Bill Banning Red Party Provokes Noisy Hearing

A noisy State House hearing yesterday on a proposed bill outlawing the Communist party in Massachusetts was marked by threats and accusations between committee members and spectators. One of the sponsors of the bill, State Representative Paul A. McCarthy, said one of the first intentions of the bill is to get "the Communists out of the schools and colleges."

The bill follows a long line of proposals which has attempted to outlaw or restrict Communist activities in this state. Last year, McCarthy and Superior Court Clerk Thomas Dorgan, in supporting their bill requiring college presidents to dismiss Communists from their teaching staffs, accused Harlow Shapley, director of the College Observatory, of being unable to teach because of his alleged Communist associations.

State Would Probe

This year's bill, far more inclusive than those in the past years, would permit the Attorney General to investigate any group for possible subversive activities. Any groups directly or indirectly advocating treason or the violent overthrow of the government would be illegal.

During the noisy and disorderly hearing, Dorgan said President Conant favors the 18-year-old draft "for soldiers to fight in Kores against the Communists, but he refuses to remove Communists from his teaching staff."

Dorgan also accused Arthur M. Schle singer, Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History, of failing to "fight the Reds." Schlesinger, Dorgan contended, once stated the only way to battle communism is to "sell our ideas to the Communists." Dorgan claimed Schlesinger has "been doing nothing" in this "battle against communism."

The hearing was continually interrupted by shouts and heckling from the audience. At one point, Senator Silvio O. Conte, chairman of the Constitutional Law Committee, threatened to exclude the public from the hearing because of exhibitions both for and against the bill by spectators.

One of the more heated debates took place between State Representative William F. Keenan and Daniel Boone Schirmer '37, legislative agent for the Communist party.

Keenan questioned Schirmer about his past affairs with the party. He asked: "Did you belong to any organization at Harvard that was communist?" Schirmer replied: "I do not have to and will not answer that question."

Schirmer also was asked if he first learned about Communism at the College. He emphatically replied, "No."

Michael A. Russo, Chairman of the Massachusetts Communist Party, opposed the bill. He said it would not harm the Communist party, but innocent groups. Counsel for the Massachusetts Civil Liberties Union, Dunbar Holmes '35, also spoke against the bill, saying legislation already on the books adequately handles the threat of Communism.

Holmes produced a list of 195 well-known Massachusetts residents who were against the bill. Among a number of faculty members was Walter Gropius, professor of Architecture.

Officials at the State House, however believe that the bill will receive a favorable committee report. After yesterday's testimony, they also feel more strongly that the petition stands a good chance of passing the House and Senate