The subcommittee met at 10 : 45 a. m., pursuant to call, in room 1506, United States District Court Building, Foley Square, Hon. Homer Ferguson presiding.
     Present : Senator Ferguson.
     Also present: Robert Morris, subcommittee counsel; and Benjamin Mandel, director of research.

     Senator FERGUSON. Yesterday, counsel was to have 5 days to produce certain articles from the Union magazine, and counsel has asked that he be given 10 days. I will grant the 10 days.
     The committee will come to order.
     Mr. MORRIS. Mr. Chairman, we had Miss Gene Weltfish as our first witness for today, but will you take as the first witness Professor Albaum?
     Senator FERGUSON. Professor Albaum, will you take the witness stand?
     Will you raise your right hand, please?
     Do you solemnly swear in the matter now pending before this, a subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate, that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I so swear.
     Senator FERGUSON. Will you state your full name and your address?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Harry G. Albaum, A-1-b-a-u-m, 1587 Schenectady Avenue, Brooklyn.
     Senator FERGUSON. And what is your profession or occupation?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I am associate professor of biology in Brooklyn College.
     Senator FERGUSON. How long have you been a teacher of biology?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Since February 1932.
     Senator FERGUSON. You are a graduate of what schools?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I am a graduate of Brooklyn College, of New York University, and of Columbia University.

Page 209

     Senator FERGUSON. When did you first start to teach at Brooklyn College, in 1932?
     Mr. ALBAUM. 1932.
     Senator FERGUSON. Have you been a teacher there all the time, from then to now ?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Senator, except for an interval when I. was on a fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, and when I was in war work.
     Senator FERGUSON. How many years was that you were out?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Roughly, as close as I can remember, about 1942 to the end of the war. I returned to the college at the end of the war.
     Senator FERGUSON. And did you ever join the Teachers’' Union?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Yes.
     Senator FERGUSON. When did you join the Teachers' Union?
     Mr. ALBAUM. As close as I can remember, sometime in 1937.
     Senator FERGUSON. In 1937?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Yes.
     Senator FERGUSON. Did you ever become a member of the Communist Party?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Yes.
     Senator FERGUSON. I wish that you would give to the committee now a detailed statement under the oath that you have had, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, of your joining of the Communist Party, your connection with that party, its connections with the Teachers' Union, and your connection with the whole procedure. I wish that you would relate that on this record. Tell how you were approached and how you joined.
     Mr. ALBAUM. May I do this in the terms in which I did it in the committee, in terms of its background?
     Mr. MORRIS. A full and open statement of what happened.
     Senator FERGUSON. A full and open statement of what happened. You have had an executive session and you did give the background, and we want the background. I think the background is relevant in this whole picture. The chairman of the committee thinks the background is very relevant, because it explains many parts of your testimony; so,.if you will just explain how you joined, and all about it, in full and complete detail.
     Mr. ALBAUM. Well, first with respect to my background, because I think this is important, I am an immigrant. I was born in Russia. I came here when I was 2 years old. I became a naturalized citizen when I became old enough to become one. I went to the public schools of the city of New York. I started going to high school when a personal tragedy at home necessitated my leaving school and getting a job. I graduated from high school in the evenings, and started to go to college in the evenings and work in the daytime. At that time I was employed in a bank.
     After about 21/2 years of evening school, I decided that I had been doing very well in college work and in my high school work, and I decided that I wanted to get into some kind of academic work. So, I succeeded in getting a job working nights, and completed my college in the daytime.
     Senator FERGUSON. You came from what country?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I came from Russia. I was born in Odessa, Russia.
     Senator FERGUSON. You were born in Odessa, Russia?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right.

     Mr. MORRIS. How old are you now ?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I am now 42.
     Senator FERGUSON. Go ahead.
     Mr. ALBAUM. I want to emphasize here that this entire interval of going to high school and to college was a very difficult time for me financially. I had my mother and sister to think about, both of whom I helped to support. When this personal tragedy occurred, my sister was still in school. We gave her an opportunity to finish with school.
     In February 1932, I was offered a fellowship in the department of biology at Brooklyn College, which I accepted, in spite of the fact that the money was small, actually less than I was making working.
     Senator FERGUSON. How much was it?
     Mr. ALBAUM. $600 a year for half-time work. When I graduated, that stipend was increased to $1,000 a year. I had been making more than that as a bank. clerk, so that this imposed a hardship on me. I went to New York University, got a master's degree.
     Senator FERGUSON. In what field?
     Mr. ALBAUM. In biology, and then went to work at Columbia University to get a Ph. D.
     Senator FERGUSON. You got the Ph. D. at Columbia?
     Senator FERGUSON. 1938?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Yes. Now, those days were trying days in the colleges. They were in the world everywhere. This was the depression. I wasn't making much money; I wasn't. very secure in the job. Individuals around the college told me, "Well, this is just a temporary kind of thing. We don't believe in inbreeding. You are a Brooklyn College graduate. You ought to plan to get out to some other school."
     Senator FERGUSON. Were you teaching at that time?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Yes. Because of my financial responsibilities to my mother, I couldn't see my way clear of getting out. I got small increases, incidentally, annually. I myself, felt, from the job situation which was developing at that particular time, that I would have practically no chance of getting anything outside of New York. I was Jewish, which I felt at that time represented an obstacle. I also felt that—well, that it was going to be hard, and I couldn't leave because of my mother..So, I worked 10 times as hard. I finally managed to finish all the work for the degree.
     Well, about this time, members of the union began to approach me, and they said to me–
     Senator FERGUSON. That is the Teachers' Union ?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is the Teachers' Union.
     Senator FERGUSON. And you were a teacher; so, you were eligible to. membership?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right. They said, "Boy, your problem isn't unique. You are not making much money. A lot of the other people . aren't making much money. You join the union and we will fight for your tenure," which I didn't have at the time, "for the security and everything else." The program of the union at that time. was that; there is no question about it. This was what their literature stressed. I therefore joined, in spite of the fact that many of the people higher in the administration at the college felt that it was incorrect for teachers to belong to a trade-union.
     Senator FERGUSON. Was that union at that time a member of the American Federation of Labor or the CIO?

     Mr. ALBAUM. At that time I believe the union was affiliated with one of the larger unions. I believe at that time there were two separate chapters, a college chapter
     Senator FERGUSON. And a public-school or high-school chapter?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Yes. Now, there was a large membership in the union. I think most of the people that were in the union at that particular time were in the union for precisely the same reason that I was, we were underpaid. We didn't have much in the way of security. We just felt, well, if there is any way of doing something about it, let's do it; and the union at that time made a number of proposals to the board of higher education, some of which were eventually adopted.
     So I think that the union at that time did a very important and constructive job.
     Mr. MORRIS. Economicswise?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Economicswise, that is right. There were no political implications in the union, nor were there, as I recall it, any political discussions of any kind in the union. This was a teachers' organization.
     Mr. MORRIS. This is what year now, Professor Albaum?
     Mr. ALBAUM. This, I believe was in '37.
     Mr. MORRIS. Will you continue?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I remember the temper of the times. This was the time of Hitler. This was the time of Mussolini. This was the time of Franco. Many people were sympathetic with Spain, but there was what we call, as I recall it, nonintervention. I was approached, and I was told, "You may have security now, you may have tenure, but this is going to be nothing if the kind of things which are happening in the world are going to continue to happen."
     Senator FERGUSON. Now do I understand that the union people who were asking you to join and assigning the economic reason to you were 'the same people that were assigning the world conditions to you?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Some of them may have been or may not have been. I am not trying to be evasive. We can go into that particular point at another time. The point is that I was asked whether it was the same individuals or not, and that is of no consequence at this particular time. Let's see. Where was I?
     Senator FERGUSON. You were just at the time when they were approaching you to become a member of the union. I do not want to interrupt you any more than I have to, but I think that the record. ought to show some things, as we go along.
     Mr. ALBAUM. I was approached by certain individuals, who told me this :
     "Your problem is no different from the problems of the world. You ought to be involved in something which has everyone's consideration at heart. It is not only a question of your job. Your job is insignificant. Your job will mean nothing unless we combat Hitler, unless we combat Mussolini, unless we combat racial prejudice in 'this country, unless we improve everybody's lot."
     I said, "What do you want me to do?" They said, "You ought to join the party."
     Mr. MORRIS. That is, the Communist Party?
     Senator FERGUSON. What did they say the party was, or did you ask?

     Mr. ALBAUM. I was hesitant. I said, "What about it?" I want to point out one other thing in the context of the whole picture, without trying to make any excuses for myself. Politically, I was very naive. I had from the time I was 14 until I got my degree when I was about 26—the only thing I did was vote. I voted Democrat. I never voted anything else. But the point is I had no real notion of politics. I was naive.
     Senator FERGUSON. Did they explain what the party was when they asked you to join the party?
     Mr. ALBAUM. What they said was "You are not joining anything which is illegal. You are joining an organization which has every-one's welfare at heart."
     I thought this was an extension of the kind of thing I was getting into, when I got into the union. I was still hesitant. I said, "Well, suppose somebody gets wind about this. They are mad enough about the union around the college. What would they do if they found out I was in this group?"
     They said "Nobody is going to find out." I said, "What do you mean?"
     "Well, you don't even carry a card. You are given a name–“
     Mr. MORRIS. You are given a name other than your own ?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Other than your own. "No one knows it. Your dues are paid in a name other than yours. Besides, some of the people you respect most are in this."
     I said "Who?" And they said, "We don't talk about this."
     I was still reluctant. I was not happy about that thing, sincerely. I just didn't know what to do. But there were pressures continually. A fellow would come to see you and talk and talk to you. There was no evidence in other words, that this was international. When I said "Isn't this tied up with the Soviet Union?" they said, "No; this is the Communist Party of the United States. We are interested right now in bettering the lot of the men in this country. We are also interested in combating fascism and Hitlerism abroad, but our main interest is what is happening in this particular country."
     Senator FERGUSON. Did they say anything about the fact that it was being patterned after the Russians?
     Mr. ALBAUM. No; nothing like that was said.
     In the summer of 1938, I went to the country, I took a bungalow up somewhere in New York near Lake Mahopac. Someone wanted to share a bungalow with me because he was really interested in me—he was my friend.
     When we got to the country, it was quite apparent that this was part of this whole scheme to, what I conceive of now, is sucking me in or inveigling me into this deal.
     Senator,FERGUSON. Did they attempt there to indoctrinate you into the Communist Party?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Well, the Worker arrived by mail. There were pamphlets, the typical pamphlets which you are probably well aware of about injustices, about fascists in this country, about Gerald L. K. Smith. Finally, at the end of the summer, I capitulated. I mean that is what it really was. It was capitulation.
     Senator FERGUSON. And you became a member?
     Mr. ALBAUM. And became a member of the group.
     Senator FERGUSON. Now, did they have a unit at any school?

     Mr. ALBAUM. There was a unit at Brooklyn College.
     Senator FERGUSON. And is that the unit that you capitulated to?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That was the unit that I capitulated to.
     Mr. MORRIS. When you say "a unit," that is a unit made up cornpletely of faculty members?
     Mr. ALBAUM. A unit made up of faculty members. There were no students in it. Let me make one statement. I couldn't say this man or that man.
     Senator FERGUSON. How many were in it?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Let me make a statement. I couldn't say that this man or that man was a Communist.
     Senator FERGUSON. I am not asking you that.
     Mr. ALBAUM. In other words, this was a question that you do not ask.
     Senator FERGUSON. Are you talking to me now?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I am talking to you.
     Senator FERGUSON. Are you saying that I did not ask that question?
     Mr. ALBAUM. No. You can ask the question.
     Senator FERGUSON. You are saying that you would not ask that question at that time?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Exactly.
     Senator FERGUSON. I want the record to be clear on that. It may have appeared that you were telling me not to ask that. The record may not be clear on that.
     Mr. ALBAUM. In other words, one didn't ask that question. In other words, you called people who were at these meetings by their anonymous names.
     Senator FERGUSON. They had these aliases even in the meetings?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Even in the meetings they were aliases. Sometimes you used them, if you remembered them. If you didn't remember them, you called them by their own names.
      Senator FERGUSON. Would the expression "Comrade" be used at all?
     Mr. ALBAUM. No ; I never heard it used. To the best of my recollection, it was never used.
     Senator FERGUSON. How many were in there?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I have seen maybe 20 people at meetings.
     Senator FERGUSON. They would all be teachers?
     Mr. MORRIS. And on other occasions they would be at another meeting, and there would be a different combination of people? Isn't that so ?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Mostly they were the same people. I mean, I haven't even thought about this. My first realization that this thing was not quite what it should be was when the constitution of the Communist Party was distributed. I began to read through that and, well, I was unhappy about it. Remember, I was unhappy about it at the beginning. I also want to point out that what motivated me was what I have told you, and the techniques used in getting me were probably used in getting a lot of innocent people into this thing, people in the same economic position I was in, who needed security, who had dependents; and I don't think they ought to be judged harshly, no more harshly than I. I don't know how you are going to judge me, but I am willing to tell you everything I know here.
     Senator FERGUSON. Go ahead and tell us what happened.

     Mr. ALBAUM. In these meetings we would discuss the Teachers' Union. There was a part of the agenda set aside for the Teachers' Union. We were to discuss things that were coming up in the union. We would discuss candidates for office in the union. I began to realize now that many of the people in the group were also active in the union, but that, of course, does not imply that all of the people in the union were in the group, or were in other groups.
     Mr. MORRIS. But many of them were?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Many of them were. Everybody in the group was talking about—and I am talking now about this unit which met at the Communist Party headquarters in Brooklyn.
     Mr. MORRIS. In other words, the group would meet at the Communist Party headquarters in Brooklyn?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Yes.
     Mr. MORRIS. Where was that?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I believe it was around Duffield Street in Brooklyn.
     Senator FERGUSON. Was it labeled?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Yes. As a matter of fact, that was one of the discomforts I had. I was afraid someone would see me. I was afraid. I was unhappy about it. I would look behind me to see whether anybody was watching me. Now, as I say, we talked about democracy and so forth in this particular group.
     Well, actually what would happen would be that the chairman would present a decision of the executive committee. We would discuss it. We inevitably came to the same conclusion.
     Whether this original decision was dictated from Fourteenth Street or whatever it is, I have no way of knowing. The only inkling I have that this kind of thing might have happened was at the time the Nazi-Soviet pact broke. This was a great shock. This was a source of worry to a number of people.
     They couldn't understand it. Here we are talking about fighting Hitler and suddenly there is a Nazi-Soviet pact. And I guess the people at Fourteenth Street thought this was going to be difficult, so they sent one of the functionaries—I believe Amter—to come and explain this to us.
     There were still people unhappy about it, and some of them actually left at that particular time.
     Senator FERGUSON. It was quite a shock to some academic people to have that somersault?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right. They couldn't reconcile it with anything that had gone before. Of course, this added to my discomfort, my wanting to get out of this thing. I would come to meetings reluctantly. I would come to meetings infrequently. I would plead that I didn't have any money for the dues, that I had other commitments that were more important.
     I was hoping that they would get rid of me.
     Senator FERGUSON. Did you ever ask to resign?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I said I wanted to get out of this thing, "I want to resign."
     Senator FERGUSON. What was said?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I was told, "Brother, you don't get out of this thing, you don't resign. All that can happen is you are expelled."
     Senator FERGUSON. What did that mean to you?

     Mr. ALBAUM. To me it meant that I was irrevocably committed to something which I could no longer get out of unless I did something, so antisomething in their eyes, that they expelled me.
     Senator FERGUSON. Did that mean in effect that you were being threatened, that you had to stay in ?
     Mr. ALBUM. In effect, this was a threat. This was a kind of blackmail. What this implied I can only conjecture.
     Senator FERGUSON. How about your thinking at that time?
     Mr. ALBUM. It meant that I might be exposed anonymously. The stigma that was attached to this thing in the light of the Nazi-Soviet pact became greater. In other words, made people who were sympathetic to Russia before begin to have doubts of it, because of the pact.
     Senator FERGUSON. Then you were told flatly that you could not resign?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That one does not resign.
     Senator FERGUSON. One does not resign?
     Mr. ALBAUM. One can only be expelled.
     Senator FERGUSON. One can only be expelled. Now, the consequences of expulsion were what?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I never really knew.
     Senator FERGUSON. Did they ever really explain that or was that left wide open?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That was left wide open.
     Senator FERGUSON. The consequences, then, were left unexplained?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right.
     Senator FERGUSON. Did you at that particular time say, "But I am going to resign," or did you accept the fact that you do not resign?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I was afraid. I didn't have the courage that I have now.
     Senator FERGUSON. And right at that time, referring to when you were in, and before we get to the question of why you were getting out, and so forth, the question comes up here many times as to whether or not the Communists, and the teachers, as Communists, in this cell or unit, explained anything about the teaching of the party line or the policy?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Well, there was an emphasis in these meetings, frequently, that one ought to at every opportunity try to present the principles of Marxism.
     Senator FERGUSON. The teachers, you mean?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right.
     In some cases, of course, this kind of thing was difficult.
     Senator FERGUSON. Were you teaching a subject that made it difficult?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I was in a subject where this, at the particular time, couldn't be done. At a later time, as I explained to you, this might have been done. At that time, or shortly thereafter I was in the teaching of genetics. At that time the theories of Muller, the classical geneticist, who was at that time in the Soviet Union, were accepted. The fact that he was there and head of an institute looked good.
     Senator FERGUSON. It looked good and you felt that you could follow his philosophies?
     Mr. ALBAUM. But this was also the accepted philosophy. Muller was a representative of an American group. Subsequently, however,

 as many of you are aware, the Lyzenko business developed, and Muller, of course, was forced to leave the Soviet Union.
     Senator FERGUSON. How did that affect teaching?
     Mr. ALBAUM. By that time I was no longer in the teaching of genetics, but if I were, this would have been a perfect opportunity to talk down classical genetics and play up the advantages and—what shall I say ?—the virtues of Lysenkoism. In other words, in my particular area this is the way that it could have been introduced.
     Senator FERGUSON. All right. Now, did any of the teachers at times, in these meetings say how they were slanting teaching?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Well, there were some people. I remember one particular man who took great pride in showing how he could introduce the principles of Marxism into his particular area.
     Senator FERGUSON. Give us an example of that.
     Mr. ALBAUM. This particular area happened to be philosophy. The details of how he did it and what he did I don't remember.
     Senator FERGUSON. But he did tell you how he was able to slant, and I use the word advisedly, along the communistic line?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right. I want to emphasize again in this connection that I think, by and large, many of these people made no attempt of this kind. I don't know for sure. I know that some people took pride in it, and my assumption is that the people who didn't talk about it are people who were either not successful or didn't want to.
     Senator FERGUSON. But some people did explain to the other teachers, did take pride in how they slanted their teaching?
     Mr. ALBAUM. We were told, "This is how it was done." Senator FERGUSON. So there was a party line in teaching?
     Mr. ALBAUM. If it was possible to introduce it, by all means do so.
     Senator FERGUSON. And you felt that in your particular science it was difficult to introduce it?
     Mr. ALBAUM. And because of my mental reservations from the beginning, I felt that I couldn't do this in addition. Of course, the pressures were on me continually to do something.
     Senator FERGUSON. For the party, you mean?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Yes.
     Mr. MORRIS. What were the pressures ?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Pressures were pressures of this kind : They probably felt that a fellow like me, who is a little bit reluctant, didn't have the feel of the party, which is essentially a working-class party. They felt that the way to get this feel is to go out and sell Sunday Workers. Some of the teachers did this. I could never see my way clear.
     Senator FERGUSON. Did they explain that you had to get the feel of the party?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Yes.
     Mr. MORRIS. And the way to do it would be to do something openly for the party?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is correct. I said "Suppose somebody recognizes you when you do this?"
     "Well, there is no danger of that. We are sending you into areas where there is little likelihood of your running into students or other people who might recognize you."
     Or you were encouraged at the time of the lectures, to go out and have Communist petitions signed to get them on the ballot. This is something too that I have never done.

     Senator FERGUSON. Did you openly decline to do these things?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I openly declined to do them.
     Senator FERGUSON. What happened?
     Mr. ALBAUM. They said "You have to do something." I said, "The things you suggest are things I cannot do."
     "Well, how about writing? Why don't you try writing something, perhaps, for Science and Society?"
     I said, "This is not the kind of writing that I can really do."
     Mr. MORRIS. These were Communists who asked you to write for Science and Society?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right.
     Senator FERGUSON. This is part of the work of the unit of these Brooklyn teachers, is that not right?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right.
     Senator FERGUSON. Go ahead.
     Mr. ALBAUM. I don't think this implies necessarily that everyone writing for Science and Society was a Communist.
     Mr. MORRIS. Tell us what you know.
     Mr. ALBAUM. I can only tell you what I know. I finally capitulated in this sense—I wrote several articles for the Sunday Worker. These articles were educational articles on science. One, as I recall, was on vision, and another one was on growth hormones and plants. I am telling you about this because you wouldn't know that these things were my articles, because my name wouldn't appear on them.
     Senator FERGUSON. Your name would not appear?
     Mr. ALBAUM. But if you look at these articles, you can see that these articles are not propaganda articles. They are the kind of article I would write for the Herald Tribune, if I were asked to do so.
     Senator FERGUSON. Then I will ask this : Why were you writing it for the Daily Worker?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Because of the pressures that were on me.
     Senator FERGUSON. Why would the party be asking you that? As a member, you wouldn't sell a Daily Worker; you wouldn't go out and get a petition signed to put names on the ballot, but they wanted you to write. Why did they want you to write, in your opinion?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I don't know.
     Senator FERGUSON. But they insisted upon your doing something?
     Mr. ALBAUM. In other words, to me, at that particular time, they wanted some index of my sincerity, at least trying, because the pressure was on you, the threats all the time—they wanted you to do something, whether the object of this was to get some kind of hold on you, to say in the future, "We have evidence that you have written for the Daily Worker"—maybe that was it. I don't know.
     Senator FERGUSON. At least, you felt that way about it?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I don't know how I felt. At that time I thought it might be one thing or another thing, or it might be anything.
     Senator FERGUSON. Now, have you reasons to believe that it was that kind of thing?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Now I feel it might be that kind of procedure.
     Senator FERGUSON. Do you know whether or not your party name, Sand, was signed to these articles?

     Mr. ALBAUM. I don't think so.
     Senator FERGUSON. You think that another name was used, not your party name?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right.
     Senator FERGUSON. You wrote several articles?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right.
     Senator FERGUSON. Did you ever write for the other magazine?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Never.
     Senator FERGUSON. Do you believe that that other magazine was a party-line magazine?
     Mr. ALBAUM. You mean Science and Society?
     Senator FERGUSON. Science and Society.
     Mr. ALBAUM. I always have and still believe that it was a Marxist magazine. I think that many of the articles are written by Communists.
     Senator FERGUSON. Along party lines?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right; but I am not familiar enough with the magazine, you see, to really pass judgment on it.
     Senator FERGUSON. But you would not write for that?
     Mr. ALBAUM. No; I did not.
     Senator FERGUSON. Did you only write two articles?
     Mr. ALBAUM. This magazine carried the whole Lysenko-Vavilov controversy in genetics. It is interesting in that regard, just as an aside, to point this out: After Muller left the Soviet Union, there was still left in the Soviet Union an exponent of this classical theory of genetics. This was a man by the name of Vavilov, and apparently this controversy, this Lysenko-Vavilov controversy, was one of long standing, and at one time the official position was that Vavilov is correct ; in other words, that Vavilov, along with Muller and others, represent the correct point of view. And I believe Science and Society ran a series of this kind, which I recall. Subsequently, of course, the Lysenko point of view took over, and I don't know what ever happened to Vavilov, but I never saw his name in print again.
     Senator FERGUSON. Now, do you think that an indoctrinated Communist has academic freedom?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I would answer that question this way : I would say that I was in the group. I admit I was. I certainly made no attempt in the classroom to preach communism.
     I feel, however, that someone who really believes this kind of thing real strongly, will, whenever the opportunity arises, attempt to put this kind of thing into his teaching. This is a personal opinion.
     Mr. MORRIS. Professor, have you heard other people in that unit say that they did that?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I have covered that, I believe.
     Senator FERGUSON. Now, here you are telling us today that you could not resign, you did not have the freedom to resign.
     Mr. ALBAUM. No; I did not have the freedom to resign.
     Senator FERGUSON. There are other things on which you thought you did not have freedom. One of them was not to write the articles; is that right?
     Mr. ALBAUM. In other words, the impression was made that you have got to do something.
     Senator FERGUSON. Yes.
     Mr. ALBAUM. In my particular case the something turned out to be these articles in the Worker.
     Senator FERGUSON. Now, do you believe that the decisions of that group were made willingly, without mental reservation, by the group,

or were the decisions of the group controlled decisions, from another source?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I believe now that the decisions of that particular: group were never their own decisions.
     Senator FERGUSON. Then how can it be said that teachers have academic freedom when they are not their decisions?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Well, the point is that a decision may have been handed down. You may have decided on it, but you yourself have reservations, and feelings about it, and you don't do it; in which case, what you are doing is you are not following the decisions. Let's put it that way. And there were probably many people involved who were precisely in that position.
     Senator FERGUSON. In other words, the decision was brought to you and you followed along in making the decision; and so, whether or not you followed it later–
     Mr. ALBAUM. This was a product of your own conscience there.
     Senator FERGUSON. You had mental reservations?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is correct.
     Senator FERGUSON. Do you think there were many in this group who did not have their mental reservations?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I think there were some people in this group who tried at every opportunity to present this point of view.
     Senator FERGUSON. What point of view?
     Mr. ALBAUM. The point of view of the directives which had been decided on or handed down.
     Mr. MORRIS. Can you tell us some of the decisions that were made that you feel now were the directives of the higher-ups of the Communist Party? Was the thinking on the switch on the Russian pact a dictated thing?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That was a dictated thing. There is no question in my mind about that.      Senator FERGUSON. Was there any real free discussion about that in your Communist meetings?
     Mr. ALBAUM. We could talk about it as much as we wanted to. Time was no object. There was free discussion, from that particular point of view, provided that you came to that conclusion.
     Senator FERGUSON. At the end?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right. For instance, I look back now. This seems to be my feeling about any other decisions. In other words, there was only one decision that you could come to. The objective was to try to bring you to that decision.
     Senator FERGUSON. And would you say on all occasions that they did bring you to their desired decision? And I refer to the group?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Well, the group as a whole would respond, you see, except where people decided that they couldn't, like in the case of the pact, where there were several people that I know of who just couldn't stomach this thing.
     Senator FERGUSON. What happened to those who could not stomach. it?
     Mr. ALBAUM. They disappeared from the group. When I say "disappeared," I don't carry any evil connotation; in other words, I didn't see them any more at the meetings. I saw them at school. I saw them at union meetings, but I didn't see them at the unit.

     Senator FERGUSON. How many would you say dropped out because of that decision?
     Mr. ALBAUM. Well, I have no real way of knowing but I know for sure of one, and perhaps one other.
     Senator FERGUSON. And you felt at that time that it was because they could not stomach the decision?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is correct.
     Senator FERGUSON. Well, you apparently had difficulty doing it.
     Mr. ALBAUM. Well, I was afraid. Honestly, that is the only way I can put it. I was afraid of possible recriminations against me. These other people, I think, had more courage than I did at that particular time.
     Senator FERGUSON. You feel now that you have the courage here to tell the truth?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right.
     Senator FERGUSON. Do you think that it is quite a problem for a person who has been in the party to bolster up his courage to tell the truth before a committee or before a court?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I think that this is the most difficult decision that I have ever had to make in my life.
     Senator FERGUSON. It was not an easy decision, even after you had forsaken the philosophy of communism, is that correct?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is correct.
     Senator FERGUSON. You think that it is the hardest decision you have ever made?
     Mr. ALBAUM. The reason I have made the decision is because this pall has been hanging over me for 12 or more years, and I cannot live with it any more.
     Senator FERGUSON. This is a matter of conscience now?
     Mr. ALBAUM. It is more than a matter of conscience. It is a slow realization, at least in my own mind, that this thing is an evil thing, that the Communist doctrine is an evil doctrine.
     Senator FERGUSON. When would you say that you arrived ultimately at the decision that this Communist doctrine is an evil doctrine?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I would say that the thing was completely crystalized in my mind some time after the war.
     Mr. MORRIS. After World War II?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right.
     Senator FERGUSON. When did you finally make up your mind that if you were asked to tell this you would tell it with a clear conscience?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I have been dreaming about it for a long time. I have had nightmares about it. I finally decided when the subpena came.
     Senator FERGUSON. When did the subpena reach you?
     Mr. ALBAUM. The subpena reached me on Tuesday at noon.
     Senator FERGUSON. So on Tuesday, when this subpena came, you decided that you would actually tell this committee the truth? And this is Thursday?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is right.
     Senator FERGUSON. And you came in to the executive session this morning and decided to do it?
     Mr. ALBAUM. That is correct.

     Senator FERGUSON. Now, tell us more about how you got out, and what happened.      Mr. MORRIS. Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question ?
     Senator FERGUSON. You may.
     Mr. MORRIS. When you came into the executive session this morning, did you bring an attorney with you ?
     Mr. ALBAUM. No, sir.
     Senator FERGUSON. Did an attorney call you in?
     Mr. ALBAUM. I was called in by a man whom I assumed to be a court attendant.
     Senator FERGUSON. And the committee assumed that he was your lawyer.
     Mr. ALBAUM. He was not my lawyer. I never saw the man before yesterday when I saw him in court.
     Mr. FRANCE. Senator Ferguson, may I make a word of explanation?
     Mr. MORRIS. Would you come forward?

     Mr: FRANCE. I represented a number of people who were members of the Teachers' Union.
     Senator FERGUSON. Might I ask, Mr. France, whether or not you are employed by the Teachers' Union or by the individuals ?
     Mr. FRANCE. I was employed by the firm of White R Cammer, who asked me to step into the case because Mr. Cammer was called to Washington. I have not yet been paid by anybody, and I do not know the exact answer to your question.
     Senator FERGUSON. I do not think that it is a question of personal employment, all I want to know is is it a union employment?
     Mr. FRANCE. I would say that I was employed by the union.
     Senator FERGUSON. We have given you every courtesy, and we intend to tender to you as a lawyer, every courtesy of the committee, even in executive sessions.
     When a man says that he is the attorney for a particular witness, he is admitted freely and openly to our executive sessions.
     Mr. FRANCE. That has been true.
     Senator FERGUSON. Because we believe that every man has a right to be represented by counsel.
     Mr. FRANCE. I asked Mr. Morris in the executive committee whom he wanted called next. He mentioned the name of Albaum. It was not clear in my mind that he was not one of those that I had been asked to represent.
     Senator FERGUSON. But on the record you did not indicate that he was not one of your clients, until I raised the question. I think I said to this man: "Now, in the presence of your lawyer, you want to tell the whole story" and he said something about "I do not have a lawyer," or indicated that.
     Mr. FRANCE. Excuse me for correcting you, Senator. Before you had said that I asked him whether he wanted me to represent him, because when he said he wanted to tell the whole story, the question arose whether he was asking me to represent him, and I asked him the question myself and he said he didn't have a lawyer. And I then excused myself from the session. That is my recollection of it. In

 any event, it was a misconception on my part, as to whether this man wished me to represent him.
     Mr. MORRIS. I thought, however, Mr. France, that you were representing this man.
     Mr. FRANCE. I thought I was representing the man until he started to tell his story, and then I asked to be excused from the executive session.
     Senator FERGUSON. In other words, if he was going to tell the whole truth, you did not want to represent him ?
     Mr. FRANCE. No; I asked him whether he wished me to represent him and he said "No."
     Senator FERGUSON. You mean, because he was telling the truth you had doubt that he wanted you as his lawyer?
     Mr. FRANCE. That isn't the case, Senator.
     Senator FERGUSON. Would you explain on the record? I am probably misunderstanding you.
     Mr. FRANCE. When he started to make his statement, I was not sure that he wished me to represent him as his lawyer.
     Senator FERGUSON. Why? Because he was not claiming the fifth amendment?
     Mr. FRANCE. That wasn't the reason.
     Senator FERGUSON. Why?
     Mr. FRANCE. I realized then he was not a person with whom I had previously discussed the problems involved. There are a lot of these professors who are unknown to me.
     Senator FERGUSON. All right. Did you go to a meeting of professors and discuss this matter?
     Mr. FRANCE. Yes; I attended a meeting of a number of teachers and professors.
     Senator FERGUSON. Will you give us the names of the teachers and professors with whom you went to a meeting? Were you representing them individually or were you representing the union? What were you representing?
     Mr. FRANCE. They were each told that they could be represented by me or by the other counsel if they cared to do so; that it was their personal decision.
     Senator FERGUSON. Where was this meeting that you attended?
     Mr. FRANCE. At the Teachers' Union Building.
     Senator FERGUSON. At the Teachers' Union Building. And when was it?
     Mr. FRANCE. The first meeting that I attended was Friday of last week.
     Senator FERGUSON. Friday of last week.
     Mr. MORRIS. What time was that meeting held?
     Mr. FRANCE. In the afternoon.
     Mr. MORRIS. From what hour to what hour?
     Mr. FRANCE. From 5 o'clock.
     Senator FERGUSON. Was the present witness at that meeting?
     Mr. FRANCE. No; that was my error. When I saw the man come in, I realized he was not a man I met before and I then asked him in executive session.
     Senator FERGUSON. Wait. You did not ask him at first. He had talked for quite a while under oath before you asked him.

     Mr. FRANCE. I think he had talked a brief moment before I asked.
     Mr. MORRIS. You were there for at least 5 minutes.
     Mr. FRANCE. I wouldn't think so.
     Senator FERGUSON. You know he was not claiming the fifth amendment.
     Mr. FRANCE. I know he was not claiming the fifth amendment.
     Senator FERGUSON. And you knew he was willing to discuss the whole matter?
     Mr. FRANCE. Yes.
     Senator FERGUSON. And you came to the conclusion that he was not one of your clients?
     Mr. FRANCE. I came to the conclusion when he began to talk that he was not one of those who had previously consulted with me.
     Mr. MORRIS. But after he commenced talking and after he said you were not his lawyer, you continued to sit in in executive session.
     Mr. FRANCE. I think not, Mr. Morris. I think I withdrew immediately, and that is my clear recollection on the subject.
     Mr. MORRIS. If it is worth anything, I would like to say that it conflicts with my recollection.
     Senator FERGUSON. And it does with my recollection.
     Mr. FRANCE. Doesn't the chairman recall that I asked the man if he wanted me to represent him as a lawyer and immediately withdrew ?
     Mr. MORRIS. Mr. Chairman, this man is under oath as a witness.

Return to SISS Page   ||  Radical Politics Page