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3548 COMMUNISM IN HOLLYWOOD MOTION-PICTURE INDUSTRY Mr. Wood. What I would like to know is can you fix a date, a period of time in the immediate past, during which you are willing to testify that you have not been a member of the Communist Party % Miss Hellman. I refuse to answer, Mr. Wood, on the same grounds. Mr. Wood. Were you yesterday? Miss Hellman. No, sir. Mr. Wood. Were you last year at this time? Miss Hellman. No, sir. Mr. Wood. Were you 5 years ago at this time? Miss Hellman. I must refuse to answer. Mr. Wood. Were you 2 years ago from this time ? Miss Hellman. No, sir. Mr. Wood. Three years ago from this time? Miss Hellman. I must refuse to answer on the same grounds. Mr. Wood. You say you must refuse. Do you refuse to answer whether you were 3 years ago? Miss Hellman. I am so sorry, I forget. I certainly don't mean to forget. Mr. Walter. Were you a member of the Communist Party in the middle of June 1937? Miss Hellman. I refuse to answer, Mr. Walter, on the same ground. Mr. Walter. As I remember the letter that was read—your letter to the chairman—you didn't want to testify because you were afraid that you might bring bad trouble to people whose names might be mentioned in connection with your testimony. In view of the fact that Martin Berkeley has already admitted that he was a member of the Communist Party, what bad trouble do you think you would bring to him if you were to admit that you attended the meeting at his home ? Miss Hellman. I must stand by the letter, Mr. Walter. I have worked very hard on it, and I tried very hard to explain exactly what I meant by it. I must refer back to it at this point. Mr. Walter. Yes, I think I understand that perfectly. But the principal reason why you do not want to testify is because you do not want to bring, to quote you, bad trouble to other people. Martin Berkeley has already admitted that he was a member of the Commu- nist Party. You decline to answer the question of whether or not you attended a meeting at his home. What bad trouble could you bring to him if you would mention his name? Miss Hellman. Since I don't quite understand, may I speak with my counsel? Mr. Walter. Yes. (Witness conferred with her counsel.) Miss Hellman. Because I didn't understand that that was the principle reason and because I don't understand the legalities, may I refer you to Mr. Rauh. I didn't really understand the question. I would prefer Mr. Rauh answer it if it is possible. Mr. Walter. No ; I am not interested in that. I know about what he would say. Mr. Tavenner. On February 12, 1948, the National Institute of Arts and Letters addressed a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives protesting the investigation of the Communist infil- tration of the motion-picture industry as a subversion of the tradi- tional American sense of fair play and human decency. Your name