Autograph Note Signed

In 1935 the American Communist Party formed this motley group of writers -- poets, playwrights, critics, novelists, etc. -- who sympathized with their ideology and supported their view, with Writer Waldo Frank their first president and a stellar "Who's Who" membership of "fellow travelers"; they issued a newsletters, published titles and were active in various causes such as the Spanish Civil War, but dissolved in 1943. ANS, 1p, 8½" X 7¼", New York, NY, 20 March 1939. Addressed to future notable Lincoln/Civil War scholar Arnold F. Gates (1914-93). Near fine. On "League of American Writers" letterhead that also boasts famed officers such as Van Wyck Brooks, Erskine Caldwell, Malcolm Cowley, Paul DeKruif, Langston Hughes, Meridel LeSueur, Upton Sinclair and Donald Ogden Stewart, the organizations apparently unknown secretary -- she signs off "Dorothy [Paitz?], Sec'y" -- writes this young supporter that "Under separate cover we are sending you a copy of 'Writers Take Sides.' The charge is $.15. We are very glad you are interested...." We have not been able to properly determine the identity of this secretary. ("Writers Take Sides: Letters About the War in Spain from 418 American Authors" was published in paperback only in 1938.) An interesting ephemeral relic from the heyday of 1930s American Communism.