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COMMUNISM IN MOTION-PICTURE INDUSTRY 345 (Letter and two canceled checks turned over to committee staff by the witness.) Mr. Tavenner. The New York Times of March 3, 1945, contained an advertisement paid for by the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade advocating a break with Franco Spain. Among those listed as sponsoring the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade is your name. Mr. Garfield. Again let me say to the committee and to you that I was for Spain because I felt it was a democratically elected govern- ment. I was against the Communists in there as much as I was against the Fascists in there. That was my position and has always been my position. I was and still am against the Communists and against the Fascists. However, on this particular point that you mention, I have no knowledge of ever giving permission to them to use my name. The only organization that I worked with about Spain was an organization called the Theater Arts Committee. Mr. Tavenner. Were you a member of or associated with Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade ? Mr. Garfield. No, sir. Mr. Tavenner. Or with the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Bri- gade ? Mr. Garfield. No, sir. Mr. Velde. Did you know at the time that the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was a Communist-sponsored group? Mr. Garfield. No, sir; I didn't know it. Had I known it—although I don't remember having sponsored this particular event—I would have had nothing to do with it. But I still feel the same way about Spain. Mr. Velde. You had no reason to believe that group was Commu- nist-sponsored ? Mr. Garfield. No, sir. Mr. Tavenner. You mentioned earlier you were a member of the Committee for the First Amendment? Mr. Garfield. Yes, sir. Mr. Tavenner. Will you tell us what part you played in this group ? Mr. Garfield. I will be happy to. Mr. Moulder. What group is that? Mr. Garfield. Committee for the First Amendment, which was organized in 1947 in California. I was in New York at that time. I was not in on the organization of this committee. I received a tele- phone call—I am not quite sure whether it was from John Huston— asking me to come down to Washington for two reasons. One was that the industry as an industry was being called unpatriotic and un- American, and we felt that we had done an outstanding job in the war, and we felt it was our duty as people who worked in the indus- try to come to its defense. That was point No. 1. Point No. 2 was the issue of free speech. Mr. Eric Johnston said at that particular time, "I may be against everything you believe in, but I will fight for the right for you to say so." Mr. Jackson. I think the record should show Eric Johnston was anticipated a number of years in that remark. Mr. Garfield. I don't know about that, but I remember that in- stance.