TESTIMONY OF JACOB BITTERMAN, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS COUNSEL, KENNETH A. MacDONALD
Mr. Wheeler. Will the witness state his full name, please?
Mr. Bitterman. Jacob Bitterman.
Mr. Velde. How do you spell the last name?
Mr. Bitterman. B-i-t-t-e-r-m-a-n.
Mr. Wheeler. Will counsel identify himself for the record?
Mr. MacDonald. Kenneth A. MacDonald, attorney at law, in Seattle.
Mr. Wheeler. When and where were you born, Mr. Bitterman?
Mr. Bitterman. I was born in Russia in 1904.
Mr. Wheeler. When did you enter the United States?
Mr. Bitterman. To the best of my knowledge, in 1906.
Mr. Wheeler. How did you acquire American citizenship?
Mr. Bitterman. Through my father’s papers.
Mr. Wheeler. When you became 21 years of age?
Mr. Bitterman. I was 12 when he became a citizen.
Mr. Wheeler. How long have you lived in Seattle or in the vicinity of Seattle?
Mr. Bitterman. I came to Seattle in 1923.
Mr. Wheeler. Have you lived here continuously since that time?
Mr. Bitterman. With the exception of 2 years, 1928 and 1929. That is, in the fall of 1928 to the fall of 1930 I lived in Aberdeen, Wash.
Mr. Wheeler. What is your educational background?
Mr. Bitterman. Well, I went to the third grade in country school.
Mr. Wheeler. What has your employment record been for the last 10 years?
Mr. Bitterman. Machinist.
Mr. Wheeler. In Seattle?
Mr. Bitterman. Yes. I have been a machinist ever since I have been in Seattle.
Mr. Wheeler. Are you a member of the International Association of Machinists?
Mr. Bitterman. Yes. I am a member of local 79.
Mr. Wheeler. Have you held any offices in local 79?
Mr. Bitterman. No, I haven’t.
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Wheeler. During the time you lived in Seattle did you ever meet with, know, or have any conversations with Barbara Hartle?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Bitterman. I will invoke the fifth amendment because it might incriminate me.
Mr. Moulder. Do you decline to answer that question?
Mr. Bitterman. I decline to answer.
Mr. Moulder. Do you decline on the grounds and on the reasons of the protection afforded to you by the provisions of the fifth amendment?
Mr. Bitterman. Yes.
Mr. Wheeler. I would like to refer to a document entitled “Investigation of Communist Activities in the Pacific Northwest, Part 3,” page 6173. It is the testimony of Barbara Hartle in June 1954. She is identifying members of the Communist Party, and I quote the following:
Jack Bitterman, then husband of Ruth Bitterman, was a member of this section in the machinists’ branch, and was for a time chairman of that branch.
Do you wish to make any comment on that testimony?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Bitterman. I invoke the fifth amendment, on the same grounds previously stated.
Mr. Velde. Mr. Wheeler is not asking you to confirm or deny it, but asked merely if you wanted to make some comment on it. Why do you take the fifth amendment on that question?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Bitterman. I decline to answer that question on the same grounds.
Mr. Wheeler. Were you chairman of the machinists’ branch of the Communist Party?
Mr. Bitterman. I decline to answer that question on the same grounds previously stated.
Mr. Wheeler. Mr. Chairman, I see no reason for asking further questions. The witness is invoking the fifth amendment.
Mr. Moulder. Mr. Velde?
Mr. Velde. I have no questions.
Mr. Moulder. Are you now a member of the Communist Party?
Mr. Bitterman. No.
Mr. Moulder. Have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Bitterman. I will again invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Moulder. You say you are not now a member of the Communist Party. Were you a member of the Communist Party a year ago?
Mr. Bitterman. I will again invoke the fifth amendment for fear it might incriminate me.
Mr. Moulder. Were you a member of the Communist Party a month ago?
Mr. Bitterman. I will again invoke the fifth amendment on the grounds previously stated.
Mr. Moulder. Would you say a week ago?
Mr. Bitterman. I will again invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Moulder. How about yesterday?
Mr. Bitterman. The same answer.
Mr. Moulder. But you are not a member today?
Mr. Bitterman. I am not a member today.
Mr. Moulder. The witness is excused.
Mr. Velde. I would like to go a little further. Were you a member of the Communist Party an hour ago?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Bitterman. No, I was not.
Mr. Velde. Were you a member of the Communist Party 5 hours ago?
Mr. Bitterman. No.
Mr. Velde. When did you leave the Communist Party?
Mr. Bitterman. As to that I invoke the fifth amendment.
Mr. Velde. Were you a member of the Communist Party at midnight last night?
Mr. Bitterman. No, I was not.
Mr. Velde. How about 11 o’clock last night?
(The witness confers with his counsel.)
Mr. Bitterman. I will invoke the fifth amendment to that question.
Mr. Velde. I think that is close enough, is it not, Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Moulder. The witness is excused.
(Whereupon the witness was excused.)
Mr. Moulder. Counsel, call the next witness.
Mr. Wheeler. Mr. John Stenhouse.
Mr. Moulder. Will you raise your right hand and be sworn?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony which you are about to give before this congressional subcommittee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?
Mr. Stenhouse. I do.