From the research files of Prof. Gerald Zahavi, SUNY-Albany

Selection from [F]BI File on Endicott, Broome County, N.Y. Radicals (1921).

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Matthew C. Smith [Colonel, General Staff, MID, Chief Negative Branch] to L. J. Baley, Chief, Bureau of Investigation, Dept. of Justice, Feb. 5, 1921, File 202600-33-161, Reel 924, Bureau of Investigation Files, Collection M1085, National Archives.

"Matters here are severely complicated on account of the strong religious prejudices. The religious matter is complicated by the fact that the Roman Catholic Church and the Pseudo-Russian Greek Church are extremely bitter against the real Orthodox Russian Greek Church, which established a branch in this city about two years ago, being the first of the real Orthodox Churches to exist here. There has been a good deal of "graft" by the different priests representing the Greek Catholic (Roman) Church here. These priests have represented tot he ignorant Russians that their Church was the real Orthodox Church. The Bishop in Syracuse has found it necessary to remove three of these priests for dishonesty in money matters. Numerous reports have been sent to the various Government Agencies at the instigation of Father Amrozaitis (Lithuanian). This man did not have a very good record while in this city. He saw "red" and was exceedingly active in scoring his rival church members, and a great many of the reports forwarded to the Department of Justice and perhaps the Military Intelligence originated from an over-worked imagination on the part of him.

The active Communists are mostly in Endicott, N.Y., a suburb of this city. The dangers here are mostly potential, but I am of the opinion that quite a bit of money finds its way from this vicinity to Soviet Russia. You must bear in mind that the Endicott-Johnson Company employs upward of 6,000 Russians and about 8,000 other workers. The nature of the work is such in the tannery that no one will do it but these men. Johnson pretends to believe that there is no such thing in his plant as "radicals." He has an Intelligence Service of his own, headed by a young Jewess. He has also supplemented this service by the use of Pinkerton men. This young Jewess and also the Pinkerton Service are wise to the fact that Johnson would like to think that his workmen love him, so their reports have been the most beautiful pieces of work you ever saw. I personally saw one of their reports, for which George F. Johnson paid $1500.00, and I must say it was the most amusing piece of misinformation I ever saw.

George F. Johnson controls the principal paper here, and his editorials and articles are all the time written with the idea of camouflaging the real conditions.

The trail between Endicott and Russia leads to two men--H. SOROKA and KORBUTIAK [emphasis in original]. Both these men were formerly living here and were very active in radical matters. They are now in Galicia, and I am sure money is being sent to them from this vicinity. It is an open question whether these men are plain grafters or are putting the money in the hand of the Soviet authorities."