Mr. TAVENNER. I desire to offer page 29 of the document in evidence and ask that it be marked Exhibit Rosser No. 2." Mr. VELDE. Without objection it will be admitted. (Document entitled "Two Decades of Progress," p. 29, was received in evidence as Rosser exhibit No. 2.) ROSSER EXHIBIT NO. 2 Twenty Years of Growth and Progress of the COMMUNIST PARTY,U.S.A. COMMUNIST PARTY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY PETTIS PERRY, Chairman PAUL CLINE, Executive Secretary MAX SILVER, Organizational Secretary MATT PELMAN, Educational Director AL BRYAN, Legislative Director HELEN GARDNER, Membership Director 124 West Sixth Street September, 1939 – Michigan 8052 (Part 1) The Communist Party Branches of the 14th Congressional District bring to our Party on its 20th Anniversary greetings of 20 years of struggle for labor's rights and Negro rights; for democracy, peace and socialism. The 14th C.D. is an important working class district of Los Angeles County. Approximately 70% of the unemployed live in this territory, 90% of the Negro people live here, the ratio of small business people to large decidedly favors the small, most of Los Angeles Union men meet here. 90% of the slum dwellings are standing in our Congressional district. Here the conditions for the broadest and most healthy political unity are present. There are probably more peoples organizations meeting in the 14 C.D. than in any other district in Southern California. These organizations range from simple social clubs and businessmens associations to trade union and our Party Branches. The Executive Committee and the Branches of our Party in the 14th Congressional District pledge to continue the rich traditions of struggle for democracy and freedom in this District and to build and strengthen the Party so it can fulfill its historic role. 44 A.D. East Branch, Schrier, Organizer 44 A.D. West Branch, Sam Title, Organizer 44 A.D. North Branch, Frances Wintner, Organizer 55 A.D. Branch, Delda Wennrick, Organizer 62 A.D. Branch, Wm. Nelson, Organizer. Headquarters-2308 Griffith Avenue Fredrick Douglass Branch 64 East Assembly Branch, Paul Williams, Organizer, Phone MU. 9486 Finnish Branch 29 (Part 2) Mr. TAVENNER. Will you examine the document, please, and state whose names appear as the various officers? Mr. ROSSER. Lou Rosser-that is myself-the organizer; Leona McGenty, the organizational secretary Mr. TAVENNER. Will you spell that name, please? Mr. ROSSER. L-e-o-n-a M-c-G-e-n-t-y, the organizational secretary; Margaret Nelson, the membership director. She was the wife of Steve Nelson. Libby Corngold Mr. TAVENNER. Will you spell that name? Mr. ROSSER. L-i-b-b-y C-o-r-n-g-o-l-d, the trade-union director. Dave Himelstein, H-i-m-e-l-s-t-e-i-n, he was a member of the executive committee; Carl Brant, C-a-r-1 B-r-a-n-t, he was a member of the executive committee; Pettis Perry, he was a member of the executive committee and the State chairman of the Communist Party of California; Adele Young, a member of the executive committee; and Schrier, a member of the executive committee. I had at that time under my jurisdiction, beside the Communist Party branches in the 14th assembly district, the 44th, the 55th, the 62d, and the 64th. I had under my jurisdiction at that time the Mexican branch, the Japanese branch, the Hungarian branch, the Finnish branch, warehouse branch, the clerks branch, and the utilities branch. Those last three were trade-union branches. Mr. TAVENNER. Those were branches of the Communist Party? Mr. ROSSER. Yes. Mr. TAVENNER. Will you tell the committee briefly the importance of any of the members of your group as acquired in the later development of the Communist Party in the United States? You mentioned, for instance, a person by the name of Pettis Perry. Will you tell the committee what Pettis Perry has done? Mr. ROSSER. Well, Pettis Perry is a top, well-educated Communist Party functionary. Pettis Perry worked in southern California; he was a member of the county committee, head of the Negro commission. He was on the State committee of the Communist Party of California, the chairman of the Los Angeles County committee and a member of the State committee. He was on the national committee of the Communist Party, and he acted at the time as head of the Communist Party of America. Leona McGenty was head of the professional section for the unemployed movement which included doctors, teachers, scientists, unemployed scientists, unemployed actors, unemployed writers, and so forth. Libby Corngold was a trade-union leader, a Communist trade-union leader of the textile industry. Adele Young was the top State leader of the women and a Negro woman. Carl Brant came from the unemployed actors, and he developed into a top Communist organizer in the trade-union movement, the Electrical Workers of America. Mr. TAVENNER. That is sufficient. I desire to introduce in evidence a photostatic copy of a news sheet entitled "The Lantern," and ask that it be marked "Rosser Exhibit No. 3." Mr. VELDE. Without objection it will be admitted. (Photostat of document entitled "The League Lantern" was received in evidence as Rosser exhibit No. 3.) Our Line for '39" - 100 Percent Registration /The advent of the month of Dec ember, besides heralding the arrival of winter and the merry yearend holiday season, reminds us it is time for the YCL to take inventory; inventory of its most precious stock its members. It is the time, as the walrus said, when the YCL gets back the members who haven't been coming around for some time; it is the time when dues are paid up all around and every YCLer gets his new YCL membership book. These next few weeks are designated as our registration weeks, during which time we f must register YCLer who either reg every istered in 1938 or was recruited during the ieve There is a tremen dous amount of very hard work that our League has to do to better the conditions of the young people. Each additional person * in our league means that much more that we will be able to accomolish. Lou Rosser Goes to BIG CITY Well, he has received one of the most wonderful opportunities that Every branch member can be given to any 18 urged to cooperate YCLer six months at to the fullest extent the National Party with the registration Training School under committee in his parthe best instructors ticular branch as his the party has part in helping the Gotham, that burg just YCL start the new year across the river from with a grand flourish- Hoboken. A 100% REGISTRATION FILL BE FINE IN '39!! Read the "Review" Our salute to Karl Marx branch, newest in L.A. County. When considering a choice of names for the branch, they said, "If we take the name of Karl Marx, -19 it will HAVE TO BE THE BEST BRANCH IN THE CANTY. So, they took Put, and will bear watching. LeRoy Parra is Pres., Alice SalGade, Secretary. The one thing Lou wants from us now is mail he wants to hear from all of us. N.Y. is pretty far from L.A. and Lou's heart is yet with the L.A. League. uing until the 19th, tom discussion will be. carried on in the branches. On Decem-ˆ ber 19, the County Board will meet consider proposed amendments from the branches. December 19 to January 1 will be given over to balloting on the Constitution as amended. From January 1-14, branchus will hold nominations for County officers and members at large. A large county conference will be held on January 15 to consider the nominations. January 16-22 will be given over to discussion of candidates. On the 22nd there will be a membership meeting and ballotting. The YCL has as its main job at present to do all in its nower to help the unity of our generation so Drop him a line thru that it may better the County Office-tell fight for its needs. him what vour branch Along with this we is doing, what's hap- have the task of helppening in your neigh-ing the young people 'borhood and we are sure that you all join Read the Review and their organizations take the steps towards progressive political action and organization. We can continued on page 21. Mr. TAVENNER. What is the publication or news sheet The Lantern? Mr. ROSSER. It was put out by one of the Young Communist League groups. Mr. TAVENNER. I will read only this portion of the document. The document describes Lou Rosser's going to the big city and states as follows: Well, he has received one of the most wonderful opportunities that can be given to any YCLer-6 months at the national party training school under the best instructors the party has. I will not ask you at this time to explain the importance of the Young Communist League in the Communist Party plan. I will ask you questions relating to that later on in your testimony. But I think the committee should understand at this time what your training has been in both the Young Communist League and the Communist Party, preparatory to the work that you were to perform in the Communist Party. Mr. ROSSER. Well, in the Young Communist League my training was, first I went to discussion groups, and the Young Communist League takes up the same pamphlets and books that the Communist Party takes up. In my discussion groups I took up What Is To Be Done, which was by Lenin, which is a book that deals with the value of theory, understanding the Communist teachings, and I studied Imperialism by Lenin in discussion groups. I studied State and Revolution, The Negro Question, and then after these discussion groups I was sent to the county school of the Communist Party of Los Angeles. Mr. TAVENNER. Let me interrupt you a moment. I am asking you this question about your training not only to show what training you have received, but to inform the committee of the type of training that is usually given to those who are selected for leadership in the Communist Party, so I would like for your testimony to embrace not only your own personal training, but the Communist Party plan for training its leaders. Mr. ROSSER. Well, the plan, as I said, I was selected among 25 or more Communist and Young Communist League organizers and functionaries to attend a county school set up by the county committee of the Communist Party to train Communist leaders in the teachings of Marx, Lenin, Stalin. At this county school I was taught the principles of communism, trade-union problems, the Negro question, agitation, and propaganda, how to write leaflets, how to speak on street corners, how to make speeches, Communist speeches, and party organization, how the party functions, and then I went back to work, and after working I was selected by the State committee and the county committee of the Communist Party to attend the State school of the Communist Party. At the State school of the Communist Party, where they had tradeunionists, people from the unemployed movement, housewives, people who worked in YWCA's, people from front groups, Communist Party group leaders, we took up the problem of the State revolution, dialectical materialism, Peters' Manual, which is a manual put out by the national committee of the Communist Party on the program of the Communist Party on party organizations, on the aim of the Communist Party, on how to organize the Communist Party, or how to |