Hawkins Confesses Red Affiliations at Hearings

In its last appearance here, at least for the present, the Jenner Senate Internal Security Subcommittee Friday heard Dr. David Hawkins, visiting fellow in General Education admit that he was a Communist from 1938 to 1943.

Of the four University faculty members to appear in open session before Congressional committees, Hawkins is the first to declare he had been a communist.

Hawkins, on leave for one year from the University of Colorado on a Carnegie fellowship, is a section man in Natural Science 4 and has recently been lecturing in that course.

He was accompanied by his counsel, John M. Maguire, Royall Professor of Law.

Hawkins told the committee that he is not now a Communist. He said he quit in 1943, about two months before he went to work at the Los Alamos atom bomb project.

Although he did not resort to use of the Fifth Amendment, Hawkins persistently refused to divulge names of Communists he knew, despite orders from Jenner.

Hawkins admitted that he had known Dr. Phillip Morrison, the visiting professor of Physics at M. I. T. who testified before the committee on Thursday, but he refused to say whether Morrison was a Communist in 1938.

"Mr. Morrison is involved in no crimes or conspiracies. He has led a very good and useful life since then and I must refuse life since then and I must refuse to discuss the political beliefs of my friends at that time."

"I order and direct that you answer," Jenner said.

"I am sorry, sir, I refuse," Hawkins answered.

Asked whether he wished to assert his rights under the Fifth Amendment, Hawkins said he did not. This leaves him open to a possible contempt citation.

Towards the end of his appearance Hawkins was asked by Jenner whether a Communist is a "good person to teach."

Hawkins answered that this is a question which can only be answered in terms of a particular person, not "de jure."

Hawkins was the first of three witnesses who appeared at Friday's hearings. The other two were Herbert Philbrick, former FBI counter-spy, and Paul Martineau, a junior Librarian at Williams.