TESTIMONY OF EDWARD BROOK CARMICHAEL, JR., ACCOMPANIED BY HIS COUNSEL, SARAH H. LESSER
Mr. Wheeler. Will the witness state his full name, please?
Mr. Carmichael. Edward Brook Carmichael, Jr.
Mr. Wheeler. And where do you reside, Mr. Carmichael?
Mr. Carmichael. At Monroe.
Mr. Wheeler. Monroe, Wash.?
Mr. Carmichael. Monroe, Wash.
Mr. Wheeler. Where were you born and when?
Mr. Carmichael. In Washington.
Mr. Wheeler. What date?
Mr. Carmichael. 1917.
Mr. Moulder. Are you represented by counsel who appears now before the committee?
Mr. Carmichael. Yes.
Mr. Moulder. Would your attorney please state her name?
Miss Lesser. My name is Sarah H. Lesser, and I am a member of the Seattle bar.
Mr. Wheeler. Where are you presently employed?
Mr. Carmichael. Washington State Reformatory at Monroe.
Mr. Wheeler. What is your position there?
Mr. Carmichael. Supervisory cook.
Mr. Wheeler. How long have you been so employed?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. Four years.
Mr. Wheeler. Would you advise the committee of your educational background?
Mr. Carmichael. High-school graduate.
Mr. Wheeler. Of what school, please?
Mr. Carmichael. Sultan Union High School.
Mr. Wheeler. How were you employed prior to your employment by the Washington State Reformatory at Monroe?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. By the privilege granted me under the fifth amendment, I decline to answer that question.
Mr. Wheeler. On all employment prior to the time you went to work with the State or for the State of Washington?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. For the same reason, I decline to answer.
Mr. Wheeler. In what year did you graduate from high school? (The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. 1935.
Mr. Wheeler. You are pleading the fifth amendment on the question of all employment from 1935 to 1951? Am I correct in that? (The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. That is correct.
Mr. Wheeler. Have you traveled outside of the United States?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer for the same reasons as stated before.
Mr. Wheeler. Have you served in the Armed Forces of the United States?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. Yes.
Mr. Wheeler. During what period of time?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. From April 1945, until August 1946.
Mr. Wheeler. Did you receive an honorable discharge?
Mr. Carmichael. Yes.
Mr. Wheeler. Have you served in the armed forces of any country other than the United States?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I will decline to answer that for the same reasons as stated before.
Mr. Wheeler. Is it a fact that you were a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. The answer is the same as before.
Mr. Velde. Mr. Chairman, I think it would be appropriate at this point to place in the record that the Abraham Lincoln Brigade has been cited by the Attorney General and by the House Committee on Un-American Activities and by various other committees as being subversive.
Mr. Wheeler. I hand you a passport application signed by E. Brook Carmichael, and it was subscribed to and sworn to on the 30th day of June 1937. Did you execute this application?
(The witness examines document and confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer on the basis of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Wheeler. Would you look at the second page and advise the committee whether or not that is your signature? It is about halfway down.
(The witness examines the document and confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer for the same reason.
Mr. Wheeler. You will notice a photograph on the second page. Is that a photograph you submitted for the application?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer for the same reason.
Mr. Wheeler. Mr. Chairman, I would like to introduce this document as Carmichael Exhibit No. 1.
Mr. Moulder. It is so admitted.
Carmichael Exhibit No. 1
(The document above referred to, marked “Carmichael Exhibit No. 1,” for identification, is filed herewith and made a part of the record.)
Carmichael Exhibit No. 1
Mr. Moulder. Is that a picture of you on that document?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer on the grounds stated before.
Mr. Wheeler. Have you ever been expelled from a union for Communist Party affiliations?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. Wheeler. Our records show that you were a member of the regional committee, Northwest Region, 12th District, Communist Party, as late as 1950. Is that correct?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer under the protection of the fifth amendment.
Mr. Wheeler. Also a member of the Sultan Section 51. Is that correct?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer for the same reason.
Mr. Wheeler. Also that you have been a member of the Communist Party in this area, and a functionary on many occasions for the past 18 years. Is that correct?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer for the same reason.
Mr. Wheeler. When you became employed by the State of Washington did you sign a loyalty oath of any kind?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer for the same reason.
Mr. Wheeler. Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions.
Mr. Moulder. Any questions, Mr. Velde?
Mr. Velde. You have declined to answer whether or not you were a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Is that right?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I declined to answer for the same reason.
Mr. Velde. Did you ever know Steve Nelson?
Steve Nelson, for your information, was a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and one of the Communist Party organizers from Alameda County, Calif.
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer for the same reasons.
Mr. Velde. Are you now a member of the Communist Party?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Carmichael. I decline to answer for the same reason.
Mr. Velde. No further questions.
Mr. Moulder. The witness will be excused.
(Whereupon the witness was excused.)
Call the next witness, Mr. Wheeler.
Mr. Wheeler. Mr. Ed Carlson, please.
Mr. Carlson. Mr. Chairman, because I do have quite a headache, and it bothers me very badly, I wish to refrain from those snapping pictures.
Mr. Moulder. The photographers will not take pictures while he is testifying.
Hold up your right hand and be sworn.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony which you are about to give before this committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. Carlson. I do.