Most of us never choose to believe in our country, we just come up short on better ideas. The most widely printed words ever written by Harrison Shepherd.
The Echo, October 21, 1949
Spy Secrets Between Hard Covers
Author Harrison Shepherd has covered a long career of Communist tricks under the guise of mild-mannered writer, producing facile novels that appeal mainly to intellectuals and longhairs. But he has thrown off his cover with the latest round of arrogance, declaring openly in print, "Our leader is an empty sack. You could just as well knock him over, put a head with horns on a stick and follow that."
Threatening violent overthrow is a matter for public outrage. What's at the bottom of this twisted mind? His family life tells it all. Born in Lychgate, Virginia, Shepherd was a child of divorce. The father worked as an accountant in the Hoover administration, while the mother was an impecunious Mata Hari, changing her name repeatedly to get close to men in government on both sides of the Mexico border. New York psychiatrist Nathan Leonard, asked to weigh in on the disturbing case, said, "The shattering psychological effects of a maternal example like this cannot be escaped."
The son dropped out of school to become a Communist sympathizer, working in the households of leading Stalinist functionaries in Mexico City. From there he moved on to a life of such intrigue it would confound most men: art smuggler, womanizer, State Department courier, using at least two pseudonyms on two continents. All this he accomplished despite a physical appearance so repellent, photographers have shunned him for a lifetime. Such remarkable feats of philandering and espionage carried out by a homely man may arouse false hopes in the Walter Mittys among us. But Harrison Shepherd is not cut from the ordinary cloth.
Among the latest charges: he supplied secrets to the Communist Chinese revolt against Chiang Kai-shek. Like all enemies of America, he adheres to the plan of giving aid and comfort to our enemies. A year ago he told the Evening Post he agreed with Bernard Baruch that our atomic bombs should all be thrown in the drink. Now he's found a better way to throw us on the mercy of the Communists: experts confirm a copy of his book has been found with certain passages underlined, possibly a coded blueprint for the atom bomb. Fortunately this country has a cure for such troubled minds. It is known as the electric chair.
According to the United Press, the Committee on Un-American Activities has already documented countless plans to smuggle bomb secrets to Russia and China. In a 384-page report released last week after five years of investigation, the committee detailed techniques used by American Communists for sending coded secrets to Moscow. "Devices for concealing such messages include necklaces, boxes containing matches cut at various lengths, dental plates, a notching of postage stamps, engraved cigarette cases, embroidered handkerchiefs, special book-bindings and tiny compartments in phonograph records." A copy of George Bernard Shaw's Devil's Disciple, the report disclosed, was found to carry a Russian code message by means of having certain of its words underlined in invisible ink.
Now another Devil's Disciple, in the guise of writer Harrison Shepherd, has released his latest tome, The Unforetold. To such a chilling title we need only add a small footnote: buyer beware.
November 7
Mrs. Brown went to the bookstore to have a look. She did not want to go, and did not want to tell me about it when she came back. So help me God, I pressed her into spying for me. They've made a "Ban Harrison Shepherd" window display. I'm not alone; they've found a pile of other books written by Communists.
The sign asks, "Would you buy a book if you knew your money was going to the Communist Party?" Under the question were two boxes marked "Yes" and "No," with a cup of pencils handy for the plebiscite.
What more can they take from me? I asked Mrs. Brown, what do they want? About what anyone wants, was her best guess: safety. That and grace. They know not what they do. Probably they were all aimed at heaven at one time, and lost their way.
What is that, grace?
She says, believing you are special and saved from harm. Kissed by God.
Well, that's how thick I am, I never knew how to want what everyone wants. I only thought to look for a home, some place to be taken in. Handing over a crumpled heart, seeing it dropped in the wastepaper basket every time. Here, though. Americans sent love letters in return.
December 22, 1949
Dear Shepherd,
All right pal, keep your hair on. Probably this is not going to be the salutations you've been waiting for. Merry Xmas and all that. Things have changed here, it can't be helped. I collared a job in ads. No fish! Me myself, in an office full of neck ties, and let me tell you, these cats are steaming. I don't want to be the jerk that can't keep up.
Listen, I sure was hung up to see what you wrote about our country. Sorry you feel that way, I guess I never really knew you so well. Cats joke around, but I for one still believe in the Patria and I'm just sorry you can't say the same. I guess coming from another country, you have your reasons.
Don't be a dog about this, right? Nice knowing you but things change. Best for both of us if we shove off and no more correspondence. No one in my present situ knows of our acquaintance.
So long,
TOM CUDDY
1950, January
The newspapers slump under the weight of their end-of-the-world headlines. ALGER HISS VERDICT: SPY AND LIAR. Larger type even than used for V-J Day; evidently the new enemies are worse than the Japanese. Phony liberals who sell their souls along with the secrets that safeguard our nation. Stalinist tuning forks. Slobbering on the shoes of their Muscovite masters. Henry Wallace is under fire now too, testifying before the Un-American Committee. Henry Wallace, vice president under Roosevelt, the Liberal Democrat candidate in the last election, now faces Trial by Headline. WALLACE DENIES SENDING URANIUM TO RUSSIANS. May God protect him, today he lashed out against the press: "King Solomon should add to his list of things beyond the wisdom of men: why the newspapers print what they do!"
Mrs. Brown noted that Wallace has been reading aloud from his diary in the hearings, as evidence of what was said in the uranium meetings now under scrutiny. "Good thing he kept that diary," she says, standing in my doorway in a red-and-white-checked tailored shirt. With her, there's no knowing, it could be the latest fashion or something she made from a tablecloth--or both. Mrs. Brown proves stylish gals can still be thrifty in 'fifty.
She believes I'm taking things too personally. She brings the articles on Wallace, Robeson, Trumbo, those Hollywood writers, the union men, teachers, accountants, office workers, the butcher, the baker, and in the end neither of us is consoled. It's not just you, she says. People driven out of work, children taunted at school. The children whose father was shot, over in Oteen. What can any child be learning now, she asks, but to fear the wide world and all that's in it?
"Mr. Shepherd, they have to grow up in this. How will they all be?"
The Asheville Trumpet, February 12, 1950
Asheville Writer Faces Tough Questions
by Carl Nicholas
In a letter received this week from Federal Investigator Melvin C. Myers, the Asheville Trumpet has learned local writer Harrison Shepherd faces numerous charges related to his Communism. Foremost among them is misrepresentation of qualifications in signing an affidavit that he had never been a Communist. He is further charged with falsifying qualifications to serve as an educator. The press release from Myers stated a subpoena will soon be sent to Shepherd with arrangements to follow regarding a hearing before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, D.C.
Fellow citizens of Asheville cannot say we wish him well. It is no source of pride that our town is called home by one of the many Communists now known to have infiltrated government, as revealed this week by Senator Joseph McCarthy at a meeting of the Ohio County Woman's Club of Wheeling, West Virginia.
Mrs. Herb Lutheridge, President, Asheville Woman's Club, confirms the Senator's speech was intended here when the freshman Senator first cont
acted the Program Committee, hoping to make our city the first stop on his re-election campaign crusade through the South and West. Mrs. Lutheridge says honorarium discussion was under way when the Senator's office notified her of plans to kick off the tour instead in W. Virginia. Mrs. Lutheridge regrets the mixup but stated, "The main thing is, we are proud of this young man going to Washington to ferret out all those with Soviet leanings."
The information release concerning Shepherd states that House Un-American Activities Committee has full authority to subpoena a suspect and ask questions based on substantive researches, for the public record. If the hearing warrants, criminal charges will follow. The subcommittee is charged to investigate communism in many guises including "education," which pertains to Harrison Shepherd as many schoolchildren read his books about the Mexican civilizations. In closing, the letter states, "Through a simple exercise of question and answer, the witness may prove his innocence or be seen to hide behind the Fifth Amendment."
The New York Times reported this month that Communist parties worldwide now have a record membership of 26 million persons.
The Wheeling Intelligencer, February 10, 1950
M'Carthy Charges Reds Hold U.S. Jobs
Wisconsin Senator Tells Lincoln Fete Here 'Chips Down'
by Frank Desmond of the Intelligencer Staff
Joseph McCarthy, junior U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, was given a rousing ovation last night when, as guest of the Ohio County Republican Women's Club, he declared bluntly that the fate of the world rests with the clash between the atheism of Moscow and the Christian spirit throughout other parts of the world.
More than 275 representative Republican men and women were on hand to attend the colorful Lincoln Day dinner of the valley women which was held in the Collonnade room of the McLure hotel.
Disdaining any oratorical fireworks, McCarthy's talk was of an intimate, homey nature, punctuated at times with humor. But on the serious side, he launched many barbs at the present setup of the State Department, at President Truman's reluctance to press investigation of "traitors from within," and other pertinent matters.... However, he added: "The morals of our people have not been destroyed. They still exist and this cloak of numbness and apathy needs only a spark to rekindle them."
Referring directly to the State Department, he declared: "While I cannot take the time to name all of the men in the State Department who have been named as members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring, I have here in my hand a list of 205 that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who, nevertheless, are still working and shaping the policy in the State Department."
The speaker dwelt at length on the Alger Hiss case and mentioned the names of several others who, during the not so many years, were found to entertain subversive ideas but were still given positions of high trust in the government. "As you hear of this story of high treason," he said, "I know that you are saying to yourself well, why doesn't Congress do something about it?
"Actually, ladies and gentlemen, the reason for the graft, the corruption, the disloyalty, the treason in high government positions, the reason this continues is because of a lack of moral uprising on the part of the 140 million American people. In the light of history, however, this is not hard to explain. It is the result of an emotional hangover and a temporary moral lapse which follows every war. It is the apathy to evil which people who have been subjected to the tremendous evils of war feel.
"As the people of the world see mass murder, the destruction of defenseless and innocent people and all of the crime and lack of morals which go with war, they become numb and apathetic. It has always been thus after war."
At another time, he declared: "Today, we are engaged in a final all-out battle between Communistic atheism and Christianity. The modern champions of Communism have selected this as the time and, ladies and gentlemen, the chips are down they are truly down."
In an informal quiz with his audience, the Senator answered a number of questions dealing mostly with the plan of Secretary of Agriculture Brannan to destroy millions of tons of potatoes, eggs, butter, and fruits; he gave forthright views on the old age and social security problems and a number of other topics....
Mrs. A. E. Eberhard, president of the Women's Group, presided. State Senator William Hannig led the group singing. The invocation was delivered by the Rev. Philip Goertz, pastor of the Second Presbyterian church, and the benediction was pronounced by the Rev. W. Carroll Thorn, of St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
(undated page, HWS journal)
Universal declaration of rights of the howlers:
Article 1. All human beings are endowed with the god-given right to make firewood from the fallen tree. Article 2. Any tree will do. If it is tall, it should be cut down. The quality of wood is no matter, the tree asked for it by growing tall. A decent public will cheer to see it toppled. Article 3. Rules of normal kindness do not extend to the celebrated person. Article 4. All persons may hope to become celebrated. Article 5. It is more important to speak than to think. The only danger is silence. Article 6. A howler must choose one course or the other: lie routinely, or do so only on important occasions, to be more convincing. (The Trotsky tenet.)
HEARINGS REGARDING COMMUNIST INFILTRATION OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE
ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
PUBLIC HEARING, TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 1950
TRANSCRIPT: UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES,
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
JOHN S. WOOD, Georgia, Chairman;
FRANCIS E. WALTER, Pennsylvania; RICHARD M. NIXON, California;
BURR P. HARRISON, Virginia; FRANCIS CASE, South Dakota;
JOHN MCSWEENEY, Ohio; HAROLD H. VELDE, Illinois; MORGAN M.
MOULDER, Missouri; BERNARD W. KEARNEY, New York
FRANK L. RAVENNER, COUNSEL
MELVIN C. MYERS, SENIOR INVESTIGATOR
The subcommittee of the Committee on Un-American Activities met in a public session, pursuant to notice, at 9:35 a.m. in room 226, Old House Office Building, Hon. John S. Wood (chairman) presiding. Committee members present: Representatives John S. Wood (chairman), Francis E. Walter, John McSweeney, Richard M. Nixon (arriving as indicated) and Harold H. Velde. Staff members present: Frank L. Ravenner, counsel; Melvin C. Myers, chief investigator.
MR. WOOD: The record will show this is the Committee on Un-American Activities sitting now in the city of Washington, District of Columbia. Those present in addition to Committee and Staff members are the recording secretary and visitors from the press corps in the back gallery of the room. Mr. Harrison Shepherd sits here before us accompanied by two persons. The committee will be in order.
Mr. Shepherd, will you hold up your right hand, please, and take the oath. Do you solemnly swear the testimony you shall give this committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
MR. SHEPHERD: Yes.
MR. WOOD: Will you state your full name?
MR. SHEPHERD: Harrison William Shepherd.
MR. WOOD: When and where were you born?
MR. SHEPHERD: Lychgate, Virginia, July 6, 1916.
MR. WOOD: Have you any objection to the photographers making pictures?
MR. SHEPHERD: I would be happier if they didn't.
MR. WOOD: Well, gentlemen, you've heard him. Follow your conscience as usual.
(Murmuring and laughter from the gallery and photographs flashed.)
MR. RAVENNER: Honorable Chairman, before we begin questioning, may I ask to have Mr. Shepherd's friends or counsel identified?
MR. SHEPHERD: This is Mr. Arthur Gold, who is a lawyer, and Mrs. Violet Brown, who is my stenographer.
MR. WOOD: Mr. Shepherd, the committee retains a recording secretary to make a very thorough transcript of
these proceedings. Mrs. Ward, would you please identify yourself.
(So identified.)
MR. SHEPHERD: Sir, Mrs. Brown and Mr. Gold are here in the capacity of friends.
MR. RAVENNER: Fine, then. Mr. Shepherd, the purpose of this meeting is for the Committee to determine the truth or falsity of certain statements you have made, regarding membership or association with the Communist Party. Do you understand?
MR. SHEPHERD: Yes.
MR. RAVENNER: All right. This will not take all day, gentlemen, we should be out of here in time for lunch. Mr. Shepherd, would you please tell us where you now reside, and your present occupation.
MR. SHEPHERD: I live in Asheville, North Carolina, and am an author of books.
MR. RAVENNER: How long have you lived there, and what employment have you held in that time?
MR. SHEPHERD: Since 1940. I haven't had very much work in Asheville, other than the writing. During the war I taught some Spanish lessons at a Teachers College.
MR. RAVENNER: While teaching foreign languages at the College, did you ever succeed in recruiting students to a Communist way of thinking?
MR. SHEPHERD: Goodness, I doubt it. I couldn't recruit them to put their bubble gum in the wastepaper basket before standing up to do conjugations. Sometimes it fell out of their mouths on the third-person plurals.
(Laughter in the gallery.)
MR. RAVENNER: Now will you answer the question? Did any of your students join up with the Communist Party?
MR. SHEPHERD: I honestly don't know what they did after the class.
MR. RAVENNER: Were you also in the Armed Services during those years, as a young man obviously fit for service?
MR. SHEPHERD: Unfortunately I was not found fit for service. I was called up instead for special work with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.