Mr. HATTEN. I was in attendance all day yesterday. However,
I was not authorized to speak for Mr. O’Connell. I understood that
he had wired and otherwise contacted the chairman of this committee,
Representative Walter, and had expected to receive word from him.
The reason for Mr. O’Connell’s not appearing here is the fact that he
has had an acute heart attack, and has had a heart condition for a
considerable period of time.
I have with me a letter from Dr. Harry McGregor, Great Falls, Mont.,
which gives the results of an examination made on March 15, and which
concludes that----
Mr. MOULDER. Will you read the letter into the record?
Mr. HATTEN. I can hand the letter over and make it a part of
the record if the chairman wishes. I merely wanted to state that it
concludes that he is advised not to attend, or to withhold from the
duties set forth in the subpena.
Of course, I appreciate that the committee may want to have him
examined by an independent physician, and I am sure that whatever the
committee’s desires are in that regard will be agreeable with Mr.
O’Connell, or in the event that the committee should desire to examine
him in Great Falls, Mont., at some later continued hearing. One of
the problems is the distance that he would have to travel under his
condition. He would either have to come by plane, or, in the absence of
that, travel over the mountain passes, which would seriously affect his
health.
Mr. VELDE. I do not want to violate any of your rights as to
attorney-client relationship, but have you talked to Mr. O’Connell
personally?
Mr. HATTEN. No, I did not.
Mr. VELDE. You mentioned that he had previously requested Mr.
Walter, the chairman of the full committee----
Mr. HATTEN. I understand that he has communicated with
Representative Walter, yes.
Mr. VELDE. Do you know the date of that?
Mr. HATTEN. I do not.
Mr. VELDE. Mr. Chairman, I think it should be made a matter of
record that Mr. O’Connell was duly subpenaed on--what was the date?
Mr. MOULDER. The eighth of March.
Mr. VELDE. The 8th day of March and up until this moment we
have not received any type of communication from Mr. O’Connell.
While, of course, we always have been very lenient as far as the
witnesses who have medical ailments are concerned, however, it has
always been the custom--and I think probably Mr. O’Connell knows about
this, too--for a medical affidavit to be filed promptly. In this case
it certainly hasn’t been prompt.
Mr. HATTEN. That depends upon the period of time when he had
the attack. He certainly couldn’t advise the committee on the date of
the subpena of his inability to attend if the reason why he couldn’t
attend was an attack which occurred later.
Mr. TAVENNER. Is that the situation?
Mr. HATTEN. I couldn’t advise the committee. The committee
will undoubtedly go into this further, and the exact dates and
situations will be discovered.
I have not been in Great Falls, Mont., and I don’t want to make any
representations.
Mr. MOULDER. You aren’t making an appearance? You are simply
presenting this letter?
Mr. HATTEN. That is correct.
Mr. MOULDER. Very well.
Will you call Mr. Johnston as a witness?
TESTIMONY OF HAROLD JOHNSTON, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS COUNSEL, JAY G.
SYKES--Resumed
Mr. MOULDER. Mr. Johnston, you were on the stand yesterday
to testify in answer to questions propounded to you by Mr. Wheeler,
and the Chair asked you the question or a similar question, as to
whether or not you approved or disapproved of Communist infiltration,
influence, and domination of the labor union of which you are a member.
And you said that you hadn’t had time to give the question any thought
or consideration. We felt that by giving you sufficient time and
recalling you today you could give us an answer to that question.
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. JOHNSTON. Mr. Chairman, I feel that the wording of that
you just now mentioned was not the wording of the question yesterday.
It was a little different.
But, in answer to the question you just now raised to me, there is only
one thing I can do under that, and that is to--if I answer that either
way it would tend to incriminate me, and I have to invoke the fifth
amendment.
Mr. MOULDER. We will rephrase the question in this way:
Do you approve or disapprove of Communist domination of any union?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. JOHNSTON. Purely as a matter of opinion, I do not approve
of any group, whether it be to control the trade-union movement--I feel
it should be a free union. Whether it is Communist, Fascist, National
Manufacturers Association or what-have-you. That is purely my opinion
on it.
Mr. MOULDER. Do you object to a Communist holding an official
position in any labor union?
Mr. JOHNSTON. On that one I will have to, as in the past,
invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. MOULDER. Would you vote for or against a candidate seeking
office in a local laborers’ union if he were a Communist?
Mr. JOHNSTON. Mr. Chairman, I feel that, under our rights--and
I know the majority of unions, as I understand them--we vote by secret
ballot, the same as in our elections for the honorable representatives
elected by your people in your district, by secret ballot. And that is
a right that we are able to keep to ourselves.
Mr. MOULDER. Any questions?
Mr. TAVENNER. No, sir; I have no questions.
Mr. MOULDER. The witness is excused.
Mr. SYKES. Can I make a short statement here? I think it might
be helpful to the committee. It will take about a half minute.
Mr. JOHNSTON. Is that in regard to me?
Mr. SYKES. No.