Mr. TAVENNER. May I say this to you: Every witness who has taken this stand before this committee and has frankly advised the committee of their experience in the Communist Party has been asked to tell this committee what the circumstances were that led them to make the decision to enter into the Communist Party. Every witness has been asked that question.

You will be given every opportunity-the committee is anxious to know what led you to make such a mistake, if you did, and at the same time the committee will give you an opportunity, as it has every other witness, who has testified on the subject, to tell this committee what led to their decision to get out of the Communist Party, if they got out.

So, you will be given a very wide freedom in discussing those matters, if you answer the question.

Mrs. FOSTER. Sir, this is not a court. Anybody can call anybody a Communist. To call them so implies certain guilt.

If I am guilty of something, I should be tried.

To call a person a Communist, therefore, when they are not on trial, is to call them a name; it is not to let them stand on their actions, their character, and record.

Mr. TAVENNER. Now, that is where you are entirely wrong.

Mr. CLARDY. May I ask you this: If you were a member of the Communist Party, would you be ashamed to admit it?

Mrs. FOSTER. I refuse to discuss the Communist Party, as I said before.

Mr. CLARDY. I thought you would.

Mrs. FOSTER. For the reasons given.

Mr. CLARDY. Do you have any more, Mr. Tavenner?

Mr. TAVENNER. No, sir; I have no further questions.

Mr. CLARDY. Any questions, any of you gentlemen?

Mr. SCHERER. No questions.

Mr. WALTER. No questions.

Mr. CLARDY. Witness dismissed.

The committee will stand in adjournment until 10 a. m., tomorrow, in this room.

(Whereupon, at 4: 50 p. m., the hearing was recessed, to reconvene at 10 a. m. Friday, November 19, 1954.)

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN-PART 12

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1954

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF COMMITTEE ON

UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES,

PUBLIC HEARING

Washington, D. C.

The subcommittee of the Committee on Un-American Activities met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10:25 a. m., in room 313, Old House Office Building, Hon. Harold H. Velde (chairman) presiding.

Committee members present: Representatives Harold H. Velde (chairman), Kit Clardy, Gordon H. Scherer, and Francis E. Walter. Staff members present: Frank S. Tavenner, Jr., counsel; Thomas W. Beale, Sr., chief clerk; Raphael I. Nixon, director of research; Donald Appell and Courtney E. Owens, investigators.

Mr. VELDE. The subcommittee will be in order.

Mr. Reporter, let the record show that present are Mr. Clardy, Mr. Scherer, Mr. Walter, and myself as chairman of the subcommittee for the purposes of this hearing.

Mr. Counsel, do you have a witness?

Mr. TAVENNER. Yes, sir; I would like to call this morning Mr. James G. Petroff.

Will you come forward, please, Mr. Petroff?

Mr. VELDE. Will you raise your right hand and be sworn?

In the testimony you are about to give before this subcommittee, do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Mr. PETROFF. I do.

TESTIMONY OF JAMES G. PETROFF, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS COUNSEL, JOSEPH FORER

Mr. TAVENNER. It is noted that you are accompanied by counsel.

Will counsel please identify himself for the record?

Mr. FORER. Joseph Forer, 711 Fourteenth Street NW., Washington, D. C.

Mr. TAVENNER. When and where were you born, Mr. Petroff?
Mr. PETROFF. I was born in Detroit, April 27, 1928.

Mr. TAVENNER. Where do you now reside?

Mr. PETROFF. I am staying in Detroit, but since I had to come here I just moved out of the hotel.

Mr. TAVENNER. How long have you been living in Detroit?

Mr. PETROFF. Since 1946.

Mr. TAVENNER. Will you give the committee, please, a brief résumé of your formal educational training?

Mr. PETROFF. I went to high school and then I went to—I took up a machine shop course.

Mr. TAVENNER. Where did you attend high school?

Mr. PETROFF. In Bulgaria.

Mr. TAVENNER. For how long a period of time were you in Bulgaria?

Mr. FORER. Excuse me, I do not think he finished his previous answer with respect to his education.

Mr. TAVENNER. I will come back to that. I interrupted him.
For how long a period of time were you in Bulgaria?

Mr. PETROFF. I do not remember when I went there because I was a kid, but I came back here in 1946.

Mr. TAVENNER. Who accompanied you when you left the United States?

(At this point Mr. Petroff conferred with Mr. Forer.) Mr. PETROFF. My parents accompanied me.

Mr. TAVENNER. Who accompanied you on your return to the United States in 1946?

Mr. PETROFF. Nobody.

Mr. TAVENNER. Are you a naturalized American citizen, or are you a citizen by virtue of birth in this country?

Mr. PETROFF. I am a citizen by virtue of my birth.

Mr. TAVENNER. Did you acquire citizenship in Bulgaria while you were there?

Mr. PETROFF. What citizenship do you mean?

Mr. TAVENNER. Dual citizenship? Did you become a citizen of Bulgaria?

Mr. PETROFF. Well, I just lived there.

Mr. SCHERER. I do not think that is an answer to Mr. Tavenner's question, that you just lived there.

I think he should answer whether he acquired citizenship or not. If he doesn't know, he should say so.

Mr. VELDE. The Chair agrees.

Mr. PETROFF. Not that I know of.

Mr. WALTER. You did not serve in the Bulgarian Army?

Mr. PETROFF. No.

Mr. TAVENNER. How old were you when you returned to the United States, just about 18?

Mr. PETROFF. About 18.

Mr. TAVENNER. Did you register in Bulgaria for military service? Mr. PETROFF. No: I didn't.

Mr. TAVENNER. Now, I interrupted you in your narration of your educational training. Will you proceed, please?

Mr. PETROFF. Well, I took up machine shop and I went to Wayne University.

Mr. TAVENNER. When did you attend Wayne University?
Mr. PETROFF. The last two terms; not this term, but the last two.
Mr. TAVENNER. For how long a period were you at Wayne?

Mr. PETROFF. About 7 months.

Mr. TAVENNER. And what month and year was it that you left Wayne University?

Mr. PETROFF. That was, I think, July of this year. I do not recall the exact date.

Mr. TAVENNER. What has been your employment since the completion of your work at Wayne University in July 1954, if any?

Mr. PETROFF. Well, I worked 1 week only and then I lost my job due to the publicity that I got in the newspapers and due to the pressure upon my employer.

Mr. TAVENNER. What publicity is it that you refer to?
Mr. PETROFF. False publicity that I got in the newspapers.
Mr. TAVENNER. When was that?

Mr. PETROFF. That was in September.

Mr. TAVENNER. You say you lost your employment by reason of that?

What was your employment?

Mr. PETROFF. Well, I was driving a truck.

Mr. TAVENNER. For whom?

Mr. PETROFF. I don't remember the name. I only worked for a week.

Mr. TAVENNER. You don't remember your employer back as short a period as September?

Mr. PETROFF. It is a trucking company.

Mr. TAVENNER, Located where?

Mr. PETROFF. Located on Ferry Street in Detroit.

Mr. CLARDY. A local trucking company or one engaged in over-theroad service?

Mr. PETROFF. Local, delivering bricks.

Mr. TAVENNER. How long was that employment? Did you work there constantly for them for a period of weeks?

Mr. PETROFF. I think it was about 2 or 3 weeks, but not full weeks. I worked about 2 or 3 days a week and I think it was for a period of about 3 weeks.

Mr. CLARDY. How many days did you work on the week when you were arrested by the Detroit police?

Mr. PETROFF. Well, I was one day that week.

Mr. CLARDY. The rest of the days you were on the picket line at the Square D strike?

Mr. PETROFF. I was arrested on Tuesday and I worked Monday, the previous day.

Mr. CLARDY. Had you been on the picket line on the Square D strike the previous week?

Mr. PETROFF. That is right.

Mr. CLARDY. The publicity you spoke about grew out of your arrest that I have just mentioned?

Mr. PETROFF. That is right.

(At this point Mr. Petroff conferred with Mr. Forer.)

Mr. PETROFF. I was on the picket line because I believed the workers at Square D had legitimate reasons and I sympathized with them and that is why I went there.

Mr. SCHERER. You never worked for Square D, is that right?
Mr. PETROFF. That is right.

Mr. CLARDY. How long were you on the picket line?

Mr. PETROFF. I did not count the days.

Mr. CLARDY. Well, roughly.

Mr. PETROFF. Roughly, about 2 weeks.

Mr. CLARDY. During the time when the violence occurred out there? Mr. PETROFF. Well, the Detroit police instigated many violences and I don't know about which one you are talking.

Mr. CLARDY. Well, you know that there were reports daily in the newspapers concerning violence at the Square D plant and about the fact that a few arrests were made even prior to the time that you were arrested; don't you?

Mr. PETROFF. Yes, and there was some violence after I was arrested. Mr. SCHERER. You say all of the violence was instigated by the Detroit police?

Mr. PETROFF. In my opinion, it was.

Mr. SCHERER. None by the strikers?

Mr. PETROFF. In my opinion, none.

Mr. SCHERER. None by the Communists who had joined the picket line?

Mr. PETROFF. Well, I did not see any pickets carrying signs on his nose, and his hair is not red. They call them reds, but to me they may be blondes or brunettes, so I don't know what you mean by Communists.

Mr. CLARDY. How did you happen to get in the picket line?
Mr. PETROFF. Because I sympathized with the workers.

Mr. CLARDY. Do you mean to tell me that you, a stranger in this company, went out and joined the crowd?

(At this point Mr. Petroff conferred with Mr. Forer.)

Mr. PETROFF. Tens of thousands of organized labor went there who did not even work at Square D.

Mr. WALTER. The fact of the matter is that you were sent there to join the picket line by certain Communist Party leaders, were you not? (At this point Mr. Petroff conferred with Mr. Forer.)

Mr. PETROFF. Well, I already stated that I went there because I sympathized with the workers. Nobody sent me there.

Mr. WALTER. Did any member of the Communist Party, any Communist Party functionary, ask you to go there and assist in putting on this demonstration?

Mr. PETROFF. Nobody asked me to go there. Nobody insisted for me

Mr. WALTER. At the time you joined the Communists or the picket line, were you a member of the Communist Party?

(At this point Mr. Petroff conferred with Mr. Forer.)

Mr. PETROFF. Well, I refuse to answer for the following reasons: No. 1, this committee is a "lame-duck" committee and, in my opinion, it is sitting illegally.

Mr. WALTER. Well, now, you can call it a "lame-duck" committee all of your life, but the person who propounded the question will be a member of this next Congress.

Mr. PETROFF. No. 2, I believe its purpose today is as it has always been, to harass the workers and the people of this country and to give every possible assistance to big business.