The degree of influence and scope of activity of the Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions in New York in early 1946 is evident by the frequency with which it is mentioned in The New York Times.
In January the Theatre Division, headed by Jose Ferrer, sponsored a discussion on the "Artist as Citizen" at the Henry Miller Theatre. Gene Kelly, Paul Robeson and Jose Ferrer were the announced speakers along with Congressmen Joseph Clark Baldwin, war correspondent Quentin Reynolds and Marxist economist Dr. J. Raymond Walsh. Baldwin was a liberal Republican and former city councilman with impeccable social credentials who was first elected to represent the Upper East Side congressional district in a special election in 1941. The GOP leadership and The New York Times opposed him in 1946 because of his support of labor and ties to the ALP, which The Times suggested linked him to the pro-Communist camp. Reflecting the changing political landscape, Baldwin was defeated by a 5-1 margin in the Republican primary by the party's choice, Frederic R. Coudert, Jr., who as a state senator was one of the heads of the Rapp-Coudert Committee that had purged Communists, whom he had likened to rabid dogs, from the school system. The Times welcomed the primary outcome as evidence that the returning veterans had little appetite for the far left. Although Baldwin had the ALP line in the general election, he declared himself a loyal Republican and supported Coudert who went on the win the seat by a wide margin.
The Committee co-sponsored an all-day conference that month on Puerto Rico's "right to freedom" with the National Lawyers Guild, Council For Pan-American Democracy and Council on African Affairs, all left wing groups, at the Essex House. It also sponsored a theater benefit to see the hit Broadway revival of "Show Boat" in January.
The public was invited to a Committee-sponsored forum at the auditorium of the Museum of Modern Art. Hudson Walker of the American Federation of Arts, recently returned from Italy, was discussing the cultural program of the State Department. Other discussion topics included federal sponsorship of fine arts, copyright protection and role of the artist in civic and political life. The scheduled speakers included Ferrer, who appears to have had a lot of time on his hand, artist Max Weber. ALP city council member Eugene Connolly, who had political ties to the Communist party, and Sam Golden, copyright attorney. Artist Henry Billings was the chairman.
ICCASP joined several other left wing organizations and the publisher of the Nation in asking that Argentina be suspended from the UN for its pro-Nazi sympathies.
The New York Times's Bosley Crowther, chairman of the film division, was presiding over a membership meeting at the Preview Theatre, 1600 Broadway, to present the activities program and screen two documentaries that had not yet been released in this country.
The big news in January was the appointment of James Roosevelt, FDR's eldest son, as director of political organization. In February the ICCASP became involved in the special election to fill a vacant seat in the 19th Congressional District on the Lower East Side, supporting the pro-Soviet ALP candidate over the New Deal Democrat. In March Harold Ickes, who had recently resigned from Truman's cabinet, became executive director of the organization. April events included the UN dinner that later caused trouble for John Henry Faulk and the formation of a coalition for veteran's housing that the AFL, VFW and American Legion refused to join because of Communist involvement. In May the ICCASP sponsored a veterans' rally at Madison Square Garden.