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3526 COMMUNISM IN HOLLYWOOD MOTION-PICTURE INDUSTRY Mr. Walter. But you knew that he was a Communist, did you not? Miss Lennart. I knew that he had been in contempt of Congress, and I assumed—No, I am sorry. What am I saying. I knew defi- nitely well Maltz was; yes. But I felt that he had been in prison, he had done this, and I didn't—this was for an office in the Screen Writers' Guild which would not put him on the board but give people the chance to elect him if they wanted to. On the other hand, I would like to say generally, more than anything else in the past weeks when I have been looking back over my own past and over my own records, the thing I reproach myself with more bitterly than anything else is the irresponsibility that I and perhaps many other people have shown in the things we lent our names to, the things we gave money to, and the things we talked for, without ever sitting down to figure out what exactly we were doing and what connection it had with the other things. Mr. Walter. Of course, that is a very gross understatement. But I still haven't my mind straight on wiry, if you wanted an opportunity to escape, as it were, through a decision of the Supreme Court, you were willing subsequently to place a man in a position, knowing that he was a member of the Communist Party. Miss Lennart. Well, Congressman, there seems to me always to be a contradiction in this. If the guild allows a man to be a member, know- ing he is a Communist, and accepts his dues, it seemed to me at that time Mr. Walter. But you were a member of the guild, were you not? Miss Lennart. Yes. Mr. Walter. Did you want a man of that sort to speak for you ? Miss Lennart. I didn't vote for him for this reason. But I thought other people wanted him to run, and I Mr. Wood. You mean you signed a petition permitting him to be a candidate ? Miss Lennart. To be a candidate. Mr. Wood. And then voted against him in the election ? Miss Lennart. I didn't vote at all in the election. But I would not have voted for him. Mr. Wood. It should also be borne in mind, that a conviction of the Hollywood 10 was not for being members of the Communist Party. You can't prosecute for that. But for refusing to do exactly what you are doing, that is, answer questions pertinent to the inquiry of the committee. Miss Lennart. Yes, sir, I understand that. Well, that brings us up to Mr. Wheeler's visit in 1951, and I had said I would like to talk on why I told him a year ago that I did not think, if I were subpenaed, I would give names and why I obviously have changed my opinion on this today. I would like to say why I didn't want to give them a year ago. In the years since I have been married, my life has changed a great deal. I no longer saw the people I had once known. I have lost track of most of them. The whole subject of the party was one I kept pretty closed. I knew that my convictions had changed. I felt that my conscience was clear, that I was doing nothing that could hurt this country in any way. I thought it was more than likely that many of the people I had known once had changed as much as I had, and I couldn't bring myself to damage anyone in a way that I felt I was