SCOPE OF SOVIET ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1956 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 9:30 a. m., in the senate chamber, Iolani Palace, Senator Olin D. Johnston presiding. Present: Senators Johnston, Watkins, Welker, and Butler. Also present: Robert Morris, chief counsel; Benjamin Mandel, research directors. Senator JOHNSTON. The committee will come to order. We will begin our hearing. Mr. MORRIS. Senator, before beginning the regular session, I would like to report for the public record-one of the ways we have of getting into the record here some of the developments that take place out of the formal hearing-we had issued a subpena within the last few days to a person who has been identified as a Communist. Now, he called this morning to ask if we would see him outside the Iolani Palace because he was afraid to come to the hearing at the palace grounds. He acknowledged that he had been a Communist, he told us he had left the party; when he had left the party; gave us some interesting information that we plan to develop; stated that he will testify fully before the committee in executive session. And then we asked him if he would cooperate with the Territorial commission. He acknowledged that he would. And he is standing by, in the event that the subcommittee may want to see him again. Senator WATKINS. May I inquire, Is this an additional witness to the one mentioned yesterday? Mr. MORRIS. That's right, Senator. The first witness this morning is Mr. Dillingham. Will you sit at the witness table, Mr. Dillingham, please? Senator JOHNSTON. Raise your right hand and be sworn. Do you solemnly swear that the evidence you give before this subcommittee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Mr. DILLINGHAM. I do. Senator JOHNSTON. Have a seat. TESTIMONY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DILLINGHAM Mr. MORRIS. Will you give your name and address to the shorthand reporter, Mr. Dillingham, please? Mr. DILLINGHAM. My name is Benjamin Franklin Dillingham. Mr. DILLINGHAM. 3227 Diamond Head Road, Honolulu, T. H. Mr. MORRIS. How long have you lived in Honolulu since that time? Mr. MORRIS. Have you held office in the Territory? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Yes, sir, I have. Mr. MORRIS. I wonder if you would relate to the committee what offices you have held? Mr. DILLINGHAM. In 1946 I was elected to the board of supervisors of the city and county of Honolulu, which office I held until elected to the senate in the fall of 1948, the Territorial senate, that is, and I held that office until-well, my term expires January 1, 1957. Mr. MORRIS. Have you held any other positions in the Territory? Mr. DILLINGHAM. In a private capacity, yes, sir. Mr. MORRIS. You have been a senator, have you not? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Territorial senator; my term expires as of the end of this year. Mr. MORRIS. Now, you have also been active in business here? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Yes, sir, I have. Mr. MORRIS. Will you tell us about that, Mr. Dillingham? Mr. DILLINGHAM. At the present time, sir, I am vice president and general manager of the Oahu Railway & Land Co. Mr. MORRIS. And how long have you held that position? Mr. DILLINGHAM. For approximately 8 years. Mr. MORRIS. Who is your father, Mr. Dillingham? Mr. DILLINGHAM. My father is Walter F. Dillingham. Mr. MORRIS. And he has been active in the community here for many years, has he not? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Yes, sir, he has. Mr. MORRIS. Has he been active in business? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Still active. He serves as president of the company in which I serve as manager. Mr. MORRIS. I see. He is well and favorably known on this island? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Well known, yes, sir. Mr. MORRIS. Now, have you had an opportunity, Mr. Dillingham, of observing the influence of the International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union and the United Public Workers on the community of Hawaii? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Yes, sir, I have. Mr. MORRIS. Have you, with particularity, had an opportunity to notice its influence on management and business generally? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Yes, I have. Mr. MORRIS. Are there any observations that you can tell this committee, based on your own experience, about the relationship between business generally and management generally and the leaders of the Mr. DILLINGHAM. Well, sir, the record has been fairly obvious, particularly since the end of World War II. It has been a record marked by ups and downs, a good deal of turbulence, particularly in the early years after the war. There has been a great deal more stability recently than there was in the opening phases of these labor relationships, but I will say that the situation is, at the moment, on a reasonably favorable basis explosive but favorable. Senator WELKER. What is that? "Explosive but favorable"? Mr. DILLINGHAM. It is an explosive proposition, yes. Mr. MORRIS. Has the conviction of Jack Hall and the other six defendants in the Smith Act trial of 1953, as well as the litigation in which, or the trial, I think, in which Harry Bridges, the international president of the ILWU, was a party, made an impression at all on management? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Well, I think it has made an impression, Mr. Morris, but the fact that the conviction has been followed up by long delays in any decisive action being taken, has tended to minimize the impact of that conviction. And I think that has left its mark not only upon management, but also upon the community at large. Senator JOHNSTON. You mean to say by that, that the delay in the case has brought a bad effect upon the public here? Mr. DILLINGHAM. A very, very unfortunate effect, yes, Senator. Mr. MORRIS. Mr. Dillingham, have you noticed in recent days, this month I should say, there has been a series of testimonial dinners for Mr. Jack Hall? Mr. DILLINGHAM. That is correct. I have noticed that. Mr. MORRIS. Have representatives of management, according to what you may have learned from press reports and other sources, attended these testimonial dinners? Mr. DILLINGHAM. I have seen the names of one or two mentioned in the press, yes, sir. How many were actually in attendance, I don't know. Mr. MORRIS. Now, based on your experience as a businessman, on the part of business management, do you feel that management of responsible business should attend a testimonial dinner for Mr. Jack Hall, under the circumstances? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Under the circumstances, I do not, Mr. Morris. Mr. MORRIS. Will you tell us why you say that, Mr. Dillingham? Mr. DILLINGHAM. Mr. Morris, Mr. Hall has been convicted of an act that is, from my point of view, tantamount to treason. Now, regardless of what one may feel personally about Mr. Hall, what he represents and the job that he is doing, the fact remains that under the judicial system of our country, he has been duly tried and convicted. Now, I don't think that that fact can be minimized or overlooked, and I don't see how any person in a responsible business or otherwise, who claims to be loyal to the United States and therefore to all its principles and institutions, can overlook that very important fact by going to a dinner in testimony or in honor of that individual. As I understood, it wasn't a question of paying tribute to the ILWU as an organization, to its membership, or to its accomplishments, but it was paying tribute to the individual. And under the circumstances, I think it is incredible that anyone could, who claims to be loyal to this country, pay tribute to him in the way of attending a testimonial dinner. Senator WATKINS. May I ask you: How extensive was the attendance at that testimonial, at least from the point of view of business or management? I Mr. DILLINGHAM. Sir, I am unable to say how extensive it was. know, from what I have been told, that a good many business leaders were invited to attend the dinner. And out of that, I saw the names of only one or two that I was able to recognize as businessmen who actually did attend, not necessarily the dinner that was given here but at one of two of the other dinners on the outside islands. How many actually attended, sir, I could not say. Mr. MORRIS. Senator, I have some press clippings here, which indicate that in one case a manager of a sugar company and in another case the general manager of a biscuit and bread company did attend this public dinner for Mr. Hall. I wonder if they might go into the record at this time. I know it is a newspaper report, and it is conceivable that the people weren't there, but it would be hard to see that the newspaper would report their presence, and particularly if they quote them. In one case the paper reports that, "In a brief talk" one man "expressed his pleasure at being with the workers outside of working hours." Senator JOHNSTON. These shall go into the record. (The clipping above referred to reads as follows:) [Labor, September 4, 1956] ILWU FEELS SECURE NOW, JACK HALL SAYS HILO, T. H., September 4.-In contract negotiations a year ago the ILWU was fighting for survival, according to its regional director, Jack W. Hall, but today he feels it is secure. He made the comment while addressing a testimonial dinner held for him Sunday at the Hotel Honokaa Club. Plantation and public officials were among the estimated 230 persons who attended. Generally speaking, the union is enjoying good relations with industry, according to Hall. He added that the union will keep trying to consider the public in all its negotiations. FROM AND TO The ILWU will look into problems affecting the Territory, such as employment and schools, because the union is looking not only for what it can get from the Territory, but what it can contribute, Hall said. County Chairman James Kealoha, one of the guest speakers, commented on union gains, and expressed the hope that union and management will continue to "get along." The union is ready to go on record as prepared to give moral, physical, and financial support to Jack Hall, said Saburo Fupisaki, union defense and membership service director. Antonio Rania, president of local 142, said he is sure the Honokaa unit will be working with management for peaceful solutions of problems, and gave examples of how this has been accomplished. PLEASED In a brief talk, Manager Richard M. Frazier of the Honokaa Sugar Co. expressed his pleasure at being with the workers outside working hours. The speakers also included George Martin, Hawaii division director of the ILWU; Yoshito Takamine, master of ceremonies; and Felomino Fuerte, chairman of the dinner program. |