Ernest Lundeen
Ernest Lundeen was a Minnesota Senator.
Communist tool?
The Political Buro of the Central Committee of the Communist Party USA called a special meeting in Cleveland, Ohio for Saturday, April 17th, 1937. Due to the delay in the arrival of some of the leaders invited, the meeting did not convene until 9 A.M. Sunday, April 18th. It was held in the Jewish Labor Center, 55th and Scoville Streets, Cleveland. Among those present were: Jack Stachel, F. Brown , Clarence Hathaway, Elizabeth Lawson and Harry Raymond (of the "Daily Worker" staff), from New York; William Weinstone, District Secretary for Michigan; John Williamson, District Organizer for Ohio; Ned Sparks, District Organizer for Pittsburgh; John Steuben, Section Organizer for Youngstown; June Croll, from the Women's Department of the national office in New York; Morris Childs, District Organizer for Illinois; Israel Amter and Charles Krumbein, District Organizer and District Secretary, respectively for New York, and Jack Johnstone and Robert Minor, members of the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party. There were several others present, who were not identified.
Elizabeth Lawson was formerly a student of the University of Minnesota and recently was editor of the Southern Worker, using the pen name of "Jim Mallory," June Croll of the Women's Department was formerly the wife of Carl Reeve, son of "Mother" Ella Reeve Bloor, but was by then the wife of Langston Hughes, "radical negro poet" of Boston. Quite a number of others were invited but could not be present because of the pressure of work in their respective communities.
In opening the session Stachel stated that the purpose of the meeting was to endeavor to clarify a number of problems, among them:
(1) the political situation in the light of the Supreme Court decision on the Wagner Act; (2) the prospect for further work by the Communist Party in the C.I.O. and the A.F. of L. and (3) the Party position today on the negro question. Despite the poor attendance, because of the short notice, it was decided to discuss these matters and then direct the Political Buro to prepare a letter to District and Section Committees on the results of the discussion. The first reports on the political situation were made by Stachel and Brown. report on a special meeting of the CP US Political Buro that was held in Cleveland on 17 April 1937. The meeting was called to discuss (a) the impact of the Supreme Court's Jones & Laughlin decision; (b) Party work in the AFL and the CIO; and (c) Party work among African-Americans.
Stachel stated that while the Supreme Court, by a 5 to 4 vote, upheld the Wagner Labor Relation [sic] Act, it is not possible to rely upon the whims of one judge, and therefore the campaign to support President Roosevelt's proposals to enlarge the Supreme Court must go on. It is necessary even to go further and demand legislation curbing the power of the Court, even if enlarged, by removing from it the power to review social legislation when passed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress. He further said that it is necessary to cover certain phases of the second point under discussion (work in the C.I.O. and A.F. of L.) in connection with the Court's decision.
Srachel went on to say that the Communist Party job is to try to introduce amendments in Congress that will strengthen the pro-labor sections, and some of the leading comrades have recently had conferences with Senator Ernest Lundeen of Minnesota on the possibility of such amendments. While Senator Lundeen was in the Lower House he introduced the Unemployment and Social Security Act that was written by the Political Buro of the Communist Party and presented to him through the Unemployment Councils. It may be possible to get such amendments introduced by some such round-about method at this time. Congressman Maury Maverick is also amenable to influence by groups close to the Communist Party and he can be used to aid in putting over the program in the House of Representatives.[1]