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MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES 1539
Mr. McCann. I think that is very wise.
Mr. Kearns. The Chair will rule this way, that we will take the testimony beginning with you this morning, Mr. Levy, for the consideration of the newly appointed committee.
At this time I would like to recognize the Members of Congress sitting here this afternoon.
Beside Mr. Landis, the ranking Member, Mr. Owens, of Illinois and Mr. Gwinn, of New York; Mr. Fisher, of Texas; Mr. Kennedy, of Massachusetts ; and Mr. Kelley, of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Landis. Mr. Kelley has a guest and I would like him to introduce his guest, if he will.
Mr. Kelley. My guest, Mr. Chairman, is a member of the English Parliament, Mr. Wallace.
Mr. Kearns. Mr. Wallace, we welcome you here and are very glad to have you with us, sir.
Mr. Levy. Shall I proceed, sir?
Mr. Kearns. Mr. Levy, you will proceed. I think you were reading the letter written to me. You left off with section D. Do you want to continue that?
Mr. Levy. I do want to continue, but I think I ought to preface the continuance of the reading of that letter with this short statement, in view of the augmented committee. I had not completely finished my response to Mr. McCann's question that I think I ought to put on the record.
Mr. Kearns. All right, proceed.
Mr. Levy. Our position, Mr. Kearns, before this honorable committee is that we deeply appreciate the opportunity of presenting to this committee of Congress all of the phases of the matter involved in this jurisdictional dispute which started in the latter part of 1944.
It was our position that those who would understand Hollywood's complicated labor problems must recognize at the outset that there are at woi'k in this conflict two separate and district forces which normally would not be allied together but which in this particular instance are joined in a marriage of convenience for the purpose of destroying the dominant position which the lATSE holds in the motion picture industry.
These forces are, (1) the carpenters' union and what otir organization feels to be the burning ambition of the carpenters' organization under the leadership of Mr. William L. Hutcheson to dominate studio labor. We do not claim that is a Communist outfit at all.
And (2) the subversive drive to bring all Hollywood labor under the influence of the Communist Party and those who follow the Communist line, which drive centers around the Conference of Studio Unions and Herbert K. Sorrell.
I think I may say in passing that the strike to all intents and purposes is over. I should really speak of this in the past tense rather than in the present tense.
Were these two forces to have been successful in eliminating the lATSE which we consider the one bulwark in studio labor in opposition to the Communist capture of studio labor, then, and equally in our judgment, an equally bitter conflict for supremacy would later result between the Communist groups and the carpenters.
I believe that Mr. Hutcheson would not accept dictation from the Communist Party and if the Conference of Studio Unions ever elimi