TESTIMONY OF HERBERT ROMERSTEIN Mr. SANDERS. Will you state your name, please. Mr. ROMERSTEIN. My name is Herbert Romerstein. Mr. SANDERS. Your occupation? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. I am an investigator for the House Committee on Internal Security. Mr. SANDERS. Have you been assigned to participate in the investigation of Students for a Democratic Society and Newsreel, also known as Camera News, Inc.? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir, I have. Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Romerstein, during the committee hearings last week we received testimony and evidence from two witnesses concerning their release from imprisonment in North Vietnam. They explained the circumstances of their return to the United States, escorted by seven American citizens, members of the New Mobilization Committe to End the War in Vietnam, Students for a Democratic Society, Newsreel, Fort Hood Three, and Resistance. Has your investigation disclosed whether any of these individuals, any members of this delegation, after returning to the United States made any report to their organizations? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir. We have information concerning a meeting August 17 and 18, 1969, which took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of the New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. This meeting was covered by an official of New Mobilization who was an undercover informant for a cooperating agency. At this meeting Rennie Davis reported on his travels to North Vietnam and described the purposes of the trip and the information that he had obtained. Davis spoke at the session on August 18 and stated that he had recently returned from North Vietnam, where he had been instrumental in obtaining the custody of some prisoners that were being held by the North Vietnamese Government. He stated further that he had been in North Vietnam before on similar trips and contrasted his views of North Vietnam on the previous trips with the view that he now had concerning it. He stated that in the past there was a great deal of bomb damage and it was impossible to travel during the day due to the bombings. However, now that the bombings have halted it was easy for him to have access to all of North Vietnam. He was given a tour of the entire country and taken down to the demilitarized zone. He said communications have been so restored in North Vietnam that there is direct telephone communication between the DMZ and Hanoi and that he was able to travel quite freely. He stated further that he had met with Pham Van Dong, who was a high official of the North Vietnamese Government who advised him that a decisive victory would soon be won by the North Vietnamese, such as the one at Dien Bien Phu when the Viet Minh defeated the French, and that the fiercest fighting in Vietnam would soon begin to take place. He stated that the goals of the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong were high American casualties and a significant victory in the field that would compel the United States to withdraw. Davis stated further that it is the job of the New Mobilization Committee and others who support the victory of the North Vietnamese to coordinate their activities in accordance with the policies of the North Vietnamese Government and to support those positions of the North Vietnamese Government that are taken in public statements and in the discussions in Paris, et cetera. The CHAIRMAN. Was this the trip, Mr. Romerstein, on which Frishman and Hegdahl were released? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir. There is more information concerning this particular meeting of New Mobe, but essentially that was the report of Rennie Davis concerning his observations of North Vietnam. It is apparent from the nature of his report, which only mentioned casually the release of the prisoners, but went into detail concerning his conversations with officials in North Vietnam and his observations of the activities of the North Vietnamese Government in rebuilding its communication and supply lines, that the primary purpose for him was to be able to report back to the so-called peace movement here the alleged victories of the North Vietnamese, to obtain help for them and to encourage support for the North Vietnamese position by the so-called peace movement here. Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Romerstein, have you conducted an investigation to ascertain the origin, the history, purposes, and leadership of Newsreel? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir. Newsreel is officially incorporated in New York as Camera News, Inc., and has been in existence since early 1968. An incorporation paper was filed in New York by them on March 8, 1968, and listed their incorporators as follows. Mr. SANDERS. May the record show that Mr. Romerstein is reading from an exhibit which will be marked "No. 20." Mr. ROMERSTEIN. There is Marvin Fishman, Robert Kramer, Melvin Morgulis, Ellin Hirst, and Allan Siegel. Mr. SANDERS. Would you read from that exhibit, Mr. Romerstein, the stated purposes of Newsreel and whether the individuals listed therein as its directors are the same as the incorporators? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir. The purposes given are "to foster and encourage on a non-profit basis the creation and dissemination of newsreels, documentaries and other films of general public interest." The same individuals who incorporated are listed as directors of the corporation. Mr. SANDERS. Does that document reveal the address of the firm? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Not at that time; no, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Is the home office of the corporation shown on the document? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Sir, the document does not reflect a street address. It does reflect the "City of New York," but there is an address given for one of the incorporators which appears to be the address from which they operated. The CHAIRMAN. We took evidence at some place in the hearing, Mr. Counsel, to the effect that the home office of Newsreel was the same address as the national office of SDS; did we not? Mr. SANDERS. Not the national office, Mr. Chairman, but several of its addresses were identical with SDS offices and we will be getting into that. There are other offices across the country. The CHAIRMAN. Proceed. Mr. SANDERS. This exhibit does not give the actual street address of its office in New York. Are you aware of that address, Mr. Romerstein? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir. It is presently a loft building at 322 Seventh Avenue, New York City. However, the previous address was 28 West 31st Street, New York City, also a loft building. Mr. SANDERS. Have you had an opportunity to visit those addresses and confirm that? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, I have. Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Romerstein, what is the source of your acquisition of this document, Exhibit No. 20? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. That is a copy certified on our behalf by the Secretary of State's Office of the State of New York. The CHAIRMAN. Is there any objection to the admission of the document? Hearing none, so admitted to the hearing record. Mr. SANDERS. Does Newsreel maintain offices in cities other than New York? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir. The September 6, 1969, issue of the Guardian listed Newsreel offices as follows: 322 Seventh Avenue, New York; 450 Alabama Street, San Francisco, California; 2440 North Lincoln Street, Chicago, Illinois; and 2327 Eighteenth Street, NW., Washington, D.C., the last address being the regional office of Students for a Democratic Society-that is, the Washington, D.C., address. They moved to the Chicago address in July of 1969, and on July 2, 1969, that building was purchased by Mr. John Rossen, who also owns the building in which Students for a Democratic Society has its national headquarters in Chicago. Mr. Rossen has been identified by the Subversive Activities Control Board in a report dated February 7, 1956, as an officer of the Communist Party in St. Louis and subsequently in southern Illinois. Mr. Rossen is quite a well-known public figure in Chicago and has served in leadership capacities in SDS. Mr. SANDERS. Was he also involved in the acquisition of the Coliseum for the SDS national convention in June? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. No, sir, that was Jack Spiegel. Mr. SANDERS. Rossen was involved in the introduction of Klonsky, was he not? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. No, sir. That was Jack Spiegel who brought Klonsky to the owner of the Chicago Coliseum. The CHAIRMAN. Do you know the age of Mr. Rossen? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. I do not know his exact age, but since he is a veteran of the Spanish civil war of 1937-1939 he is in his fifties. The CHAIRMAN. Old for the SDS. Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, but he has served on the national administrative committee during 1967-1968. The CHAIRMAN. Proceed, Mr. Counsel. Mr. ROMERSTEIN. The Boston office of Newsreel has been visited by one of our investigators, Mr. Ray McConnon, who established that the address there is 595 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge. They also have listed in the various underground newspapers in the area the telephone number 491-2360; however, this phone number is in fact the number of The Old Mole, an underground newspaper with close SDS connections. Mr. McConnon obtained a list of the incorporators of the Boston Newsreel, and they are as follows: Jacqueline Shearer, Chat Gunter, Nancy Falk, and David Leo Kelston. This incorporation took place on November 5, 1969, and so is a relatively recent one. (At this point Mr. Ashbrook left the hearing room.) Mr. SANDERS. With regard to the stated purposes of Newsreel, you have commented on the manner in which it is phrased in the New York incorporation. To your knowledge has Newsreel ever by issuance of any other documents stated its purposes in any other manner? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir, they certainly have. In a letter received by a committee staff member at an address used for the receipt of literature from various organizations, on March 1, 1968, we received a letter, signed by Robert Kramer "for the Coordinating Committee of THE NEWSREEL," in which he stated that: THE NEWSREEL is particularly concerned to put its films into the hands of organizers and activists who can find ways to use films as tools in their daily political work. * * In a newspaper story in the underground newspaper The Movement, which has listed on its masthead its affiliation with SDS, in July of 1968, Newsreel states that "Newsreel makes films which help radicalize *"The same article also contains a list of community distributors of Newsreel, and rather than read the names into the record may I offer the document itself. Mr. SANDERS. I will mark this as "Committee Exhibit No. 21." Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Now when the group of Newsreel and SDS and New Left personalities arrived back in the United States with the custody of the three prisoners that had been turned over to them by the North Vietnamese, they carried with them a considerable amount of undeveloped film that they had shot in North Vietnam. This film was taken from them by the customs authorities. Mr. SANDERS. Excuse me, Mr. Romerstein. Before you get into that matter, did you cover the aspect of payments which were made to Dellinger prior to the Mr. ROMERSTEIN. No, I did not. In the letter previously referred to by Robert Kramer that we received on March 1, 1968, he states: Until we have arranged our non-profit corporate status, checks should be made payable to Dave Dellinger, and sent to Liberation Magazine, 5 Beekman Street, New York, N.Y. A note should be included indicating that the check is for THE NEWSREEL. Incidentally, our check of the records of Internal Revenue reveal that they have made no attempt to incorporate as a nonprofit organiza tion or to request tax-exempt status. Mr. SANDERS. Do you have any other documents or news articles which contain remarks bearing on the purposes of Newsreel? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir. The Berkeley Barb, May 31, 1968, also one of the underground papers, quotes Kramer as follows this is not a direct quote, it is paraphrased. They want to turn reels of film into "weapons and tools" to change viewers' consciousness and to define the position of the film makers. They hope to create films that will "release energy," says Kramer. At the time of the seizure of the film from the Newsreel personnel by the customs people, three of Newsreel's personnel filed a lawsuit against customs. They were Norman Fruchter, Robert Kramer, and John Douglas. In the course of this lawsuit they explained once again the activities of Newsreel. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Romerstein, at that point I did not quite understand how Mr. Dellinger was receiving agent for Newsreel. The solicitation of funds to be given to Dave Dellinger, was that solicited on the part of Newsreel? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir. Mr. SANDERS. I have a document here which Mr. Romerstein was reading from which I have marked "Committee Exhibit No. 22,” Mr. Chairman. It says: Until we have arranged our non-profit corporate status, checks should be made payable to Dave Dellinger, and sent to Liberation Magazine, 5 Beekman Street, New York, N.Y. A note should be included indicating that the check is for THE NEWSREEL. I offer for the record exhibits marked "Nos. 20, 21, and 22." The CHAIRMAN. Has Dellinger been shown in any official capacity with Newsreel? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. No, sir, but the signer of the letter, Robert Kramer, has been the guiding star in Newsreel. The CHAIRMAN. Well, does this appear to be an attempt to get a taxexempt status by making the contribution to Dellinger? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. I think, sir, they had not yet incorporated at this point and did not have bank accounts and so they used Dellinger as a conduit for the funds. They have not in any way solicited tax-exempt status although they had made it clear to persons contributing that that was their intention. In addition, in their incorporation application they indicated it was their intention to get tax-exempt status. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Counsel, are you offering these documents for admission? Mr. SANDERS. Yes, sir, Nos. 20, 21, and 22. The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection? Hearing none, Exhibits 20, 21, and 22 will be admitted into the hearing record. (Documents marked "Committee Exhibits Nos. 20, 21, and 22," respectively. See appendix A, pages 2388-2394, 2395, and 2396.) Mr. SANDERS. Proceed, please. Mr. ROMERSTEIN. In the lawsuit filed by Fruchter and others they indicated the nature of Newsreel in attempting to secure films that had been confiscated by the customs service. Mr. SANDERS. Approximately what was the footage involved, Mr. Romerstein; do you remember? Mr. ROMERSTEIN. I am sorry, I do not recall the exact footage and I do not see it in this report. Mr. SANDERS. I think it was about 12,000. Mr. ROMERSTEIN. Yes, sir, that sounds correct. |