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| 58. COMMUNISM AND THE PUBLIC Lillian Hell man; Paul Jerrico; Ring Lardner, Carey HcWilliams; Lewis Milestone; Ruth McKinney (Mrs. Bruce Minton); Clifford Odets; San Ornitz; Edward G. Robinson; Prank Scully; Donald Ogden Stewarb; Dalton Trumbo; Frank Tuttie; and Orson Y:elles. The Unions controlled include: Film Technicians Local 683; Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists, & Technicians; los Angeles Newspaper Guild; Screen Cartoonists Guild 852; Screen Office Employees Guild, 1391; and possibly the heavily infiltrated Screen TBriters, Screen Publicists, and others belonging to the leftist Conference of Hollywood Guilds and Unions. Of these groups, the Screen VJriters Guild is one of the most powerful. There is a close interlock between these groups and the Office of War Information Red element. The Writers Congress, which met in 1943, left a continuation committee which is still mtderately active. In Hollywood there are twenty-one active front organizations in addi- tion to the controlled unions and groups mentioned above. Unquestionably Los Angeles deserves to be called the second Communist capital of the United States (New York is first and Washington was until recently third). It is not so much a matter of numbers, but rather the strategic importance of the n*ti*n picture industry, which makes the concentration there so dangerous. This is not to be interpreted as an endorsement of the Hearst "expose7" that the center of Communism is to shift to Hollywood. Informants who attended the meeting reported by Hearst state that the newspaper account was mainly distortion and fabrication. But the facts are sufficiently disturbing, with- out further adornment. 4. Radio. Communists are attempting to get into the radio field by means of the new frequency modulation stations to be opened during the coming year. The primary organization for promoting this aim is the Peoples Radio Foundation, sponsored by such Communist friends as Corliss Lamont and Samuel Novick (president of Electronics Corporation and sponsor of Communist commentator William S. Gailmor). These stations are inexpensive to build (about $50,000) and run. Hence the Communists are pushing their controlled unions to seize as many permits as possible* (Some non-Communist unions are also interested in obtaining peimits) The objective is to build a national "labor" FM network by 1948 (Daily Worker, August 9, 1945). In addition to seeking stations, the Communists have worked hard to influence commentators on the radio. Their controlled commentators include William S. Gailmor; Johannes Steel; and (possibly) Raymond Walsh. Gailmor had a national hookup (WJZ -and American Broadcasting Company), while WMCA and TBHN in New York use other leftist commentators. Hans Jacob of WOV was suspect, as was Leland Stowe of ABC. The Committee on Un-American Activities . is investigating John vr. Vandercook, Lisa Sergio; Johannes Steel; Sydney Walten; J. Raymond 7'alsh; and Frank Kingdon. This writer listens to John W. Vander- cook and has not found any noticeable leftist trend to his broadcasts. By contrast, he heard a really Party Line broadcast from Robert St. John on NEC, Aug. 21, 1945, at 10.00 a.m. William Henry Chamberlin, in the New Leader (August 4, 1945) attacked Raymond Gram Swing for his biased treatment of Soviet imperialism. It seems premature to charge persons like Vandercook, St. John, Swing, Heatter, and other ma jar network commentators with even fellow traveler tendencies. The material which Communist fronts feed such speakers and the general line taken by much of the American press and publish- ers could explain honest deception without any conscious bias. Likewise the |