N E W D E A L N E T W O R K
The Great Depression and the Arts
A Unit of Study for Grades 8-12
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Special Committee on Un-American Propaganda Activities in the United States
House of Representatives 1938
Hazel Huffman
- Hazel Huffman was an employee of the WPA and worked as a mail clerk in the Federal Theatre Project office. At the time of her testimony she introduced herself as a representative of the Committee of Relief Status, Professional Theatrical Employees of New York City. In the following excerpt she is questioned by Chairman Martin Dies (Texas), Congressmen J. Parnell Thomas (New Jersey), John Dempsey (New Mexico), Joe Starnes (Alabama), and Congressman Harold Mosier (Ohio).
Mr. Thomas. The purpose of this testimony is to show the communistic activities in the Federal Theatre Project in New York City.
Miss Huffman. To prove that communism exists and dominates the Federal Theatre Project, it might be well to tell when it started and how it obtained its foothold. To correct a disease we must first know what is causing it. Is that satisfactory?
Mr. Thomas. Very well.
Miss Huffman. The Workers' Alliance, an organization closely allied with the Communist Party, which now dominates the Federal Theatre Project, has from the beginning had the cooperation and support of two of the national heads of the project. Mr. Aubrey Williams, Deputy Administrator and Assistant to Mr. Harry Hopkins, promised consideration of a proposal to permit organizations of professional workers to control projects, saying that some means might be worked out giving them a larger voice in project operation.
Then we have Mrs. Hallie Flanagan the national director of the Federal Theatre Project, Mrs. Flanagan was known as far back as 1927 for her communistic sympathy, if not membership. Mrs. Flanagan's book, Shifting Scenes —
Mr. Thomas (interposing). Who is Mrs. Hallie Flanagan?
Miss Huffman. Mrs. Hallie Flanagan is national director of the Federal Theater.
My contention is—I cannot prove that Mrs. Flanagan has Communist membership, as I have never seen a card bearing her name; but I can prove Mrs. Flanagan was an active participant in Communistic activity, and that her Communistic sympathies, tendencies, and methods of organization are being used in the Federal Theatre Project at the present time, to the detriment of the workers and in violation of the act of Congress.
Chairman Dies. Let us see if we can clear this up: Briefly, you have charged in your testimony that the Workers Alliance is a communistic organization: Is that true?
Miss Huffman. Yes, sir.
Chairman Dies. Leading Communists are in control of it, you say?
Miss Huffman. Yes, sir.
Chairman Dies. Your statement is that in order to retain your employment on the Federal Theatre Project you must belong to the Workers Alliance. When I say "must," I mean that through fear of punishment, you are persuaded to belong to it.
Miss Huffman. Yes, sir; from fear of dismissal or demotion.
Chairman Dies. I might say in that connection that evidence which has preceded this shows that some of the officials of the Workers Alliance are well-known Communists.
Mr. Thomas. Yes; that is the point. They are receiving orders from the Communists.
Mr. Dempsey. Now you mentioned certain plays that you denominate as Communist plays: Did you name "Power" as one of them?
Miss Huffman. Yes.
Mr. Dempsey. What is there in "Power" that is communistic? Do you not confuse communistic plays with propaganda plays when you do that? Can you point to a single thing in "Power" that outstanding and splendid Members of Congress have not made reference to in connection with Government ownership?
Miss Huffman. Mr. Congressman, with any of the plays to which I referred, I would like to give my analysis of what we felt those plays were and what constitutes a propaganda play used for communistic activities.
Mr. Dempsey. Wait a minute. A propaganda play is one thing. Tell me about "Power." What is there in the play "Power" that is communistic?
Miss Huffman. Frankly, at this moment, I cannot remember the play "Power."
Mr. Dempsey. That is one you complained about very bitterly, did you not?
Miss Huffman. No; not particularly. I gave the criticism which was taken from some of the publications of the Workers Alliance.
Mr. Dempsey. You felt it was communistic?
Miss Huffman. I felt it was propaganda to be used for communistic activity; yes, sir.
Mr. Dempsey. If you read the Congressional Record, some speeches made by very fine, outstanding American citizens, members of the Senate and House, had similar statements or identical statements?
Miss Huffman. Yes, sir.
Mr. Dempsey. Even "damns" have been made after some of those gentlemen's speeches.
Miss Huffman. Yes sir. But on the newspaper productions — I believe "Power" was one — I can show you it was not things said on the floor of the House or the floor of the Senate by such men.
Mr. Dempsey. So that you may understand my position, in the first place, I am not a believer in Government ownership of railroads, or things of that kind, so do not misunderstand my question.
Miss Huffman. No; I don't.
Mr. Dempsey. I do not believe in that. I believe in private ownership of railroads, public utilities, et cetera. But this committee is created under a resolution to investigate subversive activities and un-American activities. Now if the play "Power" was put on by any Broadway producer, he would not be summoned here as un-American; because I can point to many productions that go much further than that. I can point to productions that ridicule—I would not say "ridicule," but for amusement purposes say things of the President—such as George Cohan's play in New York, which I think is a splendid production.
Miss Huffman. Congressman Dempsey, if plays have, as "Power" and the others do, their major theme of anti-capital, anti-Fascist, anti-war and pro-Soviet, depicting through the medium of self-sympathy, hunger and hatred —
Mr. Dempsey. All right, take any one of those things.
Miss Huffman (continuing). Is it not following the methods that are used by the Communists? It is done by the Communists to instill a fear of those things.
Mr. Starnes. But on the question of propaganda, I thoroughly agree with Mr. Dempsey that a propaganda play is not un-American — that is, unless it should teach class hatred. I think any politician, or any newspaper, or any play, or anything else, that gets out and incites class hatred and class prejudice is un-American. Now I am asking, in any of those plays you mentioned, is that what you had in mind?
Miss Huffman. Well the thing in the plays that most impressed me — of course, as Mr. Dempsey says, you cannot always believe what you see in the press, due to the amount of freedom they exercise; but these various organizations use these plays. They use them in strike areas where a strike is about to become ineffective, and they themselves claim they are using them in arousing them to fight the bourgeois. As a matter of fact, their slogan as given in their magazines, it is not a misprint (and I do not believe it is a misprint because it had been given 20 times), is "The bourgeois a danger to society." So that it teaches class hatred.
Mr. Starnes. That may be true, but I do not think "Power" and these others you mention do. My personal opinion is those were not un-American, although they were propaganda plays.
Mr. Mosier. Miss Huffman, what you have done before this committee, as I understand it, is to come in here and attempt to show us certain plays, out of the nine-hundred-and-some-odd that have been produced that, in your opinion, contain un-American propaganda. Now, those plays you have named are available to this committee to read?
Miss Huffman. Yes, sir.
Mr. Mosier. And I will admit to any member of the committee that there may be a fine line on any one play. Take the play "Power". That play may fall on the opposite side of the line that you think it falls on; but your object is to call to the attention of this committee certain plays you think this committee should read and determine for itself whether those plays are un-American propaganda?
Miss Huffman. Yes, Congressman Mosier. And regarding the plays, it is my intention, and always has been my intention, to call to this committee's attention the type of propaganda that is being used and is calculated to cause a revolution in this country, to the interest of the Communist Party. In their own instructions to their people they tell how to so stage and so add additions to the classics — Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekov, and some of the rest of those writers — so as to make it propaganda for the purpose of arousing the masses, for the purpose of creating a Soviet America. They so state. I beg pardon; but from my use of the term "propaganda," I would still say they used the play for communistic propaganda, inasmuch as it is their own declared purpose to present these plays to accomplish their objective.
Mr. Dempsey. And you consider "Power" as a play in that category?
Miss Huffman. Congressman Dempsey —
Mr. Dempsey. Will you just answer that "yes" or "no"?
Miss Huffman. Yes. And permit me to use another example
Mr. Dempsey. I do not care for any more examples.
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The Great Depression and the Arts
N E W D E A L N E T W O R K
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