Victor Perlo
Encyclopedia
Victor Perlo was a Marxist
economist
, government functionary, and a longtime member of the governing National Committee of the Communist Party USA
. From 1935 through the middle 1940s, Perlo allegedly participated in the gathering of information for the secret foreign intelligence apparatus of the Soviet Union
, activity for which he is remembered as the namesake of the so-called "Perlo group
." In the years following World War II
, Perlo published extensively as one of the Communist Party's leading voices on economic issues.
. Perlo was the son of ethnic Jewish parents who had both emigrated in their youth to America from the Russian empire
. His father, Samuel Perlo, was a lawyer
and his mother, Rachel Perlo, was a teacher.
Perlo received his Bachelor's degree
from Columbia University
in New York City in 1931 and Master's degree
in mathematics from the same school in 1933.
Late in 1932 or early in 1933, while still a student at Columbia, Perlo joined the Communist Party USA
, an organization with which he was affiliated throughout his life.
Perlo married his first wife, Katherine, in 1933 and divorced in 1943. Subsequently, he married his second wife, Ellen, with whom he remained for the rest of his life. The couple had three children, a girl and two boys.
Perlo had varied interests, which included tennis, mountain climbing, and chess. He was also a talented pianist.
and assistant to a division chief at the National Recovery Administration
(NRA), remaining at that post until June 1935. Perlo then moved to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board
where he was an analyst for the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, establishing statistical analyses for properties mortgaged to the corporation and projecting long term financial accounts. Perlo worked in that capacity until October 1937.
In October 1937, Perlo left government service to work in the Brookings Institution
, a liberal think tank
established in 1916, where he stayed as a researcher for more than two years. In November 1939, Perlo went to work in the US Department of Commerce, where he worked as a senior economic analyst in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
Perlo moved to the Office of Price Administration
(OPA) in November 1940, where he was head of the economic statistics division. There Perlo engaged in the study of inflationary pressures
in the American economy, particularly with the advent of World War II
, which helped provide documentation enabling the institution of price controls
.
Perlo remained in that capacity until leaving to become head of the aviation section of the Bureau of Programs and Statistics at the War Production Board
(WPB). Perlo's work at the WPB involved analysis of the various economic problems of aircraft production. In September 1944 he was made a special assistant to the director of the Bureau of Programs and Statistics of the WPB.
During his time in the federal bureaucracy
, Perlo was a contributor to the Communist Party's press, submitting articles on economic matters under a variety of pseudonyms. He also secretly assisted I.F. Stone in gathering materials for various journalistic exposés.
About December 1945, Perlo went to the U.S. Treasury Department, where he worked in the Monetary Research department. There he was an alternate member of the Committee for Reciprocity Information, which took care of technical work relating to trade agreements under the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act and doing preparatory work for the International Trade Organization
.
Perlo left government service in 1947, resigning in the midst of an investigation over whether his continued employment represented a security risk.
, assisting the Presidential
campaign of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Vice President
Henry Wallace
.
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
(code-named "Steve") which mined information on behalf of Soviet intelligence. At Peters' direction, Perlo (code-named "Raid") met with several other leading CPUSA members including V.J. Jerome, Eugene Dennis
, and Roy Hudson, although any relationship of these latter-named individuals to the Soviet intelligence gathering effort was not clear even to the service's Washington, DC station head Anatoly Gorsky in December 1944.
Perlo was accused of being a Soviet agent by defecting spy Elizabeth Bentley
in the summer of 1948 and on August 9 was called before Congress to give testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), engaged in an investigation of alleged Communist infiltration of the federal government. Perlo repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment
when asked about his relations with other alleged espionage agents and Communist Party members, refusing three times when asked in various ways whether he was or had been a member of the Communist Party. He took the Fifth three more times when asked whether he had ever known, seen, or passed classified information to Elizabeth Bentley, who was present in the hearing room, and 36 more times when asked about various other individuals of interest to HUAC.
Perlo was then temporarily excused from the stand and Elizabeth Bentley brought forward. Bentley testified that she had first met Victor Perlo in the apartment of attorney John Abt
in March 1944 and acknowledged that Perlo was the head of the "so-called Perlo group of Government employees" that had furnished information to Bentley for transmission to the Soviet government. Bentley testified that Perlo was employed in the part of the War Production Board which made use of secret information on aircraft production and stated that he had passed on to her "production figures listed by types of planes — fighters, bombers, transports, photographic planes, and so on."
Recalled to the stand, Perlo again repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment before being allowed to read into the record a prepared statement. "The lurid spy charges of the Bentley woman and Chambers
are inventions of irresponsible sensation seekers," Perlo declared, adding "I am a loyal American citizen, and I categorically assert that I have never violated the laws or interests of my country."
While the veracity of the charges remained unresolved at the time, the cloud over Perlo with respect to the espionage allegations made against him combined with his refusal to cooperate with HUAC effectively denied him future academic employment and ended his government career.
Perlo was again called by Congress for testimony in 1953, this time before the Senate Sub-committee on Internal Security.
. He was 87 years old at the time of his death.
Victor Perlo's papers are housed in the special collections department of Lewis J. Ort Library at Frostburg State University
in Frostburg, Maryland
.
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
, government functionary, and a longtime member of the governing National Committee of the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The 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....
. From 1935 through the middle 1940s, Perlo allegedly participated in the gathering of information for the secret foreign intelligence apparatus 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....
, activity for which he is remembered as the namesake of the so-called "Perlo group
Perlo group
Headed by Victor Perlo, the Perlo group is the name given to a group of Americans who provided information which was given to Soviet intelligence agencies; it was active during the World War II period, until the entire group was exposed to the FBI by the defection of Elizabeth Bentley...
." In the years following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Perlo published extensively as one of the Communist Party's leading voices on economic issues.
Early years
Victor Perlo was born May 15, 1912 in East Elmhurst, Queens county, New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Perlo was the son of ethnic Jewish parents who had both emigrated in their youth to America from the Russian empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. His father, Samuel Perlo, was a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and his mother, Rachel Perlo, was a teacher.
Perlo received his Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City in 1931 and Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in mathematics from the same school in 1933.
Late in 1932 or early in 1933, while still a student at Columbia, Perlo joined the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The 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....
, an organization with which he was affiliated throughout his life.
Perlo married his first wife, Katherine, in 1933 and divorced in 1943. Subsequently, he married his second wife, Ellen, with whom he remained for the rest of his life. The couple had three children, a girl and two boys.
Perlo had varied interests, which included tennis, mountain climbing, and chess. He was also a talented pianist.
Governmental career
After his graduation from Columbia in 1933, Perlo went to work as a statistical analystStatistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
and assistant to a division chief at the National Recovery Administration
National Recovery Administration
The National Recovery Administration was the primary New Deal agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. The goal was to eliminate "cut-throat competition" by bringing industry, labor and government together to create codes of "fair practices" and set prices...
(NRA), remaining at that post until June 1935. Perlo then moved to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board
Federal Home Loan Bank Board
The Federal Home Loan Bank Board was a board created by the Federal Home Loan Bank Act of 1932 that created and oversaw the Federal Home Loan Banks also created by the act. It was superseded by the Federal Housing Finance Board and the Office of Thrift Supervision in the Financial Institutions...
where he was an analyst for the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, establishing statistical analyses for properties mortgaged to the corporation and projecting long term financial accounts. Perlo worked in that capacity until October 1937.
In October 1937, Perlo left government service to work in the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
, a liberal think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
established in 1916, where he stayed as a researcher for more than two years. In November 1939, Perlo went to work in the US Department of Commerce, where he worked as a senior economic analyst in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
Perlo moved to the Office of Price Administration
Office of Price Administration
The Office of Price Administration was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA was originally to control money and rents after the outbreak of World War II.President Franklin D...
(OPA) in November 1940, where he was head of the economic statistics division. There Perlo engaged in the study of inflationary pressures
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
in the American economy, particularly with the advent of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, which helped provide documentation enabling the institution of price controls
Price controls
Price controls are governmental impositions on the prices charged for goods and services in a market, usually intended to maintain the affordability of staple foods and goods, and to prevent price gouging during shortages, or, alternatively, to insure an income for providers of certain goods...
.
Perlo remained in that capacity until leaving to become head of the aviation section of the Bureau of Programs and Statistics at the War Production Board
War Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
(WPB). Perlo's work at the WPB involved analysis of the various economic problems of aircraft production. In September 1944 he was made a special assistant to the director of the Bureau of Programs and Statistics of the WPB.
During his time in the federal bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
, Perlo was a contributor to the Communist Party's press, submitting articles on economic matters under a variety of pseudonyms. He also secretly assisted I.F. Stone in gathering materials for various journalistic exposés.
About December 1945, Perlo went to the U.S. Treasury Department, where he worked in the Monetary Research department. There he was an alternate member of the Committee for Reciprocity Information, which took care of technical work relating to trade agreements under the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act and doing preparatory work for the International Trade Organization
International Trade Organization
The Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 recognized the need for a comparable international institution for trade to complement the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank...
.
Perlo left government service in 1947, resigning in the midst of an investigation over whether his continued employment represented a security risk.
Career after government
In 1948, Perlo obtained a position as an economist for the Progressive PartyProgressive Party (United States, 1948)
The United States Progressive Party of 1948 was a left-wing political party that ran former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa for president and U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor of Idaho for vice president in 1948.-Foundation:...
, assisting the Presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
campaign of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Henry Wallace
Henry Wallace
Henry or Harry Wallace may refer to:*Henry A. Wallace , U.S. Vice President 1941-1945, presidential candidate for the Progressive Party 1948**Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center...
.
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
Espionage allegations
In 1935, Perlo was allegedly part of a Washington, DC-based communist group headed by J. PetersJ. Peters
J. Peters was the most commonly known pseudonym of a man who last went by the name "Alexander Stevens" in 1949. Peters was an ethnic Jewish journalist and political activist who was a leading figure of the Hungarian language section of the Communist Party USA in the 1920s and 1930s...
(code-named "Steve") which mined information on behalf of Soviet intelligence. At Peters' direction, Perlo (code-named "Raid") met with several other leading CPUSA members including V.J. Jerome, Eugene Dennis
Eugene Dennis
Francis Xavier Waldron , best known by the pseudonym Eugene Dennis was an American communist politician and union organizer, best remembered as the long-time leader of the Communist Party USA and as named party in Dennis v...
, and Roy Hudson, although any relationship of these latter-named individuals to the Soviet intelligence gathering effort was not clear even to the service's Washington, DC station head Anatoly Gorsky in December 1944.
Perlo was accused of being a Soviet agent by defecting spy Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth Terrill Bentley was an American spy for the Soviet Union from 1938 until 1945. In 1945 she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intelligence and became an informer for the U.S. She exposed two networks of spies, ultimately naming over 80 Americans who had engaged in espionage for...
in the summer of 1948 and on August 9 was called before Congress to give testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), engaged in an investigation of alleged Communist infiltration of the federal government. Perlo repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
when asked about his relations with other alleged espionage agents and Communist Party members, refusing three times when asked in various ways whether he was or had been a member of the Communist Party. He took the Fifth three more times when asked whether he had ever known, seen, or passed classified information to Elizabeth Bentley, who was present in the hearing room, and 36 more times when asked about various other individuals of interest to HUAC.
Perlo was then temporarily excused from the stand and Elizabeth Bentley brought forward. Bentley testified that she had first met Victor Perlo in the apartment of attorney John Abt
John Abt
John Jacob Abt was an American lawyer and politician. He spent most of his career as chief counsel to the Communist Party USA ....
in March 1944 and acknowledged that Perlo was the head of the "so-called Perlo group of Government employees" that had furnished information to Bentley for transmission to the Soviet government. Bentley testified that Perlo was employed in the part of the War Production Board which made use of secret information on aircraft production and stated that he had passed on to her "production figures listed by types of planes — fighters, bombers, transports, photographic planes, and so on."
Recalled to the stand, Perlo again repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment before being allowed to read into the record a prepared statement. "The lurid spy charges of the Bentley woman and Chambers
Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers was born Jay Vivian Chambers and also known as David Whittaker Chambers , was an American writer and editor. After being a Communist Party USA member and Soviet spy, he later renounced communism and became an outspoken opponent later testifying in the perjury and espionage trial...
are inventions of irresponsible sensation seekers," Perlo declared, adding "I am a loyal American citizen, and I categorically assert that I have never violated the laws or interests of my country."
While the veracity of the charges remained unresolved at the time, the cloud over Perlo with respect to the espionage allegations made against him combined with his refusal to cooperate with HUAC effectively denied him future academic employment and ended his government career.
Perlo was again called by Congress for testimony in 1953, this time before the Senate Sub-committee on Internal Security.
Death and legacy
He died on December 1, 1999 at his home in Croton-on-Hudson, New YorkCroton-on-Hudson, New York
Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt, in New York City's northern suburbs...
. He was 87 years old at the time of his death.
Victor Perlo's papers are housed in the special collections department of Lewis J. Ort Library at Frostburg State University
Frostburg State University
Frostburg State University is a four-year university located on a campus in Frostburg, Maryland, in Western Maryland, and is part of the University System of Maryland. FSU is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.-History:...
in Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States located at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,873 at the 2000 census...
.
Books and pamphlets
- Note: Many of Perlo's works were translated into other languages, such as German, Russian, Polish, Czech, Japanese, Spanish, etc.
- Our Foreign Policy Costs One Million Jobs. Chicago: National Labor Conference for Peace, n.d. [c. 1949].
- American Imperialism. New York: International Publishers, 1951.
- Trends in the Economic Status of the Negro People. New York: Science and Society, n.d. [1952].
- Israel and Dollar Diplomacy. New York: New Outlook Publishers, 1953.
- The Negro in Southern Agriculture. New York: International Publishers, 1953.
- The Income 'Revolution. New York: International Publishers, 1954.
- The Empire of High Finance. New York: International Publishers, 1957.
- USA and USSR: The Economic Race. New York: International Publishers, 1960.
- Dollars and Sense of Disarmament: Carl Marzani. Victor Perlo. With Carl MarzaniCarl MarzaniCarl Aldo Marzani was an American leftwing political activist and publisher. He was successively a Communist Party organizer, volunteer soldier in the Spanish Civil War, United States federal intelligence official, documentary filmmaker, author, and publisher...
. New York: Marzani and Munsell, 1960. - How the Soviet Economy Works: An Interview with A.I. Mikoyan, First Deputy Prime Minister of the USSR. With Anastas MikoyanAnastas MikoyanAnastas Ivanovich Mikoyan was an Armenian Old Bolshevik and Soviet statesman during the rules of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, and Leonid Brezhnev....
. New York: International Publishers, 1961. - Militarism and Industry: Arms Profiteering in the Missile Age. New York: International Publishers, 1963.
- Bitter End in Southeast Asia. With Kumar Goshal. New York: Marzani and Munsell, 1964.
- Marines in Santo Domingo! New York: New Outlook Publishers, 1965.
- The Vietnam Profiteers. New York: New Outlook Publishers, 1966.
- American Labor Today: How Has It Changed? Is It a Revolutionary Class? Are Marx's Views Still Valid? New York: New Outlook Publishers, 1968.
- The Dollar Crisis: What It Means to You. New York: New Outlook Publishers, 1969.
- Robbing the Poor to Fatten the Rich: Inflation, Wages, Prices and Profits. With Barry Cohen. New York: New Outlook Publishers, 1972.
- The Unstable Economy: Booms and Recessions in the United States Since 1945. New York: International Publishers, 1973.
- High Prices and High Profits: How They Affect Your Wages and Living Costs. New York: New Outlook Publishers, 1973.
- End Fascist Terror and US Imperialism in Chile! New York: New Outlook Publishers, 1974.
- The Economics of Oil Production. New York, American Institute for Marxist Studies, 1974.
- Economics of Racism USA: Roots of Black Inequality. New York: International Publishers, 1975.
- Dynamic Stability: The Soviet Economy Today. With Ellen Perlo. New York: International Publishers, 1980.
- History's Biggest Rip-Off: The Arms Budget Threat to Your Livelihood and Life. New York: New Outlook Publishers, 1980.
- Super Profits and Crises: Modern US Capitalism. New York: International Publishers, 1988.
- Belt-Tightening Time: But for Whom? New York: New Outlook Publishers, 1989.
- Economics of Racism II: The Roots of Inequality, USA. New York: International Publishers, 1996.
- People vs. Profits: Columns of Victor Perlo: Volume 1, The Home Front, 1961-1999. Edited by Ellen Perlo. New York: International Publishers, 2003.
- People vs. Profits: Columns of Victor Perlo: Volume 2, The USA and the World. Edited by Ellen Perlo. New York: International Publishers, 2006.
Articles
- "On the Distribution of Student's Ratio for Samples of Three Drawn from a Rectangular Distribution," Biometrika, vol. 25, no. 1/2 (May 1933), pp. 203–204.
- "The Investment-Factor Method of Forecasting Business Activity," With Richard V. Gilbert. Econometrica, Journal of the Econometric Society, vol. 10, no. 3/4 (July–October 1942), pp. 311–316.
- "New York as the Financial Center," Science & Society, vol. 19, no. 4 (Fall 1955), pp. 289–302.
- "'People's Capitalism' and Stock-Ownership," American Economic Review, vol. 48, no. 3 (June 1958), pp. 333–347.
- "The Revised Index of Industrial Production," American Economic Review, vol. 52, no. 3 (June 1962), pp. 496–512.
- "Notes on Marxian Economics in the United States: Comment," American Economic Review, vol. 56, no. 1/2 (March 1966), pp. 187–188.
- "Criminalization of African Americans," Political Affairs [New York], vol. 75, no. 2, (February 1996), pg. 18.
Congressional testimony
- Hearings Regarding Communist Espionage in the United States Government (Alger Hiss Case), Part 1. Committee on Un-American Activities, US House of Representatives. Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1948; pp. 677–686; 693-701. —Testimony of August 9, 1948.
- Hearings, Interlocking Subversion in Government Departments — Part 7. Judiciary Committee Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, US Senate. Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1950; pp. 383–459. —Testimony of May 12, 1953.
Additional reading
- John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999.
- John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr, and Alexander Vassiliev, Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009.
External links
- Finding Aid for the Victor Perlo Papers, Ort Library, Frostburg State University, Frostburg, MD. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- Alexander Vassiliev Notebooks Index, Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ. Retrieved August 10, 2010.