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docks. He interposed because he had an idea of how to settle it. That was his story of how he came into prominence, and it may be the truth so far as I know.

I had no doubts about him because we had looked him up. I thought the rest of the talk was ill will, although there were enough people of sound attitudes who said, “Well, you know, it's just possible this fellow is mixed up with some of these radical groups.” Out on the West Coast there had been a good many bona fide radical groups and no one knew how their membership changed. At any rate, I had no doubts about him.

When this first report of Bonham's came in, I was very much astonished, because this was the first item we had ever had that would indicate that there was any evidence at all, any background, any reliable body of information that would tend to show that he was a Communist, or that he was a Red. The witness was far from reliable, but it was the first thing we had gotten that even went that far. Anything else had always been just rumor. Paul Scharrenberg once made the statement, “Oh, Bridges is a Communist.” I wrote and asked him, or telephoned, “What do you mean? What do you know?” I followed up every clue. Whenever anyone said, “He's a Red. He's a Communist,” I asked them right away, “Is he? How do you know it?”