Mr. BANTA. I was. Mr. STARNES. A member in good standing, and no question had been raised up to this point with reference to your loyalty to the party and its principles? Mr. BANTA. None whatever. Mr. STARNES. When you arose to leave, did anyone bar the entrance of the door to you? Mr. BANTA. Yes. Mr. STARNES. How many did? Mr. BANTA. Two. Mr. STARNES. Who were they, if you know? Mr. BANTA. That is, two covered the door; the rest of them closed in on me and two covered the door. One was Florence Cook and the other was Sam Brown, county organizer, and the rest of them closed in on me, and one fellow there, who seemed to be overanxious to do something, he put his hands to my face and said, "Sit down, you s of a b. You have got yours coming to you." I said, then, "Your conduct in here seems to carry out what the newspapers say about the Communists being gangsters," and I stepped behind the chair in an effort to protect myself, if I could, if they advanced any closer. S Mr. STARNES. Did they attempt to remove any documents from your person? Mr. BANTA. Yes. Mr. STARNES. Or request you to furnish them with any documents which you might have on your person? Mr. BANTA. Yes. They then demanded that I take everything out of my pockets that I had and put everything on the table. Well, at first I thought it would be all right to do that Mr. STARNES. Did you do it? Mr. BANTA. I did not. Mr. STARNES. You refused to do it? Mr. BANTA. I absolutely refused to do it. Mr. STARNES. Did they threaten you at this point? Mr. BANTA. They came toward me to take them away forcibly, and closed in. I backed away and said, "Don't put your hands on me; don't you touch my person. Mr. STARNES. At what time did they take the photograph of you in that room? Mr. BANTA. I should say possibly after I had been in there an hour and a half. Mr. STARNES. Did they back you up against the wall? Mr. BANTA. Well, they stood around me and at that time I was pleading to get out of the room and telling them just what I thought about them, and they called the photographer and snapped two pictures of me. Mr. STARNES. And this picture appears in the Daily Worker of September 2, in this article? Mr. BANTA. It does. Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Banta, did they threaten you with any harm after you would leave this building? Mr. BANTA. Yes. They said-well, when I was leaving they said, "You are going to get yours; yours is coming to you; on your job, there will be hell to pay for you from now on, and you will get yours on the street, where you least expect it." That statement was made just about the time I was leaving the place and after I had been photographed. Mr. THOMAS. Have you noticed anything which has taken place on the job since then that would bear that out? Mr. BANTA. Yes. There have been statements made, as I reported before, to Julia Beller and others on the job that I was an F. B. I. man and threatening everybody that they must have nothing to do with me. Several people have come to me, who were very friendly to me before, and asked me, for their sakes, and the protection of their jobs, not to talk to them. I asked them what was the reason. They said, "Well, we were threatened, that was all, and told to leave you alone and keep away from you." Mr. THOMAS. Have any subsequently spoken to you, since you have been back on the job? Mr. BANTA. No; except Nick Wirth, senior supervisor. On my way out a few days ago, one of the women on the job with whom I had been friendly, and who is not a member of the Communist. Party, asked me for the loan of my paper during the day. I loaned it to her and asked if she would give it back to me before I went home; so, at 10 minutes to 4, I went to the washroom to wash up, and on the way back I stopped and asked her to give it to me. At that point, Nick walked up to me and, in a loud tone of voice that could be heard all over the room-a room about 40 by 50-said: "Banta, you have been running all over this building all day today, discussing things with people and annoying people on the job. Now, you get on your job and stay there." When he got through, I said: "Mr. Wirth, when you speak to me, speak to me in a modulated voice. You do not have to holler at me." Mr. THOMAS. In other words, Mr. Banta, your life on that project, from now on, would be very disagreeable? Mr. BANTA. Not only very disagreeable, but dangerous. Mr. THOMAS. That is all. Mr. STARNES. I was handed, on Friday, an advance copy of a German publication that is called the Deutscher Weckruf und Beobachter, in which you were supposed to have been engaged to speak at a Nazi meeting in a short time. Mr. BANTA. Yes. Mr. STARNES. Did you authorize the publication of that? Mr. BANTA. I did not. Mr. STARNES. Had you any such engagement? Mr. BANTA. No. Mr. STARNES. And have you demanded, in writing, a retraction of that publication? Mr. BANTA. I have. Mr. STARNES. And is this a copy of the letter which you forwarded [handing to witness]? Mr. BANTA. A carbon copy of the letter which I sent; yes. Mr. STARNES. After it was called to your attention? Mr. BANTA. Yes. Mr. STARNES. And this is a copy of the registry receipt [indicating]? Mr. BANTA. It is. Mr. STARNES. I will ask you to examine it, and, after you have done so, certify that is a correct copy, carbon copy, of the letter, to be introduced in the record with the appropriate exhibit number. Mr. BANTA. This is my letter, directed to one J. Hill, in care of this paper. I knew nothing about this publication and knew nothing about the subject being published until it was called to my attention. (The copy of letter and registry receipt above referred to were marked "Exhibit Banta NY No. 10" and filed with the committee, being a carbon copy of a letter dated September 14, 1938, addressed to J. Hill by Edwin P. Banta.) (At this point the subcommittee took a recess until 2:15 p. m.) AFTER RECESS The subcommittee reconvened pursuant to the taking of the recess, Hon. Joe Starnes (chairman) presiding. Mr. STARNES. I call Mr. John Joseph Fitzpatrick to the stand. TESTIMONY OF JOHN JOSEPH FITZPATRICK (The witness was duly sworn by Mr. Starnes.) Mr. STARNES. Give your name and address, please. Mr. FITZPATRICK. John Joseph Fitzpatrick; 11-527 One Hundred and Ninety-seventh Street, St. Albans. Mr. STARNES. Mr. Fitzpatrick, what is your present vocation or profession? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Timekeeper, Federal Project No. 1. Mr. THOMAS. Federal Writers' Project No. 1? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Federal Writers' Project No. 1. Mr. STARNES. Is the Federal Writers' Project No. 1 the project on which one Edwin P. Banta is engaged at the present time? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Yes, sir. Mr. STARNES. What are your duties as timekeeper on that project? Mr. FITZPATRICK. To obtain the signature of each and every worker and to verify that signature for pay-roll purposes. Mr. STARNES. The pay rolls are made up from these time sheets; is that correct? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Yes, sir. Mr. STARNES. I hand you herewith two pages of what purport to be a daily time report of the Works Progress Administration, Federal Project No. 1, of New York City, dated September 12, 1938. These were brought before the committee when you first came under a subpena duces tecum. Will you examine those and identify them, if you can [handing to witness]? Mr. FITZPATRICK. I can so identify them. Mr. STARNES. Are those the original time sheets of that project out there-project No. 1? Mr. FITZPATRICK. They are. Mr. STARNES. They are kept under your supervision? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Correct. Mr. STARNES. You will note there that the names are typed in and then the names are written over the typed name. Who puts in the typed name? Mr. FITZPATRICK. The clerical force. Mr. STARNES. Now, the written signature? Mr. FITZPATRICK. That is put in by the workers themselves. Mr. STARNES. Now, in the column showing the time in and out and the remarks there, who registers the time in and out on these sheets? Mr. FITZPATRICK. The workers. Mr. STARNES. The workers themselves? Mr. FITZPATRICK. The workers themselves. Mr. STARNES. I notice there that some of them are registered in at 9 a. m. and some at 10 a. m., and registered out then, respectively, at 4 p. m. and 5 p. m.; is that correct? Mr. FITZPATRICK. That is correct. Mr. STARNES. Testimony has been offered here by one who did not keep the records that the writer signs in and out at the same time. Is that correct? Mr. FITZPATRICK. That is correct. That is on account of going into the field, doing field work, consisting of research, and so forth. Mr. STARNES. In other words, assuming John Doe is on the Federal Writers' Project out there and he comes in in the morning at 9 o'clock and he is going to be assigned to field work, he comes in and signs in at 9 o'clock and, at the same time, signs out at 4 o'clock, we will say, and writes opposite "field work"? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Correct. Mr. STARNES. With no executive verifying it concerning the reason? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Correct. Mr. STARNES. When does he come back? Mr. FITZPATRICK. He does not come back that day unless he is called back by the supervisor. Mr. STARNES. Unless he is called back by the supervisor, he does not return to the project again until 24 hours later? Mr. FITZPATRICK. That is right. Mr. STARNES. During the period of time that he goes away 24 hours, do you know what, if any, supervision is had over his work? Mr. FITZPATRICK. No, sir. Mr. STARNES. In other words, so far as you know, he is entirely at liberty to go and come when he pleases? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Under the direction of his immediate supervisor. Mr. STARNES. The point I want to bring out-that is, if you know— is whether or not this man is at liberty to go and come as he pleases. In other words, there is no supervisor to keep check of them on the job? Mr. FITZPATRICK. The supervisor should have them under his thumb, in other words, and know where they go for research. Mr. THOMAS. But actually, does he? Mr. FITZPATRICK. No; I cannot say that. Mr. STARNES. How many supervisors are there on the job? Mr. STARNES. And how many writers are there on the job? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Four hundred and forty; along there now. Mr. STARNES. Therefore, it would be physically impossible, of course, for the 30 supervisors to be actually present with those people engaged in field work throughout the day? Mr. FITZPATRICK. No; I cannot answer that question, whether it would be physically impossible or not; because some of the supervisors go out in the field. Where they go, I do not know. That does not come under my jurisdiction. Mr. STARNES. You brought with you the other day three time sheets which the committee permitted you to retain, due to the fact the pay roll had to be made up today. Mr. FITZPATRICK. Yes, sir. Mr. STARNES. You identified on those the names of all the workers at the present time on the writers' project? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Yes, sir. Mr. STARNES. Do you know Abe Newman? Mr. FITZPATRICK. As a worker; yes, sir. Mr. STARNES. You know him as a worker, and his name appears on the time sheet? Mr. FITZPATRICK. It does. Mr. STARNES. Hyman Epstein; do you know him as a worker? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Also as a worker. Mr. STARNES. And his name appears? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Yes, sir. Mr. STARNES. And in the pages which, for your information, you carried back to the project the other day, after they were submitted, appeared the names of all the writers? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Of all the writers. (The time sheets above referred to were marked "Exhibit Fitzpatrick NY No. 11" and filed with the committee, being two time sheets of September 12, 1938.) Mr. STARNES. I will ask you to examine the signatures and names of those people in that book The People's Front handing to witness]. Mr. FITZPATRICK. Just on these two pages? Mr. STARNES. On all the pages there. Mr. FITZPATRICK. Abe Newman-I can identify that. Jay Greulich. I cannot pronounce this first name I-r-j-a, Koski; I can identify that. Elmer Bendine; Paul H. Konecky; Dorothy Kaufman; Max Arnold; Hon. Maxwell Bodenheim; William Wood; Harry Davis. You had better let that "honorable" go off the record. Mr. STARNES. That is all right. Mr. FITZPATRICK. Of course, I heard the newspapermen snicker before, so I assume he is not so well regarded by the newspapermen, although he is by himself. John F. Conny, Leo Minnioff, Florence Kleiman, Paul London, Lillian Scribner, Esther Booklan, Julia Beller, Dorothy Smith. Mr. STARNES. What about Annabelle Harrison? Mr. FITZPATRICK. I have not come to that. Mr. STARNES. I think you will find it at the top of the page somewhere, in the upper right hand. Mr. FITZPATRICK. Morris Kirstan. Mr. STARNES. Eva Shane-do you know her? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Yes; I know her. Mr. STARNES. She works on the project? Mr. FITZPATRICK. She does. Eugene Konecky. |
