th

eir hig

hest p

eak. T

he Jap

anese "treaty

merch

ants"

were busy throughout our N

ation gathering information for H

irohito. T

he Silver S

hirt Legion of A

merica, under P

elley, was flourishing and

other native Fascists w

ere operating unmolested.

The p

attern w

as not en

tirely clear, b

ut th

e mem

bers o

f this co

m-

mittee h

ad h

eard an

d seen

enough to

convin

ce them

that it w

as time

some agency of our G

overnment should equip itself to deal w

ith this ap

pro

achin

g th

reat. It was fo

r this reaso

n th

at the co

mm

ittee, late in

1938, b

egan

to assem

ble an

d o

rgan

ize all availab

le info

rmatio

n o

n

so-called subversive activities in Am

erica. The com

mittee points out

that at th

at time th

ere was n

o ag

ency

of th

e Go

vern

men

t eng

aged

in

check

ing o

n so

-called su

bversiv

e gro

ups fo

r the v

ery sim

ple reaso

n

that th

ey h

ad n

o au

thority

to d

o so

under th

e law; an

d th

e Com

-m

un

ists, the N

azis, the F

ascists, and

all their sto

og

es had

lon

g ag

o

learned

that it w

as easy en

ough to

carry o

n m

uch

of th

eir work

w

ithin the law.

In 1938, only

two file eehinets w

ere required to hold the files of this com

min ee, w

hereei, today On eom

mil tee's files end records on sub-

versiv

e activities fill 1

35 file cab

inets. T

he in

dex

to th

ese files con-

tains over 1,000,000 cards, each containing information on individuals

and organizations engaged in subversive activities. All of these cards

are based

upon d

ocu

men

tary ev

iden

ce in th

e possessio

n o

f the co

m-

mittee an

d so

filed th

at it is readily

availab

le to an

y G

overn

men

t agency desiring it. • T

his m

aterial has b

een o

btain

ed d

urin

g th

e past 5

years in

vario

us

way

s but p

rincip

ally th

rough th

e use o

f the co

ngressio

nal su

bpen

a, an

auth

ority

wh

ich n

o o

ther G

ov

ernm

ent ag

ency

po

ssesses. Th

erein

lies the advantage and necessity of congressional investigating com-

mittees. H

ad it n

ot b

een fo

r this au

thority

of su

bpen

a, our co

m-

mittee could never have built up these irreplaceable files on subversive

SP

EC

IAL

RE

PO

RT

ON

SU

BV

ER

SIV

E A

CT

IVIT

IES

:activities which have served as the chief source of inform

ation on un A

merican individuals, groups, and organizations for the m

any agencies of this G

overnment.

From

the time H

itler marched into the low

lands and the people anc G

ov

ernm

ent o

f this co

un

try w

ere sho

cked

into

the realizatio

n th

e.' there w

as a fifth column in A

merica, the files of this com

mittee hay(

served

as a veritab

le fountain

head

of in

form

ation fo

r the v

arious

agen

cies of th

e Govern

men

t charg

ed w

ith th

e intern

al safety o

f the

United S

tates. A

s evidence of this service to Governm

ent agencies, the comm

ittee rep

orts to

the H

ouse th

at durin

g th

e past 1

4 m

onth

s som

e 1,6

0f

agen

ts from

the v

ariou

s Intellig

ence u

nits o

f the A

rmy

, the N

avy

, the F

ederal Bureau of Investigation, S

ecret Service, and others have

called at the comm

ittee's office in Wash

ingto

n a

lone fo

r info

rmatio

n.

Hu

nd

reds o

f agen

ts from

the'sam

e agen

cies hav

e called at th

e com

-m

ittee's branch offices in New

York, P

hiladelphia, Los A

ngeles, and C

hicago for similar inform

ation. In

additio

n to

the ab

ove, th

e follo

win

g ag

encies h

ave d

etailed

liaison. agen

ts to w

ork

daily

at the co

mm

ittee's offices ch

eckin

g an

d

.ob

tainin

g in

forw

ation

from

the co

mm

ittee's files: Civ

il Serv

ice, In

telligen

ce Unit o

f the T

reasury

, Military

Intellig

ence, N

aval

Intellig

ence, S

tate Dep

artmen

t, Fed

eral Bu

reau o

f Inv

estigatio

n,

Work P

rojects Adm

inistration, Secret S

ervice, and Office for E

mer-

gen

cy M

anag

emen

t. The b

ranch

offices o

f the co

mm

ittee hav

e been

used in a sim

ilar manner.

Num

erous req

uests fo

r info

rmatio

n w

hich

the co

mm

ittee has

received

from

Govern

men

t dep

artmen

ts hav

e involv

ed th

e com

mit-

tee's turn

ing o

ver• larg

e files of d

ocu

men

ts. For ex

ample, th

e com

-m

ittee on February 3, 1942, supplied the O

ffice of the Coordinator of

Info

rmatio

n w

ith 2

10 d

ocu

men

ts on N

azi pro

pag

anda. S

om

ewhat

earlier, the co

mm

ittee turn

ed o

ver to

the D

epartm

ent o

f Justice

hundreds of original documents w

hich provided the Departm

ent with

the basis of its cases against Auhagen, Z

app, and Tonn.

On A

ugust 1

5, 1

942, th

e conunittee fo

iward

ed to

the P

residen

t a list o

f appro

xim

ately 1

7,0

00 in

div

iduals w

ho h

ad b

een id

entified

or

-affiliated with the N

azi movem

ents in this country and suggested at th

e time to

the P

residen

t that so

me fo

rm o

f surv

eillance sh

ould

be

kept over these people. T

his co

mm

ittee has also

assisted v

arious S

tate com

mittees w

hich

h

ave b

een in

vestig

ating

un

-Am

erican activ

ities, particu

larly in

New

Y

ork

and C

aliforn

ia, and su

pplied

the sp

ecial com

mittee o

f the

Arg

entin

e Cham

ber o

f Dep

uties, in

vestig

ating su

bversiv

e activities,

headed by Sr. D

amonte T

aborda, with considerable inform

ation and fu

rnish

ed th

em at th

eir requ

est with

a mem

o o

n h

ow

to p

roceed

in

mak

ing su

ch an

investig

ation. E

arly th

is year w

hen

Sen

or T

abord

a w

as in the United S

tates he examined the files of the com

mittee and

was v

ery co

mp

limen

tary o

f the co

mm

ittee's set-up

and

surp

rised

:at the amount of inform

ation contained in its files. T

he comm

ittee has taken 11,725 printed pages of testimony and has

issued

reports co

mprisin

g 3

,000 p

rinted

pag

es, and th

e info

rmatio

n

contain

ed in

these h

earings an

d rep

orts h

as been

of im

measu

rable

valu

e no

t on

ly to

the G

ov

ernm

ent ag

encies b

ut h

as served

to en

-lig

hten

the p

eople o

f this co

untry

and th

e Am

ericas of th

e work

ings

'of th

e Com

munists, th

e Nazis, th

e Japan

ese, and th

eir sym

path

izers ..and agents.

Page 3: Union Calendar No 1002 - Harold Weisbergjfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg Subject Index Files/D Disk/Dies... · the calculated whispers of defeatism, and the treacherous campaigns

4 S

PE

CIA

L R

EP

OR

T O

N S

UB

VE

RS

IVE

AC

TIV

ITIE

S

SP

EC

IAL

RE

PO

RT

ON

SU

BV

ER

SIV

E A

CT

IVIT

IES

, 5

As a factual illustration of the assistance this com

mittee has furnished

the G

ov

ernm

ent ag

encies, w

e presen

t on

the fo

llow

ing

pag

e a chart

indicating the extent to which the com

mittee has assisted the various

Governm

ent departments and agencies from

its Washington, C

hicago, an

d N

ew Y

ork

offices. T

his ch

art do

es no

t inclu

de th

e assistance

furn

ished

by th

e com

mittee's o

ffices in L

os A

ngeles, P

hilad

elphia,

and C

levelan

d.

Tabulation of requests for inform

ation on individual cases made by various G

overnment

agen

cies at th

e com

mittee's o

ffices in

TV

osshington, N

ew Y

ork, a

nd C

hica

go

Departm

ent Or agency m

akingMC

l/IPA

Num

ber of requests

received at C

OM

Mitt¢e3

Washington

office

Num

ber of requests

received at C

OM

M lace's

New

York

office

Num

ber of requests

received at C

Om

MittC

eS C

hicago office

Total

number

of requests received at com

mittee's

3 offices

Treasury D

epartment (internal R

evenue, Secret

Service, etc.}

26,203

237 160

26,600 S

tate Departm

mat

Z 052

0

2,3131

War D

epartm

ent (0

-2, P

rovost M

arshal, eto

.)„ 707

890 7,710

0,397 N

avy Departm

ent (Intelligence, .Coast G

uard, etc.)

7,495

5,946 9,958

21,390 Justice D

epartment (F

ederal Bureau of investi-

gation, Imm

igration and Nato ralintion, etc.)._

10,600 92

1, 1162 11, 894

Com

merce D

epart:lomat

28

28

Agriculture D

epartment

28

28 P

ost Office D

epartment

15

47 62

Civil S

ervice Com

mission

,. 50,550

226 58

50,843 O

ffice for Em

ergency Managem

ent..-..

9,232 87

9,260

General A

ccounting Office

17

17

Farm

Security A

dministration_

2

2

Federal Reserve B

oard

5

5 W

ork Projects Adm

inistration (Federal W

orks

Agen

cy)

4,818

9

4,823

State agencies

24

64 102

Police (local)

152 148

2,663 1,902

British intelligence

5

5

To

tal

138,827

ZI

CO

MM

UN

IST

S IN

TH

E

GO

VE

RN

ME

NT

Th

e com

mittee w

ou

ld lik

e to state at th

e ou

tset that it h

as nev

er in

vestig

ated th

e perso

nn

el of th

e Fed

eral Go

vern

men

t to d

etermin

e h

ow

man

y o

f its emp

loy

ees' were C

om

mu

nists o

r so-called

fellow

trav

elers. Ho

wev

er, since th

e com

mittee's creatio

n in

19

38

, there

has come to its attention from

time to tim

e the presence in the Federal.

Governm

ent of laib. oh-salaried employees w

ho were prom

inently and defin

itely id

entified

with

com

munism

and its fro

nt o

rgan

izations.

Man

y o

f these cases w

ere pro

mp

tly called

to th

e attentio

n o

f the

Presid

ent, th

e Congress, an

d th

e dep

artmen

tal head

concern

ed b

y

either th

e com

mittee o

r its mem

bers. A

t this p

oin

t, the co

mm

ittee w

ould like to cite a number of exam

ples where this procedure has been

followed.

On O

ctober 25, 1939, the comm

ittee made public the nam

es, posi-tio

ns, an

d salaries o

f som

e 563 G

overn

men

t emplo

yees lo

cated in

W

ashington, D. C

., who w

ore mem

bers of the Am

erican League for

Peace an

d D

emo

cracy. In

three rep

orts w

hich

this co

mm

ittee has

made to the H

ouse, it has found the Am

erican League for P

eace and D

emo

cracy to

be a C

om

mu

nist fro

nt o

rgan

ization

. It will b

e re-called

that E

arl Bro

wder w

as vice p

residen

t of th

e org

anizatio

n.

Furtherm

ore, the Attorney G

eneral, Mr. F

rancis Biddle, has branded

the Am

erican League a subversive organization, in language as strong

as any

used

by

this co

mm

ittee in its ch

aracterization

s. In m

akin

g

pu

blic th

is list, the co

mm

ittee issued

an acco

mp

any

ing

statemen

t w

hich made clear that it did not consider all of the people an that list

or any one of them in particular to be C

omm

unists, but in view of the

fact that th

ese Go

vern

men

t emp

loy

ees were m

emb

ers of a C

om

-m

unist front organization and continued their mem

bership long after th

e org

anizatio

n w

as exposed

as bein

g co

mm

unistic, th

e com

mittee

felt that th

e Co

ng

ress and

the p

eop

le were en

titled to

kn

ow

wh

o

they

were. T

his w

as an au

then

tic mem

bersh

ip list o

btain

ed fro

m

the headquarters of the Am

erican League for P

eace and Dem

ocracy by due process of subpena w

hich was served upon the secretary of the

organization. O

n S

eptem

ber 6

, 19

41

, the ch

airman

of th

is com

mittee w

rote th

e P

residen

t a letter, accom

pan

ied b

y 4

3 ex

hib

its, detailin

g th

e Com

-m

unist affiliatio

n an

d b

ackgro

und o

f the fo

llow

ing o

fficials of th

e O

ffice of Price A

dministration and suggested that they be dism

issed from

their positions: R

obert A. B

rady, head consultant of Office of P

rice Adm

inistration and C

ivilian Supply, salary, $7,500.

Tom

Tippett, A

ssistant Chief of R

ent Section of O

ffice of Price A

d-m

inistration and Civilian S

upply, salary, $5,600. M

ildred

Ed

ie Brad

y, p

rincip

al specialist in

con

sum

er edu

cation

, O

ffice of Price A

dministration and C

ivilian Supply, salary, $5,600.

Dew

ey H. P

almer, consultant of O

ffice of Price A

dministration and

Civilian S

upply, salary, $20 a day. A

t the time, M

r. Leon H

enderson, head of the Office of P

rice Ad-

ministration, issued a public statem

ent in which he said that he w

ould refer th

e cases to th

e Civ

il Serv

ice Com

missio

n an

d ab

ide b

y th

eir decisio

n. S

ubseq

uen

tly, th

e chairm

an w

as advised

by th

e Presid

ent

that th

e matter h

ad b

een referred

to th

e Civ

il Serv

ice Com

missio

n.

After several m

onths of investigation, the Civil S

ervice Com

mission

recomm

ended to Mr. H

enderson the dismissal of his chief consultant,

Ro

bert A

. Brad

y, an

d h

is wife, M

ildred

Ed

ie Brad

y. M

ildred

Ed

ie B

rady resig

ned

. In th

e case of R

obert A

. Brad

y, M

r. Hen

derso

n

refused to abide by the decision of the Civil S

ervice Com

mission even

tho

ug

h h

e had

prev

iou

sly stated

he w

ou

ld d

o so

. Mr. B

rady

is still em

plo

yed

in th

e Office o

f Price A

dm

inistratio

n. T

he C

om

missio

n's

recomm

endation was issued over a year ago.

On

No

vem

ber 1

8, 1

94

1, th

e chairm

an o

f the co

mm

ittee wro

te a letter to Jam

es Law

rence Fly, C

hairman of the F

ederal Com

munica-

tions Com

mission, calling his attention to the fact that the com

mittee

had

a con

siderab

le file revealin

g th

e Co

mm

un

ist affiliation

s of o

ne

Go

od

win

Watso

n w

ho

had

just b

een ap

po

inted

Ch

ief Bro

adcast

Analyst of the F

ederal Com

munications C

omm

ission. Chairm

an Fly,

without availing him

self of the evidence, replied that he had personally investigated M

r. Watson's case and found the com

mittee's charges to

be baseless. In the meantim

e the agency of the Governm

ent charged w

ith in

vestig

ating

emp

loy

ees of th

e Fed

eral Co

mm

un

ication

s Co

m-

mission had called at the com

mittee's offices and requested all inform

a-tio

n in

its files on

Go

od

win

Watso

n. T

he co

mm

ittee furn

ished

the

info

rmatio

n, w

hich

con

sisted o

f ov

er 10

0 ex

hib

its. Th

e Fed

eral

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e

6 S

PE

CIA

L R

EP

OR

T O

N S

UB

VE

RS

TV

E A

CT

IVIT

IES

Co

mm

un

ication

s Co

mm

ission

was also

furn

ished

a cop

y o

f this m

a-terial. N

o actio

n w

as taken

. Ho

wev

er, wh

en th

e app

rop

riation

bill

for the Federal C

omm

unications Com

mission w

as before the House for

consideration, an amendm

ent was adopted w

hich prohibited Goodw

in. W

atson

from

receivin

g an

y o

f the fu

nd

s app

rop

riated. T

his am

end

-m

ent w

as subsequently eliminated w

hen the bill was sent to conference,

and

Go

od

win

Watso

n is still o

n th

e Fed

eral pay

roll o

f the F

ederal.

Com

munications C

omm

ission. O

n Jan

uary

15, 1

942, th

e chairm

an o

f the co

mm

ittee, in a sp

eech

On the floor of the H

ouse, called attention to the presence in the Office.

of F

acts and F

igures o

f one M

alcolm

Cow

ley, ch

ief info

rmatio

n

analy

st, at a salary o

f $8,0

00 p

er annum

. The ch

airman

inserted

in

his sp

eech th

e record

of M

alcolm

Co

wley

, wh

ich sh

ow

ed 7

2 affilia-

tions w

ith th

e Com

munist P

arty an

d its fro

nt o

rpnizatio

ns. S

everal

week

s later Mr. C

ow

ley resig

ned

his p

ositio

n w

ith th

e Fed

eral Gov-

ernm

ent.

On N

ovember 28, 1941, in a speech on the floor of the H

ouse, the ch

airman

called th

e attentio

n o

f the m

emb

ers to th

e case of G

ardn

er Jack

son

, prin

cipal eco

no

mist in

the D

epartm

ent o

f Ag

ricultu

re at a salary

of $

5,6

00 a y

ear, and in

cluded

in h

is speech

the C

om

munist

record of Gardner Jackson. Jackson w

ill be remem

bered as the same,

individual who in 1939 paid $110 for fraudulent letters w

hich sought to

discred

it the ch

airman

of th

is com

mittee. M

r. Jackso

n is still in

th

e Departm

ent of Agriculture.

On

March

28

, 19

42

, the ch

airman

wro

te a letter to th

e Ho

no

rable-

Hen

ry A

. Wallace, C

hairm

an o

f the B

oard

of E

con

om

ic Warfare,

and called

his atten

tion- to

the C

om

munist affiliatio

ns o

f eight o

f its em

plo

yees an

d m

ade p

articular referen

ce to o

ne M

aurice P

armelee,

prin

cipal eco

nom

ist at a salary o

f $5,6

00 a y

ear, who h

ad w

ritten

several books advocating the practice of nudism in A

merica. H

e also called

attentio

n to

the p

resence o

f C. H

artley G

rattan, eco

nom

ic• an

alyst o

f the B

ureau

of E

con

om

ic Warfare, at a salary

of $

5,6

00

a y

ear, wh

o h

ad w

ritten a fo

rewo

rd to

the n

oto

riou

s Germ

an W

hite-

Paper w

hich was circulated by the N

azi Governm

ent, and which sought

to p

lace the b

lame o

f the w

ar on

the U

nited

States. T

he fo

llow

ing.

week

, Mr. P

armelee w

as dism

issed fro

m th

e Board

of E

conom

ic W

arfare, and

Mr. G

rattan resig

ned

. In

the act, m

akin

g ap

pro

priatio

ns fo

r the D

epartm

ent o

f Justice.

for the fiscal y

ear 19

41

(Pu

blic L

aw N

o. 1

35

of th

e 77

th C

on

g., 1

st seas., approved June 28, 1941), there w

as contained a provision which

specified

that o

f the am

ount ap

pro

priated

for th

e use o

f the F

ederal

Bureau of Investigation—

at least $

10

0,0

00

shall b

e availab

le exclu

sively

to in

vestig

ate the em

plo

yees o

f ev

ery d

epartm

ent, ag

ency

, and

ind

epen

den

t establish

men

t of th

e Fed

eral Go

vern

-m

ent w

ho are m

embers o

f subversiv

e org

anizatio

ns o

r advocate th

e overth

row

of th

e Fed

eral Govern

men

t and rep

ort its fin

din

gs to

Congress.

Th

e Dep

artmen

t of Ju

stice sou

gh

t to h

ave th

is amen

dm

ent strick

en

from

the ap

pro

priatio

n b

ill when

it was b

efore th

e Sen

ate Fin

ance

Co

mm

ittee bu

t failed. O

n O

ctob

er 1'7

, 19

41

, Atto

rney

Gen

eral B

iddle w

rote th

e chairm

an o

f our co

mm

ittee a letter, in w

hich

he

stated—

I should

be p

leased to

receive fro

m y

ou an

y in

form

ation in

the p

ossessio

n o

f y

ou

r com

mittee o

r its inv

estigato

rs wh

ich b

ears up

on

the m

emb

ership

of an

y

emplo

yee o

f the F

ederal. G

overn

men

t in su

bversiv

e org

anizatio

ns, o

r such

em-

plo

yee's ad

vo

cacy o

f the o

verth

row

of th

e Go

vern

men

t of th

e Un

ited S

tates.

SP

EC

IAL

RE

PO

RT

ON

SU

BV

ER

SIV

E A

CT

IVIT

IES

7

Pu

rsuan

t to th

is request, th

e com

mittee, o

n O

ctober 1

7, sen

t to the A

ttorney Gen

eral the n

ames of 1,124 F

ederal G

overnm

ent em

-p

loyees wh

o w

ere mem

bers o

f org

anizatio

ns w

hich

th

is comm

ittee h

ad

fou

nd

to

be su

bversiv

e. These m

embersh

ip lists h

ad

been

ob

tained

largely

by

sub

pen

a and

had

been

iden

tified an

d au

then

ti-cated by the officials of th

e org

anizatio

n in

volv

ed. A

ll of th

e cam-

naittee's files w

ere imm

ediately

mad

e availab

le to th

e Atto

rney

G

eneral an

d h

is inv

estigato

rs wh

o w

ere charg

ed w

ith carry

ing

ou

t the m

andate of Congress as contained in this act.

On

Sep

temb

er 2, 1

94

2, A

ttorn

ey G

eneral B

idd

le laid b

efore th

e S

peak

er of th

e Ho

use h

is repo

rt on

the in

vestig

ation

called fo

r in

Public L

aw N

o. 135 of the Seventy-seventh C

ongress. The follow

ing day the chairm

an of our comm

ittee wrote a letter to the S

peaker of the H

ouse in which he said---

I am

com

pelle

d to

charg

e th

at th

e A

ttorn

ey G

enera

l has u

tterly

faile

d to

carry

ou

t the m

and

ate of th

e Co

ng

ress as exp

ressed in

Pu

blic L

aw N

o. 1

35

of

the S

even

ty-sev

enth

Co

ng

ress, Instead

of fu

lfilling

the m

and

ate of C

on

gress,

the A

ttorn

ey G

eneral h

as issued

a mean

ingless co

nglo

meratio

n o

f statistics set in

a framew

ork

of g

eneral co

nclu

sions w

hich

are either to

tally irrelev

ant to

the

Lim

es in

vo

lved

or d

an

gero

us to

the in

tern

al sa

fety

of th

is co

un

try a

s ap

plie

d

to em

plo

ym

ent in

the F

ederal G

overn

men

t.

Acco

rdin

g to

the A

ttorn

ey G

eneral's rep

ort, th

e first pro

cedure

adopted by his office in making this investigation w

as to forward all

complaints involving the subversive affiliations of a F

ederal employee

to th

e dep

artmen

tal head

con

cerned

. If he req

uested

an in

vesti-

gatio

n, th

e Fed

eral Bureau

of In

vestig

ation w

as then

auth

orized

to

mak

e such

an in

vestig

ation

and

file its repo

rt with

the d

epartm

ental

head

for w

hatev

er action h

e deem

ed n

ecessary. T

he A

ttorn

ey

Gen

eral, in h

is repo

rt to C

on

gress, h

ow

ever, ex

plain

ed th

at this

pro

cedu

re pro

ved

mo

st ineffectiv

e in th

at ou

t of 1

,59

7 co

mp

laints

received and forwarded to the departm

ental heads only 193 requests fo

r investig

ation w

ere return

ed. It w

as then

that th

e Atto

rney

G

eneral reported he had adopted the procedure of having. the Federal

Bureau

of In

vestigation in

vestig

ate all com

plain

ts received

. After

inv

estigatio

n, th

e Fed

eral Bu

reau o

f Inv

estigatio

n rep

ort w

as for-

warded w

ithout conclusions or recomm

endation to the departmental

head

for w

hatev

er action h

e mig

ht w

ish to

take. T

he A

ttorn

ey

Gen

eral also b

rou

gh

t ou

t in h

is repo

rt that, in

ord

er to fo

llow

this

pro

cedu

re, it was n

ecessary to

determ

ine w

hich

org

anizatio

ns w

ere su

bv

ersive. T

o d

etermin

e this h

e caused

to b

e set up

an in

ter-dep

artmen

tal com

mittee to

review

the ev

iden

ce again

st all org

ani-

zation

s con

cerned

and

then

to su

bm

it a mem

oran

du

m an

d fin

din

g

to th

e Atto

rney

Gen

eral wh

o in

turn

was to

transm

it it to th

e dep

art-m

ental h

eads to

serve as a g

uid

e for th

em in

con

siderin

g th

e cases w

hich would com

e before them.

This com

mittee's report is prim

arily concerned with the m

anner in w

hich

the A

ttorn

ey G

eneral d

ealt with

, or rath

er failed to

deal w

ith,

the 1,124 cases which w

ere submitted to him

by the comm

ittee at his req

uest. O

f the 1

,12

4 n

ames su

bm

itted, acco

rdin

g to

the A

ttorn

ey

General's report, the F

ederal Bureau of Investigation actually investi-

gated only 601 'eases. Of these 601, the A

ttorney General stated that

he h

ad receiv

ed rep

lies from

dep

artmen

tal head

s on o

nly

501 o

ut o

f th

e.601, an

d th

at action h

ad b

een tak

en in

only

3 cases-2

dism

issals an

d 1

discip

linary

action

. Th

e Atto

rney

Gen

eral did

no

t enlig

hten

th

e Co

ng

ress as to h

ow

man

y o

f the F

ederal em

plo

yees in

clud

ed in

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8 S

PE

CIA

L R

EP

OR

T O

N S

UB

VE

RS

IVE

AC

TIV

ITIE

S

the o

rigin

al list of 1

,124 h

ad resig

ned

, or w

hat d

ispositio

n h

ad b

een

made of the 100 cases w

hich had not been heard from. O

n Septem

ber 24, 1

942, th

e chairm

an o

f this co

mm

ittee addressed

the H

ouse fo

r 2 hours at w

hich time he covered every phase of the A

ttorney General's

report an

d estab

lished

the fact th

at hun

dred

s of F

ederal em

plo

yees

wh

o w

ere on

the co

mm

ittee's list are still in th

e Go

vern

men

t service

even though they belong to organizations which the A

ttorney General

him

self has h

eld to

be su

bversiv

e. In a n

um

ber o

f cases these G

ov-

ernm

ent em

plo

yees b

elong to

3 o

r more su

ch o

rgan

izations. In

the

opinion of this comim

ttee, the Attorney G

eneral did not carry out the m

andate of Congress, w

hich was sim

ply that an investigation be made

and a report to Congress be filed, that w

ould show how

many F

ederal G

overnment em

ployees belonged to subversive organizations, know-

ingly or unknowingly, in order that the C

ongress might determ

ine for itself the extent of the inroads being m

ade by subversive groups into th

e Fed

eral service. T

his th

e Atto

rney

Gen

eral did

not d

o.

In the Chairm

an's speech of Septem

ber 24 he also presented to the H

ou

se the n

ames o

f 19

officials o

f the G

ov

ernm

ent, to

geth

er with

th

eir connectio

ns w

ith o

rgan

izations w

hich

the A

ttorn

ey G

eneral

him

self, accord

ing to

his o

wn m

emoran

dum

, had

found to

be su

b-

versiv

e. Yet, to

the co

mm

ittee's know

ledge, n

o actio

n h

as been

taken in the cases of the 19 officials.

III

Since the com

mittee's last report to the H

ouse on January 5, 1941, sev

en m

ajor su

bjects h

ave b

een co

vered

in o

ur in

vestig

ation

s, hear-

ings, and special reports: These investigations, hearings, and special

reports h

ave d

ealt more o

r less exhau

stively

with

the fo

llow

ing: (1

) T

he Am

erican Peace M

obilization; (2) sabotage strikes in our defense in

dustries; (3

) Japan

ese activities in

the U

nited

States; (4

) anti-

Sem

itic pro

pag

anda; (5

) the U

nio

n fo

r Dem

ocratic A

ction; (6

) the

Natio

nal F

ederatio

n fo

r Co

nstitu

tion

al Lib

erties; and

(7) th

e Ax

is F

ront movem

ent in. the United S

tates.

(1) T

HE

AM

ER

ICA

N P

EA

CE

MO

BIL

IZA

TIO

N

Th

e com

mittee em

plo

yed

two

inv

estigato

rs wh

ose fu

ll time w

as devoted to an exhaustive inquiry into the nature, aim

s, and activities of the A

merican P

eace Mobilization.

On M

ay 2

1, 1

941, a su

bco

mm

ittee of th

e com

mittee u

nder th

e chairm

anship of the Honorable Joe S

tarnes began public hearings on th

e Am

erican P

eace Mobilizatio

n. In

our in

vestig

ations an

d h

ear-ings on this organization, the follO

wing facts w

ere established: (a) T

he Am

erican Peace M

obilization was the direct successor of

the A

merican

Leag

ue fo

r Peace an

d D

emocracy

and w

as, like th

e latter o

rgan

ization, co

mpletely

under th

e contro

l of th

e Com

munist

Party

. (b) T

he A

merican

Peace M

obilizatio

n p

icketed

the W

hite H

ouse

for m

any

week

s prio

r to H

itler's inv

asion

of R

ussia, an

d, in

fact, m

aintain

ed th

at pick

et line rig

ht d

ow

n to

the v

ery d

ay o

f Hitler's

attack upon the Soviet U

nion. (c) T

he av

ow

ed o

bjects o

f the A

merican

Peace M

ob

ilization

's W

hite H

ouse p

icket lin

e were v

icious b

y ev

ery test o

f Am

erican

patriotism.

SP

EC

IAL

RE

PO

RT

ON

SE

BV

ER

SIV

E A

CT

IVIT

IES

(d) The A

merican P

eace Mobilization attem

pted to penetrate an influence the arm

ed forces of the United S

tates for clearly treasonabl purposes.

(e) Th

e Am

erican P

eace Mo

bilizatio

n o

pen

ly aid

ed an

d ab

ette w

idespread sabotage strikes in the most im

portant Am

erican defens industries, thereby seriously ham

pering our Nation's preparedness t

meet ju

st such

military

crises as that o

f Pearl H

arbor.

(f) The A

merican P

eace Mobilization denounced the P

resident a a w

armongering tool of W

all Street bankers and the w

hole Am

erica: defense program

as a Wall S

treet plot to aid British im

perialism.

(g) The A

merican

Peace M

obilizatio

n ech

oed

the C

om

munis

Party

's line th

at Great B

ritain w

as eng

aged

in an

imp

erialistic we

for her ow

n im

perialistic ends. (h) T

he A

merican

Peace M

obilizatio

n d

id all w

ithin

its pow

er t oppose our lend-lease aid to the nations w

hich were em

battled agains the A

xis Pow

ers. (i) T

he Am

erican Peace M

obilization denounced the conscriptio: of A

merican m

anpower as an invasion of civil liberties.

(j) T

he published propaganda of the Am

erican Peace M

obilizatio: w

as replete w

ith statem

ents w

hich

were d

eliberately

calculated

t sabotage the A

merican defense program

, the following being a typies

exam

ple o

f statemen

ts issued

over th

e nam

es of th

e org

anizatio

n'

leaders: B

ut ev

en if w

e do

n't ap

pro

ve o

f En

glan

d's w

ar, isn't h

er side still p

referabl

to H

itler's: and

isn't it b

etter to fig

ht an

d b

eat Hitler w

ith E

ng

land

than

with

ou

her?

No. A

n E

nglish

vic

tory

will re

sult in

the sa

me so

rt of im

peria

list, ant

dem

ocratic p

eace as will a N

azi victo

ry.

(k) Imm

ediately

after Hitler's in

vasio

n o

f Russia, th

e Am

erica] P

eace Mo

bilizatio

n ch

ang

ed its n

ame to

the A

merican

Peo

ple'

Mobilization, and reversed all of its form

er positions in exact accord once w

ith th

e chan

ges w

hich

Hitler's in

vasio

n o

f the S

oviet U

nio

n

occasioned in the line of the Com

munist P

arty.

(2) S

AB

OT

AG

E S

TR

IKE

S IN

OU

R D

EF

EN

SE

IND

US

TR

IES

In th

e early p

art of 1

941, a w

ave o

f sabotag

e strikes in

Am

erica] d

efense in

du

stries reached

its hig

hest p

oin

t. Fro

m th

e very

beg

in

fling of these strikes, this comm

ittee pointed out that these menacing

work

-stoppag

es were led

by k

now

n C

om

munists an

d th

at the C

orn

rau

nist P

arty's p

rogram

called fo

r just su

ch treaso

nab

le interferen

ce w

ith this country's military and industrial preparedness. T

he damagt

do

ne b

y th

ese strikes w

as incalcu

lable. In

every

instan

ce, the u

nio

n

involved in these interruptions of production was affiliated w

ith the C

ongress o

f Industrial O

rgan

izations. A

brief su

mm

ary o

f the m

on

seriou

s situatio

ns w

hich

the co

mm

ittee inv

estigated

is as follo

ws:

(a) .Allis-C

halmers.---O

ne of th

e mo

st dam

agin

g o

f the sab

otag

e strik

es was th

at at the A

llis-Chalm

ers plan

t in M

ilwau

kee w

ind

lasted fo

r man

y w

eeks. T

he strik

e was co

nducted

by th

e Unite(

Autom

obile Workers of A

merica, w

hose leader at the plant was H

arolc C

hristo

ffel. Th

e com

mittee's in

vestig

ation

left no

do

ub

t abo

u-

Ch

ristoffel's C

om

mu

nist affiliatio

ns. A

mo

ng

oth

er Co

mm

un

ist con

nections, he w

as one of the leaders of the Am

erican Peace M

obiliza tio

n an

d o

f the N

ational F

ederatio

n fo

r Constitu

tional L

iberties.

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10

SPE

CIA

L R

EP

OR

T O

N SU

BV

ER

SIVE

AC

TIV

ITIE

S SP

EC

IAL

RE

PO

RT

ON

SUB

VE

RSIV

E A

CT

IVIT

IES

11

(b) Harvill.—

The com

mittee m

ade a thorough investigation of the strik

e leadersh

ip at th

e Harv

ill plan

t in L

os A

ng

eles, Calif. T

here

the strik

ing u

nio

n w

as the N

ational A

ssociatio

n o

f Die C

asters, and

the lead

er of th

e strike w

as Ken

neth

Eggert. A

lthough E

ggert

slipp

ed in

to C

aliforn

ia un

der an

alias for th

e pu

rpo

se of ty

ing

up

the

Harv

ill plan

t, the co

mm

ittee pro

mptly

iden

tified h

im an

d ex

posed

him

as Kenneth E

ggert, former C

omm

unist Party secretary in T

oledo, O

hio. (c) V

ultee.—T

he comm

ittee exposed the Com

munist leadership of

the d

isastrous w

ork

stoppag

e at the V

ultee aircraft p

lant in

Los

Angeles, C

alif. The u

nio

n in

volv

ed w

as the U

nited

. Auto

mobile

Work

ers of A

merica, an

d am

ong th

e more im

portan

t Com

munist

leaders o

f the strik

e was W

yn

dh

am M

ortim

er. (d) International H

arvester.—F

or weeks, the International H

arvester plan

t at Chicag

o w

as tied u

p b

y th

e Farm

Equip

men

t Org

anizin

g

Co

mm

ittee un

der th

e leadersh

ip o

f Gran

t Oak

es wh

ose C

om

mu

nist

record

inclu

ded p

rom

inent a

ctiv

ity ' in

the A

meric

an P

eace

Mo

biliz

atio

n. •

(e) Alu

min

um

-1n A

pril 1

941, th

e Natio

nal A

ssociatio

n. o

f Die

Casters tied up the plants of the A

luminum

Co. of A

merica in C

leve-lan

d, O

hio

. Th

e com

mittee's in

vestig

ation

s turn

ed u

p th

e fact that

Alex

Balin

t, leader o

f the strik

e, was an

alien, an

ex-co

nvict, an

d an

o

ld-tim

e Co

mm

un

ist Party

mem

ber w

ho

had u

sed th

e nam

e "Al

Barry

." (f) N

orth Am

erican.—T

he strike at th

e No

rth A

merican

Av

iation

in

Ing

lewo

od

, Calif., led

to an

ord

er by

the P

residen

t for th

e Un

ited

States A

rmy

to tak

e over th

e plan

t. In th

is instan

ce also, th

e com

-m

ittee established the fact that the strike leadership was C

omm

unist. T

he president of the local of the United A

utomobile W

orkEirs w

hich co

nd

ucted

the strik

e was E

lmer

J. F

reitag. F

reitag v

ehem

ently

denied all C

omm

unist connections until confronted with indisputable

docu

men

tary ev

iden

ce in th

e com

mittee's p

ossessio

n.

(g) New

York T

ransport.—In M

arch 1

941, th

e Tran

sport W

ork

ers' U

nio

n called

a strike w

hich

seriously

interru

pted

the facilities o

f the

transp

ortatio

n sy

stem in

New

York

City

. The co

mm

ittee publish

ed

a special rep

ort, k

no

wn as ap

pen

dix

V, w

hich

establish

ed th

e far-reaching C

omm

unist control of the Transport W

orkers' Union under

the lead

ership

of M

ichael J. Q

uill.

(h) Lum

ber.—T

he International Wood W

orkers of Am

erica called and continued a disastrous strike in the lum

ber industry in defiance of govern

men

tal agen

cies. The u

nio

n's lead

er, 0. M

. Orto

n, w

as ex-posed

by th

e com

mittee as a C

om

munist w

ho o

ccupied

a place o

f forem

ost leadership in the Am

erican Peace M

obilization. (i)

Trona.—

The M

ine, Mill, and S

melter W

orkers' Union, headed

by Reid R

obinson, brought about a particularly serious work stoppage

at Tro

na, C

alif. Th

e com

mittee's in

vestig

ation

clearly estab

lished

th

e fact of th

e Com

munist m

otiv

es and lead

ership

of th

e strike.

Reid R

obinson was vice president of the A

merican P

eace Mobilization.

(3} JA

PA

NE

SE

AC

TIV

ITIE

S IN

TH

E U

NIT

ED

ST

AT

ES

In February 1942, the com

mittee published a special report, know

n as appendix part V

I, which dealt com

prehensively with the subversive

activities o

f the Jap

anese in

the U

nited

States. F

or m

ore th

an a y

ear

the comm

ittee had employed special investigators to m

ake a thorough study and investigation of the Japanese w

ho were living on our w

est coast.

Am

ong th

e com

mittee's fin

din

gs, p

rior to

Pearl H

arbor, w

ere the

following:

(a) The Japanese had a m

ap showing in great detail the fleet posi-

tions an

d b

attle form

ations o

f the U

nited

States N

avy aro

und P

earl H

arbo

r. Th

is map

also in

clud

ed v

ital military

info

rmatio

n o

n th

e P

anama C

anal, Alaska, and the P

hilippine Islands. (b) T

he Japanese were in possession of the m

ost detailed information

concerning all the naval craft of the United S

tates. (c) A

form

er attaché o

f the Jap

anese co

nsu

late in H

on

olu

lu w

as p

repared

to testify

that an

elabo

rately o

rgan

ized fifth

colu

mn

of

Japanese was being drilled for collaboration w

ith the armed forces of

Japan

when

the latter sh

ould

attack P

earl Harb

or.

(d) Th

e Japan

ese Go

vern

men

t was u

sing

fron

t org

anizatio

ns in

this country for the com

piling of an elaborate census of Japanese who

were residing in the U

nited States.

(e) Japanese fishing vessels on our west coast, as w

ell as in Haw

aii an

d th

e Philip

pin

e Islands, w

ere an im

portan

t arm o

f espio

nag

e for

the Jap

anese N

avy

. U

) A police officer on T

erminal Island in L

os Angeles H

arbor was

prepared to testify that numerous conferences had been held betw

een officers of the Im

perial Japanese Navy and Japanese residents on the

island. (g) Jap

anese-lan

gu

age sch

oo

ls in C

aliforn

ia and

in H

awaii w

ere inculcating traitorous attitudes tow

ard the United S

tates in the minds

of Am

erican-born Japanese. (h) Jap

anese civ

ic org

anizatio

ns in

the U

nited

States, su

ch as

the C

entral Jap

anese A

ssociatio

n, w

ere loudly

preten

din

g th

eir loyalty to the U

nited States G

overnment w

hile surreptitiously serving the deified E

mperor of Japan.

(i) Japan

ese civic o

rgan

izations w

ere collectin

g fu

nds in

this

country which they w

ere sending to Japan for the Em

pire's war chest

to be used for purchasing bombers.

(j) In C

aliforn

ia, there w

ere Japan

ese veteran

s' org

anizatio

ns

com

posed

of m

en w

ith m

ilitary train

ing an

d ex

perien

ce who v

ow

ed

allegiance only to the Japanese Em

peror whether they w

ere•Am

erican-or Japanese-born.

(k) Japanese treaty merchants, abusing the hospitality of the U

nited S

tates and using their merchant status as a subterfuge, w

ere engaged in espionage activities for the Japanese G

overnment.

(1) Japanese in California w

ere occupying large tracts of lands which

were m

ilitarily but not agriculturally useful. (m

) Man

y Jap

anese h

ad tak

en u

p resid

ence ad

jacent to

hig

hly

im

portant defense plants. (n) H

aving failed through diplomatic channels to obtain im

portant in

form

ation co

ncern

ing th

e water-su

pply

system

and o

ther p

ublic

utility services of Los A

ngeles, Japanese had obtained employm

ent in th

ese places w

here th

ey w

ere in p

ositio

ns to

do in

calculab

le fifth-

column dam

age. (o) Japanese espionage agents had obtained detailed inform

ation on th

e locatio

n o

f Califo

rnia's airp

orts an

d w

ere in p

ossessio

n o

f aerial photographs of every im

portant city on our west coast as w

ell as of the vital G

atlin lo

cks in

the P

anam

a (anal.

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4

12

SP

EC

IAL

. RE

PO

RT

ON

SUB

VE

RSIV

E A

CT

IVIT

IES

A d

irect result of th

e comm

ittee's report on

Japan

ese sub

versive activities in

this cou

ntry w

as the rem

oval of the Jap

anese p

opu

lation

from vital w

est-coast areas.

(4) AN

TI-SEMITIC

PRO

PAG

AN

DA

In -Jan

uary 1942, th

is comm

ittee brou

ght a score of w

itnesses to

Wash

ington

for a prob

e into th

eir alleged an

ti-Sem

itic activities. A

ll of these w

itnesses w

ere heard

by th

e comm

ittee in execu

tive ses-sion

. Th

e character of th

e testimon

y given w

as, by an

d large, of su

ch

extreme an

d fan

atical tenor th

at in th

e opin

ion of th

is comm

ittee no

good p

urp

ose could

have b

een served

by tak

ing it in public.

This com

mittee has held from

its very beginning that antiracial and an

tireligious p

ropagan

da is u

n-A

merican

per se. It h

as always b

een

so, and

it may b

e said to h

ave a particu

larly vicious form

of un

-A

merican

ism in

this p

eriod w

hen

one of th

e chief ch

aracteristics of th

e Axis P

owers h

as been

the d

issemin

ation an

d p

ractice of anti-

racial hatred. T

he b

earings in

executive session

last Janu

ary were a con

tinu

ation

of the com

mittee's in

vestigations in

to antiracial h

atreds, w

hich

from

the very first day of the comm

ittee's life down to the present have been

concentrated upon such un-Am

erican propagandists as William

Dudley

Pelley an

d h

is ilk. (5) U

NIO

N FO

R D

EMO

CR

ATIC

AC

TION

In June,

19

42

, this com

mittee p

ub

lished

a special rep

ort to the

Hou

se on th

e Un

ion for D

emocratic A

ction. T

he U

nion

is one of a

considerable number of agencies w

hich form a w

idespread movem

ent in

this cou

ntry look

ing tow

ard th

e discred

iting of th

e legislative branch of governm

ent. T

he U

nion

for Dem

ocratic Action

, in con

jun

ction w

ith th

e New

R

epublic, circulated something like a m

illion copies of an elaborately p

repared

smear-C

ongress b

ulletin

. It will p

robab

ly be con

ceded

in

all qu

arters that th

is comm

ittee's exposu

re of the aim

s and

activities of th

e Un

ion for D

emocratic A

ction w

ent far tow

ard n

ullifyin

g its effectiveness in the recent political cam

paign. S

ince th

e pu

blication

of ou

r repo

rt on th

e Un

ion for D

emocratic

Action

last Jun

e, the com

mittee h

as come in

to possession

of a large am

oun

t of eviden

ce wh

ich w

ill—w

hen

and

if pu

blish

ed—

constitu

te a final exposure of that organization as an un-A

merican sham

.

(6) NA

TION

AL FED

ERA

TION

FOR

CO

NSTITU

TION

AL LIBER

TIES

Du

ring th

e past year, th

e comm

ittee mad

e an exten

sive investiga-

tion in

to the n

ature an

d activities of th

e Nation

al Fed

eration for

Constitutional L

iberties. T

he com

mittee fou

nd

that to a very large exten

t the p

ersons w

ho

were gu

ilty of the treason

able con

du

ct un

der th

e ausp

ices -of the-

Am

erican P

eace Mob

ilization, w

hich

has b

een d

escribed

in section

(1) ab

ove, are today th

e very same P

ersons w

ho con

stitute th

e Na-

tional F

ederation

for Con

stitution

al Lib

erties. Th

e comm

ittee foun

d,

for examp

le, that 52 of th

e leadin

g figures in

the p

resent N

ational

Federation for C

onstitutional Liberties w

ere also among the outstand-

ing leaders in the Am

erican Peace M

obilization.

SPECIA

L REPO

RT O

N SU

BVER

SIVE A

CTIV

ITIES

On Septem

ber 24

, 19

42

the chairm

an of. this comm

ittee deliver&

a 2-hou

r add

ress to the h

ouse in

wh

ich h

e outlin

ed in

detail th

e na

ture, aims, and activities of the N

ational Federation for C

onstitutiona L

iberties.

(7) TH

E A

XIS FR

ON

T M

OVEM

ENT IN TH

E U

NIT

ED

STATES

For several m

onth

s, the com

mittee h

as been

prep

aring a com

pre

hen

sive report on

the A

xis Fron

t movem

ent in

this cou

ntry.

Th

is report covers th

e activities and

prop

agand

a of 298 organize

tions an

d several th

ousan

d in

divid

ual lead

ers• wh

o were con

necter

with

these organ

izations. In

the m

ain, th

e comm

ittee foun

d th

e fol low

ing broad types of Axis agents and propagandists in this country

(a) Organ

izations an

d in

divid

uals k

now

n to h

ave been

finan

ced ii

wh

ole or in p

art from N

azi Germ

any; (b) organizations ow

ing com-

plete allegian

ce to the E

mp

eror of Japan

; (c) organizations w

hirl h

ave been

carrying on

Mu

ssolini's F

ascist prop

agand

a amon

g du

Italians and Italian-A

mericans in this country; (d

) organizations com

posed

prim

arily of Germ

an n

ationals

, and Am

ericans of Germ

an de• scen

t wh

ich w

ere distin

ctly pro-N

azi in th

eir activities and

prop

a, gan

da; an

d (e) native F

ascist groups having both antiracial and pro-N

azi characteristics. In

May 1941, th

is comm

ittee pu

blish

ed a sp

ecial report, k

now

s as ap

pen

dix p

art IV, on

the G

erman

Am

erican B

un

d. T

his rep

ot.• con

sisted largely of origin

al docu

men

ts taken

from th

e person

a effects of G

. Wilh

elm K

un

ze, nation

al fueh

rer of the b

un

d, w

hirl

finally exp

osed th

e bu

nd

as a dan

gerous N

azi front organ

ized aIon

E

military lin

es. Th

is report w

as used by the prosecution in the recent trial and conviction of K

unze and his bund associates. It is u

nnecessary

at this tim

e to g

ive a len

gthy en

um

eration

all the cases where the G

overnment has successfully prosecuted agenU

of th

e Axis P

owers on

the b

asis of clues an

d d

ocum

entary evid

ent(

provid

ed b

y this com

mittee. A

few exam

ples, h

owever, w

ill ind

icatf th

e imp

ortance of th

e investigation

s wh

ich th

e comm

ittee has m

ath

in th

is field an

d th

e man

ner in

wh

ich th

e prosecu

ting au

thorities

have b

een d

epen

den

t up

on th

e comm

ittee's work

. Au

hagen

, Zap

p

and

Ton

n w

ere convicted

on th

e basis of d

ocum

entary evid

encE

tu

rned

over by th

is comm

ittee to the D

epartm

ent of Ju

stice. Ralp

l: T

own

send

, recently con

victed as a Jap

anese agen

t, was first exp

oser as su

ch b

y this com

mittee in

Au

gust, 1939. S

everal hu

nd

red caseE

of denaturalization of G

ermans have been brought before the court

as a result of th

e exposu

res mad

e by th

is comm

ittee. Am

ong th

ese d

enatu

ralization cases are th

ose of Man

s Ack

erman

n, h

is wife, an

d

his w

ife's broth

er wh

ose trials are sched

uled

for Janu

ary in A

ustin

, T

ex., and

all of wh

om w

ere exposed

as pro-N

azi prop

agand

ists by

this comm

ittee in August, 1940.

MA

RT

IN D

IES, C

hairman.

JOE STA

RN

ES. J. PA

RN

ELL THO

MA

S. N

OA

H M

. MA

SON

.

Page 8: Union Calendar No 1002 - Harold Weisbergjfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg Subject Index Files/D Disk/Dies... · the calculated whispers of defeatism, and the treacherous campaigns

SP

EC

IAL

RE

PO

RT

ON

SU

BV

ER

SIV

E

AC

TIV

ITIE

S

1.1

MIN

OR

ITY

VIE

WS

It is im

po

ssible fo

r me to

giv

e un

qu

alified ap

pro

val to

the A

nn

ual

Report of the C

omm

ittee on Un-A

merican A

ctivities for the Year 1942.

This is the first tim

e I have taken such a position on an annual report since I have been a m

ember of the com

mittee, having heretofore signed

each an

nu

al_ rep

ort. M

y reaso

ns fo

r dissen

ting

from

certain asp

ects of the m

ajority report on this occasion are as follows:

1. T

here h

as been

no o

pportu

nity

for d

iscussio

n o

r amen

dm

ent o

f th

e repo

rt or fo

r com

mittee m

emb

ers to d

o an

y w

ork

up

on

it. No

m

eeting has been held for its consideration. The report w

as presented to

mem

bers o

n a "tak

e it or leav

e it" basis. It is, in

my

jud

gm

ent,

wro

ng fo

r such

a docu

men

t as an an

nual rep

ort o

f this co

mm

ittee to

be treated

in th

is man

ner, p

articularly

at the p

resent tim

e. 2

. Beyond this I have one m

ajor point and several of lesser import-

ance which I am

impelled to m

ake. The m

ajor reason for my dissent

is this. A

merica is at w

ar again

st Germ

any

, Japan

, and

Italy. T

he

very existence of freedom, dem

ocratic government, and all A

merica

has sto

od fo

r hin

ges u

pon th

e outco

me o

f that w

ar. It is perfectly

clear to m

e that under circumstances of this sort, the prim

ary task of a com

mittee on un-A

merican activities, is the exposure of the activities

and

pro

pag

and

a of fo

rces friend

ly to

enem

y co

un

tries and

of g

rou

ps

in th

is country

who w

itting, o

r unw

ittingly

pro

mote th

eir cause. In

speaking in the H

ouse on March 11, 1942, in favor of continuance of

the comm

ittee, I made the follow

ing statement:

In m

y ju

dgm

ent th

e futu

re, of th

e com

mittee sh

ou

ld b

e dev

oted

primarily an

d

with

every

bit o

f majo

r emphasis at its co

mm

and to

the d

oin

g o

f a job o

f exposin

g

and

com

batin

g th

e wo

rk o

f peo

ple w

ho

attemp

t to create co

nfu

sion

in o

ur co

un

try

and to

build

up sy

mpath

y w

ith th

e Nazi p

hilo

sophy o

f govern

men

t. Thus th

ey

seek to

weak

en A

merica's w

ar effort. I b

elieve th

e whole effo

rt of th

e com

mittee

will stan

d o

r fall on

the b

asis of h

ow

well it d

oes th

at job

.

That w

as my position then and it is m

y position now.

This annual report should, in m

y judgment, have consisted in large

part at least of guidance to the Am

erican people as to how they m

ight id

entify

, avoid

, and co

mbat th

e pro

pag

anda an

d activ

ities of ag

ents

and friends of enemy nations of the U

nited States in the current w

ar. F

or all will agree I am

sure that it is the primary duty of any govern-

men

tal gro

up to

contrib

ute to

the m

axim

um

possib

le exten

t to th

e w

innin

g o

f that w

ar. I believ

e these th

ings sh

ould

hav

e constitu

ted,

but unfortunately do not constitute, the major em

phasis of this annual report.

It is time th

at with

in th

e past co

up

le of m

on

ths co

nsid

erable w

ork

has been done, at the request of the chairm

an, by myself and m

embers

of th

e com

mittee staff, o

n a rep

ort o

n o

rgan

izations an

d in

div

iduals

carryin

g o

n p

rop

agan

da an

d o

ther activ

ities favo

rable to

the A

xis

cause and the Axis philosophy of governm

ent. That report has not yet

been approved by the comm

ittee and there appears to be some doubt

even

that it w

ill 'be ap

pro

ved

. In an

y case m

ost o

f the m

aterial upon

which

it is based

has b

een in

the co

mm

ittee's possessio

n fo

r month

s an

d su

ch a rep

ort sh

ou

ld h

ave b

een issu

ed lo

ng

ago

. Th

is reason

(N

o. 2) is the weightiest reason by far for m

y dissent from the m

ajority rep

ort. 14

Th

ere are, ho

wev

er, oth

er con

sideratib

ns as w

ell wh

ich h

ay

prompted m

y. action. 3

. Much

of th

e material co

ntain

ed in

this rep

ort b

earing u

pon th

questio

n o

f alleged

"Com

munist 'affiliatio

ns" o

f certain in

div

idual

deals n

ot w

ith m

atters up

on

wh

ich th

ere was an

y co

mm

ittee actio:

whatso

ever, b

ut o

nly

indiv

idual actio

n tak

en b

y th

e chairm

an. 0

: at least tw

o o

ccasion

s, no

tably

the o

ne affectin

g em

plo

yees o

f th

Bo

ard o

f Eco

no

mic W

arfare, wh

en I p

rotested

that th

e com

mitte

had given no consideration to the charges.made, the point w

as mad

in rep

ly th

at this w

as the ch

airman

's perso

nal actio

n an

d th

e com

m

ittee was n

ot in

vo

lved

. An

d y

et such

material ap

pears h

ere in a:

ann

ual rep

ort o

f the co

mm

ittee as a whole. In

my o

pin

ion it h

as n

place there. 4. W

ith the general position of the majority of this C

omm

ittee the C

om

munists sh

ould

not b

e emplo

yed

by o

ur G

overn

men

t, I am c

course in

full ag

reemen

t. I no m

ore b

elieve a C

om

munist sh

ould

b

so employed than I do that a sym

pathizer with the A

xis cause shoull b

e so em

plo

yed

. I am also

in ag

reemen

t that w

here th

e head

of ai

agen

cy h

as requested

a report fro

nt th

e Civ

il Serv

ice Com

missim

and w

here that report has recomm

ended the dismissal of an em

ployee the recom

mendation of the C

omm

ission should be followed.

Th

e qu

estion

is no

t, ho

wev

er, wh

ether C

om

mu

nists o

r Fascist:

sho

uld

be em

plo

yed

by

the G

ov

ernm

ent, b

ut w

heth

er ind

ivid

uals i

question really are "subversive" on the one hand or whether they ar

simply people w

hose views don't agree w

ith the majority on the othe

han

d. T

here is at p

resent all to

o m

uch

tenden

cy in

Am

erica fo

so-called "left-wingers" to shout "F

ascist" at every conservative wh

holds an important position in the W

ar Production B

oard, for example

and fo

r "right-w

ingers" to

shout "C

om

munist" at lib

erals or p

ro

gressiv

es wh

o h

old

po

sition

s in so

me d

epartm

ent o

r agen

cy. T

hi

sort o

f thin

g is d

oin

g A

merica n

o g

ood. In

som

e respects it is p

osi

tively

dan

gero

us. F

or it asso

ciates in th

e pu

blic m

ind

the w

ord

"F

ascist" and "C

om

munist," n

ot w

ith th

ose to

whom

they

ca: pro

perly

and accu

rately b

e applied

but w

ith p

ersons w

hose p

atrioti

devotion to Am

erica and her basic institutions cannot be questioned w

hatev

er the feelin

g o

f their p

olitical o

pp

on

ents to

ward

their p

m

titular views on particular subjects m

ay be. T

here is n

o d

oubt th

at Com

munists d

id u

se as "fronts" th

e fou

org

anizatio

ns fro

m w

hich

the co

mm

ittee com

piled

the list o

f 1,1

2.

Federal em

ployees concerning which so m

uch has been made and t■

which

this rep

ort ag

ain refers. B

ut th

e annual rep

ort is in

accurat,

when it states that "these m

embership lists had been obtained target

by subpena and had been identified by the officials of the organization. in

vo

lved

." Fo

r at least in th

e case of th

e Wash

ing

ton

Co

mm

itte, fo

r Dem

ocratic actio

n m

y in

form

ation is th

at the list w

as obtainer in

toto

by

the co

mm

ittee from

a no

n-F

ederal ag

ency

and

that m

id

entificatio

n o

r auth

enticatio

n w

as mad

e. An

d I am

certain in

in:

ow

n m

ind

that it w

as no

thin

g m

ore n

or less th

an a m

ailing

list T

herefore the fact that a person's name w

as carried on its list by on of th

ese org

anizatio

ns seem

s to m

e to co

nstitu

te no su

bstan

tial evi

dente of "subversive" activity, especially since in many instances th

perso

n's n

ame w

as inclu

ded

with

ou

t any

action

on

his p

art or ev

es w

ithout h

is know

ledge. F

or th

ese reasons it is n

ot su

rprisin

g to

m

that in

vestig

ation b

y th

e Dep

artmen

t of Ju

stice failed to

disclo

s th

at there w

as any

sub

stantial ev

iden

ce of "su

bv

ersive" activ

ity o.