Mr. Tavenner. Mr. O’Connell, we have the situation where the Communist Party went deliberately about seizing the leadership and capturing the leadership in a very powerful political organization in the State of Washington, namely, the Washington Pension Union, and ahead of it the Washington Commonwealth Federation. It succeeded in capturing the leadership of it. It did it for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Communist Party.
Will you tell the committee whether or not the leadership of this group, the Washington Pension Union, was successful in influencing either of the parties of which you were secretary in any of its policy actions?
Mr. O’Connell. I think for instance, in the Democratic Party particularly by its organization and by its work and demands for improved pension legislation, they had tremendous influence on the Democratic Party. As a matter of fact the—I would say even on the Republican Party. In the 1945 session of the State legislature the actual legislation proposed by the pension union placing a $50 floor under old-age-pension grants and setting up a system of budget and what-not, the legislation which they actually introduced passed the State senate by, I think, a vote of 45 or 46 to nothing. Both Democrats and Republicans voted for it.
In the House I think it passed the same way probably 102 to 1 or 105 to 3 or something like that, it was almost unanimous. In that particular effect certainly they not only had influence with the Democratic Party but certainly in putting legislation on the books——
Mr. Tavenner. What influence did it have on the Progressive Party?
Mr. O’Connell. Of course we had no power. We had no officials of any kind.
Mr. Tavenner. Actually, wasn’t the leadership in the Washington Pension Union and the leadership in the Progressive Party practically the same?
Mr. O’Connell. The leadership?
Mr. Tavenner. Yes, wasn’t there an overlapping leadership which made the two practically the same?
Mr. O’Connell. No, I wouldn’t say so. Actually, it is hard to put the picture in the pattern of that time, but the 1946 elections had been as we all recall quite disastrous to the Democrats, there was considerable dissension among some Democrats with President Truman, and there was a move from Democrats generally—I would say in the Progressive Party, as it existed particularly in 1948, the Progressive Party was not, did not have an officialdom or even a membership that you could say, “Well, this is identical with the Washington Pension Union.”