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+: - - 2A . “pence: fone tO. 10 \ q - MNITED STATES GOVER. .ENT ° Memorandum To pare: August 11, 1960 FROM SUBJECT: MERICAN FRIENDS SE -RVICE COMMITTEE Reference is made to the enclosed letter dated 8/8/60 from Stephen Thiermann, executive secretary of the Northern California Regional Office of the American Driends Service Committee (AFSC). In his letter Thiermann refers to. Director's report captioned "Communist Target-Youth" with particular reference to the stetement on pace 7 of the report that the so-called Peace March which took place on Saturday, 5/14/60, in San Francisco was a movement sponsored by the Communist Party (CP). Thiermann disputes the statement, stating that the Peace March was sponsored by his organization in conjunction with a number of other pacifist organizations. - Background of AFSC Thiermann's letter is typical of the policy long followed by the AFSC through which it has continually mace efforts to disassociate itself from communi: activities. ot eed file (Rufile ie eS "which indicates that the stated purposes of the organization are to relieve human suffering and €2se international tensions. The organization His compcsed of per sons who are Members of the religious Society oi Friends } but i Inot an official organ of the Society. Informants have characterized it as a sincere pacifist group, and our investigations of it have not discivsed any subversive activ or active communist infiltration of the AFSC. te *- On the other hand, the activities of the AFSC have ofien clearly parall -the CP line and have often been conducted in conjunction with CP front groups.