INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE

SEATTLE, WASH., AREA

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 1955

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE

COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES,

PUBLIC HEARING

Washington, D. C.

A subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 9:45 a. m. in the Caucus Room, Old House Office Building, Hon. Edwin E. Willis, presiding. Committee members present: Representatives Edwin E. Willis and Gordon H. Scherer.

Staff members present: Frank S. Tavenner, counsel.

Mr. WILLIS. The subcommittee will come to order.

Let the record show there are present today Mr. Scherer, of Ohio, and myself, Edwin E. Willis, of Louisiana.

Inasmuch as the subcommittee is reconstituted, that is, members are here today who were not present yesterday, it might be well to reswear the witness.

Let the record show also that the chairman of the committee appointed a new subcommittee to continue these hearings, namely, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Scherer, and myself as chairman.

Will you stand and be sworn? Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give before this subcommittee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Mr. O'CONNELL. I do.

Mr. WILLIS. Proceed, Mr. Tavenner.

TESTIMONY OF JEREMIAH JOSEPH O'CONNELL

Resumed

Mr. TAVENNER. Mr. O'Connell, continuing with the matter of grants by the Robert Marshall Foundation, of which you were one of the trustees, it is noted that grants totaling $30,366.85 were made to you. Can you explain that?

Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes. Those would be in my opinion the total amount that I received for traveling expenses, for meetings of the foundation.

Mr. TAVENNER. Do you mean, then, no specific grant was actually made to you?

Mr. O'CONNELL. There was no actual specific grant made to me. The provisions of the will, as I remember them, provided that the trustees are to receive no compensation except their traveling expenses to and from meetings of the trustees of the foundation.

Mr. TAVENNER. I note that there was introduced into the record during the Canwell hearings, check No. 94 bearing date of October 2, 1942, drawn on the funds of the Robert Marshall Foundation in the amount of $150 made payable to you.

Have you any explanation to make of that item?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I am sure that, if I knew the meeting date of the foundation at that time, we also had a practice when a meeting of the foundation was called by the trustees, if the financial situation of the trustee involved was such that he needed an advance for expenses to come to the meeting, an advance was made in the amount of probably $150 or so, but it was always expended for either transportation or meals and hotel and so on, while in attendance at the meetings of the foundation.

Mr. TAVENNER. You testified yesterday that in May of 1949 you procured a grant of $4,000 for the use of the Northwest Pacific Labor School.

Mr. O'CONNELL. Of course I think that ought to be-I personally couldn't procure the grant. The grant was voted by at least a majority of the trustees for the Pacific Northwest Labor School.

Mr. TAVENNER. Was the grant actually made through your efforts? Mr. O'CONNELL. I advocated that the grant be made, yes.

Mr. TAVENNER. And Daschbach interviewed you with regard to it before you presented it?

Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes, that is correct.

Mr. TAVENNER. Was any part of that grant or any other grant used for the benefit of the Northwest edition of the Daily People's World? Mr. O'CONNELL. As far as I know, certainly not. I mean the grants were made to the organization and certainly no part of that grant as far as I would know, what actually Daschbach may have done with it later I wouldn't be able to specifically say.

Mr. TAVENNER. Did you learn anything about it, even from a secondhand source?

Mr. O'CONNELL. No; I never learned, never had any information that it was used for any other purpose.

Mr. TAVENNER. Do you know whether any part of the $4,000 grant or any other grant from the foundation was used for the benefit of the Civil Rights Congress in the State Washington?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I don't know whether it was, that grant or any other grant. I know there was some argument and some consultation with me by Mr. Daschbach about it and I was very specific-I think that was before the grant was made and I was very specific with him that no part of the grant would be used for any other purpose than that for which it was made. That was the Pacific Northwest Labor School.

Mr. TAVENNER. Was John Daschbach an official of the Civil Rights Congress in Seattle?

Mr. O'CONNELL. If I remember correctly, I left Seattle, I don't remember when the Civil Rights Congress was organized in Seattle, but as I remember when I left Seattle Daschbach was then functioning as head or director of the Washington Civil Rights Congress.

Mr. TAVENNER. Did he hold that position at the time he spoke to you about the use of proceeds of the grant for the Civil Rights Congress?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I don't think I would be able to say whether he was actually in the position at that time. I can't recall. I remember at the time that he asked me about the grant they were closing out, they were terminating this Seattle Labor School and they had borrowed money from particularly various labor union members about

the town. I remember I think it was either Frank or Fred Carlson to whom they owed money and other people, I can't remember precisely who they were now, but anyway the representations made to me in connection with the grant were they were trying to close out the labor school and pay off their debts and pay I think back salaries that were owed to Mr. Daschbach and to some others there, I don't know who.

Mr. TAVENNER. Was John Daschbach known to you to be a member of the Communist Party?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I never knew John Daschbach was a member of the Communist Party.

Mr. TAVENNER. Had you heard that he was a member of the Communist Party?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I had never heard that he was a member of the Communist Party. I actually, my first, I think the first time I met Mr. Daschbach was in Spokane and I think he was attending Gonzaga University, a Jesuit university in Spokane, and as far as I knew personally, I didn't know he was a Communist, didn't know whether he was or was not.

Mr. TAVENNER. You are aware now, are you not, that he has been identified by a number of witnesses as a member of the Communist Party?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I couldn't say that I know that precisely; but I do know he was indicted as a Smith Act defendant in Seattle.

Mr. TAVENNER. And convicted.

Mr. O'CONNELL. And convicted. I don't know whether he is in prison now.

Mr. TAVENNER. Do you recall what individual it was in the National Lawyers Guild who solicited an award from the trustees?

Mr. O'CONNELL. Well, my best recollection as far as that would be concerned is that it was Mr. Martin Popper, who was an attorney in New York.

Mr. TAVENNER. Did the executive secretary of the National Lawyers Guild take any part in representations or solicitations regarding the grant?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I think Mr. Silberstein (Robert J. Silberstein), I wouldn't remember correctly. It is hard for me to remember. I would say Mr. Silberstein actually probably prepared the actual application that was made to the foundation for a grant.

Mr. TAVENNER. Did he confer with you about the matter?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I can never even remember Bob Silberstein talking to me about a grant for the Lawyers Guild. As I remember the particular grant, it was made in connection with labor work that the guild was doing, and Mr. Martin Popper, as I remember it, was the one who actually made the presentation, at least I know he talked to me and I think to some of the other trustees.

Mr. TAVENNER. The New World issue of March 25, 1948, reflects that Jerry O'Connell launched a series of three special forum programs at the Pacific Northwest Labor School to discuss our foreign policy and our fight for peace. Do you recall that?

Mr. O'CONNELL. No; I don't recal that. I know I never made any speeches at Seattle Labor School.

Mr. TAVENNER. Did you have any connection with the presentation of a special forum program at the Seattle Labor School?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I certainly cannot recall any. I don't remember ever speaking at the Seattle Labor School or being involved in any forum. Was that a forum I was supposed to conduct?

Mr. TAVENNER. The article says you launched a series of three forum programs.

Mr. O'CONNELL. It says it is on foreign policy?

Mr. TAVENNER. That the subject was Our Foreign Policy and Our Fight for Peace.

Mr. O'CONNELL. I certainly don't remember any such thing. Practically all the time I was in the State of Washington I was engaged either as executive secretary of the Democratic Party or was executive secretary of the Progressive Party and my particular work was in political organization and political work and I don't want to say I did or didn't but I certainly now don't recall any such series of lec

tures.

Mr. TAVENNER. Mr. O'Connell, you have advised us that you became chairman of the National Committee To Defeat the Mundt Bill during the year 1948.

Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes; that is correct.

Mr. TAVENNER. Were you aware of a special fund drive conducted by the Communist Party in 1947 for the purpose of fighting anticipated congressional action relating to the Communist Party?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I had no knowledge of any such-what was it a fund?

Mr. TAVENNER. Mrs. Blauvelt testified before the Committee on UnAmerican Activities within the past 3 weeks on that subject. She was a police detective for the city of New York and was a member of the Communist Party and served the New York City Police Department as an underground agent for a period of more than 8 years before her identity was discovered. Mrs. Blauvelt testified for nearly a week.

In the course of this testimony she stated that upon the agitation for a bill relating to communism in the House of Representatives the Communist Party hurriedly made a fund drive and that they sought to raise a total of $225,000 for the purpose of fighting the opposition to communism. Within 25 days the Communist Party raised $250,000. During the period that you were chairman of this committee to defeat the Mundt bill-that was over the period from 1948 until some time in 1950 or 1951

Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes; but it ought to be explained that in 1948 the only functioning of the committee was from a period I would say probably in June of 1948 until the adjournment of Congress, which was in that year I think, because of the party conventions, the national conventions, was adjourned quite early.

I know there was probably, I was here probably a month or a little over a month in that connection, and then I did not-all during 1949 there was no functioning of the committee whatsoever, as I remember it, and I think the first time I came down in 1950 was, I would say, about March of 1950 and I was here until about maybe the early part of June, when I returned to Montana to take the bar exams I have already talked about.

Mr. TAVENNER. As you stated, you came back here in July and were here for a period of time?

Mr. O'CONNELL. I think the latter part of July or first part of August and I was here until the Congress adjourned sine die about the middle of September.