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1578 COMMUNISM IN MOTION-PICTURE INDUSTRY Mr. Tavenner. Were you assigned to any particular club at that time? Mr. Berkeley. No, sir. Mr. Tavenner. Or unit of the party % Mr. Berkeley. I was kept in that particular Patrick Henry Club of the Communist Party. Mr. Tavenner. Do you recall the names of any of the other members of that group ? Mr. Berkeley. I do, sir. The chairman of our group, which, at the time I joined, we had about 75 members and within 6 weeks we had approximately 175 members and it then split up and took some more loft buildings, but the head of the group was Jim Thompson, who was either a brother or a cousin of Robert Thompson, one of the convicted top Communists. Also in the group was Isadore Schneider, editor and contributor to New Masses. William Browder, who was a brother of Earl Browder. A man named Les Abenson, who at that time was a screen reader and who is now a very well known Broad- way producer. I will say that most of the members of the group were workingmen. There were just a handful of intellectuals or artists in this particular group. Mr. Tavenner. While a member of that group were you instructed or advised to join any organizations? Mr. Berkeley. Yes, sir. I believe at that time I joined the League of American Writers, if that was the name at that time. It had so many names and it has been so many years ago I don't recall. But it was either the League of American Writers or the name before it or the name after it. I was also—at that time I had a play in New York, but I was employed in the story department of several studios, par- ticularly at Paramount as a screen reader. The readers were very badly paid and they were kicked around and we had a just grievance, we wanted more money. They were paying us $2 a script then to read a script and make a synopsis, which might take as much as 4 or 5 hours. Along with the other members of the party, on instruction of V. J. Jerome, we organized the Screen Readers' Guild in New York. At a later date a member of the Screen Readers' Guild, the president, Lee Sabinson, came to Hollywood and established a branch of the Screen Readers' Guild out here. The offspring of it today is the Screen Analysts' Guild. Mr. Tavenner. Can you give us the names of any other persons who were members of the Screen Readers' Guild which you joined in the city of New York? Mr. Berkeley. Well, there was Lee Sabinson, I mentioned him. He was the head of it. A man named Eddie Huebsch Mr. Tavenner. I mean, in asking you that, I want to know who were members of that organization known to you to be members of the Communist Party. Mr. Berkeley. Yes, sir. There was Lee Sabinson, whom I have mentioned previously. Sabinson Mr. Tavenner. May I ask you to spell the name, please. Mr. Berkeley. His name is Lee, L-e-e, S-a-b-i-n-s-o-n. Mr. Tavenner. I think it would be helpful if you would spell all of these names as you mention them the first time. Mr. Berkeley. Thank you, sir. Lee was the president of the Screen Readers' Guild. On his return from Hollywood he enlisted in the