We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
136 COMMUNISM IN MOTION-PICTURE INDUSTRY Hollywood had offered me before and probably would again. I think the main thing was, it planted a seed in me that said if I could do something about the conditions of the world I could probably justify my position as an actor with a good salary and good working condi- tions. This wasn't concrete, but it was something boiling inside of me. Mr. Tavenner. What did you do when you went back to New York? Mr. Hayden. I remember I went back to OSS headquarters, and my future assignment had not been determined, and it seemed to me that inasmuch as the Communist press had analyzed Tito accurately, they might know of other guerrilla outfits such as the Partisans. I wrote or wired Tompkins asking who I could contact in New York, and he wired me to contact V. J. Jerome in New York. I picked up the phone and called the Daily Worker office and I said, "This is Lt. John Hamilton, United States Marine Corps. I would like to talk to V. J. Jerome." There was some consternation at the other end of the line, and I was told if I was in New York later to call again, which I did. Jerome said we could meet at the Golden Eagle Cafe on West Twelfth Street just off Fifth Avenue. I went in and sat at the bar. About half an hour later a man scuttled through the back room and I thought, "This must be Jerome." I looked at him. He looked at me. I walked up, introduced myself, and sat down. My purpose was to find out if he had any idea where there were other guerrilla movements going on. He wouldn't talk to me. I think he was suspcious. I got nowhere that day. I called and talked to a man named Joe North, whom he had men- tioned to me. I went up and talked to him in this building that I guess was headquarters for the whole caboodle. There was general con- versation. Nothing constructive came out of it whatsoever, as I recall. Mr. Tavenner. Did you also go see a person by the name of Allan Chase, who is an avowed Communist, having been a candidate for Congress on the Communist ticket ? Mr. Hayden. I met him. I think even prior to my trip to see Tompkins I had met him. I didn't know until you told me that he was an open Communist. I didn't know he was a Communist. I thought possibly he was. He was particularly interested in the situa- tion in Spain. He talked about that angle of it, the fact there was a movement there, the remnants of a movement in there, and I met friends of his at his apartment near Central Park, and so forth and so on. As nearly as I can recall, I went back to Washington and talked to someone in OSS, and talked about the possibility of going to Spain. They said there were already men in Spain. They said I would be sent to Paris. I went to Paris and was attached directly to the First Army Headquarters. Mr. Tavenner. You referred to having met a number of Allan Chase's friends. Was communism discussed with his friends? Mr. Hayden. No. Communism was never discussed. Communism per se was never discussed to the best of my recollection. There was a discussion of the war going on and the role in it of the guerrillas. Mr. Tavenner. Did you meet any other Communists while you were in New York ?