Mr. Tavenner. 86 or 87, according to my recollection.
Mr. Velde. And, of course, those trials were held under our American system of jurisprudence.
I am inclined to agree with all the juries involved and all the judges involved that the Communist Party here in the United States of America did advocate the overthrow of our form of government by force and violence, if necessary. I don’t want to appear to be arguing with you.
Mr. Dennett. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this question with you because I think any general rule is a dangerous thing to lay down. I think that it has to be on the merits of each individual case. That is my own feeling. And I think that that is consistent with our American tradition of jurisprudence, too.
Mr. Velde. I certainly agree with you on that.
Mr. Dennett. I have a feeling that it is unwise to make sweeping, uniform applications of the rule. I think they have to be judged on the merits of each particular case. I think that is one of the things that we must fight with all our might and main to preserve.
Mr. Tavenner. Did you state, with respect to Jay Lovestone, that you thought his group insisted on viewing the aspects of this problem under special circumstances?
Mr. Dennett. It was known as the theory of exceptionalism.
Mr. Tavenner. Will you state very briefly what the theory of exceptionalism is?
Mr. Dennett. The Communist Party taught that the theory and tactics which Lenin taught were universally applicable, that they applied to all countries, they applied to all situations.