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COMMUNISM IN HOLLYWOOD MOTION-PICTURE INDUSTRY 3535 Mr. Roberts. I think they did, definitely. I mean I don't think there is a question of my thinking so; I am sure they did. At the period that the panels were conducted about wartime activi- ties, they did not have control of the organization, it was a guild enterprise. Mr. Tavenner. That was testified to at some length by Richard Collins, I believe, in his testimony before this committee, or possibly Mr. Dmytryk. Mr. Roberts. I don't know that, sir. Now, in relation to the results, as to the work of this writers' group, there were constant speeches made on the floor of the guild in terms of the CSU, of the Conference of Studio Unions' fight. The guild mem- bership began to become more and more against the left faction which were determined to support Mr. Sorrell, and the guild under the leadership of Emmett Lavery, began to beat the Communists to a standstill. It is at this point that I began to object very, very strongly to the tactics that were used. Mr. Tavenner. You mean the tactics used by the Communist Party ? Mr. Roberts. By the Communist Party, very definitely. And be- ginning in 1947, the all guild committee was formed to defeat these Communist tactics, and I should say I think rightly so. Mr. Tavenner. Did the Communist Party endeavor to use you in any particular way in connection with that fight in the Screen "Writers' Guild? Mr. Roberts. Very definitely attempted to use me. I was a very good friend of Sheridan Gibney's, who had been a president of the guild for some two terms, and who was an anti-Communist. The party sent me, and I believe Mr. Huebsch to speak to Mr. Gibney and ask him to condemn the all-guild slate. Mr. Gibney said that he was running as an independent, and refused to condemn the right of any group in the guild to form whatever slate they pleased, and particu- larly an anti-Communist slate. The result of this was that the party became furious with Mr. Gibney and a series of slanders and lies began to be circulated by members of the party. Mr. Tavenner. Why were you selected to go to Gibney? Mr. Roberts. Because of my personal friendship with Gibney over a period of about 8 years. Mr. Tavenner. So the Communist Party, of which you were then a member Mr. Roberts. That is right. Mr. Tavenner. Endeavored to get you to exploit your personal friendship with Mr. Gibney to influence his action in this matter ? Mr. Roberts. That is right. Then Mr. Gibney was elected presi- dent of the guild, and it was at this point that the Hugo Butler resolu- tion came into being, in which the guild was asked to support the Hollywood Ten, I believe, against the committee; that the guild was asked to throw its legal resources behind the 10 to fight the case for them. This was voted down by the Screen Writers' Guild. Mr. Tavenner. Where did the movement have its origin? Mr. Roberts. In the Communist Party. There is no question about that. What happened here was that I attempted to speak very loudly against the Butler resolution, because of its effect on the guild. I began to see the guild take a tremendous beating and nobody in the party would stop.