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61E Subject, RICHARD WRIGHT's articles appearing in the August and September, 194 issues of the “ATLANTIC MONTHLY® magasine were emphatically brought to the public's attention by considerable publicity in the New York newspapers. . ARTICLES IN ATLANTIC MONTHLY: Qn July 28, 219i), the Hew York Herald Tribune gave a lengthy article entitled, *WEGRO AUTHOR CRITICIZES REDS AS INTOLERANT". This articis atates that WRIGHT in discussing his break with the Commmists said that the Party fears new ideas, and that thes Commnists position regarding the American megro has undergone a "distinct and lamentable regression,® in recent years. He described the Commmists as "narrow-minded, bigoted, intolerant and frightened of new ideas which don't fit into their own.® The Herald Tribune's article referred to WRIGHT's article in the ATLANTIC MONTHLY. In an interview, Mr. WRIDHT is reported to have stated that kis ; Communist Party membership roughly covered the period from the latter part ef | 1932 or early 1933 to 1940, and his early association with the Commmiste in | Chicago was broken in 1937 when he said be was "ejected" from the Party. t WRIGHT stated that be was reinstated in New York in 1937 and maintained s relationship with the Party until 190 when he left the Party. \ The paper quoted WRIOHT as saying,"Publicly, Communists will deny that there is any substantial change in their militancy but privately they offer any The militancy on the lie question has passed into the hands of right-wing * Begroes. That was not’tue eight years ago. Most of the battles then were ded ing by Commfimists.* He said further thet he did not regard the Communists of today as effective instruments for social change, and described thea as we too such the victims of the very society they are : CONFIDENIAL