Investigation of Communist activities in Seattle, Wash., area. Hearings, Part 3United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities
History
Investigation of Communist activities in Seattle, Wash., area. Hearings, Part 3
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities
Communism -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
Mr. O’CONNELL. Federated Press was a press service that
operated in the labor field. It supplied labor papers throughout the
country with labor news, news about labor, and about things labor was
doing and we thought certainly was entitled to a grant from the point
of view of development and organization of trade unions.
Mr. TAVENNER. It was a principal supplier of the Daily Worker
and the Daily People’s World.
Mr. O’CONNELL. I wouldn’t know, but I would presume that they
probably----
Mr. TAVENNER. You didn’t inquire?
Mr. O’CONNELL. Probably did. As far as I was concerned the
Federated Press was doing an excellent job in the labor field. As a
Congressman, of course, I had excellent opportunity to get all of the
labor newspapers and the labor newspapers particularly in my district,
and they were getting news from the Federated Press that covered a want
that was sorely needed as far as labor information was concerned.
Mr. TAVENNER. Did you know that the American Youth Congress
had been cited as a Communist-front organization at the time you acted
upon----
Mr. O’CONNELL. By whom?
Mr. TAVENNER. By the Attorney General of the United States,
both Attorney General Clark and Attorney General Biddle and by this
committee.
Mr. O’CONNELL. As far as I was concerned, I am pretty sure I
had knowledge they were cited by Attorney General Clark and by Attorney
General Biddle or by any other attorney general, but that didn’t
determine in my mind----
Mr. TAVENNER. That did not serve to put you on inquiry?
Mr. O’CONNELL. That did not serve as far as I was concerned
to make it conclusive by any means, and if I in my personal opinion
thought they were doing a good job and doing a job within the
provisions of this will and so on, I voted for it.
Mr. TAVENNER. Would you have made a grant to the Communist
Party in the State of Washington which as shown by the testimony I read
to you was interested in enacting into law the same principle under
which this trust was being operated?
Mr. O’CONNELL. I told you that at the very beginning, at the
very first meeting that the trustees held, that we voted not to make
any grants that were asked for on the basis of being used for the
promotion of an economy based on production for use rather than for
profit.
Mr. TAVENNER. That would have been in violation of the
provisions of the will, wouldn’t it?
Mr. O’CONNELL. No, sir; we made our grants within the first
provisions, within the provision that provided for the development and
the organization of workers and unemployed persons and so on. We made
it a strictly trade-union trust.
Mr. TAVENNER. In other words, you entirely disregarded this
provision?
Mr. O’CONNELL. And if the Communist Party or the Democratic
Party or Republican Party or any partisan organization came and asked
for funds they wouldn’t have gotten it.
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