Editorial Note
In a statement issued to the press on March 3, the Department of State announced that the 12-member delegation representing the “World Congress of Partisans of Peace,” scheduled to arrive in the United States that same day in order to present a petition to Congress for the cessation of the armaments race and the prohibition of atomic weapons, would be denied entry into the United States. Members of the delegation were described as “either known Communists or fellow travelers” and therefore subject to exclusion from the United States under the immigration laws. The statement reviewed the expressions of concurrence by Congressional leaders with the action taken by the Department of State. The statement also gave a brief account of the announcement and sponsorship of the proposed visit, listed the membership of the proposed delegation, provided a brief background of the “Partisans-for-Peace” movement which was characterized as the “leading over-all Communist-front organization in the world” and a “major Soviet instrumentality for propaganda and political pressure”, and analyzed the program and methods of the “Partisans for Peace”. For the text of the statement, see Department of State Bulletin, March 13, 1950, pages 400–402.