As the actual threat of domestic Communism decreased, the need felt by
politicians to appear tough on Communism increased. This was largely
due to the publicity surrounding government investigations of Commu-
nism, and an interpretation of the 1950 midterm elections that the winning
formula included being tough on Communism or claiming your opponent
was not. The Communist Party Daily Worker felt the effects of a shrinking
membership: It issued a warning to its readers that if circulation figures did
not increase, the publication would have to cease operations. The newspa-
per reported in January 1951 that circulation had dropped to 14,000 with
fewer than 50,000 subscribing to the Sunday edition. And, with 28,000 sub-
scriptions expiring in the coming months, the paper claimed its existence
was threatened. ¹ A midyear "retrenchment" effort by the newspaper guar-
anteed its survival; the paper was reduced from 12 to 8 pages and the price
was raised from five to ten cents per issue. ² Although the newspaper sur-
vived, there were only 50,000 registered Communists in the United States. ³

Congressmen, Senators, and some citizens knew of the dwindling num-
bers of Communists, yet at the beginning of 1951, there were no fewer than
six government agencies designed to fight the "menace" of Communism at
home. They were the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC),
the McCarran subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Fed-
eral Loyalty Review Board (FLRB), the Subversive Activities Control Board
(SACB), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and a newly appointed

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