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affirmative philosophy. We also had been taught that the First World War accomplished nothing despite the 4 years of suffering and slaughter. We were determined that another fruitless war of that kind should not occur.

Finally, we were very much aware of the growing menace of Hitlerism, and it seemed that Hitlerism could be stopped internationally, and a developing Fascist movement, or what might turn into a Fascist movement, in this country, could be stopped only by organizing a very broad, united front-and this the Communist Party purported to do. They did seem to be taking the lead against Hitlerism.

As you remember, this was the period of the movement for collective security in the League of Nations. This was also the period of the Spanish Civil War, when the democracies seemed to be fighting against the armed forces of Hitler and Mussolini in Spain.

All these influences converging made me feel before I went into the party that it was my idea to aline myself with this leadership.

I discovered in the 2 years which followed that I had made a mistake, but my break did not come finally until after the Hitler-Molotov pact, which initiated the Second World War.

I left then not only because the shift of the line led me into a position which was politically and morally intolerable, but also because I had had such experience of the intrigues and duplicity that are inseparable from Communist Party membership with the requirement that one critically defend the Soviet Union, that as a person of morality and sincerity I could remain in that position no longer.

I not only broke with the party, but increasingly in the years that have followed have I felt it necessary to fight the influence of the Communist Party in those areas where I could be most effective.

Mr. CLARDY. And you regard your appearance here today as falling in that category, I take it?

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. It is an unpleasant duty, but one I feel I must accept.

Mr. TAVENNER. Did you have the feeling during the period of your membership in the Communist Party that the Communist Party was being used as a tool by a foreign, power for the advancement of its own foreign policy?

Mr. DAVIS. That was less clear at the time because the Russian policy then-the policy of collective security to which I refer-seemed an effective policy against fascism; and, therefore, not only did I accept it, but as you know, many liberals and progressives were ready at that time to unite with the Communist Party because it did seem to be working for peace and against fascism.

Mr. TAVENNER. Did your view change as a result of subsequent events?

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. The shift of policy after 1939 and the rapidity with which the Communist Party in this country fell in line with the Russian policy, even though they didn't understand it, made it quite clear that they were acting for the Soviet Union; that they were in a certain sense Soviet nationalists and not working for the broader interests of the American people.

Mr. TAVENNER. I believe you stated that you became a member of the Communist Party in September of 1937?

Mr. DAVIS. No. I believe it was January.

Mr. TAVENNER. In January of 1937?

Mr. DAVIS. Sometime in the middle of that winter.

Mr. TAVENNER. How were you employed at that time?
Mr. DAVIS. I was teaching at Harvard.

Mr. TAVENNER. What type of a group of Communists were you assigned to upon joining the party?

Mr. DAVIS. It was a very small group. I think the active members were no more than 6 or 7 at that time and they comprised 2 or 3 persons connected with Harvard and some townspeople.

Mr. TAVENNER. Was it the type of an organization which has been frequently referred to as a neighborhood group?

Mr. DAVIS. No. I think it had a rather more special connection than that. I think most of the people in it were professionals, or the wives of professionals in academics.

Mr. TAVENNER. How long did you remain a member of that particular group?

Mr. DAVIS. That is the only group I ever belonged to, but it changed its character after a few months.

Mr. TAVENNER. Will you explain that, please?

Mr. DAVIS. Because of the temper of the time more teachers were coming into the Communist Party and, therefore, the group was made exclusively a Harvard teachers' or graduate student group.

Mr. KEARNEY. How many members were in that group when you first joined?

Mr. DAVIS. I remember at the first meeting I went to-it is a very dim image now, but as I say, I don't think there were more than 7 or 8, or 6 or 7 people there.

Mr. KEARNEY. Did the membership increase as time went on?

Mr. DAVIS. It increased, but I don't believe that it ever comprised more than 15. I would say that was the maximum.

Mr. KEARNEY. Was the membership of this organization that you at that time joined-were they mostly confined to membership in the neighborhood surrounding Harvard, with Harvard teachers?

Mr. DAVIS. As I say, they were-after a few months they became either exclusively Harvard teachers or graduate students at Harvard, or fellows.

Mr. MOULDER. Mr. Chairman, you asked him to what group he was assigned, Mr. Kearney. Could you elaborate on that? Did you join somewhere else or did you just join that group?

Mr. DAVIS. What I did was talk to a person whom I assumed to be a Communist Party member, and he invited me to the meeting. Mr. KEARNEY. He invited you to the Communist Party meeting? Mr. DAVIS. Yes.

Mr. KEARNEY. And you assumed that he was a member?

Mr. DAVIS. Yes.

Mr. KEARNEY. Did you later discover that he was a Communist? Mr. DAVIS. Yes.

Mr. TAVENNER. What was his name?

Mr. DAVIS. I am not certain at this distance which of two persons it was.

Mr. TAVENNER. Were both of the persons that you have in mind persons known to you to be members of the Communist Party? Mr. DAVIS. Yes.

Mr. TAVENNER. Then I will ask you to give the names of both of them.

Mr. DAVIS. Louis Harap.

Mr. TAVENNER. Will you spell the last name, please?

Mr. DAVIS. H-a-r-a-p.

Mr. TAVENNER. And I think you should spell the first name.
Mr. DAVIS. L-o-u-i-s.

Mr. TAVENNER. If you know what his subsequent connection was with the Communist Party I think you should tell us. That is, if you know of your own knowledge whether he has remained in the Communist Party for any definite period of time or whether he withdrew from the party at any time, I would like you to so state.

Mr. DAVIS. I have no first-hand knowledge. I have read writing by him in recent years which would suggest that his tendency had remained the same.

Mr. KEARNEY. Is he a professor at Harvard?

Mr. DAVIS. No; he was not. He was employed in a very minor capacity as librarian, I believe, of the philosophy library.

Mr. KEARNEY. Is he still connected in that position?
Mr. DAVIS. No. He left Harvard many years ago.
Mr. KEARNEY. Do you know what he is doing now?

Mr. DAVIS. I believe he is editor of a magazine.

Mr. KEARNEY. Do you know the name of the magazine?

Mr. DAVIS. It is the Jewish Affairs, I believe. Some such magazine. Mr. VELDE. Will you spell that, please?

Mr. DAVIS. The name of the magazine?

Mr. VELDE. Yes.

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. J-e-w-i-s-h A-f-f-a-i-r-s.

Mr. KEARNEY. He is the editor, you think?

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. I think he is editor.

Mr. KEARNEY. Do you know where that is published?

Mr. DAVIS. In New York.

Mr. TAVENNER. Now will you give us the name of the second person who may have been the person whom you first interviewed with regard to joining the Communist Party?

Mr. DAVIS. William Parry-P-a-r-r-y.

Mr. TAVENNER. Do you know whether he remained in the Communist Party for any period of time or whether he is still in the Com-. munist Party, to your knowledge?

Mr. DAVIS. I have known nothing of him since, I believe, 1938. Mr. TAVENNER. Were you required to sign a card, or were you issued a card evidencing your Communist Party membership?

Mr. DAVIS. For the purpose of collecting dues the treasurer of the unit had a group of booklets in which stamps were pasted to show that the dues had been paid.

Mr. CLARDY. You said "the union"?

Mr. SCHERER. Unit.

Mr. DAVIS. Unit. I'm sorry.

Mr. CLARDY. Oh, you said unit. I'm sorry. I can't hear you up here.

Mr. DAVIS. Do you want me to adjust the microphones?

Mr. TAVENNER. Did that card have your name on it?

Mr. DAVIS. No. It had either initials or a pseudonym, and the initials were not actually the initials of the person.

Mr. TAVENNER. Will you tell the committee the reason for that?

Mr. DAVIS. This was a professional unit and professional units were always particularly protected so that there would be no publicity which would be harmful to the careers of the individual members.

Mr. TAVENNER. By that you mean that your Communist Party membership was kept secret from the rank-and-file members of the Communist Party?

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. To a very large extent.

Mr. TAVENNER. And it was in order to preserve that special privilege of immunity, or immunity, that pseudonyms were used? Mr. DAVIS. Yes.

Mr. TAVENNER. What was your pseudonym?

Mr. DAVIS. I don't remember because we simply made up one as the books were issued and didn't use it in any other connection. It was purely an aid to memory, so to speak, when the dues were paid. The treasurer called out the names and the persons identified themselves.

Mr. TAVENNER. Was the decision to have the names kept secret one of national policy of the Communist Party in such organizations as yours, or was it the result of a decision of your own group?

Mr. DAVIS. This was regular practice, I believe.

Mr. TAVENNER. How was that practice and other Communist practices relayed to your group?

Mr. DAVIS. The treasurer was informed by the officials what the practice was and instructed in the use of these books.

Mr. TAVENNER. Who was your treasurer at that time?

Mr. DAVIS. I can't remember. The officers within the group kept changing and the membership kept changing. This is, as you know, 15 years back.

Mr. TAVENNER. Do you recall the names of any Communist Party functionaries who relayed the instructions and directives from the Communist Party to your group?

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. There was a paid functionary named Hy Gordon. Mr. CLARDY. What was his capacity with the party?

Mr. DAVIS. He was an official of some sort. I don't know his title, but he devoted his full time to these activities and was paid some small salary to which this unit contributed.

Mr. CLARDY. He was the chief giver of directions, shall we say?

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. There also was a girl named Margot Clark. M-a-r-g-o-t C-1-a-r-k.

Mr. CLARDY. Was she a paid functionary also?

Mr. DAVIS. No, I don't believe she was a paid functionary, but she went back and forth between this unit and the officials.

Mr. TAVENNER. Do you recall how Margot Clark was employed at that time?

Mr. DAVIS. Then or later she ran a book shop near Harvard Square called something like The Progressive Book Shop.

Mr. TAVENNER. Did she have any other employment during the time you knew of her Communist Party activities?

Mr. DAVIS. No.

Mr. KEARNEY. Was your group ever addressed by high functionaries of the Communist Party?

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. A man F-r-a-n-k-f-e-l-d.

named Phil Frankfeld.

P-h-i-l

Mr. KEARNEY. Phil Frankfeld?

Mr. DAVIS. Phil Frankfeld visited it from time to time.
Mr. KEARNEY. Do you know where he lives?

Mr. DAVIS. Where he lived then? No; I don't

Mr. KEARNEY. Did you discover where he lived later?

Mr. DAVIS. He has had a very public career since then. He was involved in one of the trials, I think, at Philadelphia.

Mr. KEARNEY. I think you are quite correct in assuming he has had quite a public career.

Did you ever know whether the gentleman in question came from Baltimore or Washington?

Mr. DAVIS. It is my impression that he came from Baltimore or Washington.

Mr. TAVENNER. Mr. Chairman, the testimony before the committee shows that he was sent from Philadelphia to the Baltimore area and was at one time the head of the Communist Party for the Washington district, which consisted of the District of Columbia and Maryland. Mr. WALTER. Where is he now, Mr. Tavenner?

Mr. TAVENNER. He was recently convicted at Baltimore along with others for violation of the Smith Act.

Mr. KEARNEY. I think he is serving sentence now.

Mr. TAVENNER. I think so.

Mr. SCHERER. Professor, do you know where Hy Gordon is today? Mr. DAVIS. No. I have never seen him since the thirties.

Mr. SCHERER. Do you know where the Clark woman is today?

Mr. DAVIS. No.

Mr. TAVENNER. Will you state how frequently the group met?

Mr. DAVIS. During the academic year I think it was once a week. Certainly it was as often as twice a week.

Mr. TAVENNER. Where were these meetings held?

Mr. DAVIS. In the apartments of the members.

Mr. TAVENNER. What was the nature of the business that was conducted at the meetings?

Mr. DAVIS. It consisted, as I remember it, of three activities: First, discussing the policies of organizations to which we belonged, like the Teachers' Union, or the front organizations, and determining upon the role that the individual member should play in those organizations:

Secondly, the question of Marxist education-organizing study groups to which teachers would be invited; and, thirdly, various fundraising activities for united front organizations or for the party itself. Mr. TAVENNER. Let us consider each of those functions in the order in which you named them.

Now what was the policy of the Communist Party with reference to your activities in outside organizations?

Mr. DAVIS. We were to assume positions of leadership so that their policies would be as close to the policies desired by the Communist Party as possible.

Mr. TAVENNER. How was that information transmitted to you as to what organizations you were to infiltrate?

Mr. DAVIS. I think it hardly needed to be transmitted, because our immediate concern was with the Teachers' Union and with organizations like the [American] League for Peace and Democracy.

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