Edward Clark Carter (June 9, 1878 – November 9, 1954) 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 The Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR) 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 ...

(IPR), of which he was secretary from 1926 to 1933, secretary general from 1933 to 1946 and executive vice-chairman from 1946 to 1948. A graduate of

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(Class of 1900), he 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 The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Carter became a main target of the McCarran Committee as part of a general investigation of the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

by Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

. In 1940, he helped organize the

Russian War Relief Russian War Relief (RWR) (also known as the Russian War Relief Fund and The American Committee for Russian War Relief) was the largest American agency for foreign war relief. It had the "express and exclusive purpose of giving succor to the Russian ...

Fund, was chair (1941-1945); United States Service to China, director, (1948);

United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

, consultant (1948); and a member of the

United China Relief Bettis Alston Garside 葛思德 (November 22, 1894 – August 1, 1989), better known as B.A. Garside, was an educator, author, and executive administrator for several U.S. charities related to China. Early life B.A. Garside was born in Stringtown, ...

. For a brief period in the early 1940s he also served as Editor of the journal ''

Pacific Affairs ''Pacific Affairs'' (''PA'') is a Canadian peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes academic research on contemporary political, economic, and social issues in Asia and the Pacific. The journal was founded in 1926 as the newsletter for th ...

'', the primary publication of the IPR. He was decorated an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, Officer of the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, received into the

Order of the Crown of Siam The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) for Thais, the royal family, governmental employees, and foreign dignitaries for their outstanding servi ...

and the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(USSR).

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." Among the positions he held were: *

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the

, an alleged "

Communist front A communist front (or a mass organization in communist parlance) is a political organization identified as a front organization, allied with or under the effective control of a communist party, the Communist International or other communist organ ...

group" * Chairman of the National Committee for Medical Aid to the Soviet Union, according to the Communist Party organ ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in Chicago founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists. Publication began in 1924. It generally reflected the prevailing views of members of the Communist Party USA (CPU ...

'' * Chairman of

, which, according to the FBI, was "infiltrated with known Communists, Communist leaders, fellow travelers, and

front organizations A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...

" * President of the Board of Directors of the American Russian Institute, which was listed by

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Thomas C. Clark Thomas Campbell Clark (September 23, 1899June 13, 1977) was an American lawyer who served as the 59th United States attorney general from 1945 to 1949 and as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1949 to 1967. Clark w ...

on the

Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations The United States Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations (AGLOSO) was a list drawn up on April 3, 1947 at the request of the United States Attorney General (and later Supreme Court justice) Tom C. Clark. The list was intended to be a co ...

for 1948, in accordance with

President Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th Vice president of the United States, vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Frank ...

Executive Order 9835 President 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 ...

. Andrew Avery, ''Chicago Journal of Commerce'' (July 1, 1946), alleged that Carter had been associated with such

as the

International Workers Order The International Workers Order (IWO) was an 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 on the grounds that the organization ...

. Carter was alleged to "actively uphold

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

's policies", for example, in 1938, when many other formerly loyal friends of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

were becoming disillusioned by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's "

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

", Carter defended the

show trials A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a warning to ...

, saying the Russian people "are thankful that their government has at last been firm in dealing with what they regard as

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

-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 Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

magazine ''

New Leader ''The New Leader'' (1924–2010) was an American political and cultural magazine. History ''The New Leader'' began in 1924 under a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, such as Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. It w ...

'', but after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he "proposed a toast to the success of the Soviet resistance to the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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." In 1938, Carter recommended Communist Party Secretary

Earl Browder Earl Russell Browder (May 20, 1891 – June 27, 1973) was an American politician, spy for the Soviet Union, communist activist and leader of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). Browder was the General Secretary of the CP ...

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 (July 29, 1900 – May 31, 1989) was an American Orientalist and writer. He was an influential scholar of China and Central Asia, especially Mongolia. Although he never earned a college degree, in the 1930s he was editor of '' Pac ...

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 The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

agent Moses Wolf Grzyb, alias M. G. Shippe (or Schiffe), alias Hans (or Heinz) Muëller (or Moëller); “Han-seng” refers to Chen Han-seng, a

recruit and "a member of the well-known

Richard Sorge Richard Gustavovich Sorge (; 4 October 1895 – 7 November 1944) was a German-Russian journalist and GRU (Soviet Union), Soviet military intelligence officer who was active before and during World War II and worked undercover as a German journa ...

Spy Ring"; “Chi” was Red Chinese secret agent Chi Ch'ao-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 rederick Vanderbilt

Field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

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.""Memorandum on Communism and the IPR," from Charles P. Rockwood, Executive Director, IPR Pacific Northwest Division, to Dr. Raymond B. Allen, President, University of Washington, November 9, 1948, p. 3 (FBI IPR file, Section 5)

References

External links

Finding aids to the Edward C. Carter Papers at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Edward Clark 1878 births 1954 deaths Honorary officers of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Legion of Honour Harvard University alumni