WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA BASED UPON TESTIMONY OF MATTHEW CVETIC FEBRUARY 21, 22, AND 23, AND MARCH 13, 14, AND 24, 1950 Printed for the use of the Committee on Un-American Activities 50-60555 63178 UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1950 HBP8 may! 78 EXPOSÉ OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF WESTERN BASED UPON TESTIMONY OF MATTHEW CVETIC TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1950 UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING Washington, D. C. MORNING SESSION The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:30 a. m., in room 226, Old House Office Building, Washington, D. C., Hon. John McSweeney presiding. Committee members present: Representatives John McSweeney, Morgan M. Moulder, Richard M. Nixon (arriving as indicated), Francis Case (arriving as indicated), and Bernard W. Kearney. Staff members present: Frank S. Tavenner, Jr., counsel; Louis J. Russell, senior investigator; Donald T. Appell, William A. Wheeler, and Courtney Owens, investigators; John W. Carrington, clerk; Benjamin Mandel, director of research; and A. S. Poore, editor. Mr. MCSWEENEY. The subcommittee is in session. I would like the record to show that Mr. Moulder, Mr. Kearney, and Mr. McSweeney are present. You may proceed, Mr. Tavenner. Mr. TAVENNER Mr. Cvetic, will you be sworn, please. Mr. MCSWEENEY. You solemnly swear the testimony you give before the committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Mr. CVETIC. I do. TESTIMONY OF MATTHEW CVETIC Mr. TAVENNER. Mr. Cvetic, what is your full name, please? Mr. TAVENNER. I suggest, Mr. Chairman, that we complete the photographing phase of the hearing so that we will not interrupt the witness. Mr. MCSWEENEY. Gentlemen of the press, we want you to have every opportunity to take pictures, but we don't want you to interfere with our progress here. 1195 Mr. TAVENNER. One photographer has suggested he would like a photograph taken while the witness is talking. Mr. MCSWEENEY. Very well. Mr. TAVENNER. Mr. Cvetic, when and where were you born? Mr. TAVENNER. How long have you lived in Pittsburgh? Mr. CVETIC. All my life. Mr. TAVENNER. Mr. Cvetic, will you please briefly outline to the committee your educational background? Mr. CVETIC. Yes. I completed elementary school at St. Mary's Parochial School on Fifty-seventh Street in Pittsburgh. I finished 2 years at St. Vincent's College Preparatory School at Latrobe, Pa., and graduated from Curry Business College in Pittsburgh. Mr. TAVENNER. Will you briefly outline to the committee your employment background? Mr. CVETIC. In 1925 or 1926 I went to work for I. W. Scott Co. in Pittsburgh. I worked there about 31⁄2 years, and then went to work for the Etna Furniture Co. When I left there, I worked for General Motors about a year. After that, I operated a service station for my father and myself until about 1935. In 1935 I went to work for the Department of Justice on a crime survey; and in December 1937 I went to work for the United States Employment Service, as a placement interviewer, and worked there until December 1945. Mr. TAVENNER. In what city did you work for the United States Employment Service? Mr. CVETIC. In Pittsburgh. Mr. TAVENNER. And you worked there how long? Mr. CVETIC. About 8 years. In December 1945 I went to work for the American Committee for Yugoslav Relief as the executive secretary in western Pennsylvania. Mr. TAVENNER. How long did you work for them? Mr. CVETIC. About 2 years. Mr. TAVENNER. And when did you cease working for them? Mr. CVETIC. In December 1947, when I was made executive secretary of the American Slav Congress in western Pennsylvania. Then in November 1948 I went to work as an insurance salesman for E. J. Waldman Insurance Agency in Pittsburgh, and at the present time I ám still an insurance salesman for E. J. Waldman Insurance Agency in Pittsburgh. Mr. TAVENNER. What is your nationality background? Mr. CVETIC. Slovenian, born in Pittsburgh. My mother and dad came from Slovenia, which is in Yugoslavia. Mr. TAVENNER. Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? Mr. CVETIC. I have been a member of the Communist Party since February 1943. Mr. TAVENNER, Will you briefly outline to the committee how you became a member of the Communist Party? In this connection, Mr. Cvetic, the committee would appreciate that you, for consistency, refer to your Communist membership as Communist Party membership. We realize that the Communist Party changed its name to the Communist Political Association from May 1944 until its convention in July 1945, when it again became the Communist Party. Mr. CVETIC. Yes. I can do that. In April 1941, while I was employed at the United States Employment Service, I was approached by a Government agency and asked to volunteer my services to do undercover work. I met with their agent two or three times, and as a result of these meetings I agreed to take steps which would put me in a position to join the Communist Party for the purpose of furnishing the FBI with reports on Communist Party activities. That was in April of 1941. Mr. TAVENNER. That is, Communist Party activities within the Pittsburgh area, western Pennsylvania? Mr. CVETIC. No; in the United States. Mr. TAVENNER. That means you expected to get what information you could from the country at large, and you were not restricted merely to the Pittsburgh area? Mr. CVETIC. That is correct. Mr. TAVENNER. After agreeing to engage in undercover work, what did you do? Mr. CVETIC. My first step, which was taken in accordance with instructions, was to make friends with known or suspected Communists in the United States Employment Service. I became a Communist sympathizer. In other words, I parroted the Communist Party line, and whenever the Soviet Union was brought up I sided with the Soviet Union in arguments and debates, and, if I was invited, I attended Communist Party meetings open to known sympathizers and friends. As a result of this, I became friends with three or four Communist Party members in the United States Employment Service. If you wish me to, I will be glad to mention their names. Mr. TAVENNER. How did you know these persons were Communist Party members? Mr. CVETIC. I had no immediate knowledge that they were Communist Party members, but after joining the Communist Party I attended district committee meetings, functionary meetings, and branch meetings with these people. Mr. TAVENNER. Who were the people you associated yourself with, in the United States Employment Service who you later learned were members of the Communist Party? Mr. CVETIC. One of these was Sidney Horwitz. Mr. KEARNEY. What is that name? Mr. CVETIC. Sidney Horwitz, H-o-r-w-i-t-z. Mr. TAVENNER. Who was Sidney Horwitz? Mr. CVETIC. At that time he was a senior interviewer in the United States Employment Service. Another person whom I later found to be a Communist Party member working in the United States Employment Service was Dorothy Sloan. She also used the name Slome, S-1-o-m-e. Another was Pauline Roth. She is now married. Her name is Pauline Jacobs. Mr. TAVENNER. In 1941 you began associating with these people who were the principal ones who drew you into the Communist Party; is that correct? Mr. CVETIC. Yes. As a result of my contacts with Sidney Horwitz, I met another Communist Party member by the name of Andy Novak, who was instrumental in getting me into the party. |