Communist infiltration of Hollywood motion-picture industry : hearing before the Committee on Un-American activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-second Congress, first session (1951)

COMMUNISM IN MOTION-PICTURE INDUSTRY 1571 Mr. Klein. Well, I recall from your excellent reading. Mr. Doyle. This committee then is primarily assigned by the United States Congress to investigate, to uncover, to interest itself in these subversive people and the subversive programs. Mr. Klein. Are you pointing your pencil in my direction ? Mr. Doyle. No ; not at all. Mr. Klein. I see. Please don't. Mr. Doyle. Not at all. I have quite the habit, however, being a lawyer and having practiced law some 25 years in a neighboring city and the courts in this city, and I suppose I acquired the habit like your own worthy council did of emphasizing before the jury by appropriate manipulations. So I am pointing my pencil as I am; I am not pointing it to you as a subversive at all. However, may I say to you, as one man to another, from the evidence I have heard from different parts of the country, I am under a very firm conviction, I think as a reasonable person, that the Communist Party in America is subversive, definitely so. I see two or three smiling at that statement, and I can understand it. But I want to say to you, sir, that, believing then as I do that the CommunistParty is definitely subversive, would you think that if I believe that as a member of this committee that my duty is to ask you if you are a member of the Communist Party? Mr. Klein. I am sorry; I don't quite get the purport of your question. Mr. Doyle. The purport of my question is this Mr. Klein. Do I believe what ? Mr. Doyle. This committee is under the firm conviction that the Communist Party in the United States is a subversive party under the definition of Mr. Webster. And under the text of our assignment we are designated to investigate subversive people and subversive programs. Wouldn't you say that it was our duty under our statutes to ask you, therefore, since we were informed that you are a member of the Communist Party, shouldn't we ask you very frankly here in this public session whether or not you are ? Mr. Klein. You are asking me to tell you what you ought to do or ought not to do; is that correct? Mr. Doyle. Yes. I will ask you frankly. Shouldn't we try to find out where subversive people are and what their subversive programs are? Mr. Klein. Well, in the first place, I don't believe—I am not try- ing to either advise you nor counsel you, but in the first place the question which you addressed to me is without any basis. I do not recall that there has been a question addressed to me whether I am a member of the Communist Party. Mr. Doyle. Well, I will ask you now whether or not you are a member of the Communist Party. Mr. Klein. All right. Well, I will give the same answer that I have been obliged to give, and my answer, I think, is illuminated by the remarks you have just made. It is quite obvious that, in the view of yourself and the committee, an answer to this question might involve me or incriminate me in some incriminating situation, and consequently I feel that it is my right and also my duty to refuse to answer. Mr. Doyle. Well, of course, it might involve you if, as a matter of fact, you have participated in any subversive activities or programs 81595—51—pt. 4 11