Investigation of Communist Activities in Seattle, Wash., Area, Hearings, Part 1United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities
History
Investigation of Communist Activities in Seattle, Wash., Area, Hearings, Part 1
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities
Communism -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
However, the demonstration proved to be much larger and had much
more support than the leaders of the Unemployed Citizens Leagues
anticipated, and the Communists--I remember it very well because I was
on the district bureau at that time--and we found ourselves not in the
leadership of a militant action, and we were embarrassed and fearful
that if we didn’t get into the act that we would be blamed by the
national leadership.
And we didn’t have any contacts in the Unemployed Citizens League
leadership, and we didn’t know what to do. So we debated the question
for about 30 hours in 1 continuous bureau meeting. Following that
meeting we decided that it was best for us to join the demonstration
regardless, whether we had contact or not, and we issued leaflets and
called upon our members to join in the demonstration.
(At this point Representative Harold H. Velde entered the hearing room).
Mr. DENNETT. In the process of doing so we received a bigger
response than we expected. In other words, the need was more acute
than even the most closest observers realized. Consequently, there
were about 6,000 people down here in this building. They couldn’t all
get into the chambers. They crowded the hallways, they crowded several
floors of the building. And some of the commissioners got so scared
of the demonstration that they tried to run out. They tried to avoid
meeting the leaders.
As a result, the demonstrators decided they would stay until they did
meet the leaders, until they met the commissioners. And it took over 3
days before the commissioners finally agreed to meet with the committee
of this group.
I happened to be the secretary of that committee at that time, and I am
sorry that those records that I kept of that demonstration are records
which I do not have today. They would be quite valuable to understand
all the things that happened, the chronology of why one thing followed
another.
But I am quite convinced and I am quite certain that the account I have
just given you can be verified by checking the newspaper files of that
period.
Mr. TAVENNER. Now is it correct to say that the general
objectives of the Unemployed Councils, which was organized by the
Communist Party, and the general objectives of the Unemployed Citizens
Leagues, which were anti-Communist in character, were the same in that
their purpose was to alleviate suffering from unemployment? Is that
true?
Mr. DENNETT. I think that is generally true with this possible
exception, that the Communist Party was never satisfied to resolve the
alleviation of immediate suffering. That was a tactic to win wider
support and to pursue their further objective of political control.
But, on the other hand, the Unemployed Citizens Leagues were concerned
only with the question of getting some relief for the immediate
situation and not fundamentally altering the economic system.
The Unemployed Councils did strive to change the economic system.
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