Mr. TAVENNER. Before telling us about that, have you given us
the names of all others in the Communist Party group who were there
when you arrived?
Mr. DENNETT. Yes; all of those whom I have named were
officers. They held functioning positions.
Mr. TAVENNER. Will you proceed, then, with a description of
the identity of those who were developed into leadership after you
arrived.
Mr. DENNETT. I should preface that by remarking that upon
my arrival in Bellingham the Ku Klux Klan was very active in Whatcom
County. It was a practice for them at that time to burn the fiery cross
frequently in various places of the county. And I was informed that
they had a very considerable membership in the county.
I learned that some of those Klansmen were quite disillusioned with the
activities of the Klan. I made a practice of trying to contact various
persons whom I learned had been disillusioned by their activities in
the Klan. And I have been trying my level best to think of the name of
a particular man who was an officer in the Klan whom I did succeed in
recruiting into the Communist Party. But I have been unable to remember
that man’s name. I can only give this description, that he was in the
Sumas area and that he was a sheet-metal worker. And that is the best
that I can recall about him. It is quite possible that if some of
the other persons I mention, if they were asked, they probably would
remember him because he was a neighbor of theirs.
In this connection 2 very fine young men, one John Brockway and another
one, Harold Brockway, were working out on their father’s farm. Nothing
to do. And they were quite intrigued by the prospect which we held
forth as the new life which would come under a Soviet rule.
There was a young man at that time by the name of Mel Luddington.
There was a very old man by the name of A. A. Johnson. I would expect
that because of his advanced age at that time he may not still be alive.
Mr. TAVENNER. May I suggest that if you have information as
to any of the persons being deceased that you not give us their names,
unless they performed some outstanding service for the Communist Party
which we should know about.
Mr. DENNETT. I do not know.
Then, of course, I have mentioned George Bradley.
Mr. TAVENNER. I should have asked you to spell some of these
names, the spelling of which may be uncertain. Will you go back, please?
Mr. DENNETT. Yes.
Mr. TAVENNER. What is the spelling of Brockway?
Mr. DENNETT. B-r-o-c-k-w-a-y.
Mr. TAVENNER. Luddington?
Mr. DENNETT. Luddington, L-u-d-d-i-n-g-t-o-n.
Mr. TAVENNER. Johnson?
Mr. DENNETT. J-o-h-n-s-o-n.
Mr. TAVENNER. Bradley? B-r-a-d-l-e-y?
Mr. DENNETT. Yes.
Mr. DENNETT. There was one other person I see that I have
omitted, a fellow by the name of Ed Hanke. I think he had a brother,
too, that was in. But I do not recall the brother’s name.
Mr. TAVENNER. Will you spell the name, please.
Mr. DENNETT. H-a-n-k-e.
Mr. TAVENNER. You mentioned a little earlier that several
people from this area were trained in Moscow and attended the Lenin
Institute. I believe you named 2 of them from this area. Who were the 2?
Mr. DENNETT. One was Alex Noral. The other was Hutchin R.
Hutchins.
Mr. TAVENNER. Were there any others?
Mr. DENNETT. Yes.
James Bourne, B-o-u-r-n-e.
I think there were more than that, but I cannot at this moment place
them.
I remember that in 1932 there was an organization known as the Friends
of the Soviet Union, which was inspired by and under the leadership of
the Communist Party, and its purpose was to take delegations to the
Soviet Union to win their support and approval of the Soviet Union and
what it was doing. And I recall one experience with a longshoreman from
Tacoma. I cannot for the life of me think of his name. But he went to
the Soviet Union on one of these Friends-of-the-Soviet-Union tours,
came back, made the prepared speeches which the Friends of the Soviet
Union asked him to make, and proceeded afterward to go around and make
speeches contradicting his original speeches, stating that he did not
realize how much harm he was doing by presenting the Soviet Union as
the land of paradise, that he was quite disappointed with what he found
when he found all the women doing the heavy work. And that seemed to be
the chief thing that he objected to.
Mr. TAVENNER. What was the date of your transfer back to
Seattle?
Mr. DENNETT. It was some time late in 1933.
Mr. TAVENNER. How long did you remain as agitprop, agitation
propagandist in Seattle?
Mr. DENNETT. Not very long. It seems to be an office in
which there are many casualties because one, to fill that position,
has to have a broad knowledge of the theoretical works of the party.
And I can assure this committee that there is a great deal of written
material on the subject which it takes a lifetime to study. I did the
best I knew how at mastering a knowledge of it, but I then found out
that the things which I had learned in the theoretical sense were not
always respected by those who were in the administrative positions of
the party, and frequently they would disregard my knowledge of the
theoretical work and try to make it appear as though I was far off the
line.
And there was constant conflict. Rappaport, when he came into the
district, found many practical problems that didn’t lend themselves
to the theoretical solutions which I found, and he, being a man of a
great deal more experience and much more authority, made short work of
me.
Mr. TAVENNER. Can you tell us the approximate period of time
that you remained in that position? You said not long. But give us a
more adequate idea.
Mr. DENNETT. It was only a couple of months, I believe. I do
not recall the exact circumstances which arose. But there was some
conflict, some specific conflict in which Rappaport convinced me that
I was completely wrong, and required that I submit a statement to the
party in which I admit that I was completely wrong.
I believe that you have a copy of that. I cannot put my finger on a
copy now.