By Merle Miller T.J.A.T.J
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
foreword by ROBERT E. SHERWOOD the all e dge The report on black-listing in radio and television for the American Civil Liberties Union BY MERLE MILLER T.J.A.T.J. (Continued from front Rap) Price, $2.50 In September 1950 the American Civil Liberties Union, always alert to combat any THE threat to the rights of the individual, com- judges menced an intensified inquiry into the whole question of a radio and television black list. AND TI II judged In characteristic non-partisan fashion, the 'ACLU was concerned not only with the activities of Red Channels and Counter- BY MERLE MILLER attack but also with other reported black lists, against alleged anti-Communists. Merle "FOR YOUR INFORMATION: Keep these Miller was appointed to head this investiga- names in mind when casting. .. ." This was tion, and THE JUDGES AND aim JUDGED IS the heading of amemorandum recently cir- his report in full, a fascinating exposé of a culated to all directors of a major radio- situation, critical to every American, which television network. This memorandum listed can eventually result in "freedom from free- the names of between eighty and ahundred dom." persons who were not to be employed in any ABOUT THE AUTHOR: instance, persons who had been branded as "undesirable." Iowa-born Merle Miller attended col- Who were the judges compiling this and lege at his state university and at the London similar lists? From where came their author- School of Economics. After wartime service ity to determine or identify subversives in as an editor of Yank, he worked briefly for the United States? The answers to these Time and Harper's magazines, then turned questions are the object of this book, which to full-time free-lance writing. He is the spotlights groups and individuals who have author of two successful novels, That Win- taken upon themselves the responsibility of ter and The Sure Thing, and his stories and deciding who and what are menaces to our articles appear frequently in many national country, and describes the methods they use periodicals. in making the judgment. Mr. Miller is a member of the Board of In the fall of 1950 a contract for actress Directors of the American Civil Liberties • Jean Muir to appear regularly on the Henry Union, for whom he conducted the investi- Aldrich show was abruptly canceled because gation reported ill THE JUDGES AND THE her name had appeared in abook called Red JUDGED. Channels. This book, issued in June of 1950, ABOUT THE SPONSORS: lists the names of 151 writers, actors, singers, The American Civil Liberties Union dancers, producers, and network executives, is a private organization composed of indi- along with their alleged Communistic affilia- vidual citizens. It is. the only organization tions. So great has been the influence of the in this country devoted solely to supporting book on the radio and television industries the Bill of Rights for everybody; it is anon- and on the closely related advertising partisan group, its only cause being that of agencies that it is now referred to as "the serving civil liberties. Founded in 1920, it Bible of Madison Avenue." now has more than 18,000 members Because of such name calling in Red throughout the United States, and its work Channels, in Counterattack, aweekly news- primarily takes the form of court cases on letter issued by the same publishers, and by issues where the constitutional rights of individuals following asimilar line of attack, Americans have been challenged. many persons in addition to Miss Muir have lost their jobs and have had their reputations Published by irreparably damaged without redress. DOUBLEDAY &COMPANY, INC. Publishers of the (Continued on hack flap) TIIORNDIKE-BARNIIART DICTIONARIES Picket Design by Sydney Butchkes Printed in the U.S.A. A SAMPLE OF THE judges Theodore C. Kirkpatr secretary-treasurer of American Busi- ness Consultants, pub rs of the weekly newsletter Counter- attack and the book Channels: "We've never said the 'facts' in Red Channt 'ere correct or incorrect. We've just reported from public rds." Mrs. Hester (John T.' cCullough: "just somebody who lives in Greenwich, but I you might say Iwas always on the lookout for Them [C mun ists]." Rabbi Benjamin Scht executive director of the American Jewish League Againsi mmunism: "A full-scale program has been worked out to e' the radio and television networks, producers and entertai trying to 'sell' Communist ideas." AND THE judged A radio-television wrii "They called nie names in Counter- attack, too, and that's n it started. long as two years ago. Up to then, Iaveragc bout $2o,oc,, to $25,000 a year; now I'm down to $2500." A prominent author a ecturer: "A couple of years ago Ihad more than seventy-five ures a season, but this year I was only signed up for six. T' have already been canceled, one in Omaha, Nebraska. Thi gram chairman there was pretty frank about it. He wrote my nt that they just couldn't have me in Omaha because my ru is in Red Channels." A well-known radio a( "For three straight years I appeared on a repeat holiday 1 ,show; same time, same station, sanie cast every year. This .T it was almost the same. With one exception. I didn't gc lled. I might add that none of the others in the cast is it d Channels." Actress Jean Muir: "I n't want the Communists to use me. I want to stay clean e best way for nie to refute these charges is for me to g job in television, or radio, or in some acting capacity. Ther ist be someone with enough courage to hire me." THE JUDGES AND THE JUDGED BY MERLE MILLER FOREWORD BY ROBERT E. SHERWOOD DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC., 1952 GARDEN CITY, N.Y. In the preparation of my report for the American Civil Liberties Union, Ireceived the valuable assistance of Alan Reitman, the ACLU's assistant director, both in the collection of informa- tion and in the general preparation. Whatever credit the report is given he deserves to share in. M. M. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 52-5749 Copyright, 1952, By The American Civil Liberties Union All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States At the Country Life Press, Garden City, N.Y. THE JUDGES AND THE JUDGED BOOKS BY MERLE MILLER THE JUDGES AND THE JUDGED THAT WINTER THE SURE THING INTRODUCTION BY ERNEST ANGELL, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND PATRICK MALIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION JOHN MILTON "Who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?" JOHN STUART MILL, o N LIBERTY "A state of things in which alarge portion of the most active and inquiring intellects find it advisable to keep the general principles and grounds of their convictions within their own breasts, and attempt, in what they address to the public, to fit as much as they can of their own conclusions to premises which they have inter- nally renounced, cannot send forth the open, fearless characters, and logical consistent intellects who once adorned the thinking world. The sort of men who can be looked for under it are either mere conformers to common-place, or time-servers for truth, whose arguments on all great subjects are meant for their hearers, and are not those which have convinced themselves." FOREWORD BY ROBERT E. SHERWOOD This book tells with accuracy and objectivity a factual story of subversion and sabotage of freedom in the United States of America at a time when the cause of freedom throughout the world is in mortal peril. It is quite clear that whereas the editors and publishers of Red Channels and Counterattack do not con- sciously strive for the same objectives as the agents of Commu- nism, their methods and techniques are very similar and so are their standards of morality and their respect for the essential "Blessings of Liberty" guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As the vigorously anti-Communist Saturday Review of Literature has said, "'Red Channels' accepts Red doctrine: to ac- cuse is enough." It would be difficult to imagine any doctrine more profoundly un-American. We are all too familiar with defamation used as aconventional weapon in political strife, and defamation in the rantings of racial and religious bigots; but defamation conducted as a commercial enterprise belongs in acategory of contemptibility all by itself. After Ihad read the manuscript of this book—which is the re- sult of an investigation conducted by Merle Miller at the instiga- tion and with the active co-operation of the American Civil Liberties Union—I witnessed an ugly demonstration of the condi- tions herein described and documented: FOREWORD Elmer Rice joined with other distinguished dramatists in a group to present famous plays on television. This project prom- ised television entertainment of asuperior quality, and in its first productions this promise was amply fulfilled. Mr. Rice and his colleagues were given, according to their contracts, "as much con- trol over the script, casting and production, as each playwright may wish" and "the plan should so operate as to permit each play- wright to have maximum casting and other production participa- tion to the extent that he may desire it." When it came to the casting of his own play, Counsellor-at-Law, Mr. Rice was anxious to participate. For the leading role, he first suggested Paul Muni, who had starred in the play originally, but Mr. Muni was doing film work in Italy and was therefore unavail- able.