Worcester Public Library vs. the Red Scare

The stereotypical depiction of libraries and librarians is that of a quiet temple of knowledge, filled with musty books, and overseen by a bun-wearing, shushing librarian. There certainly have been instances where real-world libraries identified a little too closely to that stereotype but the truth is that libraries have also been accused of being subversive! Today we examine a period of Worcester history when community members accused the Worcester Public Library of disseminating propaganda and questioned the loyalties of our fifth head librarian, Thurston Taylor. Most of the articles below came from clippings and scrapbooks in our Worcester Room. 

"Red Propaganda at Library," Worcester Life, May 1951

The second Red Scare of the late 1940s-1950s pervaded all aspects of American life. Anticommunist sentiments took hold in the United States with accusations of espionage and disloyalty to the United States directed at government officials, members of the entertainment industry, union organizers, teachers, and ordinary citizens. In the case of libraries, book lists, displays, and acquisitions of pro-Soviet Union materials were considered suspicious.

In 1944, Worcester Public Library celebrated Russian Book Week with an exhibit of prints, photographs, children's books on Russia, and even Russian peasant dolls in the library's Boys' and Girls' Room. Miss Maude E. Wesby, the head of the Social Sciences and History Division, and Thurston Taylor, then the assistant librarian, also created a booklist, "The Soviet Union in Books." 

Except for a feel-good article in 1945 about WPL serving as a collection station for English language books being sent to Russia to replace their English language library books that had been destroyed by the Nazis, our library scrapbooks barely had any articles relating to communism and the Soviet Union until towards the end of 1948. That's when things got heated!

In November 1948, the Worcester Telegram and Worcester Evening Gazette reported that the City Council's Municipal Affairs Committee voted to hold a hearing in response to an article in a Worcester weekly publication, the Catholic Messenger. The Catholic Messenger alleged that a report of a loyalty check on head librarian Thurston Taylor by the FBI and the police had been submitted in February 1947 by Mayor Charles F. Jeff Sullivan to WPL's board of library directors. As a result of this accusation, Councilman Harry P. McGrath and Alderman-at-Large George A. Wells co-sponsored the hearing. Wells claimed that the Committee would "not indulge in any type of witch hunt." On the other hand, "If [the charges against Taylor] are correct, Mr. Taylor should resign immediately as librarian." McGrath was more forceful by calling for Taylor's removal. Seven aldermen voted in favor of the order asking Taylor to attend the hearing and three voted "present." The order was later amended to include the full City Council at the hearing.

The following recap of the hearing is from the December 22, 1948 edition of the Worcester Telegram.  On the evening of December 21, 1948, the joint session of the Board of Aldermen and Common Council met to hear from Thurston Taylor regarding the charges that a loyalty check had been made against him. Over 150 spectators attended the somewhat raucous 2.5 hour meeting.

"Among Speakers at Loyalty Meeting," Worcester Daily Telegram, December 22, 1948

Wells called Philip M. Morgan, library director, to testify first. Morgan reported that he and library's Finance Committee attended a meeting with Mayor Sullivan in January 1947, wherein "The Mayor indicated he was suspicious of our librarian." Morgan then stated that he Committee was called back to meet with the Mayor at the end of March 1947, wherein Sullivan recommended that the head librarian be investigated further because "he felt our librarian was of a subversive nature." Morgan and the Finance Committee agreed but did not hear of any further substantiation to any investigation. 

Homer P. Little, the chairman of the library board of trustees, stated that Chief Finneran of the Worcester Police Department told him "there was nothing on Taylor in his files" and the FBI had not yet responded to his inquiries into whether there was a file on Taylor. The memo below details the meeting between Little and Finneran.

WPL memo dated December 15, 1948

 

Thurston Taylor read a statement reiterating that he was not and had never been a Communist or a member of the Communist Party, and that he was as loyal to the government as everyone else at the hearing. He also surmised that the question of his loyalty arose due to the booklist he had created four years prior, as well as the library's book display based on that list displayed at the Communist Party's meeting in 1945 at Washburn Hall in Worcester. He claimed that the book display was created with the approval of the then-head librarian as well as the president of the library's board. Taylor then fielded questions from the councilmen and aldermen, including whether he had ever attended other Communist meetings, taken a trip to Russia, and even if he had asked a library employee to remove a Christmas display featuring the Madonna and Child even though he had put up a book display at the Communist Party's meeting. 

Throughout the hearing, there was back and forth between members of the City Council, including a comment from Alderman Alexander M. Naylor stating, "I don't believe in scandal and gossip. That's all this is - just what was printed in the Catholic Messenger."

At one point J. Edmund Sullivan, editor of the Catholic Messenger was called to answer a few questions but he refused to divulge his sources.

"Council Clears Taylor at Loyalty Hearing," Worcester Telegram, December 22, 1948

By the end of the meeting, the following votes were taken but ultimately failed: the Mayor should be brought into the next meeting to "state his side," the City Council should apologize to Taylor, and the Mayor should make a public apology to Taylor. Instead Councilman Clarence T. Rolander suggested that a vote of confidence be taken. The ayes won without any voice of opposition.

The Worcester Evening Gazette proclaimed that "It was pretty obvious that the case was being used for personal political exploitation, regardless of whose reputation got stepped on."

We found the below letter from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. in a file in our Worcester Room. Hoover's letter is dated from after the City Council's loyalty check hearing and notes that "no Agents of this Bureau have furnished any information whatsoever concerning Thurston Taylor to any individual or organization." This seemed to officially conclude the loyalty check question against Taylor.

Letter from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., January 4, 1949

Even after Worcester Public Library and Taylor were victorious against the charges of being disloyal, the library continued to freely share books and other materials with communist ideas. Of course some community members and publications were not thrilled with the dissemination of "red propaganda" as evidenced by the article at the beginning of this blog post! On the other hand, the Worcester Evening Gazette reported in 1955 that Worcester Public Library had 5 "Red-tainted" publications on their shelves but that was a smaller number than what was available in other cities. According to the Worcester Evening Gazette, these magazines contained mostly dry but well-written articles with some propaganda mixed-in and were mostly read by people actively seeking out the publications instead of accidentally stumbling upon them. The five titles were as follows: Hungarian Bulletin, New Hungary, Marxist Quarterly, New Times, and News.

"No Censorship of Leftist Books at the Public Library Here," Worcester Evening Gazette,
September 30, 1952

The end of McCarthyism and the Red Scare led to a decrease in articles pertaining to the library and the Soviet Union. One notable exception is below but Worcester Public Library ultimately fulfilled this interlibrary loan request!

"Library is Puzzled by Soviet Request," Worcester Evening Gazette, June 2, 1980

Further Reading:

The Attack on Librarian Taylor. (1948, November 30).  Worcester Evening Gazette.

City Librarian Taylor Will Get Hearing. (1948, November 30).  Worcester Telegram. 

Congratulations Where They Are Due. (1948, December 22). Worcester Evening Gazette. p. 6.

Council Clears Taylor at Loyalty Hearing. (1948, December 22).  Worcester Telegram.

Council is Divided on Loyalty Check. (1948, November 30). Worcester Evening Gazette.

Hafey, R. (1955, January 22). Soviet Propaganda Only a Trickle in City. Worcester Evening Gazette.

Library Heads to Ask Mayor for Taylor Data. (1948, December 7). Worcester Telegram.

Library Loyalty Check Hearing Due Tomorrow. (1948, December 20). Worcester Evening Gazette.

Melody, M. (1951, May). Red Propaganda at Library. Worcester Life.

No Censorship of Leftist Books at the Public Library Here. (1952, September 30). Worcester Evening Gazette.

Public Hearing for Librarian to be Held Tonight. (1948, December 21).  Worcester Telegram.

Receiving Station for Books to Soviet Established. (1945, September 16). Worcester Telegram.

"Red Scare" Hearing in Worcester Backs Librarian, Trustees. (1948, December 22),  Boston Globe.

Rosenberg, C. (1980, June 2). Library is Puzzled by Soviet Request. Worcester Evening Gazette.

Southwick, A. (1997, September 28). Worcester Librarian Taylor Caused Ruckus. Worcester Telegram & Gazette. C1.

Stedman, D. (1944). Books on Russia to Be Featured. [unknown Worcester newspaper].

Taylor Silent on Alleged Loyalty Check. (1948, December 1). Worcester Telegram.