Part 13

Mr. TAVENNER. Mr. Dennett, I think it would be of value to the committee to understand as fully as possible the methods used by the Communist Party in that period in causing the Unemployed Councils to take various courses of action in Bellingham and Seattle, and to understand to what extent the Communist Party was successful in using other organizations which it did not control.

Mr. DENNETT. I can think of two very graphic illustrations of that.

One occurred in the city of Seattle at the time the unemployed occupied this building for 3 solid days. The Unemployed Citizens Leagues in the city of Seattle were anti-Communist; their leadership was anti-Communist. But they were confronted with the budget running low, the city funds exhausted, and the county commissioners were confronted with the dilemma of what to do with their funds diminishing.

The county commissioners at that time ordered a cut in the amount of relief which would be allowed. When they did that it placed the anti-Communist leadership in the Unemployed Citizens Leagues in a most embarrassing position because we in the Communist Party and in the Unemployed Councils had been very critical of everything which the Unemployed Citizens Leagues had been doing and which their leaders had been doing.

When this cut occurred we blamed the leaders of the Unemployed Citizens Leagues for permitting it. We didn’t know that these leaders had been opposing the cut. We didn’t know what their actual attitude was. But we very soon found out because these leaders were so desperate that they decided to make a march on the County-City Building where the commissioners were to meet in a room similar to this one. And it was their intention to demand at that time that the cuts not be put into effect.

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.

Mr. TAVENNER. That is the point I wanted made clear. This appears to be an excellent example of the Communist Party using a situation in which all people were interested from the humanity standpoint and endeavoring to turn it to its own advantage in developing its general objectives.

Mr. DENNETT. I think that is true.

And while we speak of that point I think that all political parties do the same thing. They try to turn things to their own advantage. That is the way the Communists try to do it.

Mr. TAVENNER. Was there any other development at that period of time which would demonstrate how the Communist Party by its organizational efforts turned unfortunate situations of this character to its own advantage?

Mr. DENNETT. There was another example which seems rather devious when you look at it from this perspective, but at that time we thought it was quite skillful.

In the city of Seattle after this embarrassing financial crisis arose it became quite clear to everyone that to finance the relief load was a problem greater than cities or counties could bear. It required State and Federal assistance. But the State was not helping at that time. The State was not doing anything. And the Communists conceived the idea of hunger marches. I remember there were national hunger marches. There were also State hunger marches. There were county hunger marches. There were hunger marches within cities. Wherever the need was acute there were hunger marches.

And we had more than our share of them here.

In one, in particular, on one occasion, the Communists raised a demand for a march on Olympia to demand that the State finance the relief load for localities. Our request was for a big bond issue.

The unemployed councils in the city of Seattle did not have a very large following, and it was a hopeless task unless some means could be found to prevail upon the unemployed citizens’ leagues to take part in such a march. But the Unemployed Citizens’ League leadership was hostile to the Communist leadership in the unemployed councils. But through the people’s councils we were able to exert some influence because we had a considerable Communist leadership developing in the ranks of the people’s councils in Whatcom County. Strangely enough, that organization was in a position where its top leadership was friendly with and collaborated with the unemployed citizens’ leagues in Seattle while those of us in the Communist Party, in the ranks of the organization, naturally were following the leadership of the national unemployed councils and were friendly with and working with the unemployed councils in the city of Seattle.

Consequently, when the unemployed councils in the city of Seattle issued a call for a march on Olympia, that call was transmitted to Bellingham where we entered into the people’s councils and won a majority vote in support of such a march, and with the further request that they call upon the unemployed citizens’ leagues in Seattle to join the march, which they did. They prevailed upon the unemployed citizens’ leagues to join in the march.

Consequently, we had two somewhat hostile groups participating in the same event, marching on Olympia.

But when they got to Olympia there was a split. There were two demonstrations. And there is a gentleman in this room who suffered as a casualty of one of those demonstrations because at that particular time he was a leader in the unemployed citizens leagues.

The unemployed councils people wanted to chase the leadership of the unemployed citizens leagues and the people’s councils away from the head of that demonstration. And Mr. Jess Fletcher was a casualty on that occasion. He was pulled down off of one of the--I forget what you would call it--one of those approaches to the steps. And he had a badly crushed ankle as a result of that occasion.

I was called upon by the district leadership of the party at that time to make a speech. I was instructed to expose Mr. London and to otherwise denounce the Social-Fascist leaders of those organizations. And, of course, being a thoroughly disciplined Communist, I did precisely what I was instructed.

It had some repercussions because when we returned to Bellingham I had some other unfortunate experiences about it.

I should say that in this demonstration in Olympia the Unemployed Citizens League people did wait out the Governor and did get a committee in to see the Governor, whereas the unemployed councils people left Olympia without seeing the Governor and without accomplishing their objective.

Mr. TAVENNER. If I correctly understand these two illustrations which you have described, in one instance the Communist Party occupied this very building, joined in the activity of the unemployed citizens leagues, and attempted to obtain for its own credit whatever credit could be obtained, whereas in the other instance, by devious means, they got the other organizations to cooperate with the unemployed councils in the march on Olympia.

Mr. DENNETT. That is true.

Mr. TAVENNER. The Communist Party reversed its tactics.

Mr. DENNETT. That is true. We were very flexible people. We could do almost anything with our tactics.

Mr. TAVENNER. Therefore, the Communist Party’s objectives were accomplished in both instances.

Mr. DENNETT. That is right. And what was even more important to the party was to be able to carry a great big newspaper story in the Daily Worker to the effect that the revolution was starting because the workers had seized the County-City Building in King County, State of Washington, and held it for 3 days.

Mr. TAVENNER. Was that used as Communist propaganda over the entire United States?

Mr. DENNETT. It was.

Mr. TAVENNER. Up until the time you made that speech at the direction of the Communist Party it appears to me that this was a cooperative effort between the unemployed councils and the unemployed citizens leagues in the march on Olympia. Am I correct in that?

Mr. DENNETT. It was; through the people’s councils.

Mr. TAVENNER. But manipulated through the people’s councils where you had influence?

Mr. DENNETT. Correct.

Mr. TAVENNER. Then after arriving on the scene, you, at the direction of the Communist Party, made this attack on the leadership of the unemployed citizens leagues.

Mr. DENNETT. And the people’s councils.

Mr. TAVENNER. Was the purpose of this attack to utterly destroy any effectiveness of those organizations in the accomplishment of the general purpose of the march?

Mr. DENNETT. Looking back on it from this distance, it certainly appears to me that that was its objective.

Mr. TAVENNER. When you returned to Bellingham what reception did you receive from these organizations which had in good faith supported this march on Olympia?

Mr. DENNETT. There was a great deal of tension; open threats were made that if I showed my head around anywhere I would have my head knocked off.

However, I was not so easily scared as that. So I showed my head. The people’s councils had a practice of, which I considered to be most democratic, reporting to their membership.

Following the hunger march they called a mass meeting for the purpose of reporting what had been happening, what their success was. And these very leaders of the people’s councils whom I had denounced in Olympia presented themselves and reported to their membership. In the process of reporting naturally they reported my part in the affair, and their report aroused a great deal of bitterness among the members of the organization.

When I appeared in attendance at the meeting those who were present near me moved about 6 or 8 feet away, leaving me a conspicuous figure out in the open spaces. And some of the remarks were directed toward me in that meeting.

I felt at the time that something was wrong with the situation, of what I had done. But I wasn’t sure what. I knew, however, that if I didn’t face it all would be lost. So I chose to face it and take whatever consequences might happen.

The consequences came very soon. When the meeting adjourned, as I attempted to leave the building four members of the organization surrounded me and marched me around behind the building where they proceeded to give me a physical beating.

I never have been much of a fighter as such. Physically I am not equipped to do so. So I merely rolled up into a ball and let them do as best they could.

In the meantime some of my friends came to my assistance, and the police intervened to stop anything from proceeding too far.

However, I did surprise everyone by appearing and I did unnerve them because they didn’t believe that I had the nerve to show up after what I had done in Olympia. And as a total consequence of it all, I finally recruited most of the people who beat me up into the Communist Party.

I felt they were good, militant people, and they were the kind of people we wanted.

Mr. TAVENNER. How long was that before you left Bellingham?

Mr. DENNETT. Right now I can’t fix a real date on that. I would have to look at the newspaper files to be certain of the date. It wasn’t too long, however, because our influence had grown, and it wasn’t very long after that.

Mr. TAVENNER. Was there any other activity of the Communist Party while you were at Bellingham which would be of value to this committee as far as you know in making the committee aware of the tactics and methods used by the Communist Party to advance its objectives?

Mr. DENNETT. Offhand, right now I think of nothing further with respect to Bellingham.

Mr. TAVENNER. I see before me several pamphlets which apparently relate to the various hunger marches which are among the documents which you made available to the staff. Will you examine these, please, and state whether or not they were used in any connection with the matters you have been describing?

(Documents handed to the witness.)

Mr. DENNETT. Yes. These were what we called popular pamphlets, to popularize the hunger marches. They were brief penny pamphlets which we tried to sell in mass lots. In other words, if we could find someone who would contribute a dollar we would make a hundred of these things available and try to hand them out in large numbers. They were given to nearly all persons who participated in hunger marches, and they were an elementary introduction to the orientation which the Communist Party had to the whole economic situation.

Mr. TAVENNER. The purpose is not clear of the use of those documents by the Communist Party.

Here were those members who had agreed to take part in the hunger marches. Why was it necessary for them to have such material?

Mr. DENNETT. Because in many instances people would participate in these events because they were in need of relief themselves, but they had no conception of what the economic problems were, and they had no conception of the political objectives that we had.

And we were quite anxious to take that occasion, when they were rubbing elbows with us, to make certain that they took some elementary steps of understanding in our direction.

Mr. TAVENNER. Mr. Chairman, I would like to introduce in evidence three pamphlets entitled “The March Against Hunger,” by I. Amter, “The Highway of Hunger,” by Dave Doran, and “Our Children Cry for Bread,” by Sadie Van Veen, and ask that they be marked “Dennett Exhibits 5, 6, and 7” respectively, with the understanding that only the front cover and the back cover of each be incorporated in the transcript of the record.

Mr. MOULDER. They will be so marked and admitted.

Mr. TAVENNER. In other words, you were going beyond the real immediate purposes of the hunger march, and were trying to sell the participants a bill of goods through these pamphlets.

Mr. DENNETT. That is true.

Mr. TAVENNER. Will you hurriedly look through these documents, please, and call the committee’s attention to a few items which would substantiate your testimony on that point?

Mr. DENNETT. Well, here is this one on the March Against Hunger, by Israel Amter, in which some of the subheadings tell the story.

There is one, “Struggles Force Relief.” The implication is very plain that the only way they can get the relief is to engage in mass struggles. And in too many instances that was true from their own experience.

“Large Bodies of Workers Represented”: There was always a tendency to exaggerate the number who actually participated.

“Marchers Enter Washington”: the inference that the workers could get to Washington and be represented by marching on Washington; not by trying to be elected.

“Marchers Hold Conference Surrounded by Police”: referring to the attempt to thwart the efforts of the workers.

“Workers’ Congress v. Bankers’ Congress”: the meeting of the unemployed representatives in Washington, trying to hold a comparison between their efforts and that of the Congress itself.

“Mass Action, Basis of Struggle”: a repeat of an earlier point.

“Workers’ Demands Can Be Realized.”

“Crisis Deepens.”

“Broadest United Front Must Be Set Up.”

“No Unemployment in the Soviet Union.”

“Our Next Step.”

“Expose Starvation Conditions.”

“Unemployment Insurance Will Be Won.”

Those are some of the subheads in this pamphlet.

There is another pamphlet here, The Highway of Hunger, Story of America’s Homeless Youth, by Dave Doran. There is a subhead, “Why the Boss Class ‘Worries’ About the Starving Youth”: their point being that the only interest the Government had in the youth was to make soldiers of them, not to feed them or educate them.

Another subhead: “Unemployment Cannot Be Abolished Under Capitalism.”

“The Young Communist League Leads the Fight.”

“The Only Way Out for the Unemployed Youth.”

“For Cash Relief! Not Military Camps!” They branded the CCC’s as military camps at the outset. Unfortunately, later on some people tried to make military camps of them, and that did not succeed either.

Here is another pamphlet: Our Children Cry for Bread. And it was certainly true. Children did cry for bread when their families didn’t have it to give them. And they have a subhead on “The Homeless Youth.”

Remember, if you please, there were more than a million young people in their ‘teens who were wandering around this Nation of ours, just hoboes. They had no homes; they had no food; they had no jobs. So such a heading has great appeal to them because it holds for the hope that some other form of existence would provide a better life for them, and the inference always being the Soviet Union was doing that. The Soviet Union had solved that problem. Little did the people know how they solved it. And now, of course, there is a great deal of evidence coming into public attention which indicates that many of those young people in the Soviet Union, while some of them certainly did receive education as a way out, others also wound up in prison camps, vast prison camps, enormous prison camps. And we must not forget that that did actually happen.

Here these pamphlets try to present the idea that the children in the Soviet Union live in a paradise. And at that time there was no contravening or contradicting evidence to change anyone’s knowledge about it. Today I think there is.

Mr. TAVENNER. Apparently the Communist Party did not lose any opportunities it had to promote its own objectives.

Mr. DENNETT. That certainly is true.

Mr. TAVENNER. Will you tell the committee, please, the circumstances under which you were transferred away from Bellingham.

Mr. DENNETT. Yes.

I referred to Mr. Alex Noral as the district organizer at the time I came into the district. He was fresh from the Soviet Union, and it was presumed that he would give the most astute leadership because he had spent considerable time in the Lenin School in Moscow between 1928 and 1931. However, Mr. Noral’s attitude and methods of work were so arbitrary that the average person could not stand them, not even the most devoted Communists here. And he ran into political difficulties with them.

Reports of these difficulties reached the central committee in New York City, and they decided that Mr. Noral had to have some help. So they sent some more people out here to help him.

Mr. TAVENNER. Do you mean Communist Party functionaries were sent from New York to this area?