The Lacuna
Page 127
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(Mr. Nixon here entered the hearing and was seated near Mr. Velde. Brief discussion between Mr. Nixon and Mr. Velde.)
MR. RAVENNER: Did you or did you not at that time believe membership in the Communist Party was inimical to the interests of the United States?
MR. SHEPHERD: To be honest, sir, I didn’t think one way or another about it. I never met any Communist Party members in this country.
MR. RAVENNER: Can you give me an answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’?
MR. SHEPHERD: Does a citizen have a right to be uncertain until further informed?
MR. RAVENNER: Let me inform you. A member of the Communist Party is a person who seeks the overthrow of the government of the United States by force and violence in this country. Is that something you approve of?
MR. SHEPHERD: I’ve never sought to overthrow the United States. Is that an answer?
MR. RAVENNER: It is a form of answer. Now, I understand that you were born in the United States, but chose to spend most of your life in another country. Is that correct?
MR. SHEPHERD: My mother was Mexican. We moved back there when I was twelve. She threatened to leave me by the tracks if I put up a fuss. So yes sir, I chose to go.
MR. RAVENNER: And after many years, what made you want to live here again?
MR. SHEPHERD: That’s a complicated question you ask. It would take me a good while to answer, and you said you wanted to get this over quickly.
MR. RAVENNER: Well, then, let me ask an easier question. Did you associate with Communists while living in Mexico?
(A long hesitation from the witness, prior to answering.)
MR. SHEPHERD: That is not an easier question. Again, it could take some explanation.
MR. RAVENNER: Then let me make it easier still. We have papers here that show you were granted travel documents to come here in November 1939, as a travel companion and assistant to a man called to testify before this same committee. The Dies Committee, as it was called then. Our documents say a Harrison Shepherd, born 1916 in Lychgate, Virginia, was a member of the party that was granted a travel visa. Are you that person?
MR. SHEPHERD: I am.
MR. RAVENNER: Then we may assume these documents refer to you. That you were then living in the Mexican headquarters of the well-known Communist leader of Stalin’s Bolshevik revolution, Leonadovich Trotsky.
MR. SHEPHERD: I beg your pardon?
MR. RAVENNER: Answer the question.
MR. SHEPHERD: I only want to clarify. Do you mean Lev Davidovich Trotsky, who led a worldwide movement to oppose Stalin? He was called by your Committee as a friendly witness, sir.
MR. RAVENNER: Just answer the question. Did you work for this Trotsky?
MR. SHEPHERD: Yes.
MR. RAVENNER: In what capacity?
MR. SHEPHERD: As his cook, his secretary-typist, and sometimes cleaner of rabbit cages. But usually the Commissar preferred handling the manure himself.
MR. WOOD: Here, I’ll have order!
MR. RAVENNER: You say you were his secretary. Do you mean to say you helped prepare documents whose purpose was to arouse a Communist insurrection?
(The witness did not answer.)
MR. VELDE: Mr. Shepherd, you may take the Fifth Amendment if you wish.
MR. SHEPHERD: I don’t know how to answer, when you say ‘helped prepare documents.’ I was a typist. Sometimes I could hardly understand the words in those documents. I don’t have any expertise in politics.
MR. NIXON: Is the welder of a bomb casing innocent of the destruction it causes, just because he doesn’t understand physics?
MR. SHEPHERD: It’s a very good question. Our munitions plants make arms we sell to almost every country. Are we now on both sides of all the wars?
MR. RAVENNER: Mr. Shepherd, you are instructed to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to all further questions. One more outburst will land you in contempt of Congress. Did you help prepare Communist documents for this Trotsky, a leader of the Bolshevik revolution?
MR. SHEPHERD: Yes.
MR. RAVENNER: And are you still in contact with Comrade Trotsky?
(Very long pause.)
MR. SHEPHERD: No.
MR. RAVENNER: Did you come to the United States directly from his employ?
(Pause.)
MR. RAVENNER: Yes or no?
MR. SHEPHERD: Sorry. Could you clarify the question?
MR. RAVENNER: Yes or no. Your last place of residence, prior to entering the United States in September, 1940, was the Trotskyite World Revolutionary Headquarters on Morelos Street, Coyoacán, outside of Mexico City.
MR. SHEPHERD: Yes.
MR. RAVENNER: Is it true that in that same place, several extreme acts of espionage and violence were committed, all directly linked with the Secret Police of Joseph Stalin?
MR. SHEPHERD: Yes. Committed against us.
MR. RAVENNER: You say you have no head for politics, so try to focus your powers, if you will, on one simple question. From that headquarters, did you come here on a program of overthrowing the United States government, however poorly you may have understood it? I want to hear one word, sir. Yes, or no.
MR. SHEPHERD: No.
MR. RAVENNER:: For what purpose, then, did you come to the United States?
MR. SHEPHERD: (Pause.) Yes or no?
MR. RAVENNER: You may elaborate in this instance.
MR. SHEPHERD: I came to deliver paintings to museums in New York City.
MR. NIXON: Well, that’s some delivery job if he’s still here after ten years. Even Sears Roebuck doesn’t generally take that long.
(Laughter in the gallery.)
MR. RAVENNER: Tell me, what was the nature of these paintings?
MR. SHEPHERD: Oil-based paint applied to canvas.
(Laughter in the gallery.)
MR. WOOD: Mr. Shepherd, we are not fools. We can see you’re attempting to mock this hearing. This is the last time I will warn you to answer the question as directly as you can. What sort of paintings did you smuggle into the United States?
MR. SHEPHERD: Surrealist. All transported with legal customs documents. The papers are still on file at the museums, I expect.
MR. RAVENNER: And were these paintings by the Mexican painter Diego Rivera, who is well known as a dangerous Communist agitator?
MR. SHEPHERD: No.
MR. RAVENNER: No?
MR. WOOD: Remember, Mr. Shepherd, that you have sworn an oath.
MR. SHEPHERD: Not Mr. Rivera’s paintings, no.
(Congressmen Wood and Verne spent some moments conferring with Mr. Ravenner and looking through documents.)
MR. RAVENNER: Were these paintings from the household of Diego Rivera, or his possessions? Answer the question fully.
MR. SHEPHERD: They were painted by his wife, the artist Frida Kahlo.
MR. RAVENNER: Did you or did you not at that time believe membership in the Communist Party was inimical to the interests of the United States?
MR. SHEPHERD: To be honest, sir, I didn’t think one way or another about it. I never met any Communist Party members in this country.
MR. RAVENNER: Can you give me an answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’?
MR. SHEPHERD: Does a citizen have a right to be uncertain until further informed?
MR. RAVENNER: Let me inform you. A member of the Communist Party is a person who seeks the overthrow of the government of the United States by force and violence in this country. Is that something you approve of?
MR. SHEPHERD: I’ve never sought to overthrow the United States. Is that an answer?
MR. RAVENNER: It is a form of answer. Now, I understand that you were born in the United States, but chose to spend most of your life in another country. Is that correct?
MR. SHEPHERD: My mother was Mexican. We moved back there when I was twelve. She threatened to leave me by the tracks if I put up a fuss. So yes sir, I chose to go.
MR. RAVENNER: And after many years, what made you want to live here again?
MR. SHEPHERD: That’s a complicated question you ask. It would take me a good while to answer, and you said you wanted to get this over quickly.
MR. RAVENNER: Well, then, let me ask an easier question. Did you associate with Communists while living in Mexico?
(A long hesitation from the witness, prior to answering.)
MR. SHEPHERD: That is not an easier question. Again, it could take some explanation.
MR. RAVENNER: Then let me make it easier still. We have papers here that show you were granted travel documents to come here in November 1939, as a travel companion and assistant to a man called to testify before this same committee. The Dies Committee, as it was called then. Our documents say a Harrison Shepherd, born 1916 in Lychgate, Virginia, was a member of the party that was granted a travel visa. Are you that person?
MR. SHEPHERD: I am.
MR. RAVENNER: Then we may assume these documents refer to you. That you were then living in the Mexican headquarters of the well-known Communist leader of Stalin’s Bolshevik revolution, Leonadovich Trotsky.
MR. SHEPHERD: I beg your pardon?
MR. RAVENNER: Answer the question.
MR. SHEPHERD: I only want to clarify. Do you mean Lev Davidovich Trotsky, who led a worldwide movement to oppose Stalin? He was called by your Committee as a friendly witness, sir.
MR. RAVENNER: Just answer the question. Did you work for this Trotsky?
MR. SHEPHERD: Yes.
MR. RAVENNER: In what capacity?
MR. SHEPHERD: As his cook, his secretary-typist, and sometimes cleaner of rabbit cages. But usually the Commissar preferred handling the manure himself.
MR. WOOD: Here, I’ll have order!
MR. RAVENNER: You say you were his secretary. Do you mean to say you helped prepare documents whose purpose was to arouse a Communist insurrection?
(The witness did not answer.)
MR. VELDE: Mr. Shepherd, you may take the Fifth Amendment if you wish.
MR. SHEPHERD: I don’t know how to answer, when you say ‘helped prepare documents.’ I was a typist. Sometimes I could hardly understand the words in those documents. I don’t have any expertise in politics.
MR. NIXON: Is the welder of a bomb casing innocent of the destruction it causes, just because he doesn’t understand physics?
MR. SHEPHERD: It’s a very good question. Our munitions plants make arms we sell to almost every country. Are we now on both sides of all the wars?
MR. RAVENNER: Mr. Shepherd, you are instructed to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to all further questions. One more outburst will land you in contempt of Congress. Did you help prepare Communist documents for this Trotsky, a leader of the Bolshevik revolution?
MR. SHEPHERD: Yes.
MR. RAVENNER: And are you still in contact with Comrade Trotsky?
(Very long pause.)
MR. SHEPHERD: No.
MR. RAVENNER: Did you come to the United States directly from his employ?
(Pause.)
MR. RAVENNER: Yes or no?
MR. SHEPHERD: Sorry. Could you clarify the question?
MR. RAVENNER: Yes or no. Your last place of residence, prior to entering the United States in September, 1940, was the Trotskyite World Revolutionary Headquarters on Morelos Street, Coyoacán, outside of Mexico City.
MR. SHEPHERD: Yes.
MR. RAVENNER: Is it true that in that same place, several extreme acts of espionage and violence were committed, all directly linked with the Secret Police of Joseph Stalin?
MR. SHEPHERD: Yes. Committed against us.
MR. RAVENNER: You say you have no head for politics, so try to focus your powers, if you will, on one simple question. From that headquarters, did you come here on a program of overthrowing the United States government, however poorly you may have understood it? I want to hear one word, sir. Yes, or no.
MR. SHEPHERD: No.
MR. RAVENNER:: For what purpose, then, did you come to the United States?
MR. SHEPHERD: (Pause.) Yes or no?
MR. RAVENNER: You may elaborate in this instance.
MR. SHEPHERD: I came to deliver paintings to museums in New York City.
MR. NIXON: Well, that’s some delivery job if he’s still here after ten years. Even Sears Roebuck doesn’t generally take that long.
(Laughter in the gallery.)
MR. RAVENNER: Tell me, what was the nature of these paintings?
MR. SHEPHERD: Oil-based paint applied to canvas.
(Laughter in the gallery.)
MR. WOOD: Mr. Shepherd, we are not fools. We can see you’re attempting to mock this hearing. This is the last time I will warn you to answer the question as directly as you can. What sort of paintings did you smuggle into the United States?
MR. SHEPHERD: Surrealist. All transported with legal customs documents. The papers are still on file at the museums, I expect.
MR. RAVENNER: And were these paintings by the Mexican painter Diego Rivera, who is well known as a dangerous Communist agitator?
MR. SHEPHERD: No.
MR. RAVENNER: No?
MR. WOOD: Remember, Mr. Shepherd, that you have sworn an oath.
MR. SHEPHERD: Not Mr. Rivera’s paintings, no.
(Congressmen Wood and Verne spent some moments conferring with Mr. Ravenner and looking through documents.)
MR. RAVENNER: Were these paintings from the household of Diego Rivera, or his possessions? Answer the question fully.
MR. SHEPHERD: They were painted by his wife, the artist Frida Kahlo.
