I have been a member of the district bureau of the Communist Party. I was a member of the secretariat of the Communist Party in district 12 on 2 different occasions. The secretariat is a group of perhaps 2 or 3 persons who are responsible for the daily activities of the Communist Party and the way in which the various branches and sections are carrying out the Communist Party policy program. I think that covers it. Mr. TAVENNER. What was the last position you held in the Communist Party? Mr. DENNETT. I think the last position was that of an educational director in a branch. Mr. TAVENNER. What was the date? Mr. DENNETT. I think that would be in 1946 or 1947. Mr. TAVENNER. Are you a member of the Communist Party now? Mr. DENNETT. I am not. Mr. TAVENNER. Over what period of time were you an active member in the Communist Party? Mr. DENNETT. With the 2 exceptions of the CCC and the term of service in the Army, from 1931 to 1947. Mr. TAVENNER. I believe in 1947 you were expelled from the Communist Party? Mr. DENNETT. That is correct. Mr. TAVENNER. With that general background I would like to go back, Mr. Dennett, to the inception of your membership in the Communist Party. You have said that that was in 1931. And the committee would be interested to learn what the circumstances were under which you became a member of the Communist Party. By that I mean why you joined the Communist Party as well as the mechanics that were used in your becoming a member. Mr. DENNETT. Well, I would remind the committee and those who have read the record of a statement I made at the other hearing. I was named after Eugene V. Debs. I am very proud of that. It should be remembered that Eugene V. Debs was the leading Socialist in the United States of America for a great many years. I was virtually born into the Socialist movement. My parents admired Debs very much, and my father was an active leading Socialist. Therefore, I had a great deal of knowledge of the Socialist movement as a child. In fact, I had the honor of appearing on the same platform with Eugene V. Debs in Old Peoples Hall in Boston. He was making a political speech. I had a great admiration for the man and I felt greatly honored to be named after him. In the period following the First World War after my mother’s death, my father and I moved to the farm in the West. That was in 1919. Those who may have some knowledge of the history of that period will remember that following the First World War there was a depression in agriculture. Those who farmed suffered a continuing crisis, and we were trying to farm. So we were confronted daily with the problem of how in the world do you get out of a depression. And, frankly, we did not find any solution to it.