Edward Clark Carter
Encyclopedia
Edward Clark Carter
worked with the International Y.M.C.A. in India and in France, during World War I, from 1902 to 1918, but was best known for his work with the Institute of Pacific Relations
(IPR), of which he was secretary from 1926 to 1933, secretary general from 1933 to 1946 and executive vice-chairman from 1946 to 1948. Carter worked to increase knowledge and dialogue with the countries of the Pacific Rim, but he also promoted interests and groups which critics charged were communist fronts or communist dominated. In 1948, he left the IPR under pressure and became Provost and then Director of International Studies of The New School for Social Research in New York City
. Carter became a main target of the McCarran Committee as part of a general investigation of the U.S. Department of State by Senator Joseph McCarthy
.
In 1940, he helped organize the Russian War Relief
Fund, was chair (1941-1945); United States Service to China, director, (1948); United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, consultant (1948); and a member of the United China Relief.
He was decorated an Officer of The Order of the British Empire
, Officer of the French Légion d'honneur
, received into the Order of the Crown of Siam and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (U.S.S.R.).
According to files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, Edward C. Carter described himself as a "fellow traveler." Among the positions he held were:
Andrew Avery, Chicago Journal of Commerce (July 1, 1946), alleged that Carter had been associated with such front organizations
as the International Workers Order
.
Carter was alleged to "actively uphold Russia
's policies" — for example, in 1938, when many other formerly loyal friends of the Soviet Union
were becoming disillusioned by Stalin’s Great Purge
, Carter defended the show trials, saying the Russian people “are thankful that their government has at last been firm in dealing with what they regard as Fascist-supported intrigue to overthrow the Government of the Soviet Union.” This apologia was reprinted in full in Soviet Russia Today, which identified Carter as a frequent contributor to “our leading periodicals.”
Carter also endorsed the Hitler-Stalin pact, according to the socialist magazine New Leader, but after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he "proposed a toast to the success of the Soviet resistance to the Nazis and referred to Russia as the 'beloved Motherland of so many of us here tonight'" and made a speech describing "the fight being waged by the Russian people in the defense of the democracies."
According to FBI files, Carter displayed "every indication that he has been closely associated with leading members of the Communist Party
in the United States
." For example, in 1938, Carter recommended Communist Party Secretary Earl Browder
to a Canadian club as a possible speaker, saying that Browder, "contrary to the public view, is 100% American."
In a 1938 letter, IPR Trustee Owen Lattimore
congratulated Carter: "I think that you are pretty cagey in turning over so much of the China section of the inquiry to Asiaticus, Han-seng and Chi. They will bring out the absolutely essential radical aspects, but can be depended on to do it with the right touch..." “Asiaticus” was the Polish-born Comintern
agent Moses Wolf Grzyb, alias M. G. Shippe (or Schiffe), alias Hans (or Heinz) Muëller (or Moëller); “Han-seng” refers to refers to Chen Han-seng
, a Comintern
recruit and "a member of the well-known Richard Sorge
Spy Ring"; “Chi” was Red Chinese secret agent Chi Chao-ting (Ji Chaoding).
Louis Budenz, former managing editor of the Daily Worker, told FBI investigators "that he had numerous dealings with Carter, while on the Daily Worker staff, and that these dealings 'were on a plane based on the fact that he was a member of the Communist Party.'" On April 22, 1948, Budenz advised, "Edward C. Carter was certainly under Communist Party discipline
. I recall Jack Stachel
, member of the national board of the Communist Party, stating that "Because the Russian War Relief Program is not going right, we will have to order Carter to realize his responsibility and continue his job. He is not running a community fund; he will have to live up to his Party responsibility."
One Teletype message in the FBI's IPR file cites a source (redacted) to the effect that there was, since 1936, "a concerted effort to install men who had been screened by [Frederick Vanderbilt] Field
or Carter or other members of the IPR into the State Dept.
”
Another memo in the file, by an IPR regional officer, alleges that Carter "may have been connected with the Communists in some way.... his political views are way to the left.... I have little confidence in his basic honesty."
worked with the International Y.M.C.A. in India and in France, during World War I, from 1902 to 1918, but was best known for his work with the Institute of Pacific Relations
Institute of Pacific Relations
The Institute of Pacific Relations was an international NGO established in 1925 to provide a forum for discussion of problems and relations between nations of the Pacific Rim. The International Secretariat, the center of most IPR activity over the years, consisted of professional staff members who...
(IPR), of which he was secretary from 1926 to 1933, secretary general from 1933 to 1946 and executive vice-chairman from 1946 to 1948. Carter worked to increase knowledge and dialogue with the countries of the Pacific Rim, but he also promoted interests and groups which critics charged were communist fronts or communist dominated. In 1948, he left the IPR under pressure and became Provost and then Director of International Studies of The New School for Social Research in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Carter became a main target of the McCarran Committee as part of a general investigation of the U.S. Department of State by Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
.
In 1940, he helped organize the Russian War Relief
Russian War Relief
Russian War Relief was an alleged Communist front group, circa 1944. According to a 1943 FBI report, the group was “infiltrated with known Communists, Communist leaders, fellow travelers, and front organizations.” The chairman of Russian War Relief was Edward C...
Fund, was chair (1941-1945); United States Service to China, director, (1948); United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, consultant (1948); and a member of the United China Relief.
He was decorated an Officer of The Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, Officer of the French Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, received into the Order of the Crown of Siam and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (U.S.S.R.).
Allegations
According to Carter's replacement as IPR Secretary General, Clayton Lane, Carter "was requested to resign" his leadership of the IPR "because of Carter's favorable attitude toward Russia."According to files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, Edward C. Carter described himself as a "fellow traveler." Among the positions he held were:
- Secretary General of the Institute of Pacific RelationsInstitute of Pacific RelationsThe Institute of Pacific Relations was an international NGO established in 1925 to provide a forum for discussion of problems and relations between nations of the Pacific Rim. The International Secretariat, the center of most IPR activity over the years, consisted of professional staff members who...
, an alleged "Communist frontCommunist frontA Communist front organization is an organization identified to be a front organization under the effective control of a Communist party, the Communist International or other Communist organizations. Lenin originated the idea in his manifesto of 1902, "What Is to Be Done?"...
group" - Chairman of the National Committee for Medical Aid to the Soviet Union, according to the Communist PartyCommunist Party USAThe Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
organ Daily WorkerDaily WorkerThe Daily Worker was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, some attempts were made to make it appear that the paper reflected a... - Chairman of Russian War ReliefRussian War ReliefRussian War Relief was an alleged Communist front group, circa 1944. According to a 1943 FBI report, the group was “infiltrated with known Communists, Communist leaders, fellow travelers, and front organizations.” The chairman of Russian War Relief was Edward C...
, which, according to the FBI, was "infiltrated with known Communists, Communist leaders, fellow travelers, and front organizationsCommunist frontA Communist front organization is an organization identified to be a front organization under the effective control of a Communist party, the Communist International or other Communist organizations. Lenin originated the idea in his manifesto of 1902, "What Is to Be Done?"...
" - President of the Board of Directors of the American Russian InstituteAmerican Russian InstituteThe American Russian Institute for Cultural Relations with the Soviet Union, previously known as the American Society for Cultural Relations with the Soviet Union, was identified by Attorney General of the United States Thomas C...
, which was listed by Attorney GeneralUnited States Attorney GeneralThe United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
of the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thomas C. Clark on the Attorney General's List of Subversive OrganizationsAttorney General's List of Subversive OrganizationsThe United States Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations was a list drawn up on April 3, 1947 at the request of the United States Attorney General. The list was intended to be a compilation of organizations seen as "subversive" by the United States government...
for 1948, in accordance with President Truman's Executive Order 9835Executive Order 9835President Harry S. Truman signed United States Executive Order 9835, sometimes known as the "Loyalty Order", on March 21, 1947. The order established the first general loyalty program in the United States, designed to root out communist influence in the U.S. federal government...
.
Andrew Avery, Chicago Journal of Commerce (July 1, 1946), alleged that Carter had been associated with such front organizations
Communist front
A Communist front organization is an organization identified to be a front organization under the effective control of a Communist party, the Communist International or other Communist organizations. Lenin originated the idea in his manifesto of 1902, "What Is to Be Done?"...
as the International Workers Order
International Workers Order
The International Workers Order was a Communist Party-affiliated insurance, mutual benefit and fraternal organization founded in 1930 and disbanded in 1954 as the result of legal action undertaken by the state of New York in 1951...
.
Carter was alleged to "actively uphold Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's policies" — for example, in 1938, when many other formerly loyal friends of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
were becoming disillusioned by Stalin’s Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, Carter defended the show trials, saying the Russian people “are thankful that their government has at last been firm in dealing with what they regard as Fascist-supported intrigue to overthrow the Government of the Soviet Union.” This apologia was reprinted in full in Soviet Russia Today, which identified Carter as a frequent contributor to “our leading periodicals.”
Carter also endorsed the Hitler-Stalin pact, according to the socialist magazine New Leader, but after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he "proposed a toast to the success of the Soviet resistance to the Nazis and referred to Russia as the 'beloved Motherland of so many of us here tonight'" and made a speech describing "the fight being waged by the Russian people in the defense of the democracies."
According to FBI files, Carter displayed "every indication that he has been closely associated with leading members of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
." For example, in 1938, Carter recommended Communist Party Secretary Earl Browder
Earl Browder
Earl Russell Browder was an American communist and General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1934 to 1945. He was expelled from the party in 1946.- Early years :...
to a Canadian club as a possible speaker, saying that Browder, "contrary to the public view, is 100% American."
In a 1938 letter, IPR Trustee Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore was an American author, educator, and influential scholar of Central Asia, especially Mongolia. In the 1930s he was editor of Pacific Affairs, a journal published by the Institute of Pacific Relations, and then taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1938 to 1963...
congratulated Carter: "I think that you are pretty cagey in turning over so much of the China section of the inquiry to Asiaticus, Han-seng and Chi. They will bring out the absolutely essential radical aspects, but can be depended on to do it with the right touch..." “Asiaticus” was the Polish-born Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
agent Moses Wolf Grzyb, alias M. G. Shippe (or Schiffe), alias Hans (or Heinz) Muëller (or Moëller); “Han-seng” refers to refers to Chen Han-seng
Chen Han-seng
Chen Han-seng was a Chinese sociologist and considered a pioneer of modern Chinese social science, and also a member of legendary Soviet master-spy Richard Sorge's Tokyo ring;He was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu...
, a Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
recruit and "a member of the well-known Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge was a German communist and spy who worked for the Soviet Union. He has gained great fame among espionage enthusiasts for his intelligence gathering during World War II. He worked as a journalist in both Germany and Japan, where he was imprisoned for spying and eventually hanged....
Spy Ring"; “Chi” was Red Chinese secret agent Chi Chao-ting (Ji Chaoding).
Louis Budenz, former managing editor of the Daily Worker, told FBI investigators "that he had numerous dealings with Carter, while on the Daily Worker staff, and that these dealings 'were on a plane based on the fact that he was a member of the Communist Party.'" On April 22, 1948, Budenz advised, "Edward C. Carter was certainly under Communist Party discipline
Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
. I recall Jack Stachel
Jack Stachel
Jacob Abraham "Jack" Stachel was an American Communist functionary who was a top official in the Communist Party from the middle 1920s until his death in the middle 1960s...
, member of the national board of the Communist Party, stating that "Because the Russian War Relief Program is not going right, we will have to order Carter to realize his responsibility and continue his job. He is not running a community fund; he will have to live up to his Party responsibility."
One Teletype message in the FBI's IPR file cites a source (redacted) to the effect that there was, since 1936, "a concerted effort to install men who had been screened by [Frederick Vanderbilt] Field
Frederick Vanderbilt Field
Frederick Vanderbilt Field was an American leftist political activist and a great-great-grandson of railroad tycoon Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt, disinherited by his wealthy relatives for his radical political views. Field became a specialist on Asia and was a prime staff member and supporter...
or Carter or other members of the IPR into the State Dept.
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
”
Another memo in the file, by an IPR regional officer, alleges that Carter "may have been connected with the Communists in some way.... his political views are way to the left.... I have little confidence in his basic honesty."