The Essentials of Democracy

Marjan Petty, Libraries Development Office

We, the undersigned members of the faculty of the University of Washington, in consequence of the recent dismissal by the Board of Regents of some of our colleagues, and the placing of others on probation, make the following statement of our dissent from punitive action based either upon the ideologies of the accused or upon their present or past membership in or close affiliation with the Communist Party.

So begins an open letter to President Raymond P. Allen and the Board of Regents, signed by more than 100 faculty members, published in the University of Washington Daily, Thursday, April 7, 1949.

Fostered by the "red scare," the Joint Legislative Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities had been established by the State Legislature on March 8, 1947, in answer to what was thought to be a public danger by a domination of foreign powers. This committee, headed by Albert Canwell, a Spokane republican and state representative, was given "all powers necessary and convenient" to investigate subversive activities and to expose communists in Washington state. Throughout its hearings in early 1948, the Committee targeted members of organizations such as the Washington Pension Union, the Washington Commonwealth Federation, the Building Service Employees Union, and the Aeronautical Mechanics Union, among others.

In July 1948, the Committee convened its second hearing, particularly focused on the University of Washington. Subsequently, people were dismissed from the University or lived under a cloud of suspicion; reputations were ruined, homes were lost. Some named friends and colleagues as communists or sympathizers, others did not. A wave of fear and unquiet permeated the campus.

The Committee's investigations of the University were conducted with the approval of President Allen. In a letter dated January 7, 1949, to Canwell, President Allen stated: "As I have said before, I do not feel that the investigations you conducted of the University of Washington constituted any abridgment of academic freedom or civil rights. A transcript of your hearings was turned over to the University, and, as you know, the University itself has conducted protracted hearings, just recently concluded, to test the validity of the information elicited in these hearings and to determine what action is indicated. This, it seems to me, is as it should be."

Professors Ralph Gundlach (Psychology), Herbert Phillips (Philosophy), Melville Jacobs (Anthropology), Melvin Rader (Philosophy), Garland Ethel (English), Angelo Pellegrini (English), Harold Eby (English), Joseph Butterworth (English), Joseph Cohen (Sociology), Ted Astley (Psychology graduate student and Veterans Counselor), and Florence Bean James and Burton James (founders of the Seattle Repertory Playhouse) were among those investigated by the Committee and asked to testify about their political affiliations and prove their patriotism. None were given an opportunity to cross examine those who charged them with un-American activities. When rebuttals or demonstrative responses ensued from their attorneys or the audience, those protesting were forcibly ejected by state troopers.

Professor Butterworth at the time of the UW Faculty
Committee on Tenure and Academic Freedom hearings.
Seattle P-I Collection, Museum of History and Industry.

Professors Gundlach, Phillips and Butterworth were ultimately dismissed from the University by the Board of Regents. Astley was summarily fired. Professor Butterworth's wife committed suicide prior to the hearings. Professors Eby, Ethel and Jacobs were put on probation after signing a document promising not to engage in outside political activities. Philosophy professor Melvin Rader was subsequently vindicated by investigative stories in the Seattle Times, written by Ed Guthman, which revealed evidence-tampering by the Canwell Committee. Rader later wrote False Witness, describing the years of turmoil he and his family endured while trying to clear his name.

Extensive files, reports, documents and records of surveillance were collected by Al Canwell prior to and after the hearings. Most of this material he later destroyed on his own volition after his term of office expired, without any authorization from the State Legislature.

Only in the last few years has the University acknowledged the injustice of these actions during the time of the Canwell hearings. In early 1994, the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Workers Union, Pensioners West Coast Division, donated a bust of Harry Bridges, founder and president of the Union for 40 years, which was installed at the west entrance of Suzzallo Library. At the dedication sponsored by the Center for Labor Studies on January 24, 1994, then President Gerberding stated, "My task is to state clearly and unequivocally that the University of Washington was wrong to dismiss Ralph Gundlach and the other two, and to have brought into disrepute, or to have participated in the bringing in to disrepute of the other three who were involved. This was a dark day in our history and we must make sure that it doesn't happen again."

All Powers Project Events

Now, fifty years later on the anniversary of the hearings, the University is hosting a series of events, collectively entitled the All Powers Project, which highlight this devastating and difficult period.

• All Powers Necessary and Convenient, a play written by Drama School Professor Mark Jenkins, will run February 4-15, 1998, at the Playhouse Theatre. Materials supplementing the theme of the play will be exhibited in the theatre lobby.

• Sponsored by the University Libraries , University of Illinois Professor Richard Fried will lecture on "The Cultural Context of McCarthyism," on Friday, January 23, 1998, at 7:30 p.m. in the Allen Library Lobby. Fried is the author of Men Against McCarthy (Columbia, 1976) and Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective (Oxford, 1990). (Since seating is limited, reservations are required for Professor Fried's presentation; call 206-616-3481.) A reception will follow, which will also provide an opportunity to view the Allen balcony exhibit.

• The Allen balcony exhibit will include letters, memos, notes, testimony, and photos of the Canwell and University hearings illustrating the events and emotions of 1948 and 1949. These original materials from University records and faculty papers, as well as newspaper accounts and official publications, have been selected from Manuscripts and University Archives and from Special Collections to provide historical context for the play. The Museum of History and Industry has also permitted photos from its Seattle Post Intelligencer Collection to be exhibited.

• A Libraries Web site for the All Powers Project previews the exhibit and features a reading list and a description of events.

  Other campus activities include a lecture entitled "Academic Freedom Today" by University of Virginia Law Professor Robert O'Neil on January 22, 1998, sponsored by the School of Law (206-543-2586). In addition, several events sponsored by the Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, Department of History are planned for January 24, 1998 (206-543-2580), including a lecture by author Ellen Schrecker (No Ivory Tower), and a panel discussion focused on the recollections of "those who were there" moderated by Jane Sanders, author of Cold War on Campus.

  There will be many articles written and much said about this dark period in our history over the next few months. They should serve as a reminder that civil liberties and the rule of law applies to every person in the United States, regardless of political or ideological persuasion; and that, as a bastion of knowledge and information, an institution of higher learning should be in the forefront of acknowledging these inalienable rights.

  Funding for Libraries activities is provided by generous grants from the Pequod Fund of the Tides Foundation and the Kenneth S. Allen Library Endowment Fund.